LornaHansonForbes

"Sorry wrong number" first aired as a 24 min episode of "Suspense!" on the radio with Agnes Moorehead in the role- the husband's part is pretty minimal , I think he only shows up at the very end. The author Lucille Fletcher then expanded the radio play into a novel which was a bestseller, and then into a screenplay which became the movie with Barbara Stanwyck, and a larger role for the husband along with more backstory of how the two meet. I think Agnes Moorehead perform "sorry wrong number" several times over the years as it was the most popular episode of "suspense!", in fact she became billed as the "first lady of suspense!" in all her subsequent appearances on the show. As good as Agnes is, Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster reteamed a year or two after the release of the film "sorry wrong number" to do an hour long radio version ( maybe for "The screen director's Playhouse" ?)which is the BEST version. I can't post right now because I'm on my phone. It is excellent, and when I get the chance I'll post it here. The audience gives Stanwick something like a two and a half minute long standing ovation at the end, and she is so hoarse from screaming that she jokes she sounds like Andy Devine.

I wonder if because of that trade embargo, there was a drive in in Havana that for 40 years straight offered a weekend double feature of "Spanish Dracula" and ( for some reason unbeknownst to everyone involved) "The Yearling" because those were the only two films that they had prints of. Probably a wild night was had by many generations of Cuban teenagers, sneaking friends in the trunk of the same 57 DeSoto their parents used and watching Carlos Villarias stink up the screen under the Cuban moonlight.... "y los suenos, suenos son."

That's what I read on Wikipedia, that the negative of the film was discovered in Cuba and that is why the film exists today. Of course we all know that Wikipedia is all knowing infallible and never wrong, so take this information for what it's worth.

I agree with you about Bennett. Of course it would be impossible for anyone to top Stanwyck's performance in the film, and the visual medium of the film would always give the performance an edge over a radio performance because so much of the success of Stanwyck's performance comes from her reactions and the intensity in her eyes. Bennett did do a really really good job, the only scene where I felt like she didn't do as well as she could have was in Phyllis's final scene. Thank you for mentioning Mercedes McCambridge, I forgot to mention her role in this. I didn't realize she was playing the role of Lola until the credits right at the end and then I laughed out loud. Thus is the beauty of radio. I have gotten increasingly interested in a lot of old radio broadcasts in the last year, the Campbell Playhouse, the Ford radio theatre, the screen director's Playhouse, and The Molle mystery theater and suspense! being some of my favorites. One of the greatest things about old time radio is that it gives us this wonderful bizarro universe where some of our favorite movies and roles are done by completely different stars. And it's an interesting peek into what might have been. Some interesting examples off the top of my head would be William Powell in the Joe cotton role in "shadow of a doubt," Ida Lupino in the Joan Crawford roll in "humoresque" and most especially Tallulah Bankhead in the Bette Davis role in "All About Eve". All of these can be found in their entirety on YouTube. Ps- using my phone to post this so the punctuation sucks and voice transcription probably heard something wrong several times.

i also feel the need to take up for helen chandler- who i like, and she was certainly lovely on the big screen. she also did some intense acting with her eyes in the scene where Lugosi drops by for his formal visit (brimming with lust for him) and the later scene where it's assumed she's one kill away from becoming a vampire herself with david manners on the terrace. then the rubber bat shows up and manners actually has to utter the line "my, that's a big bat." the movie dies a little at that point. also notable in their detail when splayed on the big screen were chandler's costumes, an ambitiously flouncy parade of negligees and evening gowns and dressing gowns all in laces and satins with long trains and even corsages pinned at the waist. people dressed the hell up to go to bed in the thirties.

a lot of stories don't take being condensed down to an hour (or less) for radio, but INDEMNITY makes the transition just fine:

I recall two things I really picked up on while watching Dracula on the big screen, one good and one bad... blown up to "giant" size, the one scene of Lucy as a vampire where she's wandering around in the woods at the edge of the park after attacking the child was quite clear and for the first time I was able to see the actress's face. It's a pretty creepy image. The bad thing that I noticed though, was Lugosi's kewpie doll lips, which in the tight close ups especially later on the film, came off looking like the Crawford mouth with the bow tips.

There is a classic radio channel on Sirius satellite radio, and I'm quite a fan of it. In honor of Burt Lancaster is birthday week, they are playing an hour long radio drama of his every day. Today was "Double indemnity", with Joan Bennett in the Barbara Stanwyck role. Lancaster was really good. Im posting using my phone right now and cannot link to, but I'm sure it could be found on YouTube.

( having to use my phone to post here, which I hate.) I think the DVD featurette I mentioned is available on YouTube. Its about 30 minutes to an hour long and pretty good. It's been included for all the DVD releases of Dracula. Again though, I really do recommend getting the 5 dvd set "Dracula the Legacy Collection" or the recent Blu ray update because within the last couple of years, Universal gas done a fantastic job of cleaning up and restoring the picture. And they are loaded with tons of fantastic bonus items. The Legacy Collection is especially good because it includes every title in which Dracula appeared in the classic Universal monster canon right up to Abbott and Costello Meet... (incl. DRACULAS DAUGHTER) All have beenrestored. My copy was $15 on amazon.

I tgink someone mentions in the dvd featurette ROAD TO DRACULA, that Chandler & Manners were asked years later to recall the experience they had making DRACULA; neither renembered a thing about Browning; but both vividly recalled Karl Freund's presence in the set. The same featurette inclydes a brief scene from the silent DRACULA 1931 which they realeased to brokeassed theaters without sound. (May as well cuss now. Might have a chance to get away with it.)

I would give my back molars to see this happen.

Norma only got the job because she was sleeping with Irving. Garbo was the ONLY choice for Huck Finn.

time after time i tell myself that I'm so lucky to be loving you. so lucky to be the one you want to see in the evening when the day is through. i only know what i know, the passing years will show you've kept my love so young, so new. and time after time you'll hear me say that i'm so lucky to be loving you.

my favorite version:

A couple of minor corrections: George Melford, the director of the Spanish language DRACULA was American and spoke almost no Spanish; and the cast was a mix of Spanish and Mexican actors. As for your last point: yes, Browning absolutely should have watched the rushes, but I seriously doubt he was even watching his own footage. I believe it is generally acknowqldged the the Spanish crew watched the American rushes and proceeded to "one-up" them all the way.

"looks like i picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue..."

a huffington post article about the story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/melissa-mathison-screenwriter-dies_563ad675e4b0411d306fae6d?utm_hp_ref=entertainment&ir=Entertainment&section=entertainment

and on such a budget! i wonder if there was a rash of long-haired women being tied up and shorn in Cental park around the time of the show's production...or if someone was breaking into wig shops or something, because otherwise the hair budget for Dark Shadows hadto've been like 60% of the show's cost.

i admit i gave up by the last ten minutes. i bet you were wondering if someone was just going to say "the end" at the end, thereby making it a part-talkie.

I am intrigued by the fact that- according to this pie chart- the US is responsible for 11% of spam worldwide. I'd like to think that right now some Korean-based classic movie or music or tv discussion forum is being constantly bombarded by spam like: DOWNLOAD ARROWSMITH 1931 RONALD COLEMAN, HELEN HAYES- OSCAR NOMINEE BEST PICTURE posted by abcdefg NUDE PHOTOS OF MARIE DRESSLER, WALLACE BEERY. CLICK HERE! posted by BeaArthurLives101 HAPPY LUCKY FORTUNECOOKIE FLOWER DRUM SONG NANCY KWAN TWO FOR ONE PEARL CREAM SPECIAL!!! posted by thismakesnosensemwahahahaha11 WHY WILL TCM KOREA REFUSE TO PLAY HOT SPELL???!!!! WHAT DO YOU HAVE AGAINST SHIRLEY BOOTH? posted by djkahjkhfjksfh And they're all shaking their heads at the nonsensical letters and symbols and wondering when they can get back to discussing the Korean music scene or Klassic Korean cinema...

as someone who kept waiting for the cast to break out in song during the near-entirety of I CAN GET IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE, I can relate,

and i actually found myself unable to look away. Mitchum is kind of talking in code a lot, but he came off as very cerebral and sexy. and I heard him talking in a higher pitch than usual, and minus any kind of accent. (he was really good at accents, a lot of which he did for Cavett.) I'm not sure he didn't want to be there, I think he got mad at himself for being so candid.

No matter what episode you are watching in either the history of the show or the various timelines in which it took place, the hair on DARK SHADOWS is always on point. The sets may wobble, the wrong cameras used, the special effects may underwhelm, a crew member may be visible eating a jelly donut noisily in the immediate background of a scene- but the hair- both the contemporary and the period wigs- was some-high end sixties architecture and it is flawless. Whoever did the hair on that show probably lived in a broom closet on the set and ate cigarettes.

the startling shot of DRACULA on the staircase occurs at 00.43 in the video.