LornaHansonForbes

You definitely need to see ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE (1984?), it's basically a British neo-noir about a troubled youth who is convicted for murdering his adopted, wealthy foster mother at their remote Devon estate. FAYE DUNAWAY is the stepmom- Christopher Plummer is the stepdad, Sutherland is the male lead, investigating the death years after the boy has been executed. . It was reportedly Christie's favorite of all her novels, and it's one that used to show on HBO a lot when I was growing up, so I've seen it a lot. edit- just went and couldn't find a single scene or even the trailer on youtube.

Everyone in THE OLD DARK HOUSE is top-notch, with the exception of Raymond Massey- who I have only liked once in a film, and ironically it's when he's (more or less) playing DARK HOUSE costar BORIS KARLOFF in ARSENIC AND OLD LACE. I've read he was annoyed to be appearing in a horror movie and complained a lot on the set, thought he was "above it." Of the sane characters, Laughton and (especially) Melvyn Douglas are superb (this may sound weird, but I think this might actually be Douglas's best performance) of the mixed nuts- all are a delight- I guess if any one deserves a real salute it's the guy who plays SAUL- seriously, that is the most terrifying portrayal of a lunatic I've seen on screen. THE OLD DARK HOUSE was advetised with the catchphrase BEWARE THE NIGHT!, which I've always thought would maybe be a better title for the film than THE OLD DARK HOUSE (which in itself is a marvelous title.) I've read the JB Priestly novel Benighted, which is the source for DARK HOUSE. I don't remember a thing about it other than I found it mostly dull and (SPOILER)- the Douglas character dies at the end. If I ever need an alias, I am going to use HORACE FEMM.

.... apparently the movie showing at 8 o'clock tonight, in a major casting coup, features the one and only Thomas Jefferson- the third president of these great United States. It was made in 1919, so I guess he was a spry 180 or so when it was made.

For the record, i like Paul Newman in SOMEBODY UP THERE.... but i would love to see Larry take a crack at the role... I can imagine: Larry stops mid fight to deliver a heartfelt soliloquy to the camera...

Any line of dialogue + Ernest Thesiger = GOLD

I LOVE THE OLD DARK HOUSE. (I seriously considered going by "Sir Roderick Femme" as my moniker before i settled on Lorna Hanson Forbes.)

I have had even brief clips from youtube- not full movies even- I posted here removed by The Moderator. For the record all you have to do is copy and paste the web address of the YouTube video and it will link quite easily on these boards. Although why they give us the option to do so when they remove 9 out of 10 videos that we post who knows?

I'm keeping that. The next time I drop my coffee or lose my keys, I guarantee you I'm going to say "FUDD ME!" Ps- maybe Nina Foch will be a SOTM sometime....

"LET'S FUDD" Yeah, I like the sound of that.

TCM: LET'S BENNETT.

HERESY!

Acting-wise, go with Ryan. But on pure shagability, I go with Scott.

copy and pasted from somewhere: the shortest-ever Best Actor Oscar-winning performance was awarded to David Niven in 1958, having appeared for only 15 minutes and 38 seconds in Separate Tables. The second-shortest winning appearance was made by Anthony Hopkins in 1992, for less than 16 minutes of screen time as Dr Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs. (it appears to come down a matter of seconds.)

I checked on the internet, which we all know is INFALLIBLE AND ALWAYS CORRECT, and according to a couple sources, Niven holds the record. But yeah- who knows? I think I also read that Patricia Neal in HUD holds the all-around record for shortest performance to win a leading Oscar, and it seemed like she was in HUD for more than 18 minutes. One thing that does distringuish Hopkins from Niven though is that Hopkins gives a BIG performance, some would say iconic, and it DOMINATES the film to where you remember him more than anything else in it- TABLES is more ensemble.

THE MOON IS BLUE is (IMO) a terrible movie (and I like most of Otto Preminger's stuff.) It's not so much Niven's fault as it is the fault of static stage-bound story, the dated material and the grating (yet Oscar-nominated!) performance by Maggie McNamara. Speaking of Preminger though, I really like BONJOUR TRISTESSE, I even have it on DVD. It's an intriguing (and lovely) film and an example of David Niven playing David Niven when it's exactly what the film needs. Jean Seberg is not very good, but she's still got STAR quality that is watchable. Not a perfect movie, but an interesting one. As others have mentioned SEPARATE TABLES is not playing this month (!?!) but the weird thing about that movie is that- while he is definitely making an attempt to play a character other than himself, Niven is in the damn thing for all of 18 minutes- the shortest performance to ever win a leading Oscar. (I have noticed that the film has been available from time to time on youtube though.)

Um, that is WEIRD. Because those two are staples on the network.

Best "use of star name as adverb" of the day. The defining Joan Bennett "moment" for me comes in the very beginning of FATHER OF THE BRIDE (1950) when Elizabeth Taylor tells Joan and Spencer Tracy that she is getting married and he goes ballistic at the dinner table and the maid is in the next room. Joan admonishes them both and in a whisper/snarl informs them both (and I paraphrase here) "NOT IN FRONT OF THE HELP!" I know it's a little,l almost inconsequential moment, but Joan does it so well- and in the process totally reminds me of how my grandmother and mother would handle the situation. * and lest anyone assume the scene has racist undertones, I steer them towards the relationship Joan has with her black housekeeper in the previous year's THE RECKLESS MOMENT- the most intriguing facet of that film is how she and her maid end up on equal terms at the end as a result of weathering the storm together.

+1

in re: that very topic I'm at the point where I've got one foot out the door of this place. If it keeps up, I'm gone. (much to the delight of any number of you, I am sure.)

I try not to get my shorts in a wad about such things, and I realize it's there and there's no changing it, but Sean Penn's character (pretty much The Hero of the film) says a couple of really offensive things with relation to "gentlemen who prefer the company of gentlemen"** in FAST TIMES and Donald Faison- as Stacey Dash's boyfriend in CLUELESS- has a long cliche'-filled diatribe describing a young man who is gay ("candy boy"), and in both cases- try as I might to not get bugged by it- I am bugged by it. Especially in CLUELESS.) It's worth noting, I think, to point these things out when they show up in a director's work more than once; and in both cases it bothered me because these were films geared towards teens. **- thanks so, Moderator. really appreciate the edit. ***- ps

YES!

I'd to say you were one of the few who did. It seemed to me like the general consensus was 10-2 agin' it. Dobbsey started one of the longer-lived (and at times contentious) threads we've had here about it.

Yes, I do too. I don't remember a thing about it other than thinking "Hoo-Boy! I can see why Sten didn't go over with audiences."

she plays Peggy Ann Garner's roommate, it's only a couple of scenes- but she has one with Van Heflin (playing "the good guy") where he gets really physical with her- choking her while trying to get her to confess that she knows he didn't have a romance with the dead girl. it's really very disturbing.

Maybe* I'd like her better if she had appeared in BLACK WIDOW and A KISS BEFORE DYING in character as JAN IN THE PAN. The scene where Van Heflin tries to choke her into admitting the truth about her roommate would've really been something to see: just him shaking her bandaged head like a magic 8 ball, screaming "TELL ME! TELL ME!" *Actually, I take that back, there's no "maybe" about it.