Emily Dean

Mr. Jakeem: By all means read the "Canterbury Tales" in any version you choose, however if you haven't looked closely the "Prioress Tale" is one of the most heinous commissions of anti-semitism in literature that many students (and adults) read without any insight to what the tale is really telling.

Forest Lawn Memorial Park.

Tomorrow night is "Mrs. Miniver" whom Churchill much admired and credited for the increased anti-isolationism of the United States. Also we will see the original Memphis Belle which William Wyler filmed and experienced flying with the crew of the Memphis Belle. Much better than the ridiculous movie filmed later on the 90's or something and was trite compared to the realities experienced in the documentary. I cannot say it enough in this discussion...read the book "Five Came Back" then pontificate. I encourage all viewers whose parent or grandparent experienced WWII to watch the remaining nights and read the book!!. Soon the generation will be lost and I am afraid so will the spirit of those who led the USA and its allies through such a tumultuous times. After all if Hitler and Hirohito had won the war we most likely would not be able today to express our views on line (George Orwell really knew the future) .

Mr. Jakeem: I understand your hostility (somewhat) however I believe you should look into the history of the writer of the "Bra'er Rabbit Tales" and his efforts in constructing the stories. In addition you should recognize the talents of Jimmy Baskett who was an actor of long standing in various productions. The author of the stories was a post civil war reconciliation actvisit who was very active in the post civil war re-construction era. I do believe every one is entitled to their viewpoint but I urge everyone to read the context of events including sources, authors, directors etc and considering all factors prior to their comments.

Mr. Dobbs I believe you missed the point on all these documentaries and the directors who filmed them with cameramen and technicians. Without them the public would have had no real experiences of the war, unlike the rest of the world, to put in context of why they were having to offer up their children in an effort that really never physically impacted their communities. Without George Stevens the Normandy invasion would become a difficult event for many to understand or later respect. I recommend you read "Five Came Back" to place this series in more perspective before lamenting the documentaries presented. As to the documentaries...amateurish and silly but to the majority of young men in the services, movies were the one way availabe to relate to young men. Much like video games are today...just think of the drone pilots, their skills began with PacMan and the Mario brothers. Video games most likely are used to introduce concepts to the soldiers of today.

Well I disagree with you there NipkowDisc. I truly enjoyed a mindless Sunday of evening of Charlie Chan and The Falcon. Ben had the objectiveness ot present Alexander the Great for what it was meant to do in its day and Bob told us straight up it was great evening to enjoy "B" movies for what they were...entertainment. Too bad you missed George and James Gleason in a classic Falcon. I for one thoroughly enjoyed myself and hope others did as well. Oh yes...also got to enjoy Wille Best.

I read a wonderful and huge biography of Walt Disney and it discussed all the pro's and con's of his work, his character and his relationships. I truly believe that everyone today forgets that the movies, the men and women and the community in general reflected the ideas and mores of their times. It is unfair to criticize someone's ideas and expressions in the context of today. Who knows how history will view us and our times following a 100 years of experience. If you truly view Walt's contributions to film, annimation and business acumen it was, for the period a truly amazing compendium of achievements. I for one own both a copy fo "Fanstasia", which introduced me as a young child to the marvel that is classical music with interpretions that related to a child's sensibility and instilled appreciation thereafter (that and the Texaco Hour) as well as "Song of the South" which were great tales of morality. I was able to procure both on Amazon UK. In summary, Walt Disney's creativeness and talent should be respected without the intrusion of today's political correctness.

Loved George last night....and what a treat to have him and James Gleason both in one film. James Gleason is one of my favourite character actors and I look forward to him in each film. More about the Falcon would be appreciated on screen on TCM. I love "B" movies from the 30's, 40's and 50's. I remember seeing some Saturday features at the move theatre. You know the days when your parents gave you 50 cents and you were dropped off (safe and sound then) with the only threat was inadertently spilling your popcorn. Will read George's biography and see if I am able to add some facts within the same period as the movies discussed.

That may be the case for many viewers and I agree, it brought out George fully, and I believe he truly earned the award, however I vividly remember him in " The Picture of Dorian Gray" and while it hinges on the picture and Dorian, it is George's character that fully brings about the essence of "behind the scene" actions of his character. Let us keep this up TopBilled

I agree TopBilled and furthermore I believe it would be helpful to note, by interested viewers, each time George appears in a film and is aired on TCM. I have David Thomson's "Biography of Film" and even he admires Geroge, in his unique way. I will keep up with the films as I find them and post them to this site. I continue to lament over TCM's constant redredging of the tried and true. They go on and on about "loyal fans" yet in some instances totally ingnore the fact that most of TCM's audience are sophisticated viewers, not casual channel surfers. I always review the TCM schedule first prior to looking for anything else. As I am a "senior" viewer most of today's television offerings are not my cup of tea. I have found several channels that show my favourite TV shows of the past, particularly "Barney Miller", believe it or not; "Hogan's Hero's" and others of their ilk. I am amazed that back in the 70's we were allowed to be so politically incorrect, especially when watching "All in the Family". Really topics that today would never be allowed, however I note today it is permissable to saturate the airways with unrelenting violence, and then have the nation's leaders wonder from where real violence emanates from.

All right you George Sanders fans,come back out of the woodwork and let's get busy for 2016. Along the way we could throw in his brother, Tom Conway as an added bonus. I could use a day of the Saint with both George and Tom as well as some of their other movies. Anyway I am very disappointed in Top Billed for not keeping this at the forefront of TCM readers. Sorry..but I just get tired of looking through the calendars for sightings of George.

Really Mr. NipkowDisc where have you been? "Five Came Back" is an outstanding book and many of the World War II films both during and after the war are results of these five director's experience working with the War Department. The results of their experiences led to the wonderful epic of the Memphis Belle from Wyler's documentary and "Best Years of Our Lives" and George Stevens' work ended up being used at the Nuremberg trials. I cannot stress enough how you would enjoy "Five Came Back" both as a WWII history and a history of cinema. In relationship to "Five Came Back" for you cinophiles is an excellent book by Jeanne Bassigner titled " WWII Combat Film: Anatomy of a Genre". I don't understand why TCM has never approached her as a guest spotlight featuring movies from her publications. Maybe she was and I missed it...anyway NipkowDisc....wake up and pay attention.

Does "Brief Encounter" qualify where Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard's encounter begins at the train station bar? There are others in my thoughts as well..."Murder She Said" based on the "4:50 from Paddington", what about the "Ladykillers" where all the crooks fall over the bridge into different trains and the significance of the train steam as a visual. I also didn't see any mention of "Waterloo Bridge" which I believe trains and train stations had a signifant scene in the movie. What about "Bowani Junction" with Stewart Granger and Ava Gardner? that whole movie revolves around one of the biggest train stations in Asia and was actually filmed there. Even though there are alot of American movies with trains I actually prefer European trains and movies of the thirties through the fifties as the trains appeared to be much more fun. English trains used to be alot of fun having ridden in trains in the UK during the late 60's and early 70's I day-dreamed of WWII movies where the RAF smoked and laughed on thier way to and from leave and shared comradery.....I certainly cannot imagine any romantic encounters in airport terminals and on Southwest. If I ever play and then happen to win the lottery I want to take the Siberian Express from Moscow to Vladivostok....exciting yes.

Multi-tasking might be fine...but not if we want to make progress on promoting George for SOTM. I read his biography and was really fascinated. His life played out, in some cases, like his movie characters and I will say this...he was a multi-tasker when it came to women.

OK all you George fans out there, you have diluted the posts with Lucille Ball, do you have attention deficit disorder? Let's stick to promoting George for SOTM (surely some TCM staffer reviews these posts) and keep after it. We have all only been focusing on this for almost a year...let us keep the post focused on George and then we can move on...as my mother used tell me, "Emily, do one thing at a time and you will do it well".

I am waiting for my George Sanders SUTS or SOTM....and TCM has no business judging any of the stars final actions....poor George may have gotten bored with life, but I am never bored with George.

Well now that I have mentioned animals of the movies I forgot to include the idea of character actors of the month (COTM) to include the following: Eve Arden James Gleason Frank McHugh Jack Carson Eugene Pallate Spring Byington Mary Wickes Una Merkle Peter Lorre Roland Young Edward Everette Horton Frank Pangburn and Eric Blore

My biggest concern is moving into movies of the 70s and up. I guess to some they are classics, but not to me. The other thing is scheduling the rarely seen, seldom seen in the wee hours, why not move them to the forefront and have the multiple offenders shown in the wee hours.

Lydecker: What about movie animals, you know Lassie, Toto, Asta, Trigger and movies where animals were the theme and supporting stars. Just thinking of Asta alone generates a bunch of movies..just a thought.

Well initially I was confused....I thought at first you meant how horrible the movies are today...only time I go to the theatre is to watch the Metropolitan Opera or to a TCM big screen presentation. Then I saw Lassie's picture and thought...why not have movie animals as star of the month... Lassie Asta Toto Trigger and other movies where animals were the feature (maybe not the star) Plus a series of films or information on the big animal trainers of the movies. Just a thought.

I would rather stick needles in my eye than watch Anthony Quinn or any movie from the 70's (yech!!)

Well if we just have to...but I would like to keep politics out of it, unless Ben focuses on the relationship between Frank and the rest. He is an outlier to the creative group...unless you want to include politics in the idea of creativity.

Now here is a thought all you avid TCM fans...why not lobby for a special on the Mankiewicz family hosted by Ben. When you think of the family members from ONE family who were so influential in films and now (unbeknownst to me) television how utterly compelling would it be to examine both the family, the individuals in it and their lives as well as the results of their creativity. Their creativity was influencial in at least 7 if not 8 decades of the entertainment industry. There was Joe, Herman, Tom and Dan (with Ben supporting the industry). I read the biography of Tom Mankiewicz and it was fascinating to say the least.

Great list for an all boys SOTM...but where is George Sanders...no, no, no!!! If it is to be all male there has to be a month for George Sanders.

Regardless, she was great fun, witty and intelligent and able to laugh at herself. A rare quality in today's climate.