MCannady1
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Posts posted by MCannady1
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THE DARK ANGEL (1935) - first time seen
This is part of the Merle Oberon Star of the Month, recorded from TCM and chosen not only because it was her only Academy Award nomination, but also because the circumstances were right for me to be able to watch it without interruptions and have the right mood for it as well as the fact that come next Sunday the Favourite Performances thread will switch to 1935 and I wanted to make sure I saw it before next Sunday.
The movie stars Oberon, Frederic March and Herbert Marshall.
I won't give away any spoilers although I do expect people who read this post to know that it is a war time film, and deal with the issues that happen when war vets come back home and are afraid of becoming civilians again with all of the physical and mental issues that war vets have that people who have never been in battle will ever know. If you have seen any film that fits this description I may have just given you spoilers. It is a hazard of being familiar with a genre.
This is an excellent film and I can see why Oberon was nominated.
This movie reminds me somewhat of The Enchanted Castle, but that other film is a fantasy. This is certainly not a fantasy. The number of ways chance, circumstance, misunderstandings, and simply deciding to leave five minutes before or after someone else does makes all the difference in the world in a person's life.
Not a spoiler for me. I love this film too and can see why Merle Oberon had the acclaim. Every performance is beautiful and luminous! I love all of her films!
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How come TCM never plays LOVE STORY, with Ryan O'Neal & Ali MacGraw..? It's like the biggest romance film of that particular generation.
I was 18 when this film came out. I was in my first job and going to school nights at business college. A co-worker and I went to see Love Story in theater. Later I read the book. I do like Ali McGraw and Ryan O'Neal, so I looked forward tot his film.
Sadly, it was not as romantic as films I had learned to treasure, although it had a tragedy and a great love between Ryan and Ali's characters, Yes, the basic story had the elements of romance with ultimate tragedy too, which made for a tearjerker. (Don't want to give anything away, so I have described it like that).
Maybe it was partly the swearing (which I was not used to in films). That may have taken some of the romance away. I believe the code had lifted by this time in '70 (LOL!) which was oftimes a beneficial thing, but later it began to wreck the romance of a film as promiscuity and excessive violence came to the fore in many. I am sorry to say that the trend is still out there, although I find a diamond in the rough now and then, Oddly enough, my contemporaries are in some I don't care for; for this reason.
I do like Ryan O'Neal and Ali McGraw, but wish the film had been handled more adroitly.
It wasn't long before I went back to the older films which we now call classic films. While classmates and co-workers went for the new, I went for the old; now and then watching some of the newer ones. I did enjoy current programs like Medical Center and even All in the Family or Maude now and then.
I would not mind watching the film again on TCM (45 years later?) or Fox Movie Channel and to see what I think. I hope I am not too judgmental. Actually, I just wanted to express the reasons why I love the 30's through the 50's films so well. Pre-codes handle awkward situations with many of the current problems in the world, and the other decades express real feelings of the characters .
Case in Point; ALice Faye and Tyrone Power are luminous together in all of their performances. They truly radiate love in interesting atmospheric stories.
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Lucille Ball had been at RKO for a few years, working her way up from bit parts to supporting roles and lead parts when she was cast in the studio's big budget version of TOO MANY GIRLS. The college musical had been a hit on Broadway during the 1939-40 season, for a total of 249 performances. Several of the show's performers had been signed by RKO to appear with Lucy in the screen adaptation. Among them were Eddie Bracken and a Cuban musician named Desi Arnaz who played Manuelito. When Desi arrived on the studio lot in Hollywood, he and Lucy were immediately smitten with one another. It was late June 1940. The film wrapped production several weeks later, and had its premiere the following October. In November, Lucy and Desi were married back east. It was a marriage that would see many ups and downs, before it ended twenty years later. In between there were other movies, such as THE LONG, LONG TRAILER and FOREVER DARLING (both at MGM in the 50s); a touring stage show; and of course, I Love Lucy which made television history and was the beginning of their production empire. Ironically, in 1957, the Arnazes would buy RKO, and film some of their later series on the same lot where they had met all those years earlier.
Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz present and accounted for..!
One last footnote is the final series the Arnazes did together. I think it was 13 episodes and was called The Lucy Desi Comedy Hour. THe show was about 45 minutes with commercials and lots of fun. I remember when I was pretty young watching those too. There were many great guest starts in every episode.
Betty Grable and Harry James, in another Ann Sothern, in another Milton Berle. MY favorite one is Lucy Goes to the Bullfights where she hides from Ricky and pretends to be a bullfighter. She befriends a bull named Max, but he is not the one in the ring! lol. Lucy as a pretend bullfighter has to find out how to deter him running at her. She realizes he is not MAx when he does not respond. THen the fun begins. MAurice Chevalier is a new client and happens to be at the bullfights. He says,
"Look at that hilarious red-headed guy with the wild hair!" Ricky and all turn to look. THe moustachioed guy in the ring is Lucy who is having a panic attack! She tries to talk to "Ferdinand" after that, but he keeps rushing at her bullfighting outfit. All for laughs, but
they were hardly speaking by '57 when they made the Ernie Kovacs and Edie Adams one. There is a great one with Paul Douglas.
I hope they put the set on DVD one day. Some are on VHS and scattered, Don't know the quality.
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Alice Faye is my favourite star from the Fox studio. She could sing, dance and act (watch her give a strong performance in FALLEN ANGEL). She was the female Bing Crosby of her generation, and many songs she introduced on radio shows and in movies went to the top of the pop charts.
She was a lovely and talented part of the Golden Age of films.
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She claimed the marriage was a nightmare, when she filed for divorced. It was not at all what was depicted on television. Somehow she managed to stay friends with Desi, and I think that is a testament to her character.
Yes, Lucy was a strong lady. I am glad she found a measure of happiness with her second marriage. From what I have read, she and Gary Morton were relatively happy. I think her ultimate friendship with Desi helped her pain in getting over the failed marriage,
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The MAISIE films are a lot of fun. And I agree about SHADOW ON THE WALL-- a change of pace for Annie, showing she could play more sinister characters when the script called for it.
I just watched WOMAN ON THE RUN recently and developed an even greater appreciation of Sheridan's talents. Such a good picture on so many levels.
I agree! The Unfaithful '47 with Ann Sheridan, Zachary Scott and Stephen Geray is a great film too, She was marvelous in Kings Row with Ronald Reagan too. There are many other great films Ann left for us to enjoy. Sadly, she died in her early 50's, I think.
Woman on the Run was beautifully cast with Dennis O'Keefe, IT is done so beautifully showing ANn's great love for her husband. She must find him (the murder witness) before the heartless killer does. Dennis is a reporter who is all too happy to help her find him. Robert Keith is outstanding as the police inspector.
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Alice Faye is my favourite star from the Fox studio. She could sing, dance and act (watch her give a strong performance in FALLEN ANGEL). She was the female Bing Crosby of her generation, and many songs she introduced on radio shows and in movies went to the top of the pop charts.
That is true! I love her performance in Fallen Angel. Yes, I agree that she was the female Bing Crosby of her generation. Her songs are very famous. Her singing, acting and dancing are really superb!
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She claimed the marriage was a nightmare, when she filed for divorced. It was not at all what was depicted on television. Somehow she managed to stay friends with Desi, and I think that is a testament to her character.
I think so true! I was too young (age 8) to realize how embarassing it was for Lucy's image when it started to come out about other women! I never forgot about that TV Guide article that spoke about it. And it was on tV News and the car radio news.
Years later I was very sad when Desi was in hospital and very ill. I was glad that she forgave him and he forgave her for retaliating with other men. The story goes that the weekend poor Desi died Lucille went to visit him in hospital. He was very ill and could hardly breathe. They both started to cry and the regrets were spoken. Of course they both had married someone else, but I was glad that they expressed feelings long buried. Many friends said Desi would always be the love of Lucy's life and vice versa.
I guess when you're famous things like that can happen. I don't know how reliable the movie was about their lives (made in the 90's, I think), but it stressed the fact that women threw themselves at Desi when he was on tour. At first he really tried to resist and then it got worse and worse. He missed being at home with Lucy and the children at first. ( Lucie Arnaz is a year older than me.. I read an article about how the final divorce affected Lucie and Desi Jr).
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When Darryl Zanuck merged his independent company 20th Century Pictures with Fox (forming 20th Century Fox), he 'inherited' a few performers that had already been signed by William Fox. A few of these he promptly let go, but one of them he kept and built into a major star. Her name was Alice Faye. Immediately, she proved popular with audiences who were seeking escapist musicals in the later years of the Depression as well as the first years of the war. Zanuck paired her with a few different leading men, some borrowed from other studios. But her films with Tyrone Power were among the most profitable. She costarred with him in the disaster epic IN OLD CHICAGO. In the end, a raging fire had engulfed the city but couldn't keep the two young lovers apart. Next came a lively musical inspired by the songs of Irving Berlin, called ALEXANDER'S RAGTIME BAND. It reunited them with their old Chicago costar Don Ameche. A year later, without Ameche, they returned for a different sort of story, the musical biopic ROSE OF WASHINGTON SQUARE. This time, Faye was playing a thinly veiled version of Fanny Brice, and Power was her gangster boyfriend. Al Jolson played a supporting role.
Alice Faye & Tyrone Power present and accounted for..!
I love Alice Faye teamed with Tyrone Power. In Old Chicago and Alexander's Ragtime Band were great films, as well as Rose of Washington Square.
Alice and Tyrone were both a beautiful and talented part of Hollywood's Golden Age of great films. My dad would often say that they could never top the 30's. Quite often I have to agree!
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Can you guess the ones I'll be spotlighting?
In the week ahead:
Saturday March 5th: The Ricardos.
Sunday March 6th: Popular hillbilly trio.
Special series: Classic Ann 101
Monday March 7th: Tap dancing sensation.
Tuesday March 8th: WAR OF THE WORLDS actress.
Wednesday March 9th: Nora Prentiss.
Thursday March 10th: Australian actress in Hollywood during the 40s.
Friday March 11th: Before she was Maisie, she was teamed with this RKO leading man.
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Thank you, TopBilled for enhancing my week! What a wonderful line-up! I love your schedule and have always admired your March 11th actress, Ann Sothern. When I was very young I remember Susie and The Ann Sothern show on TV.
In recent years I have collected Ann's films and really admire many of them, including Maisie. Shadow on the Wall was an impressive Film Noir, Just recently I received a Pre-Code ('34) with Ann and Edmund Lowe called Let's Fall in Love. She had a lovely singing voice and this film was very enjoyable. (The actual writer of the song, Art Jarrett, is featured singing beautifully). Tala Birell is great as a cranky actress in a supporting role.
Nora Prentiss is great with Ann Sheridan. I enjoy all of her films too! I love her performance in Woman on the Run.
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Lucille Ball had been at RKO for a few years, working her way up from bit parts to supporting roles and lead parts when she was cast in the studio's big budget version of TOO MANY GIRLS. The college musical had been a hit on Broadway during the 1939-40 season, for a total of 249 performances. Several of the show's performers had been signed by RKO to appear with Lucy in the screen adaptation. Among them were Eddie Bracken and a Cuban musician named Desi Arnaz who played Manuelito. When Desi arrived on the studio lot in Hollywood, he and Lucy were immediately smitten with one another. It was late June 1940. The film wrapped production several weeks later, and had its premiere the following October. In November, Lucy and Desi were married back east. It was a marriage that would see many ups and downs, before it ended twenty years later. In between there were other movies, such as THE LONG, LONG TRAILER and FOREVER DARLING (both at MGM in the 50s); a touring stage show; and of course, I Love Lucy which made television history and was the beginning of their production empire. Ironically, in 1957, the Arnazes would buy RKO, and film some of their later series on the same lot where they had met all those years earlier.
Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz present and accounted for..!
My favorite TV couple! I remember when I was 3 or 4 I got to get up from my nap and watch Lucy (but only if I took the nap late in the day for an hour and a half - lol!). Lucy was on at 7 p.m, I remember I really adhered to Mom's strict rules so I could get up and watch it, but one night I heard laughter and realized that Lucy was already on! I had actually fallen asleep (which I seldom did with naps) and the show was already in progress when I "stole" out to the livingroom. My mom and dad and big sister were all watching Lucy. It was the "equal rights" episode where Lucy and Ethel were stuck in the restaurant when they couldn't pay. My family had all gotten into the show and forgot to wake me. Couldn't blame 'em, (lol)! Everyone else had the same idea, it seems.
I was very sad a few years later when they broke up. The perfect couple, it seemed! To this day I think Desi was nearly the handsomest and Lucy the most beautiful in a TV series. I was eight when I saw the caption on the cover of the TV Guide saying,
"Lucy and Desi have hit the rocks". Inside the article said Lucy was humiliated and would never reconcile with Desi. Sadly, that was true. They had tried twice before.
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That's correct. I forgot she was also in the Colbert film. She was predominately a stage actress, as well as a writer.
Yes, I just saw lovely pictures of Jane on WIkipedia in early films accompanied with pictures. You can see her same lovely smile.. She sounds like a very accomplished lady on stage and screen writing. Just seeing these three films I was very impressed. She was widowed in the early 30's.
(Here is an interesting footnote on No Man of Her Own. I recalled being really scared when I saw it the first time (on TV) when I was a kid. Not the train scene (which was traumatic enough like you were saying) but later when John Lund described what happened to Stephen Morley after he was disposed of on the railroad tracks. It really gave me nightmares! I think it was power of suggestion.
Not long afterwards I felt traumatized by Hush, Hugh Sweet Charlotte, but that was far scarier!).
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It was called 'The Young One' and was initially broadcast on December 1, 1957. Her costar was Vince Edwards. She would do another episode later on, for The Alfred Hitchcock Hour in 1962.
I think I saw the earlier one where she was very young.
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I've written about the train scene in NO MAN OF HER OWN before, in another thread. I think it's one of the more violent, yet realistic accident scenes in movies of that time. Frankly, I'm a bit surprised the production code office didn't make them tone it down.
You also mentioned character actress Jane Cowl, who appears later as the mother of John Lund and Richard Denning. I believe it was her last film. She's just as good in a Bette Davis melodrama called PAYMENT ON DEMAND.
Yes, you see I was quite touched about Jane making 3 last films. She was dying of cancer. The third one was The Secret Fury with Claudette Colbert and Robert Ryan. In all three films she was terrific. I was so touched with her marvelous performance I can never forget as Mother Harkness in No Man of Her Own. I looked her up one day after seeing this film and read the sad news.
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Great film that TCM never airs, but it's on Amazon Prime. You're right, Phyllis Thaxter is very good in it, married to Richard Denning. The train scenes are well staged.
Phyllis (Patrice) is so nice befriending Helen (Barbara's character) on short acquaintance. Well, they both had a lot in common, expecting a first child soon. The scene of the accident is quite realistic and Patrice's kindness leads to Helen's new life.
Yes, I liked the train scenes too. Later Helen is mistaken for Patrice when the train accident occurs, as she had held her wedding ring for her while they washed their hands in the rest room. With Patrice and her husband gone, Helen is accepted and loved by the Harkness family. Now she has wonderful in-laws, a lovely home, etc. She genuinely grieves for her new friend and her friendly husband Richard Denning (Hugh), but goes along with this for her baby's sake. She had been down to a few coins in her pockets.
All is well until the threats of her former boyfriend Lyle Bettger (Steve Morley) start to ruin her new life. Coinciding with these events, Hugh's brother ( played by John Lund) is attracted to Helen. She begins to return his feelings.
This great film has even more to offer, but don't want to spoil it for those that have not seen it yet. There is something very touching about the great acting of Jane Cowl who played the mother-in-law.
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Sometimes actors who play tough guys on screen are just the opposite off screen. But not Lawrence Tierney whose portrayals of nonconformists in film noir were quite similar to his real-life persona. He had been signed by RKO during the war and starting in 1943 had been handed small roles in the studio's programmers. But it wasn't until he was loaned out to Monogram for the title role of DILLINGER that he shot to stardom. Back at RKO, he received better roles opposite top names. He starred in crime dramas like BORN TO KILL with Claire Trevor as well as KILL OR BE KILLED with George Coulouris. When he wasn't working, he was often arrested for drunken brawls and soon he was more notorious for his troubles with the law than for his films. Hollywood studios refused to hire him in the 1950s and 1960s, so he moved to Europe. Eventually, he returned to the U.S. where he took blue collar jobs. He sobered up in the 1980s and started finding new roles on television. Then in the early 1990s, he made a major comeback in Tarantino's RESERVOIR DOGS. He was on familiar turf again, playing a tough guy-- something he knew well.
Lawrence Tierney present and accounted for..!
I had read another article on Lawrence. It seems he was unable to stop drinking and brawling. However, he turned in some very good films. I really liked Born to Kill and Step by Step with Anne Jeffreys. I am glad he later turned his life around and was able to make some 90's films.
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Carol Lynley was a child model who began working in television in 1956 at the age of fourteen. By the time she made her first film two years later, she already had many screen credits in television anthology shows and she had appeared in two productions on Broadway. Her most notable stage performance came as an unwed teen expecting a baby in 'Blue Denim.' Carol recreated the role in the 20th Century Fox film version in 1959, alongside Brandon deWilde. She was off and running in the movies, and would appear in many motion pictures at Fox in the 1960s. There were also assignments with Columbia, a notable example being her work for Otto Preminger in BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING, filmed in London. In the late 60s, she would frequently find work in British productions. During the 1970s, she continued making features but increasingly she appeared in TV movies and had guest roles on primetime series. She appeared 11 times on Fantasy Island, which might be some sort of record. There were occasional parts in later decades, though her screen career was pretty much in decline by the 1990s.
Carol Lynley present and accounted for..!
It is so nice to see the background on Carol. I like Carol Lynley and have enjoyed her performances since I was very young.. She starred in an early episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents with Vince Edwards, and primarily 50's and 60's films. She could play a victim or a conniving person with ease.
Right Now I am watching The Pleasure Seekers with Carol, Ann Margaret, Anthony Franciosa, etc.
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Talk about dog gone lucky and destined to be famous. Rin Tin Tin had been rescued from a bombed out kennel at the end of World War I, and his new American owner brought him to Los Angeles. By the time he was four, Rinty was showing off his jumping skills at special shows in southern California and managed to get a job as a stand-in for a wolf in a silent film at Warner Brothers. He was an immediate hit and put into a series of silent films and serials at the studio during the 1920s. In the late 20s, he transitioned with other stars into part-talkies and then full talking pictures. Most of his films were big successes with audiences. From 1922 to 1931, the canine superstar appeared in 28 movies. He also had his own weekly radio program called The Wonder Dog. He died the following a year, just before his fourteenth birthday. His descendants have continued on screen in many movies since that time. Notably, his son Rin Tin Tin Jr. appeared opposite Jackie Cooper in MGM's TOUGH GUY.
Rin Tin Tin present and accounted for..!
It is interesting to read about this dear dog's background. His presence enhanced many a film, I just saw Tough Guy recently and did not realize I was watching his (Rin TinTin's) son. A very touching film.
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I sure hope Rinty had lush accommodations in his retirement years after making all that money for his humans,TB.
I hope he did too!
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When Greer Garson was hired by MGM the studio wasn't sure what to do with her at first. She spent over a year in Hollywood before director Sam Wood decided to use her as Robert Donat's wife in GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS. Greer was a hit in the role, and she earned an Oscar nomination. She then appeared in a romantic comedy with Robert Taylor but it wasn't exactly the right vehicle. Then in 1941 she starred alongside Walter Pidgeon in the drama BLOSSOMS IN THE DUST. That's when the right formula had been found. Greer was nominated again, and the studio teamed the two up a year later in William Wyler's MRS. MINIVER, which had originally been planned for Norma Shearer who decided to retire from films. This time Greer was awarded the Oscar, and Walter received a nomination. More follow-up films were produced with the two playing an assortment of characters. They were chemists in MADAME CURIE; wealthy mine owners in MRS. PARKINGTON; bickering exes in JULIA MISBEHAVES; and eventual lovers in THAT FORSYTE WOMAN. Altogether, they appeared in nine MGM productions-- with one of the last ones being a sequel to their earlier hit, THE MINIVER STORY. Even after both had left the studio, they remained friends. In 1979, they turned out for the opening of the National Theatre in Los Angeles.
Greer Garson & Walter Pidgeon present and accounted for..!
Greer Garson is very high on my Favorite Actress list. I love her in Mrs. Miniver, Pride and Prejudice, Blossoms in the Dust, etc.
She had a very special wit and a sweet gentility to accompany it. Her talents included tragedies (Mrs. Miniver, The Miniver Story, etc.). Coupled with her beauty and intelligence in Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy is properly humbled. I loved her soul-stirring performance in Random Harvest as well. That Forsyte Woman was a tragedy she handled with ease.
Whether comedy, drawing room wit, or tragic and romantic roles, Greer's performances were consistently great.
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Yes, Phyllis and James Aubrey had a son (James Jr.) and a daughter (Skye).
When Skye Aubrey was finding roles as an actress, her father left CBS and went back to MGM-- which is where he and Phyllis Thaxter originally met.
I like Phyllis a lot too. I have the Alfred Hitchcock set in which Phyllis is appears in several episodes. She is absolutely riveting in an segment about a woman who is trying to stop drinkng. Hoping that her fiance will come through with his promise, she is on the wagon "for awhile". She was also very good in Twilight Zone. She had an outstanding ability to project a wide variety of emotions in a very short time.
I just recalled that Phyllis is very appealing in No man of Her Own '50 with Barbara Stanwyck. They happen to be on the same train when a fateful event occurs. Didn't know Skye is their daughter.
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I also recommend DESERT FURY, (1947) which is in very bright Technicolor and has some gorgeous Western scenery. In spite of the color, it's definitely a noir and Lizabeth stars with Mary Astor, Wendell Corey, & I think maybe John Hodiak in a film that has some decidedly gay undertones.
It hasn't shown on TCM- maybe ever, but if you check online you may be able to find it there.
Love Desert Fury too which is very lovely in Technicolor. I really like the story and the great acting. It is a very good Film Noir with Lizabeth Scott, Mary Astor and Wendell Corey. I think John Hodiak was very effective too with sudden violent moods. (I am naive and didn't see the undertones, but felt he was a scary boyfriend to have. I'd prefer Wendell instead).
Mary's home had a stunning picture window like a terrarium with multi-colored cactus plants.
Sad thing that John died all too soon. He did leave us a legacy of good films; Desert Fury, Somewhere in the Night and Homecoming. I read that he was married to Anne Baxter for awhile.
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While there is a lot to like about I Walk Alone I feel the ending is a cop-out. The Douglas character is a new type of gangster. One that uses accountants and lawyers to gain wealth instead of hoods (a fairly common noir theme). The Lancaster character is an old type of hood; one use to using his fists instead of his brains.
Lancaster gets out of prison and finds out he doesn't have any leverage to get his cut. I really enjoy the film up to that point but towards the end the Douglas character abandons being a new type of gangster and goes back to his old ways. The end result is Douglas going down while Lancaster and Scott go off in the night. I would have preferred a noir ending where Lancaster has no choice but to use violence and the ending is Scott looking over both of their dead bodies.
Yes, I see what you mean about Kirk's character. He certainly used Frankie! That was awful that Burt's character Frankie lost his brother (an early good performance by Wendell Corey) in the final shoot-out. I do like some of Kirk's early roles too. He made a good victim in Martha Ivers.
I was really charmed by the background music in I Walk Alone (sadly uncredited) by a wonderful band in the nightclub. I love their rendition of Heart and Soul and Lizabeth Scott's singing in the film. (This may have been dubbed, but was just lovely).
The first time I saw the film I really thought Lancaster would finish off Douglas. He was so filled with anger and justifiably so at his friend's betrayal, Douglas was indifferent to his friend being stuck in jail a number of years because of him.
Kristine Miller was certainly different in this film. She was going to buy off Douglas with her money (and sex), but he vacillated between both women. Of course Liz Scott's character went for Frankie.
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I saw this for the first time last year. Despite the title, I would never have gotten the genre confused because the female lead was Lizabeth Scott who died last year. She was best known for being in film noir titles. I loved it.
Great film. You would love I Walk Alone with Kirk Douglas, Liz Scott and Burt Lancaster. That one is great too with wonderful background music. Kristine Miller is in that one too.
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Romance Films on TCM
in Romance
Posted
Hi Jarrod,
Yes, I think it was the presentation of the story that affected me that way. Though it is basically good with all the elements of romance, there is an element of feeling (for me) that it could have been done differently. We know that our main characters loved each other very much and the unforeseen tragedy which strikes is devastating for Ryan's character. With that I agree. Like Dark Victory, the dying female protagonist knows and feels she has been loved.
It is not Love Story's fault, but after that we had a wave of films that progressed from swearing to other extremes. (Even a few years before that there are a few). This is different from the frankness of Sophia Loren's films or Lawrence Harvey's Room at the Top. I saw these as a young child and liked many. I watched several British films on a TV station called Cinema 9 and became a fan of them. too. They were franker about social issues, but often done in a more tactful manner. These were primarily 50's and 60's. (A Taste of Honey was another).
So I am essentially saying that one (negative) factor can open the door to others. What is merely swearing can open the door to other things that draw us away from romance.
In a small - (smile) footnote: There is a better way to express flirtation and love. Room at the Top (though frank) was enacted so brilliantly with Simone Signoret and Lawrence Harvey. We can clearly feel with the main characters; pain and regrets of the clandestine lovers. (I will not say more or give anything away and spoil it for anyone else). This film had it all; tragedy and regrets. I just watched it again recently and was even more drawn to the story. I had first seen it on TV at 11 or 12. Maybe TCM will air it one day.
So I would pick something like The Dark Angel or Random Harvest if anyone asked me about a romantic film. I'm a difficult nut to crack because I have loved the classics for so long. Two-thirds of my life I have derived a lot of happiness and pleasure from them.
But, I have to admit and respect other people's feelings and opinions. If I were to see Love Story again I might have a different feeling about it. In fact, if TCM or Fox Movies runs it I will certainly be glad to see it.
Today I feel so glad we have TCM. Now Playing is one of the best magazines on our coffee table!