MCannady1

Can't fit more songs or sticking with the 1,000 best? I like Van's music a lot too and Wild Night added on to mine. Yours sounds like a great collection too!

Sounds really fun! Got to catch it. I like Silents too. Laurel and Hardy were really hilarious.

How's this for a rainy night in So. Cal. I was in the mood for a spooky haunted house type story., so wanted to see The Old Dark House '32 again. What a great cast! And super acting too! I had seen it around Halloween again. I love this story of an assortment of people stranded at a scary house during a major thunderstorm and flash flood. IT is great to see Boris Karloff, Charles Laughton, Melvyn Doluglas and Gloria Stuart (to name a few) within one film. And we have some notable BRitish actors; namely, Ernest Thesiger, and John Dudgeon. Eva Moore who plays the lady of the house, is Jill Esmond's mother. Me with my 30's film interests had read that Jill was the first wife of Lawrence Olivier. SHe was actually quite beautiful and a good actress, I had seen her as the desperate defendant for murder in Ladies of the Jury. It turned out to be a fun comedy with Edna Mae Oliver constantly interrupting the proceedings in the courtroom. THere is one more intriguing component to this film; or I should say to the cast. I was intrigued by John Dudgeon's performance (portraying a bedridden102 year old man) who informs his unexpected guests that he is the only "normal" one there. THen he proceeds to cackle loudly and explains that his oldest son is not normal and is locked up in the house. In looking up John, I discovered he was in other films, but listed as Elspeth Dudgeon. I had figured that Elspeth could have been his wife or sister, but it seems he enjoyed playing members of the opposite sex, Hence, the feminine Christian name. He is listed in the cast of Now Voyager, but darned if I can find him!. Another interesting factor is that I recently saw a BLondie film a friend had sent me a copy of. It was Blondie Takes a VAcation. Elspeth is listed there, but the lady is clearly Gertrude Hoffman, the charming elderly neighbor on My Little Margie! As Alice in Wonderland would say, Curiouser and Curiouser! (WHen I was a kid I read the book Alice in Wonderland and did not pay any attention to that statement, though Alice encountered a lot of interesting things. At the age of 7 I had already figured out the pretend was really pretend. Also, I recall seeing the '33 film on TV. Today, though, I start to fully comprehend the statement in all respects. It is a diverse world today with a varied lot of people. This held true in the 30's and always in the world of cinema, as well.

Last night I re-watched some British films I had ordered a few (smile) years ago from Video Yesteryear. Sadly, they have been out of business for about 15 years. (I still wonder what happened to those wonderful VHS tapes - 1000's of them went to a warehouse, the manager explained when I called). IF I had them now I would have them all transferred to DVD. But I managed to order several. At $15 a tape, I chose a few. Well, last night was a Michael Redgrave night. I watched a really cute film called "Jeanie" with the cute Scottish girl, Barbara Mullen. For anyone who has not seen her in films of the 40's and 50's, she had an elfin "fey" charm as it was described in an article I had read. I think she is best known for her pivotal role in Thunder Rock with Michael Redgrave. Jeanie is a cute film with Barbara as a charming Scottish girl who is over-worked by her tyrannical father who leaves all of his money to her. She had been at his beck and call for several years and could not leave the house to get a real job. Her sisters had escaped and married. Anyway, naive and sweet, the 26 year old girl goes to Austria after hearing THe BLue Danube Waltz. SHe is charmed by the sights, but can't speak other languages. Michael Redgrave happens to be a passenger on the train she meets and he does translations for her. Soon they are going out to dinner and he tells her he is displaying his newest invention in Austria and other countries; ; a washer (like today's) and dryer! Remembering all the wash and clotheslines at home, she is intrigued. (Of course, today's women would tend to have the sentiment after Garfield's own heart - "Oh, gee".I guess they did not have them earlier). Another man (Albert Lieven) is charming and thinking she mas money, starts to move in on the friendship. The same thing happens when a flakey girl (Kay Hammond) tries to attract Michael's character. Both predictably experience jealousy and anger. Jeanie goes home to Scotland to the meager cottage and feeling very depressed, finds a man on her doorstep. IT is Michael and he has retrieved her dog she had lost in Austria. He offers her a better job than the one she is now working at as the sole servant in a dominant woman's house. She starts working at his laundry establishment, but soon finds something more to the job.... Interesting to observe that Michael was the husband of Rachel Kempson (30's and 40's actress and known for "The Captive Heart" she and Michael starred in). Their daughters were Vanessa and Lynn). Though I like the daughters who are sadly not with us either, I prefer Michael and Rachel's films.

I had not seen this version, but my daughter had. Funny thing happened when I was watching Cat People '42 a few weeks ago. MY daughter was enchanted with it. (Bear in mind that she had seen the newer one). She was so taken with Kent Smith, the "patient" husband of Irena, that she actually sat down and watched it. She does think the other one is worth watching, so I will do that too - I too am sad about David Bowie. We have lost too many celebrities already this year!

THat's right! Their songs were really relevant to life. We all have something to say! The wonderful Beatles! I remember them in the early 60's and love how they looked on Ed Sullivan Show. All of their music is on my player pretty much. My older son placed them on when I first got it, along with many photos. However, we discovered just a month a go that there is a great mid-60's song I had never heard. I got it on Amazon.com. REAL LOVE is a great song. I do like John with first wife Cynthia and later with Yoko in these pics., but feel so sad about the senseless shooting. I can't believe it has been over 30 years now. I really think the case was not handled right (in my opinion). THis guy (a horrible sociopath) should have gone by the wayside quite some time ago, but maybe the restraints of the law worked in the wrong direction there. In simulating being "crazy" this infamous creep is still going and going. IT really is a matter of justice. Even if Lennon had not been famous, the denouement of the case was very unjust. AS it is, the world lost a wonderful genius who wrote many, many songs. As a kid I was not aware of the magnitude of his attributes! Many he wrote with Paul McCartney (who had also written many great songs). THe Beatles were a wonderful icon of 20th century history.. Anything Beatles reminds me of my growing up years and they were a wonderful part of it, including the '67 Hollywood Bowl performance. When they sang "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "Yesterday" the girls went wild. Even me and my sister! This was the summer after we saw the Rolling Stones at the LA Sports Arena. THe Hollywood Bowl was packed too, but better organized. I am afraid that these four wonderful Liverpool lads did not see my sister and me. We never got up to get the autograph at the end of the concert, but we had a great time. WE were "yelled out" as well.

Oops! My error. The Leopard Man is from Black ALibi, which was changed in the movie. THe Chase was from The Black PAth of Fear. That one varied from the book as well, but not as much.

Of course the marvelous Rear Window, which is my very favorite! Another great one is No Man of Her Own '50 with Barbara Stanwyck and Lyle Bettger as the baddie. THat one was beautifully done and a must see for all! There is suspense, murder, pathos and romance - all in the course of 90 some minutes! In the film Stanwyck has the most wonderful "in-laws" you can imagine! I had never seen Phantom Lady and was also surprised when Franchot did not show up until late in the film. I loved Elisha Cook in this film. He was also great in Stranger on the Third Floor and I Wake Up Screaming. His way of eyes bulging when he was fearful and anxious made him a distinctive actor. I love all of these which I had not viewed for a long time. I love the Leopard Man and Deadline at Dawn, but it bugs me that they changed the story of THe Leopard Man - the denouement revealing the killer was quite differemt than that of the book! I do not want to spoil it for anyone who plans to read "The Black Path of Fear". THe director and script writers must have decided to change the ending - to a more acceptable one for the public of the 40's. Today they would gladly go ahead wiht it! OF course some of today's audience would not like it either.

I love Jean Simmons movies a lot. Did you ever see her in Footsteps in the Fog with Stewart Granger? She always gave a powerful performance in everything, which was greatly enhanced by her lovely voice. Whether the film is Angel Face or The Clouded Yellow, Jean is always wonderful to see.

Thank you! Will try to catch that one too.

I too am a Jean Simmons and Gregory Peck fan. Regarding Ida, I have always been her fan. I saw The Big Knife a few weeks ago and it was both frightening and entertaining. Ida was a great actress and later a very good director. She really shone in all of her 40's and 50's performances. It was only in the last few years that I discovered Ida was in some great 30's films too. I read that she was very youn when she first performed before the cameras.. One great 30's film of note is from a Kipling story, The Light That Failed with Ronald Colman and Ida. She plays a resentful charwoman who works for an artist and his friend. Mistakenly thinking the artist had turned his friend away from her, she takes revenge on him in a cruel way. Later his forgiveness and the denouement of the story is quite touching.

Well, I just watched Phantom Lady, a great Film Noir with Franchot Tone, Alan Curtis and Ella Raines. The suspense is practically nail-biting as Ella's character launches a desperate investigation of her own to find a witness to provide an alibi to a murder. The story is greatly enhanced by the wonderful and understated Thomas Gomez as the investigator and Elisha Cooke as a possible witnesss. Both provided a great performance. Another great masterpiece from the pen of Cornell Woolrich, I found out. I had seen many including The Leopard Man and Deadline at Dawn, but had never caught this one. Really well-recommended,

Me too! I am going to look for the song. There are so many singers and groups yet to discover, as you were saying.

Funny little anecdote. In the late 60's my sister and I went to the Rolling Stones concert at the L.A. Sports Arena. At the time it was an outdoor set-up. We had good seats - about 14 rows back. There were of course many behind us and on a tiered level. Once they started Get Off OF My Cloud the girls were screaming and going mad (like at the Elvis concerts we hear about). Well, these girls were really glad to be there with our autograph books. Toward the end of the concert when they sang "As Tears Go By", Mick appeared visibly nervous. At the end of the song he happened to make eye contact and gestured for us to come up to the stage, Well, I wasn't sure if my sister had seen this, as there was pandemonium now and shoving and yellling on all sides - all having a great time - lol. I started for the stage, book in hand. Suddenly, someone knocked me down and stepped on me! The next thing I knew my sister and another girl pulled me back up. By that time the Stones had disappeared and were just glimpsed driving away in a limo. What an experience at 15! But concerts can be dangerous and this one had been more difficult to control than the Hollywood Bowl. After that the guards with billy sticks were guiding everyone out of the area. IT turned out my sister had not seen my little "invitation" to come up to the stage. She was more concerned with me suddenly disappearing! In that crowd one could get lost -- and worse! Today I still have the LP they handed out for free, "Decembers Children", which is my favorite. As Tears Go By and Blue Turns to Grey are the loveliest songs on there, I think. I do have them on my player, but my record players are all history.

I agree. Not exactly a Western, but I do admire Lizabeth Scott in Desert Fury, which I failed to mention earlier. Mary Astor is very good in this film as well as John Hodiak and Wendell Corey. When Liz turns one boyfriend fdown for another (who appears gentle but has hidden violence) there was sure to be trouble! The beautiful color desert scenes are lovely to behold, as well as a scene in Mary's house which appears to be a picture window that has a built-in terrarium with lovely blooming flowers and beautiful cactus plants. If I lived in a desert locale, I would want such a window too!

I know what you mean about Patric Knowles. I think they do that for a certain variance in films. In The Mystery of Marie Roget Patric assists with the murder investigation and seems always very reserved, .... In an earlier film with Lucille Ball from the 30's called Beauty for the Asking, he plays a handsome guy who passes up and jilts Lucille (a beauty operator) for another woman who has a lot of money, played to perfection by the reserved Frieda Inescourt. Later when he is married to the rich girl, she discovers his past and both plan to enact revenge on this Don Juan. Not that simple! In The Wolf Man (my favorite with the great Claude Rains and marvelous Lon Chaney, Jr., ) Patric quietly stands out with a subdued personality. I too love the scene with Olivia and Errol in Robin Hood. Her beautiful smile is unforgettable and Errol is supremely handsome and debonair. Claude Rains is great in this film and I love to spot Alan Hale in his role there as well.

My sister and I watched lots of Little Rascals and Jackie Cooper was so cute in them with that lower lip trembling with emotions. As an adult he was still very attractive and it was part of his smile. (I loved him in the 30's film THe Champ where he expressed his grief at his dad's impending passing and telling him how proud he was of him. He was also great in Treasure Island telling off the pirates, who eventually became his friends. Later we spotted him on Twilight Zone. He was distinctive in everything). OF course the wonderful Uncle Fester from the Addams Family. Our dad used to say, There's Jackie Coogan, but we had never seen him in earlier things. Later when they got the Silent films going with the right camera speeds, we were able to enjoy Jackie's serious films as a child. In the 60's and 70's I read that they could not broadcast the Silents for us to watch, as they could not achieve the right camera speed. Hence, Fractured Flickers which often showed quite a collage of Silents. They would show a patchwork of moments from the great silents. As a kid I had the impression that they were mostly comedies; Charlie Chaplin's funny walk, etc. But some of the collages showed lovely women like Helene Costello weeping. In the 90's to the present I have learned a lot about the Silents and have come to regard them highly too. Jackie Coogan was a great part of that earlier time.

I like Golden Girls too. My daughter and I like to watch them starting from the beginning. We like all of these ladies, but especially admire Estelle Getty as Sophia. We never get tired of them either, but branched off to watch other things. I get back to my "old movies" and she to watching newer films and series. Soon we will be back on track. We just love Herb Edelman as Stan, Bea Arthur's errant ex. Betty White is amazing, hanging in at 94! What a talented lady. Each has a unique personality; the "wayward" Blanche, the "naive and silly" Rose, the forceful and yet inwardly soft Dorothy. Last but not least, is the outspoken Sophia with her zingers and one-liners. What's not to love? Next week we will be back on target in between watching Unsolved Mysteries and our favorite movies.

I was listening to Van's great music the other day; Brown Eyed Girl (great one), Here Comes the Night and Gloria. My hubby goes by and says : "You're hearing more of the Rolling Stones today". I said no, that was Van Morisson with Them. Come to think of it it was not surprising as some of it sounded like Mick Jagger singing. Funny blooper, but I don't mind as long as he adds them to my player from time to time. I now have about 4000 songs! I have such a wide range of music from the 50's through the 70's. It's fun visiting You Tube and I have discovered some great songs I had never heard. So, like the beat, the list goes on.....

He was very talented and left a unique legacy with his music. I remember Wooden Ships and think I heard the AIrplane's version.

You did great! No eye rolls from me. I would be all thumbs messing it up maybe. I had forgotten this song., I really liked it. Sad about Paul.

From my high school days. I really liked their unique sound.

Thanks from me too, Top Billed!

I like Ricardo Cortez in every film - the 30's through 50's, I am also a Jean Muir fan, so was pleased with the schedule on TCM. I really had not heard of her until I received a Kay Francis film not long ago in which Jean had a great role as well.

They do seem to go sparingly with those at TCM just as they get accessible to the public. By coincidence, I /just ordered the Warner Archives film The Mad Genius and had taped Hat, Coat and Glove several years ago. To my knowledge they have not been on again. If you have trouble finding them on-line I would be glad to make a copy.