film lover 293

I see Sepiatone's point though too--Duryea would almost make sense spouting some of the nonsense earlier in the film--but I can't see Duryea breaking down Dominique's door--you're both right.

LornaHansonForbes--First, no offense taken, I have to disagree with you; Peck takes acting chances in "Spellbound" (1945), which are now obvious psychiatry but were cutting edge in the 40's; as you noted in "The Paradine Case" he takes chances: some work and some don't (his English accent, for one). His comedic films were an attempt to stretch his range (Roman Holiday, 1953: Man With a Million, 1955 (British); Designing Woman, 1957). Use of his box office appeal helped get some financially risky projects greenlighted ( John Huston's film Moby Dick, 1956; On The Beach, 1959: Behold A Pale Horse (1964) (scheduled for 1/4/16). He should get credit for this business achievement, IMHO. For "On The Beach" is a classic, & the scenes between Gregory Peck & Ava Gardner are heartbreaking--& I don't use this term lightly. JMO.

OK--Guilty as charged with snickering and laughing over "Unconquered" (1947) & "The Fountainhead" (1949). In my defense, let me say that there was considerable discord on the set of Unconquered: the reason I cited was that Cooper looked unhappy and trapped while acting love scenes with Paulette Goddard; & if half what I've read of DeMille's & Goddard's feuding director/actress tales are true, I would have looked trapped as well (read Scott Eyman's biography of DeMille or "The Films of Cecil B. DeMille" for more details). I love Boris Karloff; he was apparently a fine man & a gentleman & I love his performances, Except for his performance as a British accented Seneca chieftain in this film--his air of general menace cuts the howls of laughter down to snickers; film also has less-than good script. To "The Fountainhead" (1949): film is generally acknowledged as a "camp classic". I so agree with that. With the overwrought script, overheated plot & direction by King Vidor, Cooper And Patricia Neal come off as looking ridiculous. In film's favor, a good musical score has to be noted, & Cooper & Neal fell in love during filming--& that's visible onscreen, which I think takes the edge off the idiocy of the plot. I've never made fun of Billy Wilder's films, not that I remember--if I took a shot at Gary Cooper, I apologize for offending you. Finally--I agree that Cooper was an under-rated actor, with a subtle sense of comedy. Let me add two films to your list: "Along Came Jones" (1945) in which Cooper spoofs his image--some like the film, some hate it. "The Story of Dr. Wassell" (1944), in which Cooper overcomes lousy direction by C.B. DeMille & a worse script to make a human being out of a cardboard character. Cooper Was an excellent actor--always underrated--whatever the vehicle, whether great or ridiculous. Yes, I take a shot at ridiculous films he appeared in--but I try to limit my shots to the directors, not the actors trapped in the film. If I have offended, I apologize. Cooper is Missed.

I have to agree with Bogie56 on one point--there are lots of repeats. Of the three times "In The Good Old Summertime" (1949) is to be shown, two are during daylight hours; so I'll skip the showing that would have me up to 5:00 a.m. The That's Entertainment repeats I don't mind.

AndreaDoria--Films that have Kathryn Grayson that are scheduled later in Dec.: get ready to record them, TCM scheduled all the Dec. 16th films after midnight: if you have to stay up to catch them Anchors Aweigh is the best of the three, IMHO. Anchors Aweigh (1945)--scheduled for Dec. 16th., 12:45 a.m. It Happened in Brooklyn (1947)--scheduled for Dec.16th. The Kissing Bandit (1948)--scheduled for Dec. 16th That's Entertainment III (1994) scheduled for noon, Dec. 19th--she does two(?) numbers in this documentary series entry of MGM's greatest musical numbers. Enjoy the films

It Happened in Brooklyn

Shadow of a Doubt?

Good guess MarshaKatz, but you're thinking of too high quality films; think of films "so bad they're good". Hint: Think of the Amazon River before 1950.

Wednesday, Dec. 2nd: All times E.S.T. 5:30 p.m. "Madeleine"--(1950)--Ann Todd plays a woman suspected of poisoning her lover; history buffs will remember the verdict. 1:45 a.m. "Can-Can"--(1960)--Uneven Cole Porter musical some dislike; I enjoy it for the good parts--Is too long, but worth recording, IMHO.

TCM has shown "Twilight's Last Gleaming" (1977) before; last time a "User Rating" was posted was in August 2011. TLG's director was Robert Aldrich, whose movies were always violent, but not pointlessly so. "Ulzana's Raid" (1972) is another of his films' I'd like to see again; TLG & "Ulzanas Raid" both have a anti-Vietnam undercurrent, which may have something to do with the rare showings of these films. JMO. Welcome to the Boards, TP Alexander.

Missed "Keeping Company" The Flirting Widow--Rarely shown Basil Rathbone, not great, but not as bad as Maltin says. The Sisters--Soap Opera with 1906 San Francisco earthquake & Bette Davis & Errol Flynn as best points. Four Daughters--haven't seen it. Pride & Prejudice--excellent MGM adaptation--a fun watch. Seven Sweethearts--Musical is Sticky Sweet. Fiddler On The Roof--Long, but an excellent score. Tonight--after First Ma &Pa Kettle movie, Big drop-off in film quality, IMHO. Am unfamiliar with "Peppers" series.

From the poster cigarjoe posted; at the bottom of the poster in small print, the credit "Cinematography by Ray Dennis Steckler"; director of "The Incredibly Mixed-Up Creatures Who Stopped Living And Became Zombies (1964). Now I want to see "The Worlds' Greatest Sinner"!

speedracer5--You really should give "Anchors Aweigh" (1945) a chance; I know Kathryn Grayson is co-starred & film is overlong, but this film is the one where Gene Kelly did a dance number with Jerry the Mouse ("The Worry Song"). It is still fun for adults to watch--when I saw it in 1974, (I was ten) in TE 1 on theatrical release, I thought it was one of the most amazing & charming things I'd ever seen. Give AA one chance--at least till Gene & Jerry have finished their number (it's not at the very end of the film, but near the middle). One final thing--AA won the Oscar for Best Score of 1945. Thought you might be interested. About "The Kissing Bandit", which also costarred KG--Ubercamp (I don't have the two dot symbol to go over the U on my keyboard). Has one excellent dance number with Cyd Charisse, Ann Miller, & Ricardo Montalban.

MovieCollectorOH & Dargo--You both are so on target about "The Big Bus" (1976); I haven't seen it since 1979 or so, when it was a "Movie of the Week"--I still remember Stockard Channing. PrinceSaliano--an enthusiastic second to your recommendations of "Thirteen Women" (1932) & "Thunder Rock" (1942)--the only two on your list I've seen. Two of my own--"Koyaanisqatsi" (1982)--Title is from the Hopi language, meaning "earth out of balance (if my definition is not exactly right, I'm close). Indescribable film shows & describes how man has hurt the Earth & put it "out of balance". Philip Glass score is jarring but fits film. Excellent time-lapse photography, among other photographic techniques. If anyone missed it a few months back--"New Moon" (1930)--MGM junked the script, kept all ten songs, & crammed them into seventy-odd minutes of film. At three to three & 1/2 minutes per song, that's roughly--two & 1/2 to 3 minutes between song cues. The stars were New York Metropolitan Opera stars Grace Moore and Lawrence Tibbett,making their bids for Hollywood stardom; so sound problems be ******, they could sing Well & be Heard, without microphones.

"The Cat and the Fiddle" (1934)--Ramon Novarro & Jeanette MacDonald star in one of MGM's last Pre-Code operettas--Pre-Code and Post-Code MacDonald are two different people. MGM spent major money on this (over $800,000), intending it to be a blockbuster. They even defied the censors and refused to make demanded cuts in the film.The film was released three(?) months before the Code went into effect. The film succeeded with the critics & in the cities--but did next to no business elsewhere. MGM lost around $100,000, but charming and melodic film endures (Novarro had a good tenor voice). I don't Think this is a Lost film--I certainly hope it is restored and in TCM's library.

Murder He Says

Best line in this "disaster" film is uttered by Alan Hale Sr.: "She's okay! It's only a coma!" Name the film, year of release, & directors' name.

Correct, Terrence1. Thompson absolutely wipes Astaire off the screen in their "Clap Yo Hands" duet from the 1926 Broadway show "Oh, Kay!". "Funny Face" is one of the late 1950's best musicals. It's your thread.

"I Love Melvin" (1953)--From Debbie Reynolds' opening number that starts the film ("A Lady Loves") to Donald O'Connor's dancing, this is a very enjoyable MGM musical that is a fun watch. Reynolds and O'Connor radiate energy and goodwill. Fun musical that was overlooked at the time & is still not given its' due.

jamesjazzguitar--I replied to posts #8-#4.

I will third the thanks, and especially want to see the documentary, as Satyajit Ray is a filmmaker whose works I haven't seen.

Deleted to get thread back on topic.

According to four Google sources, "A Swell Looking Babe". Edit: Go to imdb, search "Hit Me", scroll down to first user review, three-four sentences in--there's the fifth confirmation of the source work.

DownGoesFrazier--I agree; the "Paint Your Wagon" must include (I think--I can't account for them otherwise) Lee Marvin's sales for the novelty hit "I Was Born Under A Wand'rin Star" (Marvin's singing was SO awful, it made the record a minor hit?!) There are two well sung songs in the film--skip it & get the Broadway soundtrack, if you're interested. As for the other films: "Fiddler On The Roof" (1971) was the only major hit I listed--I Know it made money. "Thoroughly Modern Millie" (1967) was the last musical to make money before musicals started flopping (excepting Barbra Streisand's Funny Girl and Best Picture winner Oliver!, both in 1968). "On A Clear Day You Can See Forever" Barely made it's money back or incurred a loss of maybe one million--acceptable (I'm Guessing) to a mogul when other musicals are dropping 20 million dollars or more at the box-office. ("Star" (1968), "Goodbye Mr. Chips" (1969)--GMC dropped so much money Wikipedia doesn't have the grosses for it "Camelot"--I'll go with LornaHansonForbes's numbers--I remember reading from more than one source that "Camelot" was a "financial disappointment" (fancy term for it made its' money back, but less than one million dollars profit). Sorry to be late getting back to you, DownGoes Frazier. LHF--My exact feelings about film of Paint Your Wagon--except fellow should have been wearing earmuffs.

A question--Do the "Perils of Pauline" serials still exist?? I'm not referring to the 1947 Betty Hutton movie.They would be a delight to watch (I think).