professorecho
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Posts posted by professorecho
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Last week a ten year old daughter of a friend asked me why they don't make movies with just one color. I leaped to my silent film collection on DVD and showed her a segment of the 1925 German film WAXWORKS. I showed her the first story from this anthology film, an Arabian Nights type story, with scenes colored exclusively in gold, blue, green and even purple. Incredibly, she was awed by it all and once she "got it," that there was no sound, it really made an impression on her. I was fairly shocked given that she's only ten, and when I introduced her to Chaplin the following week, she said he was okay, but she wanted to see more of WAXWORKS. A German expressionist silent film winning out over Chaplin?! I have great hope for her future!
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Shockeddaddy is right about the awful Oscar month on TCM. It's the one month out of the year I hardly watch the network at all. Either I've already seen it all or I just don't care what or who won what with those silly, self-serving Academy Awards. Here I thought we'd luck out this year with it being in the short month of February, but they wound up extending it into March anyway!
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That's what I get for not proofreading! Of course, the title of this thread should have read WHO WOULD YOU MOST HAVE LIKED TO SEE IN A RACY PRE-CODE? Reason for this omission? I had a bad AMC acid flashback.
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Like previous folks on this board I'm sorry to see it's become a virtual ghost town. Several times I've been tempted to respond to a post only to then see it was left over a year ago. My favorite time period in film history are the pre-codes of the 20's-early 30's and when the code began to break down in the 60's. I'm always looking for pre-code fans to share favorites and talk aesthetics of that particular, fascinating period in cinema, so if anyone out there is still interested in the subject, feel free to look me up via this space.
Since there were so many actors and actresses who came along after the code and maybe were a bit past their prime when the barriers were breaking thirty years later, I would like to know if there are any of these people you would have enjoyed seeing in a racy pre-code film.
Two actresses I would have loved to experience in, shall we say, roles with more lace and slink, are Ann Sheridan and Linda Darnell. How about you?
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No Classics, I did not mean to perpetuate this thread out of any desire to see it deteriorate into even more unpleasantness. I just wanted to express that these subjects CAN be discussed without personal animosities surfacing, though perhaps human nature will ultimately prove me wrong on this.
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Thanks Stella. I also post at DVD TALK and they use a similar system when an ending is given away, a black bar and you drag your mouse over it. I wish it could be applied here. And don't think me so humorless that I can't handle sarcastic responses to my posts, my last overly-sensitive take notwithstanding.
Thanks for welcoming me! You are the first one to do so and I appreciate it. I've already posted elsewhere that I think TCM is the greatest network in the history of television, so you're probably not going to see a lot of moaning and whining from me about their programming practices, something I am wont to do on other boards quite frequently. However, it does seem sometimes like my lot in life is consistently encountering things that irritate me, so we'll see how long this Pollyanna mood lasts. Speaking of POLLYANNA, I just watched it recently on DVD for the first time since I was a kid and I really liked it. There is an element in the story called "The Glad Game," which says you should strive to find the good of something, no matter how bad it seems. I've been trying to play that game ever since I saw the film, but damn, it's hard!
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Antar, you better go give me holy hell over on the other GIVE AWAY ENDINGS post I so redundantly started elsewhere because I lost my sense of humor there as well. Reasons for this? Well, it's a word that begins with C and ends with pated. Though no offense was meant when I referred to the "regulars" here!
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I'm sorry if I seem to be coming on too strong with this issue. I truly do despise political correctness in every form, even when its intentions don't bear bitter fruit. I agree with the poster below who labels political correctness as "ridiculously fake, forced and transparent." It's when a network like TV LAND will consistently run "Black History Month" commercials extoling the contributions of blacks in television history, but never show any of the programs they are referring to! And I'm of Swedish/Italian descent, but does anyone call me a Swedish/Italian American? Of course not. Which is why I don't call anyone living in this country legally anything other than an American.
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Okay, Antar, you're right. Still haven't gotten a feel for everyone's sense of humor yet.
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Well, pardon my laziness because I did not read through the whole IRISH ROSE thread or others to see that most of this topic has already been discussed. I'm new here and was looking for interesting responses on the subject, which, apparently, have all been given. Would that this were truly such a black and white issue away from the boards (no pun intended) and could be settled as smoothly as it seems to be here. I'll read through such previous threads more closely next time.
For what it's worth, I would love for someone to show a watermelon eating, jiving, thick lipped cartoon character to a black child without explaining its historical context. Political correctness? I call it education. Put your head in the sand and think because something was made in a different time it can be so readily accepted in and of itself today. Yes, for intelligent people who know history and already understand its context. But not everyone is as apparently intelligent as the people who post here. It's not being politically correct, which I abhor, to present anything from the past, regardless of its potential offensiveness, without an explanation. It's called responsibility. Thanks for reading.
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As George Raft said in SOME LIKE IT HOT: "Big Joke."
It's too bad the oh so kind and considerate "regulars" of these boards can't even agree that there is some validity in not having a film's ending arbitrarily exposed.
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I believe some type of SPOILER warning is a good idea. In the two examples I mentioned of endings being given away, they were not in a scholarly discussion of the films, but just thrown out there as if everyone already knew. I don't think that's constructive and claiming that everyone who posts on these boards has probably seen every movie anyway is a sorry excuse for being so rudely presumptuous. I work as a film historian and I am not ashamed to admit that there are many, many movies I have yet to see.
Incidentally, I posted the same message on every board so that one board's regulars wouldn't think they were being singled out.
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It's okay to feel nostalgic over the "old" AMC; after all, for many years they were the only game in town and many of us saw numerous films for the first time on that channel. I actually remember back in 1983 before they were called AMC. The channel was called MOVIETIME and showed the same two movies twice in a single evening, then signed off!
Once TCM came on the air there was no question that AMC was the lesser channel of the two. The majority of the films they showed over the years were from RKO and FOX and even then, their choices were limited. They repeated the same movies endlessly. Bob Dorian, while probably a very nice man, often had trouble reading the cue cards and never seemed all that knowledgeable when he tried to wing it without them. I'm sorry, wear rose colored glasses if you wish, and bemoan AMC's current sorry state, but NEVER think they were in any way, shape or form as good or better a channel than TCM.
Rather than have the old AMC revived, I would love for TCM to add a second channel.
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A couple of people on the Warren William thread on the PRE-CODE board did not show any hesitation in giving away endings to films in their enthusiastic discussion of a particular title. Though I had already seen the films in question, I beg of all posters on these boards to refrain from giving away endings to movies. Let people experience the films for themselves. Thanks.
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A couple of people on the Warren William thread on the PRE-CODE board did not show any hesitation in giving away endings to films in their enthusiastic discussion of a particular title. Though I had already seen the films in question, I beg of all posters on these boards to refrain from giving away endings to movies. Let people experience the films for themselves. Thanks.
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A couple of people on this thread have not shown any hesitation in giving away endings to films in their enthusiastic discussion of a particular title. Though I had already seen the films in question, I beg of all posters on these boards to refrain from giving away endings to movies. Let people experience the films for themselves. Thanks.
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Just let it be remembered that no ethnic or religious or political group has a monopoly on stupidity. When any group is guilty of censorship, the world on the whole suffers.
Film is indeed an art form and touches us in so many ways that I would never want to discourage any discussions that may result from such inspiration, on these boards or anywhere. There is more to the history of film than just who starred in what. A thread like this, if it avoids personal attacks, can be both healthy and educational and I for one have found it fascinating.
But let us not also forget that the movies are a business and often one must approach them that way, if only to keep your ardent point-of-view somewhat tempered. I was reminded of this when I saw a Reuters'news headline this past weekend about DAWN OF THE DEAD making more money in its opening weekend than Mel Gibson's THE PASSION: "ZOMBIES BEAT CHRIST!"
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Some of this has already been covered in the "WILD IRISH ROSE" thread, but rather than have this very important topic get lost in there, I'm bringing it up anew.
Last year FOX MOVIE CHANNEL suspended showing any CHARLIE CHAN or MR. MOTO films because Asian groups complained. I understand people being upset about some of this, but you can't change history by erasing it. The minute you start doing that you run the risk of such stereotyping happening all over again. That is the double edged sword of censorship and political correctness. Some old shows, like AMOS AND ANDY, no matter how well made they were, are probably a little too extreme to ever earn a regular broadcast slot on television again, but there's no reason why such shows or films can't be released on home video and people can have the choice whether to buy it or not.
The idea is to present vintage films which might have potentially offensive material in their proper CONTEXT, clearly illustrate that they were made at another time and give some background as to their history. They deserve to be seen and if all it merits is a brief introduction, it's worth it.
Joseph Stalin used to take old photographs in history books and official records and excise images he found offensive. Everytime Disney cuts out a scene of a cartoon character smoking a cigarette or a thick lipped African-American caricature, they are no better than Stalin. It's all about history and context, which should be consistently explored and explained, not hidden.
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You have got to be kidding me.... AMC was NEVER as good of a channel as TCM, let alone a better one. The majority of the films they showed over the years were from RKO and FOX and even then, their choices were limited. They repeated the same movies endlessly. Bob Dorian, while probably a very nice man, often had trouble reading the cue cards and never seemed all that knowledgeable when he tried to wing it without them. I'm sorry, wear rose colored glasses if you wish, and bemoan AMC's current sorry state, but NEVER think they were in any way, shape or form as good or better a channel than TCM.
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TCM is the greatest network in the history of television. I have seen films on TCM I thought I would never see in my lifetime and films I didn't' even know existed. It is a dream channel come true. That they are committed to showing films in their proper aspect ratio, uncut and without commercials is sublime. I am no pushover when it comes to being satisfied with something, but I see very little room for improvement with the way TCM operates. Show me a person who nitpicks every perceived flaw in TCM and I'll show you a person who doesn't understand anything about television or the history of filmmaking and who is, quite simply, a curmudgeon to be avoided.
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Paty, you aren't kidding about Clara Bow in CALL HER SAVAGE. Was it cold on the set or was she just happy to see Gilbert Roland?
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My question is: WHAT ISN'T LIKE A BUNUEL FILM WITH HOCKEY?
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Leo, you'll be happy to know that several DVD box sets of ABBOTT AND COSTELLO films are planned for imminent release.
As for TCM's late night or odd hour scheduling of movies, doesn't everyone at this point own a VCR or a DVR where you can set the timer to record whatever you want and watch it whenever you want? It's the 21st Century, folks!
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Lizzy, the important thing to remember is that you don't have to watch every classic film right away or become an expert to enjoy them. Relax, catch your breath, take your time and try to sample a lot of different titles, not just the established classics like CASABLANCA and GONE WITH THE END. TCM gives you more of an opportunity to explore a wide range of vintage movies, more than DVDs will, but ideally you should use both to experience them and appreciate them, not just learn about them. You have time for all that. Right now, while your enthusiasm and interest are so fired up, my advice would be to just sit back and watch whatever is the next movie coming up on TCM or grab the first DVD off the rack in the CLASSICS section, without reading the back first! Don't burn yourself out on trying to see THE GREATEST MOVIES OF ALL TIME. Just think: You've got over a hundred years of film to explore. Just like today, when people went to the movies during the so-called Golden Age of Hollywood, they didn't just see the BEST movies that were out there, they saw everything. That's how you should approach old movies. Experience them all.
And please post in here often with tales of all your discoveries, good and bad! I envy you and this whole new world you are about to embark on. For me it was when I was 14 years old and I watched my first James Cagney movie. I've been hooked ever since.
Talking Silents
in Silent
Posted
I'm probably in the minority on this one, but very often, I find the music on many silent films to be a distraction. If they primarily use a synthesizer or a solo piano, I tend to get bored, less so if it's an organ, but that's just a personal preference. Orchestral scores are the best, of course, and I greatly enjoy "modern" takes if it's done with skill and imagination, such as the TCM composer's competition or The Alloy Orchestra. Robert Israel is a very good composer of silent scores, but too many others have no idea what they're doing. Scores tend to be way too somber or too comical and always so repetitive. Fortunately for me, three of the venues which screen a lot of silents here in L.A. are equipped with organ accompaniment. At home, I tend to be a night owl and often watch silents in the wee hours, when there is no extraneous noise to contend with. If it's an abysmal score, I'll simply turn down the sound and watch it au naturale. You would be amazed at how compelling it can be watching a silent film in total silence.