scottman1932

Hey Snorky, Nice picture of Fay Wray!

Yea TCM! CABIN IN THE COTTON is finally being shown again. It's been a long time. This is an excellent Bette Davis, Richard Barthelmess film. TCM will be showing in on April 5th. Thank you TCM!

An excellent film. Very advanced for an early talkie.

Like others who have already posted I also like IKIRU, HIGH AND LOW, UGETSU, HIDDEN FORTRESS, THRONE OF BLOOD, RAN, KWAIDON, I also liked A STORY OF FLOATING WEEDS (1934), NO REGRETS FOR OUR YOUTH (1946), SCANDAL (1950), RED BEARD (1965). TOKYO DRIFTER (1966), and The Samurai trilogy.

Jeff, You'll like THE RING. It's a really good Hitchcock silent. I have it as part of a boxed set that Lionsgate Entertainment put out a couple of years ago that includes THE RING, (1927), THE MANXMAN (1929), MURDER (1930), THE SKIN GAME (1931) and RICH AND STRANGE (1932). THE MANXMAN is his last silent. All of the prints in this 3 disc set are the best I've seen for any of these titles. The two silents have piano scores that work well for the films.

I'm not sure if all of these predate the release of BOTN, but REGENERATION (1915), THE CHEAT (1915), and A FOOL THERE WAS (1915) are all available on DVD.

Oy! Such company! Happy Birthday, Ed!

It is sad the way AMC degraded into what it is today. I miss the film preservation festivals they had each year, and would trot out some really neat and rare films.

That's good news about BARDLEYS... As for A GIRL'S FOLLY, I really enjoyed this flim i love the scene where they are all watching Doris Kenyon's screen test. They never show you her acting, but the growing look of dismay on everyone but Dois Kenyon is one for the books.

Nice Stuff!

For more in-depth information on the WD Taylor murder, do a Google search for "taylorology". There is a site by that name that has done some very good reseach on the matter (as well as other info on other actors from the silent era. Also, the Treasures III DVD boxed set includes THE SOUL OF YOUTH, an excellent film directed by William Desmond Taylor.

Most of the systems for sound on disk were not very reliable, so the public was not sold on the idea. Most people in the "silent era" did not think of them as silent films. When they went to the theatre to see a film, they were just going to the "movies". Lee DeForrest invented a pretty good sound on film system in the early 1920s, but did not have the financial backing of any of the studios to make much of an impact. I have seen a few of his "phonfilms", and they are not bad, mostly musical stuff (Eddie Cantor, Sissle & Blake, etc), not all that different from the Vitaphone shorts that would be made a few years later.

This is a really fun movie. I DVR'd it that last time it was shown.

I certainly wouldn't forget these either... TROUBLE IN PARADISE ONE HOUR WITH YOU CITY STREETS BOMBSHELL THE MOUTHPIECE THE DARK HORSE NIGHT WORLD BLESSED EVENT I'VE GOT YOUR NUMBER

I first saw Ms. Brent in Josef von Sternberg's THE LAST COMMAND (1928). She is very good in that one too! I have not seen many of her talkies, ads they were made for Paramount, and Universal has not seen fit to release them to TV or DVD.

Thanks TCM for showing this pre-code gem again. One of my favorite early Cagney performances (next to PICTURE SNATCHER). Did anyone else enjoy this one?

I have some Irish recordings from the 1920's I can copy and include with your CD package if you like.

Many happy returns of the day!

RILEY THE COP is a really fun movie. I like it a lot.

The same can be said for A WOMAN OF AFFAIRS (1928). It was taken from the novel THE GREEN HAT, which was on the Hays "do not film" list. MGM made a few story adjustments,and was able to make the film.

"It goes out of synch because they cut away parts that had too much disintegration. They really have to lower their standards...we can all stand it I'm sure!" If they used the Photoplay restoration of this film, it would be more complete.

"In 1934, the evil Hays Code was created, which required all filmmakers to obtain a certificate of approval before they could release their movie. Most films were released with a Code certificate. However, many films were released WITHOUT code approval." This is not quite true. The production code was around since 1930. It was not strictly enforced until July 1,1934, when the amended production code took effect. The new version was created by Joseph Breen, who presided over the Production Code Administration , which replaced the Studio Relations Committee (the old governing body that made the cuts in films). Joseph Breen was part of the Catholic Legion of Decency which after films like RED HEADED WOMAN (1932),CONVENTION CITY (1933), BABY FACE (1933) and THE STORY OF TEMPLE DRAKE (1933) were released in spite of the production code of 1930. I would recommend reading Mark Viera's excellent book on the pre-code era "SIN IN SOFT FOCUS". Also, a film could not be released without a production code seal, if a producer tired to do so, it could not be shown in a MPPDA (Motion Picture Producers Distributtors Association) theater, which was over 90% of all theaters at the time (as most were owned by the major studios).

..and THE STORY OF TEMPLE DRAKE (1933) too!

Niki, Criterion has a couple of precodes that you will want to rent or pruchase: TROUBLE IN PARADISE (1932) Ernst Lubitsch film. Lot's of great dialogue and some very sexy scenes too. LOVE ME TONIGHT (1932) Rouben Mamoulian film. Again lots of snappy dialogue and Jeannette MacDonald looks very hot in this one. Myna Loy is in this one too.

I can't say that I am a fan of Ms. Rio. The two score I heard her perform (for THE GARDEN OF EDEN and for QUEEN KELLY) were so dredful, I disposed of the VHS tapes. Granted that awful electric organ was part of the problem, but she also was not very creative with the scoring of these films either.