blonderbbt
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Posts posted by blonderbbt
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ayresorchids, your analysis of Fred's younger dancing partners is right on the money. He never portrayed himself as a studmuffin - his on-screen "touch" was too light and debonair for that.
Cyd Charisse, although much younger than Astaire, looked good with him because she never had a girlish appeal - she always looked like a mature, beautiful woman.
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gingerrogers25, you've hit on one of my fave topics and pet peeves. Why Hollywood saw fit - and still sees fit -to have decades older men playing the love interests of much younger women intrigues me.
Remember Clark Gable oppposite Carroll Baker in - help me here? - BUT NOT FOR ME? She looked young enough to be his granddaughter.
Gary Cooper looked almost sad, bless 'em, opposite Audrey Hepburn in LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON. Chevalier, playing her dad, looked more vigorous and would have been a bit more believable as an older, more wordly love interest.
Did the leading ladies get the same treatment? Oh, no.
The glamourous Claudette Colbert got to play the mother of a grown daughter in IMITATION OF LIFE at the old age of 30.
And the gorgeous pistol, Greer Garson, playing the mother of Richard Ney in MRS. MINIVER who, as we film nuts know, wasn't that much younger - and they got marrried after that! You go Greer.
But justice sometimes is served. Who gives Michael Caine his comeuppance in ALFIE? The then still sleek but definitely middle aged Shelley Winters.
That's why I love movies...
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Clifton Webb and his mother Maybelle.
No, I'm not implying an improper relationship between the two. Reportedly, he never went anyplace without her, adored her more than anyone else, and considered himself an orphan (in his '60's) when she died. Touching, yes, but bizarre.
Nevertheless, their devotion to one another was unshakable.
Blonde Rabbit
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Well, as one strong female to another, no one welcomed me either, so I'm now welcoming myself.
WELCOME BLONDE RABBIT!
And welcome to you too, my dear therealfuster.
Let's rattle these boards in a positive constructive, yes, fun manner. We have a whole century of filmmaking to discuss and not a moment to waste.
Blonde Rabbit
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Re Joan and Tone, oh let's go there! The stories I could tell.
In the interest of respectability, instead, an amusing aside. One of the Algonquin Round Table took credit for the following remark. After the divorce, he/she announced that Miss Joan was now "footloose and Franchot free."
Blonde Rabbit
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Just thought of two more. And both redheads!
Lucille Ball in her RKO/MGM days was so beautiful she was nicknamed "Technicolor Tessie."
Kay Kendall, the brillian British comedienne and wife of Rex Harrison, another beautiful woman who could play comedy well.
Blonde Rabbit
(well, strawberry blonde)
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therealfuster, you make excellent points. To me the saving grace of IAWL is the darkness that balances out the famous CapraCorn. As in many films, the smaller gemlike performances (such as the great Beulah Bondi..thank you for mentioning her!) move the film along.
Still I found myself looking at my watch for many a stretch.
Good movie it is. One of the best of all time? Not on my desert island.
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Venerados, my bad. I used "actor" in a gender neutral sense and should have been more specific. Apologies!
Therealfuster, Claire Trevor and Virginia O'Brien were both wonderful also. I think today's audience would enjoy Ms. O'Brien for her bluesy voice and her deadpan, sly delivery.
Blonde Rabbit
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Now that poor Archie Leach has been dissected - and I'm a huge fan of the gentleman - may I delicately broach another film I find overrated?
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE.
Perhaps it was burnout, I thought, from the time in the '70's-'80's when it was in public domain and broadcast round the clock on virtually every channel in existence.
I watched it again last year.
I like Jimmy Stewart's performance. I enjoyed Henry Travers as the angel. But overall? Not the best Capra
ever. MR. SMITH and MR. DEEDS more to my taste, as well as MEET JOHN DOE. And THE BITTER TEA OF GENERAL YEN. Talk about decades ahead of its time.
In the spirit of the upcoming holiday season, fellow posters, please allow me to live after having dissed a classic. To me it's just a nice film, that's all.
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I nominate Maureen O'Hara, a beautiful woman who proved you could be tough, a man's equal and feminine at the same time. Not easy characters to portray.
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With the death yesterday of Howard Keel and the passing last month of Robert Merrill, it reemphasizes a point I love to make to my fellow music buffs:
America sure knows how to grow baritones!
In addition to Messrs. Keel and Merrill, we've had John Charles Thomas, Leonard Warren, the great Lawrence Tibbett - who appeared in films, one of which was shown on TCM last year - and the peerless Alfred Drake of Broadway. And of course, can't forget the TCM staple, Nelson Eddy. People who saw him in concert in his prime say you never heard him sing as well on screen as he did on stage - magnificently.
Two more beautiful voices stilled. Rest well, gentlemen, and thank you for years of quality entertainment.
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While all the performers listed below are a talented bunch, notice what's missing here?
Women!
Could it be that most of the gals got their "due" while the guys as a group were the most overlooked?
For the females, Jean Arthur. Irene Dunne. Joan Blondell. Glenda Farrell. Ann Sothern. All beautiful, fine comediennes who could handle drama too.
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Hi Mongo.
Your choices are all terrific. Van Heflin won an Oscar as did Edmond O'Brien, but when pundits mention world -class actors, these fine performers get left out. Why?!
Joel McCrea made it look too easy as did Fred MacMurray. And subtle low-key acting is not easy.
The fact that Mr. Widmark is still among the living and has not yet been voted a lifetime achievement award from AFI or an honorary Oscar is a disgrace.
Blonde Rabbit
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Since I'm a newbie, please forgive me if this topic has been exhausted. If not, here's my question.
Which TCM featured performers do you consider underrated?
I'll cast the first three votes: Paul Henreid, Robert Ryan and Franchot Tone.
Please share your thoughts on this?
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Yes, yes, it would be wonderful to see a complete interview with Miss Page.
Robert Osborne made reference to her as being "a pistol." Wouldn't it be terrific to see this beautiful, sharp 90+ year old lady tell her story?
I'm all for it!
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You sing Le Marseilles in taverns, hoping that people will join in and hush those damn germans.
Just perfect. To this day, the only other national anthem I know by heart, other than our own STAR SPANGLED BANNER, is LE MARSELLAISE, thanks to the gorgeous Paul Henreid and the miracle of closed captioning. Great singalong!
Loved your list.
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While I agree that sometimes the word "classic" is overused - like the word "legendary" - if you have a cut off year, you miss some gems.
For example, a few weeks ago TCM showed TOOTSIE and SOME LIKE IT HOT back to back. TOOTSIE came out in 1981 yet I think it's a classic with a fine, timeless performance by Dustin Hoffman that stands alongside the performances of Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and Joe E. Brown in SLIH.
One thing - were I programming TCM, I'd keep the newer ones to a minimum (yes, even dear TOOTSIE) if they can be seen readily on other channels.
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SOME LIKE IT HOT. Yes, it's true, nobody's perfect.
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I'm salivating already....my screen name should have been DOCUJUNKIE!
All the suggestions so far are just terrific. LOUISIANA STORY is a "don't miss." Directed by Flaherty, wonderful score by Virgil Thomson, real people - not reality TV real people - and an adorable raccoon. Show it and the others soon, please please please.
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Fun topic...love some of the "You Know You're A" replies.
You know you've encountered a classic film junkie when a man tells you that you resemble a "young Shelley Winters" and that your friend resembles a "young Jane Wyman" - and the speaker is 18 years old!
TCM is reelin' 'em young, thank you!!!
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I second Vitaphone's nomination of some early sound films especially THE ROGUE SONG with Laurel and Hardy and Lawrence Tibbett, the great singer I mentioned in a previous post.
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I got my wish recently! I had suggested the 1929 version of RIO RITA with Bebe Daniels and John Boles and it appeared last week on the Mad About Musicals day.
Naturally after waiting years to see it, forgot to set the tape....but I managed to see part of it.
This, and any other early musicals that still exist, are fun to see even, if they creak.
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I love this idea immensely! There were so many talents in their time who are not known by the general public today.
For example, some time back TCM showed NEW MOON (1930)with Grace Moore and Lawrence Tibbett, who were legendary opera stars. My grandmother told me that women screamed and fainted at Mr. Tibbett's concerts! Both Moore and Tibbett received Oscar nominations also. Ask a random passerby today about these singers, and you'll probably receive a blank look.
Also love the thought of tributes to Chester Morris, Warren William and the others mentioned. Great work done by all of them in their prime.
Let's hope this terrific idea comes to fruition! TCM, are you listening???
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A major national newspaper headlined Janet Leigh's obituary by saying that PSYCHO had made her a star!
Luckily someone in the Letters section today quickly corrected that error: she already was a star and had been for many years. That's why her early demise in the film is so shocking - major stars in that era didn't get killed off after merely 45 minutes or so in a film. Ah, the genius of Hitchcock, and the talent of Miss Leigh. May they both rest in peace.
Song "The Bad In Every Man"
in General Discussions
Posted
ayresorchid this is very interesting. Love the comment about needing a song with 3 notes or so for Jean Harlow. And to think BLUE MOON evolved from this.
Blonde Rabbit
P.S. A terrific version of this classic is sung by Mel Torme. He takes the words BLUE MOON and gets about 16 notes out of them!