bhryun

"Nothing Sacred"?

Stoney, you've made me laugh and enlightened me---what is the Robert Fuller website address, please, and what the heck is "The Brain from Planet Arous"?? You're not alone in keeping your yen for ole Bob to yourself. I'd forgotten all about it until about a year ago when I caught my eldest sister watching an episode of "Combat" on the Action Channel featuring, of course, Vic Morrow and guest star, Robert Fuller. She was deeply offended when I teased her about watching it without admitting that I liked Fuller too--it seems that she always had a longing deep in her being for Fuller and Vic Morrow, (it seems that there was something about his exhausted insouciance that intrigued her). Natch, I had to fess up to liking them too. Small world, eh?

Law, natural or human, shall not be ridiculed, nor shall sympathy be created for its violation. --Quote from the Production Code Administration Ever see something in one of our cherished studio era movies that struck you as wildly unlikely or positively absurd, due to the stringent Production Code imposed on movies from the '30s to the '60s? Here's a spot to point some of the most striking examples that you'd like to share with others. Boy, the lads in the Hays office must have been breaking out the champagne on the day after they succeeded in imposing their ideas of proper human behavior onscreen on a little flick called "A Child Is Born"! I'm sure that this triumph may have been particularly cheering coming shortly after David O. Selznick thumbed his nose at the Production Code boys by insisting on inserting the word "damn" into GWTW, (and paying 5k for the privilege)! All the same, a logical person might have pointed out that the fingerprints that they left all over "A Child Is Born" actually violated the clause of the Code quoted above, since this cinematic wonder violated "law, natural or human", on several levels. "A Child Is Born" was a Warner Brothers' production from that golden year in Hollywood's history, 1939. Interestingly, as I caught this little B movie this morning on TCM, I was struck by several intriguing points. The story, revolving around the events in a maternity ward, deals with potentially "explosive" topics: pregnancy, mortality and where does that pesky stork come from, anyway? 1,) Not one of the women admitted to this ward appears to be physically pregnant--no tummy, no nothing! From Spring Byington, experiencing her sixth blessed event to Geraldine Fitzgerald, as a convicted murderer/lifer having her first babe to Gladys George, as a vaudevillian appalled to be having twins to Nanette Fabray, as a child bride worried about her Mom & Mom-in-laws reaction to her making them Grandmas--they're all just a wee bit fatigued while Gale Page as the head nurse and Eve Arden, (in a regrettably non-sarcastic mode), hover over them, looking the other way while their hubbies, (Jeffrey Lynn & Johnnie Downs, among others), fret, fuss, or in the case of Miss George, abandon them. The only possible indication that these ladies are expecting, aside from the dialogue, is a tendency to swoon occasionally. 2.) No one ever suggests, by word, look, or inference that being in the family way might actually be related to, um, marital relations. 3.) The films does dare to suggest that not all women have a particularly strong maternal instinct. The highly entertaining Gladys George actually says that she wants to give her kids away so that she can get back to hoofing asap, as long as the possible adoptive parents slip her some long green for her trouble. Gladys practically steals the show demonstrating her spunky refusal to admit that being pregnant may not be the end all and be all of her life. She also smokes like a chimney, drinks hooch until plastered and, of course, falling down, all while wearing a mariboo-laced dressing gown. But guess what?? Despiter her behavior, her two kids--a boy and a girl, of course--come out okay, albeit one of them has a wee bit of a respiratory problem that is quickly curable when exposed to Ma's fast blossoming mother love. 4.) Natch, Gladys becomes an enthusiastic mother, though she may, the film implies, allow a nice couple who've lost their baby, to sort of adopt her kids, or at least one of them, when she hits the vaudeville trail again. 5. In one of the more poignant storylines, Geraldine Fitzgerald, as a fragile inmate, faced with an operation that would cost her life, chooses to give her life rather than lose her child--despite the fact that her hubby tells the doctors that, given this dreadful choice, he'd rather have his wife, despite the fact that she's going to be in the pen until Junior collects Social Security. Hmm, this seems to be one of the few times in a movie such as this when a woman's choice was actually treated with respect--well, as long as she died in the process. Of course, despite all these quibbles, I stuck with this short excursion into Moms on Film--just as I would in better films such as "So Big", "Stella Dallas" and even "Mildred Pierce". The topic may be soapy, but it's inherently dramatic, and the actresses each gave their part everything they could--except stark realism-- their commitment to the material almost swept my judgment away. Gladys George, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Fay Helm, (as a woman driven mad by her desire to have a baby), along with the other cast members, saved the movie with the small glints of humanity that they managed to slip past the censors. I'd love to read your comments and examples of other absurdities of the Production Code that you've sighted in movies of the studio era.

Isn't it great to find that other people love Hoagy too? Ooh, it would be lovely if TCM could run a batch of his flicks. In addition to "Best Years...", Young Man with a Horn", and "To Have and To Have Not", I'd like to watch him in "Night Song", especially for his scenes with Ethel Barrymore. And Stoney, I know just what you mean about having a bit of a crush on Robert Fuller--I always felt a shiver as a kid when that lock of hair would fall across his noble brow, whether on "Laramie" or his later show "Emergency".

Mongo, what a deftly written profile of C. Aubrey Smith! I can just see the old boy's craggy face breaking into a smile when I read it. It makes me want to run the video of my favorite Smith performance as the elderly character actor who takes a very young and naive Katharine Hepburn under his battered but unbowed wing in "Morning Glory". Thanks a mill.

Bravo TCM for playing modern day films. It's the only place to see newer films in Widescreen. I'm tired of the movie channels showing only Fullscreen versions. TCM does a great job of not oversaturating the playlist with too many newer films but does play them and should. Why does a classic have to be defined as old. What's wrong with airings of Superman or Grease or other modern day films in their true Widescreen format. If it wasn't for TCM many modern films would never get the true treatment they deserve on television.

Here's a small list of unseen titles. Keep up the great job TCMprogrammer. Glad to see more Universal/Paramount and Fox titles making debuts on TCM. Up Front/Willie & Joe Back At The Front (Tom Ewell) (both Universal) Wild & Wonderful/Black Shield Of Falworth (Tony Curtis) (both Universal) Banning/How I Spent My Summer Vacation/Don't Just Stand There (Robert Wagner) (all Universal) Angel In My Pocket (Andy Griffith) (Universal) It Ain't Hay (Abbott & Costello) (Universal) (hasn't been shown in years) Bowery Boys Movies - It's been a number of years since TCM has played their later movies (all controlled by Warner I believe)

That's a shame, the 60's Bonds are the greatest things ever.

I'd really like to buy this but it isn't listed anywhere, not even amazon except here.

I know that song. This is one that they just starting playing recently. It's definitely a more recent song. I do love "Look for the Silver Lining"

Happy Belated Birthday, Lolite. I hope that the coming year will bring you joy and that you'll keep sharing your observations with us.

Slappy, I always get a kick out of the way that your mind works! You make the most uh, interesting and amusing connections. I'm not at all surprised that Hoagy allowed himself to be portrayed in a cartoon--he seemed to be a man who never took himself too seriously. As I write this I'm watching Hoagy Carmichael ask the musical question "Am I Blue?" while Lauren Bacall slouches across the piano in "To Have and To Have Not" on TCM. Was there ever a more relaxed singer? Did you know that he actually studied law at one time? Or that growing up in Indiana, he was nurtured in one of the hotbeds of the development of jazz in the early years of the 20th century? If you ever have a chance find a cd called "Hoagy Sings Carmichael". Wait until two in the morning and sit back and enjoy some great music, ideal for late at night. Whenever I hear presentday singers wailing away in an effort to make their listeners believe in their depth of feeling and to show off their pipes, I think of Hoagy, whose casual, seemingly effortless way of "throwing a song away" communicated a far greater range of bemused and rueful feeling. Just listen to his "Skylark" sometime or "How Little We Know" for a world of experience behind each song. You might also enjoy his autobiographies, "The Stardust Road" and "Sometimes I Wonder", which I believe have been reissued in one volume. He was a witty and thoughtful man, a quirky kind of Renaissance man, whose talent onscreen, in cartoons, and in recordings is worth remembering.

I also like Eleanor Parker's work, especially her performances in "Pride of the Marines", "Caged", "Detective Story", and "Scaramouche". I think she may have been an actress who bloomed in response to a strong director such as William Wyler and John Cromwell, who directed two of the aforementioned films. Another interesting feature of her work was the the flawed humanity that she brought to her role as the cockney harridan in the '40s remake of "Of Human Bondage". The grasping, manipulative and desperate portrait she enacted in that film made the psychological bond between her character and the neurotic medical student played by Paul Henried more understandable than in the earlier Leslie Howard-Bette Davis version. BTW, in addition to her craftsmanship, she could be startlingly beautiful, and she was one of those actresses, like two other great cinematic beauties, Elizabeth Taylor and Loretta Young, who, imho, looked more striking without the usual Hollywood gilding of the lily. This quality was most noticable in the very powerful, decidedly unglamorous, "Caged". I would like to see a day devoted to her best films on TCM. And if only Mr. Osborne could interview her on the network as well...

Thanks for the wonderful sketches of Harry Davenport and Frank McHugh as well as your touching account of Lon Chaney, Jr.'s life, Mongo. I'll now have something new to watch for in GWTW, looking for Harry Davenport's grandson. Lawd knows that Frank McHugh's ebullient performances have saved many pedestrian pictures and brought joy to some of the best. One question, though--aside from "3 Men on a Horse"(1936), did McHugh ever have any other starring role?

I would like to see at least part of a day devoted to Eleanor Parker. She was a great actress, who was nominated for three best actress Oscar awards, but she's pretty much forgotten. She should be rediscovered. Maybe, she could be the Star of the Month. There has to be a lot of interesting info which could be shared about her. She co-starred with a number of well known actors such as Frank Sinatra, William Holden, Charlton Heston, Robert Taylor, Ronald Reagan and Glenn Ford. I would like to see Hole in the Head with Frank Sinatra directed by Frank Capra. It's sounds like it's a good family film, and I've never seen it. I'd like to see Caged also, the film she received her first best actress oscar nomination in.

I love the scene in The Best Years of Our Lives, where Teresa Wright tells her parents she believs Dana Andrews is in an unhappy marriage to another woman. Her parents warn her that relationships have their ups and downs and not to misread the situation. Wright, neverthless, declares, "I'm going to break up that marriage!" She says it with hope and determination that she will eventually marry him one day.

Right now my favorite pre-code film is "Sign of the Cross" but thats because its the last one I watched. That films got everything - scenes, outfits-WOW!! and even pygmies! The whole coliseum scene was incredible-quite graphic killing! I should have taped it, just writing about it makes me want to watch it again.

Dear TCM: Congratulations on marking the 75th Birthday of Stephen Sondheim! Please consider marking the Centennial of one of Sondheim's favorite lyricists: Dorothy Fields. The Centennial of her birth is July 15, 2005. "What I like best about Dorothy Fields is her use of colloquialism and effortlessness, as in 'Sunny Side of the Street,' which is just perfect as a lyric" -- Stephen Sondheim Here's a partial list of movies with Dorothy Fields lyrics: SWEET CHARITY SWING TIME ALICE ADAMS CUBAN LOVE SONG FLYING HIGH DINNER AT EIGHT DANCING LADY HOORAY FOR LOVE ROBERTA LOVELY TO LOOK AT THE FARMER TAKES A WIFE THE HELL WITH HEROES Films that were adapted into Broadway musicals: A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN LA NOTTI DI CABIRIA (SWEET CHARITY) TWO FOR THE SEESAW (SEESAW) For a complete list, pick up a copy of ON THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET: THE LIFE AND LYRICS OF DOROTHY FIELDS by Deborah Grace Winer. Broadway will be celebrating with a revival of SWEET CHARITY and concerts at the 92nd Street Y. A Turner Classic Movies tribute would be a wonderful way to mark the occasion. Many thanks for your consideration. Mike Dvorchak

Does anyone know the title and/or artist of a song that is played between movies? The singer sounds a little like Sting, but his voice is raspier. The song has a slow, slightly rock-ish melody. It sounds like it may be for the last 10 years or even more recent.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I dont know you, but I wanted to wish you a happy day! Also noticed that guitarest Robin Trower is 60 today and Emmanuelle Lewis(TVs Webster) is 34. Enjoy!

I saw it a couple of years back and thought it was a good movie - kept me guessing for a while.

Glad to see that people are still discovering silent films. I cant think of any more to add. Keith did a great list, I'll just second his choices. My personal favorite is Harold Lloyd. And "Greed" is great but I had to watch it alone - couldn't get anyone else interested in a 4 hour film. Sometimes TCM shows silent 'shorts' if you're lucky enough to catch them.

Thanks grayson429, I forgot"Some Like it Hot" on my list, and you're right, no one does drag like Monty Python. My favorite from the "Flying Circus" is the penguin sketch, and as a result, there are now 9 stuffed penguins living on the top of my telly! Luckily they are not the exploding kind.

This is an IMPOSSIBLE question. I had a hard time even narrowing it down to this list (not in order): House of Wax White Zombie The Black Cat Dracula King Kong The Haunting Anything with Boris Karloff and/or Peter Lorre, of course! And for 'newer' films: Rosemary's Baby The Omen The Sentinal Candyman Poltergiest The Shining IT I haven't seen anything really great in new horror films except for "Hide and Seek" which was more thriller/suspense I think, although I would recommend it. Dakota Fanning steals the film in my opinion. She is one talented 11 year old! Very real,scary and creepy.

Hi ganavon. Welcome to the boards. Some of my favorite classic horror comes from Hammer Films. They're always fun to watch. My favorites are (not in order): Dracula,Prince of Darkness Dr. Terrors House of Horrors The Brides of Dracula TheCurse of Frankenstein The Horror of Dracula I think Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing contributed such great performances as vampire and hunter that it made the films better than the "B Movie" group they are put in.