lzcutter

> lz, about a year or two ago, I started receiving telephone sales calls from Directv, trying to talk me into getting a new tuner with a DVR in it. They said it would be totally FREE FredC, We have no complaints about our service with DirecTV. Their latest software update is not the greatest but the service we get from them as well as the customer service has been first rate. The fact that we have been with them for so long is a testament to the service we receive. Prior to them we had cable and we were very unsatisfied with the service from our cable provider. > I think these kinds of companies must hire con men right out of prison to do their sales pitches over the telephone. We've taken advantage of some of the offers we've received from Direct over the years and we've been happy with their customer service.

> Hmm... maybe my .52 cents number is wrong. Maybe it is .26 cents FredC, I'm pretty sure it's .26 cents that was in that article that you originally referred to.

> My question is, Do you have a DVR box? and also, Can you record what you record on your DVR box to a DVD or VHS recorder? Like FredC, we have DirecTV (have had for 15 years now). We have a DVR and have no problem recording from the DVR to DVDs. One of the great things about having DirecTV is that if I forget to set up the DVR, I can do so remotely through their website. Comes in very handy if I read a post and see that someone has recommended a movie and I didn't set the DVR.

> You have to be more than a good actor (and sometimes you don't even have to be that) in order to be a star. Then by your way of thinking character actors should never be considered for Star of the Month and that honor should only go to those A-list actors who qualify as true stars of the silver screen. Why shouldn't character actors be spotlighted as SOTM? Perhaps giving them a spotlight for a month would help show viewers how essential these actors are to the classic films we all love. As for Joel McCrea, why not add to the existing McCrea thread instead of starting a whole new thread? By your own words, it is a popular thread. Just a thought.

> Does TCM place ads in certain mags or on Internet sites? I don't know about magazines but I've seen ads for TCM (usually for *31 Days of Oscar* and *SUTS* as well as the Film Festival and Cruise on sites as varied as the HuffPost to LAObserved.

Harry Carey, Sr is one I would love to see get a day during SUTS.

While I really enjoyed the Whale movies last night, I must admit that I had a hard time getting into *Frankenstein*. Seems almost every time I did, the next scene would remind me of *Young Frankenstein*. "My grandfather used to work for your grandfather, of course, rates have gone up."

> Is that what they're doing know? I haven't watched AMC since they went commercial so I didn't know. I hate to say it, but from a business standpoint it's been a huge success for them. The channel is making tons of money and getting high ratings and I think they've even won an Emmy for two. Mark, Yeah, they are showing reruns of *CSI: Miami*. As for the Emmys, *Mad Men* has won 4 for Best Drama and *Breaking Bad's* Brian Cranston has been the Best Actor winner for the last three years and Aaron Paul has one Best Supporting Actor once. So, their Original Dramas are doing well.

I'm loving James Whale Friday night. Right now watching *One More River* with two great horror films to follow. I haven't seen *The Invisible Man* in more years than I can count so I'm really looking forward to that one.

> Like the downtown set of Bedford Falls in It's a Wonderful Life. That is a huge outdoor set. FredC, Add to the movie magic the fact that the town of Bedford Falls was built on the RKO movie ranch in Encino and was shot during the heat of the summer. When Jimmy Stewart runs through the town in the falling snow that's not all tears running down his face. That scene was shot on the hottest day of summer and Jimmy was sweating up a storm.

> And about our unanimous wish that Joel McCrea finally be made Star of the Month. This has gone on long enough, and the viewers/fans of TCM deserve better. As the person who started the whole Joel McCrea for SOTM movement (I started advocating for that even before I started the thread), I have no doubt that the staff of TCM has heard our request. I learned a few years ago with requesting *Five Graves to Cairo* here at TCM City that these requests sometimes longer than we think should but then we aren't privy to all the negotiations that often go into securing the films for the programming of a film or for a month's worth for a SOTM. I'm sorry that you feel we deserve better but please be aware that you don't speak for all McCrea fans, especially me. I try to understand that these things sometimes longer than some have patience for. But, as I have seen in the past not only with *Graves* but with other posters requests for films, SUTS and SOTM, TCM does listen and they do try to come through. And, again, I have no doubt, they will for Joel McCrea and I hope that one day they are able to free *Secret of the Incas* from Paramount much the same way they freed *Graves* from Universal. Patience never hurts. Edited by: lzcutter making sure that I got the studios right.

LP, It's long but here it is: STAR OF THE MONTH: May 1994: Greta Garbo June 1994: Glenn Ford July 1994: Greer Garson Aug.1994: Edward G. Robinson Sept.1994: Barbara Stanwyck Oct.1994: Angela Lansbury Nov.1994 John Garfield Dec.1994: Best of 1994 Jan.1995: Esther Williams Feb.1995: Ronald Reagan Mar.1995: TCM Salutes the Oscars Apr.1995: Doris Day May 1995: Myrna Loy June 1995: Errol Flynn July 1995: Gene Kelly Aug.1995: Paul Muni Sept.1995: Jane Powell Oct.1995: Clark Gable Nov.1995: Barrymores Dec.1995: Best of 1995 Jan.1996: Deborah Kerr Feb.1996: Robert Young Mar.1996: 31 Days of Oscar April 1996: Irene Dunne May 1996: James Stewart June 1996: Rosalind Russell July 1996: Fred Astaire Aug.1996: Ann Sheridan Sept.1996: Van Johnson Oct.1996: Kathryn Grayson Nov.1996: Robert Mitchum Dec.1996: Best of 1996 Jan.97: Humphrey Bogart Feb.97: Eleanor Parker Mar.97: 31 Days of Oscar Apr.97: Ava Gardner May 97: George Brent June 97: June Allyson July 97: John and Walter Huston (also Director of the Month) Aug.97: Cary Grant Sept.97: Ida Lupino Oct.97: Walter Pidgeon Nov.97: Katharine Hepburn Dec.97: Best of 1997 Jan.1998: Lana Turner Feb.1998: Charlton Heston Mar.1998:31 Days of Oscar April 1998: Red Skelton May 1998: Olivia de Havilland June 1998: James Cagney July 1998: Lucille Ball August 1998: Joan Crawford Sept.1998: John Wayne Oct.1998: Cyd Charisse Nov.1998: Claude Rains Dec.1998: Best of 1998 Jan.1999: Elizabeth Taylor Feb.1999: William Powell March 1999: 31 Days of Oscar (probably) April 1999: Dennis Morgan May 1999: Bette Davis June 1999: Mickey Rooney July1999: Natalie Wood August 1999: Peter Sellers Sept.1999: Norma Shearer Oct. 1999: Gregory Peck Nov. 1999: Ginger Rogers Dec. 1999: Burt Lancaster Jan. 2000: Debbie Reynolds Feb. 2000: Robert Ryan March 2000: 31 Days of Oscars (probably) April 2000: Spencer Tracy May 2000: Alexis Smith June 2000:Wallace Beery July 2000: Judy Garland August 2000: film debuts Sept 2000: Jane Wyman October 2000: Dick Powell Nov 2000: Frank Sinatra Dec. 2000: Lauren Bacall Jan. 2001: Elvis Presley Feb.2001: Jean Hagen March 2001: 31 Days of Oscar (probably) Apr.2001: Knighted Actors May 2001: Jean Harlow June 2001: W.C. Fields July 2001: Ann Sothern Aug.2001: James Garner Sept. 2001: Robert Taylor Oct. 2001: Lana Turner Nov.2001: Glenn Ford Dec.2001: The Marx Brothers Jan. 2002: Marlene Dietrich Feb. 2002: Kirk Douglas March 2002: 31 Days of Oscar April 2002: Barbara Stanwyck May 2002: Edward G. Robinson June 2002: Greta Garbo July 2002: Sidney Poitier Aug. 2002: Joan Crawford Sept. 2002: Van Heflin Oct. 2002: Final films Nov. 2002: Shelly Winters Dec. 2002: Montgomery Clift Jan. 2003: Doris Day Feb. 2003: John Garfield Mar. 2003: 31 Days of Oscar Apr. 2003: Harold Lloyd May 2003: Olivia de Havilland June 2003: TV Actors in Films July 2003: Lee Marvin Aug. 2003: 1st Summer Under the Stars (see below) Sept. 2003: James Mason Oct. 2003: Boris Karloff Nov. 2003: Shirley MacLaine Dec. 2003: David Niven Jan. 2004: Katherine Hepburn Feb.2004: 31 Days of Oscar Mar.2004: Charles Chaplin Apr. 2004: Judy Garland May 2004: Greer Garson June 2004: Cary Grant July 2004: Stars That Died Before Their Time Aug.2004: 2nd Summer Under the Stars (see below) Sept.2004: Myrna Loy Oct. 2004: Peter Lorre Nov.2004: Clark Gable Dec. 2004: James Stewart Jan.2005: Canadian Actors Feb. 2005: 31 Days of Oscar Mar. 2005: Claudette Colbert Apr. 2005: Errol Flynn May 2005: Orson Welles June 2005: Ingrid Bergman July 2005: Audrey Hepburn Aug. 2005: 3rd Summer Under the Stars (see below) Sept.2005: Greta Garbo Oct.2005: Robert Mitchum Nov.2005: Joan Fontaine Dec. 2005: Bing Crosby Jan. 2006: Robert Montgomery Feb.2006: 31 Days of Oscar Mar.2006: Nelson Eddy & Jeanette MacDonald Apr.2006: Deborah Kerr May 2006: Bette Davis June 2006: Anthony Quinn July 2006: Elizabeth Taylor Aug.2006: 4th Summer Under the Stars (see below) Sept.2006: William Holden Oct.2006: Child Stars Nov.2006: Lucille Ball Dec. 2006: Gary Cooper Jan.2007: Jean Arthur Feb.2007: 31 Days of Oscar Mar.2007: Gene Kelly Apr.2007: Rita Hayworth May 2007: John Wayne and Katherine Hepburn June 2007: Ida Lupino July 2007: Randolph Scott Aug.2007: 5th Summer Under the Stars (see below) Sept.2007: A Star is Born (starmaking/breakthrough performances) Oct.2007: Henry Fonda Nov.2007: Guest Programmer Month Dec.2007: Irene Dunne Jan.2008: James Cagney Feb.2008: 31 Days of Oscar Mar.2008: Acting Dynasties Apr.2008: Hedy Lamarr May 2008: Frank Sinatra June 2008: Sophia Loren July 2008: Rosalind Russell Aug.2008: 6th annual Summer Under the Stars (see below) Sept.2008: Kay Francis Oct.2008: Carole Lombard Nov.2008: Charles Laughton Dec. 2008: Joseph Cotton Jan. 2009: Jack Lemmon Feb. 2009: 31 Days of Oscar Mar. 2009: Ronald Reagan April 2009: Funny Ladies and 15th Anniversary May 2009: Sean Connery June 2009: Great Directors July 2009: Stewart Granger August 2009: Summer Under the Stars Sept. 2009: Claude Rains Oct. 2009: Leslie Caron Nov. 2009: Grace Kelly Dec. 2009: Humphrey Bogart Jan. 2010: ?The Method? Feb. 2010: 31 Days of Oscar March 2010: Ginger Rogers April 2010: Robert Taylor May 2010: Donna Reed June 2010: Natalie Wood July 2010: Gregory Peck August 2010: SUTS Sept. 2010: Vivien Leigh Oct. 2010: Fredric March Nov. 2010: Ava Gardner Dec. 2010: Mickey Rooney Jan. 2011: Peter Sellers Feb. 2011: 31 Days of Oscar March 2011: Jean Harlow April 2011: Ray Milland May 2011: Esther Williams June 2011: Jean Simmons July 2011: Singing Cowboys August 2011: SUTS Sept. 2011: Kirk Douglas October 2011: Buster Keaton Nov. 2011: Battle of the Blondes Dec. 2011: William Powell January 2012: Angela Lansbury February 2012: 31 Days of Oscar From various threads word is that Karl Malden is SOTM in March. I don't know who has been confirmed for April yet.

> For a movie made in 1958 what can the big deal be? Nobody can find out who has the rights???? Another network may have the broadcast rights for *South Pacific* in Canada.

LP, Since the links seem to be dead (and wouldn't it be nice if it could be a sticky that the WebAdmin could update monthly), I'll post the list when I get back to my abode.

Roy, I totally agree about Nicol Williamson and *Seven Per-Cent Solution*. Another fave of mine is his Little John in *Robin and Marian*. I totally believe his friendship with Sean Connery and jealousy that both he and Marian (Audrey Hepburn) feel towards one another because of Connery. And a great score by John Barry.

> I'm glad someone else understands some of my obscure references. Sometimes I do them just for me. And hopefully, me. Another terrific write-up, Rich. Made me smile, which right now, is not the easiest thing to do. Can't wait for the next one!

> But if it's a right issue, would anyone know why the same films sometimes get blocked while at other times are broadcast? Caught, as I stated, was blocked this week after being shown in Canada just a few months ago It depends upon the terms of the rental/lease contracts. The terms can vary from one distributor to another. Some examples: Short rental/lease contract of only a couple of months x number of screenings/airings Long-term (multi-month or year) rental/lease contract We've seen example of all of the above on TCM.

It's an old message from 2005 from TCMProgrammr in a thread about this very issue but he has also acknowledged the Canadian rights issues problems at both TCM Film Festivals recently during the *Meet the Staff* panel discussions: "Yes, there are a few substitute films being scheduled in Canada. On some films (currently about 10% of the schedule) we don't have Canadian rights - rather than just black-out the programming for that block of time we are putting in replacement programming. We expect that 10% to eventually come down to below 5%." He's also acknowledged that sometimes trying to find the legal Canadian rights holder is difficult to next impossible for some films. They must still be working on getting the percentage lower.

Lugosi and Karloff did eight films together- Five films at Universal: *The Black Cat, The Raven, The Invisible Ray, Son of Frankenstein, Black Friday* and both appeared in minor cameo performances in 1934's *Gift of Gab*. They did two films at RKO: *You'll Find Out* and *The Body Snatcher*

> Did they actually program something special related to the festival in 2010 or 2011 during the festival itself? Calvin, Yes, they did. There was a salute to Bernard Herrman as part of the 2011 Festival and during the Festival, TCM aired a series of movies featuring scores by Herrman (including *The Snows of Kilimanjaro*, *On Dangerous Ground* and *The Magnificent Ambersons* ) on the opening night of the Festival. The Festival also had a salute to the Gershwins and during the Festival, TCM aired a series of films that had Gershwin songs in them. *An American in Paris* was the opening film of last year's Festival and the channel aired the film as part of TCM's salute of the Festival. They honored Peter O'Toole though I don't remember if they aired any of his films over that weekend but it wouldn't surprise me if they did. I think they did similar Festival/broadcast salutes for the first Film Festival in 2010.

> However, no other Titanic movie or movie that mentions the Titanic - such as Cavalcade - could I find scheduled for that night. It makes me very curious about the rest of the evening. Calvin, It's during the Film Festival in Hollywood so it's possible that the other films that night may have some sort of Festival tie-in.

> What we don't know is whether Osborne has final say as to the copy he reads. The possibility exists that the writers and other support staff don't have final say, and that Osborne brooks no disagreement with his own memory and judgment. If this is so, then it's disgraceful, and so counter-productive, since Osborne would be the one sabotaging his own reputation. Having had the opportunity to watch Robert O on the set in Atlanta and at some of the tapings at the Film Festivals, I've never seen him act in such an imperious way. He has a great rapport with the men and women on his crew and they work well together. He doesn't act in the manner described above at least from what I've seen. As to why he doesn't catch the misinformation in the scripts, given his age it is likely difficult to remember all the time the film history one keeps stored in their memory. I'm only in my 50s and have a hard time remembering facts or film titles from time to time.

> When you bought it, was it still priced at $3.00? That would be quite the deal in the 70's. Chief, It would. I'm fairly sure I paid a bit more than $3.00 but it was probably less than $10.

Chief, I had this collection a thousand years ago when I was a young teenager and exploring my love of classic films. I bought it at the original MGM Grand Hotel after watching a classic MGM film in their theater. I don't know what happened to my set but it was a very nice set and your post brought back many memories of them. Thanks for the info!

Mighty Mo, At first glance, I thought the two kids were some of the Glo-los! Thanks to you and everyone for the lovely birthday wishes. I truly appreciate it! I'm off to see Angie Dickinson later tonight. I'll be back with a report!