scsu1975
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Posts posted by scsu1975
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3 hours ago, TomJH said:
Some years ago I came across an old autograph album. Among the signatures was this one
I wonder if the "Armida" signed on the opposite page is a Sicilian/Italian version of Armetta's name.
I suppose it's possible. While researching my Italian heritage, I've come across multiple spellings of family names. But these signatures are different, so maybe the "Armida" is someone else.
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12 hours ago, LawrenceA said:
Make a Wish (1937) - Wholesome musical from RKO and director Kurt Neumann. Bobby Breen stars as Chip Winters, a precocious ten-year-old singing prodigy who is attending summer camp in Maine. Across the lake from the camp lies the residence of composer Johnny Selden (Basil Rathbone), who has moved from the city in order to overcome his creative stagnation. Selden meets Chip and the two become friends, and the youngster decides to try and set the older man up on dates with Chip's mother Irene (Marion Claire). Also featuring Donald Meek, Henry Armetta, Leon Errol, Billy Lee, Ralph Forbes, and Leonid Kinskey.
An amusing incident occurred during the filming of this movie. Henry Armetta and Basil Rathbone were talking between scenes. Armetta had placed a cigarette stub in his pocket (an old habit) so he could finish it later. But it came into contact with an open book of matches in his pocket. One observer on the set reported that Armetta then gave "a very good imitation of a Roman candle on a rampage."
Although known for his comic performances, Armetta began his career playing villains in silent films. Perhaps his strangest role was in his film debut, The New Governor, in which he played a black man who rapes a young white girl, and then is hunted by down by dogs and killed. The film goes by another title, but I can't type it here without being censored.
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7 minutes ago, LawrenceA said:
King Solomon's Mines (1937) -
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This is the first film version of five, and supposedly the most faithful to the book, but I've never read it. I've seen the 1950 and 1985 versions. This version naturally looks dated and cliched, although it's quite epic for a British film of the time. Quatermain is usually depicted as a square-jawed hero of the classic type, and Hardwicke isn't exactly that. Instead, he's more of an elder statesman, a gentleman of culture, and the more physical moments are given to Loder and Robeson. Paul Robeson gets top billing, which is impressive, and he sings a couple of songs. (7/10)
I've read the book, and this version is closer to Haggard's story than the 1950 version. The 1950 version bored me to death; it was like watching a travelogue. I haven't seen the 1985 version, but I suspect it was done as a variation on Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Quartermain is an elderly adventurer in the novel, so Hardwicke is not a bad choice. Loder is so-so; I've always found him a bit dull as a lead, but I think he really shines as one of the sons in How Green Was My Valley. And Robeson has that spectacular stature to go with that booming voice.
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As long as we're on a Pola Negri kick, here she is in a 1932 photo meeting some famous scientist (whose name escapes me) and his wife:
She then wrote a 400-word essay entitled "My Impressions of Einstein," but I haven't been able to find it yet.
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4 hours ago, TomJH said:
Zamba (1949)
1.5 out of 4
Sounds like a winner all the way.
I quote Walter Winchell: " "Zamba" is a jungle muddledrama with the actors on all four legs superior to the actors with only two."
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1 hour ago, cigarjoe said:
Didn't they used to call it shell shocked for the obvious cases? I just used the up to date terminology.
"Shell shock" was used during World War I. "Battle fatigue" was used during World War II. I believe the terms were used exclusively to represent the veterans who had suffered from the war's effects. Since then, "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder" has been used to describe a variety of cases, not just wartime-related experiences.
I recall George Carlin doing a bit about these three phrases, and how we have "softened" them over the years.
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16 minutes ago, Bogie56 said:
Friday, March 30
Diana Dors night.
Only in the U.S. ….
I would not hang her, but she is responsible for many guys being hung.
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1 hour ago, cigarjoe said:
The Madonna's Secret (1946) - Directed by Wilhelm Thiele, Stars Francis Lederer, Gail Patrick, Ann Rutherford, Edward Ashley, Linda Stirling, Leona Roberts, Will Wright, and John Hamilton. Artist paints models who end up dead. A Republic Pictures Film Noir, that's worth a look if you've never seen it. 6-7/10
The only two actors that I've remember seeing and recognized were Will Wright form countless TV Westerns and John Hamilton fron The Adventures Of Superman.
This is a film that looks better than it is. Ashley is really annoying as a drama critic who enlists a dead model's sister (Rutherford) to get the goods on Lederer. Even the police go along with this bonehead scheme. Rutherford packs a pistol, but I guess everybody did back then. I do seem to recall Gail Patrick playing a beyotch to perfection, though.
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A Porn Star Is Born
After her career hits the skids, an “actress” decides to go on 60 Minutes (which, coincidentally, is the longest relationship she’s ever had) to claim that
Ted KennedyBill ClintonHarvey Weinstein Anderson Cooper Pee Wee Herman Tor Johnsonsomebody had his way with her. Next, she starts a “Go F___ Me” Page on Facebook, which leads to a one-night stand with Mark Zuckerberg after he threatens to release all her personal information. In the stunning finale, she falls for Vladimir Putin’s pectoralis major and ends up directing movies for the Russian adult film industry. Donald Trump has a cameo as “John.”-
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Tuesday, 5:15 a.m.:
Synopsis: A mutated sea creature attacks people along the beach.
Dir: Earl Harper Cast: Kent Taylor , Kathy Downs , Michael Whalen .Stinkweed production. The title makes no sense. Beautiful Cathy Downs looks over the hill at 31. Kent Taylor stars as a government investigator, working undercover. When first we meet him, he says his name is Ted Baxter (no relation to the pompous anchorman). Then, he claims his name is Ted Stevens (no relation to the disgraced Alaska senator). Fortunately, the film ends before he claims his name is Ted Bundy.
In the only scene where the Phantom actually kills someone, you can see the
Phantom's right hand slipping out of the costume. This explains why this is the
only scene where the Phantom actually kills someone.
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In The Fugitive tv series, the relentless detective after Dr. Kimble was named Philip Gerard. When the movie came out, the name was changed to Sam Gerard. Guess Tommy Lee Jones looked more like a Sam than a Philip.
In the film Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Del Monroe played a character named Kowski. In the tv series, his name was Kowalski.
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#3 is Arlene Francis
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2 hours ago, Janet0312 said:
Pardon My Sarong in which Lief Erickson plays the jilted loverboy/native. I will never, ever to this day understand how Lief got through those scenes without laughing his **** off. "No love Moola! Love me!!!"
"You bet your life me stinkah!"
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1 hour ago, TomJH said:
Maria Montez: "When I look at myself I am so beautiful, I scream with joy."
She ain't the only one.
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3 hours ago, TomJH said:
Glad to see your fiancee has such good taste in films, Rich. I hope, though, she's bracing herself for a lot of Tor Johnson. I hope it doesn't tor your marriage apart.
She suffered through Plan 9 from Outer Space a few weeks ago, and about 5 minutes into it, said she now understood why it's ranked as one of the worst films of all time. I had to explain who Criswell was. Oddly enough, she already knew who Tor Johnson was. Speaking of which, he has a bit in Sudan, another Montez flick.
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#7 is Tom Kennedy
I think they all appeared in various Torchy Blane films.
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1 hour ago, TomJH said:
Childhood nostalgia is a potent force for us all to a degree. You grew up with Harryhausen (ah, Jason's duel with the skeletons!) and I with Montez. May they never lose their appeal for us. I hope you enjoy Ali Baba more than you did Arabian Nights, Lawrence. In Kurt Katch (usually cast as Nazis) you will have a memorably evil Hulagu Khan. This guy's so bad he sticks a knife into . . . well, I'll let you find out for yourself.
I grew up with Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, watching it on tv every chance I could. Probably within the last year or so I located a decent copy on youtube and watched it with my fiancee, who was seeing it for the first time. Towards the end of the film, she said "I can see why you enjoyed this movie as a kid."
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1 hour ago, Dargo said:
Well, you can certainly see why THIS "William C. Haines" never became a big star...okay, except maybe in the field of Meteorology, anyway.
No screen presence! NOPE, none at all.
(...and hey, maybe the very reason why William Wyler, and who I think Will C. here looks a lot like, went behind the camera in his Hollywood career)
It's a little known fact that William Haines changed his name to William Wyler once he saw in which direction the wind was blowing.
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14 minutes ago, laffite said:
Do you recall that very fine six-part documentary that TCM aired some years ago, the title escapes me right now. I wonder if that is out on DVD, probably not. I have it on VHS but I don't have the equipment set up to play right now. Surely you must have like it.
Yeah, I think I did see parts of it ... and I think it may be on youtube.
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Swanson actually did a screen test for her role, although it may have been partly in jest. "That mad Wilder," she said, "when he found out I photographed like a woman of 35, he did his best to make me look like an old hag, even ordered artificial gray for my hair. I didn't understand why, since there's plenty of it there anyway."
According to Swanson, her impersonation of Charlie Chaplin was something she worked up during a lunch break.
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12 minutes ago, LornaHansonForbes said:
(It all boils down to my being a terrible, narcissistic, insecure and ultimately hollow person, really, but I've come to accept this fact with time. )
So has everyone on these boards, but we still like having you around.
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2 hours ago, Bogie56 said:
Thursday, March 22
8 p.m. Sunset Blvd. (1950). One of the great films set right in Hollywood.
The first time I saw this film many, many years ago, I thought to myself, "man, this is wacky, why is this thing so highly regarded?" Repeated viewings have convinced me that this really is one of the great films of all time. I "get it" now. For someone interested in the history of silent films (like I am), this film is an absolute must see. The scenes with DeMille and Swanson are alone worth the price of admission.
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Start watching around the 20:10 mark:
I Just Watched...
in General Discussions
Posted
I can't find any evidence that Armetta ever used the name "Armida," and I have been researching his life for a book I've been working on. However, there was a Mexican actress from the 30s and 40s, who was billed as "Armida." She may have been the one who signed that autograph.