movieman1957

Hi April: Not sure what to make of it as the picture (and your copy of it) show up on my screen. Thanks for adding your publicity shot too.

He could have been her greatest love interest.

I think I printed out the SOTM list you mentioned. The trouble is it is at my office so if no one else comes up with it I'll check and see if I can locate the thread an copy it for you.

Walmart might likely will have "The Searchers" along with the detergent. BTW, don't forget the M&Ms.

BG48: Computer problems and dreams like that may be a signal of bigger issues. Have a chocolate bar and a movie and see if that helps. The rest of you have mentioned some British comedies I don't know. "Black Books" is unknown but I have heard but not seen "Father Ted." I guess I need to get busy.

CineMaven: "Doctor In The House" was really my first exposure to British comedies. I thought it was great fun. I learned a good deal of English slang from that show. I don't know what possessed my local channel to show it because no one in our area was showing anything like it and this was back in the early to mid 70s. I haven't seen any of the "Carry On" movies but I have seen some discussion here so I'm keeping a lookout for them.

You mention the end credits being crunched for announcements now they do a split screen on the end credits so they start the opening on another episode. (That is predominant on "Law and Order" episodes.) Forget trying to find out who that familiar face was at the end of the show like we used to.

What you say makes perfect sense. If were all about how we like a character a lot of great movies would not have been made. If the motivation is interesting it can make you understand them and make for a good movie.

Kathy: You are quite right in that Stewart's character is a bit arrogant or maybe a better word is bitter. At a minimum he is cranky. He is raising a family and working a farm in a sense alone. He has plenty of children but the one he loves is long dead. He goes to church gudgingly and only because he promised his wife. He's struggled. He doesn't want to get involved in the war because he has no need to be involved. No one ever came around to help him as he points out. Obviously the sons want to be invovled maybe more for the excitement. When Stewart asks "Are they (the war) on our land?" When they all know they are not that is the end of the discussion. Alas, he is not all that bad. The scenes where he gives McClure his premarriage counseling are wonderfully warm. He asks McClure "Do you like her?" McClure answers "Oh, I love her." Stewart replies "That's not what I asked you." That is important. He knows that love while the basis is not enough there must be friendship. Later after they find McClure Stewart prepares a kind of bridal suite for them. Clearly the experience has affected Stewart. He's lost some family but gained his soul. He is transformed.

Good old Onslow. I have watched that show for years. Who can't help but feel for Onslow and Richard. I like the way they are comrades in misery and thus respect and like each other as in their own way they suffer. British comedies are full of weirdos. In addition to most of the cast on "Keeping Up Appearances" you have most of the cast of "Absolutuely Fabulous," "Are You Being Served" (which I am not the fond of) "The Vicar of Dibley and the king of suffering Basil Fawlty. How wonderful that not everyone in Britain was doing "Jane Eyre."

LSM: Not only are the promos for shows adding sound they take up a larger potion of the screen than they used to. Watching "Law and Order" on USA or TNT (less so for this reason) is extraordinarily distracting. Do I need to be reminded a third time that "The Closer" is coming up next? I don't need to have a 3 inch Kyra Sedgewick swing in to the picture and show off how pouty expression. If I have to suffer through it all the title should be sufficient. This practice more often then not drives me to another channel. "Reality" shows can take a long deserved hiatus. When you think of what Bravo and A&E used to be and what they pass off as programming now is just too sad.

> Is this thread just to, well, torture FG? Yea. It is mostly Frank vs. The Ladies. Once in a while some of the rest of us cut in to disrupt things. As you can tell this is a catch-all thread. Almost any topic is fiar game. They don't bite...much.

>Beds are made for resting in... solo. That's what classic film has taught me. THe great Groucho Marx in his book "Beds" has a chapter (first) called "The Advantages of Sleeping Alone." The chapter is blank. Spoken like a true ladies man. Incidently, Groucho said he always thought Chico would die in bed but of gunshot wounds.

It is TCM's policy not to edit movies and that includes bleeping words. Just last week I heard Lawrence Fishburne cut loose with one in his interview with Mitchell. I've seen quite a few others that have four letter words. It most likely is the way the print arrived from the distributor. I've seen "Sheriff" before and don't remember that being a problem. As an aside I saw a few minutes of "Blazing Saddles" on AMC and they were bleeping all over the place. Why bother to show it?

Walter Matthau and Sophia Loren in "Grumpier Old Men."

"Killer's Kiss" made a short turn on Encore last month for a few showings so maybe it will be back.

Susan: Such sad news but I hope you take heart in that medicine is doing some amazing things. I have several friends at my church who are dealing with different cancers and they are making progress in recovering. My prayer is that your treament will meet the need and you will soon be back with us. I hope you will keep us up to date with your progress and we can be a nice diversion for you. All the best Chris

>I realize that, as a man, I'm essentially clueless about most things, but it completely bewilders me to find that something I've done for ten years is suddenly despicable. It is not "that thing" that is suddenly despicable it is more likely something else that set it all off and that came flooding out. I think that something that had been that big an annoyance to someone else would have been brought up long before "it" would have become the issue. **************** I like Myrna Loy in "Mr. Blandings." Loving wife, partner, encourager and lovely too. She has a sense of humor and she's no push over.

Just a reminder, since you brought up the Roach shorts, that there are about 15 Laurel and Hardy shorts scheduled for their SUTS day on August 23. Hopefully, they will get the rest of the Roach shorts back into some kind of rotation.

In the Chaplin documentary that ran yesterday composer David Raksin said Chaplin couldn't notate music. Raksin's job was to take what Chaplin did and score it and tweek it to make it fit mroe exactly the film and the rules, so to speak, of music. The music was Chaplin's.

Thank you, Minya.

I think ice cream is good anytime after you get up in the morning. One should not let a meal get in the way of having ice cream. It is even acceptable to have it after having had a snack. Always, always have dessert first as you never know what will happen. If you can't have ice cream I would suggest M&Ms.

I watched Bette Davis being interviewed by DIck Cavett and she said she thought Flynn was the most beautiful man ever.

Interesting post. A good read. My question (to see if I'm missing anything) is there that much difference visually from one to the other? It seems to me that Ford and Boetticher with (cue chorus) Scott made ample use of the landscape. Boetticher seemed to love the Alabama Hills as much as Ford did Monument Valley. Take the location out of the question and I don't see a lot of difference in their visual styles. It seemed tell the story and don't be dull. Mann was dark. He made stories with bad guys who were much more subtle. They were, in a sense, likeable. Think Arthur Kennedy. Even Stewart was not all goodness and light. That's not the case with "The Tin Star" as the tension is built between Fonda's jaded experience and Perkins' ill advised confidence. No bad guys except except Neville Brand who is really there to play on the differences. Boetticher, I thought, was the definition of economy. Hardly any of his westerns with Scott run more than 85 minutes if that long. Good succinct story telling. Get into the plot and don't mess around with other stuff. I don't know if that advances anything but....

Many on your list would be on my top 20. I really like your inclusion of "Hombre." A very good and nasty Richard Boone. Strong silent Paul Newman. Good all the way 'round. I've never cared much for the "Spaghetti Westerns." For me they are often too long with long stretches of not much going on. I do enjoy and have quite a few of those you enjoy. One that came to mind to suggest to you is "Escape From Ft. Bravo" with William Holden. It has a very tense ending which adds to an already decent western. Holden is cynical (and good) as usual. "Forty Guns" is going on my list. If it keeps rising for you then I'll check it out. I like most any western. Other's not on your list you might enjoy are "Jubal" and "The Fastest Gun Alive" with Glenn Ford. "The Last Wagon" and "Warlock" with Richard Widmark. I could go on but I'll leave it. Maybe we'll pick a title, get MissG and some other friends and have a nice chat on them. Not to worry, I won't be using that greeting again if it conjures up the thought of me in long black gloves. I'll leave that for the two of you to work out. Chris