movieman1957

"Easy Living" was long overdue for an airing. I was lucky enough to have a VHS so I didn't suffer like some have. Now the DVD is on the way. This is one of my favorite comedies. Not as well known (any wonder?) as other great comedies but serves up wonderful mix-ups and mistaken circumstances. Jean is lovely and Ray is handsome and fun. Who knew a discarded fur coat could cause so much trouble. I think the writer of "Midnight" was looking just to be off-the-wall. The breakfast (or was it dinner?) scene where she mentions she received a single roller skate covered with Thousand Island dressing is the product of a weird mind. Barrymore making like a baby is wonderfully bizarre. Great fun all around.

Has anyone heard from "sugarpuss?" It's been almost a month since her last entry (after pretty regular articles) and I was getting concerned whether she was ok.

Fred: I thing someone did delete THAT word. In the scene where the barn is being torn down the man runs up and says "What the ______ are you doing to my barn?" Tthe other odd thing was why would they show a movie this adult oriented at 10pm ET and show the far more family friendly "Operation Petticoat" at midnight. It seems they would have been better being switched on the schedule. Chris

Diana: You're right. Farentino was one of the sons (the other being George Segal.) Overall I was pleasantly surprised at the show. (I also watched it on On Demand.) Baldwin seems a genuine fan. It is a pleasant conversation between two people who like each other. Those are the best kind. Gene seems genuinely happy. Interesting stories about Brooks and Pryor are scattered through the discussion. They probably had more material they could have used for the show. It would have been fine by me.

Moira: I can't see it since it's on Youtube but I remember it and thought it was great. I also like the "Rocky" version at the retirement home. We could do with a few more. (I collect some of the little features.) I like the monthly promos (music videos) but I don't think we've had one this year. Kyle: I don't have the same reaction as you for the promo. I am usually to tired in the morning to rant about much.(Good night's sleep? Not likely.) Check with me in the afternoon though.

Start with anything with Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire. Fred - "Band Wagon" "Top Hat" "Holiday Inn" Gene - "An American In Paris" "On The Town" Others - "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers" "Footlight Parade" Many others are available and others will chime in. Stay tuned.

That's more than too bad. Who else is going to show them? They don't fit anyone else's programming. Maybe WB wanted too much for them. I'm glad they explained it though.

I remember the good old days around post number 2300. Coop would be impressed.

Thanks for the posters. That's a very odd but interesting poster of Keaton. (I've been checking them more regularly.) Chris

HI Kyle: TCM must be why God invented recorders. I had every intention on recording "Easy Living" (as I'll be at practice) because I really like this movie. Now I don't have to as my wife bought us a copy. I often tape things in the middle of the night here. No point in losing any sleep (assuming I can sleep) when I can watch it later. I agree about "Amistad." I did n't get to see it recently but have seen it before. The court room scenes with Hopkins I thought were realy well done. (That's been floating in the back of my mind as I have watched the "John Adams" series on HBO.) If you're thinking Olbermann or Arthur. Olbermann or Arthur. Let me suggest always Arthur. She's much more attractive. I don't watch Keith unless he's doing sports but I think I'm going to have to go teach him how to tie his tie better. Hope you are well. Chris

I think part of it may be the casting (or premise) of confident, strong Olivier falling for mousy, shy, plain Fontaine. They just don't seem logical. Maybe women see it differently that's why they like it better. My wife likes it better than I do.

You are probably not going to see "Love Is A Many Spendored Thing" here because it's a 20th Century Fox picture. They are not always so generous with TCM. The funny thing about your request for "Born Yesterday" (the one with Judy Holliday) is that people complained that it was being shown too often last fall. "Alvarez Kelly" has been worn out in the last month. It was scheduled once and then they showed it as part of the Widmark tribute. Some of the others are fairly rare shwoings. "Toko-Ri" though has had a regular ride. There were still some good choices for today.

"Steamboat Bill, Jr." was on The Essentials I think as far back as Bogdonovich. NOt sure if "City Lights" was though.

Re: "A Lady Takes A Chance." It is a fun movie. They have really nice chemistry. I just got a copy from Amazon. You can get it two different ways. It comes by itself or you can get a two disk set with "Dark Command", as I did, for the same price. In "Cogburn" my favorite scene is where Wayne has come to take Kate away and she won't go. Wayne is prepared to force her which he is confident he is big enough to make it happen. Me

>What movie are you going to watch? Whichever my wife lets me watch. As it is her birthday too it will probably be something else (although she does like some classic movies) but I'll tape "The Westerner." I don't care much for "The Fountainhead." Too preachy. I think I have a copy of everything else. Cooper and Brennan are real good together. It's nice to see Brennan playing against Cooper instead of his buddy.

Hedy Lamarr really sued Mel Brooks. Unfortunately I don't remember the outcome. This is mentioned in the DVD commentary. This is why you get the line about "we'll be able to sue her."

Ok gang: Coop's birthday is coming in a couple of weeks (May7) what are we going to do? It's also my wife's b'day so I may have another commitment. I think dinner and a movie. Everyone decide on a GC movie TCM is showing that day. Watch it and maybe the next day or two have a discussion on it. (Miss G and I did this with another movie and I rather enjoyed it.)

I don't have hundreds of VHS tapes but I do have plenty and still use them. I record regular TV shows or things I know we won't keep. They still come in handy. (I have a DVD recorder but I still have 3 VCRs. It's great if we want to tape different things at the same time.) A retirement home is a good idea for prerecorded tapes. Once while visiting my wife's grandmother I went by a large room to see about twenty seniors sitting around a TV watching "Maytime" with Nelson Eddy. They were enjoying themselves.

April: "Easy Living" is a wonderful movie. Of course, that's just me. Jean Arthur at her lovely best. A surprising Ray Milland as her boyfriend. A Preston Sturges script. The hotel "Louie, Louie" for everyonre to stay in. What's not to love? My wife can never remember the name so it's "the mink coat movie." I have a VHS but I'm getting the DVD because if that tape broke....

Your mentioning "All About Eve" and the number of showings may have something to do with their rental agreement. It could be that TCM can show it a certain number of times within a time frame. The other side is maybe they have the film for six months and they can show it whenever and will show it at different times of the day or night. "North By Northwest" I think got caught up in a Hitchcock run and also for this months spotligh on "Riding The Rails." They're making the most of their dollars.

Just a reminder that Mr. Brownlow comes to visit the SSO this coming week. For some information see the first post in this thread. http://www.silverscreenoasis.com

Re: The Tall T That picture reminds me of my mother's high school senior picture. They took her photograph a gave a kind of painted treatment to it. It looked good. (But then so does my mother.) Re: The Big Country. If you colored one we'd like to see it.

There was so little written about Chico because he was always chasing girls or gambling. My favorite Chico story was that someone asked him how much money he lost gambling. His answer was to find out how much money Harpo had. There was also a story back in their early theater days where Chico and Harpo switched parts as a surprise for Chico's daughter. THey found out afterward that she had left to go somewhere else. They never did it again. Groucho once said that he always expected Chico to die in bed.... but from gunshot wounds. You mentioned Zeppo being very funny. He sometimes filled in for Groucho if he was sick. Apparently he did it well.

Thanks for sharing about Dan. I'm not as affected as you. Not sure why. I knew he had been sick for some time and I knew it was serious so maybe I had in some way prepared myself. I agree about Dan as poet and story teller. "Gazette: Tucson Arizona" is one of my favorite's too. Sad story told in an interesting way. (As a side note I have many of his songbooks and still love to play them on my piano. That is one of them.) "Windows and Walls" is equally sad but for a whole different reason. Even "Sweet Magnolia" and "Believe in Me" are sweet. He sang of love and of lost love. No emotion went untouched. Whether the nostalgia of an old girlfriend (Same Old Lang Syne) or the questioning of one's heart (Wysteria) he entered in and found a way to speak to those feelings. He spoke to the art of love ("Hearts and Crafts.") I love the line in it as the conversation went about whether love was an art "And I said it was more a craft." So true. He was an equally gifted musician and music writer. Whether it was the drive of "Phoenix" or the gentleness of "The Sand and The Foam" each kind was masterfully crafted. Imaginitive chord structures were filled with interesting arrangements. And could he sing harmony! I had a CD of different things. "To The Morning" and "Missing You" and "Lonely In Love" and "Since You've Asked" (even though it's Judy Collins' tune it is very much his) are mixed among a dozen other songs that go straight to what I know. They speak because at some point I've been there. I write songs and his are what I try to measure to. Coming well short is a feeling I am used to. I explained to my daughter one time that classical music was "Sitting down" music. It was music to be paid attention to. It was music to absorb. Dan, in his way, was the same. You are right it was not background. It begged to be paid attention to. I first heard him on the radio with "Part Of The Plan." That album hooked me. I saw him in concert twice. Once after "Phoenix" came out and once after "No Resemblance Whatsoever." Both were wonderful times. He didn't take his music or us for granted. Anyone who could write love songs, jazz, buegrass, pop and rock and all with equal strength and confidence is someone to be remembered. To the masses he was "Longer" but oh the things they will miss if that is all they ever know. You and I love many of the same albums and songs. Frankly, I think he got better as his radio popularity waned. (And his best work never got on the radio.) But at different times in my life his songs speak differently to me. He was a few years older than me but he often spoke for me. We will always have the music. And that we can share (as often as you care to.) Chris

The songs name for 2007 is "Promises" by Badly Drawn Boy. 2006 = "Press On" by Ronbinella. TCM has the last two and some individual ones on this site in the "video" tab at the top. You can also see some other promos at raygun.com