movieman1957

I didn't know there was one just about Babe. I like him very much off screen by the way he worked with Stan. They seemed to be great friends up until Hardy's death and Stan seemed to be reluctant to do anything that Ollie wasn't going to be part of. I know Ollie was content to let Stan do the behind the scenes work while he went to play golf. He was also happy with Stan making more money as he did more work. Thanks for the info.

To tell you the truth I never really saw much of their work. I agree about Dale. I bet off screen she had her say. Overall I would rather watch strong women in movies. We seem to get them in dramas and even some love stories but not too often in westerns. That is where the setting requires some strength. Too often the women are the, as you say, damsel-in-distress. I've been watching some of Randolph Scott's late westerns and that seemed to be the woman's role. Fight off a couple of the bad guys and get rescued from time to time.

We both have our birthdays on Oct. 16 and she seems like a nice lady but I'm not a fan. I don't go out of my way to catch her but I don't have any problem with her either. I thought she was pretty good in "Manchurian Candidate" but never cared much for "Murder She Wrote." I used to joke that was the show for the 80's where old movie stars went to die. (Kind of like "Love Boat" in the 70's.)

I'm probably too mainstream. I like Wayne, Stewart, Glenn Ford, Richard Widmark and a few others. I also like Brennan, with or without teeth. For the ladies it is mostly Maureen O'Hara. There aren't too many strong women in westerns. (previous poster comments noted on Stanwyck.)

According to my Cagney biography he was married to "Billie" for 60 years. (Married Sept. 1922.) I've never read or heard anything describe him in any way as unfaithful. Message was edited by: Me

I haven't read many others. I read "Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy" years ago. Don't remember much about it. I have a copy of "The Comedy World of Stan Laurel", also by McCabe. I have a copy of "The Films Of L&H". There's only a little of them and a catalogue of their films with short critiques of them. I've never really found much to read on them. Thanks for the book title. Maybe I'll get the Louvish book and let you know how it is. Now Marx Bros. books, that's a different story. Nearly a dozen of those. Message was edited by: Me

jdb1: I listened to the program. It was quite nice. Not too much of L&H but a lot of interviews with people who had seen/knew them during the trips. Oddly enough for a radio station they didn't do a very good job of preserving things (as far as L&H were concerned.) The whole channel looks interesting though.

I was in a book store and happened on what I thought was a new book. "Stan and Ollie: The Roots of Comedy" by Simon Louvish. It turns out it is from 2004. Looked new to me. Anybody seen or heard of the book or author? It would be grand to have a good L&H book.

I'm not sure which Crawford film you mean as I am no fan of hers so am not too familiar with her body of work. What has seemed to me as her lack of any genuine warmth has always been a turn-off. I usually didn't even buy into her love stories. I agree with you on Bette Davis and like her much better. I have always liked McCrea. For that stretch through the early 40's he did some great work. I would like to see more of his early work. I've seen a few things but it has been a long time.

Sturges had a real knack for taking people who may not have been known for their comedy and making them work. Brian Donlevy in "The Great McGinty" for example. I'm not sure McCrea had much of a comedy career before Sturges came along but it sure kicked him into another level. I was thinking of Alec Guiness, Jimmy Stewart, Claudette Colbert but they may have been the other way 'round. (Comedy to drama.) One of the best dramatic actresses in comedy was Margaret Dumont.(see Marx Bros.) She always played everything like she was in high theater. She was as serious as a heart attack. Why she did them all those years when she said she didn't understand their humor is strange. However, it was good for us.

Airplane! (1980) It opened up a whole new world for him.

No, I won't get you started. Back in the 80's I used to work just down the street from the building they used as their headquarters. There was nothing "police" about the building. The real police headquarters is quite few blocks away. It was great for the city. It's a weird feeling watching TV shows set in a place I know. We don't get that too much in Baltimore. (Ex. "Ladder 49" and "Avalon")

Dolores: Speaking of Donofrio,,,, I think he is quite good. He did a great job on a "Homicide" episode a few years back where he played a man who was pushed under a subway car and cut in half. Very intense. But if you really want to see some interesting work, just in case you haven't, try and find him when he was on "The Equalizer." It was a spy show for TV from back in the 80's. He played a mentally handicapped young man that helped out the star - Edward Woodward. You never would have known he wasn't handicapped. Chris

There was actually a TV series called "Casablanca" where David Soul (Starsky and Hutch) played Bogart's character. See IMDB.com if you like.) I think the new Hollywood types think that most of the viewing public have never seen the originals so they can pull one over. Most of the current movie going public won't know Glenn Ford much less Van Heflin. I'm not even sure what makes them think a new western is even what the public wants. (Although Selleck has had good success on TV.)

> the Beatles sold their song rights to the cretin > Michael Jackson. You get no argument on Jackson being a cretin but The Beatles didn't really sell their song rights. They never really owned them. They had fought for years to acquire them. The holder took Jackson's offer rather than McCartney's. They do own the recordings which is why you don't hear those in ads or available for downloading.

I saw "Hard To Handle" and "Lady Killer" and they're both unusual but fun pictures. Cagney was pretty funny in both. I had never seen either of them before. On the whole I'll take Cagney. As much as I enjoy Bogart he does not have the the range of talent that Cagney does. (IMO) Bogart might be "top of the world" but I can't see him as George S Cohan.

I knew I would forget somebody. But the truth is there are just too many interesting people with too much knowledge to get them all in. (How's that for an excuse?) ;-) DavidEnglish: They give Oscars for best adapted screenplay. Sometimes design is about pulling things together to make them work. Message was edited by: Me

Welcome to you. It's always nice to have new people. Levity and some sarcasm are the orders of the day around here. You'll find a wide variety of opinions here and if you are like me you will learn plenty. As for your question about favorites, well there is a whole forum of "Favorites' that will cover stars, movies, music in movies, hairstyles and lots of others to discuss. People are pretty sharp here but don't be afraid to defend your position. It makes for good reading.

If asked I would humbly accept both positions.

Hardly. This has been your brainchild. You have put a tremendous amount of thought and work into this thread. The detail that you and others have put into this has made it an extraordinary and fun read. You are being much too modest.

And some of the other fine staff at the university... Mongo: Professor of Film History and Dean of Records. vecchiolarry: Professor of Hollywood Star Studies and History Garbomanic: Professor of Garbo and Archivist of The H. Lamarr Photography Library. DavidEnglish: Professor of Design JackBurley: Professor of Music and Dance. jdb1: Professor of New York and Comedy Teams stoneyburke: President of the Debating Society. Kyle In Holly wood and Lzcutter: Directors of Programming. Moirafinne6: President of the University. And the rest of the fine Associate Professors on loan from the TCM Foundation.

Whatever may have been wrong with the studio system as an employer it was genius as an industry. All kinds of people had time to learn their craft. They did that by working and working a lot. There isn't really a way to do that now. It seems that you may have to know it when you show up. Today there are no stars because there are no studios (in the old sense) that promote stars. None that give them a chance to be glamorous. Nor do the stars give themselves much of a chance by way of how they dress or conduct themselves. The whole process seemed to have a charm to it (maybe in hindsight) that doesn't happen now. When the biggest money makers are served up by the likes of Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller it's hard to think that Hollywood is stretching itself. Maybe only when they have made the last possible TV show into a movie will they move on. Maybe I am too cynical. It's not that there is nothing to see it's just that as a group modern films don't compare well. Of course, that's just my opinion. Message was edited by: Me

I was lucky enough to catch it on TV and it's one of my favorites too. Millard Mitchell is quite good in this film and indeed most of his other work from this time frame. Working in "Kiss Of Death", "A Foreign Affair", "12 O'Clock High", "Winchester '73" and "Naked Spur" is a pretty good resume. He's not mentioned too often around here.

I think Palin's been having way too much fun making those travel documentaries for BBC.

Rusty: If you'll allow me to interrupt... You might try sell them as another type with a war setting. If she likes court room dramas she might like "Paths Of Glory." Maybe movies that are less about fighting. "Above and Beyond" which aired last week was almost as much a family drama as it was about planning the dropping of the atomic bomb. Something like "Task Force" or "The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell" are, as I'm sure you know, less battle driven. Could you back her into one by starting her with "The Best Years Of Our Lives" or something similar? Maybe you've thought of this kind of approach but I know getting a wife to watch a war movie is a tough sell. They think they are all blood and guts. Good luck. Chris