coffeedan

The 1945 remake of THE PETRIFIED FOREST substituting Nazis POWs for gangsters is called ESCAPE IN THE DESERT. And the Nazis were left-wing thugs, being members of Germany's National Socialist party. (The German acronym for the party gave us the word Nazi.)

Gosh, I didn't realize I had written a post that was so "sticky-worthy." Lynn, you and anybody else are free to stick that post where you feel it will save a lot of explanation, with my compliments. > So I still have a few questions. If WB controls TCM, > then how come TCM doesn't control films made by > Warner Brothers (Clockwork Orange, Blazing Saddles > etc. Because in 1955, Warner Brothers sold off its entire pre-1949 library of features, cartoons, and live-action shorts to a TV programming distribution firm, Associated Artists Productions. AAP was absorbed by United Artists in the early 1970s, and UA itself merged with MGM in 1979, which was bought by Ted Turner in 1986. That's how all of that ended up together. Warner Brothers (the studio) and TCM are complete, separate corporate entities within the AOL Time Warner empire. So if TCM wants to broadcast a post-1949 Warner Brothers film, they have to lease it from Warner Brothers. I don't understand the arrangement entirely, but that's how it goes. Up until 1999 or thereabouts, MGM was distributing the TCM library on video and DVD, but later that year they struck a new distribution deal with Warner Home Video, which has distributed TCM-owned product to the present day. One misperception needs to be corrected: TCM did not purchase the Paramount titles mentioned outright -- they leased the broadcast rights. And I'm wondering if they got the rights to any other Paramount silents besides WINGS . . .

I continue to have odd problems on this site -- today I signed on and could access every folder except Trivia!!! Had to restart my computer before I could get in here. Anyway -- Tuesday's question: After winning the Oscar for Best Actress, who said: "I never thought I'd have a nomination . . . I never thought anybody ever took any of my pictures seriously"? Good luck!

Good job, vallo! You are correct!

What's this about sick elephants?

Monday's question: What British stage and film actor's autobiography is titled A Victorian in Orbit? Good luck!

Greetings, everybody! Since I recently purchased more shelving for my growing movie collection, I decided to take inventory this weekend and found I have 1,074 films shelved in the hall of my apartment! And even though I have films from every era on those shelves, slightly more than half were released before 1935. I guess the late silent, early talkie, and pre-code eras hold the same fascination for me today as they did back in my high school days. Then I got to thinking about those folks posting here who have way larger collections than I have, upwards to 5,000 films. Where do you store them? In the basement? The den? Does the whole house become your film library, and you sleep in the garage? I've often wondered. For now, let's get on to this week's movie trivia . . .

Omigosh, I thought I posted the answer here on Saturday, but I guess it didn't take. Vallo, you were indeed correct -- the song was "You're All The World To Me." Now let's hurry over to this week's doings . . .

Yes, they were both on the USC football squad when John Ford cast them in bit parts in his 1929 picture SALUTE.

> Was Ward Bond ever in a John Ford movie in which John > Wayne did not appear? Just off the top of my head: MY DARLING CLEMENTINE, DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK, THE GRAPES OF WRATH, FLESH, ARROWSMITH and UP THE RIVER, for starters. Bond and Ford worked together long before John Wayne came into the picture (literally).

In that number, the movie camera and the room (as well as the furniture in it) were kept in fixed positions, while the room was rotated on a kind of crane a quarter-turn at a time. As you can probably guess, the number was shot silent, with the music and Fred Astaire's taps added later. In fact, If you watch the sequence carefully, you can see Astaire "test" the stability of each surface before he dances on it.

Friday's question: When Fred Astaire danced on the ceiling in the 1951 film ROYAL WEDDING, what song was he dancing to? Good luck!

Welllllll . . . you're half-right, scarlett. Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. spoke those words in the sound prologue to THE IRON MASK (1929), his last silent film which concluded the story of the Three Musketeers -- and Fairbanks's own silent film career.

Thursday's question: What film legend's first words in a talking picture were, "Come with me to France of old, to fiery days when blood was young and hate was bold . . ."? Good luck!

Okay, I'll give to you both! Volney was the lion who opened each film from the Samuel Goldwyn studio, carrying over the job when that studio merged with Metro Coporation and Louis B. Mayer Productions to become MGM in 1924, making him their first "Leo the Lion."

Wednesday's question: His name was Volney and he died in Overton Park Zoo in Memphis, Tennessee in 1944. What important part did he play in film history? Good luck!

Good guess, Ken! You are correct! Laemmle originally offered Karloff the title role in THE INVISIBLE MAN, but only if he took a cut in pay. Naturally, Karloff turned it down, and it marked the film debut of Claude Rains.

To search the schedule by year: 1. Click on Site at the top of the page, to the immediate left of the search window. 2. Type the year you want in the search window. 3. Hit GO. 4. The results will be listed under Schedule Matches.

Well, I had to look and look, but I found a nearly complete TCM schedule for July of 2001 on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine. It's lacking the lineups for July 30 and 31, but the numbers still have a lot to tell. Here's the breakdown: 1920s and before -- 10 films 1930s -- 81 films 1940s -- 100 films 1950s -- 91 films 1960s -- 60 films 1970s -- 7 films 1980s -- 3 films 1990s -- 4 films 2000s -- 1 film (the restored and expanded ELVIS: THAT'S THE WAY IT IS) Also, I found the closest thing to a TCM "mission statement" on a 1999 webpage of TCM's history, short as it was then. It begins with this statement: "Turner Classic Movies presents the greatest films of all time, from the '20s through the '80s (emphasis mine) -- featuring the silent screen, international pictures, as well as all of Hollywood's genres -- commercial-free, uninterrupted, 24 hours a day." And continuing in path40a's footsteps, I compiled these stats from the January 2003 and January 2004 issues of Now Playing, respectively: 1920s and before . . . . . . . .7 . . . . . . . . . 9 1930s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91 . . . . . . . . 82 1940s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 . . . . . . . 114 1950s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95 . . . . . . . 105 1960s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 . . . . . . . . 51 1970s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 . . . . . . . . 19 1980s and after . . . . . . . . . 17 . . . . . . . . .11 I could produce other stats showing the numbers going up and down, but I think Lynn's prior appraisal was right: At times, TCM has had more modern films in the schedule than it does now. It has also had fewer of those films. But as much as the numbers go up and down, the programmers do maintain some basic proportions. The modern films have always been part of the programming mix, right from the very beginning, but they have never overwhelmed the rest of the schedule. There are a few exceptions, but TCM has kept to showing modern films that are at least 10 years old (the most recent film in this month's schedule is from 1996), which I think is distance enough for determining a "classic." In the end, you can't define quality chronologically or "by the numbers." Like others here, I used a chronological criterion to define classics for many years, and eventually found it constricting. You just have to sit down and watch the movies, and evaluate them on their own merits. Fortunately, TCM gives us a lot of opportunites to do just that.

Tuesday's question: What classic horror role did Boris Karloff turn down because Universal studio head Carl Laemmle asked him to take a pay cut? Good luck!

Boy, we're really having fun with this one! But vallo was the first one in with the correct answer. Although Tom Ewell appeared in an episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" in 1955, he was never in a film directed by the Master of Suspense. For the record, Barry Fitzgerald was in JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK (1930), Robert Benchley in FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT (1940), William Tracy in MR. AND MRS. SMITH (1941), and Sean Connery in MARNIE (1964). And thanks for the "welcome back," vallo and path. Vacations to tropical climes are great, but it's even better to come home again.

Monday's question: Of Sean Connery, Robert Benchley, William Tracy, Tom Ewell, and Barry Fitzgerald, which actor was never in an Alfred Hitchcock film? Good luck!

Greetings, everybody! I had a wonderful time in Fort Myers, Florida last week. I visited two wildlife refuges, made my yearly pilgrimage to Thomas Edison's winter home (since my childhood, he's been one of my heroes), and most importantly, helped my mom celebrate her 71st birthday. It was a real treat for both of us, and a great way to beat the winter blues. And thanks also to Mongo for taking over the Trivia thread last week. As many of you know by now, Mongo is stepping down from weekly trivia duties, but will be continuing his Happy Birthday and Ask Mongo threads elsewhere on the site. I'll miss him here -- we've had fun e-mailing each other back and forth on trivial and other matters -- but it's good to know he'll still be around. Now, on to this week's movie trivia . . .

It's THEED-a Bara (with a "soft" th).

Glad to help out, Midge. (Sorry for the delay, but I just got back from vacation!) In this country, I've never heard Ms. Daniels' name pronounced any other way but "Beebee." I heard Suzanne Lloyd say that her grandfather, Harold Lloyd, called her "Beeb," but it was obviously a pet name (they were in love and almost married at one time), and not the actual pronunciation. I can't verify this, but I seem to remember a BBC radio broadcast where the announcer pronounced her name as "Baby" Daniels. Again, that may be idiomatic.