MikeDouglas

I like old planes so I especially like Howard Hawks' "AIR FORCE". "ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT" Still the best anti-war film. Who cares about pride and uniforms and boundaries etc etc when your immediate problem is the 10,000 or so guys in front of you who are trying as hard as they can to kill you. "THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES" Returning veterans having to face the reality of new battles at home.

I am with Cagney69 on this. "It's a Gift" is 65-70 minutes of pure madness. I like the scene where it is around 2 a.m. and the phone starts ringing. Fields and his wife, both half-asleep are saying, "you answer it...no you answer it". Finally Fields answers and it's a wrong number and Fields says; "No this is not the maternity hospital." He gets back into bed and suddenly his wife is standing up wide awake with hands on hips asking Fields; "Who is calling you at this hour of the night from a maternity hospital?" When Fields is out in California and "negotiating" with investors who want his land on the cheap. No matter what they offer Fields says, "No". Fields, who has been taking shots of booze from a pocket bottle is finally confronted by one of the investors..."Sir you are drunk!" To which Fields responds; "I may be drunk but you're crazy, I'll be sober tomorrow but you'll be crazy the rest of your life." I love the ending, when we get to see Fields vision of Heaven on Earth. His wife and kids are leaving for the day...Fields is dressed all in white sitting at a table on his large cool front porch. On the table he has containers of gin, tonic water and sliced up oranges. While making himself a LARGE Gin and Tonic he is finally at peace with the world.

Thanks To TCM Programmer for May schedule. I better start now, stocking up on tape. I have seen bits and pieces of BOAN in film class a LONG time ago, so I am looking forward to seeing it from start to finish. It seems EVERYDAY there is fun stuff to watch. Alot of those early Bette Davis movies, I can't recall ever seeing. It will be interesting to see her in some of her early films in which she is sort of "in development".

I am with you Bill and phantomfirefly. The ending of "The Color Purple" was something. When Whoopi Goldberg's children came driving up after all that time and distance. Then when that great big young man held his arms out to Whoopi and with a little hesitation and alot of excitement said, "Momma ??!!" Sure got to me.

Jane Greer in "Out of the Past" and Jayne Meadows in "Lady in the Lake"

Mongo I appreciate your efforts in the search. Regards

FredCDobbs I always enjoy reading your posts on cameras and about your career as a reporter. I hope to continue doing so. Your views on Hollywood and New York I find amazing. There was/is racism in every state. I did not grow up in "the South", and I certainly did not grow up in your "the South". It sounds idyllic. I did spend alot of time in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Florida in the late 50's and early-mid 60's, because my brother was stationed at different Air Force Bases in those states. The racism we experienced and observed was simply deep-seated and appalling. My family and friends did not experience or witness this racism through any Hollywood or New York filter. By the way, you mentioned your "interesting statistic" you accumulated, which was in the decades of the 50s and 60s there were 20 lynchings of blacks by whites. Well, in the decades 1910 to 1949, there were about 895. The leading state in lynchings was Mississippi.

Hello Mongo; Since asking you about that possible connection between Dorothy Lamour, William Ross Howard, and John Ridgely, I have looked around at other sources and could find nothing. In fact the only place I have seen it is on the TCM Database. Anyway, I sure do appreciate your search. Regards

"The Letter"...wonderful movie, and of course that famous beginning where she comes out blazing away with her "heater" at her VERY soon to be ex-lover. "In This Our Life"...she is such a bad girl. Baaaaad girl.

I like Lena Horne. The "one and only" is RIGHT. She had so much class, charm, beauty...well she has it all. And man could she sing. She had a sort of effort-less grace, IMO. I recall her lovely smile while she was performing, that twinkle in those lovely eyes that seemed to say to her audience..."just sit back and watch and listen, I'll do the rest." Nothing against the other actresses, but I sure wish she could have received some of those other roles you mentioned. We could have seen her in full blossom.

Thanks Izcutter and Kyle for helping me remember, and telling me about the new stuff. I think I have it out of my system now. Kyle, I used the bus when I lived there, and so I have little doubt if I was still there I would be using that subway, going places I wanted to go and seeing people I wanted to see.

Hello Izcutter and Kyle, Sure have been alot of changes, it sounds though as if GENERALLY speaking, they are trying to fix the area up. I moved into the area in 81, and lived off Barham blvd, sorta between Hollywood and the Valley. Toluca Lake is how it was unofficially called. Hollywood was really getting seedy in the early 80's. There were so many homeless people (and others) walking the streets 24/7 that one could get a sense of anarchy. I worked just south of Sunset between De Longpre and Gower. Across Gower then was an old movie studio. I want to say it was Columbia, but memory fades. I do know across Sunset from that studio was KCBS. That's when Connie Chung was there, and while working inside saw her prepare to give the news a few times. The funny thing about that building was that, if you entered it from the parking lot the main studio was RIGHT THERE. Of course they had security, but once they got used to you, it was up to YOU to watch out and make sure you didn't bumble and stumble your way right onto the set. You guys ever go to the Griffith Park Observatory and see the different light shows they had? I watched Edmond O'Brien in the 1949 version of D.O.A. There were several driving sequences that LOOKED like Hollywood and Vine. But that is my early 80's memories trying to fit into 1949. I know the land starts to gently slope up from south to north, in that area, with the slope increasing as you get to the Hills. That is what some of those sequences looked like to me. Regards

Hello Kyle..... In the early 80's my bus stop was at Hollywood and Vine. Memory is fading but I believe it was the 212 to Barham Blvd, which is a surface street connecting Hollywood with the Valley. I can't IMAGINE a subway being there. Talks of subways were just a gleam in the City Planner's eyes. Where does someone catch the subway on Hollywood Blvd? In the early 80's, waiting for the bus at that intersection could be an experience. I believe there was a jewelry shop on the northeast corner, and across Vine on the northwest corner there was a coffee shop. There was also a bank and a drugstore very close to the intersection on the southeast corner. We watched a guy run as fast as he could with a brick in his hand, and throw the brick through the display window of the jewelry shop, then come over and act like he was waiting for the bus. The cops had him really quick, before the bus came, because he was the one out of breath (plus the jeweler id'd him). There was another guy whom everyone called "Cowboy, or "The Sheriff" who wore Cowboy clothes complete with a kid's badge and toy six-shooters. If someone littered and "The Sheriff" saw them he pulled his toy six-shooters and yelled and screamed until the litterer picked up their trash. If the police saw anyone messing with him, they really looked out for him. As you can imagine, the Sheriff had his hands full with litterers in Hollywood. I would guess the Sheriff's age as early 30's in those days, so he could still be walking his beat. What a place.

Good Day Mongo I have run into something. I asked you a couple months ago or so about supporting actor John Ridgely. A "Whatever Happened To...?" type question. Which you very kindly answered. I watched John Ford's "The Hurricane", which afterwards had me looking at Dorothy Lamour's biography. I see she married William Howard in 1943 and remained married to him until his death in 1978. Their first son was named John Ridgely Howard (no birth date listed). Dorothy Lamour and Ridgely do have one movie in common..."The Greatest Show On Earth". Lamour was still a big "star" when this film was made (1952), and by this time Ridgely's movie career was definitely on the down hill slope. Most likely, I am thinking Ridgely is an old family name of Howard or Lamour ( I know Lamour is her "movie name"). But if not, do you know of any possible connection between Lamour and Ridgely?

I taped "White Shadows in the South Seas" and "The Pagan" and was having fun watching these films, because they are transitional films in the movement from silent to talkie. And then there she was...DOROTHY JANIS...I felt like one of those old Warner's cartoon's where a cartoon characters eyes pop WAY out. I had NO idea she was so lovely. I agree with a previous post...its nice to see she left Hollywood behind, but sure which she had made a few more films.

FredCDobbs I thought I had seen "Adventures of Tartu" before. I have...as "Sabotage Agent". The last time I knew "White Shadows in the South Seas" was on TCM I missed most of it. I'm ready this time to record it. 5 am Central Time. Thanks for heads up.

Bill...was that a Louise Beavers quote or Hattie McDaniel? (about better to play a maid then be one). I guess the important thing is that it is a point well taken. I think basically all film, period, should be protected and saved because no matter what is on the film, it has become a Historical Document. We are the first few generations that gets to see our recent ancestors actually move, and speak. Also, as far as film, what they would pay to see. It is not our job to edit or censor for future generations. They need to see these films as they were made. All this includes Jolson's films. I have seen "The Jazz Singer", for its historical significance, and parts of some of his other films. Just my opinion, but Jolson's performances I find aggravating and hard to watch. I asked my mother many years ago ( she is now 88), what is the deal with Al Jolson? Why was he so popular? She told me she had read that his Live Performances were outstanding and audiences just loved him, because he gave them EVERYTHING he had. For some, (like me) it just didn't translate to the screen.

I think we got our first tv in the mid-50's. We were from Illinois living in Kansas City at the time. There were 3 channels, but they had no programming part of the day, and I recall radio was still important...especially the Arthur Godfrey show. I recall some of the films that FredCDobbs mentions in his post, plus alot of ww2 movies on "Million Dollar Movie". I am guessing because ww2 veterans were still young and just starting their careers and families. I recall "Uncle Miltie", "Life of Riley" with William Bendix, and I THINK Joan Blondell's sister Gloria Blondell, who played the wife of Bendix's best pal and was called Honey Bee.I loved Jackie Gleason and the Honeymooners. I also recall Charlie Chaplin, The Keystone Kops (geez, how many times did they have to be filmed being near-missed by oncoming trains) and Buster Keaton. I recall Faye Emerson (from Warner Bros.fame had a short tv program. The three stations would be off the air at different parts of the day, I assume for lack of programming. Then it was back to the radio and ( I THINK) Bing Crosby.

Checked the database and Gentleman's Agreement is 20th Century Fox, so I probably taped it off FMC.

anonymous124, I taped "Gentleman's Agreement", and also enjoyed Peck's performance. I was really impressed with John Garfield (aka Julius Garfinkel). He felt the film was very important, and so took an important supporting role, just to be in the film. I thought he was excellent. I am almost certain I taped it off TCM, but just can't quite recall.

I have taped some of Ingrid Bergman's early Swedish films off TCM, and find them very enjoyable. I think in 2004 or 2005. "The Count from the Monk's Bridge" 1934...Much of this movie was filmed outside, so one gets to see alot of Stockholm...circa 1934. This was Ingrid's first, she is a featured player, but there are alot of characters in this film that make it fun to watch. "Intermezzo" 1936 Swedish version with Ingrid. "A Women's Face" 1938 again 1938 Swedish version with Ingrid.

Right IZCUTTER According to her bio she "made one of the most heralded show business comebacks, charming Broadway in the 1971 revival of No, No, Nanette." She seems to really struggle when dancing in those 1930's WB's musicals, she looks off balance many times to me. Maybe, that was part of her charm, audiences of the day realized she was giving it everything she had, FOR THEM...add that innocently pretty face...and she was very popular. I know I sure like her, that "Shanghai Lil" number is great. JerryCalgary...I think your post is well written and on the money.

I do know that "Air Force" was nominated for 4 or 5 Academy Awards. George Amy won the Oscar for Film Editing, and I am not sure, but I think one of the nominations was for Special Effects.

Paramounts water tank was located inside their main lot, on Melrose Ave. in Hollywood. I don't know if it is still there or not, as I have not been inside that studio lot since the early 80's. It looked very much as FredCDobbs described in his post. One of the times I was in there I did see technicians and painters preparing the backdrop with slate grey clouds as if a storm were approaching. I don't know what film they were preparing for. One thing I am curious about, I have read several times that the final battle scene in Howard Hawks "Air Force" was filmed on Santa Monica Bay. Handling the model ships to make them appear they were in some sort of formation must have been very difficult, whether in a water tank or a bay. What kind of Hollywood Magic is at work here? "Air Force" is just an example, there are of course many films showing fleets at sea pre-virtual reality, I just wonder how they managed it.

Hello Mongo Watching 42nd Street, I can't help noticing "Chorus Girl" Toby Wing. She is the Featured Chorus Girl with Dick Powell in the "Young and Healthy" number. What a beautiful face and smile. I looked for her biography on TCM, and there is none. Her filmography shows 21 films. Do you have any Biography info on her? Regards; Michael Douglas