MattHelm

I second that, on Sinatra in Von Ryan's Express.

Strangers on a Train?

I thought there was a lone skeleton in 7th Voyage that he fights. My first thought was the Cyclops but that wasn't a duel.

The skeleton?

I'm not a huge Mui fan either, but loved Heroic Trio.

Sam, It's not as if the Hollywood Ten were falsely accused of communism. And the blacklisting was done by Hollywood and not the government. That needs to be addressed because those are two of the favorite myths concerning the issue. The Red Scare was real as it should have been. Comparisons to that and the Holocaust, however, are an irrelevant long shot and some may think, poor taste. None of the Hollywood Ten were sent to the gas chamber, we're talking about ten people, not tens of thousands. The CPUSA was very real and alive in Hollywood, especially concerning writers and directors. The crime they were found guilty of wasn't that they were communists, since that wasn't illegal ... they funnelled money to aid the Soviet Union, which was illegal. You don't aid the enemy. That's the equivalent of sending money to Al-Qaeda today. There's no difference. And since communism wasn't illegal ... why was it a secretive organization in this country? Regardless of whether people think that the HCUA was just in prosecuting the Ten, let's look at they're hold on Hollywood at the time. It came to a point where you couldn't get work as a writer unless you were a card carrying communist. Dalton Trumbo left a wealth of documents, essays and memoirs behind that detailed the extent of the party's influence, as well as his and the other Ten's role in the party. They would pressure other party members into changing scripts to comply with the party's ideals and some said that the party's interrogators were more brutal than the HCUA. John Fante in a letter to a friend in the late 30s or early 40s said that you couldn't get work as a screenwriter unless you were a card carrying communist. So, I think it's safe to reserve the label of fascists for the Ten and their ilk. They were the Hitlers of Hollywood. Kazan's On The Waterfront is a metaphor for Hollywood under the oppression of the CPUSA. It's too bad that most people believe the revisionist's version of the blacklists and its myths. They'd rather watch a subjective documentary or movie and take it as the gospel truth, than crack an objective book on the actual history. Your "illegal denial of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness in the name of opposing a supposed 'greater evil' " comes off as more an emotional reaction than a logical one, since there hasn't been a clear cut case of that to go on. Let's leave the legality to the legal system and not wax rhetoric. No one is being denied their rights, unless they have bin Laden's number set on speed dial. There is no "manufactured" threat. Listing the xenophobic atrocities of ancient civilization to present day it irrelevant, and labeling them as right wing is absurd. Stalinism was not right wing, since this is what the Hollywood Ten and others practiced. The Crusades? It isn't right wing to put a stop to the slaughtering of pilgrims by an army that is trying to usurp the area from other Muslims, who also fought against the Saracens. Hitler? The people in the CPUSA didn't support the war effort in WWII because America was attacked, it was because Hitler was at war with Stalin. They adored Hitler after the Hitler/Stalin pact, even though many were Jews. Right wing influence being the equivalent of oppression, persecution and/or sectarianism? Let's look at real history. By right wing in this country, no doubt you mean Republicans. The GOP was formed from the Free Soil Party and their main capaign issue was abolishing slavery, which they managed to do under Lincoln, a Republican. The South was democrat and it was the democrats that were pro-slavery. It was said that not all democrats were rebels, but all rebels were democrats. It was a Republican president, Teddy Roosevelt, that was the first to invite a black man to dinner at the Whtie House, Booker T. Washington. And the Southern democrats called him a N' Lover on every headline of their papers. Then let's not forget the biggest myth of the 20th century, where the democrats pretend that they're responsible for the civil rights act being passed ... per the Congressional record, 60% of Republicans voted for civil rights, while only 40% of demoracts voted in favor of the bill. So let's not confuse right wing with oppression, etc. Right and Left have different meanings in different political systems. Again, to call the Hollywood Ten heroes, we'd have to call people who support Al-Qaeda today heroes as well. They were traitors, and got a very small slap on the wrist for what they did. If you, or anyone else, want to read more in detail about up to date info on this, check out this review of a book on the subject: http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=18352

Then that's not so bad. But that segment does give you the feeling of NYC rather than a generic TCM city. It would be nice to see a film related theme, or even a Hollywood theme if a city has to be an omnipresent theme.

You Can't Take It With You?

The HCUA was called HUAC by a communist rag to make it sound as if saying the Committee itself was un-American. And the name stuck. Hollywood has since created a fantasy version of history where the Hollywood Ten are heroes, in movies and documentaries on the blacklisting.

I think cable premium channels offer older actors good roles because, unlike the main networks, they're aware of who their audience is. Primetime viewers are mainly older and like us, they like to see these great actors in good roles.

I thought so, but when you said it was wrong I over-analyzed your question and thought you might have meant a sci-fi movie that was influenced by the Eloi and Morlocks' relationship.

While I adore it, Sunset Blvd has been playing a lot in the past few months, as well as other movies. It seems most of the repeats are in prime time. The day if usually full of all kinds of stuff that doesn't get the rounds as often.

Are you saying that cable for old actors is a bad thing? If so, it's a bit different from TV, at least they get respectable roles to show they still have it, on channels like HBO. Showtime ... not so good.

I'm not sure, I can't remember the ending after only seeing it once, but I think the Doris Day movie you're referring to is Tunnel of Love. Day and husband have trouble conceiving a child and think about adopting ... I think at the end, they do have a child or more. If this is the movie you're thinking of, it wasn't Hudson, but Richard Widmark who played the husband.

I like these shorts but wouldn't if it were obvious that the dogs were being hurt. It's obvious that the dogs are actually loving it. Dogs aren't like people, you can't force them to do something they don't like and have them hide how they feel about it. These dogs would have been cringing had they been forced to do these acts against their wills, yet all had the that happy dog grin. The only thing you can force an abused dog to do is lay down.

It's done well, but I don't see what modern NYC particularly has to do with classic movies. I do like the buildings when they show what's coming up next as opposed to the way they used to, but they could be in any city and seem timeless.

Tomorrow is Forever?

If it's not The Time Machine ... would it be Planet of the Apes?

Also ... Old Yeller.

Another two are Tony Rome and the song Paul Newman sings in Cool Hand Luke, Plastic Jesus.

I'd love to see Richard Widmark on there.

I haven't seen Running On Karma yet. I'm behind a couple of years on the HK movies because I moved to FL and it's a wasteland as far as international culture goes, unless you go to Epcot. And I let my Asian Cult Cinema subscription run out too. I have to join Netflix for a month and catch up ... any recommendations? I think the DVD pirates are ruining the film industry in HK. I don't know what's going on now, but a few years ago, they could just sell bootleg copies of VCDs and DVDs in mall stores, while those movies were still in theaters. The movie companies had to start releasing the movies the moment the movie was out of the theater on DVD to compete with the pirates. Since box office receipts determine an actor's popularity, that's why they're lacking in star power. Everyone just buys the cheap VCD on the street or at the mall. I'm assuming it's still going on like that. I was sad to hear that Anita Mui died too.

Ten Thousand Bedrooms?

Frank, that's the passing of the guard from the older generation to the next. Things changed somewhere along the lines, talent-wise, and not for the better. But I think that maybe the consolation lies in the short future of people like Ben Affleck where he'll go from movies, ... TV sitcom/drama ... cable ... to late night infommercials. As well as the rest of his ilk.

I have these on DVD and it would be great if TCM would buy them out and show more as TCM originals. There's such a wealth of material that they'd never run out of stuff to spoof. You could even do this with good movies ... my brothers and I do.