skipd55

I agree, THE OUTLAW is a terrible movie. But it's terrible like a train wreck--you can't ignore it, especially with talent like Walter Huston and Thomas Mitchell on board. Howard Hughes' battles with the Production Code Administration (including the advertising arm of the PCA) over the film are a fascinating subject for study. But there's really only one reason to watch OUTLAW, and that's Jane Russell. Without her, it would be just another train wreck of a movie. She makes it much easier on the eyes.

It's a bit ironic that a cable channel that specializes in "classic movies" (i.e., evoking nostalgia) would care so much about what's currently fashionable in broadcasting circles, that they would abandon on-air announcers, a little bit of nostalgia that actually benefits viewers. Ironic, but not surprising. And I applaud MeTV for resisting the fashionable trend of using split screens and other devices to milk every possible second of commercial time in its programming.

Some months ago, in a different thread, I brought up the fact that TCM used to use on-air announcers to inform viewers of the theme for that day. Why this practice was discontinued remains a mystery to me. It couldn't be simply a matter of dollars and cents--how much could it cost to do a 15-second on-air announcement? Whatever the reason, it leaves viewers in the dark during daytime hours when there's no host to tell them what they're watching.

As Polly of the Precodes points out, there are lots of gaps in the July schedule as it stands now, especially in the primetime hours. But I know our friend MovieCollectorOH will provide updates as they become available to him. Not a big fan of Elvis' movies (at least the post-VIVA LAS VEGAS batch), but I have no problem with his being SOTM. As the schedule stands, however, it looks as though I'll be doing a lot more reading this July.

Some years ago I started reading novels that were later turned into classic movies, aside from the perennial classics by Dickens, Austen, Twain, etc., etc. Among other novels, I read W. R. Burnett's Little Caesar, James M. Cain's Mildred Pierce, and Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca. I came away from those readings with a deeper appreciation of what screen writers do in adapting a novel. The differences between book and movie are sometimes surprising. This was especially so in the cases of Little Caesar and Mildred Pierce. Rebecca, however, was something else. Reading the book was very much li

This is an extremely rare instance in which a star appears in two films with the same title, but totally different plots. Are there any other examples of this?

Thanks, Sepiatone. And you're right. There may be some very young people out there who've never heard of the Hollywood Blacklist, the McCarthy Era or any of that. But there is something to remedy that (and I cringe as I type it)-- it's called Google.

To be sure, I don't disagree with Ben's views on the blacklist. It was a terrible time in our history and a blight on the entire Hollywood film community (including the guilds). But Ben repeats himself on the topic ad nauseam. No one will forget about the blacklist, believe me. Especially since few people living today have any memory of it. Most of us who know anything at all about the blacklist have either read about it or heard about it from others. Ben's heart is in the right place, but he ought to give it a rest sometimes.

When it comes to the blacklist, Ben preaches.

I think the original poster of this thread is ignoring an obvious solution to her problem (I'm presuming the poster is female--if not, sorry). If she is annoyed by comments made by TCM hosts in their intros, there is such a thing as a MUTE button on your remote control. I sometimes have recourse to it when Ben Mankiewicz gets on his soapbox and starts preaching about the Hollywood blacklist and the House Un-American Activities Committee. I've heard it all before, no need to rehash it again, so I just mute him and enjoy the movie. Simple as that. As far as keeping TCM "family friendly," we al

The trouble is that KANE was never a blockbuster, and didn't become a classic until years after its release. After a successful opening in New York in April 1941, the film flopped miserably in cities like Chicago and Los Angeles, despite near-universal critical praise. It really was the personality of Orson Welles that gave CITIZEN KANE the cachet it came to have. A great movie? Absolutely. But, like other classic films that flopped at the box office, greatness was thrust upon it much later. As for standing the test of time, it was time (and television) that made KANE a classic. But if it's a

Not watching films made before 1975 is about as silly an attitude as not eating food whose name begins with the letter "P." What magical event happened in '75 to make that year Mr. Rojas' cutoff date? Does he refuse to watch THE GODFATHER (and GODFATHER PART II)? What about THE STING or THE FRENCH CONNECTION? All made before 1975, so I guess he's never seen them. And Mr. Rojas writes for the New York Times? God help the Times.

I too am old enough to remember cartoons before movies. Most of all, it was the only time I got to see cartoons in color! We had only black & white TVs until the mid-Sixties.

But ZIEGFELD FOLLIES is a revue type of film, a series of musical numbers and comedy sketches with no connecting dramatic narrative. I, for one, would have enjoyed seeing "Return of the Ziegfeld Girl" (maybe!)

You raise an intriguing thought--what would a sequel to ZIEGFELD GIRL have been titled? "Return of the Ziegfeld Girl"?... "After the Ziegfeld Girl"?... "Ziegfeld Girl and Her Mate?" The list is mind-boggling!