Paramount classic musicals

[arpirose]

Here a thread for THE CLASSIC PARAMOUNT MUSICALS, WHICH WERE DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER STUDIOS.

H Is an example : the BIG BROADCAST OF 1938 with Bob Hope and Shirley Ross singing THANKS FOR THE MEMORY"  You see a higher level of sophistication from Paramount that the other studios lacked.

 

[arpirose]

THANKS FOR THE MEMORY won the Oscar for best song in 1938.  It became Bob Hope's theme song.  I liked the young Bob Hope. He was very cute and smart alecky.

[TopBilled]

Most people today don't even know who Shirley Ross is/was.

[TopBilled]

One of the few films Dinah Shore made was this 1952 "hillbilly" musical at Paramount:

[Jim K]

2 minutes ago, TopBilled said:

One of the few films Dinah Shore made was this 1952 "hillbilly" musical at Paramount:

When told that a fan had stayed up to see this on the late show, Dinah Shore said something like, "Anyone who stay up to see this deserves it."

[arpirose]

I know who she was due to fact that KTLA CHANNEL 5 IN THE METROPOLITAN LOS ANGELES AREA PLAYED CLASSIC PARAMOUNT FILMS. Then, the Paramount films were owned by GENE AUTRY, of RUDOLPH THE RED NOSE REINDEER FAME.  I was a devotee of these films.  I owned a VCR so I could record whatever wanted.  Shirley had a short career but she was around quite a lot in the late 30s. I do not forget people like Shirley. Better yet, in los Angeles we had the Z Channel for about 3 years.  That was a legendary channel that introduced no commercial movies for the first time. They played films from all the studios. I really miss the Z CHANNEL.

For the people do not know about the z channel, it was the first subscription channel on cable.  When programer Jerry Harvey took over the channel in 1980, things changed.  He loved movies, especially the classic ones.  He always played an eclectic mix of films.  I was young then, so I called the network. I requested certain films such as LINDSEY ANDERSON'S O LUCKY MAN.  He was wonderful.  He listened, and took notes.  I couldn't believe it , that he played O LUCKY MAN ON  THE STATION. I FELT SO HONORED THAT HE ACTUALLY LISTENED TO ME. one more thing, If you can catch a viewing of O LUCKY MAN, it is worth it.

 

THE SAD PART ABOUT Jerry's life was that he killed his wife and committed suicide.  He was a troubled man. There is a documentary about his life.

[TopBilled]

2 hours ago, Jim K said:

When told that a fan had stayed up to see this on the late show, Dinah Shore said something like, "Anyone who stay up to see this deserves it."

It's certainly not the best musical ever made but at least they tried to do something entertaining. The cinematography in Technicolor and Paramount's production values make it okay.

[arpirose]

People who stayed up late to watch old movies had something called insomnia. It was better than the things that were on TV in those days.

[Whipsnade]

On 6/13/2018 at 4:33 PM, arpirose said:

I know who she was due to fact that KTLA CHANNEL 5 IN THE METROPOLITAN LOS ANGELES AREA PLAYED CLASSIC PARAMOUNT FILMS. Then, the Paramount films were owned by GENE AUTRY, of RUDOLPH THE RED NOSE REINDEER FAME.  I was a devotee of these films.  I owned a VCR so I could record whatever wanted.  Shirley (Ross) had a short career but she was around quite a lot in the late 30s. I do not forget people like Shirley.

        In the early and mid 1970s (before VCRs), I watched all those Paramount classics on Channel 5. As a young film buff, it was my primary resource for viewing films. I saw so many great classics for the first time on the overnight programming called "Movies until Dawn." W C Fields, Bob Hope, The Marx Brothers, and so many others. Channel 5 also had weeknight 8PM movies, and often had theme weeks, like a Road Movie week or Abbott & Costello week. Good Times!  Other great movie sources in LA in the seventies were "The Million Dollar Movie" on KHJ Channel 9, and "The Late Show" and "The Late, Late Show" on KNXT (now KCBS) Channel 2. I left the area in 1977 and moved to a town with only 3 channels. This was my movie "dark ages." Until I got my first VCR in 1983, good movies were few and far between. From VCRs, to cable (AMC was the best source before Turner pulled his library and founded TCM), to Satellite (DirecTV), to DVDs, then finally DVRs & TMC, I have been on a 35 year classic movie binge that I could not have dreamed of in the 1970s. Because of all of this, I can say that, "I, too, remember Shirley Ross." 

On 6/13/2018 at 6:07 PM, arpirose said:

People who stayed up late to watch old movies had something called insomnia. It was better than the things that were on TV in those days.

        Not all of us had insomnia. In those pre-VCR days, I had an alarm clock and a pot of coffee. I would get the "TV Guide" and plot out the weekly viewing options. If a desired movie came on at 3 or 4 AM, I would set the alarm and go to sleep early. Many a movie was seen for the first time through the combined haze of half-awake, blurry eyes and the steam of hot coffee. 

[Brrrcold]

TCM would be clever to program an evening of Shirley Ross films ... Her duets with Bob Hope are great: "Thanks for the Memory" in 'Big Broadcast of 1938' and "Two Sleepy People" in 'Thanks for the Memory' (the latter being an even better song, by Frank Loesser.) She also sang Rogers & Hart's "Blue Moon" in 'Manhattan Melodrama', though it's heard before that title was applied and with an earlier set of lyrics. ...Also see SR as Jeannette MacDonald's rival for Clark Gable's attention in 'San Francisco.'

[Zea]

6 hours ago, Whipsnade said:

Not all of us had insomnia. In those pre-VCR days, I had an alarm clock and a pot of coffee. I would get the "TV Guide" and plot out the weekly viewing options. If a desired movie came on at 3 or 4 AM, I would set the alarm and go to sleep early. Many a movie was seen for the first time through the combined haze of half-awake, blurry eyes and the steam of hot coffee. 

Yikes! I've found my early movie-watching doppelgänger!!! The TV Guide was my youthful version of today's daily planners. I'd do exactly the same thing as you and look up all the movies scheduled for that week and plan viewing accordingly. 

As a youngster, I was weaned on old movies via the same shows you mentioned only I watched on NY channels, primarily The Million Dollar Movie on Channel 9 (WOR) & The Late, The Late Late & yes, there was a Late, Late Late Show, too, on Channel 2 (CBS).  I'd sneak out of bed (for the Late, etc. Shows) and silently flick on the old Sylvania w/the sound ever so low and get lost in the likes of Bogey, Davis, Cagney, Garland.....all of them. "The Million Dollar Movie" aired the same movie all day long, all week long. This gave me the opportunity to nearly memorize many of what were to become my favorites. 

I also remember Channel 11 (WPIX) aired Laurel & Hardy & Abbott & Costello movies every Sunday. That was extra special viewing for me because my Dad was a big fan of them and we'd watch them together.

Thanks for the memories, Whipsnade. 

 

[arpirose]

      In the early and mid 1970s (before VCRs), I watched all those Paramount classics on Channel 5. As a young film buff, it was my primary resource for viewing films. I saw so many great classics for the first time on the overnight programming called "Movies until Dawn." W C Fields, Bob Hope, The Marx Brothers, and so many others. Channel 5 also had weeknight 8PM movies, and often had theme weeks, like a Road Movie week or Abbott & Costello week. Good Times!  Other great movie sources in LA in the seventies were "The Million Dollar Movie" on KHJ Channel 9, and "The Late Show" and "The Late, Late Show" on KNXT (now KCBS) Channel 2. I left the area in 1977 and moved to a town with only 3 channels. This was my movie "dark ages." Until I got my first VCR in 1983, good movies were few and far between. From VCRs, to cable (AMC was the best source before Turner pulled his library and founded TCM), to Satellite (DirecTV), to DVDs, then finally DVRs & TMC, I have been on a 35 year classic movie binge that I could not have dreamed of in the 1970s. Because of all of this, I can say that, "I, too, remember Shirley Ross." 

Hi Guys;

 

Did you guys the films shown on  weekly afternoons  in he 70s by KTTV CHANNEL 11, WHERE THEY PLAYED CLASSIC FILMS FROM MGM, COLOMBIA AND 20TH CENTURY FOX.  AS I RECALL, THE HOSTS NAME WAS DON LAMONT.  He was quite knowledgable about the films and its stars.

[Whipsnade]

7 hours ago, Zea said:

Yikes! I've found my early movie-watching doppelgänger!!! 

Good to know I wasn't alone in my early and obsessive pursuit of classic movies. Hello, fellow traveler! You know what a challenge it was to be a film buff back in the pre-cable, pre-VCR Stone Age. Kids today have no idea how much work we had to do to get our movies. Most of my viewing was on a 12 inch screen and all of it was in black and white (with no remote). We lived too close to the foothills, so we could not get KABC Channel 7 on our rooftop antenna. Half a block to the south , my friend could get it. It was all about positioning

7 hours ago, Zea said:

I also remember Channel 11 (WPIX) aired Laurel & Hardy & Abbott & Costello movies every Sunday. That was extra special viewing for me because my Dad was a big fan of them and we'd watch them together.

Indeed, our LA Channel 11 (KTTV) had similar programming and all sorts of great TV reruns. You stirred my memories: Before I was a teenage film buff in solitary pursuit of classic films, I was just a kid watching the TV my dad turned on. He loved the movies of his youth (in the 30's and 40's) and introduced all of his 4 kids to them. I especially remember watching Laurel and Hardy, Tarzan, Sherlock Holmes and Francis the Talking Mule movies. He also introduced us to the Three Stooges and the Warner Brothers Cartoons (with Bugs, Daffy, Porky, and Foggy). He also loved newer TV offerings, like Rocky & Bullwinkle and the historical compilations by Robert Youngson, Like "The Golden Age of Comedy" (1957). When these came on, it was mandatory family viewing. Later on, some of my happiest memories with my siblings were watching comedies with the Three Stooges or     W C Fields and laughing so hard that we could hardly breath. Without the early introduction and training provided by my father, I might not have become the obsessed film nut that I am today. Thanks Dad! 

And thanks Zea, for stirring even more "Memories" of the hardships that we "Two Sleepy People" had to go through to see our movies (with apologies to Bob Hope and Shirley Ross)!

[captpenguin]

I remember that seeing "Thanks for the Memory" in it's original context was a revelation to me. It's a touching number that gives us character background. I have recently become interested in exploring the non-MGM musicals. We see the Astaire-Rogers films from RKO and the Busby Berkeley films from Warner Brothers but there are other musical films from other studios out there that not on our radar. If anyone has other Paramount musicals to recommend, I'd be interested in hearing about them.