Movie Rambles

[CineMaven]

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Message was edited by CineMaven this glitchy program double posted.

[CineMaven]

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[CineMaven]

"I know this ALSO sounds crazy, but I actually think this movie is the prettiest I've ever seen Ann Baxter. I guess crazed and pasty white suits her, Ha!!!" - Miss Goddess.

 

"Sort of like Gloria Holden in 'DRACULA'S DAUGHTER.' It's that death-in-life look." - Bronxgirl.

 

Enjoyed seeing Gloria Holden in "THE HUCKSTERS" the other night.

 

Pssst! Got Chapter 8 going in "Guest In the House" and hope to finish it tonite.

[JackFavell]

>I'm someone who believes a guy patting a gal is one of the best ways he can show affection. Maybe that's why I'm forever single.

 

Again I say, men. Ay caramba.

 

 

Whoa! I just finished AG in the H, how about that super, pre Hitchcock ending! I think Anne Baxter has never been better than this. I do not like her much, but she was really excellent here!

 

Ro- I gotta go with you on the "Ralph was a dumb cluck" in this one. Personally, I've rarely cared a hoot what people think of me in general. I couldn't care less about gossip and such, because I live my life as an open book. No one would ever be able to blackmail me, because I have nothing that I would hide away. But if you don't care what people think, then just leave it at that. DON'T care. Find out the truth for yourself. You can't get all upset when suddenly someone comes to you and makes something seem dirty and unpleasant. YOU set up the rules, so stick with the ones you enacted in the first place. Naive is the word you used and I agree.

 

The thing that bugged me most about Ralph was his response when he realizes that something is wrong between him and his wife. He went out and got drunk with gal pal Marie! Brilliant. Of course, men and women make mistakes, and that is sort of what this movie is about - someone capitalizing on mistakes and weaknesses. But really, that one is a doozy!

 

I have to say right now, I have always been overly fond of *Jerome Cowan*, and frankly, I would run off with him in a New York minute! I don't know why, it's certainly not his looks (although I do like teeny weeny moustaches). I just love his slightly caddish and very relaxed demeanor. He was my favorite character in the movie, except for dear Aline. She had some stones! She was the only one strong enough, removed enough from the situation to fix it. Her introduction to Evelyn was interesting because she had that quizzical look on her face... she is better at sizing people up than anyone I can think of ( has someone mentioned Thelma Ritter yet? because these two should have made a movie together). If they had listened to her in the beginning and gone off on vacation, dear sweet Evelyn would have probably left the house to find greener pastures.

 

My favorite scenes were the ones during the thunderstorm as Baxter is looking out the window..... (hint for caps).

[CineMaven]

Great movie. A must-see for WebAdmins. too. I'm preparing a ramble for when the Board gets back to normal.

[CineMaven]

Hi All...

 

It's been a glitchy coupla days in TCM City. AND IT IS STILL WACKY. But I?m hoping this goes through.

 

I know you've been waiting with baited breath for my response. ;-) Well, now you can exhale. I will finally ramble about "GUEST IN THE HOUSE." And there will be spoilers galore.

 

WoW! Or is that Whoa!! Anne Baxter's Eve Harrington ("All About Eve" for any newbies or novices) has got nothing on Evelyn. Evelyn seems very self-aware of what she is doing. She's keeping a diary, which serves as a great device for letting us know what's going on in that twisted little head of hers (via that 1940's voice-over of course). She willfully destroys the peace, tranquility and equilibrium in that household. Guess Doctor Dan broke the first rule of Hippocrates - don't fall in love with a patient (especially a mental patient). There was a good reason for that rule.

 

Thank heavens I saw Anne Baxter in "All About Eve" first before being introduced to her in this film. If I hadn't, I might never watch an Anne Baxter movie again. In "Guest In the House" she plays Evelyn, one of the most unsettling infuriatingly galling characters I have EVER seen in a movie. Yeech. She's creepy, insidious and deadly. And I despised her.

 

The family is a happy bunch, laughing playful, kibbitzing with each other. And then this beautiful, wounded and damaged cancer infects the entire lot of ?em. Ruth Warrick is the Wife; she?s not her usual imperious character-type as she's played in "Daisy Kenyon" or "Citizen Kane." Why even dancing in the dark (without her shoes on) with her husband played by stalwart clueless Ralph Bellamy, (without shoes on) feels a little sinfully risque to her. It was nice to see them with a healthy sexuality for the forties. She's playful and easy at the beginning before Baxter's poison courses through her shoulder pads. As the plot progresses, we will see a contrast between her happy self and the self she'll become after little Miss Iago gets through with her. This also could also be a lesson to show us the contrast between Wife vs. Model. (One woman slightly reserved, the other woman free and with abandon). A flour-stained apron is sometimes no match for a 2-piece bathing suit on a leggy blonde. (Pssst...wives, you might remember that).

 

Anne Baxter plays Evelyn Heath, recently discharged from a mental hospital. The way she greets the family is a tad unsettling. Her affect is kind of off; all breathless and actressy. Huh? Yo Evelyn, relax, sheesh. It?s not too long after her warm welcome into this happy household that, one by one, she picks off family members...even playing off one against the other. For me, Baxter's most insidious turn is with the young girl (who I, at first, thought was Cat People's Ann Carter). It was just no fair and really downright hateful for her to twist a young pliable mind like she did. She put thoughts into the child's head that she hadn't the maturity to process. Yeah, a perfect victim perhaps, but difficult to watch. Funny, when the two meet for the first time on the staircase, the child, taken with Baxter's beauty, wants to touch her. Baxter recoils as though she were faced with a hot poker. (Danger! Red Flag!) Bringing the child into her web felt pedophiliastic to me and made me very uncomfortable. Yeech! The little girl is the first unfortunate link in the chain used to spread suspicion throughout the house.

Ralph Bellamy plays the Husband/Ilustrator and the one who Baxter really has her sights set on. Now getting Doctor Dan out of the house was a piece of cake. Baxter's about to go upstairs to work her black magic on Bellamy but stops dead in her tracks when Doctor Dan calls her. Men are so d-- gullible and easy when they love or there is a damsel in distress. And in turn, Baxter dispatches him handily. It was wonderfully infuriating to watch her play him like a violin. Her m.o. is this: she makes him jealous, gets mad at him becuz he's jealous, then forgives him becuz his jealousy proves he loves her. (Huh?) She convinces him to go away so he can come back to her later. She has a tantrum, gets mad, crazed. (Wha??!) And he appeases her. In fact, she sticks psychological pins in the entire family revelling in watching them twist. She always says something a little left/right of center, drops an "unintended" innuendo here and there, and then retreats behind her illness. She made my skin crawl.

 

For Baxter's next victim, we must look to Marie ("The Body") McDonald. She plays Bellamy's model subject. Baxter visits Bellamy's art studio and makes a couple of slightly veiled wisecracks to McDonald when Bellamy leaves. "I would die before I'd pose like that." She gets judgmental, has a condescending attitude. The model is free and breezy becuz she has nothing to hide. Then this little snip of a mental patient comes in, casts some veiled aspersions and makes McDonald annoyed and upset. This sort of pushes Bellamy & McDonald together & out of the studio. Bellamy takes her to the beach to settle her nerves and then into town to relax and shake off the funk she's now in.

 

But coming home late together and being slightly tipsy heightens all sorts of suspicions of impropriety. The model has to leave the gig and the house.

 

Baxter's last stumbling block to achieving Bellamy is the Wife (Warrick). Baxter's succeeded in creating doubt and strife in Warrick's marriage. Playfulness is replaced with drinking. Baxter has played it so well using her ?helplessness? that it's even driven Bellamy into her arms as a Muse to paint a mural in a chapel. But the painting is causing him frustration. He just can't quite get it. I think because on some level, it's difficult to paint evil. (I was anticipating a kind of Dorian Gray ending with a macabre looking painting. Little did I know that the ending provided was more spectacular than a distorted painting).

 

With the help of family friend Jerome Cowan, this time playing a good guy and not a lecherous cad?(although we didn?t really see how he interacts with ?The Body?) he opens Warrick's eyes to Baxter's insidious machinations. What really is the straw that breaks Warrick's (maternal) back is seeing her little girl adopting Baxter's neurosis. A bit over the top plot-wise, but I was truly taken aback by seeing the little girl sooo out of sorts. Jesus!

 

The gloves are off now and Warrick, in no uncertain terms, calls her a monster. When Bellamy comes home Baxter retreats to Victimhood, and Warrick & Bellamy turn on each other. (Triumph is near). "She's not so weak she can't ruin our lives," says Warrick. Bellamy misguidedly defends "Bambi." Warrick realizes she can't fight 'em both and leaves the house.

 

It takes a crow bar to open Bellamy's eyes. But Baxter's gone over the top...overwrought, manic, living in a fantasy, becoming unhinged. She does this very very convincing. It?s not the type of character I like to watch in movies. Lethal ladies blasting, poisoning, stabbing?fine. But I hate plots with blackmailers/kidnappers?torturers.

 

The turn of events really had me on the edge of my seat. I?m really hoping you?ve seen this film before I reveal it?but I?ll try to be careful in case you don?t have the self-control to stop reading. I loved the turn of events with the diary and the bird and Aline McMahon, who plays Aunt Martha. She is quite formidable looking; looked a tiny crazed herself.

 

I loved the p.o.v. of the bird and the fluttering sound effects. I loved seeing McMahon?s conflict about doing what she does. But she does. And in the end as she stands in the doorway, arms on either side of the door jamb, her shadow looks like Christ on the cross. A wonderful and marvelous end. Baxter, hoisted on her own petard.

 

-------- BRONXGIRL -------

 

?Goddess, I was blown away by Anne Baxter's performance as Evelyn Heath in ?GUEST IN THE HOUSE.? The finesse with which she portrays this (to say the least) emotionally complex character, is astonishing.? ? Bronxgirl.

 

I have to agree with you, Anne Baxter gave a wonderful performance. It was so off-putting I couldn?t stand her and that is rare for me. Sneaking around corners, listening through keyholes, hiding, skulking?just a lot of sneaky sh*t! Ugh!

 

??It's the kind of place you tell yourself you're going to buy once you win the lottery, and then read mystery stories and paint watercolors for the rest of your life.?

 

Yes, quite right. That sounds like a lovely way to spend the rest of your life. I can see shooting my films and editing there. Now, if a handsome sea captain with a beard and a clipped British accent were to come into my room?Oh yeah, and a cook too.

 

?They're flirtatious but afraid of sex and fear emotional intimacy. They enjoy being the "calm" at the center of the storms that they themselves create. Underneath their sweet, passive, polite exteriors, lie rage, bitterness, envy, and basic self-loathing. They are parasites and vampires who draw sustenance and strength from their victims, whom they lull into believing only the best about them.?

 

I see you studied with Freud. (Ha!) Truer words were never spoken. Anne Baxter really played that to the hilt. I was fairly screaming at the YouTube. I do believe I would have spotted her...and kept her away from me. I wouldn?t believe her lies...I wouldn?t believe her being a victim. Ugh!! Just stay away Evelyn!

 

?...Evelyn asks herself why she feels the need to act the way she does. but in a fascinated way that makes you know she's almost PROUD of the fact that she can't figure herself out. Whenever she came around a corner (and yes, I noticed her resemblance to a bird in some shots) or popped up in the dark, I cringed, because it was like being in a nightmare where you couldn't escape the blood-sucking fiend with the smiling face.?

 

I really just wanted to smack her. And that?s why my sympathies were not with her in the end. She knew she was sick, didn?t want to figure herself out, and was just a succubus to that good little family. Sickening.

 

-------- MISS GODDESS ----------

 

?I did notice Ann's white face and that black, rather dowdy outfit she wore and show she appeared like a black splotch in that bright, sunny house. Too, I noticed how the house gradually was photographed darker and more shadowy as the story progressed.? ? MissGoddess.

 

Great observation. I didn?t notice that. I did notice the weather changed. Thunder, lightning, rain. The house practically looked like Manderley.

 

?One of the most shocking aspects of the story for me was the child, and how she began changing. This movie reminded me somewhat of ?The Children's Hour?/?These Three.??

 

The little girl changing really through me for a loop. Is this neurosis contagious, viral? Baxter psychologically effected the child. Whew! Pretty unforgiveable in my book.

 

?I have to confess one thing, I actually felt that if I'd been in Ruth Warwick's place, I wouldn't have like how much time my husband spent with Miriam either. Ha!! That's how MY mind works.?

 

Yeah, that?d be kind of touch and go in my book too. But I?ve been on The Body?s end of things in my life. My married friend and I work on projects on his computer, his wife knows everything between him and I are cool, but doors do stay open. And then again?I don?t look nearly as good as Marie McDonald.

 

?I don't think I've seen ever Ralph in this kind of role before, as an artist. He's definitely not the dullish, square guy that I have a silly fondness for, lol. He and Ruth were obviously not afraid to show their physical affection for one another. Their playful, healthy sexuality (and Miriam's) is contrasted with death-obsessed repression.?

 

I was happy to see Warrick smiling. She always looks so imperious and serious. When they kissed and made up and she reminded him that their honeymoon was in Quebec not Montreal, he ran up the stairs to their bedroom. Cute. See, you don?t have to show ?everything.?

 

?I think Evelyn showed more ?lust? for the house itself than for any guy!?

 

You?re right. She seemed to be fixated on this house. She makes me think of ?Tony Arnelo? who wants things right away and not earn them. But even Tony wasn?t sick like Evelyn. Whew!

 

?Did you think it odd that Ralphie-the-artist-couturier saw Evelyn dressed in black?? I think even Ruth commented she should wear something light and he contradicted that. I wonder if, as an artist, he subliminally sensed Evelyn's true nature, he just wasn't wise enough to pick up on it??

 

He might?ve realized something subliminally but he pretty much needed a brick wall to fall on his easel before he realized what was happening; usually when things hit you that late?you don?t recover. I really thought they were going to go the Dorian Gray route. This ending was much better.

 

?The trick with the diary really surprised me. When she first whipped it out I thought, ?Oh no, how obvious... someone will find it there under her pillow and that is how she's going to be found out.? WRONG! lol! I like that this movie surprised me more than once.?

 

I love when old films fool me, ?cuz I think I know everything. If they fool me, I think they're ahead of their time. Or that I'm really dumb.

 

?I know this ALSO sounds crazy, but I actually think this movie is the prettiest I've ever seen Ann Baxter. I guess crazed and pasty white suits her, Ha!!!?

 

You know?I never was crazy about Anne Baxter?s looks, but she did look becoming in this?but definitely crazed. I really mean it when I say I?m glad I saw her in ??Eve? first. Eve Harrington was a little more subtle with her madness. And I didn?t think Eve was mad. Just a real opportunist.

 

?I definitely think she is one actress who far excels at playing over-the-top, crazy broads as opposed to quiet, good girls. I sometimes find her, ironically, more ?actressy? when she's playing ?good?.?

 

Yup, something artificial about her.

 

 

------- ROHANAKA --------

 

would you have been fooled by Evelyn?

 

?In real life...?shadowy or duplicitous people? don't come with their own foreshadowing mood music.... ha!? ? rohanaka.

 

THAT was funny!

 

?Buying in to all the half truth and innuendo about people I know and care about would not be something I would do and I say that because I am a very ?let's go talk to them and get the whole story? sort of person. I like to look at what a person actually does or says instead of what someone told me they did or said.?

 

Sounds like you live your life honestly, without duplicity. People know where you stand. No pretense. It?s easier to deal with a person like that; that come at you straight. But as a screenwriter/filmmaker?I just don?t know how to do that with plots so that the story can still move forward. Re: Evelyn, I trust my intuition and instincts very much. I would keep Evelyn far far away from her. I don?t need to hear her lies?I don?t need to see her Victimization. Woe is her, stay away from me. In fact, as I saw Evelyn?s fate play out?I didn?t have an ounce of sympathy for her. And that did kind of scare me for me.

 

But the way she stalked and victimized the family and then play the Victim took away any ounce of humanity I had for her.

 

?First of all... if my husband were an artist and he had a beautiful model working for him like that... it would NOT have been under THOSE sort of conditions.... because the best way to avoid vicious gossip and rumor is to not give the ?appearance? of evil??

 

Him gazing at a beautiful model for hours and hours on end. Whew, any man but Ralph Bellamy might?ve given her a second glance. Look, lets face it?why put temptation in their path. They?re men.

 

?Because lies are only able to fool someone if they are able to be believed.?

 

One of my friends used to say to me: ?a lie is as good as the truth, if you can get someone to believe you.? I don?t ?think? she ever lied to me.

 

?And THAT was the real power Evelyn seemed to have over everyone. She used implication and false worry to take in unsuspecting people. By her false accusations she was able to start a smokeless wildfire of doubt and speculation.?

 

You?re right about that, Rohanaka. And all could have been taken care of if, right in front of Evelyn, she were confronted. Liars and fakers can?t take Logic and Rationale. But then where?d your movie be? Use it in real life. Confront the fakes. You really can spot ?em a mile away.

 

?And did you notice she preyed on the most innocent (or at least the ?easiest?) victims first??

 

I noticed that and that was despicable!! You know other than Darryl Hickman being allowed to drown by Gene Tierney, kids aren?t really touched by evil in films of the forties. It really took me aback, like I said.

 

?And not only that... she ?covered? her tracks with him by making it LOOK like she was being open about how deceptive she could be (w/the diary). (Now THAT was quite trick) Little did he know there was a WHOLE OTHER LAYER to her deceit that he knew nothing about.?

 

That was a great plot device. I never even saw that coming. I thought it was what we thought it was. Nope. I love being fooled.

 

?But what she underestimated was... this family's TRUE bonds of love and trust in one another. Her bonds of falsehood and deceit held only as much sway on them as they ALLOWED her to have. And once she was finally exposed in the broad light of day.... her schemes had no more lasting effect.?

 

Very nicely put. I loved how you listed Baxter?s victims.

 

?At least on everyone except... that first victim of hers. He had one thing going against him that the others didn't have: Genuine love for her. He was never really able to see her fully "exposed" like they did because she'd hidden her motives "in plain site' with him. And that was the reason he was able to be fooled so completely where the others were not.?

 

Hiding in plain sight. Even more despicable. But I am not fooled by that in real life I have to say. I suspend my disbelief for movies only.

 

??(and I also imagine if her parents had not ?rescued her? that Lee would have suffered the same.... because she was so young.... but thankfully she was spared)?

 

Again, seeing the little girl out of sorts like that, turned my heart to stone for Baxter?s character.

 

?And I find it really interesting that the one who ended up ?saving the day? was... the Aunt. I think she alone possessed the ?power? to truly stand up to the ?beast?(ha) because she had fought it once before...in the form of her own brother. She KNEW the kind of hold someone like Evelyn could have on other people and their sympathies. And she never really bought into all the half truths and outright lies that were starting to swirl around that house. She kept Evelyn in the right perspective more or less throughout...?

 

I thought McMahon was quite formidable. She made me think of Eleanor Roosevelt protecting America from the Axis of Evil. You wrote about her quite well. It really was a stroke of genius that ending and having the ol? spinster protect everyone. The Spinster?unloved romantically, not desired sexually (?a frozen asset,? as noted in ?The Women?)?all her ?energies? put towards the family. Woe betide the person who crosses her path.

 

?She knew what sort of misery a ?future? of having this woman in her family would bring... and she acted on the natural impulse to spare her loved ones from the continuing pain and suffering of having to endure this sort of evil insanity for the rest of their lives. She got rid of it... and in a very shocking way, I might add.?

 

Didn?t Jerome Cowan mention MacMahon?s brother?and I saw McMahon lower her head (in shame??)

 

?Evelyn was only able to accomplish what she did because he (and the wife and model) had become so comfortable with this sort of arrangement that they failed to see what it COULD look like to those less loving than the immediate family members. And that is what allowed those seeds of doubt to be planted and then things just went downhill for everyone (except Evelyn) after that.?

 

The real victims are Bellamy & Warrick. I don?t want to blame the victim. This happened because Evelyn (Baxter) took an innocent (though naive) situation and twisted it into something horrible. Evelyn was a victimizer.

 

?...He immediatly went from spending all his time with ONE woman (who was not his wife) to spending even MORE time with ANOTHER woman (who was also not his wife). He KNEW his marriage had just suffered a direct blow... and he needed to try and fix the issues with his wife at that point instead of continuing to let things get even further out of hand.?

 

I wholeheartedly agree with you. Some men just opt out of responsibility. He had his models and paintbrushes and maybe he had a tiny bit of a Peter Pan quality.

 

?And the wife WAS naive too... but she was also just as "stupid". Instead of first resisting and then finally giving in to the innuendo and gossip, she SHOULD have gone to her husband the minute things started to "appear" that way to others and fix the problem.?

 

Yes I agree with you there as well, Rohanaka. Talking it out is the best thing. But I have to go back to the plot...the plot...the moving the plot forward. Movies back then had people do a lot of foolish things while we in our time scream out: JUST TALK TO HIM/HER!!!

 

?Ok.... I know... I am really "pounding" on this issue.. sorry. And I suppose I sound like I am blaming THEM... when the truth is.. it was EVELYN who abused their trust and stirred up all the strife... But I really think they are at least a little at fault because they willingly let her chip away at the foundations of their marriage by foolishly giving her the tools to do it with. So in a way... they were at least partly to blame for the mess that was made when things began to fall apart.?

 

Yes...they are partly to blame, but 9999999.99999% Of the blame belongs to the crazy wench. Because just because you can do it, doesn?t mean you should.

 

 

----------- JACK FAVELL ------------

 

The thing that bugged me most about Ralph was his response when he realizes that something is wrong between him and his wife. He went out and got drunk with gal pal Marie! Brilliant. Of course, men and women make mistakes, and that is sort of what this movie is about - someone capitalizing on mistakes and weaknesses. But really, that one is a doozy!?

 

He shouldn?t have done that, but some men just can?t face responsibility. Ralphie boy was on the selfish side.

 

?I have to say right now, I have always been overly fond of Jerome Cowan, and frankly, I would run off with him in a New York minute! I don't know why, it's certainly not his looks (although I do like teeny weeny moustaches).?

 

Do you like Zachary Scott too? I loved Jerome Cowan?s reaction to Bellamy going to church. I think he knew more about Bellamy than he let on.

 

I enjoyed this movie very much. Hmmmm...art imitating life?

[MissGoddess]

Wow....is TCM REALLY AND TRULY letting me reply at last? Really and truly???

 

And it's not much of a reply because what can I add to your wonderful ramble, Theresa...

except WOW! I love when you get on a roll...

 

And it looks like most of us were happy with the movie ending except....of course you-know-who

and his nit-pickyness about finales.

 

My only wish (besides a better looking print) is that Jerome Cowan had more screen

time. I'm not as smitten as Jackie but I do love his knowing smirk and the way he

had EVERYONE'S number, not just Evelyn's. I get the feeling he derives amusement

at the whole family and their slightly screwball lifestyle.

[OllieTSB]

*Wow....is TCM REALLY AND TRULY letting me reply at last? - MissG*

 

I just know I'm going to regret this. Somehow. Sometime. Meanwhile, MissG's been adding artwork over on the Union, and forcing me to enjoy it. I hate it when she does that!

[MissGoddess]

>

> I just know I'm going to regret this. Somehow. Sometime. Meanwhile, MissG's been adding artwork over on the Union, and forcing me to enjoy it. I hate it when she does that!

 

Just WAIT till I start uploading me some WARDY BOND pictures! Gotta have that gorgeous puss all over the place, you know.

[OllieTSB]

MissG, NO HIGHWAY IN THE SKY (1951) gets my vote as one of the best soliloquies when Jimmy is in the board room meeting and resigns. A strong speech. "Fine - fire me. I quit. And when this happens one more time, you'll have to blame everyone else in this room because I've warned you time after time."

 

He gets to revisit that internal agony scene from IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, as he's desperate, frantic at the bridge, crying for Clarence to let him go back, that knuckle biting intensity that was hardly ever present in the pre-War Jimmy films. NO HIGHWAY gives him a chance to carry this into a life-and-death situation.

 

This is also a film that's taking place in England, in an English company, and no one requires Jimmy to speak with an faux accent. No one asks why he's there, no one needs to - he can use his standard voice and deliver the character to us just fine.

 

Alas, the film was only put out on VHS, and there are still a large number of good or great Stewart films that 2-3 box sets would only begin to address.

[CineMaven]

Are we really back? Can you read this? Are we really really back in business? I won't trust this until I see 1000 obits from Celluloid Kid and well...let me not get kicked off before getting back in good.

 

Any of our men want to weigh in on "GUEST IN THE HOUSE." I'd love to get the male perspective. Or anyone else weighing in. I'd like to know YOUR thoughts on Anne Baxter's portrayal of EVELYN.

 

Message was edited by CineMaven becuz I can't believe this is working??

[MissGoddess]

Hi Ollie---I made sure I recorded NO HIGHWAY IN THE SKY when it last aired on TCM...I used to watch it when it would turn up on either A&E or AMC. Very good Jimmy performance and the nice, added surprise of Marlene Dietrich. She really brings the movie to life in many ways. What a contrast between her brittle, Hollywood glamour and Glynis Johns' reality and groundedness. Both women brought out different things in Jimmy's character, different facets of his personality. And it was just touching to see "Destry" reunited with his Frenchy-girl.

 

I always get the title of this movie mixed up with John Wayne's No Island in the Sky.

[MissGoddess]

Any of our men want to weigh in on "GUEST IN THE HOUSE." I'd love to get the male perspective. Or anyone else weighing in. I'd like to know YOUR thoughts on Anne Baxter's portrayal of EVELYN.

 

FrankGrimes has lived it...I mean seen it and Ollie, too, I believe. I'd like to hear more

from them as well.

[OllieTSB]

I've always liked GUEST IN THE HOUSE but it's sort of a What If film for me. And I never pay much attention to the plot - ONLY to the women!

 

I PROMISE to try to realize there's dialog and a story going on next time I watch it. Maybe I can make the excuse, "Well, it's not another Hedy film" or "No, Tierney's not in this one". Boy. Did I ever make a mistake using Tierney as the reason I tried to become a champion swimmer.

 

Seriously, I've really enjoyed these comments and I'll have to pay attention to after this weekend. We've got a Saturday festival of LAURA and HEAVENLY BODY showing, and Sunday is GHOST & MRS MUIR and WHITE CARGO. I hope you don't expect me to realize those four films have dialog, story or any other character on the screen, however.

[FrankGrimes]

FrankGrimes has lived it...I mean seen it and Ollie, too, I believe. I'd like to hear more

from them as well.

 

Ohhhh, you actually want me to talk about the erotic sex scene? Maybe later tonight.

[MissGoddess]

> {quote:title=FrankGrimes wrote:}{quote}

> FrankGrimes has lived it...I mean seen it and Ollie, too, I believe. I'd like to hear more

> from them as well.

>

> Ohhhh, you actually want me to talk about the erotic sex scene? Maybe later tonight.

 

I don't think we saw the same movie.

[FrankGrimes]

We never do.

 

Maybe I'll just focus on the sex in Guest in the House and Harvey

tonight. This is what happens when the board goes down for a couple days and Gloria

Grahame is given her day in August.

[MissGoddess]

Gloria gets a day in August? Never say *tcmprogrammr* doesn't listen to our yammering. Yay!! Any of her rarer films being shown? Molo and Maven must be drunk with happiness! You all should create your own Gloria Grahame "Group" at TCU.

[Bronxgirl48]

Long time no see to you and everyone. Seems we're all back to normal now. Whatever THAT means.

 

Ooooh, Maven, "Eleanor Roosevelt protecting America from the Axis of Evil". Love it.

 

Ha, I didn't know Gloria Holden was in THE HUCKSTERS.

 

Whatever part she plays, to me she'll always be the daughter of Dracula.

 

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[JackFavell]

normal

 

[rohanaka]

Hello Miss Maven..... mighty fine ramblin'. I like your story synopsis too. (I think you should write some of the ones for the TCM database.... your's are VERY entertaining!)

 

Yeech. She's creepy, insidious and deadly. And I despised her

 

Now don't hold back.... tell us how you REALLY feel. ha.

 

Wasn't this just a FUN movie though.... She was just SO creepy and insidious... and deadly..... that it was FUN to despise her. :-)

 

PS.... April....

 

My only wish (besides a better looking print) is that Jerome Cowan had more screen

time. I'm not as smitten as Jackie but I do love his knowing smirk and the way he

had EVERYONE'S number, not just Evelyn's.

 

I totally agree....He needed a bigger part. I kept waiting for him to come back somewhere in the middle and say something witty now and then... but he did at least make good use of the time he was there. Very entertaining character. :-)

[JackFavell]

Hey guys, I am really trying not to digress from GITH, but I just found something on the net which I wanted to share. I am so excited!

 

Pictures of Jerome Cowan are hard to come by, and I am obsessed with him now that I saw him in GITH. I could only find pictures of him being shot, or ones that were too small to get any enjoyment out of. I was about to give up when I came across something that looked like stage pictures - from a play called *My Three Angels*,which is the basis for the Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov and Aldo Ray movie, *We're No Angels.*

 

 

Jerome Cowan had achieved stardom in a play called *Boy Meets Girl*, written by Sam and Bella Spewack. They went on to write My Favorite Wife and then - My Three Angels. Obviously they thought of Cowan for one of the angels/convicts.... and that explains these pictures I found with Cowan, Walter Slezak, and a frighteningly young Darren McGavin. Thought you might like to see them, and imagine Cowan in a role he could really sink his teeth into.

 

Also in the cast were Henry Daniell (wow) and the production was directed by Jose Ferrer.

http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?imgurl=7869a7da64fec7ab&q=jerome%20cowan&prev=/images%3Fq%3Djerome%2Bcowan%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

 

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[MissGoddess]

Wendy, I have a couple of high quality images of Jerome with Bogie in The Maltese Falcon, if you're interested I could post them here or at TCMU.

 

P.S. Have you seen the movie where he plays a Nick Charles like sleuth with Jane Wyman?

 

Message was edited by: MissGoddess

[JackFavell]

No, but a little birdy has promised me a copy, and I can't wait to see it! Did you like it? I think it's called CRIME BY NIGHT.

[JackFavell]

Oh, yes, i am interested in the pics from Maltese Falcon... thanks!