Brrrcold Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 No preference between these two, but if it's Warren William I'll be pretty skeptical that the 'vote' really matters (versus the effect of programmers' thumbs on the scale.) He's got some interesting movies, many of which will have been seen in the Glenda Farrell series during November. Raising the profile of Farrell and William would/will certainly have advantages for promoting films in the archive. in particular the so-called 'pre-code' stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 2 minutes ago, Brrrcold said: No preference between these two, but if it's Warren William I'll be pretty skeptical that the 'vote' really matters (versus the effect of programmers' thumbs on the scale.) He's got some interesting movies, many of which will have been seen in the Glenda Farrell series during November. Raising the profile of Farrell and William would/will certainly have advantages for promoting films in the archive. in particular the so-called 'pre-code' stuff. Interesting comment. Maybe they went ahead and made Farrell the Star of the Month in November, because they already could tell by the voting that Warren William lost and they could put some of his films on in November...is that what you are suggesting? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brrrcold Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 2 minutes ago, TopBilled said: Interesting comment. Maybe they went ahead and made Farrell the Star of the Month in November, because they already could tell by the voting that Warren William lost and they could put some of his films on in November...is that what you are suggesting? No, but it makes sense that way too. I mean that Farrell and William represent a good number of old WB titles in the archive, titles that don't necessarily draw a lot of interest from less-hardcore or recent arrival fans. If they can raise their profiles, they can generate more interest in those titles. Dick Powell, by the way, can be packaged in various ways (musicals, noir, director) so there are advantages there too. But, William seems very obscure to me (even as someone who has seen almost all his movies) so I'm skeptical that he would 'win' a straight-up vote. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesJazGuitar Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 22 minutes ago, Brrrcold said: No, but it makes sense that way too. I mean that Farrell and William represent a good number of old WB titles in the archive, titles that don't necessarily draw a lot of interest from less-hardcore or recent arrival fans. If they can raise their profiles, they can generate more interest in those titles. Dick Powell, by the way, can be packaged in various ways (musicals, noir, director) so there are advantages there too. But, William seems very obscure to me (even as someone who has seen almost all his movies) so I'm skeptical that he would 'win' a straight-up vote. I would expect Backlot members to vote on actors that are obscure to them, since they wish to see films from that actor. To learn more about that actor. I.e. a primary criteria for a 'yes' vote should be to provide more exposure to said actor and the films they were in. So my POV is that the actor that 'deserves' the TCM SOTM tribute is the one that is least well known to studio-era movie lovers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 7 hours ago, jamesjazzguitar said: I would expect Backlot members to vote on actors that are obscure to them, since they wish to see films from that actor. To learn more about that actor. I.e. a primary criteria for a 'yes' vote should be to provide more exposure to said actor and the films they were in. So my POV is that the actor that 'deserves' the TCM SOTM tribute is the one that is least well known to studio-era movie lovers. There are probably different reasons why Backlot members make the choices they do. But your theory could have merit, especially since the two different times they were given the option of Bette Davis or someone else, they chose someone else (probably because Bette's films often air on TCM). I also think frequent costars plays into it. For example, if members were given the option of choosing between Jeanette MacDonald or Greer Garson, they know it's also a matter of choosing between Nelson Eddy and Walter Pidgeon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesJazGuitar Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 9 hours ago, TopBilled said: There are probably different reasons why Backlot members make the choices they do. But your theory could have merit, especially since the two different times they were given the option of Bette Davis or someone else, they chose someone else (probably because Bette's films often air on TCM). I also think frequent costars plays into it. For example, if members were given the option of choosing between Jeanette MacDonald or Greer Garson, they know it's also a matter of choosing between Nelson Eddy and Walter Pidgeon. I'm assume Backlot members are more sophisticated then your average bear as it relates to 'classic' (studio-era), movies and therefore they think about their selection based much more than just 'I favor A over B'. You mention a solid reason for doing so with 'frequent corstars' which also is linked to the movie studio the actor was under contract with (e.g. the supporting players used) and of course ease of access to films by TCM (which was mentioned by the other poster but related to TCM trying to promote films owned by their parent to increase 'exposure' and thus DVD sales, which I don't think TCM considers). Note that one of the primary reasons I wanted William was to get his Columbia Lone Wolf films to be shown on TCM. Hopefully in the future the Backlot members will have a choice of someone with films by Republic, United Artist and other studios, and this will 'push' TCM to lease more films from those studios. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted September 25, 2018 Share Posted September 25, 2018 December schedule is available. Dick Powell was selected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted September 25, 2018 Share Posted September 25, 2018 6th of decembera midsummer night's dream (1935) with olivia de havillandthe king's vacation (1933) with george arlisscollege coach (1933) with pat o'brienblessed event (1932) with lee tracy42nd street (1933) with warner baxterfootlight parade (1933) with james cagneygold diggers of 1933 (1933) with warren williamgold diggers of 1935 (1935) with gloria stuartgold diggers of 1937 (1936) with joan blondell 13th of decemberhappiness ahead (1934) with josephine hutchinsontwenty million sweethearts (1934) with ginger rogerspage miss glory (1935) with marion davieshearts divided (1936) with marion daviesshipmates forever (1935) with ruby keelerflirtation walk (1934) with ruby keelercolleen (1936) with ruby keelerdames (1934) with joan blondellstage struck (1936) with joan blondell broadway gondolier (1935) with joan blondell 20th of decemberhard to get (1938) with olivia de havillandhollywood hotel (1937) with rosemary lanechristmas in july (1940) with ellen drewyou never can tell (1951) with peggy dowthe singing marine (1937) with doris westoncowboy in brooklyn (1938) with pat o'brienvarsity show (1937) with priscilla lanegoing places (1938) with anita louisenaughty but nice (1939) with ann sheridan 27th of decembersusan slept here (1954) with debbie reynoldsthe bad and the beautiful (1952) with gloria grahamemeet the people (1944) with lucille ballit happened tomorrow (1944) with linda darnellthe reformer and the redhead (1950) with june allysonmurder my sweet (1944) with claire trevorthe pitfall (1948) with jane wyattcornered (1946) with walter slezakthe tall target (1951) with paula raymondstation west (1948) with jane greerright cross (1950) with june allyson 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted December 3, 2018 Share Posted December 3, 2018 TCM's article: http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/1454116|0/Dick-Powell-Thursdays-in-December.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClassyCAGirl Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 I'm not a Backlot member, but wasn't the voting between Powell and Warren William? Look what TCM's article says, and I quote: "Through the various phases of his career, Powell maintained an underlying affability and easygoing charm that endeared him to audiences. Throughout December he is celebrated not only as Star of the Month but as the winner of our third annual TCM Backlot Member Vote, beating out veteran actor Melvyn Douglas to stand alongside previous years' winners: Lana Turner and Myrna Loy. " Melvyn Douglas??? Weird, isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt_Markoff Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 Powell (to me) is someone I'm thoroughly tired of. Tired of his 'unshaven' look. I'd almost rather watch him as a crooner at this point. He took his tough-guy schtick to, "Richard Diamond, Private Eye" in the world of radio and rode it into the ground. Ten feet under the ground. Its so overdone that his "old friend on the force" (played by Ed Begley) practically steals the show. At this point my favorite role from Powell might just be his supporting performance in 'The Bad and the Beautiful' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 35 minutes ago, ClassyCAGirl said: I'm not a Backlot member, but wasn't the voting between Powell and Warren William? Look what TCM's article says, and I quote: "Through the various phases of his career, Powell maintained an underlying affability and easygoing charm that endeared him to audiences. Throughout December he is celebrated not only as Star of the Month but as the winner of our third annual TCM Backlot Member Vote, beating out veteran actor Melvyn Douglas to stand alongside previous years' winners: Lana Turner and Myrna Loy. " Melvyn Douglas??? Weird, isn't it? Yeah, that's an error. Melvyn Douglas wasn't in the running. The other choice was Warren William. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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