Movie Trivia

[MilesArcher]

Thanks, Unc. "The Thirty Foot Bride Of Candy Rock" was released several months after Lou Costello's death. In the thirties, a movie was released after a star's death. Ruby Keeler had one more picture to do to fulfill her contract with Warner Bros. Her frequent co-star, Dick Powell, was tired of being cast opposite Ruby. He didn't want to be known as part of a team and he was growing tired of playing young crooners. The studio gave the male lead to a young actor who had worked with both Powell and Keeler previously, However, he was gay and the studio made him hide that fact from the public. The fact that he was living a lie apparently tormented him so that he committed suicide shortly after filming ended and before it was released. When the film was released he was given only fifth billing. The billing of the male lead was given to the guy who played his best friend in the picture. That guy's career never took off and Ruby was about done as a movie star, too. Who was the actor who committed suicide, what was the movie that he had just finished, and who was the guy who got his billing? As a bonus, can you name the very popular song that was featured in the movie?

[unclecharlie]

ok here goes:

The movie is "Ready, Willing and Able"

The actor is Ross Alexander

The song is "Too Marvelous for Words"?

[MilesArcher]

Right as rain, Charles, and the other guy was tap dancer Lee Dixon. The thread is all yours.

[unclecharlie]

Thanks, Miles.

 

This movie features a performer better known as part of a team. In this film, he plays God. Name the actor and film.

Hint - No, it's not George Burns

 

UC

[MilesArcher]

I believe that would be Groucho Marx in "Skidoo" which has been shown on TCM Underground very late on a Friday night. It's a very strange movie with an all star cast and directed by Otto Preminger.

[unclecharlie]

You're both right. Looks like Mr. sixes snuck in two minutes before Miles. Your thread.

[cmvgor]

Sir Thomas More in *A Man For All Seasons*. Paul Schofield made the origional film. Heston's

TVFilm actually put the stage version onto film sets and locations. It used the stage ploy

of having the "Common Man" performer actually address the audience, and play a number of different roles.

[cmvgor]

Thank you, Sixes

 

Name a 1940s continuing character in a series of Westerns. The character is a juvenile. This

character's mount is a Shetland pony who, improbably, can always keep up with the full-size

horses that others are riding.

 

Who? Context?

[The Lady Eve]

Is it Little Beaver in the Red Ryder series?

[cmvgor]

Things seem to be working again!

 

Correct Eve.

Robert Blake, then billed as Bobby Blake was the only performer to appear in all of the Red

Ryder moveis. That swift Pinto was one of Hollywood's endearing conceits, along with some of the impossible Tarzan scenes ( Tarzan being attacked by an American mountain lion; husked and

grocery-shelf-ready coconuts laying under the palm trees, etc).

 

BTW, sometime ago I purchased a Red Ryder movie on DVD - $1.00 at checkout. The outer

lable gave top billing to "Robert Blake", but when the credits rolled the listing was back to

"Bobby Blake". My theory is that the packagers thought that the ex-defendent's name would

bring in more customers.

 

Your Thread.

[The Lady Eve]

Thanx - I don't have anything right now - the thread is open to anyone who'd like to post...

[Kid Dabb]

The Anderson Tapes aired last week as part of Sean Connery's Star of the Month. You'll probably have to review your DVD to get this one:

 

The young paraplegic boy who's safe Christoper Walken's character cracked - What were the call letters he used to identify himself when he radioed for help on his ham radio?

[cmvgor]

Yo, Dabb;

I did have to go to the source. That took some time, because my son had borrowed the disc

without telling me. The kid's HAM call sign was "W-A-2-U-Y-L in New York."

 

Another question from the same source: *The Anderson Tapes* uses a device not often seen --

the "flash farward" as a storytelling technique. I remember having seen it used in only one other

film. Can any one name another film that used that touch, wheather its the one I'm aware of or

not.?

[Kid Dabb]

Way to go, cmvgor. W-A-2-U-Y-L in New York is right.

 

I'll bet you got a jolt of adrenaline when you didn't find your DVD where you knew it was

[cmvgor]

Well, it happens; just glad I found it.

 

This re-viewing of the story brought my attention to the device of the "flash farward". As used in

*Anderson Tapes*, it appears, to the best of memory only in the last 1/3 of the film -- the sequence in which the robbery is going down. The "present action" will show something like the

boy watching the safe being opened, with the ripped-off part tossed to him as a memento. Then

the story would flip farward to the aftermath of the robbery and show a kindly policeman talking to

the boy and explaining that what he saw was a rank amateur -- that a real master would not have

had to do that damage, would just 'tickle it open'. The action would then flip back to the robbery

sequence, and would continue until the next "flash farward".

 

A well-regarded film from the late 1980s uses the "flash farward" to a lesser extent. It is not an

action or thriller story. It is a rather grim and quite realistic drama. It contains an Oscar-winning

performance, and some other performances that were nominated. Also some other awards. Some five or six times in the course of the story, there are break-ins, lasting just seconds, which flip the action to a future event that must be faced.

 

Name this film?

[Kid Dabb]

Mind's a blank here -

[cmvgor]

I'm still having trouble posting anything, so I won't try to drag this out. 1969's They Shoot Horses Don't They? uses the flash-farward, but very sparingly. In some 5 or 6 interruptions,

lasting only seconds each, the story flashes farward from the dance-contest story to the scene

where the Michael Sazarrin character is sentenced to death. This movie resulted in a supporting-

actor Oscar for Gig Young, and other performers were nominated.

 

Thread's open.

[MilesArcher]

Here's one : When Whoopi Goldberg did the movie "Sister Act", it became a big hit. She even made a sequel. However, "Sister Act" was written with another star in mind. She ended up turning it down (bad career move?), and the part was offered to Whoopi. Who was "Sister Act" originally written for?

[cmvgor]

Bette Middler, nes pas?

[MilesArcher]

Oui, Mr. Moviegoer. It is indeed the Divine Miss M. Your turn now.

[cmvgor]

Tres bein (and that about uses me up, for French). To return to *The Anderson Tapes* for one

more nugget: Somewhere in my recent research it was mentioned that *Tapes* was Christopher

Walken's first film. It also involved the last film appearence of a popular and respected supporting player. That person?

[lavenderblue19]

Margaret Hamilton?

[lavenderblue19]

Due to the obvious technical difficulties we all seem to be having,cmvgor has been unable to post a response. He was kind enough to confirm Margaret Hamilton as the correct answer via pm to me.

 

So let's give this one a try.

 

While filming a well known musical, a lighting man intentionally dropped a spotlight on one of the young actresses, narrowly missing her. He was then taken away and admitted to a mental institution.

 

Who was the actress, and what film?

[lavenderblue19]

Since there are no bites I'll add a clue- film was done in the 40's. The child actress was a star athough not the lead in this production but certainly a major character in it,

[lavenderblue19]

C'mon guys. A lot of views and not 1 try. This musical was the highest grossing film for this studio, besides GWTW in 20 years. You know it's a 1940's musical, big child star , now you know the studio.Can't post reason this happened yet- have to keep messages short or won't post. Somebody give this a shot.