CaveGirl Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 I love her...any other fans here??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavenderblue19 Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Yes and my hand is waving frantically in the air.I Wove Her Too! I've been watching and taping all day. She's been a favorite of mine for many years. Thanks TCM for her Birthday salute. Tcm has been giving Kay Birthday salutes for the last few years Each time there are some different films thrown into the mix.This day was GREAT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lydecker Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Count me in. I love Kay! A great day on TCM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 I love her too, but I have never been able to hear her speech problem like other people can. She sounds fine to me. Hey, maybe I have the same speech problem and just don't notice it in her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 I dont notice it much either. I think it has been overhyped over the years. I'm glad TCM salutes her birthday, but I'd be happier if they had a better choice of films. Today's wasnt great.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavenderblue19 Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 I loved this last one *Playgirl* . 2 more to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Kay Fwancis, say hello to Baba Wawa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 I heard the same story about Baba, but I never could tell anything wrong with her speech either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 IMDB says she made 69 films between 1929 and 1946. She made 10 films in 1930 and 8 films in 1931 and 7 films in 1932. That's 25 films in 3 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arturo Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 *I have never been able to hear her speech problem like other people can. She sounds fine to me.* During her height, the writers looked out for her, and tried to minimize the amount of times her lisp might be a problem with the dialogue. After Warner's threw her career to the dogs, announcing in the Trades she would finish her expensive contract with them doing Bs, this became a thing of the past. Along with poor lighting, makeup, costumes and scenarios, her screenplays were liberally peppered with tongue twisters (for her). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Fred, Have you ever looked at the credits for Jennifer Holt? Between 1941 and 1948 she made 47 films. During one year-- 1943-- she was in eleven films; and in another year-- 1947-- she made nine films. And she and Kay Francis didn't have walk-on roles. They were usually the female leads in their pictures. They were work-horses, to put it mildly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Jennifer Holt was not the star of those films. She was often just a minor player, and she often got billing under that of Eddie Dean's horse, White Cloud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 I did not say she was the star, Fred. I said she was the female lead. And as it was customary, usually the woman was billed after the horse. Dale Evans was occasionally billed after Trigger. But that doesn't mean Trigger had more to do than her. It just means that the guy and his horse were billed together, over the rest of the cast. In some of her B westerns, Jennifer Holt had considerable screen time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 I saw many of her films in the late 1940s, in Lash LaRue and Johnny Mack Brown films. The female lead in those low-budget Westerns was usually the daughter of an old rancher or miner or the sister of some guy, who the outlaws were trying to cheat out of their ranch, or mine, or water rights, and the girl would turn up for about 5 minutes, then disappear for 10 or so minutes, then turn up again for a few minutes. Those were Saturday matenee kid's films for little boys. What does this have to do with Kay Francis? Kay was the top star of most of her films. Kays problem was over exposure and audience burn-out, with 38 films in the 6 years between 1930 and 1935, all with similar plots. It would be more noticeable if TCM would show all 38 films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 >What does this have to do with Kay Francis? Kay was the top star of most of her films. I don't think I like what seems like a rude reply. That's actually the second time today you were rude to me on these boards. When I pointed out some misleading statements you made in the thread about programmers, you were abrupt in saying you did not want to debate it. Yet you went on to debate it with Arturo. I don't know what I have done to receive your wrath, but I do know that we are done. Take care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Kay Francis was the top listed star in most of her films. Jennifer Holt was a minor actress in most of her films. She was often listed third or fourth in the credits, under the main cowboy, the horse, and the side-kick. Adults went to see Kay Francis films in the 1930s to see Kay Francis, just like we want to see Kay Francis films today. Kids went to see Jennifer Holt's films in the 1940s to see Lash La Rue and Johnny Mack Brown. ---------------------------------- >I don't know what I have done to receive your wrath You haven't received any "wrath". I'm just talking. I have my opinion. You have yours. It's ok to have different opinions. That's alright, ok, just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Jennifer Holt was third-billed in some of them. The billing is not the point. You are twisting the conversation. I was adding a comparison that some of these actresses were making a film every month or two in their hey-day. But instead, you seemed to get arrogant instead of having a real conversation. Thumbs down to such behavior, that gets in the way of an honest and open exchange of ideas on the message boards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 >I love her...any other fans here??? Well, now, where were we? Yes, I love her too. I would love to see the 38 films she made between 1930 and 1935. I think I've probably seen only about 10 of her films over the years. I can't imagine seeing 38 different films of hers in 6 years. She made 69 films between 1929 and 1946, with the majority per-year in the early 1930s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 I didn't notice any arrogance on Fred's part, Top. But I agree with the "overwork" point. As with the music industry, movie suits saw success in one film, and did their best to have more put out not only with the same actress or actor, but with similar plots and subject matter in order to cash in on THAT as well. I've always been convinced that actors got tired of playing the same character again and again in subsequent films. But if the public loved your face, and you were under contract, you seemed to have no choice. Then again, probably some actors didn't mind it because it meant work. And work paid the bills. Sepiatone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 >I agree with the "overwork" point. Plus, they did live shows in theatres to promote films and radio programs to promote the films, too. The studios (and their agents) used them for all they were worth. This same system is used today for soap opera stars under restrictive long-term contracts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosebette Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 I missed most of the films yesterday, but checked the schedule. I would have liked to see Another Dawn, just to see Flynn and Francis together. Confession with Basil Rathbone is my favorite Francis film, and I also have a fondness for Mandalay, which is a real preCode shocker, very atmospherically directed by Michael Curtiz. I must admit that over the years, I've developed a girl crush on Francis and love seeing what she's wearing. I think Francis and Warren William suffered a similar fate, both being overused by Warners', which was a workhorse studio. If Cagney, Davis, and others hadn't fought the studio and occasionally walked out for better parts, they would have been in the same boat. William moved to character roles and B-movies, and his ill-health eventually reduced how much he could work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavenderblue19 Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 rosebette- reading your post I thought I wrote it! *Confession* is also my favorite. I LOVE *Mandalay* just watched my tape of it over the week-end When Kay comes down that staircase in Mandalay in that sequin gown as "SpotWhite" she was stunning. *Trouble In Paradise* is another favorite. Just love Kay Francis. So interesting with her, not drop dead gorgeous in the conventional sense, but she has this enormous appeal, maybe because she looked so intelligent. Her eyes were very beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Well, we only get to see Kay's films from 1932 on when she moved to Warners. Before that she was at Paramount (and should have stayed there). As far as I know TCM has never shown those. I've been waiting to see Girls About Town for decades..... Edited by: Hibi on Jan 14, 2014 12:24 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosebette Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 I enjoy Stolen Holiday very much, too, which is also directed by Curtiz, and features a terrific performance by Claude Raines. I think he does steal the picture from Kay, I'm afraid. The interesting thing about both Confession and Stolen Holiday is that the actors who play the "bad boys," Rathbone and Raines, are much more interesting than Ian Hunter, the nice guy she ends up ultimately choosing. Of course, Hunter ends up rejecting her in Confession. Confession is surprisingly frank for a movie that's not a preCode; Rathbone makes quite an elegant stalker/seducer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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