TCM: The Greatest Movie Channel

[Palimelon]

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I love  Teresa Wright; she was superb in this and Shadow of a Doubt and a few other notable movies of that period and I have always wondered why she didn't have a bigger career.

Her career certainly started out strong enough, 3 Oscar nominations for her first 3 movie roles (the second one was also a win). I guess rebelling against the studio system back then could and would affect a career. 

But still, what did she have against cocker spaniels?

[Rinaldo]

I've not read a full-length bio of Teresa Wright, but it seems to me that she did have at last a moderately big career in movies -- 3 big ones that are still remembered, after all, along with others. Her contactual arrangement to allow her time for stage work (which was equally important to her) sounds similar to Margaret Sullavan's. And as in that case, it understandably meant that some of the prize roles went to others, who were on hand year-round. She did work onstage a lot, and in early TV, and those of course don't leave artifacts for us to watch now.  

She had a public falling-out with Samuel Goldwyn, which was the ostensible cause of the ending of her contract. She made a public statement, which I quote because it has an interesting aftermath.

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I would like to say that I never refused to perform the services required of me; I was unable to perform them because of ill health. I accept Mr. Goldwyn's termination of my contract without protest—in fact, with relief. The types of contracts standardized in the motion picture industry between players and producers are archaic in form and absurd in concept. I am determined never to set my name to another one ... I have worked for Mr. Goldwyn seven years because I consider him a great producer, and he has paid me well, but in the future I shall gladly work for less if by doing so I can retain my hold upon the common decencies without which the most glorified job becomes intolerable.

But then in later years, she looked back with this wry comment:

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I was going to be Joan of Arc, and all I proved was that I was an actress who would work for less money.

Of course in the 1950s, the whole contract system was falling apart even if those involved didn't always understand just what was different, and it was increasingly up to the actors to sustain and build their own careers.

[Milburn Stone]

That second quote from Wright is so funny. In one way I'm not surprised because she emanated intelligence in her acting, but I wouldn't have necessarily expected an epigram that might be one of the top 10 to come out of Hollywood.

[Suzn]

Thanks for the background on Teresa Wright.  I guess I should have able to research her on my own and find the explanation of what happened to her career.  She did continue to work in movies, stage and TV, but I will always be disappointed that she didn't have important roles in important movies as she started with. After The Best Years of Our Lives she was in only one other movie I am familiar with.  I hope she was satisfied with her career.

[EtheltoTillie]

So sad that SUTS is over!  I've been jolted into a new reality with these non theme days.

Here are some costume comments:

I covet the bathrobe worn by Ginger Rogers in Weekend at the Waldorf.  I always admire the '40s bathrobes (and I've even sewed some using vintage patterns and thrifted chenille bedspreads or other fabrics--it's really fun to wear those swirly skirts), but that one is particularly fine and beautifully tailored.  It's one of the nicest I've ever seen.  (I also love the chenille bathrobe worn by Katharine Hepburn in Holiday, when she tells her father and sister that she wants to plan the engagement party.)

Grace Kelly's suit in Fourteen Hours is also amazing. 

Edited September 2 by EtheltoTillie

[Sarah 103]

On 8/31/2024 at 3:02 PM, Palimelon said:

Her career certainly started out strong enough, 3 Oscar nominations for her first 3 movie roles (the second one was also a win). I guess rebelling against the studio system back then could and would affect a career. 

But still, what did she have against cocker spaniels?

I have the same question. I'd understand something more general like no cute animals or no dogs but no cocker spaniels seems oddly specific. 

[Fool to cry]

Speaking of Samuel Goldwyn I didn't know his grandson was the actor Tony Goldwyn(Ghost, Scandal) until I saw this tweet during his appearance at the DNC a few weeks ago:

 

 

[Palimelon]

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Grace Kelly's suit in Fourteen Hours is also amazing. 

Like Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly could make a garbage bag look good.

[mariah23]

42 minutes ago, Fool to cry said:

Speaking of Samuel Goldwyn I didn't know his grandson was the actor Tony Goldwyn(Ghost, Scandal) until I saw this tweet during his appearance at the DNC a few weeks ago:

 

 

There’s a lot of actors who are descended from Hollywood royalty.  For example, the guy who plays Rip on Yellowstone is the great-grandson of Harry Warner.  

[Miss Anne Thrope]

On 8/31/2024 at 3:02 PM, Palimelon said:

 

But still, what did she have against cocker spaniels?

 

3 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

I have the same question. I'd understand something more general like no cute animals or no dogs but no cocker spaniels seems oddly specific. 

 Cocker spaniels were immensely popular in the 1940s, well into the '50s. Perhaps she just named the breed because chances are if a movie star was to do a photo shoot with a dog at the time -- particularly if it was one of those "Teresa Wright at home" pieces -- odds are that dog would be a Cocker. 

Cockers were still popular in 1952, when Richard Nixon made the famous Checkers speech about a Cocker Spaniel that had been gifted to his family. 

Just a thought.

https://www.ranker.com/list/most-popular-dog-breeds-by-decade/mariel-loveland  

Edited September 2 by Miss Anne Thrope

[mariah23]

TCM Remembers James Darren who passed away at age 88.

[voiceover]

Pour one out for Moondoggie.

When Michael Callan passed away, I lauded him as The Choice She Should’ve Made in Gidget Goes Hawaiian.

But just now, watching James croon the title tune to Deborah Walley, I concede that there’s something about those dark, moody guys.

He also sang in Guns of Navarone, and you totally believed that that character would choose to sing in that moment, the approaching Nazis notwithstanding.

RIP, Jimmy.

[Fool to cry]

Darren was in another movie set in Hawaii, Diamond Head(1962) with Charlton Heston, Yvette Mimieux, France Nuyen and George Chakiris and sang the title song. Wouldn't be allowed now but back then you could get away with having Polynesians played by actors like Darren and Chakiris!

 

Edited September 5 by Fool to cry

[Is Everyone Gone]

Tonight I finally watched Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words. What a wonderful documentary! So much home footage of Bergman, and I loved hearing the reminisces of all her children, who seem to adore her despite her being a very absent mother. Bergman's beauty, charisma, and charm shine through -- she is one of those people who just seems to GLOW all the time.

I am struck by how her four children look very different, but all have a striking resemblance to their mother in different ways. Isabella's eyes are like her mother's, Ingrid has her mother's facial structure, Pia has the same blond Scandinavian look and her mother's nose.

[Charlie Baker]

I'm reminded of Pia Lindstrom, who reviewed movies and theater for the NBC affiliate in New York City, commenting on David Lynch's Blue Velvet.  She said something like, "I think this may be a great movie, and I wish my sister weren't in it."

[Is Everyone Gone]

Here's a picture of Ingrid with her children. Wow. Great looking family.

[Palimelon]

Ingrid Bergman was a beauty, and not in that era's typical cookie-cutter Hollywood version.

Edited September 9 by Palimelon

[mariah23]

TCM Remembers James Earl Jones who passed away this morning at age 93.

[voiceover]

So many moments & performances worth remembering…yet for some reason, the first thing that pinged was Roots: The Next Generation.  James was Alex Haley, laughing and weeping in his “Eureka!” moment: 

“You old African!  I found you!!  Kunta Kinte!  I found you! I found you!!”

Just watched it again.  Still weeping.

Flights of angels.  You were so many things to so many people.

[Palimelon]

He was also great in Coming to America. I like how he and Madge Sinclair were reunited in The Lion King.

[Palimelon]

 

[BooksRule]

I was re-watching 'The Leopard Man' (1943) this morning, and had to laugh at one scene.  Was this an early example of an 'influencer'?

(A dancer--who likes to be brash and show off a little--from a local club tries to steal a flower from a flower stall)

Clo-Clo: 'You can't sell it. It's a day old.

Shopkeeper: 'But my stomach is not a day old. If I don't sell flowers, I don't eat.'

Clo-Clo: 'I'll tell everyone you gave it to me. It'll be good for your business.'

Edited Saturday at 02:06 PM by BooksRule
typo

[Wiendish Fitch]

Just now, BooksRule said:

I was re-watching 'The Leopard Man' (1943) this morning, and had to laugh at one scene.  Was this an early example of an 'influencer'?

(A dancer--who likes to be brash and show off a little--from a local club tries to steal a flower from a flower stall)

Clo-Clo: 'You can't sell it. It's a day old.

Shopkeeper: 'But my stomach is not a day old. If I don't sell flowers, I don't eat.'

Clo-Clo: 'I'll tell everyone you gave it to me. It'll be good for your business.'

Ha! Good point!

I love Val Lewton, though I confess I found The Leopard Man underwhelming. Maybe I should give it another chance.

[BooksRule]

1 minute ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

I love Val Lewton, though I confess I found The Leopard Man underwhelming. Maybe I should give it another chance.

It was okay.  I mainly re-watched it to see if I would like it any better than the first time I saw it.  I was one of the people who originally thought it would be a 'creature feature', and was a little disappointed when it ended up just being a murder mystery.  (And from what I've read, a lot of people went to see it when it was released thinking the same thing.)

[Tom Holmberg]

On 9/14/2024 at 9:07 AM, Wiendish Fitch said:

love Val Lewton, though I confess I found The Leopard Man underwhelming. Maybe I should give it another chance.

I like Leopard Man, but I can see how people might have thought it was another Cat People, not a mystery.

[Wiendish Fitch]

1 hour ago, Tom Holmberg said:

I like Leopard Man, but I can see how people might have thought it was another Cat People, not a mystery.

I hope I don't come off as mindlessly contrarian, but most of my favorite Val Lewton films are the more underrated ones: Isle of the Dead (feels more relevant than ever), Ghost Ship (an early indictment of toxic masculinity) and Bedlam (Anna Lee plays the spunkiest and most engaging of Lewton's heroines).

I adore Cat People, but I found Curse of the Cat People lackluster. I also don't care for The Seventh Victim (I really don't like Kim Hunter's acting in this one) and I Walked With a Zombie (but that's because I've always hated Jane Eyre).

I've been meaning to rewatch The Body Snatcher. Any reason to watch Karloff is a good one!

[Charlie Baker]

This recent Noir Alley A Lady without Passport is no great shakes.  It's derivative and not terribly exciting, despite or maybe partially because of some on-location filming in pre-Castro Cuba.  But it's of some interest.  As Eddie points out, John Hodiak's performance is spirited and there's a David Raksin score.   And a seventy-two minute running time, so it doesn't overstay its welcome. 

[Wiendish Fitch]

3 minutes ago, Charlie Baker said:

This recent Noir Alley A Lady without Passport is no great shakes.  It's derivative and not terribly exciting, despite or maybe partially because of some on-location filming in pre-Castro Cuba.  But it's of some interest.  As Eddie points out, John Hodiak's performance is spirited and there's a David Raksin score.   And a seventy-two minute running time, so it doesn't overstay its welcome. 

Whoa, John Hodiak gives ... an actual performance?! Now this I gotta see!

[Milburn Stone]

7 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

my favorite Val Lewton films...Bedlam (Anna Lee plays the spunkiest and most engaging of Lewton's heroines).

I agree with you. That film creeps me out far more than some of his others. Anna Lee is great, and helps the overall tone, which can be summed up as "sh*t, this sh*t is f*cked up."

[voiceover]

Went to the Fathom Events screening of Blazing Saddles last night.  I found myself mouthing along with most of the dialogue. And I’m sure I laughed out loud more than anyone else in the theater. WTF, man.

Some of my favorites:

Cleavon Little: “You specifically asked for a…well, to tell a family secret: my grandmother was Dutch.”

Harvey Korman (to Slim Pickens’ suggestion that they kill all the male babies): “Mmmm…too Jewish.”

Slim Pickens (after finding a toll booth in the middle of nowhere): “Somebody’s gotta go back & get a shitload of dimes!”

And especially, brilliantly, the punchline to the story of how the Waco Kid walked away after he was challenged by a 6-year-old boy:

Gene Wilder: “…little bastard shot me in the ass!”

It’s called “cry-laughing”, and I was doing it. 

[Wiendish Fitch]

8 hours ago, voiceover said:

Went to the Fathom Events screening of Blazing Saddles last night.  I found myself mouthing along with most of the dialogue. And I’m sure I laughed out loud more than anyone else in the theater. WTF, man.

Some of my favorites:

Cleavon Little: “You specifically asked for a…well, to tell a family secret: my grandmother was Dutch.”

Harvey Korman (to Slim Pickens’ suggestion that they kill all the male babies): “Mmmm…too Jewish.”

Slim Pickens (after finding a toll booth in the middle of nowhere): “Somebody’s gotta go back & get a shitload of dimes!”

And especially, brilliantly, the punchline to the story of how the Waco Kid walked away after he was challenged by a 6-year-old boy:

Gene Wilder: “…little bastard shot me in the ass!”

It’s called “cry-laughing”, and I was doing it. 

Blazing Saddles 100% lives up to the hype. I adore Cleavon Little as Bart: his timing, his delivery, his charm, it's kind of a bummer he didn't have a bigger career. Gene Wilder is delightful as always, and they play off each other really well. Who can forget this moment?

 

[Spartan Girl]

2 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Blazing Saddles 100% lives up to the hype. I adore Cleavon Little as Bart: his timing, his delivery, his charm, it's kind of a bummer he didn't have a bigger career. Gene Wilder is delightful as always, and they play off each other really well. Who can forget this moment?

 

My favorite moment in the whole movie. But the runner-up would have to be Bart beating the racist townsfolk to the punch by holding HIMSELF hostage. It's so delightfully stupid.

[Wiendish Fitch]

12 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

My favorite moment in the whole movie. But the runner-up would have to be Bart beating the racist townsfolk to the punch by holding HIMSELF hostage. It's so delightfully stupid.

"Oh, baby, you are so talented... and they are so dumb!"