TCM: The Greatest Movie Channel

[prican58]

Perhaps an unknown. Someone with a serious theater background. I guess a "star" would bring a built in audience but it must be someone who can lose herself in Judy, not "oh there is so and so playing Judy". Auditions would be a must, no matter who they are.

[aradia22]

Please keep Emma Stone and JLaw far away. Someone on another thread said Megan Hilty. I can't think of a better choice off the top of my head. 

[Milburn Stone]

10 hours ago, prican58 said:

Perhaps an unknown. Someone with a serious theater background. I guess a "star" would bring a built in audience but it must be someone who can lose herself in Judy, not "oh there is so and so playing Judy". Auditions would be a must, no matter who they are.

I agree with all this, but if forced to pick a known actress, I'd go with Kristen Schaal. 

[Rinaldo]

2 hours ago, Milburn Stone said:

if forced to pick a known actress, I'd go with Kristen Schaal.

Not I. I don't want to see her in anything. She singlehandedly gets me to stop watching TV series I otherwise enjoy.

Well, that was negative and unhelpful, wasn't it? Sorry. To try to be more constructive, Megan Hilty has some of the right qualities, though physically problematic (there's no delicate way to say this, but is there any way to disguise that degree of bustiness?). My own suggestion is someone with major stage credibility but only minimal presence onscreen so far: Kelli O'Hara. She has actually played a Judy Holliday role (in Bells Are Ringing at Encores!); superb actress, great singer (too good for JH really, but that can easily be toned down), and as she has too rarely been able to show in her roles, she can be a wonderfully funny goofball. 

[ratgirlagogo]

5 hours ago, Rinaldo said:

8 hours ago, Milburn Stone said:

if forced to pick a known actress, I'd go with Kristen Schaal.

Not I. I don't want to see her in anything. She singlehandedly gets me to stop watching TV series I otherwise enjoy.

I feel the same.  Incredibly annoying actress.  The only one I can think of from the classic era that I have the same reaction to is Judy Canova.

[StrictTime]

I love Judy Holliday so much that it will be hard for me to watch the usual Hollywood blondes in the role.  Maybe Michelle Williams?  She’s kind of a chameleon and is a bit more cerebral. Or Emma Watson, if she could get the accent right (a difficult task—JH had such an unusual delivery).

[prican58]

Hilty might be a stretch owing to her body type but actors have been known to alter their bodies for roles, so who knows? 

Schaal? No. I think she has the quirkiness to portray the roles that JH played but to play Judy the woman, I feel like....no. 

I am a big fan of Michelle Williams and she could probably do very well in terms of portraying her but she is so petite. Judy comes off as tall on film. Was that true or was her height enhanced by Hollywood? 

I hope that if it does get made that it's a good, sincere film. 

Judy deserves it. 

[Milburn Stone]

14 hours ago, prican58 said:

I hope that if it does get made that it's a good, sincere film. 

Me too. And just as crucial as the casting of the lead--who will play Comden and Green?

[Rinaldo]

2 hours ago, Milburn Stone said:

And just as crucial as the casting of the lead--who will play Comden and Green?

And Lenny Bernstein? I love this sort of question about "casting" someone famous of the recent past. Some movies manage it wonderfully (we've talked about the Moviola miniseries here, and in Chaplin we had Kevin Kline as Douglas Fairbanks, not to mention Geraldine Chaplin as her own grandmother; I also thought that Jill Clayburgh was ideal for Carole Lombard, though the movie itself missed the boat so badly that it didn't matter).

As Comden and Green, though not officially those names, we had Nanette Fabray and Oscar Levant in The Band Wagon. I can think of theater people who fill the same niches, but not movie people. This'll be fun to daydream about....

[Milburn Stone]

For Adolph Green: Simon Helberg. For Betty Comden: Carrie Brownstein.

[Rinaldo]

Love him for Green. Her, I'll have to look up.

[voiceover]

Chariots of Fire  is on tomorrow night.  I fell in love with the film when it first came out.  Even years later, after I've read all manner of essays where it's been picked apart for all kinds of reasons, it still gets to me.  In part because it's a sports film, and I love the genre.  I also appreciate its dissection of faith, and how someone learns (or doesn't) to accommodate theirs in a secular world.  

I'd agree, always, that a large part of what made the picture compelling was that soundtrack by Vangelis.  It's also possible that if you don't like the film, you can blame his synthesizer.  Because it's one of the few non-musicals that is so strongly linked to its soundtrack: the group trek along the beach;  Harold's gold medal event; Eric's singular running style in the final race.

The first time I heard the theme, it pinged something in my memory.  Didn't take long to link it to a hymn from childhood: Blessed Assurance (I came across the linked cover recently; it's gorgeous).  Post-Civil War American, and a regular feature in Methodist services.

I can't be the only one who hears the similarity (different enough where I wouldn't call it plagiarism -- though Vangelis had his issues with that music), but it's pretty unscientific on my part.

[Rinaldo]

I'm not a huge fan of Chariots of Fire, but one detail in it impressed the hell out of me when I saw it -- still does.

My details will be fuzzy, but at one point in the story one of the runners is dating a singer-actress, and he goes to see her in a show -- The Mikado as presented by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. And the movie actually goes to the trouble of re-creating the famous (to those interested) scenic and costume designs by Charles Ricketts that the company was actually using at the time. They were considered daringly abstract and untraditional at the time, though they've come to be regarded as simply classically beautiful. By the time I saw the company in the 1960s, they had replaced these designs, though they were still using the Ricketts designs for The Gondoliers. (I can't find online examples of his sets for either title, though there are some costume sketches.)  Anyway, he's an important figure in the history of set design, and movies rarely bother to get that sort of detail right.

[Milburn Stone]

9 hours ago, Rinaldo said:

Love him for Green. Her, I'll have to look up.

She's the co-creator and co-lead on Portlandia.

Don't forget we'll have to cast for a small part as Stephen Sondheim when he comes in to ghost-write a couple of songs for Hot Spot. :)

[Rinaldo]

Josh Radnor?

[Milburn Stone]

1 hour ago, Rinaldo said:

Josh Radnor?

I had to look him up. :) But having done so, I agree!

Young (Revuers era) Lenny is difficult. Would you consider Thomas Middleditch?

Edited December 6, 2017 by Milburn Stone

[voiceover]

16 hours ago, Rinaldo said:

I'm not a huge fan of Chariots of Fire, but one detail in it impressed the hell out of me when I saw it -- still does.

My details will be fuzzy, but at one point in the story one of the runners is dating a singer-actress, and he goes to see her in a show -- The Mikado as presented by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. 

Actually Harold first meets Sybil *after* that performance.  Their subsequent romance is one of the subplots of the film.  She gives him the mental push he needs ("I won't run if I can't win!"/"You can't win if you don't run.").

So I chum the waters for Rinaldo music expertise, and you give me...costumes? 

Well.  They were pretty great costumes.

[Rinaldo]

Costumes and sets. They're classics, give them a Google.

(The music was accurate G&S too, but that's easier for a movie to do; just play a recording and lip-sync to it. Still, movies have been known to mess even that much up, so credit where it's due.)

[Charlie Baker]

She has done some film, certainly not a movie name, but she also did Born Yesterday on stage--maybe Nina Arianda as JH?

And with Simon Helberg as AG (great choice!), it's a mini Florence Foster Jenkins reunion!  Though Arianda wasn't well used in that movie.

[PaulaO]

Chariots of Fire is in my top 5 list of favorites.  I love everything about it.  I was gutted when Ian Charleson died.

[Rinaldo]

1 hour ago, Charlie Baker said:

She has done some film, certainly not a movie name, but she also did Born Yesterday on stage--maybe Nina Arianda as JH?

And with Simon Helberg as AG (great choice!), it's a mini Florence Foster Jenkins reunion!  Though Arianda wasn't well used in that movie.

I love the idea of Nina Arianda in anything. And though she isn't yet a mega movie name, she's been building up a surprisingly substantial list of appearances on the large and small screen, bit by bit. (I found her just fine in Florence Foster Jenkins, I just wanted more of her -- which is maybe what you meant. I guess she's in danger of becoming the go-to gal when moviemakers need someone to make an impression with an underwritten part, and being ignored for leading roles.)

I don't see a great visual resemblance to Judy H, but she has a lot of the essence: an intelligent, driven woman who can play daffy, ditzy, or impressively serious. I don't know her singing, but I bet she can do what's needed. Nice idea!

[ratgirlagogo]

On 12/6/2017 at 8:27 AM, Milburn Stone said:

She's the co-creator and co-lead on Portlandia.

She was a founder (guitar/vocals/songwriting) of the riot grrrl band Sleater-Kinney.

[voiceover]

9 hours ago, Rinaldo said:

Costumes and sets. They're classics, give them a Google.

(The music was accurate G&S too, but that's easier for a movie to do; just play a recording and lip-sync to it. Still, movies have been known to mess even that much up, so credit where it's due.)

Not. What I was chumming.  For.

[Rinaldo]

Too bad. S'all you're gonna get outta me on this one.

Edited December 8, 2017 by Rinaldo

[voiceover]

My only complaint is that it's too early in the month, but it's a small one.  So glad that TCM cracked a few years ago and started showing the best Christmas movie ever; certainly, the finest Scrooge.

One of the best things about Alastair Sim in this role: when we first see him at the height of his miserdom, he's...scary not-attractive.  Then on Christmas morning, with joy in his heart, after the ghostly ministrations...he is, by God, a handsome man.

[Pyralis]

In a skipping between channels double-bill, I'm watching this on TCM and the Muppet Christmas Carol on Spark - my two favourite versions.

[Rinaldo]

My two favorite versions are George C. Scott and Mr. Magoo, but it's a treat to see the Alastair Sim again.

[Rinaldo]

In fact, I've watched the Alastair Sim one this afternoon, for the first time in quite a while, and he really is marvelous in it -- especially his gleefulness after the spirits leave, which he sustains enchantingly and movingly. Bravo to him. And the movie is effective, though it certainly offers a lot more of Scrooge's early life than Dickens ever dreamed of.

I'm watching the (rarely aired?) Seymour Hicks film now, and I'll stick it out to the end, but it really does seem week compared to most other versions I know. Experienced as Sir Seymour was in the part onstage, I wonder if elements of his stage adaptation were carried over into the movie. The Cratchits' Christmas certainly is presented at full length as if it were a self-contained scene onstage. And then there's the presentation of Marley's Ghost as invisible, and Christmas Past as an animated blob....

I find myself wanting to see the Scott version again now too; surely some channel is airing it this month. George C's take on Scrooge is at the opposite pole from Sim -- blustering, and taking as much pleasure from his misanthrophy at the start as he does from his reformation at the end -- but equally valid; and surely this is the best of the supporting casts, what with Frank Finlay as Marley, Edward Woodward as Christmas Present, David Warner & Susannah York as the Cratchits, and Roger Rees as Fred.

Here's a question that's occurred to me: Most films of the story match Dickens's description of Christmas Present pretty closely -- a big boisterous Father Christmas figure in green robe and head-wreath. But has anybody ever aimed at matching his vision of The Ghost of Christmas Past? I've seen a blob (Hicks), an old man (Sim), a young(ish) woman (Owen, Scott, Grammer), an old woman (Finney), and Jiminy Cricket (guess which). Of those I've seen, only Mr. Magoo comes close to the sexless glowing being in a short white tunic described in the book. As I read the Wikipedia articles, the 1971 animated one, the Patrick Stewart, and apparently the Jim Carrey, attempt a Dickens-style creature. Can anyone confirm?

ADDENDUM: AMC is airing the George C. Scott version on Wednesday, at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Edited December 11, 2017 by Rinaldo

[bmoore4026]

Watching The Postman Always Rings Twice now.  They couldn't kill the drunk husband fast enough.

9:46 CT  Now I'm watching The Three Musketeers with Gene Kelly.  He's...a touch too old to be D'Artagnan.  Lana Turner is stunning as Lady DeWinter, though.  As is Angela Lansbury as Queen Anne.

Edited December 13, 2017 by bmoore4026

[StrictTime]

Our DTV listing doesn’t show the title of this 70’s movie that’s on right now—the guy in glasses killed a bar owner, stole money from the cash register, and some dumb blonde got mixed up in it.  Now they are on the road, fleeing the police.  Any ideas what this movie is?  I don’t recognize the actors.

[voiceover]

@StrictTime: It's Wanda.

Always happy when they crowbar-in 100 Years at the Movies.  What an editing class that is!  Plus, I always get the feelz by the time the Terms of Endearment segment rolls.

[voiceover]

Back here in the shallow end of the pool: watching Alexander's Ragtime Band, and remembering that Ty Power & Alice Faye share one of my Top Ten Screen Kisses in this pic.

Yes: Alice FAYE.

[Padma]

Just caught one of my favorite Astaire films, "Three Little Words" (best Red Skelton one). How did I not know that every Thursday night this month Michael Feinstein hosts a movie musical night? 

Re: Christmas Carol. I had great hopes for Stewart, esp. since he's so fond of the story, but unfortunately, he just wasn't mean and bitter and gruff enough for me. Sim and Scott are both fantastic, with such different interpretations of the character but equally believable and affecting.  (Clive Donner was the editor for Sim's film and then was the director for Scott's 30 years later.)

[Wiendish Fitch]

5 hours ago, Padma said:

Just caught one of my favorite Astaire films, "Three Little Words" (best Red Skelton one). How did I not know that every Thursday night this month Michael Feinstein hosts a movie musical night? 

Re: Christmas Carol. I had great hopes for Stewart, esp. since he's so fond of the story, but unfortunately, he just wasn't mean and bitter and gruff enough for me. Sim and Scott are both fantastic, with such different interpretations of the character but equally believable and affecting.  (Clive Donner was the editor for Sim's film and then was the director for Scott's 30 years later.)

Three Little Words is all right. It is fun to see young Debbie Reynolds as Helen Kane, and, wow, is "Thinking of You" not one of Astaire's most gorgeous, non-Ginger numbers?? The color scheme (Vera-Ellen is rocking that pink robe) and choreography are just lovely. I'm old enough to remember Alanis Morrisette's, ahem, "homage" to it in her "So Pure" video, and...  no. Just, no.

While we're on the subject of Scrooges, Scott is my favorite (lack of British accent and all), but Sim is a close second. They're two very different actors, with two very different styles (Scott's is more internal and modern, Sim doesn't shy away from theatricality), but damned if they don't get Scrooge. I love how Scott conveys Scrooge's unspoken regret and bitterness; you can tell that, deep down, he doesn't like to be alone. Sim, while he can be over the top, has a glorious moment (that's not in the book) when Scrooge, while in the past, hears his sister's dying wish for him to look after her son (that he apparently missed at the time), and look at his face: he's thunderstruck and completely devastated. He then weeps, "Forgive me, Fan! Forgive me!" It's such an emotional gut punch, because Scrooge adored his sister, and not only did he let her down by neglecting Fred, he's wasted an opportunity to bond with literally the only family he has left. 

Stewart was a fine Scrooge, but the Hallmark version is... okay, it's not bad, it has its moments, but on the whole it's just too bland and twee, and Stewart is really too good for it.

But you know what makes the aforementioned actors such great Scrooges, at least IMO? They're all tall, relatively physically imposing actors. I hate it when Scrooge is depicted as a frail, bent old man (like the 1938 version and the CGI Disney one from several years ago), because it makes him too vulnerable. Scrooge isn't just a mean ol' miser, people are intimidated by him, and it should show. 

Edited December 15, 2017 by Wiendish Fitch

[Milburn Stone]

6 hours ago, Padma said:

Just caught one of my favorite Astaire films, "Three Little Words" (best Red Skelton one). How did I not know that every Thursday night this month Michael Feinstein hosts a movie musical night?

Re TLW: I enjoy it too, and it puts me in mind that even the MGM musicals that don't immediately come to mind as top tier (such as this one) tend to be more enjoyable than most from other studios at the time. I feel like the secret is in the "book" (non-song) portions. The pages between numbers in MGM musicals are, on average, written at a higher level of wit, with characters possessing a higher degree of believability and charm, portrayed by a "stock company" of better actors down to the smaller roles--actors like Marjorie Main, Keenan Wynn, Oscar Levant, Kurt Kasznar. The numbers, of course, are incomparable, but unlike the musicals of other studios, an MGM musical tends not to feel like torture while you wait for the next one. 

[bmoore4026]

Just watched A Star is Born with Judy Garland.  Is it wrong that I didn't find James Mason sympathetic at all?  I mean, I'm sorry for what happens to him at the end, but he was always kind of a loser.

"This is Mrs. Norman Maine" is an awesome line.  Kind of heartwarming in a way.

On the plus side - Jack Carson and all his manly man hotness.

Edited December 15, 2017 by bmoore4026

[Rinaldo]

15 hours ago, bmoore4026 said:

...A Star is Born with Judy Garland.  Is it wrong that I didn't find James Mason sympathetic at all? 

I don't think he's supposed to be particularly sympathetic. Just interesting (granted that we all have our own reactions) and somewhat relatable (in a limited sense). Few of us are saintly enough to be entirely thrilled when a partner or best friend is entirely successful while we're the opposite, and this story takes that tiny spark of resentment (that we're ashamed of and hopefully don't share) and expands it into a whole characterization. I find that Mason plays him magnetically. I just wish we had the whole movie that Hart wrote and Cukor directed, instead of this patched-together attempt.

On 12/15/2017 at 8:15 AM, Wiendish Fitch said:

... on the subject of Scrooges, Scott is my favorite (lack of British accent and all), but Sim is a close second. They're two very different actors, with two very different styles (Scott's is more internal and modern, Sim doesn't shy away from theatricality), but damned if they don't get Scrooge. I love how Scott conveys Scrooge's unspoken regret and bitterness; you can tell that, deep down, he doesn't like to be alone. Sim, while he can be over the top, has a glorious moment (that's not in the book) when Scrooge, while in the past, hears his sister's dying wish for him to look after her son (that he apparently missed at the time)...

Having recently re-viewed the Sim version after a long time away from it, I have to revise my ranking of all the Scrooges and put Sim in the top ranking -- like you, just a hair behind Scott. Different as they are, they're both (as you say) robust, not frail. Scott also has a distinctive touch of humor in his characterization: when he delivers his famous zingers about the poor and those who celebrate Christmas, he's delighted with his own cleverness. This makes for continuity with his behavior post-reformation: he still enjoys himself but no longer at the expense of others. Sim's way is the opposite -- his Scrooge has eliminated joy from his life for so long, it just bursts irrepressibly out of him on Christmas morning till he's nearly manic -- and that works too. (I found it interesting how much of this film, which is classic to so many viewers, isn't in Dickens: a great deal about Scrooge's early business history is invented for it to "explain" his nature.)

As for Patrick Stewart: Inasmuch as his version turned out not to be that special, I wish he could have just been allowed to film his one-man reading of the novella, which had been such a success onstage for him. THAT would have been a distinctive and valuable contribution to the Christmas Carol filmography. I know one-actor shows are considered a hard sell on film and TV, but Stewart's name and beloved presence would have been able to sell it, if anybody could. People would tune in just for the "how does he do it?" curiosity value. All water under the bridge now, of course.

Edited December 16, 2017 by Rinaldo

[Charlie Baker]

Mason's performance in ASIB always moves me whenever I watch the movie.  We see Norman in his decline, and Mason does manage to suggest the glorious actor/star he once was at the same time.  He is devastating without saying a word when he overhears Esther and Oliver discussing his situation. 

[Wiendish Fitch]

See, what makes Norman Maine tragic and, ultimately, forgivable in my eyes is the clarity and self-awareness he gains along the way, to the point he realizes that, you know what? He is a millstone around Esther's neck, he doesn't have the capacity to change his ways, and maybe everyone is better off without him. Normally I would never, ever find anything remotely noble in

Spoiler

suicide. However, unlike, say, Don Draper and Bojack Horseman, Norman knows he has to end this damaging cycle of self-destruction, self-pity, and crippling codependence. He finally, finally, learns to put someone else's needs and life ahead of his own. It's the ultimate price, and far from ideal, but he painted himself into this corner, and there's no other way.

Yes, it's utterly devastating to Esther, but I'm willing to believe she'll be all right. She's learned from Norman's mistakes, she won't go down that road, and she'll have a longer, better life because of it.

 

8 hours ago, Rinaldo said:

 

Having recently re-viewed the Sim version after a long time away from it, I have to revise my ranking of all the Scrooges and put Sim in the top ranking -- like you, just a hair behind Scott. Different as they are, they're both (as you say) robust, not frail. Scott also has a distinctive touch of humor in his characterization: when he delivers his famous zingers about the poor and those who celebrate Christmas, he's delighted with his own cleverness. This makes for continuity with his behavior post-reformation: he still enjoys himself but no longer at the expense of others. Sim's way is the opposite -- his Scrooge has eliminated joy from his life for so long, it just bursts irrepressibly out of him on Christmas morning till he's nearly manic -- and that works too. (I found it interesting how much of this film, which is classic to so many viewers, isn't in Dickens: a great deal about Scrooge's early business history is invented for it to "explain" his nature.)

 

Beautifully observed, Rinaldo. I think the best adaptations believably expand their source's narrative; seeing Scrooge's business dealings in the 1951 version, or his sister's deathbed wish, or him scaring the bejeezus out of his housekeeper are excellent touches that make perfectly good sense. These are events you could see the characters doing, even if Dickens himself never put it to page. 

[mariah23]

TCM Remembers is up on YouTube.  Should be on TCM tonight or tomorrow.  It's extra sad this year.

[Wiendish Fitch]

9 hours ago, mariah23 said:

TCM Remembers is up on YouTube.  Should be on TCM tonight or tomorrow.  It's extra sad this year.

Another great homage, and I almost started blubbering at the end. A bit late adding Debbie Reynolds, but that's all right. I also appreciate how they've finally started acknowledging voice actors (June Foray, Peter Sallis). I still haven't gotten over the omission of Christine Cavanaugh from the 2015 one.

[Rinaldo]

I've now caught up with the Reginald Owen Christmas Carol as well. It's all too easy to mock it for its family-entertainment "Hollywood" look and qualities, in comparison to other film versions, so I'm going to avoid that route and emphasize that it tells the story effectively and touchingly, and thereby did its job well. It must have been on the airwaves a lot in my youth, because I found one or two scenes stirring up distant memories -- like Ann Rutherford's Christmas Past with  prettily embroidered cap-crown and a bouncing star atop it.

While I'm acting like I said I wouldn't, I'll spare an indulgent smile for the pristine freshly painted streets of London, ready to be visited as "Dickensland." With lots of jolly sliding on ice and happy landing in snowdrifts. And lots of Fred, who's engaged in this version and who stops by the Cratchits' Christmas dinner for the final scene, as does a gift-laden Scrooge, so we can sign off on "God bless us, every one" as yet another carol is rendered by invisible choir. No failed romance in Scrooge's past in this version, no Ignorance and Want, no scavengers picking over his possessions. On the other hand, Bob actually gets fired on Christmas Eve in this one. I wouldn't put this in the very top echelon, but the many who saw it over the years got a good effective rendering of the story.

[Stuffy]

I'm watching Susan Slept Here because it's one of the Debbie Reynolds movies I haven't seen. How old of a teenager is she supposed to be because it's pretty disturbing? Actually whether she's legal age or not it's still disturbing to me. 

I still say the studios held Debbie back from achieving her true potential as an actress. 

[jjj]

I love The Bishop's Wife, and only got to see part of it when TCM aired it a few weeks ago. Now that they have aired it again, I'm hoping they will put it online so I can watch from start to end in HD.  It might seem too saccharine to some viewers, but the themes are still so fresh:  frustrated ambition colliding with family attention, donors wanting control over their gifts, and the kind connections of the main characters, professor, and down to the cab driver.  It always slays me when books or films set up the idea of:  you will see magic and a glimpse of eternity, but we need to wipe your memory clean afterward.  Seems no harm in a bishop *knowing* there are angels at work instead of *believing* there are angels!  

[HyeChaps]

Please, does anyone know when Holiday Inn is on this week?  (Any network)

Edited December 17, 2017 by HyeChaps
Added parentheses

[MisterBluxom]

Hello. I'm hoping that someone in this thread will know the name of a film I'm looking for. I wasn't sure where to post this request. But one of the mods very kindly suggested that I post my request in this thread. Here is some info that I recall about this film:

This movie is B&W and it's set just after the end of WW2. I seem to recall there were three male lead actors. One is Alan Hale and I would guess it would have to be Alan Hale Sr. The most notable thing about the plot of this film is that Alan Hale has a metal plate in his forehead and it gives him terrible headaches throughout.

I thought its name had the word "Narcissus" somewhere in the title. AAMOF, I was almost certain the name of the film was, "The Black Narcissus" or "The White Narcissus".  I know there is a 1947 film called, "The Black Narcissus". But that movie is not the same one for which I'm looking. I skimmed through that 1947 movie today but it's not B&W and it's not the film I'm looking for.

Here are some other facts from the plot. The plot involves one or more murders. As I recall, some lady is murdered and there are three men (I guess the three lead actors are all suspects and they all seem to struggle throughout to prove their innocence. Also, there is a lot of drinking involved.  That's about all I remember.

Would anyone here happen to know the name of this film?  Thank you all for your time.

[LilWharveyGal]

@MissBluxom, could it have been Alan Ladd and The Blue Dahlia?

[MisterBluxom]

I just came back this minute because I had a sudden flash (nothing to do with  Menopause).

The word "Dahlia" just popped into my mind and I realized the title of the movie must have had the word "Dahlia" and not "Narcissus".

However, I want to thank LilWharveyGal because that was a real winning idea and I'm pretty sure that is indeed the name of the movie. I will go and check it now.  In the meantime, thank you so very much!

Oops! Looks like the name is actually, "The Blue Dahlia" and it starred William Bendix - not Alan Hale. OMG! My memory is certainly starting to fail me.

Oh well. Here is a link to the film:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038369/

Thank you again LilWharveyGal. Very much appreciated.

Edited December 18, 2017 by MissBluxom

[Luckylyn]

6 hours ago, Stuffy said:

I'm watching Susan Slept Here because it's one of the Debbie Reynolds movies I haven't seen. How old of a teenager is she supposed to be because it's pretty disturbing? Actually whether she's legal age or not it's still disturbing to me. 

I still say the studios held Debbie back from achieving her true potential as an actress. 

Her character was 17 and I think it was a twenty year age difference.  I agree that the movie is so disturbing.  He’s old enough to be her father. 

Sometimes May/December romances work for me but in the case of Susan Slept Here it just doesn’t work at all.

[Stuffy]

1 hour ago, Luckylyn said:

Her character was 17 and I think it was a twenty year age difference.  I agree that the movie is so disturbing.  He’s old enough to be her father. 

Sometimes May/December romances work for me but in the case of Susan Slept Here it just doesn’t work at all.

Yeah I can do some mainly because there's not much choice. I mean look at Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence they played a couple in two movies. There is 15 years between them. Hollywood always puts older actors with young actresses. At least they aren't blatantly making one of the characters a teenager.