TCM: The Greatest Movie Channel

[ruby24]

I watched Love Affair tonight. It's funny, it took me so long to get around to this one even though I've seen An Affair to Remember many times since I was a kid.

They're extremely similar, with pretty much all the same scenes and everything, but the actors do make a difference. I thought Boyer and Dunne were great together, both extremely likable and natural. I may actually have liked them as a couple more than Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. There's something about a dashing Frenchman that really is that appealing (I love Maurice Chevalier too in his early movies). And the idea of being romanced onboard a cruise by a charming French guy is such an ideal fantasy. 

I have a problem with the story's contrivance of her refusing to tell him what happened though. I have the same issue with the remakes. Obviously it's all so we can have that great last scene of him realizing it (and he's SO good in that scene where he figures it out), but not telling him all that time just seems so cruel. And there is really no good reason to keep that a secret. You literally can't come up with one. Her explanation in the car makes zero sense.

And even she's relieved at the end when he finds out, so there was never any real reason not to tell him.

[Milburn Stone]

Watched Saturday's Noir Alley selection, Thieves Highway (1949), and despite some obviously tacked on "morality" in the last five minutes designed to restore faith in our law enforcement establishment (a directive from the studio because they wanted to do propaganda, or from the studio looking to avoid trouble with the Production Code or HUAC?), it was pretty darned good until then.

Couldn't help but wonder if Budd Schulberg saw it before he wrote On the Waterfront. It's like a rehearsal for it, right down to Lee J. Cobb as the big bad, except that Cobb is actually better in TH than in OtW! More human, rounded, believable, with a rough sense of humor that makes him (dare I say it?) appealing. (Like if you just met him and weren't doing business with him, you'd say, "Can't help but like the guy.") Somehow makes him even more formidable as a villain, because he's harder for a poor sap to figure out.

Edited July 29, 2019 by Milburn Stone

[Wiendish Fitch]

6 hours ago, Suzn said:

And now for a potentially unpopular opinion:  I hate An American in Paris except for the exquisite, fantastic ballet at the end.  Gene Kelly could dance, but he was equally adept at being an asshole.  While making myself a target for thrown produce, I don't like Singing in the Rain either.

Singin' in the Rain is my all-time favorite movie, but don't be shy about expressing unpopular opinions here: it takes all kinds to make the world go 'round, right? 😉

I like An American in Paris only for the music (I'm such a Gershwin fangirl) and, yes, the big bloated ballet in the end. I'm sure even Gene Kelly himself would have admitted the plot of the movie is a cliched snoozefest (and did it really need to be 2 hours?!).

I get that people don't like Leslie Caron in the movie, but I'm inclined to be very forgiving. It was her film debut, she took it only to please her mom, and, as if that weren't enough, poor Caron is given nothing to work with. Lisa is the ultimate cypher ingenue character, I don't think Bette Davis could have made her interesting. I maintain Caron seriously grew as an actress as time went on.

Edited July 29, 2019 by Wiendish Fitch

[Rinaldo]

I'll chime in my own very mixed feelings about An American in Paris. Mostly I like Gene Kelly's offhand "I Got Rhythm" with the kids -- I'm not an undying fan of his, but here he relaxes and is utterly likable, maybe (for me) his best few minutes on film.

I actually don't love the big ballet: the designs are lovely, and I guess the dancing is fine (I'm no expert in ballet), but I'm bothered by the way Gershwin's wonderful tone poem is pulled out of order and reorchestrated.

As for the story, I'm prepared to swallow a certain amount of sexism in musicals (or just movies) of that period, but the way the Nina Foch character is treated by everyone... that's really beyond the pale. For supporting Gene, she's regarded as this harridan. It leaves me with a sour feeling.

Now Singin' in the Rain... that I love. (It has tiny flaws but they don't matter.) Though, as MGM song-anthology musicals from that period go, I may like The Band Wagon even more.

Edited July 29, 2019 by Rinaldo

[Lokiberry]

8 hours ago, Suzn said:

And now for a potentially unpopular opinion:  I hate An American in Paris except for the exquisite, fantastic ballet at the end.  Gene Kelly could dance, but he was equally adept at being an asshole.  While making myself a target for thrown produce, I don't like Singing in the Rain either.

I don't actually like An American in Paris that much either (is shocked that I had the nerve to say, er, write that out loud). I only first saw it about a year ago, and it was such a huge universally beloved classic that I thought I'd love it too, only, it just didn't work that much for me. 

I absolutely fluv Singing in the Rain though. I could watch the Moses Supposes number on a loop all day. 

[Suzn]

I didn't expect anyone to agree with me about Singing in the Rain, since it is pretty universally beloved and a little surprised there are some points of agreement on An American in Paris.  I will add the way Nina Foch's character is presented is sickening and the Leslie Caron was a good as anyone had a right to expect, given what she had to work with.

Edited July 31, 2019 by Suzn

[Milburn Stone]

One of many things I love about An American in Paris is that it contains the only visual performance of which I'm aware of the Gershwins' "By Strauss." (For that matter, the sole audio-only performance of which I'm aware is by Ella Fitzgerald on her Gershwin songbook. Although as I type I'm getting a faint memory of Chris Connor singing it also, which could be wrong.)

Re the Nina Foch character...I have to disagree with @Rinaldo a little on this one, because I think she's not portrayed merely as a harridan, she's portrayed as something of a sexual predator. She doesn't merely "support" Kelly because she likes his work and wants him to gain recognition for it; she wants that, and she wants to make him her sexual plaything. If the genders were reversed, we would have no trouble seeing the implied coercion in the differential power dynamic, as people say nowadays. So the scorn she receives from the other characters (and from the movie itself) is partially earned. When she invites him to her house for a "party" at which he turns out to be the only guest, she's Harvey Weinstein. Are we supposed to like her for that?

The movie does, in fact, see a problem in the implied coercion in the differential power dynamic between Guetary and Caron, which is why Kelly is the partner for her that the audience roots for, so you can't accuse the movie of employing a double standard.

Edited July 29, 2019 by Milburn Stone

[Rinaldo]

9 minutes ago, Milburn Stone said:

One of many things I love about An American in Paris is that it contains the only visual performance of which I'm aware of the Gershwins' "By Strauss." (For that matter, the sole audio-only performance of which I'm aware is by Ella Fitzgerald on her Gershwin songbook. Although as I type I'm getting a faint memory of Chris Connor singing it also, which could be wrong.)

The movie certainly deserves credit for rescuing this song from the obscurity in which I believe it was languishing at that date. The Gershwin brothers had written it for a 1936 revue directed by Vincente Minnelli, after which, though the sheet music was published, nothing much happened with it until Minnelli used it in this movie (surely he lobbied for its inclusion, being one of the few who knew it well).

But it has received a ton of audio recordings. I can't speak as to Chris Connor, but my CD and LP collection (by no means exhaustive) includes renditions by Ella Fitzgerald (as you said, and a classic as is that whole Songbook), Cleo Laine, Maureen McGovern, Joan Morris, Marni Nixon, Sarah Walker, and Kiri Te Kanawa. Marni Nixon's is especially witty, as her pianist (Lincoln Mayorga) supplies not only bits of suitable Johann Strauss waltzes as accompaniment (many arrangements do that) but a bit of Richard Strauss (who was not of the Vienna family at all; it's a waltz from his opera Der Rosenkavalier) that fits perfectly.

(Apologies to those uninterested in classical music for the shop-talk.)

(PS: I'm so glad that I started making a catalog of all my recordings as soon as I bought my first personal computer back in 1985; it makes this sort of search so simple!)

[Was-MArsenault]

We never had TCM for years due to some mistake in our cable package. It was in our package and we had it, but it was missing from our lineup until last year or something.

Then we got it back all of a sudden and a call to Comcast was made asking them why this happened. 

[Suzn]

1 hour ago, Suzn said:

I didn't expect anyone to agree with me about Singing in the Rain, since it is pretty universally beloved and a little surprised there are some points of agreement on An American in Paris.  I will add the way Nina Foch's character is presented is sickening and the Leslie Caron was a good as anyone had a right to expect, given what she had to work with.

[Spartan Girl]

Gene Kelly did have some impressive biceps.

[Sharpie66]

Oh, Gene Kelly was definitely a looker! 

Although I will say that for me, the best looking guy in the post-WWII classic Hollywood films was Burt Lancaster. Shirtless in The Crimson Pirate? Drool-worthy.

Edited July 30, 2019 by Sharpie66

[Popples]

7 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Gene Kelly did have some impressive biceps.

And quadriceps.

[mariah23]

1 hour ago, Popples said:

And quadriceps.

I’m drooling over this GIF!

[voiceover]

re: The Heiress: Robert Osborne once said his favorite movie line was Olivia's "Bolt the door, Mariah" at that film's end.

re: Brando.  I felt much the same (what's the big deal?) until I sat through the Maysles Bros.' Meet Marlon Brando.  They filmed him during press interviews for the soon-to-be released bomb Morituri.  And he's so completely charming and frank and utterly, utterly sexy -- I was forced to stammer, "Wowwww...I get it!" as I reached for a cig after.  And I don't smoke.

Edited July 30, 2019 by voiceover

[Rinaldo]

23 hours ago, Sharpie66 said:

I will say that for me, the best looking guy in the post-WWII classic Hollywood films was Burt Lancaster. Shirtless in The Crinson Pirate? Drool-worthy.

Burt Lancaster is a very interesting case to me. He reached the screen as an athletic action hero, and was, yes, a joy in every way in The Crimson Pirate. And he did that sort of thing very well, but was clearly determined to become a real actor. And he undertook challenging roles (often through his own production company), some of them adaptations from plays (Come Back Little Sheba, The Rose Tattoo, The Rainmaker) some of them literary adaptations or originals (Sweet Smell of Success, Elmer Gantry, The Leopard). And while I can't pretend he gets A+ for acting in every one of them, he did well in several of them, notably the memorable against-type casting in Sweet Smell. And in The Rainmaker he scored a total bulls-eye, uniting his seriousness about acting and his physical assurance and sense of fun; the combination of his twinkling con man and Katharine Hepburn as the spinster eager for what he's offering is one of the great pairings on film. 

[Sharpie66]

“If everything’s ready on the dark side of the moon, play the five tones.” This might just be my favorite alien encounter in all of film.

[Spartan Girl]

Now that I finally have TCM I'm looking forward to Under the Stars month! I know it's ironic since I just said Brando was overrated, but I'm excited about watching Streetcar Named Desire on Sunday.

I first got introduced to it from The Simpsons. Then after I read the play for myself, every time I saw that episode after I wanted to smack Marge upside her stupid inflated blue beehive for her ignorance. First she's all, "I don't see what's so bad about Stanley". YOU MEAN OTHER THAN THE FACT HE RAPES BLANCHE? And then she uses the play to bring out all her micro aggressions about Homer. Yeah, Homer is an insensitive jackass, but he never beat his wife or raped anybody, so take a seat and get over yourself, Marge.

Then in a more recent episode they use the movie again when Milhouse acts like Brando/Stanley because Lisa's into it. Therefore enforcing the trope that women secretly like to be treated like crap. Wow, these writers just really missed the point of the movie, didn't they?  Ugh....

[Sharpie66]

One of my favorite shows that uses Streetcar as part of its story is the American Playhouse film “Who Am I This Time?” from 1980. Directed by Jonathan Demme, based on a Vonnegut short story, starring Christopher Walken and Susan Sarandon, it is a delightful romantic comedy about small-town neighbors who participate in the local playhouse.

Walken’s Harry Nash is a pathologically shy man who transforms onstage, Sarandon’s Helene Shaw is an emotionally closed-off trainer for the phone company who blossoms when persuaded to audition for Stella, and their chemistry is amazing. I am quite sad that Walken never got any more romcom roles as the lead, because he is really wonderful. 

[AuntiePam]

Rewatched Niagara, this time with my husband, who rarely watches "old" movies.  He stayed with me through this one, even when there was no more Marilyn to ogle.  It's fast-paced, with just enough light to balance the dark, and there was a clever crime as the basis.

I could sit and watch it again, despite the implausible stuff.  The only scene that really jars is the sheriff suddenly asking for the missing persons file, and finding something in it that sends him to the gift shop where he meets up with Rose and the Cutlers.  That was clumsy.  But that was generally the case with this movie -- it needed setup to get the characters in place, a reason for them to be where they were. 

But Marilyn was a vision and Joseph Cotten very much under-played the stressed out husband.  The scenes of the Falls weren't quite a travelogue, but I don't feel like I need to go there now.

[chitowngirl]

Last night during Star Wars (Han shot first!!), Ben was talking about their salute to 20th Century Fox and how they are now owned by Disney. So are we to assume this is their last Hurrah on TCM before Disney pulls them for their streaming service?

[Cobb Salad]

1 hour ago, chitowngirl said:

Last night during Star Wars (Han shot first!!), Ben was talking about their salute to 20th Century Fox and how they are now owned by Disney. So are we to assume this is their last Hurrah on TCM before Disney pulls them for their streaming service?

Interesting question.  Doesn’t Turner (TNT, etc.) have broadcast rights for the Star Wars films for a couple of more years still?  I thought I read something a while back about Disney trying to end the deal early so they would have the films available in time for the launching of their service - I don’t remember reading if they were successful or not.  

Edited to add - found the following article from a year ago saying Turner will hold the rights for several more years:

https://www.indiewire.com/2018/08/star-wars-streaming-disney-turner-broadcasting-1201991101/

Edited August 1, 2019 by Cobb Salad

[AuntiePam]

That Certain Woman, 1937, Bette Davis and Henry Fonda, although Ian Hunter was more of a leading man in this one that Fonda.

This was a Davis movie that I hadn't seen, and I've seen a lot, which made me think it hasn't been shown very often.  Bette was never lovelier.

The premise reminded me of The Young Philadelphians.  In that movie, Paul Newman and Barbara Rush are split by Newman's ambition, and his willingness to give up his woman (at least temporarily) for the sake of his career.  That memory sort of colored where I thought That Certain Woman was going.  Bette leaves Fonda because he fails to stand up to his father, to try to become his own man.  

So when Fonda shows up later in the movie and she appears to fall for him again, I didn't buy it, because it didn't seem to me that he had changed. 

In any case, the movie was well worth watching.  One small thing I wonder about is the high billing of Tina Louise -- third after Davis and Fonda -- and she had just a few minutes of screen time. 

I also enjoyed Mary Phillips, who had a Thelma Ritter-type role as Bette's good friend, maid, nanny, companion, etc.

[ratgirlagogo]

On 7/31/2019 at 8:29 PM, Spartan Girl said:

Therefore enforcing the trope that women secretly like to be treated like crap. Wow, these writers just really missed the point of the movie, didn't they?  Ugh....

I wouldn't be too quick too assume that men and women secretly like to be treated like crap is not the point of the play/movie.  Tennessee Williams was Southern pre-Stonewall gay for starters, and had his own very personal issues independent of his historical era, all of which are expressed in his work in unexpected ways.

Edited August 2, 2019 by ratgirlagogo

[Rinaldo]

12 hours ago, AuntiePam said:

One small thing I wonder about is the high billing of Tina Louise -- third after Davis and Fonda -- and she had just a few minutes of screen time. 

Oh, that Tina Louise -- hogging the billing already at the age of three!

(Sorry, I couldn't resist the opening. Of course I know Anita Louise was intended, and I myself have several times done the name-substitution thing in this forum, and been kidded for it.)

[Ubiquitous]

On ‎7‎/‎31‎/‎2019 at 8:29 PM, Spartan Girl said:

Now that I finally have TCM I'm looking forward to Under the Stars month!

Oh, is THAT why TCM Underground has been superseded this week?

[Spartan Girl]

7 hours ago, ratgirlagogo said:

I wouldn't be too quick too assume that men and women secretly like to be treated like crap is not the point of the play/movie.  Tennessee Williams was Southern pre-Stonewall gay for starters, and had his own very personal issues independent of his historical era, all of which are expressed in his work in unexpected ways.

I thought the point of the entire play/movie was to show how deep denial can go just to hang on to the time where we were or at least thought we were the most happy.  That's a little more complex than "women secretly like to be treated like crap."

[AuntiePam]

7 hours ago, Rinaldo said:

Oh, that Tina Louise -- hogging the billing already at the age of three!

(Sorry, I couldn't resist the opening. Of course I know Anita Louise was intended, and I myself have several times done the name-substitution thing in this forum, and been kidded for it.)

I woke in the middle of the night, wondering if I'd messed up those names  Yep.  Thanks for setting it straight!  

Any clues why TCM is showing Star Wars: A New Hope twice in one week?   

[Cobb Salad]

6 minutes ago, AuntiePam said:

Any clues why TCM is showing Star Wars: A New Hope twice in one week?   

Tuesday night was Sci-fi movie night.  Wednesday was a tribute to 20th Century Fox.  

[Calvada]

I saw An American in Paris once, and have never felt compelled to watch it again.  Singin' In the Rain, on the other hand, is in my top 10, and if I run across it on TCM, I always end up watching.  Even though I own the DVD.  Jean Hagen was wonderful as Lina.  "What do they think I am?  Dumb or something?  I make more money than - than - than Calvin Coolidge.  Put together!"  And of course the classic "If we bring a little joy into your humdrum lives, it makes us feel our hard work ain't been in vain for nothing."  How did she not win an Academy Award?

I too am perplexed by the omission of Two for the Road in the lineup on the day dedicated to Audrey Hepburn.  But I found myself thinking that more than once as I went through the month's schedule, that there were great films missing from several stars' lineup.  

[freddi]

Is there a reason for the Ruth Hussey set of films on August 2-3?  (I know, “why not?”!) Just could not find a reason, like a birthday. 

[Pickles Aplenty]

I watched It Happened One Night for the very first time, and I loved it.  I can see why it became a classic.  Everything about it is perfect, and funny, and delightful.  Easily one of my top ten favorite films, now.

[Bastet]

53 minutes ago, freddi said:

Is there a reason for the Ruth Hussey set of films on August 2-3?  (I know, “why not?”!) Just could not find a reason, like a birthday. 

It's her Summer Under the Stars day (each day in August is dedicated to a different actor; this year's list was posted earlier in the thread).

[Spartan Girl]

14 hours ago, Calvada said:

I too am perplexed by the omission of Two for the Road in the lineup on the day dedicated to Audrey Hepburn.  But I found myself thinking that more than once as I went through the month's schedule, that there were great films missing from several stars' lineup.  

I haven't seen it, and yet I already know I'd prefer that to the stupid Robin and Marian movie.

Today is Brando. And I have to ask it: how come we have to struggle to understand him in some movies while in others he's clear as a bell?

[Milburn Stone]

23 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

Today is Brando. And I have to ask it: how come we have to struggle to understand him in some movies while in others he's clear as a bell?

My guess is that he was operating from a misbegotten theory that since some characters "in real life" don't have good diction, an actor playing such a character should not have good diction either. 

[Wiendish Fitch]

56 minutes ago, Milburn Stone said:

My guess is that he was operating from a misbegotten theory that since some characters "in real life" don't have good diction, an actor playing such a character should not have good diction either. 

I wish someone had had the good sense to say something like,

"Um, Mr. Brando? While it's true most people in life don't have the best diction, they're still, at the very least, reasonably coherent. Everyday people don't necessarily talk like they have a mouthful of dirty socks."

[freddi]

1 hour ago, Spartan Girl said:

I haven't seen it, and yet I already know I'd prefer that to the stupid Robin and Marian movie.

“Two for the Road” is a wonderful film, and is beautifully edited.  I don’t know if it had been daring at the time, but the approach of cutting across time periods (of the characters’ lives) runs across the entire film, and is always clear, gradually revealing their joint life in its complexity.  Aside from being set in continental Europe, I thought in structure and style that it felt more like  European-made film when I first saw it.  And many small amusing moments, also! 

[Calvada]

11 hours ago, Billina said:

I watched It Happened One Night for the very first time, and I loved it.  I can see why it became a classic.  Everything about it is perfect, and funny, and delightful.  Easily one of my top ten favorite films, now.

I really like it too.  When you think how reluctant Colbert and Gable were to make the movie, how Colbert told someone when filming was finished it was the worst picture ever, how Colbert initially refused to do the iconic hitchhiking scene where she pulled up her skirt and only agreed to do it when they brought in a stand-in, it's amazing how good the final product was.  Even the "Walls of Jericho" were devised because Colbert refused to undress on screen, which resulted in the great scene where the viewer has to imagine Colbert undressing as her dress and stockings are slung over the "wall" created by the blanket.  

Capra had the knack of having scenes/dialogue that people could relate to - the people on the bus singing "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze" sticks out for me.  In It's a Wonderful Life, I think of the scene where George Bailey's mother is urging him to go see Mary.  I could imagine my mother saying the same thing. The scene is known more for drunk Uncle Billy crashing into something off-camera, but to me those few lines of dialogue between George and his mother are what I remember.   

[Spartan Girl]

2 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

I wish someone had had the good sense to say something like,

"Um, Mr. Brando? While it's true most people in life don't have the best diction, they're still, at the very least, reasonably coherent. Everyday people don't necessarily talk like they have a mouthful of dirty socks."

Right?! That only worked when he was playing Vito Corleone and Stanley Kowalski. And I noticed for the latter that in most of his performance in Streetcar his mouth was either full of food or he was supposed to be drunk, thereby  emphasizing how much of a lout he was. THAT was a good example of Brando's method acting working well.

So I caught the 1997 TV movie version of the play with Jessica Lange and Alec Baldwin. And while it had some good performances, Baldwin didn't make it work so well, mainly because the wet and and torn T-shirt look wasn't as good on him. I didn't find Baldwin any more than I did Brando, but purely from an objective stance, Brando had a way better body.

Edited August 3, 2019 by Spartan Girl

[Rinaldo]

7 hours ago, Calvada said:

When you think how reluctant Colbert and Gable were to make the movie, how Colbert told someone when filming was finished it was the worst picture ever, how Colbert initially refused to do the iconic hitchhiking scene where she pulled up her skirt and only agreed to do it when they brought in a stand-in, it's amazing how good the final product was. 

It's true. While I wouldn't go to the mat for Capra in general -- he sometimes favored a tearfully earnest dramaturgy that's just not my thing -- he hit the target in every way in It Happened One Night, and I can't find a thing to say against it. Isn't it mysterious and wonderful how other movies from a given year need to be appreciated "in the context of their time," and then something else (like this) just speaks directly to us, as fresh as it ever was?

9 hours ago, freddi said:

“Two for the Road” is a wonderful film, and is beautifully edited.  I don’t know if it had been daring at the time, but the approach of cutting across time periods (of the characters’ lives) runs across the entire film, and is always clear, gradually revealing their joint life in its complexity.  Aside from being set in continental Europe, I thought in structure and style that it felt more like  European-made film when I first saw it.  And many small amusing moments, also! 

One critical reaction to it at the time was that it was taking film techniques (like the jumps back and forth in time) that had become characteristic of certain European "art" movies of that period, like Last Year in Marienbad, and applying them to popular entertainment. It manages to be simultaneously starry/stylish and subtly sophisticated... which plenty of movies attempt but few bring off successfully.

Edited later: Sorry, I'm going to add a bit more. Writing the above made me think that there are probably tributes to Stanley Donen after his recent death that might mention this movie. And there are. Here's a passage from an article by Pete Hammond on Deadline, at the end of a paragraph in which he lists many Donen movies he loves:

Quote

and best of all, yes best of all,  Hepburn and Albert Finney in the brilliant Two For The Road from 1967, a movie examining 12 years in the complex relationship of a married couple that mixes flashbacks and editing techniques decades ahead of its time , a movie that is in a word, perfect, still vital and current 52 years later.

Edited August 3, 2019 by Rinaldo

[Spartan Girl]

Holy crap, Vivian Leigh was on fire in Streetcar Named Desire.

But I hate that they changed the original ending just to appease the stupid Code back then. I'm sorry but Stella leaving Stanley just feels hollow and moot -- she already sold out Blanche by sending her to the asylum because she didn't want to believe he raped her. That was the point of the play's tragic ending: that both sisters were trapped in denial and self-delusion.

Edited August 3, 2019 by Spartan Girl

[Rinaldo]

16 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

Holy crap, Vivian Leigh was on fire in Streetcar Named Desire.

I get the impression (not here) that people sometimes think that, because Vivien Leigh was a great beauty, and played some famous roles that rely on charm and coquetry, and was married to a great classical actor, she wasn't much of an actress herself. Au contraire: she was one hell of an actress, never more so than as Blanche Du Bois. I dare say that few of the estimable actresses who have followed her in the role have surpassed her achievement.

And, lest it be forgot, she had genuine triumphs onstage in classic roles as well (Titania, Lady Teazle, Viola, Lady Macbeth). She wasn't a creation of movie directors and editing; she was the real deal.

[Wiendish Fitch]

7 hours ago, Calvada said:

Capra had the knack of having scenes/dialogue that people could relate to - the people on the bus singing "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze" sticks out for me. 

That is my favorite scene in It Happened One Night. It's the sort of thing I would would happen once in a while in real life.

[Spartan Girl]

1 hour ago, Rinaldo said:

I get the impression (not here) that people sometimes think that, because Vivien Leigh was a great beauty, and played some famous roles that rely on charm and coquetry, and was married to a great classical actor, she wasn't much of an actress herself. Au contraire: she was one hell of an actress, never more so than as Blanche Du Bois. I dare say that few of the estimable actresses who have followed her in the role have surpassed her achievement.

And, lest it be forgot, she had genuine triumphs onstage in classic roles as well (Titania, Lady Teazle, Viola, Lady Macbeth). She wasn't a creation of movie directors and editing; she was the real deal.

Oh, I know she was a great actress. I just hadn't seen her performance as Blanche before now.

[Rinaldo]

3 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

Oh, I know she was a great actress.

I knew you knew. My remarks were addressed to... well, nobody here I guess, but I feel the need to say it to the world sometimes, because I see belittling things said and written about her, and they're not fair. And I can't rewrite the books or whatever, so I mouth off here. 🙂

[Wiendish Fitch]

For those who are curious to see Vivien Leigh play someone not named Scarlett or Blanche, I highly recommend 1940's Waterloo Bridge. Part dreamy, only-in-Hollywood romance, part gut-wrenching melodrama, and comparatively shocking for a post-code MGM film. Bonus? Leigh speaks in her natural British accent!

[Bastet]

On 8/3/2019 at 8:53 AM, Calvada said:

When you think how reluctant Colbert and Gable were to make the movie, how Colbert told someone when filming was finished it was the worst picture ever, how Colbert initially refused to do the iconic hitchhiking scene where she pulled up her skirt and only agreed to do it when they brought in a stand-in, it's amazing how good the final product was. 

And the fact Myrna Loy turned down the role of Ellie, when Capra wanted to borrow her from MGM for it, based on the way she was written in the original script. 

This film obviously got better with rewrite and then even better as edited, because a whole lot of savvy people didn't like it until final cut, and then it wound up being iconic.

Edited August 4, 2019 by Bastet

[ratgirlagogo]

59 minutes ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

1940's Waterloo Bridge. Part dreamy, only-in-Hollywood romance, part gut-wrenching melodrama, and comparatively shocking for a post-code MGM film. 

Lady Maraget: Has there been someone else?

Myra: Oh, Lady Margaret, you are naive.

[Sharpie66]

They’re showing The Freshman in a few hours. I might have to DVR it since it has been a while since I last saw it. In addition to loving Brando in it, as I said upthread, the sheer weirdness of “There he is /Your Komodo draaaagon!” and the other lizard-related images (I will occasionally break into an imitation of the dragon on the treadmill), as well as the just hilarious performance of Bruno Kirby makes this well worth a revisit.

[Spartan Girl]

They're doing Shirley Temple today. I love that she's one of the child stars who managed to be successful and to avoid having her personal life messed up. Way to go, Shirl!

I can't believe she did a movie with Ronald Reagan though. That Hagen Girl was apparently a really bad movie -- the one that Reagan regretted. Just told this to my dad, and he replied, "Only one?" LMAO.