TCM: The Greatest Movie Channel

[voiceover]

Hooray for Teri Garr in Tootsie!  Her Sandy is so EveryGirl in this, down to that tirade in her last scene with Dustin/Michael ("I read The Second Sex!  I read The Cinderella Complex!! I am responsible for my own orgasm!!!").  She was an earlier version of Sally in When Harry Met Sally...(if those two hadn't fallen in love).  The Supporting Actress Oscar shoulda been hers.  And it might have been, if the Academy hadn't given it to her co-star as consolation that year.

80s movies tend to ping a different place in my film consciousness, since it was the decade of my 20s, and the eyes of the movie-loving child were seeing things differently.  I was thinking of that last night during Terms of Endearment.

I'd read the book before seeing the film -- it was, for a few years, my favorite novel.  So I've always been back & forth on the movie, which doesn't carry the lyricism of Larry McMurty's written words.  Even though Debra Winger was a perfect Emma.  And then there's  the last twenty minutes, when Shirley MacLaine drops the affectations, picks up the emotional burden, and makes you forget anyone else is onscreen.

(And I'm not even including the best-remembered "Give my daughter the shot!!!" scene.  But speaking as someone whose family members have dealt with chronic pain, I'd say her Aurora had it dead-to-rights.)

[Wiendish Fitch]

20 minutes ago, voiceover said:

Hooray for Teri Garr in Tootsie!  Her Sandy is so EveryGirl in this, down to that tirade in her last scene with Dustin/Michael ("I read The Second Sex!  I read The Cinderella Complex!! I am responsible for my own orgasm!!!").  She was an earlier version of Sally in When Harry Met Sally...(if those two hadn't fallen in love).  The Supporting Actress Oscar shoulda been hers.  And it might have been, if the Academy hadn't given it to her co-star as consolation that year.

Teri Garr is so fantastic as Sandy, she actually makes the normally electrifying Jessica Lange look like kind of a drip (not her fault, it's just that I find Julie kind of a drag by comparison). 

"I don't take this shit from friends, ONLY LOVERS!!"

[Spartan Girl]

I too love Teri Garr as Sandy, because I relate as a fellow neurotic soul.

Watching The Graduate right now and Jesus, Mrs. Robinson was an aggressive sexual predator.

[Wiendish Fitch]

21 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

I too love Teri Garr as Sandy, because I relate as a fellow neurotic soul.

Watching The Graduate right now and Jesus, Mrs. Robinson was an aggressive sexual predator.

Elaine is the most sympathetic character in the movie. She should have just kicked both her mom and Benjamin to the curb.

Edited August 26, 2019 by Wiendish Fitch

[ruby24]

Just watched The Cameraman (1928). Loved it! I don't understand anyone saying it's not one of his best movies. It totally is! And that monkey was adorable.

That's another one now that I disagree with Peter Bogdanovich on. I think these were great. I like them better than some of his others. I don't know why I don't like Steamboat Bill, Jr. as much as everyone else does. The General is great, but my favorites of his are The Navigator, The Cameraman and Sherlock, Jr.

[Robert Lynch]

2 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Teri Garr is so fantastic as Sandy, she actually makes the normally electrifying Jessica Lange look like kind of a drip (not her fault, it's just that I find Julie kind of a drag by comparison). 

"I don't take this shit from friends, ONLY LOVERS!!"

Teri Garr's MS disease have made her frailed and wheel-chaired bound today. It is so sad seeing such an energetic, charismatic, and beautiful woman succumb to that awful disease. I am so glad her daughter takes care of her. She still have her wits. There is a recent interview she did two years ago. I wish her well and she so deserves a star in Hollywood.

[Vixenstud]

TCM had on one of my favorite musicals this week, Sweet Charity.  Thank God for On Demand, gonna watch when I get home from work.

[Rinaldo]

This evening, in honor of Mary Astor, we get three of her best, all in a row starting at 8: The Maltese Falcon, Dodsworth, The Great Lie. 

[Rinaldo]

Following up on my own comment just above, I just finished watching Dodsworth for the first time, and I'm impressed. The story has some nuance and depth, and two performances are especially remarkable: Walter Huston in the central role (which he had also played onstage), and Mary Astor as a divorced woman resident in Italy. Both are remarkably timeless performances; they must have seemed modern then and they would seem modern now. No affectations or oratory (no disrespect intended to other acting styles of the period; I love those too), just complicated people figuring out their lives in a warm, straightforward way. This is especially surprising (to me) from Huston, who had a history onstage going way back, including vaudeville, and who eventually became a "beloved old trouper" sort of entertainer (introducing "September Song" onstage and being identified with it ever after). I would have expected him to be the sort of actor we affectionately call "wonderfully hammy," but that's not the case at all. William Wyler must surely deserve some of the credit for these achievements too. It's nice to have a new title to add to my Favorites list.

Edited August 29, 2019 by Rinaldo

[ruby24]

Yes, Dodsworth is a totally great movie. I was extremely surprised when I watched that one a few years back, how good it was. It really does feel modern.

Edited August 29, 2019 by ruby24

[AuntiePam]

The novel is well worth reading too.  I often read the book after watching movies from the 30's and 40's, because so much had to be left to our imagination.

With Dodsworth, I had to know if he really encouraged his wife to have a fling, and how much of a fling it was.  Yep.  He did.  And it was very flingy.  That's terribly modern.  Hell, it'd be modern even today, I think. 

[Milburn Stone]

Caught up with The Yellow Rolls-Royce, which I've never seen before. A tryptich of stories involving the same car as it passes from one owner to the next. The first two stories were really quite good; the third was awful! (The one in which Ingrid Bergman's character undergoes a transformation that is simply not believable. As good an actress as we know she is, I think the fault was hers, not that of the writer Terrence Rattigan or director Anthony Asquith. She just doesn't find her way into the character in such a way as to make sense of her, or her "arc." You never know where the real problem lies with something like this, but my sense was that a different actress could have made it work. She was stunning, however.)

Edited August 30, 2019 by Milburn Stone

[ruby24]

Just watched The Westerner (1940). It was pretty good. I thought the pace was pretty slow for the first hour but then it picked up. I didn't see how Judge Roy Bean was in any way some sort of "honorable figure" or anything.

[Rinaldo]

15 hours ago, AuntiePam said:

With Dodsworth, I had to know if he really encouraged his wife to have a fling, and how much of a fling it was.  Yep.  He did.  And it was very flingy.  That's terribly modern.  Hell, it'd be modern even today, I think. 

As I haven't read the book, may I ask: what about Mr. Dodsworth himself? Was he having a total fling with nice Mrs. Cortright in Naples, or were they hanging out companionably-but-chastely until his divorce eventually comes through? (The movie leaves it open to interpretation.)

I must also append my (I expect many people's) favorite exchange from the movie, as a Paris dinner party is winding down. Mrs. Dodsworth's character note is wanting to fit in among the smart European set and to seem younger than she is.

Quote

Edith Cortright: I hadn't realized it was your birthday. 

Fran Dodsworth: No? I wish I hadn't. No woman enjoys getting to be 35. 

Edith Cortright: When you're my age, you'll look back on 35 as a most agreeable time of life, Mrs. Dodsworth. 

Fran Dodsworth: I hope I look as young as you do... when I'm your age. 

Edith Cortright [after a pause, pleasantly]: You're almost sure to, my dear.

Edited August 30, 2019 by Rinaldo

[AuntiePam]

7 minutes ago, Rinaldo said:

As I haven't read the book, may I ask: what about Mr. Dodsworth himself? Was he having a total fling with nice Mrs. Cortright in Naples, or were they hanging out companionably-but-chastely until his divorce eventually comes through? (The movie leaves it open to interpretation.)

Ah, I was hoping there wouldn't be any questions, because the only part of the book I remember is Mrs. Dodsworth's affair.  I'll see if it's still on the Kindle.  The Wiki summary doesn't say.

[Rinaldo]

Please don't bother, @AuntiePam, though that's a wonderfully generous offer. I'll simply put it on my own list to read -- I'd like to anyway now, and I'm an omnivorous reader.

Edited August 30, 2019 by Rinaldo

[AuntiePam]

I checked, and it's not on the Kindle.  But yes, put it on your reading list.  Actually, put all of Sinclair Lewis on your list. 

[Rinaldo]

I have a dim memory of reading some Sinclair Lewis as part of my high school Honors English class -- we were given a very long list from which we each had to choose 40 to report on in the course of the year. I probably read Babbitt and Arrowsmith then; sadly, I now remember nothing of their contents. (About the only thing I remember firmly is just about the only time I've ever taken an instant dislike to an author on the basis of an inept writing style: Theodore Dreiser.)

I'm watching The Lady Vanishes now, which we were shown thanks to Paul Lukas. He's good, but I especially treasure Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, the Wayne/Radford duo, and especially Dame May Whitty, who's always a treat: here, in Night Must Fall (re-creating her stage role), Mrs. Miniver, Gaslight, and most touchingly her lovely quarter-hour (with her husband Ben Webster) in Lassie Come Home.

[Milburn Stone]

2 hours ago, Rinaldo said:

I'm watching The Lady Vanishes now, which we were shown thanks to Paul Lukas. He's good, but I especially treasure Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, the Wayne/Radford duo, and especially Dame May Whitty, who's always a treat: here, in Night Must Fall (re-creating her stage role), Mrs. Miniver, Gaslight, and most touchingly her lovely quarter-hour (with her husband Ben Webster) in Lassie Come Home.

Also watched this, for the first time in a long time (maybe forty years), and was amazed how much comedy there is at the beginning, and how little suspense. (And it borrowed the "clomping around upstairs" meet-cute from an Astaire-Rogers movie.) It seems to take forever for the story to get going. But the cast is charming. And of course we learn by the end that something in this long prelude actually is germane to the maguffin. (So all is forgiven.)

Speaking of borrowing, the surprise reveal at the very end of Charade seems to be ripped right off this movie.

Edited August 30, 2019 by Milburn Stone

[Rinaldo]

3 hours ago, Milburn Stone said:

Speaking of borrowing, the surprise reveal at the very end of Charade seems to be ripped right off this movie.

Well, to be fair, that reveal is a staple of suspense fiction. The challenge for the writer is always how to prevent alert readers/viewers from seeing it coming.

As we discussed a few months back, Wayne and Radford's characters, Charters and Caldicott, became so popular in England that they returned, names unchanged, in several subsequent movies (including Night Train to Munich, where they're quite important to the plot), and then the actors appeared together, as a similar duo but with different character names, in further movies and on the radio.

[Milburn Stone]

13 hours ago, Rinaldo said:

Well, to be fair, that reveal is a staple of suspense fiction. The challenge for the writer is always how to prevent alert readers/viewers from seeing it coming.

To be clear--and I'll hide this even though both movies are old at this point--

Spoiler

the surprise reveal I'm referring to in both movies is not the one in which a supportive figure turns out to be the villain, but the one at the very end of both movies in which we learn that a person who we believe for a time to have been just wrapped up in events is actually the chief intelligence/investigative official for the government.

I don't believe I've seen that trope all that frequently.

Edited August 31, 2019 by Milburn Stone

[Rinaldo]

That's the same reveal I was talking about. Agatha Christie used it often, some would say too often, in her "international intrigue" fiction. Most of those books (unlike her straight mysteries) haven't been filmed, but similar books by other authors have.

[Rinaldo]

For our last August star, Kirk Douglas. I suppose Spartacus is his classic, and with some reason, but I'd also suggest that those who haven't seen Lust for Life, and might be inclined to avoid it as a big Hollywood biography of an artist (which were, indeed, often wildly inaccurate and hoked-up at that time), should give it a look. By all accounts Douglas was aware of his resemblance to Vincent Van Gogh and very much wanted to play him, and he gave the performance of his life. The plot is not devoid of simplifications, but is overall reasonably faithful to the artist's life; the color (now that it's been restored) is sumptuous in its conveying of the paintings; and Anthony Quinn certainly deserved his accolades for his relatively brief appearance as Gaughin.

As for me, I'll be watching out for The Vikings, which my father took me to see unexpectedly, in the middle of a vacation in Miami when I was 10, and which I've never seen since.

[Milburn Stone]

50 minutes ago, Rinaldo said:

For our last August star, Kirk Douglas. I suppose Spartacus is his classic, and with some reason, but I'd also suggest that those who haven't seen Lust for Life, and might be inclined to avoid it as a big Hollywood biography of an artist (which were, indeed, often wildly inaccurate and hoked-up at that time), should give it a look. By all accounts Douglas was aware of his resemblance to Vincent Van Gogh and very much wanted to play him, and he gave the performance of his life.

This is not to disparage the film at all; my question is irrelevant to the film's quality. Is there a scene in which Van Gogh appears shirtless? I ask this because I was told by a credible Hollywood person that Douglas had it written into his contract for every film, in those days when he was a leading man, that there must be one scene in which he appeared bare-chested. After I heard this, I "tested" the hypothesis with every Kirk film I saw, and sure enough, there was always one such scene. But I don't remember Lust for Life well enough to know if it was true in that one.

Edited August 31, 2019 by Milburn Stone

[ratgirlagogo]

On 8/29/2019 at 5:16 PM, Rinaldo said:

Following up on my own comment just above, I just finished watching Dodsworth for the first time, and I'm impressed.

Some commentary from this board on this film from a few years ago:

https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/1913-tcm-the-greatest-movie-channel/?page=3

towards the bottom of the page. and

https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/1913-tcm-the-greatest-movie-channel/?page=4

towards the top of the page.

[AuntiePam]

5 hours ago, Rinaldo said:

As for me, I'll be watching out for The Vikings, which my father took me to see unexpectedly, in the middle of a vacation in Miami when I was 10, and which I've never seen since.

Saw this in the theater when I was a teenager.  It definitely made an impression.  Kirk Douglas was both menacing and sympathetic, and IMHO Tony Curtis was never better.  Isn't this the movie where he met future wife Janet Leigh?  There was chemistry, for sure.

Looking forward to watching again, especially for Ernie Borgnine's part.  The ending was shocking, for 1953.

[Charlie Baker]

Saw enough of Young Man with a Horn today to see that yes, KD bared his chest. But I don't recall such a scene in either Bad and the Beautiful or Detective Story, a couple of his major titles from the 50s that I've seen most recently. Couldn't be absolutely certain, and I don't remember if Lust for Life has one or not. It could have been a standard requirement that was waived in certain instances?  And certainly such a stipulation could have existed.  That's show biz.

[ruby24]

Tonight I finally watched the 1949 version of Little Women. I liked it! June Allyson was a pretty good Jo, I thought. 

Weirdly, I had assumed that the reason they switched Beth and Amy's ages around in this one was so Liz Taylor could actually have the romance with Laurie at the end, but those two didn't have a single scene together in this movie! Not one. They didn't even try to pretend that anyone cared to see Laurie and Amy get together.

In preparation for the new one this year I think I'll watch the Katharine Hepburn version again- it's been a long time since I've seen it, but on first viewing I think I do like this one better than that one. I seem to remember that movie being far more of a showcase for just Hepburn than anything else.

My favorite and the definitive one for me is the 1994 movie though.

[Rinaldo]

15 hours ago, AuntiePam said:

Tony Curtis was never better.  Isn't this the movie where he met future wife Janet Leigh? 

They married in 1951, and The Vikings was 1958. This was the third of five films they made together before divorcing in 1962.

So far I've seen only the first 20 minutes (it started rather late for me last night), and this morning I FF'd to the end to confirm: all the main credits, except for the title, were held until the end (and there was no final crawl identifying each actor with a role). Either the "Bayeux tapestry" prologue or the impressive first shot of the long ship navigating the fjord might have been an expected place to see the opening credits, but apparently Douglas (as producer -- he put his own money into it) didn't want either sequence spoiled visually. Wasn't the end-positioning of the main credits highly unusual then? It's commonplace now,  ever since the Star Wars films, but I can't recall many earlier examples -- Citizen Kane, West Side Story, 2001, The Godfather come to mind, and now I can add The Vikings.

It's also clear to me, once again, that I was no good at following stories in grown-up movies at that age. I should surely have been doing better at age 10, as I'd been an avid reader since I was 4.  I wonder what my problem was.

[Spartan Girl]

I'm watching The Picture of Dorian Gray and is it weird that Dorian looks exactly like how I always pictured Tom Riddle? Lol, I'm a Potterhead til the end...

Anyway, I disagree with how the movie tries to portray Dorian as like an innocent youth corrupted by his douchey friend. Dorian might have seemed nice enough at first, but his reaction to his own painting shows that he was already pretty vain. And he was more upset about his painting suddenly changing because of his actions, instead of feeling actual remorse.

[Milburn Stone]

23 hours ago, Milburn Stone said:

This is not to disparage the film at all; my question is irrelevant to the film's quality. Is there a scene in which Van Gogh appears shirtless? I ask this because I was told by a credible Hollywood person that Douglas had it written into his contract for every film, in those days when he was a leading man, that there must be one scene in which he appeared bare-chested. After I heard this, I "tested" the hypothesis with every Kirk film I saw, and sure enough, there was always one such scene. But I don't remember Lust for Life well enough to know if it was true in that one.

I couldn't resist finding out the answer. Brought up the film on my computer screen via Watch TCM to allow for easy scrolling. Indeed, at 1:03 (this timing includes the introductory TCM material, so strictly staying with film timing, it would be a few minutes before that), Van Gogh wakes up for the first time in his one-room flat in the countryside and pushes open the shutters to see his view in daylight, and there's Kirk, filmed from the reverse angle, smock completely unbuttoned and wide open, revealing his bare chest as he revels in the glorious landscape before him. Contract rider satisfied.

Edited September 1, 2019 by Milburn Stone

[Rinaldo]

1 hour ago, Spartan Girl said:

I'm watching The Picture of Dorian Gray ... I disagree with how the movie tries to portray Dorian

Well, there's a lot to disagree with in that movie; I really don't think it works at all. Dorian never seems truly young and fresh (outwardly innocent, if not truly so) at the start or at any point, the others don't seem to age while he doesn't... I'd call it pretty much a total misfire. Except for the casting of Angela Lansbury, who's immensely alive and lovable; when she is harmed, something terrible really has happened.

(And I must eat my words from an earlier discussion of the movie in this topic years ago, when I said that Lansbury's singing was dubbed in this movie. I was taking her at her word in interviews, when she said she was "always" dubbed in her onscreen singing. And this was indeed the case in later movies like The Harvey Girls. But in this early appearance (she booked this and Gaslight concurrently, at 18) she was apparently allowed to sing in her own small sweet youthful voice. She didn't find her raucous musical-comedy voice until she started doing musicals onstage in the 1960s.)

[Rinaldo]

Monday evening is another Disney visit. It leads off with one of the anthologies they made in the 1940s, Fun and Fancy Free. This is the one with Bongo the circus bear, and Mickey and the Beanstalk, and with Jiminy Cricket as a kind of host.

[Milburn Stone]

31 minutes ago, Rinaldo said:

Monday evening is another Disney visit. It leads off with one of the anthologies they made in the 1940s, Fun and Fancy Free. This is the one with Bongo the circus bear, and Mickey and the Beanstalk, and with Jiminy Cricket as a kind of host.

I have an inordinate love for those anthologies. Will DVR this. I don't know which is the one with Edgar Bergen and Dinah Shore, but I really love that one.

[Rinaldo]

8 minutes ago, Milburn Stone said:

I have an inordinate love for those anthologies. Will DVR this. I don't know which is the one with Edgar Bergen and Dinah Shore, but I really love that one.

This is the one. Dinah Shore narrates "Bongo," and Edgar Bergen introduces "Mickey and the Beanstalk."

Two factoids that I've only just discovered when checking my facts for this: "Bongo" is based on a story by Sinclair Lewis (link to discussion just above!), and "Mickey and the Beanstalk" is the last time Walt himself voiced Mickey Mouse.

[Annber03]

On 8/22/2019 at 7:36 PM, Spartan Girl said:

Freaks is on now. It's my first time watching, and I honestly don't get why they call this horror. The "freaks" were perfectly nice people who were more than justified in going after Cleopatra and Hercules for trying to kill Hans. But standards for horror were different back then.

Had this saved on my DVR and just watched it. I'd seen it once before, but that was years ago.

I think it still definitely qualifies as horror...just not in the way that most people would see it. The idea that somebody can be so cruel and heartless towards someone who doesn't deserve it is a common theme in horror, after all. That entire wedding celebration scene, where Hercules puts Hans on Cleopatra's shoulders and they mockingly parade him around the room, is downright heartbreaking and painful (I was particularly struck by the tears in Frieda's eyes throughout that whole scene, and the look on her face that screams, "I tried to warn you..."). 

Plus, while I agree with you that Cleopatra and Hercules deserved what they got, the image in and of itself of an entire group of people coming after you with knives, ready to take you down, is always going to be pretty creepy. That whole sequence of them hunting down Cleo and Hercules is really well-done and very effective-I like that they got to be legitimately intimidating and tough there. 

Honestly, I think the biggest reason the movie caused so much controversy back then was because some of the critics and moviegoers may have seen far too much of themselves in Cleopatra and Hercules (I'd say it's a safe bet that some people who saw this movie were the same ones who went to gawk at these sideshows when they were big), and that realization made them deeply uncomfortable. They didn't like the movie shining a spotlight on and essentially calling out those in the audience who held similar cruel, insensitive attitudes, and so they needed to push back as a result. 

On a lighter note, I like the little side stories that play out throughout the film as well, as a balance of sorts to the tragic main story. The bit with everyone celebrating the birth of a new baby is especially sweet. 

Edited September 2, 2019 by Annber03

[ruby24]

Just watched Desire (1936). Delightful romantic comedy. Major chemistry between Dietrich and Cooper in this one. Could definitely feel the Lubitsch touch here, even though he technically didn't direct it, just produced (apparently he did direct some scenes though).

[chitowngirl]

17 hours ago, Rinaldo said:

This is the one. Dinah Shore narrates "Bongo," and Edgar Bergen introduces "Mickey and the Beanstalk."

Two factoids that I've only just discovered when checking my facts for this: "Bongo" is based on a story by Sinclair Lewis (link to discussion just above!), and "Mickey and the Beanstalk" is the last time Walt himself voiced Mickey Mouse.

Gotta watch them before Disney pulls everything for their streaming service!

[mariah23]

36 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

Gotta watch them before Disney pulls everything for their streaming service!

Yeah I wonder how Treasures from the Disney Vault is going to continue.

[bmoore4026]

Oh, I hope this won't be the last Disney and Turner continue this.  Turner Classic Movies is all about classic movies, hence its handle.  Disney movies are classics and if they aren't going to show them on the Disney Channel and since several people won't be getting Disney+ right away, they should continue.

There's a web show I like watching on Youtube called Drunk Disney in which some twentysomethings watch classic animated Disney movies and take shots when certain things happen.  Their reaction to Edgar Bergen and his puppets, along with the notion that the little girl might actually be an ancient goddess making him put on this birthday for her is delightful.  Another great part is one of them joking about naming his first child Mortimer Snerd.

Edited September 3, 2019 by bmoore4026

[Spartan Girl]

Yeah, I want TCM to keep playing the old Disney stuff too!

Jiminy's opening song made me smile ironically. You think people were wound up back then? Brother, you don't know the half of it.

[bmoore4026]

God, I forgot how catchy "Say it with a slap" was.  Disney today would never allow such a thing now.  Disney had an edge to it back in the day and they've forsaken it.  This irritates me.  I mean, we've gotten to the part of Mickey and the Beanstalk with Donald losing it and going after the cow with a battle axe.  I mean, damn!

Willy the Giant is one of the most underrated Disney Villains.  He seems like a big idiot but he is quite dangerous.

Also, Charlie McCarthy is catty as hell and I love him.

Edited September 3, 2019 by bmoore4026

[xaxat]

I love this blurb for The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.

Quote

Revived by a North Pole atomic blast, a submerged dinosaur swims to New York and goes to Coney Island.

[Suzn]

On 8/29/2019 at 4:16 PM, Rinaldo said:

Following up on my own comment just above, I just finished watching Dodsworth for the first time, and I'm impressed. The story has some nuance and depth, and two performances are especially remarkable: Walter Huston in the central role (which he had also played onstage), and Mary Astor as a divorced woman resident in Italy. Both are remarkably timeless performances; they must have seemed modern then and they would seem modern now. No affectations or oratory (no disrespect intended to other acting styles of the period; I love those too), just complicated people figuring out their lives in a warm, straightforward way. This is especially surprising (to me) from Huston, who had a history onstage going way back, including vaudeville, and who eventually became a "beloved old trouper" sort of entertainer (introducing "September Song" onstage and being identified with it ever after). I would have expected him to be the sort of actor we affectionately call "wonderfully hammy," but that's not the case at all. William Wyler must surely deserve some of the credit for these achievements too. It's nice to have a new title to add to my Favorites list.

Having discovered Dodsworth in recent years, it quickly rose to being one of my favorite movies. I agree with your assessment of Walter Huston and Mary Astor, but I also love Ruth Chatterton.  Her performance probably does not qualify as "modern" as you describe WH & MA, but I find her compelling and believable as a woman desperately clinging to her youth.  She was a discovery for me at the same time as the movie and I was sad to find that it was nearly the end of her movie career.  According to IMDB, only two more released movies followed and a handful of TV performances.

It is a very re-watchable movie.  I love the dialog and my favorite line (I hope this is right), Walter Huston says to Ruth Chatterton, "love has to stop somewhere short of suicide".

I recently read the book.  Mary Astor's character was not nearly as prominent in the book and I think that she was careful to maintain her propriety.

[Milburn Stone]

7 hours ago, xaxat said:

I love this blurb for The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.

The TCM folks do have their fun, don't they? 🙂

I enjoy those blurbs too. Sometimes they even write snarky ones for good pictures.

[Rinaldo]

16 hours ago, Suzn said:

Having discovered Dodsworth in recent years... I also love Ruth Chatterton... She was a discovery for me at the same time as the movie and I was sad to find that it was nearly the end of her movie career....

As we've touched on Dodsworth again, I'd like to mention one more performer whom I was delighted to see in it, as a piece of theatrical history otherwise lost to me: Odette Myrtil, who played the Paris friend Renée De Penable. Of Parisian birth, Myrtil settled in the US as a vaudeville performer noted for combining violin playing (her first skill), singing, and dancing. Jerome Kern created a role in his stage musical The Cat and the Fiddle tailored to the combination of all three skills. Dodsworth was essentially her first film role, and she appeared in quite a few movies thereafter but always in supporting roles -- I find that I must have seen her uncredited bits in The Palm Beach Story, Rhapsody in Blue, and Strangers on a Train without knowing who she was. It has to be called a very minor film career (after retiring from the screen, she managed restaurants in New Hope PA!), but she's a legendary name to me.

Edited September 4, 2019 by Rinaldo

[Lokiberry]

Just got around to watching Dodsworth last night. What a wonderful movie. It was so much more than I expected. Like so many have said, it's so modern it could have been made today. Walter Huston played the character with so much warmth , charm and sincerity. Sure he was just a tourist roaming pointing at things and bubbling over with excitement, but he was so honest about it that anyone who looked down on him came off as an insufferable snob. You know, like his wife. 

Ruth Chatterton did a fantastic job playing Fran as increasingly ridiculous and delusional. Man, that scene where she tells fresh-faced, young Mary Astor that she hopes she looks as good as her when she gets to be her age is both hilarious and cringe worthy. The scenes where Fran gets smacked down, first by Kurt's mother and then by Dodsworth himself are so satisfying. 

I haven't seen much of Mary Astor beyond her hardened femme fatale in The Maltese Falcon so this aspect of her was a revelation. She was just marvelous. 

[fairffaxx]

Those who enjoyed watching Dodsworth might want to read the autobiographies of Mary Astor (My Story, 1959, and A Life on Film, 1971) and David Niven (The Moon's A Balloon, 1971, and Bring On The Empty Horses, 1975).  Niven says that Ruth Chatterton recruited him for the role of her shipboard romance in Dodsworth, which launched his career.  They are both wonderful writers and I loved their books almost as much as I loved this movie (except that Walter Huston doesn't appear in the books and he really does make the movie as outstanding as it is, every time I see it).

[DorianGray]

After all the talk of Dodsworth here, I was thinking I'd give it a fresh viewing next time I should come across it, whenever that might be, since I hadn't really watched it in years.  Turned on the TV to TCM at that moment and lo and behold, Dodsworth was coming on in 3 minutes!  How convenient--thanks TCM!

I agree with the comments about the modern, un-stilted quality to the performances of Huston and Astor.  And seeing Chatterton's character get her comeuppance really is satisfying.  I found it to be a much better movie than I'd remembered, so thanks for drawing my attention to this one and reopening my eyes to it.

[mariah23]

The Carol Lynley double feature Sunday night now counts as a memorial.  She died of a heart attack Tuesday .  She was 77.

Edited September 6, 2019 by mariah23
Wrong date