TCM: The Greatest Movie Channel

[Milburn Stone]

Not as such -- just that it's a tough life, period. She did get big roles on TV (Spock fell in love with her, she "went through all the Bonanza men, one after another," a regular spot on Peyton Place which as she makes a joke of it backfired when casting agents decided she really was frigid), and like everyone in the biz just kept plugging away, trying to stay employed and to have some kind of a personal life.

 

A good role I just saw Mariette Hartley in was as Ruth Gordon's personal assistant in the Columbo episode "Try and Catch Me." (I've embarked on a personal project to see all the Columbo episodes I never saw. They're all on Netflix. And thankfully, there's a Columbo forum on previously.tv on which to discuss them.) In it,

she gets to play a character with a bit of an evil side

, and she does it with her customary beautiful intelligence.

 

I've just ordered her autobiography.

 

Also, there's one person in the world who likes Yolanda and the Thief, for all its faults. (Me.)

Edited July 26, 2014 by Milburn Stone

[prican58]

Metropolis is starting now. I've seen it before, once on the big screen. Really an amazing film! 

 

One thought I always have when I watch this is just how amazed the film audiences in Germany, indeed, around the world must have been when they saw this back in 1927. The movie going experience was in its infancy then, really and the things folks saw on the big screen had a lot of the element of surprise and discovery. This must have blown people away. Like Robert said in the intro. we are so used to huge spectacle these days, Metropolis might be unimpressive to many. But if you think of it in the context of its time, it truly is mind blowing.

Edited July 27, 2014 by prican58

[voiceover]

Mata Hari is not my favorite Garbo (partly because, as much as I adore Ramon Novarro's silent work, I not-so-much'd his talkies -- in this one, it's like watching Justin Bieber opposite Sofia Vergara!), but there are some great moments in the film, and they all come from her: "I am Mata Hari.  I am my own master!  [tossing them to the ground:] Here are your orders!" 

 

She was elegant and sexy and gorgeous and smarter than all the other men in the film; the usual Garbo movie problem.  At least Bette Davis had Errol Flynn, Paul Henreid, James Cagney, Spencer Tracy...Except for Melvyn Douglas' turn as Leon in Ninotchka, Garbo flattened all the men in her sound pictures (Gilbert more than held his own in the silents).  I think an older Robert Taylor could've been a match, but he was in his pretty-boy days when they did Camille together.

[aradia22]

 

Mata Hari is not my favorite Garbo (partly because, as much as I adore Ramon Novarro's silent work, I not-so-much'd his talkies -- in this one, it's like watching Justin Bieber opposite Sofia Vergara!), but there are some great moments in the film, and they all come from her: "I am Mata Hari.  I am my own master!  [tossing them to the ground:] Here are your orders!"

I caught a little bit of the movie when I was in between firing up the DVR for Yolanda and Come September last night. I watched a little bit of the scene where she had the big confrontation with Lionel Barrymore's character and then the scene in the hospital. It made me realize that I remember very little of the plot of that movie and what I do remember is all mixed up with Camille. I might have to rewatch it.

[voiceover]

Why does everything I want to watch, happen Sunday nights from 8 to midnight?/complained the woman with no DVR.  

Pandora's Box is one of those films I can't say I "love", but it's amazing to watch, and I think Louise Brooks's Lulu is unforgettable.  Pabst wouldn't cast Dietrich in the role, because he said she would turn on the Vamp, and suddenly, it would be a burlesque.  Lulu projects not so much sex, as this...energy...which the people around her receive as purely sexual, and it drives them insane.  The character herself just looks amused by it all, like a cute baby who can't understand why all the adults in the room turn into driveling idiots around her.

[aradia22]

I decided to watch On the Town today because I was in the mood for Broadway but too lazy to leave the house. The first song threw me off but then New York, New York really started the movie off with a bang. Seriously, it knocks you back. This is what I think of when I think of old fashioned Broadway. Not necessarily spectacle but a full-bodied rousing number. And oh my God, Sinatra and Kelly sound like they're actually singing. What is this? I have no complaints about their singing. Could they always sing like this?

 

Can someone explain the Peoria thing to me? Is it the city in Georgia? I've heard it mentioned in a couple of theatre songs. I'm so confused. Is this is thing that people used to say that isn't popular anymore or is it still popular... just not the circles I run in?

 

They manage to make them sort of feel like sailors. They're masculine without being too misogynistic or crass. I feel like a lot of things go one way or the other. Either the male characters are completely neutered and they don't seem to embody the characters they're supposed to be portraying or to make them seem super masculine they make them awful people. 

 

It was interesting to see Sinatra basically take on the nerdy straight man role. I found him quite likable.

 

There were lots of silly jokes I enjoyed like them asking for directions as the train was going by. Was the entire movie shot in NY? If so, it's an interesting look at the way the city used to be.

 

The Miss Turnstiles thing slowed the movie down. It's not as bad as all the damn fashion shows but it wasn't necessary either. Vera-Ellen looked great in that copper dress though. Aside from the excuse for costume changes, this had no point plotwise and I don't think the choreography warranted a break in the movie for this diversion. The chaos when they got to the "athlete" part was kind of interesting to watch but in the interest of telling the story, I think this should have been dropped.

 

Hildy was a crazy character. She played it very naturally which just made her seem weirder. If she'd played it broad it would have been clear that she was this comic caricature like Ado Annie or something.

 

Ann Miller also had a very silly character but she just sparkled. I'm happy to see her in a movie other than Easter Parade. Now if I can only track down a movie where she actually has a lead role. Her Prehistoric Man number brought the movie back to life again even if the song was stupid. Of course, after the tap, then it started to drag and get offensive. But that was thankfully over quickly. She really was a beautiful tap dancer. 

 

I'm not sure when Chip changed his mind about Hildy. That seemed unprovoked. The Lucy roommate character was just too much silliness. 

 

Well, that conflict was neatly avoided with Gabey and Ivy. The tap number was lovely. I don't think I got a good sense of Vera-Ellen as a dancer though. She was very light on her feet but the number didn't really give her a chance to show off. 

 

Wait... why is Hildy offended? Sinatra's character has been like this for the whole movie. It's not like he asked her out or they were in a long relationship and he kept ignoring her to go sightseeing. "You're Awful" was a very cute number. For a number not from the original show it was very charming and not a bad song. I'm surprised it's not more of a big cabaret/talent show song. 

[Rinaldo]

I refuse to watch the On the Town movie because it threw out all the Bernstein songs (except the opening number and, I believe, the taxi bit). I suppose some day I should see it in the interest of better educating myself.

[prican58]

Peoria was Richard Prior's home town...or at least was raised there.

 

I love how you analyze these films, aradia22. Me? I don't. I just watch it and let the magic take me away. I love this movie, On the Town. I was raised in the Long Island suburbs but did have family in NYC and even lived in Queens for a bit. I love seeing NYC back in the day. I love the Technicolor, the songs, dancing and comedy. It's such a breezy, fun, frenetic kick for me. Any film where Frank sings, Ann dances and Betty Garrett shows her talent, is just swell. 

[aradia22]

On The Town (the song) started off nicely but got tedious quickly. It's just not a great song. There's nothing to the melody.

 

That first club they went to seemed crazy. I don't like clubs nowadays either but I can't really see why people would enjoy going there. It was nice that the clubs seemed to remember than NY is a diverse city. 

Count On Me was cute but unremarkable. I wonder how I'd feel about this is they'd filmed the actual music with the original score. I felt a little bad for Lucy. Poor thing. I'm glad the movie ended up being nice to her.

 

I don't know what you'd call it but I'm kind of fascinated by the way the sailor characters dance in a line. They don't dance in unison but they're all not super distinct. It's just like each actor has a slightly different take on the dance. They're not perfectly in time or in line with the others even though they're doing the same steps. And it works.

 

The "A Day in NY" ballet number was odd. I get that maybe Sinatra and the other guy weren't great dancers but why did they replace everyone but Gene Kelly? in the first part? Were those supposed to represent the same characters in the movie? And why was the genre of dance so different for the dance studio after we saw them do a number in the dance studio? And in the third part why did they change the color code of the costumes for the girls? It wasn't terrible but I'm going to chalk this up as being another indulgent Kelly dance number. 

 

Why is there a car chase in this movie? Oh, old Hollywood musical ridiculousness. 

 

"No kidding, Hildy, do you think we can lose 'em?"

"Sure, I know a place right across the Brooklyn Bridge where no one will find us."

"Yeah, where is it?"

"Brooklyn."

 

Maybe this movie would have worked better if Madame Whatsherface was a little more villainous. The pieces are there with the drinking and the threat to write to her parents. But she was toothless. And so... yeah, no real conflict. The characters spend most of this movie trying to find each other and then all conflicts are resolved within minutes. This doesn't make for the most compelling story. But the musical numbers are fun.

 

Oh, the cheap excuse for drag. Movie, you're so silly.

 

That may me the worst rousing speech I've ever heard. 

 

I'm not sure what the ending was to communicate. A new trio of sailors got off suggesting the whole cycle would start again. But they got off the ship that Gabey, Chip, and Ozzi got on so presumably that ship can't depart. So why are they saying goodbye?

 

I love how you analyze these films, aradia22. Me? I don't. I just watch it and let the magic take me away.

Well, I did do a brief stint as a movie critic. And if I can get my head on straight, I might go back to it again. But I also know I might never watch these movies again so I need to pay more attention so I can remember what my opinion is... if that makes any sense. :)

 

I refuse to watch the On the Town movie because it threw out all the Bernstein songs (except the opening number and, I believe, the taxi bit). I suppose some day I should see it in the interest of better educating myself.

I think it's fun but not a great movie. Of course, I fancy myself as a writer so witty dialogue and strong storytelling is key for me. I'd watch some of the musical numbers, either online or by fastfowarding and skip the rest. New York, New York, Prehistoric Man, and You're Awful are my recommendations of what to watch. For the rest of it, you can decide for yourself. It's not painful to sit through.

[aradia22]

OK, I am going on vacation soon which means some harsh cuts need to be made on the DVR because I cannot possibly watch all these movies before I go. Here's the list... Mary of Scotland, My Fair Lady, More Than a Miracle, And Then There Were None, Ten Little Indians, Belle de Jour, Random Harvest, The Mummy, Fire Over England, and The Ladykillers. I've never seen any of these movies before minus some parts of My Fair Lady.

[Milburn Stone]

Re On the Town--I've never seen a stage production, although I am very familiar with the original score from the great Columbia cast album recording. As for the movie, it seems to have that "women with voracious sexual appetites" thing that was epidemic in, and peculiar to, movies of the post-war period.

[psychoticstate]

OK, I am going on vacation soon which means some harsh cuts need to be made on the DVR because I cannot possibly watch all these movies before I go. Here's the list... Mary of Scotland, My Fair Lady, More Than a Miracle, And Then There Were None, Ten Little Indians, Belle de Jour, Random Harvest, The Mummy, Fire Over England, and The Ladykillers. I've never seen any of these movies before minus some parts of My Fair Lady.

 I would absolutely not cut And Then There Were None.  I DVR'd it myself and it's supposed to be a fantastic adaptation.

[3pwood]

If "Ten Little Indians" is the 1965 version with Hugh O'Brien (& Fabian!), I'd delete it immediately (twice if possible) -- "And Then There Were None" is the absolutely best version of this Agatha Christie book & pretty much a perfect movie in its own right.

 

I've never seen "More Than A Miracle" & have no opinion about it except that it sounds somewhat tedious.

 

Everything else is worth watching at least once -- assuming "The Ladykillers" is the real thing from 1955 with Alec Guinness &  Peter Sellers rather than the modern abomination with Tom Hanks.

[ratgirlagogo]

My picks would be The Mummy and Belle de Jour, but that's me.    I can't believe that you of all people has never seen My Fair Lady.  If More Than A Miracle is the Sophia Loren movie, I thought it was charming.  And Then There Were None is an actually good movie, whereas Ten Little Indians is a fun not-so-good movie - understand why 3pwood and others would hate it, but I've got a soft spot for all those silly Harry Allen Towers movies. I don't care much for Mary of Scotland or Fire Over England (or any movie involving kings and queens and their problems, not even Queen Christina), but they don't show as often as The Ladykillers or Random Harvest which I prefer..

[aradia22]

 

If "Ten Little Indians" is the 1965 version with Hugh O'Brien (& Fabian!), I'd delete it immediately (twice if possible)

It is that version. But now you've got me curious why it's so terrible.

 

I can't believe that you of all people has never seen My Fair Lady.  If More Than A Miracle is the Sophia Loren movie, I thought it was charming.

I feel like I've seen a ton of musicals but there are definitely a huge number of musicals I just haven't gotten around to yet. I've caught a few scenes here and there but what happens is I sit down and halfway through Wouldn't It Be Loverly I think "nope, I can't deal with the dubbing." Yes, it's the Sophia Loren movie. I need to sit through at least one Sophia Loren movie so I can have an opinion. The same way I need to watch at least one Ava Gardner movie.

 

I don't care much for Mary of Scotland or Fire Over England (or any movie involving kings and queens and their problems, not even Queen Christina), but they don't show as often as The Ladykillers or Random Harvest which I prefer..

I like kings and queens but primarily because I like period pieces and costume designers are pretty lazy nowadays when it comes to anything that isn't a period piece. Or a movie about fashion. I recorded Mary because I love young Kate Hepburn and Fire Over England because I really wanted to see Olivier and Leigh in a movie together. I keep telling myself I'll watch That Hamilton Woman and then I never get around to it. I'm with you on Queen Christina though. I liked Guinness in Murder by Death but that's not really my favorite decade of films in terms of the visual style so it's in danger. I want to like Greer Garson but I think I need to start with When Ladies Meet or something. She's one of those actresses where I either end up deleting her movies off the DVR or not recording them in favor of something else. I don't dislike her. She just hasn't won my interest or loyalty yet.

[3pwood]

aradia22, my favorite Alec Guinness movie is Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) -- I'm not objective because I love him in everything, but I do think that's one of his best.

 

And you want to know why I think Ten Little Indians is so bad?  Don't Hugh O'Brien & Fabian say it all?

[jjj]

Okay, I was looking forward to the Ingmar Bergman films my Comcast directory told me would be on -- but I saw a James Garner movie playing -- wish I had known they were doing a retrospective today.

 

@Rinaldo - I completely agree about the cutting of the Bernstein songs in "On the Town"  -- I recorded the film years ago just to hear that wonderful, wonderful quartet "Some Other Time," and could not believe it was not in the film.  Never watching it again.   

 

At least this schedule shift got me to find this thread in previously.tv -- good to see familiar names! 

[aradia22]

 

And you want to know why I think Ten Little Indians is so bad?  Don't Hugh O'Brien & Fabian say it all?

I have no idea who those people are. I'm 23. ;)

[3pwood]

 

I have no idea who those people are. I'm 23. ;)

 

Lucky you!

[Rinaldo]

I'm not sure what the ending was to communicate. A new trio of sailors got off suggesting the whole cycle would start again. But they got off the ship that Gabey, Chip, and Ozzie got on so presumably that ship can't depart. So why are they saying goodbye?

It's pretty clear from the start (in the stage version too). Sailors get 24 hours shore leave, as is mentioned in that first song. At 6 am they have to go on board again, and while they're on duty again (which means no communication with the outside), other sailors can have their shore leave.

 

Re On the Town--I've never seen a stage production, although I am very familiar with the original score from the great Columbia cast album recording. As for the movie, it seems to have that "women with voracious sexual appetites" thing that was epidemic in, and peculiar to, movies of the post-war period.

Yes, that's a great recording, which managed to preserve three of the original 1943 cast even though it was made in 1960. The hot-to-trot women was characteristic of 1940s stage musicals too. It's often the secondary "comedy woman" (Ado Annie in Oklahoma!, Meg in Brigadoon, Lois in Kiss Me Kate), and the comedy is often the mere fact that she's sexually experienced. That's somewhat true of On the Town too, but it's rather refreshing that (at least in the stage show) no judgment of the women is implied -- we're allowed to infer that two of the three couples had time to get lucky during the 24 hours, with no negative judgment.

[aradia22]

 

At 6 am they have to go on board again, and while they're on duty again (which means no communication with the outside), other sailors can have their shore leave.

Ah, OK. I didn't know that they wouldn't have been able to have communication with the outside world. I still maintain that it's kind of a nonending. Presumably there's a world where Gabey and Ivy both go back home to Indiana but that's speculation. I guess when people in movies tell me they're soul mates I want them to fight harder for each other. Or at least make plans to talk in a few months or write a letter.

 

That's somewhat true of On the Town too, but it's rather refreshing that (at least in the stage show) no judgment of the women is implied -- we're allowed to infer that two of the three couples had time to get lucky during the 24 hours, with no negative judgment.

I'd say in the movie there's no judgment either. Lucy leaves Hildy and Chip alone in the apartment and presumably they have a few hours to themselves before they meet with the others at the Empire State Building. However, there's no real reprimand for her aggressive pursuit as it's treated pretty lightly and as I said, out of nowhere, Chip is just ready to go along with it even though he was previously rebuffing her. Regardless of the genders, that kind of thing makes me a little uncomfortable even when it's played for laughs.

[Milburn Stone]

Ah, OK. I didn't know that they wouldn't have been able to have communication with the outside world. I still maintain that it's kind of a nonending.

 

I think the subtext provides the ending--but you have to project yourself to the time of the original show, rather than the movie version. In 1944 (when the show opened on Broadway) there was a war going on. The men were not only going back to a ship, they were shortly after that going back to combat from which they might never return. This lent to the entire proceedings a bittersweet quality, a feeling of "live life while you can, and hope for a tomorrow, but know that there might not be one." You find the same thing in many wartime movie dramas, comedies, romances and musicals.

[Rinaldo]

@Milburn Stone beat me to it. That's it exactly in On the Town. It's an unusual ending certainly, the 24 hours are over, goodbye and that's it (and the cycle starts for a new trio). And maybe "we'll catch up -- some other time" as the song says (in the stage show at least), but who knows if they'll meet again. Hence the frantic need during the show (for the civilians as well) to grab what pleasure they can.

[aradia22]

 

I think the subtext provides the ending--but you have to project yourself to the time of the original show, rather than the movie version. In 1944 (when the show opened on Broadway) there was a war going on.

Ah, I think the year of the movie threw me off as well as the general flightiness of the script. I assumed it was just more writing that wasn't well thought out.

 

I decided to watch Viva Las Vegas today. I'm pretty sure this is my first Elvis movie. And it's my second Ann-Margret movie after Bye Bye Birdie. There's not too much of a plot or a driving force and though I general have some issues with the visual style of movies around this time, it was actually kind of pretty to look at. As a heterosexual female I didn't get as much out of all the shots of Ann-Margret's legs and butt and all the showgirls but it was still a colorful, visually movie. I don't know, sometimes the 60's/70's stuff has a dingy look I just don't respond to. I'm not a big Elvis fan outside of a few hits and I don't listen to him regularly but there were plenty of good songs in this movie. I don't know if the sound mix or something was off though because I've definitely heard him sound better on other recordings. I found him to be a fine actor (nothing too wooden or painful) but not particularly riveting or charismatic. Just fine. Ann-Margret is sometimes a little too manic for my taste but she definitely does her part in carrying the movie. For me, their duet is when the movie really kicks into gear and it wouldn't work with a less dynamic female lead. It's a fun, diverting movie that you don't have to pay too much attention to and a really good tourism commercial for old school Las Vegas. I think the last 40-50 minutes drags as the movie becomes less about tourism and more about "plot." 

 

The conflict came out of nowhere. They wrote her as a minority feisty. The kind of spunky female character who is almost infallible to the point where she almost doesn't seem like a real person (which is a big problem with that trope). And then suddenly when Lucky meets her father we hear about her not wanting him to race cars. And a few scenes later it's a big point of contention. And even though she said she wasn't interested in getting married, that's part of the argument as well. And suddenly his gambling is a big issue. What the heck, movie? Somehow she morphed into the girlfriend who doesn't want the hero to do anything to move the plot along. http://the-toast.net/2014/05/27/movie-girlfriends-hate-heroism/ She suddenly adopts a bunch of negative female stereotypes... weak, incompetent, petty, emotional. Sigh...With him being a massive jerk and her falling apart there was nothing compelling about their relationship. 

[SeriousPurrs]

It is that version. But now you've got me curious why it's so terrible.

@aradia22 What drove me crazy about Ten Little Indians with Hugh, etc. is the blonde kept crying: "Hugh! Hugh! Hugh!" on and on. It drove me crazy. I couldn't even tell you if the movie was decent or not. "Hugh! Hugh! Hugh!" It still rings in my ears!

[aradia22]

I tried watching More Than a Miracle. I only got through about 10 minutes. It's a bit surreal. It starts off with a dreamy abstract intro set to a crooner song. It reminded me a little of the sequence in Disney's Sleeping Beauty when the fairies bestow the gifts. Then the movie starts and Omar Sharif is whipping a horse. And I get that it probably has something to do with training or "breaking" a horse but it smacks of animal cruelty and it's a weird scene to open with if you want me to immediately like this guy. Our first glimpse of the 7 princesses also had a surreal, ridiculous feel. I cut the movie off when he fell off the horse. That horse hates him. I don't like him much either. 

[aradia22]

I watched a bit more of More Than a Miracle. There's a flying priest who spouts cryptic nonsense. No explanation for why he is flying. Sophia Loren stole Omar Sharif's horse and he pushes her to the ground. Now, I'm not of the school of thought that says you never hit a woman because you know, what if she's your boxing opponent? But you don't immediately resort to physical violence when arguing over who owns a horse. Then he beats the horse more. Seriously, what were the four writers who worked on this story thinking? Then he realizes that she's attractive, pulls her into the bushes violently to hide from the prince's men and then tries to kiss her while she's clearly unwilling. So cruel to animals, physically abusive to people, and rape-y. This is going well. Then he rides around her on his horse just generally being a nuisance before evidently following her home. So, jerk and stalker. Then he orders her to make seven dumplings and complains when there are only six. He plays dead to get her to check on him. He's willing to be buried alive over a dumpling. I don't even... why am I supposed to find this sympathetic or compelling? I gave up when the crazy beggar woman showed up.

 

Sophia Loren is beautiful but she didn't have that X factor that I associate with my favorite actresses. Still, there were moments that made me want to look up her other movies.

Edited July 30, 2014 by aradia22

[Charlie Baker]

Hello, all.  Was away with very limited Internet access last week and didn't mind too much. :-)

 

Aradia, I'd recommend checking out Ms. Loren with Marcello Mastroianni in just about anything they did together. They were a great screen team. Her Oscar winning turn in Two Women I haven't seen in many years but I remember it being very powerful.  She had a long career and was quite gorgeous to look at, but I don't know how many bona fide classic films are in her filmography.

[aradia22]

 

Aradia, I'd recommend checking out Ms. Loren with Marcello Mastroianni in just about anything they did together. They were a great screen team. Her Oscar winning turn in Two Women I haven't seen in many years but I remember it being very powerful.  She had a long career and was quite gorgeous to look at, but I don't know how many bona fide classic films are in her filmography.

Did she ever play a queen or a scorned woman? There was a regal quality and a dignified defiance in her expression in a few moments that caught my attention. And I think Man of LaMancha is going to have to wait. A while. 

[ratgirlagogo]

 

Did she ever play a queen or a scorned woman

Oh, sure,  both, many times. But most often she played an ordinary woman who would do whatever she needed to do to survive and get what she needed - without losing the regal quality you noticed.  Two Women is a great performance and kind of encapsulates all of that, but is pretty heavy for a musical lover.

 

Aradia, I'd recommend checking out Ms. Loren with Marcello Mastroianni in just about anything they did together. They were a great screen team.

I agree.  I'd recommend Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, and Marriage Italian Style (both with Mastroianni and both, like Two Women, directed by Vittorio De Sica).

 

She had a long career and was quite gorgeous to look at, but I don't know how many bona fide classic films are in her filmography.

Also very true.

Edited July 30, 2014 by ratgirlagogo

[aradia22]

 

Two Women is a great performance and kind of encapsulates all of that, but is pretty heavy for a musical lover.

Oh, don't let the musicals and romances fool you. I have no problem with darker and more mature content. I just find that it often overlaps with a particular masculine energy that just bores me. All those prestige TV dramas, all the action movies, Westerns, war movies, noir, crime... I find very little compelling about them as genres even if I like individual movies or shows.

[Rinaldo]

I too would recommend the films Loren made with Mastroianni and De Sica -- if not alltime film classics, they're classics of their genre, i.e. Italian commercial entertainments that became popular with international audiences (who probably didn't focus on the social commentary but enjoyed the stars and the relatively exotic locations).

 

I might also mention some of the Hollywood pictures in which US audiences took to Sophia Loren:

 

Heller in Pink Tights, a 1960 Western in which she's blonde and part of a traveling theatrical company. It was directed by George Cukor and has a fascinatingly assorted cast, what with Anthony Quinn, Margaret O'Brien, Ramon Navarro, and Eileen Heckart. Though it doesn't really work as a whole, it has a wonderful look, and she delivers a light, whimsical performance unlike any others of hers that I know.

 

El Cid of 1961, one of the grand historical epics that were big then (and she does get to play something like a queen, though as I recall she never actually gets to the throne). She costars with Charlton Heston, and it's certainly impressive-looking (it's said to be a favorite of Martin Scorsese) and the sort of movie that seldom gets made any more.

 

In Arabesque from 1966, she costars with Gregory Peck in another popular genre of the decade, the international suspense thriller (everyone was trying to compete with Bond). It was directed by Stanley Donen, but is no classic of the type like his Charade. Still it's fun to see now, and she certainly shows why she was a star.

[voiceover]

I'm chiming in for The Mummy, which I forgot to post about the day it was on, because I had other stupid trivial bullshit things to do.

 

This is one of my Top 10 horror films; in part because it scared the crap out of me as a kid.  It was on the local cable access channel's "Friday Night Creature Feature" with "The Creeper" (local version of the Crypt Keeper) as host.  Some of the horror is from the not-seen (like in Hitchcock!), like when the young archaeologist goes mad before our eyes.  He's watching something the audience isn't shown (the Mummy, walking out with the papyrus).  But we know it's going on.

Plus, let's face it: Karloff had a face and a build for horror flicks.  Lon Chaney used makeup, and could contort his features, but Boris (God love 'im!) was kinda creepy as the original version.

 

Much later in life, I came to appreciate Zita Johann, who (mostly) escapes her fate without the hero's help.  True, there's some deus ex machina with Isis, but *she's* the one who wills herself to run from Imhotep and beg the goddess for help.

 

All in all, a brief (under 90 minutes), tidy thriller, and one where you even get to spare some sympathy for the monster.  Taken another way, he might have been the hero = waiting all those hundreds of years to reclaim his love.

 

Oh, and the ending hits the gross-out button, as well as any early movie could, with that time-lapse dissolve to dust that Karloff does.

 

p.s., Edited to correct the auto-correct. /grumbles

Edited July 30, 2014 by voiceover

[aradia22]

I started watching The Mummy today while packing for my trip. I have half an hour left which I should be able to finish up tomorrow. Some thoughts...

 

The Swan Lake theme in the beginning threw me off. I started to question if it was Fur Elise or some other random classical piece because it didn't seem to fit the movie at all.

The makeup is still surprisingly quite effective. It's not terrifying, even for a wimp like me, but both the makeup for the reincarnated mummy and the mummy while bandaged were a lot more subtle than I expected them to be. 

When the son complained to his archaeologist father and the father spouted that nonsense line about the British Museum doing work for science and not "loot." Oh, how I laughed. How I laughed.

It's difficult to not root for the mummy and Helen as the princess. Not only are they the most compelling actors but everyone else is rather annoying. Lover boy who fell in love with the stranger he just met after she fainted in front of him comes across as a weirdo and a bit of creeper. This is the wrong way to write insta-love.

It's odd that the conflict becomes whether her old princess self goes back to the mummy or whether her current self falls in love with the creepy guy. Because I seriously have no idea why she's even into him. They did nothing to develop that relationship.

The fluffy white cat

killing her dog

was an odd an unnecessary plot point.

Is the "Nubian slave" in black face?

I like the way the movie almost feels like a detective and a criminal matching wits. I'm also on the mummy's side because he seems smarter than that ridiculous doctor. 

I think there might be some interesting identity issues explored (or it could be completely dropped) with Helen so I'll be interested to see how the last thirty minutes plays out.

[aradia22]

Finished up The Mummy. Final thoughts...

 

I like that it was the princess who rejected the mummy's wish to kill her and not Helen.

I haven't worked out the identity stuff yet but that little difference was important.

The mummy seemed more villainous in this section. Maybe because like all the other guys in the movie he was like, Helen you stay there. Do this. Oh, I didn't realize you had a brain and knew more than I realized. Overpowering her will was not cool. Also, you know, the bodies are piling up.

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar and sometimes a dagger slowly threatening to penetrate a woman's stomach is... Yeah. Just going to leave that there.

I did like her saving herself by calling to Isis.

She did have to play damsel and was kind of weak at points but she had a strength and knowledge of her own and called upon that. Was she a princess or a priestess of Isis? And was the pharaoh her father and also the mummy's father? I couldn't always hear the dialogue very well so this confused me throughout the movie.

Hmn... the ending was a little anticlimactic.

Frank urges Helen to wake up while the scroll is burning.

Really? OK.

Again, the special effects were not bad. From the statues moving to the smoke in the divining pool (or whatever you'd call it) to the makeup for Karloff. I think it was actually relatively well done.

 

I would totally recommend that someone see this is they haven't. It's not the best movie but it's a quick watch and I think it's worth it.

Edited July 31, 2014 by aradia22

[Rick Kitchen]

Re On the Town--I've never seen a stage production, although I am very familiar with the original score from the great Columbia cast album recording. As for the movie, it seems to have that "women with voracious sexual appetites" thing that was epidemic in, and peculiar to, movies of the post-war period.

 

There is going to be a new production of On the Town opening on Broadway in October.  The winner of this season's "So You Think You Can Dance" will be given a role in the Broadway production.

 

The show will be choreographed by Josh Bergasse, who won an Emmy for "Smash".

 

He choreographed an early dance in this season's SYTYCD, to "New York New York".

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yrv7bi8awlA

[Rinaldo]

Right! I thought I had mentioned the impending revival of On the Town here, but I see it was in the theater thread (scroll down for my link to the promotional video). I suspect the "role" for the winner will be ensemble work, and I wonder how it's going to work, as the finale is a month away and they'll be in rehearsal before then.

[voiceover]

She's a priestess of Isis and the daughter of a pharaoh.  He was a member of her father's court.

Edited August 1, 2014 by voiceover

[Charlie Baker]

TCM's star of the day may well be David Niven.

 

But this is the anniversary of Myrna Loy's birth.  So she's my star of the day, and any day when I happen to see one of her films.

 

OK, gushing over.

 

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001485/?ref_=hm_brn_t5

[Bastet]

Ah, Charlie Baker - a kindred spirit.  Myrna Loy's birthday is pretty much a national holiday for me.  I love all the pictures of Myrna Loy and Bill Powell celebrating their birthdays together (his is just a few days prior) on set - whether it be a film they were working on together, or whether one went and visited the other on another soundstage.

[Milburn Stone]

I recently enjoyed Myrna Loy in the Columbo episode "Etude in Black," in which John Cassavetes was the villain. (Which turns out to be one of the best Columbo episodes ever, based on the ones I've seen so far in my personal project to eventually watch all of them.)

[Julia]

I recently enjoyed Myrna Loy in the Columbo episode "Etude in Black," in which John Cassavetes was the villain. (Which turns out to be one of the best Columbo episodes ever, based on the ones I've seen so far in my personal project to eventually watch all of them.)

 

Also the first film appearance of Gwyneth Paltrow as a small abdominal bulge /OT

Edited August 2, 2014 by Julia

[voiceover]

Recommending tonight's The Guns of Navarone, which is in my Top 50 Films Ever.  Terrific performances (Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quayle, Anthony Quinn, Irene Papas, James Darren!, and Richard Harris in a memorable "Fuck you!" cameo) and a thrilling adventure with a time limit.

My favorite scene is right after the group's traitor has been discovered & shot.  Niven had been needling Peck the whole mission, and then it's Peck's turn to come back strong ("You're in it now...up to your neck!...You've put me in the mood to use this thing [his weapon]...and if you don't come up with something soon, then by God, I'm going to use it on you!").

 

Also, for tomorrow: Walter Pidgeon as the title character in Calling Bulldog Drummond.  I discovered this film a few years ago, also during WP day on "Summer Under the Stars".  It's the first time I ever thought of Pidgeon as sexy and dangerous.  "Summer Under the Stars"...if only, eh.

Edited August 4, 2014 by voiceover

[bigskygirl]

Myrna Loy was born in my hometown. I love The Thin Man movies. On Saturday August 9th, they are showing a bunch of William Powell movies on TCM. Myrna and William are my favorite classic movie couple, and my favorite actor and actress.

[Bastet]

Yeah, no Myrna Loy day in this year's Summer Under the Stars, but through William Powell's day we get a number of the films they did together: Manhattan Melodrama, Libeled Lady, Double Wedding, I Love You Again, Love Crazy and the first two Thin Man movies.  And, yes, despite the fact I have all those on DVD, I do anticipate TCM blaring from my TV pretty much all day long. 

 

We also get Wife vs. Secretary by way of James Stewart's day (Thu 8/7) and, on Cary Grant's day (Wed 8/13), The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer and Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House.

Edited August 4, 2014 by Bastet

[psychoticstate]

Myrna Loy was born in my hometown. I love The Thin Man movies. On Saturday August 9th, they are showing a bunch of William Powell movies on TCM. Myrna and William are my favorite classic movie couple, and my favorite actor and actress.

I agree.  I absolutely adore William Powell and he had such amazing chemistry with Myrna Loy.  The perfect film couple.

[prican58]

Are most of us not too thrilled with SUTS ? not too many comments.  Here goes.

Unless you've got time in the DVR you probably won't watch too many films because we all work (hopefully) and let's face it, many of us have seen many of these films many times.

But I love SUTS because you can get lost in it. Some years ago I got laid off at the start of August. Since  unemployment insurance has become automated and one needn't go to the Labor office as often I just immersed myself in each day (at least the days when a fave actor was featured). Let's face it the first few weeks of not working is usually treated as a bit of a vacation so there was no urgency yet to walking the pavement.( I was single so for me it was not so devastating)  It was a great way to unwind and rid myself of the doldrums.

 

I discovered lots of actors and films. Good stuff.

 

Monday was Judy's day and oh how I wished I could have called out sick! I love everything she does and I'm always reminded of how she may have been the most gifted movie star ever. And with some co-starring her equally talented ally Mickey it was most tempting to feign illness.

Today of course is Stanwyck Day and I wanted to stay home today as well. I was watching a bit of Ball of Fire tonight and I think it's easily one of the most entertaining of her films. I love the abundance of character actors and I love Allen Jenkins' NY slang! He is one of the most amusing actors I've seen. 

.

[Charlie Baker]

Caught a Stanwyck movie today I wanted to see and hadn't--Lady of Burlesque.  It's a zippy mystery set in a burlesque house that used to be an opera house, and of course our Ms. S. is a star performer there.  There is commentary, like some on IMDB, about how Stanwyck demonstrated her chorus girl background in this one, and it's true, she sings and hoofs a bit, to good effect and does some tamed down burlesque bits.  The closest thing to a male lead opposite her in this was Michael O'Shea as a comic, and he really had an appealing, fresh, masculine, unpretty boy presence.  Lots of great character actors in this, too.(Iris Adrian!) And based on a novel credited to Gypsy Rose Lee. Lots of fun.  I gather there was a DVD restoration of this a few years back--too bad TCM's print was in rough shape in parts. 

 

Aradia, did you get another shot at Night Nurse, also part of this day?

[aradia22]

 

Aradia, did you get another shot at Night Nurse, also part of this day?

I've been on vacation since I last posted on The Mummy and I'm still not home yet. I can't remember if I was able to set the DVR. I managed to get a film films set but my DVR only lets me program a week in advance more or less. Grrr. I missed so many good movies! A friend of my mom's mentioned Elevator to the Gallows as a recommendation and I've been trying to catch it for ages. Missed it.

[LuciaMia]

If we're gonna talk about movie composers, what about Bernard Herrmman?  Amazing that the man who created the lushness of the 'Ghost and Mrs. Muir' also scored the menacing 'Taxi Driver.'