TCM: The Greatest Movie Channel

[Milburn Stone]

5 minutes ago, Rinaldo said:

Tonight on TCM we get all the That's Entertainment/Dancing compilation flicks...

I was thinking about the first That's Entertainment film the other day, and an alarming realization came to me. When that movie came out, in 1974, it seemed an elegy for a movie-making era a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. But in fact, the year of That's Entertainment, it had been only 22 years since Singin' in the Rain came out in 1952. That's Entertainment and Singin' in the Rain, in other words, belong to pretty much the same era in movie history, judged by the calendar. That's not at all what we thought in 1974. Let's say the current year is 2017, even though as I write this we still have a few hours to go. The equivalent distance back in time would be 1995. Some of the big movies of that year were Toy Story, Leaving Las Vegas, and The Bridges of Madison County. If you want to go back one more year to 1994, we had Forrest Gump, Pulp Fiction, and Quiz Show. All movies which I consider part of the same movie-making era we live in now. The distance (in real time) from Singin' in the Rain to That's Entertainment was nothing. The distance since That's Entertainment has been roughly twice as long as the distance between those two movies.

[Rinaldo]

The real revelation for me when I saw  that first compilation was not Singin' in the Rain, or the other color films of the 1950s, the most popular of which popped up on TV occasionally (and did indeed feel to me like relatively recent times), but the pre-1950 titles, which were harder to come by. (Except that a station in Chicago showed a Fred & Ginger marathon on New Year's Eve.)

Biggest example: the only female Powell I knew in movie musicals was Jane. To be informed that there was someone named Eleanor Powell, who could do THAT opposite Fred Astaire in "Begin the Beguine," was an upset to my world-order.

[Charlie Baker]

Nothing to add, except these are some exceptional comments, gentlemen.

[Terrafamilia]

That's Entertainment got an intro from Dana Delany. We were wondering if she had gotten an early start on imbibing some New Years Eve cheer.

[Rinaldo]

That would be a week or two early, given the advance filming of any such intro. 

Could be, but she just seemed to me to be ordinarily lively.

[Terrafamilia]

She seemed a bit slurry for the intro. The closing comments and intro for TE part deux were better.

[Sharpie66]

The Chicago station marathons of Astaire and Rogers on NYE was my go-to tv programming when I was a teen babysitting back in the late '70s/ early '80s, before most of my gigs had VCRs or cable. That's when I fell for Astaire and that whole vibe of the '30s musicals. 

[Crisopera]

I do love the That's Entertainment series (including That's Dancing).  I saw the original 12 times in the theater (it was the era of the $1.50 bargain matinee), and was completely stunned by the greatness of it.  it really triggered my love of old movies, particularly old musicals, so I am extremely grateful, painful edits, corny writing and all.  If I hadn't seen TE, I might not be posting on this forum, after all!

Happy New Year, my fellow movie maniacs!

[Wiendish Fitch]

I love That's Entertainment parts 1 and 3, can't stand 2. The editing is unforgivable, the clips aren't that interesting, Gene Kelly is going through the motions, and you can just tell Fred Astaire would rather be undergoing a root canal, a colonoscopy, and a tax audit all at once than doing this movie. 

Oh, and animated Astaire and Kelly... *shudder*.

[HelenBaby]

The SO & I watched some of the first That's Entertainment last night and it dawned on me that most of the hosts besides Astaire were younger than I am now at 63. And they were mostly old hat by 1974. That was a rude awakening. 

[Milburn Stone]

On 12/17/2016 at 9:25 AM, Rinaldo said:

At first viewing [of Unfaithfully Yours] I was thrown off that the very end fades out with romantic ardor rather than wit. But on further acquaintance with [Preston Sturges'] work I've just come to accept that that, too, is part of Sturges.

We've been conducting a Preston Sturges festival in our house since seeing Unfaithfully Yours, and I know now what you mean. His movies don't always end with romantic ardor, but they can end on very sincere and powerful emotional notes. That was true with Sullivan's Travels and Miracle of Morgan's Creek. And with the movie we watched tonight, Hail the Conquering Hero. For all its madcap lunacy (and deeply cynical viewpoint on American politics and war profiteering), the movie's ending with the marines leaving town on the back of the train--tipped in by the final line from one of the marines--packs a sincere emotional punch that's overwhelming. You don't expect such feeling after the delightfully subversive ride you've been on. Which is probably why Sturges' endings work so well. A master.

I saw all these movies when younger, but I only remembered the lunacy. 

[SeanC]

As a very early musical, I was fascinated with the technical elements of The Love Parade (Jeanette MacDonald's high notes cause problems for the sound recording equipment).  But having found the other Lubitsch films I've seen very progressive overall in terms of gender politics (particularly Design for Living), it's rather disappointing to watch it turn into The Taming of the Shrew in the second half, which is far inferior to the first.

But any film that includes a man, his butler, and his dog all singing goodbye to the ladies, ladies' maids, and bitches (to use the correct term) of Paris has done at least one thing right.

[bluepiano]

22 hours ago, Milburn Stone said:

And with the movie we watched tonight, Hail the Conquering Hero. For all its madcap lunacy (and deeply cynical viewpoint on American politics and war profiteering), the movie's ending with the marines leaving town on the back of the train--tipped in by the final line from one of the marines--packs a sincere emotional punch that's overwhelming. You don't expect such feeling after the delightfully subversive ride you've been on. Which is probably why Sturges' endings work so well. A master.

I've seen Hail a few times, but watching it again last week I was struck by how it mocks phony patriotism and hero worship while still paying tribute to the nobility of sacrificing oneself for a higher cause. The ability of Preston Sturges to be both satirical and sentimental at the same time is one of the facets of his genius as a writer. It's more subtle and interesting than the clear veering between humor and pathos that you see in many Capra movies.

Sullivan's Travels is my favorite Sturges movie, with probably Palm Beach Story second. Palm Beach Story is a little less crazy and irreverent than some of the others, but it's a great romantic comedy. And it has that wonderfully silly ending. I also really like The Great McGinty, which I think is underrated. You rarely hear it mentioned as being among his best. The twist that a guy who had been crooked his whole life is undone by his one honest act is pure Sturges.

Edited January 3, 2017 by bluepiano

[PaulaO]

Watching "Shadow of a Doubt."  Jo Cotten was such a wonderful actor, and so menacing in this film.

Edited January 3, 2017 by PaulaO
Spelling

[bluepiano]

37 minutes ago, PaulaO said:

Watching "Shadow of a Doubt."  Jo Cotten was such a wonderful actor, and so menacing in this film.

"You live in a dream. You're a sleepwalker, blind. How do you know what the world is like? Do you know the world is a foul sty? Do you know, if you rip off the fronts of houses, you'd find swine? The world's a hell. What does it matter what happens in it?"

That speech and the way Cotton delivers it never fails give to me chills, no matter how many times I've seen this great movie.

[Rinaldo]

He really is exceptional in that movie (as is Teresa Wright).

[Padma]

34 minutes ago, Rinaldo said:

He really is exceptional in that movie (as is Teresa Wright).

ITA. I also rewatched yesterday. I remembered how great Cotton was, but was especially impressed by Teresa Wright this time. Maybe it was because of looking at the long list of Hitchcock films that were on yesterday--have seen them before but seeing the list leading up to "Shadow of a Doubt" reminded me how a little of the usual "Hitchcock heroine" goes a long way.  One movie with the cold, aloof, sophisticated, unattainable blonde women is enough. But thinking of the string of all of them Tippi, Kim, Grace, Janet, Eva was kind of "one note overload".  (No reflection on the actresses. I think they gave him what he wanted, performance-wise, and several even managed to be a little more personable than I think he wanted them to be.)

Anyway, looking at that list, then watching "Shadow of a Doubt" I really appreciated how different Teresa Wright was as a Hitchcock heroine. A younger woman, yes, but a really fully realized character with a full gamut of recognizable (and admirable) human emotions.  It made me remember how good she was, too, in "The Best Years of Our Lives". And I wondered why she didn't become a bigger star. Her career began so well with "The Little Foxes" (1941), had five years of highly praised performances in quality films. Then pretty much faded out in 1946 with "The Best Years..." though she had good reviews in 1948's "Enchantment", still playing with a strong cast. 

As we've often asked here, "What happened?"  I thought Wikipedia's answer was enlightening, including about the down side of the studio system for talented actors who tried to fight it, but didn't have the clout:

Teresa and Sam Goldwyn had a public falling out after "Enchantment" after which she gave this statement:

"I would like to say that I never refused to perform the services required of me; I was unable to perform them because of ill health. I accept Mr. Goldwyn's termination of my contract without protest—in fact, with relief. The types of contracts standardized in the motion picture industry between players and producers are archaic in form and absurd in concept. I am determined never to set my name to another one ... I have worked for Mr. Goldwyn seven years because I consider him a great producer, and he has paid me well, but in the future I shall gladly work for less if by doing so I can retain my hold upon the common decencies without which the most glorified job becomes intolerable.[10][11]”

Years later, in an interview with The New York Post, Wright recalled, "I was going to be Joan of Arc, and all I proved was that I was an actress who would work for less money." For her next film, The Men (1950), instead of the $125,000 she had once commanded, she received $20,000."

[SeanC]

I thought Wright gave a great performance, though the movie itself I didn't think was all that great (in particular, the false resolution at the two-thirds mark really makes no sense).

[bluepiano]

Teresa Wright and Joan Leslie are two actresses who for me have a very special quality of believability. They're both fine actresses who never do anything to call attention to the fact that they're acting. There's another quality about both of them I find hard to put into words. An inner glow, is the only (somewhat lame) way I can describe it.

There's a look that Teresa Wright gives Dana Andrews in one scene in The Best Years of Our Lives that seems to be expressing admiration, concern, compassion, and love all at the same time. It's pretty remarkable.

Edited January 3, 2017 by bluepiano

[ratgirlagogo]

Okay, happy New Year, it's my turn at bat so here's my five favorite Jungle Girl movies,  in chronological  order (i.e., not a ranking of quality).  I'm going to assume that I can twofer this as my entry in last week's topic Five Movies I Love that Nobody Else Likes.:) 

1)  The Savage Girl (1932).  This one is a kind of comedy/adventure picture.  An eccentric millionaire,  the kind they had in such abundance  in the 30's (played by Harry Myers who played the drunk millionaire in City Lights), decides on a whim that he needs to go to Africa to capture some more animals for his private zoo.   He travels to Darkest Africa in a cab from New York (the cab driver's always wanted to go there) and things get a little less realistic after that :)  The wonderful Rochelle Hudson is the Savage Girl in question, and as usual not just looks great in the costume but displays a higher level of non-verbal acting skill than anyone would have a right to expect.  Also doing more than just looking good in the costume (which I believe was his own work)  is Charles Gemora as the gorilla.  He was a Filipino-American makeup artist who had a long career not just making gorilla costumes but performing in them - he's in The Unholy Three, Murders in the Rue Morgue,  a couple of the Road movies,etc. and he really was probably the best IMO of the many Guys in Gorilla Suits.  There's plenty of ancient old stock footage but a lot was shot on the backlot so we have Rochelle playing with cute little leopards and such.

2)  Trader Horn (1931)  This one is unusual.  This was actually shot almost entirely on location in Africa and was intended as a prestige film, in fact it was  nominated for an Oscar - so once in a while this shows up on TCM in February.  It was a notoriously difficult shoot and a lot of the cast and crew including director W. S. Van Dyke (!) got malaria, two native African extras were killed and the very pretty Jungle Girl Edwina Booth got some weird tropical disease from which she never really recovered thus ending her film career.  The nature photography is great but unsettling once you know the history of the film.  

3)  Queen of the Jungle (1935)   Finally we get to the serials, where Jungle Girls thrive!  Our leading lady here is adorable Mary Kornman of the Our Gang comedies.  Much of this serial is made up of footage from the 1922 version of this story which otherwise doesn't survive - this is of course a major improvement compared to actually going to Africa, risking people's lives and pestering wild animals.  The stock footage doesn't match very well (it's shot at a different speed for one thing) but that's part of the fun of it and the twelve chapters move along pretty well.

4)  Jungle Girl  (1941)  If you like serials this is a solid one, directed by the serial masters John English and William Witney, and Frances Gifford is a great Nyoka the Jungle Girl.  The action and stunts in this one are difficult enough that the lead wears a fairly substantial long-sleeved fringed suede costume, so that the star and her stunt doubles didn't rip their skin off.  All of these Jungle Girls films are kind of vaguely inspired by Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel Jungle Girl, but this version used the actual title and while it doesn't really follow the book either this one was licensed by the estate.   The Western look of Nyoka's costume also kind of underlines without meaning to  that when it came to his African stories Burroughs is really basing them on dime novel Westerns,  especially the Indian captivity narratives.  Lots of backlot fighting, plenty of stock footage.

5)  Tiger Woman  (1944)  Linda Stirling was  a goddess of the serials and this is no exception.  Again as in the Nyoka films Tiger Woman is more covered up than some might expect - but, hell, she's got plenty of bad guys to fight, she can't be worrying about her top coming undone.  She also doesn't worry about which continent she's on, or why a Tiger Woman is dressed in a leopard outfit,  and neither should you.  And you've got to love the hat. Again we have the heartwarming stock footage.   While I love all these films these last two are particularly fun because the Jungle Girl is not just the star, but the kick-ass action star of the film.

BTW for those who are wondering  I don't include any version of Tarzan's Jane as a jungle girl because Jane is not the main character so she doesn't count as  a real Jungle Girl to me.

ETA: forgot to say that the first Jungle Girl I ever fell in love with was of course the gorgeous Amazonian  Irish McCalla as Sheena Queen of the Jungle.  But that was television so unfortunately she can't be on this list.

Edited January 3, 2017 by ratgirlagogo

[Padma]

Thanks for the list, ratgirlagogo. I've never seen any of these movies, but I have heard of Trader Horn. Do you know if TCM shows them all?

re: TCM. For those interested in Ronald Reagan's movies (as opposed to his politics), I've never seen the two on tomorrow night (1.5.17)--"Brother Rat" and its sequel that follows, "Brother Rat and the Baby".  But "Brother Rat"--a military academy comedy co-starring Eddie Albert--has a unique place in his filmography. It was the first time he worked with Jane Wyman and started that all off (she has interesting similarities both to Reagan's mother, to his first girlfriend, and to Nancy Reagan--small, dark-hair/eyes, strong, smart--it seems in his case that he really did have a type.) 

Reagan made "Brother Rat" in 1939, two years into his acting career, and he'd already made 19 movies.

Edited January 5, 2017 by Padma

[ratgirlagogo]

9 hours ago, Padma said:

I've never seen any of these movies, but I have heard of Trader Horn. Do you know if TCM shows them all?

I'm pretty sure they've never shown Queen of the Jungle.  Trader Horn, absolutely, as I said - in fact that's where I first saw that one. The Savage Girl, yes.  I know either Tiger Woman or Jungle Girl were used as the Saturday morning serial - maybe both, or maybe it was on AMC back when they showed actually antique films.

Do I win a prize for killing the thread?:)

[ratgirlagogo]

9 hours ago, Padma said:

For those interested in Ronald Reagan's movies

Me!  It's like in the Wizard of Oz.  He was a very good actor, but a very bad President.

I haven't seen the Brother Rat movies in while, don't remember much about them.  I did watch the four Secret Service of the Air films with Reagan as "Brass" Bancroft they were running on Saturday mornings sometime last year in the serial slot - as usual I found him likeable no matter what.

[Padma]

1 hour ago, ratgirlagogo said:

I'm pretty sure they've never shown Queen of the Jungle.  Trader Horn, absolutely, as I said - in fact that's where I first saw that one. The Savage Girl, yes.  I know either Tiger Woman or Jungle Girl were used as the Saturday morning serial - maybe both, or maybe it was on AMC back when they showed actually antique films.

Do I win a prize for killing the thread?:)

Thanks for the answer!  I think you could get a prize for choosing a category that went beyond Milburn Stone's "Movies that Only I Like" to "Movies that Only I Have Seen", lol.  I'm glad you put it up as your list made me aware of a whole type of movie that I'm just not familiar with at all.  Even TH, which I'd heard of, if I had tried to tell the plot, it would have been completely wrong.  It's a fun category to read through, even though I know nothing at all about it.

It's only mid-week, though.  Still time for others to show up who -do- have familiarity with jungle girl films.  I'm going to trust that someone here will still come through with ... something.

1 hour ago, ratgirlagogo said:

Me!  It's like in the Wizard of Oz.  He was a very good actor, but a very bad President.

I haven't seen the Brother Rat movies in while, don't remember much about them.  I did watch the four Secret Service of the Air films with Reagan as "Brass" Bancroft they were running on Saturday mornings sometime last year in the serial slot - as usual I found him likeable no matter what.

Yes, the Wizard of Oz fits nicely! Reagan probably would have come into his own in his fifties as a television series star like so many movie stars of his era did (Cummings, Arness, Young, Cooper, McMurray, etc) if he hadn't gone into politics.  I'm no fan of his politics, but admire how he truly went from rags to riches completely on his own--with very successful careers in 4 highly competitive fields--radio (esp. sports announcer), movies, television and (to the top) in politics, the latter achieved at an age when other people are often going into retirement.  He's a real puzzle to me and I like watching his movies in part because of that.

"Brother Rat" is such an odd title. If I like it, I might have enough for a "5 Favorite RR Film" list.  He didn't usually get the best scripts and directors (sometimes really bad ones), but he's still interesting to watch and enjoyable. A guilty pleasure for a liberal Democrat. 

Edited January 5, 2017 by Padma

[Crisopera]

I must say that "Jungle Girl" is not a genre with which I am familiar.  The only one that I have ever seen (and it's only peripherally "Jungle Girl") is Island of Lost Souls (1932) - after all, it does include the Panther Woman (Kathleen Burke) in its cast of characters, and who is more of a Jungle Girl?  It is also one of the very creepiest horror movies ever made - echt  Pre-Code.

[Rinaldo]

10 hours ago, Padma said:

It's a fun category to read through, even though I know nothing at all about it.... Still time for others to show up who -do- have familiarity with jungle girl films.  I'm going to trust that someone here will still come through with ... something.

So am I, but it won't be me, as I know nothing about this category -- wasn't even really aware that it was a whole genre with numerous examples. So this has been super educational but I have zippo to contribute. I mean, at gunpoint I would have said the Tarzan series, and now I discover that they don't really count. Oh -- and I now dimly remember that in [looking it up] 1984, there was a new Sheena movie that I did see parts of, when it reached HBO. I remember that it starred Tanya Roberts (of Charlie's Angels) and Ted Wass (of Soap) and some impressive-looking animals on location in Kenya. And that while getting mostly derisive press, it caught Pauline Kael on one of her indulgent days -- she found it (at moments) enjoyable light entertainment, and liked the beasts, the cinematography, and the look of the heroine. 

But I can't claim that one dim memory as a favorite, can I.

[psychoticstate]

14 hours ago, Padma said:

Yes, the Wizard of Oz fits nicely! Reagan probably would have come into his own in his fifties as a television series star like so many movie stars of his era did (Cummings, Arness, Young, Cooper, McMurray, etc) if he hadn't gone into politics.  I'm no fan of his politics, but admire how he truly went from rags to riches completely on his own--with very successful careers in 4 highly competitive fields--radio (esp. sports announcer), movies, television and (to the top) in politics, the latter achieved at an age when other people are often going into retirement.  He's a real puzzle to me and I like watching his movies in part because of that.

I don't want to turn this into a political thread either but I've always been a fan of Reagan's, politically and otherwise.  The Reagan National Library in Simi Valley is well worth the visit - - the grounds are beautiful, touring a decommissioned Air Force One and Marine One is fascinating, and all the Reagan memorabilia is amazing.  He really was an interesting and accomplished person and a genuinely nice man too, it seems. 

I'm sorry I can't comment on the Jungle Girl film theme for this week - - I've never seen a single one!

[prican58]

Ronnie. Yes, I call him Ronnie. If it was good enough for Nancy, it's good enough for me.

Not a fan of his politics but I have stated in the past that he just intrigues me as a movie actor. Do I think he was great? No.  But he was serviceable and had great presence. Very All American good looks. Of course Kings Row is his shining moment but he is good in Brother Rat, The Hasty Heart (1949) and Desperate Journey (1942) with Errol Flynn and Raymond Massey.

Would give anything to know just what he would be saying/feeling about PEOTUS. No judgments, just wondering.

Anyway, I might also add that the adorable Eddie Albert and Wayne Morris are equally appealing. I wish they had aired it first but I'm guessing TCM wants to see Jane's progression in films. 

Edited January 6, 2017 by prican58

[ratgirlagogo]

22 hours ago, Padma said:

Thanks for the answer!  I think you could get a prize for choosing a category that went beyond Milburn Stone's "Movies that Only I Like" to "Movies that Only I Have Seen", lol.  I'm glad you put it up as your list made me aware of a whole type of movie that I'm just not familiar with at all

Snort, it wasn't intentional  really - but as I said some pages ago when voiceover suggested this idea I have a hard time with favorites lists and a list like this seemed and continues to seem less overwhelming to me than Five Favorite Musicals or Noirs or Movies Made Before 1970 or whatever -  since the whole genre of Jungle Girl Movies is so much smaller.   I feel sure that  the other one I proposed, favorite Gene Autry musical Westerns, would have fallen equally solidly into the "Movies that Only I Have Seen" category.

12 hours ago, Rinaldo said:

there was a new Sheena movie that I did see parts of, when it reached HBO. I remember that it starred Tanya Roberts (of Charlie's Angels) and Ted Wass (of Soap) and some impressive-looking animals on location in Kenya......But I can't claim that one dim memory as a favorite, can I.

I was going to say you couldn't unless you like it - but I guess according to The Rules you could if you wanted to if were your only memory in the category.  I don't know.  Weak.:)

13 hours ago, Crisopera said:

I must say that "Jungle Girl" is not a genre with which I am familiar.  The only one that I have ever seen (and it's only peripherally "Jungle Girl") is Island of Lost Souls (1932) - after all, it does include the Panther Woman (Kathleen Burke) in its cast of characters, and who is more of a Jungle Girl?  It is also one of the very creepiest horror movies ever made - echt  Pre-Code.

Oh, that's one of my very favorite films - and Charles Gemora is in that one too BTW.  Panther Woman is not a Jungle Girl because she's a panther/human hybrid - she's more like Lawrence Talbot, the Wolfman or Paula Dupree, the Captive Wild Woman (i.e., the ape/human hybrid).  These characters are tragic victims of Magic (Wolfman) or Science (Panther Woman, Captive Wild Woman) whereas Jungle Girls basically female Tarzans - humans raised without the corrupting influence of civilization, pure and heroic.  

As with the Tarzan films the Jungle Girl films become less G-rated after WWII (one of the nudity-heavy ones I actually like is the German film Liane the Jungle Goddess (1956) which I didn't include because it's more of a Jungle Girl tries to make sense of the modern civilized world film, which doesn't do it for me) and after the mid-sixties they tend like the the sword-and-sandal movies did to turn into very softcore nudie-cutie (non-porn) films.

Edited January 6, 2017 by ratgirlagogo

[bmoore4026]

Tonight, after the Road to movies, TCM Underground will be playing the cult classic Gymkata.  Don't know about you, but I'll be watching.  This'll be the first time of seen it, so I have to see for myself how off the wall this movie really is.

[ratgirlagogo]

1 hour ago, bmoore4026 said:

I have to see for myself how off the wall this movie really is.

Yamkallah!  

They don't make 'em like this anymore, for sure.  Or to be more accurate this kind of wildly entertaining terrible movie is rare in any time period.  The key is that a movie like this is a complete fail unless it's made with a straight face, without easter eggs and winking.

[bmoore4026]

21 minutes ago, ratgirlagogo said:

Yamkallah!  

They don't make 'em like this anymore, for sure.  Or to be more accurate this kind of wildly entertaining terrible movie is rare in any time period.  The key is that a movie like this is a complete fail unless it's made with a straight face, without easter eggs and winking.

Yeah, true camp is rare in the 21st Century :(

[Rinaldo]

22 hours ago, bmoore4026 said:

... the cult classic Gymkata.  Don't know about you, but I'll be watching.  This'll be the first time of seen it, so I have to see for myself how off the wall this movie really is.

The key, as @ratgirlagogo indicated, is that it was made with a straight face -- in fact, as far as I can tell, they sincerely thought they were making a good action movie. Which makes it all the more classic.

That said, I must admit that I can't make it all the way through in real time; I have to fast-forward at times. But I'm sorry we don't get this kind of (moderately) big-budget straight-faced trash any more.

Gymkata also belongs to the c. 1985 wave of movies starring the studs of that particular era of men's Olympic gymnastics: Kurt Thomas in this, Mitch Gaylord in American Anthem, and Bart Conner in Rad (featuring his love of BMX racing rather than his gymastics skills, though in the event an injury led to his needing a stunt driver) plus a handful of appearances in series like Highway to Heaven and Touched by an Angel. That phenomenon is another that will never happen again.

[voiceover]

So I was looking for my previous post, only to find, I didn’t.  I must’ve dream-posted.  I hate it when that happens. 

Apologies for my tardiness, and a thanks to @Milburn Stone for your Five.   I’m a little shaky on Films Only You Like, but I did my best.  (oh come on: low-hanging fruit!!)

5.  Blue Velvet (1986): Well, it was true in my film theory class at film school.  40 of us saw it, and only me & the guy from Madrid liked it (I said, “Wow, I need a cigarette!” and he laughed and said, “I need a Heineken!” — only funny if you saw the movie).

4.  Reap the Wild Wind (1942): One of the lesser-know Cecil B. DeMilles, so this is an overlap with @Crisopera's next one.  Paulette Goddard in her Scarlett O’Hara consolation prize (she’s actually quite good as a feisty ship salvager who pilots her own boat), John Wayne in a rare heel-guy role, and Ray Milland as the attorney-hero.  I’ve crushed on him ever since.  Great sequence (and not at all cheesy as it sounds): the giant killer squid!!

3.  Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002): A Callie Khouri (Thelma & Louise scribe)-directed mess, yet I can’t resist it.  Too many stories and too many dropped threads, but the cast is uniformly wonderful & wonderfully charming, from Ellen Burstyn/Ashley Judd as the old/young versions of Sandra Bullock’s overbearing alcoholic mother, to the (probably locally cast) actor who plays the doctor who treats Judd’s overdose.

2.  Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968): I love the songs (Lionel Jeffries’ numbers “Posh!” and “The Roses of Success” in particular) and the romance and the car.  The best, by far, of all the “bad” 60s musicals.

1.  Pride & Prejudice (1940): I know many people, especially TCMers, love this film.  But I have been shouted down on every Jane Austen website (and the TWoP P&P thread) about this version being a “hideous” and “scandalous” adaptation of the book.  Eh.  Bite me.

[voiceover]

And now...

Dear @ratgirlagogo! A challenge, but I tried to meet it head-on.  Forced to include Island Girls in my list, but it felt okay…same wardrobe, right?

5.  Maureen O’Sullivan in Tarzan the Ape Man (1932): The original Jane!  Graceful and charming.  One of those actresses I always forget about, but always like whenver she shows up in whatever I’m watching.

4. and 3. Dorothy Janis and Renee Adoree in The Pagan (1929): They’re both Island Girls…the first comes to it honestly, and Adoree is the ESL version (and of course, I like her better, even though in the end, he doesn’t pick her).  A Ramon Novarro silent! because, of course.

2. Leslie Mann in George of the Jungle (1997): The Jane role for the Modern Girl.  A student asked me once, “What kind of movie would a bitter woman write?” and I suggested this one.

1. Kathleen Turner in Romancing the Stone (1984): One of my favorite moments in film: when Michael Douglas’s Jack uses his machete to hack the heels from her shoes.  And Kathleen's Joan mourns: “Those were Italian!” and he retorts: “Now, they’re practical.”  The woman writer as the true hero in her own story.  Of course I love her, and this movie.

[Charlie Baker]

A fair number of film critics did like Blue Velvet.  And I'm always reminded of a line from Pia Lindstrom, Ingrid Bergman's daughter and Isabella Rosselini's half-sister, who was reviewing movies and theater for the New York NBC affiliate at the time (This is probably a paraphrase on my part): "I think it might be a great movie, and I wish my sister weren't in it."

[Crisopera]

Five Favorite "Obscure" Films.  I'm defining obscure as those lesser-known products of famous directors and/or actors. So - here is my list:

1. Kitty (1945, Mitchell Leisen)  As I have said many (possibly too many) times here, I think Mitchell Leisen is one of the most underrated directors of the Golden Age.  He could turn his hand to any genre, really, from musicals to soap operas to screwball comedies.  He is somewhat erratic (I can't stand Lady in the Dark or Frenchman's Creek , for example), but when he was good he was terrific.  And Kitty is definitely terrific.  It's a Pygmalion story, with Paulette Goddard as a street urchin/thief who is plucked from the street to be a model for Thomas Gainsborough, and then taken under the wing of a conniving, penniless aristocrat played by Ray Milland.  The rest of the cast is stuffed with terrific characters actors (including Cecil Kellaway as Gainsborough, Constance Collier as Milland's drunken aunt, Sara Allgood as the leader of the street thieves).  What makes this movie stand out, besides the wonderful performances and the graceful direction, is the stunning production and costume design by Raoul Pene du Bois - it actually looks (almost) period-authentic.

2. I Know Where I'm Going (1945, Powell & Pressburger)  One of the most rapturously romantic movies ever made.  Powell & Pressburger are best known for their lush, Technicolor movies (Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes, etc), but this black-and-white beauty is my favorite.  Wendy Hiller and Roger Livesey have terrific chemistry, the ending is nerve-wracking, and I love the fact that the heroine is really quite unsympathetic, but Hiller makes you love her and root for her to figure out what's right.

3.  Annie Oakley (1935, George Stevens)  You knew I had to have a Stanwyck movie, right?   This is the highly romanticized biopic of the famous sharpshooter, and Stanwyck is, of course, wonderful.  (Her rural Ohio accent is tinged with a little Brooklyn, however.)  Her chemistry with Preston Foster (who plays a re-named Frank Butler) is great.  Neatly directed by George Stevens.  I thought of some of her pre-Codes, but I think all of the best of those (Baby Face, Night Nurse, Ladies They Talk About) have all been discussed already.

4. Young and Innocent (1937) and Stage Fright (1950) (Both directed by Alfred Hitchcock)  These are both the same basic story (man involved with actress on run from murder charge, helped by young English girl), and I think both are better than their reputations.  It's nice to see young female protagonists (even though Jane Wyman is miscast in Stage Fright as a young English actress), and Nova Pilbeam, whose career apparently went pretty much nowhere, is wonderful in Young and Innocent  (according to imdb, Selznick really wanted her to play the lead in Rebecca, but Hitchcock felt she was too immature).  Dietrich is great in Stage Fright as the actress (and she sings a terrific Cole Porter song, "The Laziest Gal in Town"), and it's great to see Joyce Grenfell in a small part.

5. Frisco Jenny (1932, William Wellman)  A true pre-Code gem.  Jenny (Ruth Chatterton) is orphaned by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake (quite well realized, even if not up to 1936's San Francisco), and rises to become a prosperous brother-keeper and Queen of Vice on the Barbara Coast.  She gives up her baby son for adoption, and he rises to become the DA (of course).  When one of her confederates threatens to expose the DA as the son of the Queen of the Barbary Coast, she kills him, and (of course) is prosecuted by her unknowing son.  Full of lively dialogue and period color.  Wellman was a very entertaining director, and Ruth Chatterton is convincingly tough.  The only bad thing is the yellow-face character played by Helen Jerome Eddy - even there, the character herself is perhaps the most noble in the movie.

These all show up from time to time on TCM, so I highly recommend taking a look at any and all of them!  Phew!

Edited January 9, 2017 by Crisopera

[Sharpie66]

Thanks for the choice of Romancing the Stone, voiceover!! That is one of my all-time favorite movies. It came out at the height of the romance book renaissance (with modern stories being written by names like Sandra Brown, Nora Roberts, Iris Johansson, and Janet Evanovitch), and just nailed both the goofiness of some of the genre tropes and the stories' enjoyable side, as well as the growing legitimacy of the genre in the publishing world. I have heard that its screenplay has been taught in classes as an example of a really tightly-written script that fully pays off its plot points and seeming side business. 

[Sharpie66]

Ooooh, Obscure Films list!! 

First, excellent category, Crisopera!

For my Five (in no order):

I Know Where I'm Going -- Another vote for this film. I only saw it because the Chicago Tribune's TV guide (remember when the Sunday paper included these?) had in its movie section at the end of the issue the following description for this film: "The most romantic movie ever made." My sister and I had to watch it after reading that, and we were not disappointed. It is just so good!! Funny thing is, I knew of the song before I had heard of the film, from my love of the Weavers and Ronnie Gilbert's wonderful version.

Much Ado About Nothing (2012) -- Mostly only known by Joss Whedon fans, it is a modern-day version that Whedon filmed at his own house while editing The Avengers. Filled with alums from other Whedon projects, especially good are Amy Acker as Beatrice, Nathan Fillion as Dogberry (love his take as a rather hulking dim bulb right out of a '70s cop show), and Clark Gregg as Leonato.

Paris je t'aime (2006) -- A collection of short films about the city, many of the individual stories are simply divine (I love Fanny Ardant and Bob Hoskins together, and Margo Martindale's typical American tourist finding her own little corner of the city to call her own is just wonderful), some are a bit goofy (Elijah Wood encountering a vampire is probably the strangest), and some are aspects of city life that are rarely told on screen.

A Walk on the Moon (1999) -- Set in July 1969 in a working-class Catskills summer camp, Liev Schreiber and Diane Lane are a married couple whose lives are turned upside down by her affair with an itinerant salesman (Viggo Mortensen). Also features Anna Paquin as their daughter and Tovah Feldshuh (possibly my favorite character actress working today) as Schreiber's mother.

The Three Musketeers (1948) -- A version you don't see mentioned too often anymore, starring Gene Kelly as D'Artagnan, with Lana Turner, June Allyson, Angela Lansbury, Van Heflin, Vincent Price, Frank Morgan, Keenan Wynn, Gig Young, Reginald Owen, and others. I saw it on Family Classics (WGN's classic-film Sunday afternoon broadcast that I grew up watching every week), and loved it from first sight. It's not a musical, but Kelly still gets to use his moves in acrobatic ways in the fight sequences.

[voiceover]

2 hours ago, Charlie Baker said:

A fair number of film critics did like Blue Velvet.  

Yeah, I know.  That's one of those, I hesitated on -- but most everyone I knew at the time hated it, so it made the cut.

In fact, to inject the personal into this...

My ex always gave it as a reason he found me so wildly desirable (his words not mine): "You're the only girl I know who likes this movie!"

How can you resist a man who says that about you.

[Padma]

On ‎1‎/‎9‎/‎2017 at 9:38 AM, Crisopera said:

4. Young and Innocent (1937) and Stage Fright (1950) (Both directed by Alfred Hitchcock)  These are both the same basic story (man involved with actress on run from murder charge, helped by young English girl), and I think both are better than their reputations.  It's nice to see young female protagonists (even though Jane Wyman is miscast in Stage Fright as a young English actress), and Nova Pilbeam, whose career apparently went pretty much nowhere, is wonderful in Young and Innocent  (according to imdb, Selznick really wanted her to play the lead in Rebecca, but Hitchcock felt she was too immature).  Dietrich is great in Stage Fright as the actress (and she sings a terrific Cole Porter song, "The Laziest Gal in Town"), and it's great to see Joyce Grenfell in a small part.

Good category, Crisopera. I'm not familiar with the others, but Stage Fright is a favorite of mine. (Didn't know Hitchcock had directed an earlier, similar film).  I don't know if Wyman was miscast. Others could have been better, but I thought she was very good as the sincere, shy young woman playing off Michael Wilding and Dietrich (and, if memory serves, Alistair Sims).

On ‎1‎/‎5‎/‎2017 at 11:56 AM, psychoticstate said:

I don't want to turn this into a political thread either but I've always been a fan of Reagan's, politically and otherwise.  The Reagan National Library in Simi Valley is well worth the visit - - the grounds are beautiful, touring a decommissioned Air Force One and Marine One is fascinating, and all the Reagan memorabilia is amazing.  He really was an interesting and accomplished person and a genuinely nice man too, it seems. 

Just to add about the Reagan Library--its a very welcoming place. If you want to walk around the rose garden, see where Nancy and Ron are buried, look at the display piece from the Berlin Wall, eat at the café or just admire the view, you don't even need to go through the building. You can just walk in to the garden from the parking lot and look around at your leisure, no admission fee and no security at all.

It's a library (really, museum) but anyone can get access, by request, to all of his personal papers archived. It's quite interesting to see his speeches and how much input he had in the rewrites. He had a good ear for language.  The standing exhibits are interesting, but the rotating exhibits can be exceptional. I saw one visiting exhibit of Winston Churchill paintings a few years ago, and another of Remington.

But...re: Jane Wyman.  For movie buffs visiting the Reagan Library, you will learn a lot about his film career (and also see significant tributes to "Hellcats of the Navy").  What will be hard to find is any mention whatsoever of Jane Wyman and her career. I think I found one tiny little news clipping, that was out of all the rooms filled with displays. (Obviously Nancy Reagan had a strong hand at the library re: the collection--and she often showed up for events until the last year or two of her life.)  It puts on a lot of interesting panels and events throughout the year, never anything to do with his films, though.

Edited January 10, 2017 by Padma

[Crisopera]

It's not that I don't like Jane Wyman - I think she was a very good, if not great, actress.  I just wish Hitchcock had cast an actual young Englishwoman, although I guess he needed a name other than Dietrich to get the movie made.  Possibly Jean Simmons?

And I had no idea of the similarities between the two movies until I saw Young and Innocent recently - although the endings are very different!

Edited January 9, 2017 by Crisopera

[Rinaldo]

5 hours ago, Sharpie66 said:

Much Ado About Nothing (2012) -- Mostly only known by Joss Whedon fans...

Is that true?? Everybody I know knows (and loves) it. But then I suppose we're all, if not total Whedon fans, Whedon-knowledgeable... so I guess that proves your point after all.

[Rinaldo]

My Five Obscure Movies (in no order)

• Brewster McCloud (1970, Robert Altman). This is one for @Crisopera's category of lesser products of famous movie people. I do like Altman's movies in general, though not invariably or uncritically. But this is a real oddball, his follow-up to MASH, and nobody talks about it much now. Bud Cort lives under the Houston Astrodome, building wings so he can fly away from everything, aided by Sally Kellerman as his fairy birdmother. Margaret Hamilton is a nasty dowager (and yes, there are Oz references), Rene Auberjonois is a loony ornithology lecturer to whom we cut away periodically, and other Altman regulars (Michael Murphy, Shelley Duvall in her debut role, John Schuck, Bert Remsen) plus some he never used again (Jennifer Salt, William Windom) are on hand. I haven't seen this since it was in theaters, but I saw it a lot then -- 5 or 6 times. It was the start of my movie obsession, I guess (facilitated by it being my time in an army band in DC, i.e. lots of free time and available income), and I started thinking about directors' habits (easy to compare this with the one other Altman I knew), and inter-relationships among different movies. It got me hooked on movies, you might say, even though I might find that it doesn't hold up now, were I to see it again.
• The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967, Jacques Demy). Demy's previous musical film, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, is better known -- and definitely better. But this one, just because neither he nor composer Michel Legrand really understood how American musicals work, is hypnotic in its weird wrongness. Forget the rules about singing or dancing only when heightened emotion demands it: these folks will sing (voices invariably dubbed, and don't forget the dubbed speech for the American actors) and attempt West Side Story kicks and leaps, on no provocation whatever! All the time. We do in fact have a WSS alum, George Chakiris, who is dropping into Rochefort alongside Grover Dale, and the two of them become buddies with (real-life sisters playing cinema twins) Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorleac. Also on hand are Danielle Darrieux, Michel Piccoli, and Gene Kelly (not his finest moment, though that's not altogether his fault). It's a mess, but a colorful, enthusiastic one. It's also been acknowledged as one of the reference points for the current La La Land, and it was the first thing I thought of when I saw that film yesterday.
• The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella (1976, Bryan Forbes). Maybe this one isn't obscure; I know TCM has shown it a couple of times in recent months. But when I mention it to people, nobody ever seems to have heard of it. And it's certainly an unexpected combination of talents -- Forbes turning to a Sherman Brothers musical, Richard Chamberlain as a musical Prince Charming, Edith Evans in her last role as the Dowager Queen (and she sings too, in the even-longer restored cut that we now get), and British troupers like Kenneth More, Michael Hordern, Gemma Craven, Margaret Lockwood, and Annette Crosbie. It's not a mess like the previous ones on this list, but it needed editing for length -- it's perfectly endless, and there are incidental songs about everything and nothing. Meanwhile, the glass-slipper hunt fails to produce anyone, and then when the prince almost accidentally does find Cindy, it turns out she's not the solution to the dynastic need for him to marry a foreign princess to strengthen his country's position, so she gets sent away into exile, and... on it goes till someone realizes we've gone way past the two-hour mark, and it's time to wrap things up. But the whole cast is enjoyable, the location shooting in Austria is lovely as are the costumes, and the score sounds splendid in Angela Morley's sumptuous orchestrations. I adore it.
• Twelfth Night (1996, Trevor Nunn). This version of Shakespeare's play got very short shrift (including some incomprehensibly negative reviews) in the US, but honestly, what's not to love? The story comes across beautifully, funny and touching by turns, the Cornwall locations serve it well, and the cast (Imogen Stubbs, Helena Bonham-Carter, Toby Stephens, Ben Kingsley, Mel Smith, Imelda Staunton, Nigel Hawthorne, Richard E. Grant) is just nifty. The ending especially has the bittersweet aura I always thought was in the play: happy ending for some, but not for all.
• Darling, How Could You! (1951, Mitchell Leisen). Leisen has already been cited for this week's theme, but here's a really obscure title of his, from his late career when plum assignments were no longer coming his way. Somehow he ended up with this (very faithful, aside from relocation to NYC) adaptation of James M. Barrie's Alice-Sit-by-the-Fire. Long-absent parents (Joan Fontaine, John Lund) return to their nanny-raised children (Mona Freeman, David Stollery) and everybody tries to find a way to adjust to each other. It has the Barrie charm and whimsy, which Fontaine (delightfully mannered here) and Freeman (convincing and touching as a teenager) handle especially well. The Leisen magic was still there.

Edited January 10, 2017 by Rinaldo

[Bastet]

Quote

3.  Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002): A Callie Khouri (Thelma & Louise scribe)-directed mess, yet I can’t resist it.  Too many stories and too many dropped threads, but the cast is uniformly wonderful & wonderfully charming, from Ellen Burstyn/Ashley Judd as the old/young versions of Sandra Bullock’s overbearing alcoholic mother, to the (probably locally cast) actor who plays the doctor who treats Judd’s overdose.

I wanted so desperately to love that movie.  They wouldn't let Khouri direct Thelma & Louise or Something to Talk About, so when she finally got her shot, I wanted it to be great.  It's not.  But, like you, I enjoy it in spite of itself, thanks largely to the cast.  James Garner and Ellen Burstyn would have been all I needed, but throw in all the others (including Maggie Smith), and I can't not watch.  But, yeah, it's a mess.

[voiceover]

Bastet: I haven't read the source material, but IIRC, the script borrows from two books.  I wonder if that wasn't part of the problem -- trying to make a feature film out of a mini-series!

[prican58]

Eva Marie Saint's husband passed away last Dec 24. Sad as he seemed to be the love of her life. Obviously.

 http://variety.com/2017/legit/obituaries-people-news/jeffrey-hayden-dead-dies-eva-marie-saint-1201951544/

[Calvada]

My five obscure movies:

1.  Went the Day Well? (1942) - such an interesting movie, actually showing British people being killed by the Germans, but making a strong statement that the Allies won the war, at a time when that was still in doubt, and that the public, not just the military, would have a role in that victory

2.  Five Came Back (1939) - I am compelled to watch this whenever TCM airs it; really fits a lot in 75 minutes

3. American Dreamer (1984) - I had such a crush on Tom Conti, and Giancarlo Giannini is hysterical in this, with each successive scene he has with JoBeth Williams

4. Yours, Mine and Ours (1968) - not really obscure, but I have a soft spot for this movie since it was the first one I ever saw in a theatre

5. Saving Grace (1986) - did I mention I had a crush on Tom Conti?  Yes, even when he's playing the Pope!

[ratgirlagogo]

On 1/8/2017 at 7:12 PM, Rinaldo said:

c. 1985 wave of movies starring the studs of that particular era of men's Olympic gymnastics: ......  That phenomenon is another that will never happen again.

Too true.  These days they'd get a reality show. Sad.

[bluepiano]

On ‎1‎/‎9‎/‎2017 at 9:38 AM, Crisopera said:

4. Young and Innocent (1937) and Stage Fright (1950) (Both directed by Alfred Hitchcock)  These are both the same basic story (man involved with actress on run from murder charge, helped by young English girl), and I think both are better than their reputations. convincingly tough. 

I'm a giant Hitchcock fan and I've always really liked Stage Fright. It may not be in the upper echelon of Hitch movies (ie. Vertigo, Shadow of a Doubt, Rear Window), but I enjoy it more than several that often make the "Hitchcock classic" lists. (Like Suspicion and Dial M for Murder, both of which I find stodgy and dull) . I believe that Stage Fright's bad reputation is due in large part to Hitchcock himself having frequently trashed it, most notably in the classic Truffaut book-length interview.

I think it has a genuinely clever and twisty plot, deftly blends humor and suspense, and has marvelous performances by Marlena Dietrich and the inimitable Alistair Sim. I think that Jane Wyman is very good, and if I remember correctly, there may have been a line of dialogue about her having lived in America, to explain the lack of a bona fide English accent. In any event, that doesn't bother me.

The moment when Michael Wilding turns Jane away to prevent her from seeing a gruesome sight (trying to avoid a spoiler) is one of the most genuinely tender moments in all Hitchcock. And for British TV comedy fans, note than the policeman in the scene with Marlena Dietrich is a young Ballard Berkeley, who many years later would play the dithering Major on Fawlty Towers.

Edited January 11, 2017 by bluepiano