Show People is wonderful stuff. It's a loving paean to the dying art of silent film comedy, and the film has a documentary feel at times. I particularly like the sequence of all the stars eating lunch together in the commisary, it looks just like a newsreel. As for Marion, well the Gloria Swanson l...

Well in regards to Bringing Up Baby , I know what the flaw is, having read enough about Hawks and his work. His realization was that everybody in the film was crazy, there's no normal person at all, and because of that people couldn't relate to all the loonies in the film. Cary Grant is the closest ...

Hi Charlie, just wanted to say how much TCM is appreciated, as its seemingly the last film network devoted to playing a wide range of films, and thankfully commercial free. A couple of questions: 1. How'd you land such a sweet gig? 2. Any chance of showing some Lubitsch silents? Particularly Forbidd...

Just wanted to point out that Not So Dumb is painfully bad. I adore Marion, and Vidor is my favorite director, but the movie is just bad on every level. It's not funny, it has that awkward stiffness of a stereotypical early talkie, bad line readings, and even Vidor's direction is crummy. It seems li...

MichiganJ, I'll have to check out the Moroder version. As it is I'm not really big on Fritz Lang's silents ( Metropolis is the best I've seen), even though I love a bunch of his talkies, and think he's one fascinating character. I hate to use the word boring to describe his silent work, but that's w...

Joan Crawford is as the kids say: "ballin!" in that picture.

Of course it's staged, I've yet to see a Joan picture that wasn't completely self aware. But my gosh is there anyone that photographed better?

Yes the ending is a bit tacked on, but I find it somewhat plausible. He becomes yellow when he's out of bullets, so at least there's a reason for his actions. Plus the sequence is fairly brief, and doesn't involve tears, or a clong copper monologue about how all gangster's are just snivelling rats. ...

Sadly both films' ending had to comply with censorship requirements as far as I recall -Gangsters couldn't be heroic or regarded as an example to follow. I seem to remember reading that the first choice for Tom Powers was Edward Woods and not Cagney. In regards to the endings, I think they are fine...

Details here.

Finally Bluebeard's Eighth Wife in region 1!!!

Phil, I still have yet to watch Camille, have you seen the Garbo version? I thought there was some fascinating things in Haxan, I would have preferred it to be a straight documentary though. The Merry Widow is the weakest Stroheim I've seen, it's like he was neutered for that film. Not surprisingly ...

Having heard Darryl Hickman's insufferable commentary on the Leave Her To Heaven DVD, it makes the drowning sequence all the more pleasureable.

Well I'm currently trying to watch all the extant Myrna Loy, King Vidor, and Fritz Lang films. I'd similarly love to track down all of Wellman and Cukor's existing films. As for actors and actresses well, Cary Grant Mae Clarke Myrna Loy Katharine Hepburn Henry Fonda Sylvia Sidney Gene Tierney Claude...

Yikes, 6 weeks without the internet...you're a braver soul than I.

Best of luck with the move, you'll be missed in the meantime.

feaito, The Wind is pretty incredible, I think Lillian's performance particularly her complete and abject fear during the climax might be the single greatest silent film performance I've seen. Just marvelous stuff. I think the absurdity of the happy ending could have been lessened if they spaced out...

I'd be interested, though maybe some focus should be paid his early pre-codes and silents? As great as Rio Bravo is, does it need to be rehashed again?