The May 2013 TCM Schedule

[moira finnie]

WOW! i am so impressed with TCM for actually showing The Killer! I can't wait to see this one again, and I hope they think about showing Woo's masterpiece, Hard-Boiled, albeit a late night/early morning time slot would probably be best.

Suggest a Movie might be a place to start requesting this movie. Though I can't handle the violence, I can see the artistry.

Thanks for giving Victor Mature props for his performance in Kiss of Death. I think he makes the movie in that final scene.

I think Mature is wonderful as a small timer trying to have a life in Kiss of Death. He was also very good in Ford's My Darling Clementine and Siodmak's Cry of the City around the same period. No wonder he decided to wing it after this stage of his career and go for the buckos. The guy was able to work with some of the best, but no one seemed to notice all that much. If you are interested sometime, see how much of a rascal Mature seems to have been by checking out some of the amusing interviews he gave during his roller coaster career.

[JackFavell]

Oh my gosh, Moira, thanks for that treasure trove! As much as I love Victor on film, I love him all the more in his interviews. He's so funny and self deprecating, but without any real self consciousness. You never get the idea of him grandstanding or anything, he just seems like a good humored guy who thought he was lucky to end up where he was, and with a really smart mindset about how foolish Hollywood could be. Willing to play the game, but occasionally a bit wistful that his career wasn't taken seriously by anyone but himself - he had to try harder than anyone without ever showing that he was trying.

On Friday, May 17th, director George B. Seitz will be spotlighted all morning. Some of these films look quite interesting (like the one with Dame May Whitty), though I admit I've only seen one - Pierre of the Plains, which stars John Carroll and Ruth Hussey. It's a real hoot, with Carroll as a "Fraunch Can-ay-dienne" trapper! His accent rivals Laurence Olivier's in 49th Parallel! It's as silly as can be but I found it charming and it made me a John Carroll fan because he takes none of it seriously.

[moira finnie]

Oh my gosh, Moira, thanks for that treasure trove! As much as I love Victor on film, I love him all the more in his interviews. He's so funny and self deprecating, but without any real self consciousness. You never get the idea of him grandstanding or anything, he just seems like a good humored guy who thought he was lucky to end up where he was, and with a really smart mindset about how foolish Hollywood could be. Willing to play the game, but occasionally a bit wistful that his career wasn't taken seriously by anyone but himself - he had to try harder than anyone without ever showing that he was trying.

I hope you saw the interview about Victor Mature living in a tent near Paramount to catch Cecil B. DeMille's eye years before Mature became a real actor. I love the remarks he made when he brought his dogs to work with him while making Samson and Delilah years later: "they're here to protect me from the lion..."

Pierre of the Plains, which stars John Carroll and Ruth Hussey. It's a real hoot, with Carroll as a "Fraunch Can-ay-dienne" trapper! His accent rivals Laurence Olivier's in 49th Parallel! It's as silly as can be but I found it charming and it made me a John Carroll fan because he takes none of it seriously.

Oh, you and John Carroll!! I forgot that you liked them him like that!

Separated at Birth?



Hey, Wen, here's a hint you could leave around the house as a suggestion for a summer vacation. I'm sure that Mr. Favell will want to go...I know you do!!


You can find out a little more about this piece of paradise here:
http://museumsanfernandovalley.blogspot ... hills.html

[CineMaven]

8:00 PM (ET)
The Kiss of Death (1947)
An ex-con trying to go straight must face a crazed criminal out for revenge.
Dir: Henry Hathaway Cast: Victor Mature , Brian Donlevy , Coleen Gray .
BW-99 mins, TV-14

Coleen Gray discusses her experiences with Hathaway in this film:

[youtube][/youtube]

I watched and enjoyed "KISS OF DEATH" the other night and enjoyed this tough gritty film. I think Victor Mature gets short shrift because he was a beautiful looking man and very few wanted to give him credit for his acting. His scenes with those two little girls were unbelievably tender. He was so loving towards them. When he had to be tough with Widmark, I believed him there. And the kitchen scene with Coleen Gray was pretty steamy, I have to say. Thanx for posting her footage from the Film Noir Archive. I saw her at TCM's recent film festival, and she was received so warmly.

All stars should understand that if they answer TCM's call, they will be showered with love and recognition from us adoring fans. Getting a chance to see these stars sitting before me is one of the big thrills of this festival, and worth the price of a ticket.

Tuesday's Tough Guys is a winner in programming.

[JackFavell]

Maven, you are so right about Mature and those kids. He's really wonderful in those scenes. And at the end, I love how he caps the picture.I was happy to find a review that said he was on his way to better roles after this film, it's kind of a shame things didn't pan out quite as fortuitously for him as he might have thought after Kiss of Death.

Moira, I didn't see the interview with Mature about camping out at Paramount, but the image you gave me rings a bell with me, I may have read it before. I was fascinated to see the articles about his romantic escapades and heartbreaks, but mostly the ones that struck me were the articles about the little girl with paralysis that he visited, chatted with on the phone and became fast friends with. Though I wonder about the veracity of the Anne Shirley story, the one about little Eunice and her challenges struck me as the real deal. What a kindhearted thing to do, I'd love to know if Eunice or her kids are still around.

As for wolfish John Carroll, I had no idea he had a camp for kids! Perhaps the Favell family should take advantage of those lovely stables and riding areas - and put the kid to work shoveling manure... somehow, I don't see her appreciating the outdoor life like kids back in the forties.

I know it's silly to like Carroll, the B actor's B actor, but he seems pretty harmless, all in all. And this movie is ridiculous, but I enjoyed it immensely last time it was on. Sometimes you just want that hamburger, you know? Or in this case, a corndog.

[moira finnie]

I know it's silly to like Carroll, the B actor's B actor, but he seems pretty harmless, all in all. And this movie is ridiculous, but I enjoyed it immensely last time it was on. Sometimes you just want that hamburger, you know? Or in this case, a corndog.

I understand your John Carroll interest completely--after all, that Gilbert Roland thread that keeps getting longer doesn't make much sense either, does it? Here's hoping that you'll soon stumble on that time machine I sent you and will be watching John Carroll shoveling horse manure on the ranch instead of on the screen.


I am enjoying the George Seitz movies this morning on TCM. Thanks for the heads up about these movies the other day. The murder mystery, The Thirteenth Chair (1937), which is being broadcast now, even features Henry Daniell and a raft of character actors. So far I've spotted a very young Robert Coote, Dame May Whitty as a medium, Heather Thatcher as a brittle society dame, and is that Mr. Ruth Chatterton Ralph Forbes?? Madge Evans is languidly lovely here too and Lewis Stone, as usual, is around to represent benign authority in the shape of a logical Scotland Yard inspector (though Stone doesn't even try to fake an English accent).

Above: A herd of actors off the unemployment line thanks to The Thirteenth Chair (1937).

I don't know if Tod Browning's 1929 early talkie version of this divinely creaky play was better, though I am sure it was probably creepier, even though one of its stars, Bela Lugosi, hadn't even played Dracula on film yet.

[MissGoddess]

Above: A herd of actors off the unemployment line thanks to The Thirteenth Chair (1937).

LOL!

[JackFavell]

Here's hoping that you'll soon stumble on that time machine I sent you and will be watching John Carroll shoveling horse manure on the ranch instead of on the screen.

Hahahahaha! If only....

I watched The Thirteenth Chair too, Moira, and the list of recognizable faces just never ends - Elissa Landi, who of course beats Madge to the better gown, and the creepy Elsa Buchanan as Robert Coote's tearful sister...she scared me more with her droopy mouth than any lights-out murder in the film.

THIRTEENTH CHAIR SPOILERS

I have to say, I was so disappointed that Henry Daniell bought it that I almost cheered when he returned, dead as a doornail, to sit at the table during the second seance. Loved the arm in the air part too.

[Rita Hayworth]

2:00 PM
CARBINE WILLIAMS - 1952 Movie about a man that developed a rifle (a convicted bootlegger) to win his freedom. Starring James Stewart.

3:45 PM
WINCHESTER 73 - 1950 Movie about a man that looking for his stolen rifle ... Also Starring James Stewart too.

I am planning on watching these two movies on MONDAY the 20th ... Times above are EASTERN STANDARD TIMES.

[JackFavell]

Thanks for the MacKaill alert!

[movieman1957]

Thursday the 23rd is going to be a long day of Harold Lloyd films. Twenty movies in all. The "Now Playing" guide shows that Lloyd's granddaughter Susan will be co-hosting the prime time selections. The guide also shows that 15 of these are TCM premieres. I gathered the premieres will be of short films from as far back as 1917.

Several years ago they did something like this with Miss Lloyd and I found her to be quite engaging. That day has given me plenty of hours of fun and hope Thursday provides more of the same.

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Thanks, Chris. I've been enjoyin the Harold Lloyd interstitial, and I am looking forward to some of this fun!

BTW, gang. That wacky Trixie Freganza short is due to be aired at 2:45 p.m. Central Time during the afternoon before the Harold Lloyd extravaganza on 5-23.

[youtube][/youtube]

I woke up with a nightmare about two or three a.m. one morning while it had been storming, and Trixie's short was on TCM, and it scared me. But I since have a newfound admiration for her: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trixie_Friganza

At the age of 79, in an interview with the L.A. Times, she confessed to enjoying watching TV a great deal saying, “that’s where vaudeville has gone –into television.”

[JackFavell]

Oh boy! ANy day of silents on TCM is a day I am glued to the TV. Ditto for comedy. I'll be there!

And I will make sure and watch out for Trixie! I once watched Howard's End while a terrific thunderstorm was brewing... it was the most uncanny thing, as the movie went on it became darker and darker, it actually enhanced the movie for me, but boy was I creeped out!