The Silver Screen Oasis

SUSAN and GOD 1940 MOVIE


I watched this charming drama/comedy late last night and I haven't seen this movie in years and I was stunned of how fast paced this movie really is and was stunned by the performance of FREDRIC MARCH and JOAN CRAWFORD in this movie. Both of them did a marvelous job together and they had great chemistry of a socialite finding religious convictions and most importantly at the same time neglecting the needs of her family as well. It was well played and I just wanted to share that with you. Here's a couple of colored photos that I wanted to share today.




Rita Hayworth and Joan Crawford in SUSAN and GOD Movie




Crawford, Carroll, Bruce, and Hayworth in SUSAN and GOD Movie


It was well acted, excellent script, and very moving film at the end of the movie and I was impressed by CRAWFORD and MARCH performance at the end ... It was more a drama than a comedy.

The 72-hour Memorial Day Marathon at TCM in honor of Memorial Day is ongoing all weekend. Detailed info about the films can be seen here: http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/9 ... 24-26.html

Dolores Hart, who entered the convent in the '60s at the height of her Hollywood career, is the Guest Programmer on TCM tonight, on Tuesday, May 27th. She is pictured above as she appeared in one of her last (and best) performances as a Holocaust survivor in Lisa (1962) aka The Inspector. For more about this unique guest and her film selections, please see the link below:

http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/9 ... -5-27.html

I adored the film Lisa, and have been enjoying Robert's chat with Mother Dolores! I hope everyone else has.

Her Elvis story was so sweet. He always called her "Miss Dolores."

I am so glad to see Lisa (1962) gain more viewers. It is an exceptional movie that I've never forgotten. Hope to catch up with DVRed Mother Dolores Hart comments later this week.

Today on TCM:


Calling all romantics!



"Night Song" (1947), directed by the under-rated John Cromwell, is on TCM this afternoon @ 4:15 pm (ET). Dana Andrews plays a blind pianist quietly drinking himself to death until a society lady (Merle Oberon) hears him play. The best part of this movie may be Andrews' credible blend of blindness and bitterness--but some of us may watch just to see the byplay between Hoagy Carmichael (as Dana's pal) and Ethel Barrymore (as Merle's aunt). They're terrific. This movie features the Piano Concerto in C Minor by composer Leith Stevens too.
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GAh! I forgot to set the dvr to record Lisa last night! Grrr! Hope they show it again sometime.

Sandy K

Sorry, Sandy!

I am so disappointed that My Man Godfrey was shown in a pan and scan print last night. It's been years since I've seen the June Allyson version. I know it's not TCM's fault. I didn't watch it beyond the first few minutes. It was filmed in Cinemascope! pan and scan--a travesty.

Bummed out.

Sandy K

Sadly, Jan de Hartog's books are rarely read now. He was a wonderful writer, full of empathy but with a wry detachment from cant--perhaps due to his long experience--but capable of considerable wit about human nature. He also wrote The Four-Poster, a lovely play about a long marriage that ought to be revived on stage (On screen, real life (turbulent) couple Rex Harrison & Lili Palmer played the roles in 1952). The Four-Poster was also a musical as "I Do! I Do!" in the 1960s with Robert *sigh* Preston & Mary Martin.

I'm so glad that you enjoyed Lisa too. According to Dolores Hart's memoir, she and Stephen Boyd became quite close during their intense work together on this film, with a bit of a romantic attachment formed between them. He visited her early in her days in the convent, but could not reconcile himself to her choice, though she remained fond of him. I like Boyd's work early in his career, particularly in this movie, The Man Who Never Was, Abandon Ship!, The Best of Everything, Seven Thunders and The Third Secret. After that, he and Hollywood changed, but not necessarily for the better.

Sadly, Jan de Hartog's books are rarely read now. He was a wonderful writer, full of empathy but with a wry detachment from cant--perhaps due to his long experience in peace (he became a Quaker) and war (he was in the Dutch Resistance). Despite everything he saw, he was also capable of considerable hope and wit about human nature, which may have been one reason why he almost won The Nobel Prize. BTW, de Hartog also wrote The Four-Poster, a lovely play about a long marriage that ought to be revived on stage (On screen, real life (turbulent) couple Rex Harrison & Lili Palmer played the roles in 1952). The Four-Poster was also a musical as "I Do! I Do!" in the 1960s with Robert *sigh* Preston & Mary Martin.

I love Philip Dunne's work as a screenwriter and a director too, though he was never completely satisfied with the latter pursuit, which he described as "a lot of fun," though he knew that the script was everything. Dunne wrote a good autobiography, Take Two: A Life in Movies and Politics, though he was very generous in his memories. He was also profiled and interviewed by Tina Daniell in Patrick McGilligan's Backstory: Interviews with Screenwriters of Hollywood's Golden Age and more about him can be found here:
How to Write a Script by Philip Dunne