Little Women

RedRiver
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Joined: July 28th, 2011, 9:42 am

Re: Little Women

Post by RedRiver »

The Scrooge story has been filmed time and time again, almost always with good results.
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JackFavell
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Joined: April 20th, 2009, 9:56 am

Re: Little Women

Post by JackFavell »

Very true! I guess a good story pretty much always works, as long as the director doesn't get in the way. :D
RedRiver
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Joined: July 28th, 2011, 9:42 am

Re: Little Women

Post by RedRiver »

Howard Hawks said, "All I do is tell a story."
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mrsl
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Re: Little Women

Post by mrsl »

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I agree about the 'Scrooge' story and it's repeated filming. They even did a female version starring Susan Lucci as 'Ebbie' on the Lifetime network. Actually I just saw the Alastair Sims version for the first time this season, and have to say I really liked it. They've also done Miracle on 34th Street a couple of times, but I don't particularly care for the T.V. version. It doesn't have the heart that the original does.

Let me say that I am a big Judy Garland, and Van Johnson fan, but I actually prefer the last version (You've Got Mail), with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan over Judy/Van's In the Good Old Summertime. I also love musicals so that's strange for me. Additionally as much as I have a hard time with Margaret Sullavan's voice, the part of the female lead is a sort of dreamy, wistful gal, and she and Meg Ryan both played the part as such, but Judy didn't seem to put a lot of heart into her portrayal.
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Anne


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JackFavell
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Joined: April 20th, 2009, 9:56 am

Re: Little Women

Post by JackFavell »

I like You've Got Mail the least of the three, but it's pretty good for a modern movie, they kept it simple. I think I overdosed on it a few years ago when you couldn't change the channel without it being on.

I love In the Good Old Summertime, I think Judy and Van are spot on, even quite romantic in that last scene in the store alone. I'm not saying that it's anything like The Shop Around the Corner, my heart belongs to Jimmy and Margaret who are perfection. But it's a good movie in it's own right. In the Good Old Summertime benefits from great songs (Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland being a great favorite), and almost as great a supporting cast as the original 1939 version. The adaptation really works well, with changes that make sense. Judy and Van are a bit more comic I think. I like S.Z. Sakall very much as Mr. Oberkugen, he's irritable in just the right way, and the scene where he admits that he can't play the violin is charming and even moving - written very well and played even better. It's one of his best roles. But most of all, more than anything else in the picture, I love the fall Keaton does at the climax of the film. Simple straightforward, and spectacular. They asked him to devise the fall as a main element in the movie, then the director realized that only Keaton could accomplish it properly so they asked him to play the role. I think it was this movie that put him to work again in major studio productions.
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