WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

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feaito

Virginia

Post by feaito »

I think that Virginia Grey was one of the most beautiful women that ever existed. She had impressive, flawless features. And I agree with you Moraldo that she was excellent in "The Women". She certainly had star material. I've read that she was a favorite of Clark Gable and that even was romantically involved with him. Who can blame Gable! Another stunner who worked for MGM around that same period was Rita Johnson.
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La Magnani

Post by benwhowell »

Here's Anna in "Fellini's Roma-"
[youtube][/youtube]

And in "Nella citta l'inferno-"her follow up to "Wild Is The Wind." The movie also featured Giulietta Masina (Mrs. Fellini)-
[youtube][/youtube]

I'd love to see "Wild Is The Wind." It sounds like an unusual project for George Cukor. The theme song (from Johnny Mathis) is a great one. (It won an Oscar.) I love the cover from Nina Simone.
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Post by benwhowell »

I also loved Virginia Grey in her later roles-"All That Heaven Allows," "Madame X" and, especially, as Candy in "The Naked Kiss."
"Candy's Place-Where all kinds of men find all kinds of sweets!"
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Moraldo Rubini
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Chickenhawk?

Post by Moraldo Rubini »

A fear that the glorious past is just that... despair from loss... The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone is a sordid tale of a fading star who "keeps" a procured young man. It seems heightened today; the coded dialogue, the emotional torture. Gorgeous Warren Beatty seems so wrong as the young Italian gigolo. I wonder why Tennessee Williams (who supposedly had casting approval of Paolo's role) didn't seek an Italian for the part. Franco Interlenghi, for example! It's a treat to see the legendary Lotte Lenya. I'd love to know the story behind casting her as the Contessa Magda Terbilli-Gozales. I'm also curious about the director José Quintero. He was well known as the director O'Neill's plays on Broadway, but I think this is the only movie he directed.

There's a documentary included on the DVD (along with the film's trailer) about the making of the film. Jill St. John -- who played the starlet, Eve Harrington... um, I mean Barbara Bingham -- tells how Vivien Leigh virtually ignored her on the set. It was perfect for their roles, of course; and Ms. St. John doesn't sound bitter about it. Instead, she says appreciatively, "...but I got to watch a great actress." I only wish there'd been an audio commentary featuring St. John and Warren Beatty. I'd love to hear more about their experiences with Leigh, Lenya and Coral Brown.

Silent and early screen musical star Bessie Love was listed in the credits. Anyone know where she was in the film?

I understand a television version of Tennessee Williams' novel was made a few years ago with Helen Mirren in the Vivien Leigh role. Anyone see this? How does it compare?
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"Rome is a very old city..."

Post by benwhowell »

"The Roman Spring Of Mrs. Stone" is one of my favorite Tennessee Williams movie adaptations. Vivien Leigh and Williams had this great synergy and her performance as Karen Stone is proof of that (assuming you've read the novella.) Lotte Lenya is wonderful too. (She should have received the Oscar.)
I'd love to see Jose Quintero's 1959 TV movie adaptation of "Our Town" with Art Carney as the Stage Manager. Quintero also did episodic TV directing (according to IMDb.)
Along with Bessie Love-Ernest Thesiger is also in the cast. They are probably some of the "Euro-trash" the Contessa drags over to Karen's beautiful apartment with a view to die for!
I have a VHS copy of the TV movie remake. (It was made for cable, so there is sex and nudity-including star Helen Mirren!) She does give a great performance. Anne Bancroft (in her last role) is over-the-top as the Contessa. Reminded me of her role as Nora Dinsmoor in 1998's "Great Expectations."
Also, Olivier Martinez (as Paolo) and, especially, Rodrigo Santoro (as the "homeless young man") are very sexy.
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Moraldo Rubini
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The Roman Fall of Mrs. Love

Post by Moraldo Rubini »

I'd love to see that later adaptation. The casting of the men sounds much truer to the story. I share your love for Vivien Leigh. I recognized Ernest Thesiger, and you're right: he was someone that the Contessa dragged over to Karen Stone's pied-a-terre. You don't suppose Bessie Love was the loud, brassy, blousy woman who accompanied him, do you?! Yikes!

There was one -- I assume -- unintentional laugh in this otherwise serious flick that takes place when they gather to watch home movies. Most of the clips are of Karen. The guests keep asking, "Where's Paolo?". Finally there's a beach scene; in a long shot we see Paolo is lounging on towel and when he raises his derriere, the gang declares "Oh there's Paolo!". Was the director calling him an "ass"? Or was this unintentional. It made for a good giggle, at any rate.
feaito

Weekend...

Post by feaito »

I watched quite a few films over the weekend:

- The Man Who Came to Dinner. A Brilliant, sparkling, funny comedy by all accounts with an impeccable cast. Non-stop sophisticated, witty dialogue, especially by courtesy of the brilliant Monty Woolley impersonating an Alexander Woollcott type of character. Bette Davis's gives a subdued, beautiful performance, so radically different from the over-the-top, melodramatic performance she gave in that same's year "In This Our Life", which demonstrates the huge range she had. Ann Sheridan is superb too as the Broadway diva. Richard Travis is aptly naive as the local newspaper editor from small-town Mesalia. Mary Wickes is priceless as the befuddled nurse. Jimmy Durante, Reginald Gardiner, Billie Burke, Grant Mitchell, Ruth Vivian et al are top-notch. What a great film! It deserves many, many viewings.

- In Caliente. An amiable Warners musical with a couple of very amusing ensemble piece musical numbers: "The Lady in Red" and "Muchacha", displaying the gifted talents of such performers as Wini Shaw, Phil Regan, The De Marcos, Judy Canova and Dolores del Río. Miss del Río looks dazzling as "Españita" the beautiful dancer for whom Pat O'Brien's character falls. She appears in some awesome gowns and looks quite ravishing in them. She also appears in a two-piece bathing suit (I recall she had used something of the sort before in 1933's "Flying Down To Rio"). Edward Everett Horton and Leo Carrillo add for laughs and Glenda Farrell is pretty much wasted in a small role as an ambitious gold digger.

- Home From the Hill. I had wanted to see this film for a long time and I wasn't disappointed. It's an interesting, quite engrossing drama of a Southern self-made man (Robert Mitchum) who takes the reins of his 17 year old son's (a 21 year old George Hamilton, who looks even younger) education, who's kind of mama's (Eleanor Parker) boy, and turns him into a "real", rugged man, fond of shooting and hunting, much to mama's displeasure. George Peppard is also in it a gives a strong performance. Others in th cast, Luana Patten and Everett Sloane. Long but satisfying drama. Only complain: Why does TCM Latin airs Widescreen films like this one in Pan-Scan?

- Anastasia. Grand 1950s melodrama, which I hadn't watched for a long time. I did not want to see it, because I taped from another TV Channel which aired it in its originally widescreen ratio (TCM Latin aired it in Pan-Scan)...but the film caught me so completely that I could not stop watching it. Highly entertaining, with top performances by all involved....Martita Hunt is a hoot as a flirtatious, voluptuous Baroness infatuated by Yul Brynner's charms.

- Paris Je T'Aime. A good contemporary film, made up of short vignettes, of very different nature and tone, directed by many very well know directors like the Cohen brothers, Alfonso Cuarón, Gus Van Sant et al..... Maybe the stories are too short for my tastes. There's an all star cast that inlcudes Gena Rowlands, Juliette Binoche, Natalie Portman, Gerard Depardieu, Ben Gazzara, Marianne Faithfull, Steve Buscemi, Emily Mortimer and many more.

I also watched the ending of the all-time favorite "Quo Vadis?" (1951) and tried to watch Robert Altman's last film "A Prairie Home Companion", but my wife disliked it so much I had to turn it off....she loathes country music (I do too, I must confess) and thought there was too much blah, blah, blah....I'll try to watch it some another time by myself. [/b]
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Post by Mr. Arkadin »

I posted this at TCM. Here's Ann Sheridan and one of her co-stars from The Man Who Came to Dinner:



Image
feaito

Post by feaito »

Great Pix Mr. Arkadin! Thanks for sharing.
feaito

Henry VIII

Post by feaito »

Yesterday I saw the totally amusing WB release "The Prince and the Pauper" (1937). My wife and I had lots of fun watching this wonderful adventure period film of the kind that "they don't make anymore". Billy and Booby Mauch were really very charismatic and Errol Flynn, as usual, is perfect as the devil-may-care adventurer. The suppporting cast is superb: Alan Hale, Claude Rains, Montagu Love, Henry Stpehenson, Fritz Leiber, Elsepeth Dudgeon, Barton MacLane, etc.

Films like this really make you forget all your troubles for a couple of hours.
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MissGoddess
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Post by MissGoddess »

feaito wrote: I've just finished watching a good British period film titled "Saraband for Dead Lovers" based upon Sophia Dorothea's (the wife of George I of England) life. She's played skillfully by pretty Joan Greenwood. Stewart Granger plays her lover Count Koenigsmark. But the actresses that make this film work are veterans Flora Robson and Francoise Rosay. They are a joy to behold. Such seasoned, talented troupers. Michael Gough, Anthony Quayle are also in the cast. Good period atmosphere, settings and décor. Good!
That movie sounds fascinating---I never heard of it before but I will see it's available anywhere here.
feaito

SARABAND FOR DEAD LOVERS

Post by feaito »

MissGoddess, it's indeed a very good film. I sent you a PM.
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Moraldo Rubini
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Super Super Bad

Post by Moraldo Rubini »

You've all put me to shame. While you're watching classics and catching up on rarities, I went to see SuperBad last night. Each time I saw the trailer I'd mutter, there's no way that I'm seeing that one. And then the reviews came out hailing it as more than a drunken teen comedy. And it has touches... there are a couple of nice scenes that edge it closer to a "coming-of-age" movie, but it really does belong in the drunken teen category. I have to admit there were times that I laughed -- in spite of myself -- but there also many times when I winced or/and covered my eyes. I'm betting this will become a cult film though, especially for kids today. They'll watch this years from now and remember the 2000's...

I highttailed it home and watched the supplemental material to Can Can. There's some great footage in there: Gwen Verdon dancing the role on Broadway in what looks to be someone's home movies; shots of Khruschev's visit to the set; etc. Interesting!
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Moraldo Rubini
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Deep in my Heart

Post by Moraldo Rubini »

It's nearing 2:45am and I'm struggling through the Sig Romberg biopic Deep in My Heart. It's playing today as the grand finale to Ann Miller day, but in similar fashion to Alan Ladd's day that used movies like Citizen Kane in which Mr. Ladd was given only one line, Ms. Miller was only given one number in this pic.

Deep in My Heart might as well be a vaudeville piece, for the gems to be found in it are the individual numbers from his shows: Jane Powell singing from Maytime, Tony Martin singing "Lover Come Back to Me", and sexy Cyd Charisse dancing with sexy James Mitchell. This supposed Desert Song scene was interesting in that the couple were on equal ground for seduction. Normally, it's the gal that gets all the seductive moves, displaying herself for the gentleman. In this case, it was mutual.

It was fun to see Russ Tamblyn and Susan Luckey (Billy and Julie's daughter in Carousel) in their small roles, but I was most excited about seeing the dramatic soprano Helen Traubel. Her rendition of "Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise" was a highpoint of the film. Her ragtime song-and-dance was among the many cringe-worthy scenes. Some of her scenes seemed so wrong. Also miscast was Doe Avedon (who?) as the romantic interest, though she wasn't very romantic and displayed nothing interesting. Merle Oberon? Beautiful and cast aside...

It was Ann Miller day though, and her one number was hot. In this dancefest from Artists and Models, we finally see the influence of director Stanley Donen. Annie, dressed in blazing red, danced a sharp staccato beat. What a pleasure.

But overall, I'm just glad to check this one off my list. "Done."
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MissGoddess
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Re: Chickenhawk?

Post by MissGoddess »

Moraldo Rubini wrote:A fear that the glorious past is just that... despair from loss... The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone is a sordid tale of a fading star who "keeps" a procured young man. It seems heightened today; the coded dialogue, the emotional torture. Gorgeous Warren Beatty seems so wrong as the young Italian gigolo. I wonder why Tennessee Williams (who supposedly had casting approval of Paolo's role) didn't seek an Italian for the part. Franco Interlenghi, for example! It's a treat to see the legendary Lotte Lenya. I'd love to know the story behind casting her as the Contessa Magda Terbilli-Gozales. I'm also curious about the director José Quintero. He was well known as the director O'Neill's plays on Broadway, but I think this is the only movie he directed.

There's a documentary included on the DVD (along with the film's trailer) about the making of the film. Jill St. John -- who played the starlet, Eve Harrington... um, I mean Barbara Bingham -- tells how Vivien Leigh virtually ignored her on the set. It was perfect for their roles, of course; and Ms. St. John doesn't sound bitter about it. Instead, she says appreciatively, "...but I got to watch a great actress." I only wish there'd been an audio commentary featuring St. John and Warren Beatty. I'd love to hear more about their experiences with Leigh, Lenya and Coral Brown.
I haven't seen this movie in ages, I always found it painful to watch, Viv's performance is so raw and courageous. I have never like Warren Beatty or thought him remotely attractive, so it was a serious casting gaff I've not been reconciled to. I agree a real Italian in the role would have been so much better.

You tempt me to get the dvd---I like Jill St John from what I've seen of her interviews, she's very unaffected, and she was the same the two times I've met her, briefly, in person. I want to see that interview very much. Viv is my favorite actress.
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