Yes, another great punch-line!

Well put, Wendy. And as someone says at the end of a later Billy Wilder movie, "Nobody's perfect!"

Theresa, fealto hit the nail on the head! Living on Velvet is one of those movies that I approached thinking that it was probably not much, but would at the least be interesting, and I was surprised and delighted. From the moment that Borzage presents the most stunning depiction of love-at-first-sig...

Well said, kr.

Theresa, you deserve all the credit in the world for being simply open-minded! Is it an accident that it was Borzage who led you to see Sullavan in a different light? I don't think so. Wait till you see what he does with George Brent and Kay Francis!

Is that the one that Siodmak made after Son of Dracula?

You're welcome, Wendy and fealto, and thank you both for your kind words.

You're welcome, kingrat. And you're right again. Frankly, a recent revisit to Hemingway's novel, which I revered when a youth, revealed a much less mature work than Borzage's film. I like a good book just as much as I like a good movie, but we have a long history here of "educated" people ...

Quite right, kingrat. I am an "auteurist" from way back, and it has certainly not escaped my attention that the best of the films usually called noir are almost invariably those directed by Fritz Lang, Robert Siodmak, Billy Wilder, or Jacques Tourneur (the latter reminding us that you don'...

Theresa, I can't tell you how much it warms my heart to read your excellent analysis of one of my all-time favorites. Although I'm glad to see you giving the credit that she deserves to Hayes, I think you somewhat underrate Cooper's work here. He was a master of what I have called 'invisible acting&...

Red, the truth is that Noir and all other genres are irrelevant. All that exists are movies that are good, and those that are not.

You're welcome, Wendy. Truth to tell, I had you in mind when I posted that.

I heartily recommend to all an excellent new book called What Is Film Noir? by William Park. It discusses succinctly and clearly what is and what isn't noir and if it is a genre, a style, or a period. The text is, happily, brief, 130 pages followed by annotated lists of films. The book is very price...

Thanks, Fealto. This is interesting, but what is his source? The Eagels site that he links is currently "under repair", so there's no answer there. From helping my friend Celia McGerr examine some of MGM's files, I know that they kept amazingly detailed records, and I would like to see a d...

Gagman, I'm curious about the source of your story of Jeanne Eagels being fired from Man, Woman and Sin. Neither Golden nor my friend who researched Fountain's book had heard about this.