I Just Watched...

[jamesjazzguitar]

WOMAN'S WORLD is glossy and kind of kitschy but not in a fun way. Hits us over the head in defining each character; i.e., supportive little down-to-earth Kansas City wife June Allyson's first words (to adoring hubby Cornel Wilde) walking into their swanky New York hotel suite: "Oh, my! It's too big! Can't we get a smaller one?"

Who will become General Manager of Clifton Webb's auto empire?

I didn't care.

You gotta love how Clifton Webb isn't married because, you know, of all the women he's been dating--does he have portraits of them? I can't remember. The couples are oddly matched, too. Wouldn't Fred MacMurray and June Allyson be a better couple? Cornel Wilde belongs with one of the gorgeous dames, Lauren Bacall or Arlene Dahl.

Woman's World has the 20th-Century Fox palette with the subdued blues favored by the Technicolor experts, Natalie Calms and Henri Jaffa.

The film is worth watching just for Webb. What surprises me is that 20th Century Fox decided to get MacMurray to play what is not a starring role. Both Wilde and Heflin were under contract for Fox, but MacMurray was a free agent. He was in two films for Columbia that same year; The Caine Munity, an ensemble cast film, and was the lead in Pushover. The role could have been played by someone already under contract by Fox. The film had a budget of over 2 million and I assume a lot of that has to do with paying actors. But the 50s was the era of big budget films with ensemble cast.

[Andree]

I had never seen Woman's World before. It was a hoot, as many of those
1950s nose to the grindstone business pictures are. In this case executives,
except for one, trying to butter up macho business head Webb for the general
manager's position. Webb starts out as something of a jerk, but becomes more
palatable as the flick progresses. There is car talk for the men and fashion
shopping for the women. And then the big reveal at the end. By then it's hard
to care that much. Arlene Dahl was very sexy. Maybe someone could have cast
her in a sequel, Executive Meat. As for the title, I suppose it makes sense, but
I still have to go with Soul Brother Number One's take on this.

[CinemaInternational]

I recall seeing Women's World on FXM a few years ago, and found it to be extremely entertaining.

[TikiSoo]

I just discovered an over the air classic movie channel MOVIES! It’s replaced the now intolerable NPR that I’ve been listening to after cutting TCM/cable to play while working.

MOVIES! offer a more limited palette than TCM, but it was fun listening to NOW VOYAGER while painting yesterday. Although I know several lines by heart, I LOL when Bette Davis uttered, “YOU have a son while all I have is a dried corsagé”

[ElCid]

I just discovered an over the air classic movie channel MOVIES! It’s replaced the now intolerable NPR that I’ve been listening to after cutting TCM/cable to play while working.

MOVIES! offer a more limited palette than TCM, but it was fun listening to NOW VOYAGER while painting yesterday. Although I know several lines by heart, I LOL when Bette Davis uttered, “YOU have a son while all I have is a dried corsagé”

These OTA channels move around a lot. As best I can tell the Movies! channel for Upstate SC/Western NC was on the NBC station, but dropped for MeTV.

[Hibi]

THE MONTE CARLO STORY

Society gamblers on the French Riviera, with two significantly surreal moments -- Marlene Dietrich sings "On The Banks Of The Wabash" and is propositioned by (ugh) Arthur O'Connell.

Please miss.

LOL!

[Hibi]

I enjoyed Ginger Rogers day. A really nice compilation of her career. Some Fred films and some without. Her film output was huge. So many films and in so many genres. Comedy; Drama; Musicals. One film I caught that I had never seen (but wanted to) was Primrose Path. Shot during her dark haired period (Kitty Foyle). This was not the kind of film Ginger usually starred in. A gritty story of a rather trashy low rent family that barely skirted the code. The film glosses over the fact that Ginger's mother is little more than a call girl/prostitute. The tacked on sort of happy ending doesn't really spoil it though one is left scratching your head that Ginger's dad got away with murder!

[jamesjazzguitar]

I enjoyed Ginger Rogers day. A really nice compilation of her career. Some Fred films and some without. Her film output was huge. So many films and in so many genres. Comedy; Drama; Musicals. One film I caught that I had never seen (but wanted to) was Primrose Path. Shot during her dark haired period (Kitty Foyle). This was not the kind of film Ginger usually starred in. A gritty story of a rather trashy low rent family that barely skirted the code. The film glosses over the fact that Ginger's mother is little more than a call girl/prostitute. The tacked on sort of happy ending doesn't really spoil it though one is left scratching your head that Ginger's dad got away with murder!

Yea, Primrose Path is a very good RKO film that also stars Joel McCraw, and produced and directed by Gregory La Cava, best known for My Man Godfrey.

(which when I first saw the stars and director, I assumed this was a romantic comedy). Yea, the code enforcers must have been asleep when they reviewed this one.

[Lorna]

I enjoyed Ginger Rogers day. A really nice compilation of her career. Some Fred films and some without. Her film output was huge. So many films and in so many genres. Comedy; Drama; Musicals. One film I caught that I had never seen (but wanted to) was Primrose Path.[/size] Shot during her dark haired period (Kitty Foyle). This was not the kind of film Ginger usually starred in. A gritty story of a rather trashy low rent family that barely skirted the code. The film glosses over the fact that Ginger's mother is little more than a call girl/prostitute. The tacked on sort of happy ending doesn't really spoil it though one is left scratching your head that Ginger's dad got away with murder!

AND IT'S A PRETTY LIGHT GLOSSING AT THAT, JUST ONE COAT OF LACQUER!
I've only seen this once, but I was REALLY SURPRISED by how much they got away with in this one!
I remember thinking that MARJORIE RAMBEAU was absolutely FANTASTIC- she got a BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS NOMINATION in what might be the best year the category ever had- 1940. (JANE DARWELL won)

(SORRY, HAVING SOME SIZING ISSUES WITH THIS POST)

[Lorna]

I woke up freakishly early this morning and watched most of ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN.

I think I have seen the scene where he is ON THE PHONE WITH LARRY TALBOT FROM LONDON about 867 times and NEVER ONCE have I not LAUGHED OUT LOUD- no matter how hard I try.



"Mister, you're gonna have to get your dog way from the phone..."

The part where LOU COSTELLO BARKS BACK into the receiver slays me every time.

[Hibi]

I enjoyed Ginger Rogers day. A really nice compilation of her career. Some Fred films and some without. Her film output was huge. So many films and in so many genres. Comedy; Drama; Musicals. One film I caught that I had never seen (but wanted to) was Primrose Path.[/size] Shot during her dark haired period (Kitty Foyle). This was not the kind of film Ginger usually starred in. A gritty story of a rather trashy low rent family that barely skirted the code. The film glosses over the fact that Ginger's mother is little more than a call girl/prostitute. The tacked on sort of happy ending doesn't really spoil it though one is left scratching your head that Ginger's dad got away with murder!

AND IT'S A PRETTY LIGHT GLOSSING AT THAT, JUST ONE COAT OF LACQUER!
I've only seen this once, but I was REALLY SURPRISED by how much they got away with in this one!
I remember thinking that MARJORIE RAMBEAU was absolutely FANTASTIC- she got a BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS NOMINATION in what might be the best year the category ever had- 1940. (JANE DARWELL won)

(SORRY, HAVING SOME SIZING ISSUES WITH THIS POST)

AGREE! ONE COAT! LOL.

[kingrat]

In an interview Joel McCrea said that although Ginger Rogers won the Oscar for Kitty Foyle that year, she really won it for Primrose Path.

[Hibi]

The combination of the two films in the same year probably put her over. (One can only win for one picture, but several Oscar worthy performances in the same year can add to the likelihood of winning).

[CinemaInternational]

The combination of the two films in the same year probably put her over. (One can only win for one picture, but several Oscar worthy performances in the same year can add to the likelihood of winning).

True, plus also Kitty Foyle was the film that was more palatable to public morals at the time, which was probably why she won for that one instead. (The Academy still continued to do things like that after the code ended....Diane Keaton likely won as much for that grueling, hard-edged performance in Mister Goodbar as she did for Annie Hall (where she more or less played her lovable self) and Dennis Hopper was nominated for his low-key Hoosiers performance instead of his terrifying mad-dog work in Blue Velvet)

[Bronxgirl48]

I woke up freakishly early this morning and watched most of ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN.

I think I have seen the scene where he is ON THE PHONE WITH LARRY TALBOT FROM LONDON about 867 times and NEVER ONCE have I not LAUGHED OUT LOUD- no matter how hard I try.



"Mister, you're gonna have to get your dog way from the phone..."

The part where LOU COSTELLO BARKS BACK into the receiver slays me every time.

Bud: "I know there's no such a person as Dracula, you know there's no such a person as Dracula...."
Lou: "But does Dracula know it?"

One of my childhood favorites.