This week on Turner

Discussion of programming on TCM.
JulieMarch4th
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Post by JulieMarch4th »

although I am not a Brando fanatic, I have never seen Theresa Wright in a movie that I didn't like. I'm looking forward to seeing THE MEN tonight, and will probably have the documentary on in the background before that -- and may decide to record it later this month.

Julie
Mr. Arkadin
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Post by Mr. Arkadin »

Dewey thanks for the "Hairy Ape" info (that sounds slightly obscene). Bendix is one of my favorite guys. As you said, he did not have many leading roles so I will enjoy this. 8)
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Kyle In Hollywood
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Post by Kyle In Hollywood »

bobhopefan1940 wrote:...with all these films being thrown out - Well, looks like I will have to pick and choose ;) I haven't seen A Street Car Named Desire either, as a matter of fact. I guess I should really check that one out. mrsl, what do you think of The Wild One?
BHFan -
If it helps at all as you plan your week, MGMWBRKO announced a few schedule changes yesterday and one of the changes was a second showing of The Wild One later in the month. (Don't know the date off the top of my head.)

And definitely make time for Streetcar.

kjk
Kyle In Hollywood
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Kyle In Hollywood
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Re: the HAIRY APE

Post by Kyle In Hollywood »

Dewey1960 wrote:Hello Mr. Ark -
Re: THE HAIRY APE
Bendix is incredible in this film, one of the rare opportunities he had to carry the weight of a truly dramatic film. [snip] THE HAIRY APE suffers a bit from some crude direction, but overall an oddly compelling and emotionally solid (thanks to Bendix) film.
Isn't The Hairy Ape based on a Eugene O'Neill play of the same name?

If so, I am sad to hear the film is in such sad shape.

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bobhopefan1940
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Post by bobhopefan1940 »

Thanks so much, Kyle. I was kicking myself for missing The Wild One tonight due to a night class...
"How strange when an illusion dies. It's as though you've lost a child." --Judy Garland
"To help a friend in need is easy, but to give him your time is not always opportune." --Charlie Chaplin
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Dewey1960
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Hairy Ape

Post by Dewey1960 »

Hi Kyle -
Yes it is the Eugene O'Neil play of the same name. I've never read or seen the play, but the film has a lot of merit. Somewhere there must be a good print...
-Dewey
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MissGoddess
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Post by MissGoddess »

I wish to dickens I had recorded the Mary Astor movies, especially There's Always A Woman. I saw bits of it and it was great---I love Joan Blondell and she looked so cute in it. *sigh* I just have so little time to look ahead in the schedules.

Tomorrow (Satuday), at 12:30 a.m. they are airing The Slender Thread. It's one of my favorite Sidney Poitier movies and really keeps you on the edge of your seat.
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bobhopefan1940
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Post by bobhopefan1940 »

MissGoddess wrote: Tomorrow (Satuday), at 12:30 a.m. they are airing The Slender Thread. It's one of my favorite Sidney Poitier movies and really keeps you on the edge of your seat.
Hi Miss G! I am definately recording The Slender Thread tomorrow, thanks for the heads up!
"How strange when an illusion dies. It's as though you've lost a child." --Judy Garland
"To help a friend in need is easy, but to give him your time is not always opportune." --Charlie Chaplin
"Dumb show is best for screen people, if they must appear in public." --Buster Keaton
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Lzcutter
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One Tin Soldier Rides Away

Post by Lzcutter »

Anybody staying up for Born Losers on TCM Underground tonight?

I've seen Billy Jack and Trial of Billy Jack and would love to see Billy Jack Goes to Washington (I can't even imagine how self indulgent it must be after having sat through Trial when I was much younger.

Billy Jack, while it doesn't stand the test of time (Lord, it has not aged well), was one of those movies that touches the zeitgeist at just the right moment in the universe and explodes.

I remember sitting in the old Red Rock Theater in Las Vegas and sobbing at the end of that film (I must have been all of 13 or 14 years old) and everyone else in the theater was either sobbing or standing with their fist in the air and talking to Billy Jack as the credits rolled.

I remember sitting through Trial (a much more big budgeted movie thanks to the success of Billy Jack) and just shaking my head in disbelief by the end. Though Trial has a wonderful score by Elmer Bernstein.

Billy Jack Goes to Washington had a sneak preview at the old Filmex Film Festival here in Los Angeles the spring before I moved here. The film was pulled like the next day and for years never saw the light of a projection booth or a television screen. Laughlin wanted everyone to think it was because of political purposes but I always thought he probably never bothered to get the rights to Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. BJGtW was supposed to be an homage to the earlier film but over the years I have heard it basically ripped the original script off, sometimes scene for scene with just updated dialogue.

I think the Laughlins now sell all three films on DVD but I'm not sure and not sure if I want to be even further disillusioned. I like my teenage memory of Billy Jack and wish that Laughlin hadn't screwed (can I say that word here) the pooch so badly with Trial but I get the feeling he was never a very good filmmaker.

Somehow, I don't think Born Losers will have that same effect on me as Billy Jack some 37 years later but I am curious.

Didn't Tom Laughlin direct Born Losers as well? I wish TCM Underground would show Billy Jack and Easy Rider on an Underground Double Bill. Imagine the drinking games one could invent every time Dennis Hopper said "Man" and Billy Jack beat the crap out of someone with his feet.

A girl can dream.
Lynn in Lake Balboa

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"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese

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Lzcutter
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Post by Lzcutter »

Well, having just sat through Born Losers, the only good thing I can say about the film and the almost two hours I'll never get back, is William Wellman, Jr is incredibly good looking and had it not been for him and Jeremy Slate, I would have given up on this film within 15 minutes.

It's probably good I never saw this film prior to Billy Jack because I would have never walked over two miles to the theater to see Billy Jack (that's how bad this movie is).

But now I want to know about more William Wellman, Jr, because his father is one of my favorite directors and I had no idea he was such a hunk, in more than one Billy Jack film. Added to that his new book about his father and I am more than intrigued.
Lynn in Lake Balboa

"Film is history. With every foot of film lost, we lose a link to our culture, to the world around us, to each other and to ourselves."

"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese

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moira finnie
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It's only a dream...

Post by moira finnie »

Hi Lynn,
My condolences on your loss of those hours from your lifetime. I too was awake and tried to focus on the moving figures on the shadow box. I thought that I'd half-dreamed that the fallen angel, Jeremy Slate, was one of the more appealing figures, along with Mr. Wellman. Btw, I've seen William Wellman Jr. interviewed several times and he seems like a heck of a nice guy as well as a good writer, archivist and film historian. Can't judge his potential as an actor, though, since I've only seen his symmetrical features and manly demeanor in some real turkeys like Born Losers. You might enjoy visiting William Wellmann Jr.'s website here and this picture of Mr. Bill as he is today:
Image

Hey, whatever happened to that "great" thespian, Tom Laughlin? Well, thanks to Google, I've found that Laughlin and his wife Delores Taylor seem to be the eminences gris behind a little website devoted to Billy Jack and political navel-gazing here.
Last edited by moira finnie on May 5th, 2007, 8:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Dewey1960
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Post by Dewey1960 »

A nice pair of obscure "B" noirs airing on Wednesday, May 9. First up is GOOD TIME GIRL, a 1948 British film that I know absolutely nothing about but will be more than happy to investigate. The other, later the same day, is NO ESCAPE from 1953 starring the usually laughable Sonny Tufts. It's a nifty little picture and fans of so-called "lost" noirs would be well-advised to give it a tumble--providing their expectations don't run too high.
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moira finnie
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Dewey's Film Noirs

Post by moira finnie »

Wow, thanks for the heads up about the film Good Time Girl (1948), Dewey. I know I saw this as a kid on the tube, along with some other gritty film noirs, British style, such as They Made Me a Fugitive (1947) with Trevor Howard and a later, memorable thriller about racism, Sapphire (1959).

From the IMDb comments about Good Time Girl, I think I'm going to enjoy this one, especially since the under-rated Dennis Price and the creepy but fascinating Herbert Lom are also in the cast. I love those British productions such as Make Mine Mink and others that have been popping up on the TCM schedule of late. Perhaps this Sydney & Muriel Box picture is part of that package of Eagle-Lion movies that TCM has recently shown.

I'm not so sure about the Sonny Tufts movie, No Escape (1953), since his work can be pretty uneven, though I found him likable in a few movies, such as So Proudly We Hail. I'd probably catch this film if I have a chance because of the soothing, reliable presence of Lew Ayres in the cast.
jdb1

Post by jdb1 »

I moved this posting about "Tomorrow is Forever" to its own thread further down.

Sorry.
pktrekgirl
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Post by pktrekgirl »

Well, pretty slim pickins for me this week because:

a) I've seen all of the Gary Cooper films being shown today - most of them several times.
b) I'm not a particular fan of Marlon Brando.
c) I'm not a particular fan of Katharine Hepburn.
d) I've seen all of the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers films being shown on Thursday.

So here is what I'm left with this week that I'll be recording:

Monday -
ALONG CAME JONES (1945) - seen it...but it IS Coop's birthday and I gotta do something!

Tuesday -
SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT (1936) - Cagney. Can't go wrong (IMO) with Cagney.

Wednesday -
GOOD TIME GIRL (1948) - sounds interesting.
EGYPT BY THREE (1953) - Joseph Cotten and exotic locale. How bad could it be?

Thursday -
SEA OF GRASS (1947) - the one Kate/Spencer Tracy film I've not yet seen. Bonus points for Melvyn Douglas being in the cast.

Saturday -
THE CRIME DOCTOR'S DIARY (1949) - Warner Baxter is love.
SAYONARA (1957) - The ONE Brando film that I actually really love. And that probably has more to do with the "Japan thing" than the "Brando thing", as I've spent alot of time in Japan and love it in real life.
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