Coming Up on TCM

[JackFavell]

How can you stay away from such a rich collection of barbs and one liners? At each viewing, I always hear a new one I never noticed before. I agree about Paulette and Mary, they definitely give the best performances. Runners up: Virginia Grey, Joa Fontaine and Joan Crawford. Favorite scene: the cook and the maid relating Mary and Stephen's fight leading to their divorce.

JUNGLE RED, baby, JUNGLE RED!

[CineMaven]

I know Wendy, I know. I don't sit down to watch it, but even coming in the middle, I can't stop. (...And don't get me started on UTZ Barbecue potato chips!)

* "Oh, love. How it can bring you down. But how it can bring you up again."

This time I really saw the resemblance Joan Fontaine had to her sister, Olivia. I can't get over how natural Norma was much of the time. ("Please don't talk about me when I'm gone...")

* "I was an A-one schlmeel."

And they all reacted to everything as though they're hearing it for the first time. The movie is a gem. But I love ensemble films anyway...

"The Women"
"The Caine Mutiny"
*Twelve Angry Men"
"Dinner At Eight"
"Nashville" (there are the 70's again!)

[JackFavell]

I hear ya, Maven! Can't resist those films myself.

Stagecoach
Grand Hotel

You noted how much Fontaine resembled Olivia... I see it too, the older I get. But I think I seriously misjudged Joan for years. I really find now that she is much better than I ever gave her credit for. You know, maybe my favorite part of the whole thing is when they are on the train, and Joan says,

Peggy Day: [On the train] Listen to the wheels, don't they seem to be saying something?
Mary Haines: [Softly] No.
Peggy Day: Don't they seem to be saying... Go back, go back, go back, go back?

I think that scene made her career.

[CineMaven]

Wow...Joanie was my least favorite of all The Women. But gee. You make me see things I hadn't noticed. I've been reassessing her, after "The Constant Nymph."

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Jackie, such a good point about Joan!

[JackFavell]

When she's good she's very good. Letter from an Unknown Woman really started the change for me. Followed rapidly by The Constant Nymph and Kiss the Blood Off My Hands.

[feaito]

"Ivy" (1947), "September Affair" (1950) and "Born to be Bad" (1950) are other not-so-well-known good films of hers.

[mrsl]

.
The Women

has me so hooked that even though I have my own copy on DVD which I watch every now and then, I still watch it whenever TCM runs it. I don't think I will ever get tired of that movie or any of it's actors. The only thing that might turn me off s Virginia Weidler's ' oh Mother dear , please do something '. Except for cell phones, that movie could be transferred directly to today, but that scene of that child is so phony it makes me want to shoot her. The idea of no men on screen was absolutely brilliant. That alone adds something so special to the film. There never was anything quite like it before.

Twelve Angry Men

Then they followed it with my other 'never to be missed film'. Twelve Angry Men, no matter how many versions they make of it, or how they try to modernize it, nothing will ever equal the original with Henry Fonda and the cast he leads. This is another one that is loaded with one liners that you miss if you don't see it more than once, as well as the calibre of acting of every single member of the jury. The only thing that has always irritated me is: Why in the world doesn't that idiot bailiff inform the men of the electric connection for the fan on a day that is touted as to be one of the hottest of the year before the debate begins?
.

[Rita Hayworth]

Twelve Angry Men

Then they followed it with my other 'never to be missed film'. Twelve Angry Men, no matter how many versions they make of it, or how they try to modernize it, nothing will ever equal the original with Henry Fonda and the cast he leads. This is another one that is loaded with one liners that you miss if you don't see it more than once, as well as the calibre of acting of every single member of the jury. The only thing that has always irritated me is: Why in the world doesn't that idiot bailiff inform the men of the electric connection for the fan on a day that is touted as to be one of the hottest of the year before the debate begins?
.

I totally agree with you. I seen this movie about 3-5 times in my life and I find it fascinating ... it is one of my favorite films and I never get tired of watching it.

[movieman1957]

I got to use the "12 Angry Men" analogy with a friend recently. He and his in-laws found a house they liked but his wife resisted because it would add another 10 minutes to her commute. After some arguing I told him reminded him about the movie and said it is time for her to convince the three of them why they shouldn't get the house. He liked the idea.

They bought a piece of land instead.

[moira finnie]

In celebration of Basil Rathbone's 120th birthday on June 13th, TCM is showing many of his less well known movies, including some early ones opposite ladies as diverse as Dorothy Mackaill, Ruth Chatterton, Constance Bennett and Kay Francis. Not a Sherlock Holmes movie is in sight, though they do pop up on schedules all over cable pretty regularly. My only regret: Basil should have done more comedies! He was good at them --even in movies that were largely dramatic, as anyone who has seen his Louis XI in IF I WERE KING or SON OF FRANKENSTEIN can readily attest. One other thing: Wouldn't it have been fun to see him win one of those sword duels with Errol Flynn and Tyrone Power just once? [All times shown are ET]

For detailed information about each of these movies, please see this page at the TCM website.

June 13 Wednesday
6:15 AM
Flirting Widow, The (1930)
A girl creates an imaginary lover to impress her father, but the lie gets in the way of true romance.
Dir: William Seiter Cast: Dorothy Mackaill , Basil Rathbone , Leila Hyams .
BW-72 mins, TV-G,

7:30 AM
Lady of Scandal, The (1930)
A nobleman risks his family's wrath by courting an actress.
Dir: Sidney Franklin Cast: Ruth Chatterton , Basil Rathbone , Ralph Forbes .
BW-76 mins, TV-G,

9:00 AM
Sin Takes a Holiday (1930)
A stenographer tries to save her boss from his divorcee girlfriend.
Dir: Paul Stein Cast: Constance Bennett , Kenneth MacKenna , Basil Rathbone .
BW-80 mins, TV-G,

10:30 AM
Anna Karenina (1935)
Adaptation of Tolstoy's classic tale of a woman who deserts her family for an illicit love.
Dir: Clarence Brown Cast: Greta Garbo , Fredric March , Freddie Bartholomew .
BW-94 mins, TV-14, CC,

12:15 PM
Feather in Her Hat, A (1935)
A female shopkeeper sacrifices everything to give her son a theatrical career.
Dir: Alfred Santell Cast: Pauline Lord , Basil Rathbone , Louis Hayward .
BW-72 mins, TV-G,

1:30 PM
Kind Lady (1935)
A con artist and his criminal colleagues move in on a trusting old lady.
Dir: George B. Seitz Cast: Aline MacMahon , Basil Rathbone , Mary Carlisle .
BW-76 mins, TV-G, CC,

3:00 PM
Confession (1937)
A glamorous singer commits murder to protect her daughter's virtue.
Dir: Joe May Cast: Kay Francis , Ian Hunter , Basil Rathbone .
BW-87 mins, TV-PG, CC,

4:30 PM
Dawn Patrol, The (1938)
A flight commander in France almost cracks under the pressure of sending men to their deaths.
Dir: Edmund Goulding Cast: Errol Flynn , Basil Rathbone , David Niven .
BW-103 mins, TV-PG, CC,

6:30 PM
Fingers At The Window (1942)
A magician uses hypnosis to create an army of murderers.
Dir: Charles Lederer Cast: Lew Ayres , Laraine Day , Basil Rathbone .
BW-81 mins, TV-PG, CC,

[MissGoddess]

Ah! The Dawn Patrol, the version I love. And that love is because of the cast. Flynn, Niven and Rathbone. Each is at their very best, and that's pretty darn good.

[Rita Hayworth]

Ah! The Dawn Patrol, the version I love. And that love is because of the cast. Flynn, Niven and Rathbone. Each is at their very best, and that's pretty darn good.

Me too.

[charliechaplinfan]

He was always cast as the villan against Flynn, he was the superior swordsman, taking regular fencing lessons but was never allowed to beat Flynn on screen. I wonder if he even challenged Flynn away from the cameras, I'm almost certain Errol would have lost. Despite his typecasting in the Flynn pictures I'm glad he was able to spread his wings and play Sherlock Holmes amongst other roles, he was a great actor and I believe his parties and hospitality were legendary.

[JackFavell]

I'm enjoying his early roles as tennis playing-nightclub hopping upper crust playboys this morning. The Constance Bennett movie is the only one I've watched through, aside from the incredibly creepy Kind Lady, and The Dawn Patrol. He was charmingly perfect for the role in Sin Takes a Holiday, a debauched count who falls for Connie Bennett after transforming her from a meek secretary into a Parisian knockout.

Don't miss Confession, one of Kay Francis' best roles and an almost perfect remake of the German film Mazurka. Directed by Joe May.