Tiz a puzzle

[mrsl]

Earlier I shimmied over to TCM to check out the movies shown in the past two weeks. The reason for this is that some really good movies have appeared. Granted, I've seen them all at least 3 or 4 times each, so you could say I'm still on my self-proclaimed exile, but that's only because I'm hoping sooner or later they will start showing films I haven't seen in at least one or two (ha-ha) years. What confuses me is why there has been no discussion on any of these movies. I've come up with:

1. New classic fans don't know what to ask.

2. New classic fans don't have the intense curiosity about the films that us older fans do.

3. Maybe people don't understand something, and don't realize they can get answers to their questions here. e.g. In Harvey, was Jimmy Stewart's character really a whacko, or did he act that way just to encourage people to try to make a nicer world, and just used a weird way to go about it? . . . or . . . in Singing in the Rain, did the studios really go through all that voice training and speech lessons?

We older fans have gone through all of this, but we never get tired of giving our opinions and helping new folks form their own ideas. This is why we are still classic fans after some 30 or more years. Some movies have been shown recently that normally would spawn deep and intense discussions, but that hasn't happened. North by Northwest, The Country Girl, The Third Man, and Harvey are all true classics and you can find things to wonder about in nearly every scene. Feel free to start a post with a question about anything you might care to get more in depth about.

Here's one to start:

In your first viewing of The Murder on the Orient Express, how much attention did you pay to those quick shots of the newspaper clippings about the childs' abduction? Did you make the connection quickly or not until late when Hercule started giving his interpretation?

Anne

[Lzcutter]

Anne,

Part of the problem that still remains with TCM City, though I love it dearly, is that the majority of new posters treat it as a chat room, post mainly to complain about the programming, the website, Rose McGowan, etc or just want to fight.

Some things never change but it is becoming harder and harder to have a decent conversation about FILM there.

Hopefully, this, too , shall pass.

But it makes me all the more appreciative of this site.

[moira finnie]

Btw, Lynn's concise and affectionate analysis of Harvey (1950) on the TCM boards, found here, is reason enough to continue to haunt the TCM forum, despite the demise of collegiality over there. There are very interesting people still writing on the site and their insights gleam like diamonds in the dust.

[melwalton]

I thought the connection was obvious.
My memory is hazy, now but I think I read the book before I saw the movie. Not a great idea with mysteries. UsuallY, the book is longer< more detailed< more explicit and often quite different ie; 'the Rainbird Pattern' and "Family Plot'. I think I got off track here so I"ll hang up. ....mel

CHANGE IS THE ONLY CONSTANT-

[mrsl]

Moira:

Agreed, lzcutters' analysis is a fine one, but what you're saying is, forget SSO, if you want a discussion, you have to go to TCM, search for the topic you're interested in, and hope to find something to your liking because you won't find those interesting people posting here on SSO. I thought that was why SSO was started - to avoid the troublemakers, and the abuse by the TCM programmers who didn't care when we complained about certain posters. Do I have the reasons for forming this site wrong? Why did Jon go to the trouble of starting it if not for the reasons I just quoted?

I don't want to post on a site where one member can constantly question and make fun of my grammatical errors, or another can call me dumb and a bumpkin because I happen to be over the age that member thinks is still useful. I realize most of our discussions are based on TCM schedules but does that mean we have to meet on their board when they show us no reverence? Loyalty goes two ways to my mind. We have several new non-American members who have contributed some fine opinions, but if they should try to do so on TCM and a certain someone read their posts, they would soon go screaming from the computer in agony over his pompous ways, as he has done several times in the past. Is that good? TCM has already managed to romance Kyle and Moira back into their fold, how soon before the other main moderators are tempted and we are left with no decent leadership?

I guess my question is why did lzcutter put such a fine analysis on TCM and not offer it here where we might add, or comment in an adult way? It looks also like we are losing Miss Goddess back to TCM. Many of the members who followed over here have left completely because, I believe, the loss of discussion is quite clear. Therefore, we have to either accept the inane attitudes of the young bunch, or give up the classic movies and their actors in favor of the neo-classics of the post 1960 years.

For about 6 months I went over there incognito and just read the posts and found nothing I wanted to join in on. After about 5 more months of that, I did log in to comment on something and received a rude response, and since then I've logged in possibly 3 or 4 more times, although sometimes not always posting. With the original post on this subject, I thought I might gather some classic fans into regrouping, but apparently I failed in my attempt.

Anne

[Lzcutter]

Anne,

A poster over at TCM City started a thread on Harvey and in the course of a discussion with another poster there, asked for my opinion on the film.

I posted about the film in Molo's thread late last evening.

There has been a dearth of good film discussion for many weeks over at TCM City and when a chance there arises to actually talk film over there, I appreciate the chance.

As of late at TCM, I have basically been posting in response to those who hate Rose McGowan and those who think TCM is going to the dogs which is turning into the subject that will not die there.

That said, I spend a great deal of time here at the SSO and have posted in a variety of threads the last few weeks.

Earlier today I PM'd Moira about a new thread idea I had and mentioned to here that I would be posting my Harvey analysis over here.

I got sidetracked by my Obama love and my Kevin Brownlow love is about to kick in with the airing of is docu on Able Gance.

But I promise I will post it here as soon as I finish this post.

I see no problem in posting in both forums. As I said there is not a great deal of insightful posting going on over at TCM City and I always tell folks who PM there regarding that dearth that they should come over here where some of the best talk is going on.

I very much appreciate this site and have tried to nuture it to the best of my abilities and will continue to do so. But there are a handful of posters over at TCM City that are not ready to leave what they feel are familiar environs and so in order for me to talk with them, I have to do that there.

This site has a great deal of discussion going on during the week though sometimes it can be slow but I think that is not because there is nothing to discuss but because everyone has very busy lives and with spring here many would rather be outdoors.

Traffic at TCM City has dropped off dramatically over the last year. Where there used to be pages and pages to read every day now there is barely a page.

But that is the ebb and flow of message boards.

I'm off to post my thesis about Harvey before the Gance docu comes on!

[moira finnie]

Dear Anne,
I'm not saying to abandon SSO in favor of TCM. I was trying to say that I do find that--despite the sometimes rough atmosphere at TCM, there are many fine people who express their thoughts in an interesting way on both boards. Some are members of both, some are not. It's kind of like ice cream, Anne. Some of us like vanilla and chocolate.
Ooops, Gotta go watch Abel Gance now!! Take care of yourself, please.

P.S. Jon, our technical admin, would probably want me to point out that I began this group on the Yahoo Groups site, and he provided the software to move our pack here to this much nicer-to-navigate site. Thank you Jon, for this clubhouse!

[mrsl]

This is not in relation to anything previously posted here on this particular thread, just a thought I came up with earlier today.

Part of the reason I prefer SSO to TCM's boards is because this one is so much more open and widespread. Here we can discuss old movies we see on any channel on TV without feeling traitorous to TCM. When I got the Western channel on Encore, I felt bad writing about the movies they were showing because it meant I was not watching TCM, but TCM does not usually run very many westerns except on days devoted to western actors.

Anyway, this thought occurred to me and I wanted to put it out there for consideration. Point being, we miss a lot of wonderful movies, starring great actors like Tyrone Power, and Alan Ladd because they belonged to the wrong studio.

Anne

[Birdy]

Anne-
I agree we do miss a lot of great movies because they belonged to the wrong studio! I'm lucky to have bought a few videos but am sure I am only partially educated in even my favorite genre.

I just thought I'd mention that while I enjoy reading all the discussions here, I often don't post because I record movies and sometimes don't watch them for weeks, then it seems silly to start a discussion since most people have moved on in life.

Also, what I find interesting about movies seems trite since I prefer fluffy movies set on ocean liners with cocktails, English butlers and snappy banter. Sometimes I like to share what made me laugh out loud alone and see if one of you had the same reaction or discuss the decor.

Anyway, thanks for encouraging discussion - I look forward to talking with you again soon.

B

[mrsl]

Birdy:

I for one, have seen Casablanca a minimum of 25 times, I usually exaggerate and say 100 but I really have no idea how often I've seen it. The point is if you taped it in February and just watched the tape last week, you can bet that I, as well as many others recall the moment you would be talking about. For instance, don't you love the basically all white stage settings of the Fred and Ginger movies, especially for their dance sequences? The sets may be in pink or yellow, but they look white in the B&W. Also I can't tell you how many times I've laughed at things Thelma Ritter said, or Ann Sothern or Joan Blondell. You're talking to die hard classic movie fans here, we don't give up on our movies after only one viewing. For different reasons, I may watch The Women 100 times (no exaggeration this time!), but someone else who can't stand The Women, might have seen White Heat 100 times.

Just remember, any time you want to make a comment, feel free to go ahead and do so. We all have movies we've taped and haven't had a chance to watch yet, in fact sometimes, it has been re-broadcast before we get to it. We 'absorb' these movies as well as watch them, so welcome aboard and join in. Come back and give us some examples of things that made you laugh alone, which I do all the time - I live alone and rarely have someone to share with except here.

Anne

[Birdy]

Thanks for the encouragement - This morning I woke up to a couple of strange island movies with Delores Del Rio. I'd discuss them but I have absolutely no idea where to start... strange, ideed.

[movieman1957]

One thing I've found about movie collectors is they may not live long enough to see everything they own.

Birdy, it doesn't matter when you've seen something if you want to talk about it go ahead. Check and see if there is a thread. Sometimes a dormant thread can be revived by a comment. If there is no apparent thread, start one. It is always great to get new opinions.

[The Ingenue]

Also, what I find interesting about movies seems trite since I prefer fluffy movies set on ocean liners with cocktails, English butlers and snappy banter. Sometimes I like to share what made me laugh out loud alone and see if one of you had the same reaction or discuss the decor.

Fluffy is my preference too, Birdy, to see and to talk about. I love Fox musicals and MGM "B" pictures best, and Romantic Comedy is my favorite genre. Like you, I also prize snappy dialogue, such as this dilly from the MGM "B" Sunday Punch (1942):

• I told you the last time the next time would be the last time and this is the last time!

It would surely be nice to talk over some such wonderful nonsense with you, if you would like to.

[knitwit45]

Birdy, I want to hear about the Delores Del Rio films. I still work (sigh) so I miss a lot of the early morning gems. I'm trying to clear out my DVR box for all the August movies, and hopefully my son will be able to figure out the VCR for me. I used to be a whiz with electronics, but no more....now they whiz right past me!

I love the same kind of movies you do, when you mentioned ocean liners, I immediately saw Barbara Stanwyck tripping up poor Henry Fonda in The Lady Eve.

So tell us about the DDR films!

Nancy