Coming Up on TCM

[ChiO]

Alrighty now -- Friday night. This is plenty of advance notice for either programming the ol' DVR or unplugging it, depending on one's taste.

It's Samuel Fuller Night with two of interest and two of the greats.

I SHOT JESSE JAMES (1949) - His first. John Ireland struggles with fame.
PARK ROW (1952) - His fifth. Gene Evans struggles with running a newspaper.
SHOCK CORRIDOR (1963) - His sixteenth. Peter Breck struggles with sanity and the demons of America.
THE NAKED KISS (1964) - His seventeenth. Constance Towers struggles.

[CineMaven]

Looks like the operative word there ChiO is STRUGGLES.

SAMUEL FULLER (1912 - 1997)

...And why haven't you created a proper thread of his own for Fuller and his films, ( this notwithstanding ) instead of all these individual posts about his movies?

Fuller! FULLER! FULLER!

[ChiO]

As the merchant father of Chicago said: Give the lady what she wants.

[moira finnie]

On Thursday, July 19th TCM welcomes Ben Burtt and Craig Barron, Academy Award winning sound and visual effects craftsmen who are also very personable and big classic film fans. This event is part of the network's ongoing partnership with The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as "TCM Presents the Science of Movie Making: Co-Hosted by Ben Burtt and Craig Barron."

As part of their visit, Ben Burtt will demonstrate the specially made Harold Hill arrow that produced his "favorite movie sound" --that zing of the arrows used in The Adventures of Robin Hood, and he will also discuss the uniquely resonant gun shot sound used in Gunga Din (an effect that Burtt used when working on the Indiana Jones films). Craig Barron will also talk about the highly theatrical but effective use of matte paintings and the visual trompe l'oeil that were such a seamless and integral part of Citizen Kane. Both men, who have conducted presentations on the milestone sci-fi film Forbidden Planet previously, will also discuss the significance of this movie as an enormous step forward in blending live action and animation, as well as sound effects that continue to influence filmmakers today.

Below, Burtt and Barron can be seen on the just-released TCM Podcast with these two gifted individuals, followed by the films that they will be introducing with Robert Osborne on that upcomng evening:
[youtube][/youtube]

8:00 PM
Forbidden Planet (1956)
A group of space troopers investigates the destruction of a colony on a remote planet.
Dir: Fred McLeod Wilcox Cast: Walter Pidgeon , Anne Francis , Leslie Nielsen .
C-99 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

10:00 PM
Gunga Din (1939)
Three British soldiers seek treasure during an uprising in India.
Dir: George Stevens Cast: Cary Grant , Victor McLaglen , Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
BW-117 mins, TV-PG, CC

12:15 AM
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
The bandit king of Sherwood Forest leads his Merry Men in a battle against the corrupt Prince John.
Dir: Michael Curtiz Cast: Errol Flynn , Olivia de Havilland , Basil Rathbone .
C-102 mins, TV-G, CC,

2:15 AM
Citizen Kane (1941)
The investigation of a publishing tycoon's dying words reveals conflicting stories about his scandalous life.
Dir: Orson Welles Cast: Joseph Cotten , Dorothy Comingore , Agnes Moorehead .
BW-120 mins, TV-PG, CC

[CineMaven]

As the merchant father of Chicago said: Give the lady what she wants.

Well, the lady is happy now...especially for Fuller.

[Vecchiolarry]

Hi,

Coming up today at 5:45 EDT is "The Yellow Rolls Royce" - a favourite of mine because of the first story, which stars Rex Harrison and Moira Lister. Edmond Purdom is in it too and he was married to Linda Christian at the time (she's supposedly an extra at the party scenes)...

Also, enjoyed the Ingrid Bergman chapter, especially Joyce Grenfell, who steals all her scenes - not easy with Bergman around!!!

Never cared for George C. Scott or Art Carney, but like Shirley MacLaine and Alain Delon; so couldn't really care less about the second segment.

Please view it if you can and let's have some feedback....

Larry

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Larry, I vote for Ingrid, Omar, and Joyce.

[knitwit45]

Larry, I first saw this on a 'big screen'....Radio City Music Hall!! My parents, a cousin and I went to NY for the Worlds Fair, and while we were there we went to a showing of this film. wow. Rockettes, that fabulous organ, a full house for a weekday matinee. wow. And then M. Delon appeared on that huge screen, and all else was forgotten. What a gorgeous man. Until Omar Shariff appeared...I walked around in a fog for hours after! (I wanted to be Ms. Bergman and drive that car and those men all over the world if need be.) The Rex Harrison segment broke my heart, the Shirley McLaine portion was ok...but Ingrid and Omar were the best.

[Western Guy]

May I share a Sam Fuller story told to me by (NAME DROPPING ALERT) my buddy Mickey Knox?

MICKEY: Sam Fuller had seen me in Killer McCoy and contacted me through Kirk Douglas because he wanted to write a movie with me in the lead. Well, this was flattering but I quickly forgot about it because I'd heard a lot of this (expletive) before.But he called me about three months later and told me he'd finished the script and he wanted me to come over so he could read it to me. I asked him if he could just send it over but he said "no", he had to read it to me.So I thought (expletive), but I went anyway. Of course Sam was a true war hero and had won all kinds of medals and citations, including the Bronze Star for saving a buddy during the D-Day invasion, so he had a different outlook on war than most people. He had his whiskey bottles out on the table and he read me the script, pulling out all the stops, and it made war sound great. I was drunk enough by then to tell him I hated pro-war pictures, and he said to me: "Well, write your own (expletive) script!" So that was it. I went home and was happy until the picture The Steel Helmet came out. Then I spent a few sleepless nights.

[ChiO]

Always love a good Sam Fuller story.

I'm taking the liberty of copying this and placing it in the Samuel Fuller thread.

Feel free to use Sam's revolver on me if you object.

[Western Guy]

No problemo, amigo.

[CineMaven]

You'll all probably be in bed like good little cinephiles. But if anyone is still up at one am, or can't sleep at one am, I'd recommend "MY REPUTATION." If you're a Stanwyck fan, don't miss it. It was on back in May, and here's what KingRat thought about it.

Let's talk about MY REPUTATION--the movie that is (1946, but made in 1943, dir. Curtis Bernhardt). I found this mostly enjoyable, with Barbara Stanwyck as a widow trying to establish a new life, Lucile Watson as the mother who's still wearing mourning after 25 years, and Eve Arden as the sensible friend. Some of the others in a strong supporting cast include Cecil Cunningham as one of the censorious women and Jerome Cowan (I recognized the face and the moustache, if not the name) as a friend's husband who throws a forward pass at the new widow. If you were casting the role of an Army major who's loved 'em and left 'em, would your first choice be George Brent? If it's a Warner Brothers women's film, I guess the answer is yes. Barbara and George had more chemistry together in THE GAY SISTERS; this is pretty much your average Brent performance.

Despite the 1940s upper crust Chicago suburbs setting, the situations raised in the film have not gone away. James Wong Howe is the excellent cinematographer, and the settings and clothes are elegant. Like MILLION DOLLAR BABY and A STOLEN LIFE, MY REPUTATION shows that Curtis Bernhardt can direct a very watchable film.

[Lzcutter]

Moira,

I saw the presentation that Ben Burtt and Craig Barron did prior to the Academy screening of Gunga Din a couple of summers ago. It was a great presentation.

Here's my recap of it:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/vie ... din#p83380

I can't wait till next Thursday's evening of films!

[moira finnie]

Tonight (Thursday) at 11:15 EDT, 8:15 PDT:

OSCAR WILDE (1960, dir. Gregory Ratoff). This is the version with Robert Morley as Oscar Wilde, Ralph Richardson as the barrister Sir Edward Carson, John Neville as Lord Alfred Douglas, Dennis Price as Robert Ross, and Phyllis Calvert as Wilde's wife, Constance. For some reason, the regular TCM listings did not mention the cast. The reviews I've found all seem to agree that the highlight of the film is the courtroom duel of wits between Richardson and Morley, and that alone is enough to make me want to see the film. Apparently this was a low-budget production which concentrated on the first trial, when Wilde foolishly brought an action for libel against the Marquess of Queensbury.

Thanks, King. I've been looking forward to this. I loved the Peter Finch Wilde, but this was said to be the apex of Morley's acting career and Wilde is such a maddening but appealing character (and brilliant writer), I do want to see this one.

CineMaven-
Thanks for the reminder about My Reputation. I really like director Curtis Bernhardt's American movies (he seemed to hate them), but this was one of the best films of Stanwyck's fantastic forties. Good parts for Eve Arden and Lucile Watson too! And that James Wong Howe chiaroscuro sends me over the moon.

I'm running out of room on the DVR, daggnabbit.