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| sioux |
 Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:55 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 802
Location: philly burbs
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okay but, can I just say a few years ago I had a grandfather who loved AMC for its old movies without commercials at the same time that I had a boyfriend who worked as a promo producer at AMC who was telling me that they were going to start showing commercials and worse, they were watching TBS for pointers on how to time commercials so that they were shorter and less frequent earlier in the movie and longer and more frequent later when you're presumably hooked on the movie. I told my boyfriend, who had no influence with the network, that this would have a large impact on my grandather's life. He told me that he knew, from personal experience, that AMC did not care about my grandfather and his ilk.
I don't watch any movies on commercial channels, but if I could I would unwatch shows on AMC. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 1:35 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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LOL the last line.
Great but disturbing story. |
_________________
You've got a great brain. You should keep it in your head.
-Topher |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 6:54 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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I stopped watching movies on AMC when they started with the commercials. I still love watching on TCM, not only because it's still commercial-free but also because of the intelligent commentaries before and after many of the features. Sometimes they come across with info that I don't know, which is a rarity.
For instance, they showed Manhattan Melodrama, the movie Dillinger attended the night he was killed, on the day that Public Enemies opened. Clever enough that, but they also told us that the reason Dillinger wanted to see that movie in particular was because of Myrna Loy being in the cast. She was apparently his favorite star.
I watched Manhattan Melodrama that night, btw, and it's really exciting and fun and a movie I strongly recommend. Didn't expect to like it--thought the only reason anyone ever thought about it was the Dillinger connection--but the chemistry between Gable and William Powell, and between Loy and both men, is electric. And the plot is interesting and sometimes very surprising.
Strangely, Michael Mann has seen fit to downplay Loy in the movie. She appears on the opening credits, for instance, in the "real" MM, but in PE that credit doesn't exist. (Though we do see a shot of her later.)
Quite incidentally, she's quite a wonderful screen actress. Her scenes with Powell--and with Gable--crackle with humor and sexual pop. And later, in The Best Years of Our Lives, she transcends the cliche of "faithful wife" to become truly iconic. Someday I'd like to see one of her silents, in which she invariably played an Asian siren, of all things. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 10:00 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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| I remember the good old days when AMC didn't interrupt the movie with commercials. I watched the channel a lot back then, but I seldom even check the AMC schedule now. I just hope TCM doesn't get greedy enough to go that route. |
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| Marj |
| Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 1:55 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 10497
Location: Manhattan
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I also watched Manhattan Melodrama last week. I was surprised that it was good as it was. Loy was and has always been one of my favorite actors from that period. And Gable was better than I expected. But I think what made the film stand out was again the script. Unfortunately, William Powell almost butchered the entire enterprise. [The courtroom scene was close to cringe worthy.] But I still recommend the movie. If for no other reason than Loy and the plot. It's a fine melodrama in the true sense of the word.
Sometimes I think Powell must have learned a lot from working with and off of Myna Loy. It wasn't until he began the Thin Man movies that I began to like him. So, I have to give the credit to Loy and some to him for learning from her.
I also remember AMC before commercials. Nick Clooney often introduced the films. I don't remember if he included any pearls of wisdom but it was a good station then. Now I only watch it to see Mad Men. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 3:33 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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Marj--I didn't mind Powell's performance, and the chemistry between him and Loy was a neat foreshadowing of the classic team to come.
The screenplay, you may not be aware--I wasn't--won the Oscar. Good choice.
Other oddities:
Mickey Rooney turns into Clark Gable??? Not bloody likely, but hilarious.
The year the movie was released (1934) was also the year Gable won an Oscar for It Happened One Night and Powell and Loy debuted in The Thin Man. No wonder Manhattan Melodrama wound up being underappreciated: it was the poor stepchild to those other smash hits and emerged as merely a footnote to the John Dillinger story. But what an unexpected delight. |
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| Marj |
| Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 5:05 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 10497
Location: Manhattan
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I'll say!
And yes, I wasn't aware that MM won an Oscar for its screenplay. Thanks, Billy for making me aware of that.
Powell and Loy's chemistry has always been great. But you've got to admit that Powell's closing to the jury was embarrassing. Still I give him props for improving his acting. I'll give anyone props for that. |
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| ehle64 |
| Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 10:45 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 7149
Location: NYC; US&A
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| I stepped in Loy's heels the other night on St. Marks. I used to love seeing double features @ Theater 80 back in the day. . . |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2009 5:33 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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Marj--Guess I'll have to see MM again. (I plan to anyway.) I was too caught up in the excellent, unpredictable plot at the time to see the flaws in Powell's performance.
I do notice that several people who wrote in to IMDB cite that scene as their favorite. Of course, I would always tend to agree with your assessment than the opinion of some nobody on IMDB. 
I do have to say, with defiance, that I've never been as much a fan of the Thin Man series as I'm obviously supposed to be, and that's partially because I've never been a Powell devotee. But I also think the movies are slightly overrated. I do love the second film, After the Thin Man, because of the casting and plot. SPOILER ALERT AHEAD IN WHITE:
I love seeing Jimmy Stewart as the murderer. That's a hoot. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2009 7:59 am |
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Wade's post reminded me of something I realized the other day, that I never thought about. Back in the day of neighbourhood theatres and double bills, the theatres often showed movies that were years or even decades old. And these weren't those blockbuster re-releases like Wizard of Oz or Gone With the Wind, they were a widen variety of adventure, detective, seagoing, comedy, musical, horror, romance etc. movies. And I guess because there was no TV or anyplace else to catch these films, they would often have a long run. My friends and I ate them up, and we saw many movies that were made well before we were born and loved them. Even when I visited Brooklyn in the late 40's early 50's I saw some great old pictures at the neighbourhood theatre. Caught a double bill of Beau Geste and Lives of the Bengal Lancers in 1950.
It's a shame that this is such a rare thing now because seeing these on a big screen in a dark theatre is the best. |
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| Marj |
| Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2009 6:54 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 10497
Location: Manhattan
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Billy--I think the thing I always liked about the Thin Man series were Nick and Nora Charles. I actually found the book better than the movie. But Loy and Powell were wonderful together. The mysteries were tough though. And you know how I love a good mystery.
The book was more fun than I had expected. Dashell Hammett modeled the characters upon himself and Lillian Hellman, or so I've read. And yes, I agree about the second movie in the series. I liked it far better than the first. And I loved your spoiler. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 8:18 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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The Thin Man films are among my favorites, but primarily the first one with its memorable dialogue ("They didn't come anywhere near my tabloids"). When Loy was at our class, of course someone asked her why she and Powell never seemed to be romantically linked, despite their obvious chemistry, and she said they were good friends but it just didn't go any further.
Nevertheless, I've always thought of Nick and Nora as true soul mates, and always hoped to find a Nick for myself. Never happened, of course. Sometimes I thought... but no. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 7:41 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| This is probably old news to most of you, but just for the record, Nick and Nora's relationship was based on Hammett's with Lillian Hellman. Drinking and all. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 7:45 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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Great new series on Lifetime: Drop Dead Diva.
An airhead model wannabe is killed in a car crash and her spirit is transplanted into a plus-size lawyer's body. The lawyer now has the intelligence of a Mensa member coupled with the sensibility of a Melrose Place denizen. Brooke Elliott is hilarious in the leading role, a fat genius learning to cope with her new-found shallowness.
The show carries high concept to new levels, but it's charming and funny, which excuses everything. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 8:33 am |
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billyweeds wrote: This is probably old news to most of you, but just for the record, Nick and Nora's relationship was based on Hammett's with Lillian Hellman. Drinking and all.
It's at least two days old, as Marj just wrote about that two posts above yours. 
That new series does sound very good. Don't know if they will get it in Medellin?  |
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