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| Syd |
 Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 10:14 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12921
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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| I do like Merman in Alexander's Ragtime Band, which was another original screenplay, and she's a supporting character. She would have been totally wrong for the Alice Faye role. |
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| whiskeypriest |
| Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 12:02 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 6916
Location: "It's a Dry Heat."
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billyweeds wrote: Joe Vitus wrote: ...maybe even instead of Merman, who just didn't translate to film, even in stage roles she originated.
I am the world's greatest living Merman fanatic, but I agree with you. I think the fact that she didn't play Rose on film is a blessing in disguise. Her performance in Call Me Madam on film is virtually unwatchable even though I'm sure she was aces on stage in the same role. She's better in There's No Business Like Show Business, probably because it was conceived as a film in the first place, but she's still decidedly OTT.
Of course, she still would have been better than the hopelessly miscast and obnoxiously narcissistic Roz Russell, who was so OTT in her own inimitable way that she makes The Merm look like Simone Signoret. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 12:03 pm |
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Location: New York City
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 12:45 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Houston
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Syd wrote: I do like Merman in Alexander's Ragtime Band, which was another original screenplay, and she's a supporting character. She would have been totally wrong for the Alice Faye role.
That's a really bizarre movie though. The songs and costumes suggest the ragtime era, but there are modern cars and neon lights. War breaks out, but though everyone is dressed like a doughboy, the movie conspicuously avoids defining which World War is occurring. |
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-Topher |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 4:55 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12921
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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Joe Vitus wrote: Syd wrote: I do like Merman in Alexander's Ragtime Band, which was another original screenplay, and she's a supporting character. She would have been totally wrong for the Alice Faye role.
That's a really bizarre movie though. The songs and costumes suggest the ragtime era, but there are modern cars and neon lights. War breaks out, but though everyone is dressed like a doughboy, the movie conspicuously avoids defining which World War is occurring.
The movie came out in 1938, before World War II. I admit, though, much of it seems to exist beyond time. |
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I had a love and my love was true but I lost my love to the yabba dabba doo, --The Flintstone Lament |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 8:19 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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| Do you think the producers realized where the nation was headed and were doing a little early propaganda? Or do you think a possible Second World War was too far off the radar for Americans to be be considering at that point? |
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| Ghulam |
| Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 9:51 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Upstate NY
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The Russian movie "Elena" (2011) is the story of a nurse from a lower middle class background, married to a wealthy cold man. Both were married before. She takes good care of him and their house, working like a slave. However when she finds out that he plans to leave almost all of his wealth to his wayward daughter and would not give anything to help her needy son, she goes into action. Received 11 international awards, mostly for the director Andrey Zvyagintsev and Nadezhda Markina as Elena.
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| Syd |
| Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 10:44 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12921
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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Joe Vitus wrote: Do you think the producers realized where the nation was headed and were doing a little early propaganda? Or do you think a possible Second World War was too far off the radar for Americans to be be considering at that point?
I think they had a pretty good idea Europe was heading for war and we might get drawn in. Japan was already at war in China in 1938 and we were sending aid to China but weren't yet close to war with Japan despite the Japanese sinking the USS Panay. |
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I had a love and my love was true but I lost my love to the yabba dabba doo, --The Flintstone Lament |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2013 8:38 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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| Still enjoying the fruits of Jeanne Crain day on TCM, which was yesterday. Crain was a delightful product of the studio system. By no means a great actress, she was eye candy of the first rank and certainly competent in front of the camera. Although Elia Kazan reportedly disliked working with her because of her "impassivity" as a performer, she was very convincing as the black woman posing as white in Pinky, and got an Academy Award nomination. Take Care of My Little Girl, the Technicolored expose of sorority prejudice, is a favorite of mine and Martin Scorsese's. Leave Her to Heaven is a Gene Tierney vehicle, but Crain, Darryl Hickman, and Cornel Wilde are fine too. The Turner Crainathon didn't even include State Fair or Centennial Summer, but it still had plenty of meat--including Margie and Apartment for Peggy. I love Jeanne (pronounced "Jean") Crain! |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2013 9:19 am |
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Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12921
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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| Oddly, I've never seen her on screen although she was in several movies I'd expect to have seen. I like it when TCM has nights devoted to stars like Jeanne Crain, Hattie McDaniel, Wallace Beery, Ann Blyth or Charles Coburn so I can catch up. Thursday is Glenda Farrell day; she got to speak my tag line. |
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I had a love and my love was true but I lost my love to the yabba dabba doo, --The Flintstone Lament |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2013 10:04 am |
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I always liked Jeanne Crain. She was quite a beauty. I watched Apartment For Peggy yesterday. I thought I'd seen it, but I hadn't. Not a great film, but OK.
The other day I saw a number of the Wallace Beery movies. I hadn't seen most of them. He and the movies were all very good. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2013 10:43 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6958
Location: Black Hills
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| Billy, do you have a migraine? Or were you just illustrating the meaning of "OTT" for Wpriest? |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2013 11:16 am |
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bartist wrote: Billy, do you have a migraine? Or were you just illustrating the meaning of "OTT" for Wpriest?
Where's Munch when we need him? |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2013 1:53 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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bartist wrote: Billy, do you have a migraine? Or were you just illustrating the meaning of "OTT" for Wpriest?
I was illustrating for Facebook my fear of going on even the tamest amusement park ride. I'm a pretty brave soul in general, but amusement park rides are where I draw the line. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2013 2:41 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| Speaking of Turner Classic Movies all-movies-starring-one-star days, and speaking of Shirley Jones, tomorrow's TCM star is...Shirley Jones. |
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