The October 2013 Schedule on TCM

Discussion of programming on TCM.
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ChiO
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Re: The October 2013 Schedule on TCM

Post by ChiO »

PATHER PANCHALI, for me, is one of those rare films where every single frame seems to be perfectly composed. Pick a frame, any frame, and it is a photograph that tells a story rather than just a way to get from Point A to Point B.

"Evocative" is a very apt description, JF.
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JackFavell
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Re: The October 2013 Schedule on TCM

Post by JackFavell »

And yet it never seems contrived in any way, ChiO. You're right. It's simply beautiful.
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Re: The October 2013 Schedule on TCM

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kingrat wrote:Thursday morning shows four films made from J.M. Barrie plays--JF has commented on them above--and the fourth of these films, The Admirable Crichton, is directed by Lewis Gilbert (best known for Alfie), and three more films he directed follow. Clever programming. Then there's a movie I've used in programming challenges but never seen, Loss of Innocence (1961), based on Rumer Godden's novel The Greengage Summer, starring Kenneth More, Susannah York, and Danielle Darrieux.
I am looking forward to seeing The Admirable Crichton again as well as Loss of Innocence. Barrie's "Crichton" is a delightful story about class, and features several favorite actors such as Cecil Parker and the sublime Diane Cilento. I fell for these films' star, Kenneth More, eons ago when he played "Young Jolyon" Forsythe in the '60s BBC production of the Galsworthy saga. He managed to convey decency and playfulness in a character whose only real talent was for living and being kind. At the time, he also reminded me of my favorite yellow teddy bear, and I'd like to see if he still does. Loss of Innocence allowed More to play a more ambiguous character who has to face his own limitations when a nubile girl, wondrously played by Susannah York, is far too nearby. A very young Jane Birkin plays her sister.
kingrat wrote:I've never seen The Good Die Young (1954), but a heist film with Laurence Harvey, Gloria Grahame, and Richard Basehart sounds interesting.
Since I am starting to warm up to Laurence Harvey's interestingly creepy style (yeah, I know there is probably an Rx for that), I am eager to see The Good Die Young, which I've heard is darkly effective.
kingrat wrote:I have seen, and definitely recommend, The Seventh Dawn (1964), with William Holden, Susannah York, and Capucine. Holden plays an American soldier who fights with his Malayan friend against the Japanese in WWII. Later, his friend is Soviet-educated and becomes a leader of the Communist insurgency in Malaya. Movies like Richard Brooks' Something of Value or The Quiet American (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1958) or The Seventh Dawn may speak more strongly to us than to American audiences of the time who weren't too interested in moral dilemmas set in faraway countries. Capucine, sometimes wooden, gives an excellent performance, and this is a fine role for William Holden.
I am not among those who felt that Capucine was wooden, but she is fascinating in a beyond human way, even in less subtle films. When she is on-screen, she is the only person I really notice. I agree that for once, she had a very good role and played it well in The Seventh Dawn. I love your description of that movie and think your comparison to others of the period is very apt. Thanks so much for the reminder. I'd forgotten this was going to be on TCM.
kingrat wrote:ILater this month during the Margaret Lockwood tribute on Oct. 22, another Lewis Gilbert film, Cast a Dark Shadow (1955), will be shown. This is an enjoyable noir with some fine acting. Perhaps Gilbert is a better director than his reputation allows.
Lewis Gilbert was a very good director, and did more than Alfie, which everyone remembers best. He was especially effective in the fifties and early sixties when he made many of the better war films of that period including the unforgettable Carve Her Name With Pride and noirish films such as you mentioned above.

Of course, like everyone in the commercial movie biz, he did quite a bit of awful stuff too If you have ever seen Cosh Boy (1953) with Joan Collins, you know how unfortunate Gilbert's early work could be sometimes. I've always liked Gilbert's James Bond movies, (esp. You Only Live Twice) and have even gotten a lot of chuckles out of his best known bit of sixties schlock, The Adventurers (1969). I guess he sort of made a return to smaller, more human-scaled movies in his later years with the enjoyable Shirley Valentine (1989) and Educating Rita (1983). And Stepping Out (1991), featuring the skilled mime Bill Irwin and someone named Liza, is a delightful little movie about tap-dancing in Buffalo. If you have ever been to Buffalo, you know how important that can be.

BTW, I have recently found a copy of Gilbert's Ferry to Hong Kong (1959) with Curt Jurgens & Orson Welles. Now I just have to find time to watch it.
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Re: The October 2013 Schedule on TCM

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JackFavell wrote:Hahaha! You've labeled the two major downfalls of What a Way To Go! What was charming egoism in Gene in the early films becomes something kind of ugly later on. And Robert Cummings has a fussiness later that can be a real turn off, though I don't really mind him that much.

Moving back to Nils Asther, I think quite possibly there was never a more beautiful man in movies. He's excellent, perhaps even brilliant as Yen. One of the few portrayals of an Asian by someone of a different culture that works. He respects the culture he portrays which is why the movie remains one of my favorite Capra films. It's a shame he couldn't have escaped his leading man good looks, because I think he's far better as a character actor.

And yeah, he was smokin' hot! :D

I like Capra early on, when he was a bit of a tough guy. In this film and in Flight, plus a few others, I felt there was a different Capra at work, an adventurous one with a cleaner, more concise tale to tell. A director not afraid to cut to the bone, more like Wellman, making tough choices. This helped Capra's stories immensely, as least for me.



It's funny -- I can be so charmed by a mature Astaire; i.e., THE NOTORIOUS LANDLADY, ON THE BEACH, GHOST STORY, etc., but am completely turned off by older Gene. I guess with Cummings, he's been such a non-entity to me over the years that my reaction to him is more "blecch!" than dedicated annoyance, lol. (I vaguely remember the t.v. show "Love That Bob" -- his aging smarminess worked a bit better for me there) Yeah, you nailed it, Gene was charming early on as his stage Pal Joey persona was exploited, but aging "players" aren't exactly endearing, lol. When he was a younger, beaming, cynical, huggable hunky heel, a woman could still feel he was ripe for reform, and that she'd be the one to magically transform his character. Although even as late as 1957, I found Kelly rather vulnerable as Noel Airman in MAJORIE MORNINGSTAR.

YEN is actually the only film I've seen Asther in! (I do recall some WWII thing where he's a Norwegian (?) fighting the Nazis) I do agree about his Asian portrayal -- very subtle. No Warner Oland fiend here, lol. Can you recommend other Nils pictures that best show off his fine acting skills and beautiful appearance?

I'm not that familiar with much of early Capra except for the usual basic suspects of IHON, MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN, etc., and then the later "corn", but would really love to get in touch with his tougher side; also, the silents.
Last edited by Bronxgirl48 on October 10th, 2013, 7:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The October 2013 Schedule on TCM

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kingrat wrote:Moira, thanks for filling in the picture more on Lewis Gilbert. Carve Her Name With Pride is indeed a good movie; Educating Rita is a comedy which turns out to be sadder than you'd think (great role for Julie Walters, who inspired the play); and Shirley Valentine has a great role for Pauline Collins. A number of British directors, including Gilbert, are undervalued. TCM revises film history every time it creates these tributes to directors, actors, and other film artists.
I am always amazed at the number of directors who remain to be discovered in the cinema history of other countries. I've been hoping that TCM could have an all-out, month-long Brit fest one year--to be followed by a French, Italian, German, Russian, Spanish, etc. festivals in subsequent years. Maybe the issue behind this (other than the possibility that only some people may be interested) is that they need to arrange to get so many internationally held rights to broadcast films from the UK. Who knows? TCM tries to do so many new things all the time and seems to succeed quite a bit. It might happen.
kingrat wrote:Les Maudits is a winner, and if you like the sensibility of other Rene Clement films like Forbidden Games and Purple Noon, you'll probably like this one, too. WWII seems to have given him a great knowledge of human nature. He's not cynical, nor does he announce this is as a great revelation (as I think Bunuel does in Los Olvidados), he simply takes this for granted. He tends to an objective, sometimes ironic, view which to me is all the more powerful for being matter-of-fact. There are many "quotable" moments of directorial skill in Les Maudits, such as the scene where the young Nazi thug Willy hides in a warehouse stacked with sacks of coffee. It's easy to see the influence of the cramped scenes in the submarine on the masterful scenes on the boat in Purple Noon.
I have Les Maudits on my DVR and will try to see it soon. I like Clement most of the time--love Purple Noon and the heartbreaking Forbidden Games as well as Gervaise.
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Re: The October 2013 Schedule on TCM

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YEN is actually the only film I've seen Asther in! (I do recall some WWII thing where he's a Norwegian (?) fighting the Nazis) I do agree about his Asian portrayal -- very subtle. No Warner Oland fiend here, lol. Can you recommend other Nils pictures that best show off his fine acting skills and beautiful appearance?
Not really. :D There aren't a lot of Nils Asther movies that show his talent, mostly, because of his looks. He didn't get a chance to do anything but look pretty and flare his beautiful nostrils. He's excellent in Laugh Clown Laugh - but the role is standard leading man and not too interesting, yet he brings sensitivity to it. He doesn't do much at all in Our Dancing Daughters. The Cossacks is a costume drama with John Gilbert where Nils is his rival for Renee Adoree's hand. In The Sea Bat, I was very disappointed that Nils was dispatched early on in the story. Wild Orchids is a lot of fun, with Nils as a hot blooded Javanese prince, but Lewis Stone actually takes the honors in that film, as the negligent husband to Garbo. The Single Standard is a really good drama, again with Garbo, and Asther adds spice as a free-spirited painter/sailor/boxer named Packy Cannon!!!!!! I am NOT making this up. Highly improbable, but it works because of the stars - Plus it has your boy Johnny Mack Brown. Garbo and Asther do have a certain chemistry I think, maybe because they were both Scandinavian.

Nothing in Asther's career that I've seen compares to Gen. Yen. I sure wish they could find a copy of Letty Lynton. It's the same story as the 1950 Lean story Madeleine with Nils as the lover who bites the dust.
I'm not that familiar with much of early Capra except for the usual basic suspects of IHON, MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN, etc., and then the later "corn", but would really love to get in touch with his tougher side; also, the silents.


I like It Happened One Night and Mr. Deeds, but I really was impressed with Flight, and The Miracle Woman, and most of all with Yen. I've only seen one of his silents, The Power of the Press, which was fair to middling. It's worth watching, but not great in any way. Harmless. The shots of the newspapers running up through the machines though is exciting (and used ad infinitum in other movies throughout the years). All the newsroom scenes and some of the gangster scenes benefit from a super supporting cast. It's just the rest of the movie that kind of stinks. It's not really bad, Doug Jr. is appealing, but the story and love interest are paper thin.
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Re: The October 2013 Schedule on TCM

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I liked Stanley Baker's character, and Basehart's. Laurence Harvey is a little too good at playing the snake, It makes me wonder what he was like in real life. Wait! I don't want to know. :D I liked Robert Morley's small role, he was superb as the father who has not only given up on his son but actively hates him. Could have done without the GG/John Ireland storyline.
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Re: The October 2013 Schedule on TCM

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I never in a million years would have seen the similarities between A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Pather Panchali if you hadn't mentioned them, kingrat. The Indian film is so absorbing, so of it's own world, that it has never occurred to me to make comparisons before. In Pather Panchali, at least to my way of thinking, the kids are in almost an entirely separate universe from the adults, whereas in ATGIB they are part and parcel of an adult world, and perhaps trapped in it. The parents' actions really affect them.... they are connected deeply. I had a feeling with Pather Panchali that the adults are from another planet, as if they were merely there to obstruct or contain their children's natural lives which had almost nothing to do with them. Maybe more of a similarity to Forbidden Games? Or maybe you are on the right track, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is exactly the same....I'm having trouble pinning the feelings down, comparing. Maybe it's that A Tree Grows in Brooklyn bears a similarity to Forbidden Games? As I'm writing this I feel the falseness of my words. I feel Pather Panchali slipping away from me, refusing to be defined. Interesting.
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Re: The October 2013 Schedule on TCM

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kingrat wrote:Also want a copy of Antonioni's L'Eclisse so I can watch the opening scene again. The last scene is justly famous, but the way Antonioni frames the breakup of a relationship in the first scene is equally fine. L'Eclisse is episodic, with some great episodes (the stock exchange scenes are good, too) and some not so great ones, like the aimless meandering of the airport scene or the really embarrassing scene where Monica Vitti visits some friends who've returned from Africa and then puts on blackface and prances around. Some of Antonioni's greatest moments are in this film, uneven though it is.
I saw it up to that point and a little beyond. Monkeys. Really? Wanted to hang in there to check out the style and look of the film.
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Re: The October 2013 Schedule on TCM

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I missed L'Eclisse, except for some stock exchange parts this morning. I wanted to record, but I couldn't get everything on a disc from last night and couldn't force myself to get up at 5:30 to change the disc.

Can you tell me please, was the blackface supposed to be embarrassing - as in watching people exhibit their worse nature? or was it embarrassing because it was trying to be hip? Or for another reason?
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