The November 2013 Schedule on TCM

[JackFavell]

I almost like him better as a baddie!

First of all, his comic attempts on Joel McCrea's life really boost the suspense factor of the film, and dang it, he's just FUNNY. He's such a good actor that these few villainous turns really stand out. I was amazed at how slimy he was in South Riding, where he really got to sink his teeth into another malefactor role. He's so human as any character, he adds so many layers that I swear if I met him in real life I wouldn't be surprised at all.

[ChiO]

And he's a conniving evil hider-of-Nazis in DANGEROUS PARTNERS.

[JackFavell]

Any serious movie that boasts Edmund Gwenn AND Felix Bressart in the cast must be good!

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Jackie,
Edmund Gwenn was a fabulous villain, too! And yes, Red. I feel that he was the consummate actor because of his versatility.

[movieman1957]

Wendy,

I got it.

[JackFavell]

Fantastic! I got it too! amazingly, I woke up 7 minutes before the movie started and was able to quickly turn on the machine. I'll have to rewatch for specifics, maybe we can chat about it?

[movieman1957]

I'd like that. I'm not sure I can get to it this weekend but keep me posted and I'll get it when you can get to it.

[JackFavell]

Whenever you can get to it is fine, no rush. I am the worst one to be pushing anyone to watch a movie! I'm so far behind!

[JackFavell]

Masha, I go back and forth on Bringing Up Baby. Every SECOND time I see it, it's great fun. The other times, I can't bear it. I do love Cary Grant's Harold Lloyd impersonation, he's got it down, right to the hand movements. I also like Walter Catlett very very much. If we are talking about Hawks screwballs, I greatly prefer Twentieth Century, which actually has a plot, one that is full of strings tied together beautifully.

My Man Godfrey is my favorite screwball, and has been number one on my list above all other movies of any kind for years. LaCava's sly and humorous social conscience is just SO wittily presented, never bogging down in the serious matters while bringing them to the fore at all times. His timing is perfect. There's a wonderful lightness, an unexpectedness that I think came from LaCava's shooting style, which was extremely loose. And it's just plain funny...even when you've watched it for the fiftieth time.

I think Irene is a brilliant, brilliant characterization. Lombard is perfect. She is the opposite of her mother, she runs on and on and says some VERY meaningful things. Godfrey is the most intriguing character, because even at the end, he remains a bit mysterious. This is Powell's genius, that even at the end, we want to see more of him, we've fallen for him too. Every other character works, there isn't a weak link. In fact, they are all terrifically strong, at their peaks. It's well written and well played, each character is an individual and a link in the comic AND dramatic chain. There are no wasted scenes. The quick pace belies the meaningful nature of the film. The characters are deeply DEEPLY felt. This is why it works so well.

Jean Dixon is my favorite character, as Molly the snappy maid. She gets my favorite lines. There is nothing better than her delivery in all of film. It also has my favorite bit player, Pat Flaherty. He gets the first line of the film.

The movie is always surprising, you never know where it's going, but it still goes there perfectly. It's got a great beginning and a great ending. In my opinion, this movie works on all levels, as romance, as social commentary, as comedy, and even as drama.

[Rita Hayworth]

I can see why both Jack Favell and Masha likes Our Man Godfrey over Bringing Up Baby.

I understand both you perfectly clear - but, in my own defense I have my own reasons why Baby is my favorite Screwball because the lines of Godfrey can mislead me - because I'm deaf and hard of hearing - even with closed captioning I just don't read between the line on Godfrey very well with Baby. To me, both of these movies are clearly one of the best of the best Screwballs ever and I understand why people prefer Godfrey over Baby. But, I have a very difficult times understanding Godfrey because there are way too many characters in this movie that I have a hard time following.

Comedies - especially the ranks of the Screwballs have a very lasting effects on me and that's why I have to be diligence on the movie itself and the performances of the actors/actresses in Godfrey - especially Alice Brady and Gail Patrick both of these fine actresses that I have a very difficult time understanding them and that alone make Godfrey not as enjoyable to watch as Baby. William Powell and Carole Lombard were outstanding in Godfrey - but in Baby Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn were as a par with these two Powell and Lombard - but with (I admit) Powell is more gifted than Grant - I have to give Godfrey an edge over Baby pairing of Grant and Hepburn.

To me, Grant and Hepburn are easier for me to follow along than Powell and Lombard - in the early days of William Powell watching his films - I have to watch his films twice to get the full impact of his performance and not until he got older - his acting abilities gotten better and his speech improved and that alone makes Powell a winner in my book. His Thin Man Series with Myrna Loy is fantastic - but I have to watch it twice before making any comments of the film because his speech can be very difficult to follow and too fast for me to catch on. I have to watch it with closed captioning - no closed captioning - I can't watch an Early Powell film at all.

You see why I was waiting for that day to compare these two excellent films to watch and I was looking forward of seeing them back to back and I have to say - this honestly I loved Baby more than I loved Godfrey - but I have seen Godfrey six months ago and I was waiting for it to come on television one more time and with both of these films shown at the same night on TCM - I was thrilled to death.

The Supporting Cast of Godfrey is far more superior than the Supporting Cast of Baby - and that's is a proven fact in my book but the casting of both Alice Brady and Gail Patrick makes it very difficult to watch because I just have a hard time reading them because they don't move their mouth very well and I just can't read their lips. I read lips since I was 4 years old and I'm a master of reading lips. Brady and Patrick do not move their lips very well and they talks way too fast for me to follow along.

You have to understand that ... Masha and Jack Favell.

[RedRiver]

Speaking of Carol Lombard, I watched the witty NOTHING SACRED last night. A sophisticated script by Ben Hecht carries this slightly awkward comedy, shot in very early Technicolor. Stars Lombard and Fredric March are fine, as they always are. The story is ironic, the dialogue clever and sharp. Something about the timing bothers me. Almost as if the director was waiting for something to happen, and it didn't. But this is a comedy that makes us think. Not (to refer to a discussion on another thread) a gore fest with people being dismembered. I'll take it!

[JackFavell]

I like Nothing Sacred. It's not as dazzling as some of the other screwballs, but it still works, the story seems fresh and familiar from our vantage point 80 years later. When I first saw it, I was underwhelmed, but I like it better every time I see it. And it has the marvelous Walter Connolly who is fantastic in everything.

[RedRiver]

It reminds me of the Capra classics. Manipulation of social mores; the inevitable backfire. But where DOE, DEEDS and SMITH plunge into the sentimental, the cynical Ben Hecht story sticks with irony. I even like the Martin and Lewis remake. What is the name of that one?