I Just Watched...

[NoShear]

Romeo And Juliet (1936) TCM On Demand-6/10

The Hollywood version of Shakespeare's star crossed lovers.

First time viewing for me, I avoided it because the 1968 version is my favorite Shakespeare on film. It was disappointing but not too bad. Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer have been criticized for being too old. Howard looks very long in the tooth for this but Shearer is very lovely and gives a fine performance. The film looks lavish and the supporting cast is good. It is nearly stolen by John Barrymore as a very flamboyant Mercutio and Basil Rathbone a menacing Tybalt. Rathbone got an Oscar nomination for this, I wish he had more screen time. The tragic moments still work, but the 1968 version is still by far the best.

It was interesting reading your partial break from the ageist take on Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer, Detective Jim McLeod.

[Andree]

LOL. Della went far and beyond what a legal secretary would do. Seems she was available 24 hrs a day. She even put up some of Perry's client at her apt.!!!. She had no life beyond her job it seems (at least in tvland). Paul I could see. He was a private eye.

I believe part of that was her hidden love for Perry. She drops a few hints,
but he doesn't, for the most part, take the bait. It was a pretty exciting
life for a legal secretary, however unrealistic, and it seems she got a good
paycheck. And reference is frequently made to Paul being quite the man
about town. I always get a laugh out of scenes where Paul is watching some
hot babe being photographed and Perry has to snap him back to reality.

After my involuntary HD upgrade I now get METV. It's all by itself in the
shopping shows location. Now I may have too many classic TV choices.

[CinemaInternational]

I dunno, does MERYL STREEP rock a WONDERBREAD-INSPIRED SWIMSUIT in SOPHIE'S CHOICE? Are there MARVELOUS ENORMOUS HATS??? I have not seen it, but I feel like the answer is "no." Honestly, I LOVE VICTOR/VICTORIA, but I think EVIL UNDER THE SUN has better costumes. We're simpatico on GANDHI though....ALTHOUGH IF BEN KINGSLEY WALKED DOWN A STAIRCASE IN AN ENSEMBLE LIKE JANE BIRKIN'S AT THE END OF "EVIL" THE BRITISH WOULD HAVE PULLED OUT IMMEDIATELY.

Thank you for letting me know that about the score almost getting nommed, it really deserved it, more I'd venture to say than ANNIE.

i WILL say that the costumes in ANNIE should have been nominated over GANDHI and SOPHIE'S CHOICE and I dunno maybe TRON too.

Yes, yes, APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH...I remember coming across is on HBO in the late 80s and being excited and...eesh.

I do remember thinking PIPER LAURIE was SUPERB THOUGH.

I'll also guess that Evil Under the Sun was likely close to a costume nomination due, because the guild categories are prone to nominating someone again if they nominated him or her in the past, and Evil Under the Sun's costumes were designed by the late Anthony powell, who only did costumes for 22 theatrical films, but was up for the Oscar 6 times, winning 3 times for Travels with My Aunt, Death on the Nile, and Tess.


His other three nods were all for films with bad reputations so his nods for them just go to show how much his fellow designers loved him: Pirates, Hook, and 102 Dalmatians.

And his cousin (either a first or second cousin) is a designer named Sandy Powell, who herself has won 3 Oscars for Costumes herself (Shakespeare in Love, The Aviator, and the Young Victoria) with a raft of other nominations (Orlando, The Wings of the Dove, Velvet Goldmine, Gangs of New York, Mrs. Henderson Presents, The Tempest, Hugo, Cinderella, Carol, Mary Poppins Returns, The Favourite, The Irishman)

Sun only did middling box office so it's possible not enough people in that category saw it.

Normally, I'd agree, but they nominated the costume designer for 1986's Pirates, and that was a bona fide financial fiasco. $6.5 million worldwide (less than $2 million in the US) on a $40 million budget. If they could nominate him for a flop that size, surely he would have still been in the hunt for Evil Under the Sun.

[CinemaInternational]

Romeo And Juliet (1936) TCM On Demand-6/10

The Hollywood version of Shakespeare's star crossed lovers.

First time viewing for me, I avoided it because the 1968 version is my favorite Shakespeare on film. It was disappointing but not too bad. Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer have been criticized for being too old. Howard looks very long in the tooth for this but Shearer is very lovely and gives a fine performance. The film looks lavish and the supporting cast is good. It is nearly stolen by John Barrymore as a very flamboyant Mercutio and Basil Rathbone a menacing Tybalt. Rathbone got an Oscar nomination for this, I wish he had more screen time. The tragic moments still work, but the 1968 version is still by far the best.

It was interesting reading your partial break from the ageist take on Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer, Detective Jim McLeod.

Truthfully, Shearer and Howard both give marvelous performances in the 1936 version.

[BagelOnAPlate]

They've started showing Miss Marple ones before Poirot now. I've seen many of those (with McEwen and Julia MacKenzie at least), but it's been awhile so I don't remember them well). I've never seen the original (her name escapes me) which is considered the best one. So unlike Margaret Rutherford's lowbrow version.

Joan Hickson was the first BBC Marple in the 1980s.
Lowbrow or not, I loved Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple.

ME TOO!!!!! She's exactly how I pictured the character when I read the books, also the MISS MARPLE THEME SONG from the RUTHERFORD FILMS absolutely BOPS.


:

I like the Margaet Rutherford movies, but in the books, Agatha Christie describes Miss Marple as "thin," which Margaet Rutherford is not.

[Hibi]

LOL. Della went far and beyond what a legal secretary would do. Seems she was available 24 hrs a day. She even put up some of Perry's client at her apt.!!!. She had no life beyond her job it seems (at least in tvland). Paul I could see. He was a private eye.

I believe part of that was her hidden love for Perry. She drops a few hints,
but he doesn't, for the most part, take the bait. It was a pretty exciting
life for a legal secretary, however unrealistic, and it seems she got a good
paycheck. And reference is frequently made to Paul being quite the man
about town. I always get a laugh out of scenes where Paul is watching some
hot babe being photographed and Perry has to snap him back to reality.

After my involuntary HD upgrade I now get METV. It's all by itself in the
shopping shows location. Now I may have too many classic TV choices.

Yes, Raymond Burr's attention was directed elsewhere! LOL. This being a family show, they couldn't really show Della really coming on to Perry, but you get the impression she was available if he was willing........At least Della wasn't stuck being the receptionist. They had Gertie for that.

Yeah, I have MeTV way up in the 900s! Dunno why its so up there. I don't have much else on nearby channels around it.

[CinemaInternational]

LOL. Della went far and beyond what a legal secretary would do. Seems she was available 24 hrs a day. She even put up some of Perry's client at her apt.!!!. She had no life beyond her job it seems (at least in tvland). Paul I could see. He was a private eye.

I believe part of that was her hidden love for Perry. She drops a few hints,
but he doesn't, for the most part, take the bait. It was a pretty exciting
life for a legal secretary, however unrealistic, and it seems she got a good
paycheck. And reference is frequently made to Paul being quite the man
about town. I always get a laugh out of scenes where Paul is watching some
hot babe being photographed and Perry has to snap him back to reality.

After my involuntary HD upgrade I now get METV. It's all by itself in the
shopping shows location. Now I may have too many classic TV choices.

Yes, Raymond Burr's attention was directed elsewhere! LOL. This being a family show, they couldn't really show Della really coming on to Perry, but you get the impression she was available if he was willing........At least Della wasn't stuck being the receptionist. They had Gertie for that.

Yeah, I have MeTV way up in the 900s! Dunno why its so up there. I don't have much else on nearby channels around it.

The 900s around here are mostly reserved for music channels and for subsections of the local channels, so MeTV is likely operated as a subsection of your local network CBS, NBC,ABC, or Fox station. (100s are general entertainment and home shopping, 200s seem to be general entertainment and basic movie channels, 300s tend to be religious channels, sport channels, and news channels, 600s tend to be HBo and the like, 700s are pornographic/sport on demand channels, 800s are Spanish Language)

[Hibi]

I believe part of that was her hidden love for Perry. She drops a few hints,
but he doesn't, for the most part, take the bait. It was a pretty exciting
life for a legal secretary, however unrealistic, and it seems she got a good
paycheck. And reference is frequently made to Paul being quite the man
about town. I always get a laugh out of scenes where Paul is watching some
hot babe being photographed and Perry has to snap him back to reality.

After my involuntary HD upgrade I now get METV. It's all by itself in the
shopping shows location. Now I may have too many classic TV choices.

Yes, Raymond Burr's attention was directed elsewhere! LOL. This being a family show, they couldn't really show Della really coming on to Perry, but you get the impression she was available if he was willing........At least Della wasn't stuck being the receptionist. They had Gertie for that.

Yeah, I have MeTV way up in the 900s! Dunno why its so up there. I don't have much else on nearby channels around it.

The 900s around here are mostly reserved for music channels and for subsections of the local channels, so MeTV is likely operated as a subsection of your local network CBS, NBC,ABC, or Fox station. (100s are general entertainment and home shopping, 200s seem to be general entertainment and basic movie channels, 300s tend to be religious channels, sport channels, and news channels, 600s tend to be HBo and the like, 700s are pornographic/sport on demand channels, 800s are Spanish Language)

Yes, Metv is an offshoot of something else locally I think. I'd forgotten about that. So that makes sense now.

[CinemaInternational]

(IN RE: THE ELAINE GIFS)

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!

I LIVE!!!!!!

PS- IS THERE A SINGLE PERSON WHO POSTS HERE WHO IS FAMILIAR WITH "THE ENGLISH PATIENT EPISODE" THAT HASN'T FELT THAT WAY ABOUT SOME MOVIE EVERYONE WAS LOSING IT OVER COMPLETELY AT SOME TIME IN THE PAST????

(although I thought THE ENGLISH PATIENT was fine, even if JULIET BINOCHE was THE UNQUESTIONABLE LEAD and SCOTT-THOMAS's was clearly the supporting part)

Let's see. I was too young to have seen it at the time, but I felt that way when I caught up with American Beauty.

I am totally with you on AMERICAN BEAUTY.
I didn't see it when it was in theaters, but when I did see it, I was like YUCK!
I gave the movie a half star on Letterboxd.

Good for you for giving it half a star on Letterboxd. I think I gave it 1 and a half, mostly because I did like Annette Bening's perfromance in spite of the rest. I've always been lousy at rating films though, rating too high, etc. I hope you don't mind, but I went searching for you on Letterboxd (among all the people who gave American Beauty half a star), and I think I gave you a follow over there just now. I hope you don't mind (Meanwhile my account over there is a mess because there are hundreds of films I still have to track down and log, since I got out of the habit last year)

[txfilmfan]

I believe part of that was her hidden love for Perry. She drops a few hints,
but he doesn't, for the most part, take the bait. It was a pretty exciting
life for a legal secretary, however unrealistic, and it seems she got a good
paycheck. And reference is frequently made to Paul being quite the man
about town. I always get a laugh out of scenes where Paul is watching some
hot babe being photographed and Perry has to snap him back to reality.

After my involuntary HD upgrade I now get METV. It's all by itself in the
shopping shows location. Now I may have too many classic TV choices.

Yes, Raymond Burr's attention was directed elsewhere! LOL. This being a family show, they couldn't really show Della really coming on to Perry, but you get the impression she was available if he was willing........At least Della wasn't stuck being the receptionist. They had Gertie for that.

Yeah, I have MeTV way up in the 900s! Dunno why its so up there. I don't have much else on nearby channels around it.

The 900s around here are mostly reserved for music channels and for subsections of the local channels, so MeTV is likely operated as a subsection of your local network CBS, NBC,ABC, or Fox station. (100s are general entertainment and home shopping, 200s seem to be general entertainment and basic movie channels, 300s tend to be religious channels, sport channels, and news channels, 600s tend to be HBo and the like, 700s are pornographic/sport on demand channels, 800s are Spanish Language)

MeTV, MeTV+ and Catch Comedy (formerly Decades) aren't "cable" channels so they are not distributed directly to cable providers like other channels you may have (TCM, TBS, TNT, etc.) They are broadcast networks. If your cable system carries them, it's pretty much guaranteed that it's a local affiliate in your broadcast TV market. Having said that, they do have distribution deals with Direct TV and a couple of lower cost cable-replacement streamers (Frndly TV and Philo) and on Direct TV's streaming package for one or all of those channels.

[Andree]

Yes, Raymond Burr's attention was directed elsewhere! LOL. This being a family show, they couldn't really show Della really coming on to Perry, but you get the impression she was available if he was willing........At least Della wasn't stuck being the receptionist. They had Gertie for that.

Yeah, I have MeTV way up in the 900s! Dunno why its so up there. I don't have much else on nearby channels around it.

Yes. Too bad William Hopper wasn't into "alternative lifestyles." Could have been quite a scoop
for his mama, if not for publication at least for possible blackmail purposes. I used to think that
the reason Gertie was seen so infrequently was they cut her short scenes out in syndication, but
she wasn't in that many episodes, only 17 according to IMDb.

Mine is 77, easy to remember. I just found out there are a few more classic TV channels in the
same area. Decisions, decisions. One good new feature is that the guide gives the complete
date of the episode not just the year so one can tell what seasons it's from.

[txfilmfan]

Yes, Raymond Burr's attention was directed elsewhere! LOL. This being a family show, they couldn't really show Della really coming on to Perry, but you get the impression she was available if he was willing........At least Della wasn't stuck being the receptionist. They had Gertie for that.

Yeah, I have MeTV way up in the 900s! Dunno why its so up there. I don't have much else on nearby channels around it.

Yes. Too bad William Hopper wasn't into "alternative lifestyles." Could have been quite a scoop
for his mama, if not for publication at least for possible blackmail purposes. I used to think that
the reason Gertie was seen so infrequently was they cut her short scenes out in syndication, but
she wasn't in that many episodes, only 17 according to IMDb.

Mine is 77, easy to remember. I just found out there are a few more classic TV channels in the
same area. Decisions, decisions. One good new feature is that the guide gives the complete
date of the episode not just the year so one can tell what seasons it's from.

Interesting. My on-screen guide provides the season and episode information almost always. Sometimes it doesn't match IMDb's data, though, but that's usually on British shows, or sometimes on M*A*S*H, when they had the odd hour-long episode that's chopped into two episodes for syndication.

[Lorna]

oh wow, I didn't know they ever showed GERTIE on the show (PERRY MASON)
I always thought she was a "MARIS"- shows you what happens when you only have access to syndication.

I always pictured GERTIE as working out of THE BROOM CLOSET and looking more or less like this:

[Lorna]

(she is of course chained to the table and DELLA pays her in cigarette nubs, of which there are plenty)

EDIT: and yeah, she gets high on the correction fluid- who THE HELL are YOU to JUDGE?

[Hibi]

Yes, Raymond Burr's attention was directed elsewhere! LOL. This being a family show, they couldn't really show Della really coming on to Perry, but you get the impression she was available if he was willing........At least Della wasn't stuck being the receptionist. They had Gertie for that.

Yeah, I have MeTV way up in the 900s! Dunno why its so up there. I don't have much else on nearby channels around it.

Yes. Too bad William Hopper wasn't into "alternative lifestyles." Could have been quite a scoop
for his mama, if not for publication at least for possible blackmail purposes. I used to think that
the reason Gertie was seen so infrequently was they cut her short scenes out in syndication, but
she wasn't in that many episodes, only 17 according to IMDb.

Mine is 77, easy to remember. I just found out there are a few more classic TV channels in the
same area. Decisions, decisions. One good new feature is that the guide gives the complete
date of the episode not just the year so one can tell what seasons it's from.

LOL! Hopper was good casting as Drake. I don't think he could've carried the show as Perry. I don't think it would've been the long running hit it became. Perry needed someone with gravitas. "Star Quality". Burr had it. Hopper was a good supporting actor.

I never realized they ever showed Gertie! Blink, I guess, and you miss her. I'll be watching for her appearances now! I don't think my cable lists the year of the tv episodes. I know it does for movies. I'll have to check next time. Also has the main cast list and pictures (often different than how they appear in the film or episode!)