Sue Sue's TCM Film Festival Tidbit Travel Blog

[JackFavell]

Thanks so much, SueSue (especially for the brand name). I NEED to know these festival tips!

[movieman1957]

Christy:

If you ever wondered if they still play your featurette then the answer is yes. Right behind a Laurel & Hardy short there you were.

[JackFavell]

I saw you last week!

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Chris, I feel honored! Right after a Laurel and Hardy, harr harr!
That fifteen minutes of fame surely has set me in the filmland firm-ma-ment. I still am most amazed that when I am singing, the editor intercut with the clip of Donald, and Debbie, and Gene singing "Good Mornin'" and I am singing in the same key! One of my proudest moments as a musician! ( I am still pianist at my church.)

Jackie, dear, you are so attentive and observant, and you have definitely grown as a writer and raconteur on these boards!

Tonight, I am going to see a scene from my play (about the early years of Lord Byron) produced on my community college stage in an end-of-the-year montage of other works. I had to share this because I am so excited about it! And you both are so giving with inspiration and courage (as are many others) that I am always appreciative

[movieman1957]

Remember me when you hit the big time!

[JackFavell]

That's awesome, Christy! I can't even imagine having the smarts to write a play, much less having it produced. Congratulations!

[moira finnie]

That picture of you in the Chanel ensemble is lovely, Christy. I think you must have been one of the best dressed attendees at the festival. Do you ever wear those clothes in real life? I find Chanel-style jackets pretty handy for most occasions when a bit of dress up is needed. And they are usually pretty comfortable, which isn't true about all fashion classics.

I'm thrilled for you about your play too. Do the half-sister and the quack doctor Lavender show up in your play?

Thanks for sharing your deserved attention.

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Chris, of course!
Jacks, if I can do it, anybody can. I am just a country gal at heart who happens to have some vocabulary and a a can-do attitude.

Moira, I am donning "my best Chanel" for tonight's opening!
Tom Brown said to me " You look great!" as I walked passed him on Thursday evening. So I think I was definitely one of his top 10 or 20.

Yes, I try to have as many "quacks" appear as possible. Good theater, eh?

The scene to be performed is a moment when Byron says au revoir to one of his first "true loves."

But my question, dear Moira, is will anyone recognize a social acquaintance with me after tonight?
You know that he was "mad, bad, and dangerous to know" according to Lady Caroline Lamb.

P.S. Moira, check your PMs for a priority message concerning a possible future guest.

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Tuesday evening's screening of Gun Crazy on TCM was a delight, and Robert Osborne's introduction included comments that I heartily agree with. When Peggy Cummins attended the Turner Classic Movies Festival 2012, Mr. Osborne stated that she was "beautiful, trim, and a great guest." And I completely concur.

Ms. Cummins was amiable and well-liked, often signed autographs, and even attended the final party at Club TCM, sitting with Eddie Muller in one of those sexy little red booths where folks can truly schmooze. Also seated with Muller and Cummins was Eunice Gayson, the first Bond girl, who appeared at the festival screening of Dr. No.


Muller was busy extolling the virtues of one of the loveliest prints at the festival, Cry Danger, and his co-host for that introduction was none other than the lovely Rhonda Fleming who revealed several personal behind-the-scenes moments that added to the exciting, but tense scenes in the film, and which also starred the multi-talented Dick Powell. Unfortunately, Ms. Fleming did not attend the Club TCM celebration.


Muller, an enthsiastic guest and director of the Film Noir Foundation, was impressed with the clarity of the print of Cry Danger and proclaimed it one of the best prints of all the fillms that he screened at the third annual Turner Classic Movies Film Festival.


Follow Eddie's exploits at: http://eddiemuller.com


Mr. Osborne also claimed that *Gun Crazy* was one of the most popular screenings at the festival, and I hope that my earlier column helped to contribute to that film noir fervor.


I was lucky enough to visit for a while with Ms. Cummins, and she was friendly, and enjoying every moment of her visit to L.A. I am glad I was able to see her one last time at the always poignant farewell party at Club TCM. A very lovely lady, and I felt privileged to have met her. Ms. Cummins flew home to London on Tuesday.



TCM's intrepid researcher Alexa Foreman, Miss Peggy Cummins, me, Darcy Hettrich, Vice President in Charge of Talent, and the lady responsible for engineering Doris Day's voiceover for her career retroospective.

[CineMaven]

Very nice write-up on Peggy Cummins, SueSue! ...And meeting her!!!

[Sue Sue Applegate]

We have such good times at Club TCM, as well as our late night impromptu singalongs in the lobby! Thanks, Mave...

[JackFavell]

Watching Gun Crazy again night before last, I was struck with just how good she was at that role. She's absolutely amazing all the way through, but in those final scenes....wow. Very catlike and animalistic.... I knew how it was going to end from seeing it before, but I still jumped at the strength of her reaction.

"I'LL KILL THEM!!!! I'LL KILL THEM!!!!!!"

I always feel sorry for Annie Laurie Starr.

[Rita Hayworth]

Sue Sue Wrote This

Also seated with Muller and Cummins was Eunice Gayson, the first Bond girl, who appeared at the festival screening of Dr. No.

Sue Sue,

I did not know that Eunice Gayson is still around ... I haven't heard that name in years and I know that she was the 1st 007 Girl when she did Dr. No with Sean Connery ... How she doing these days?

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Kingme, she is bubbly, personable, and visited amicably with passholders, seemed to always be cheerful and smiling every time I saw her (3 or 4 times). I didn't attend Dr. No, but I hear that it went very well.

You can visit the video gallery on the festival page and see a part of her interview. There were several fellows I talked to who were certainly hubba-hubba about her appearance. She's trim and looks very agile and healthy, so the men folk in the crowds all seemed well pleased with her visit.

Ben Mankiewicz has the interviewing honors at the discussion prior to the screening:
http://www.tcm.com/festival/about/video-gallery.html

Jackie, that film always pulls me in. That continuous long shot right before and during the robbery is amazing. And I read somewhere that Joseph Lewis, the director, wanted an actor who was openly homosexual as John Dall was in order to emphasize the ambiguity and emasculation of the character of Bart Tare. During the first few moments of Gun Crazy when Bart is out in the yard and shoots the BB gun, and the little chick falls over, it sets up the entire scenario that reveals that when he has a gun, he achieves the ultimate in masculine power. And if he reaches the pinnacle of macho, he needs a dangerous equal like Peggy Cummins as Annie Laurie Starr.

But I always enjoy watching John Dall. He always seems as if he's concealing something that other characters present in his scenes never seem to realize, and he always appears as if he knows the score, and everyone else is clueless. Ever notice all his scenes in Spartacus? I can't help but watch his every move. The role he played in Rope seems tailor made for his abilities.

[JackFavell]

You're right about John Dall, he always seems to have a secret that puts him either at odds with every one else, or with 'normal' society. He plays that so perfectly, probably because of his orientation.

My mom had a huge crush on him back in the day. Ah, too bad mom.