The September Schedule for TCM

[Vecchiolarry]

Hi again,

Yes, she was over-the-top and a bit too tres dramatique - but that's what I loved about her.
You certainly knew she was no damn good, didn't you? If you had checked into her hotel, you would have run a mile on meeting her dragging your trunk behind you.....

And yes again, she was nuts after all the tragedy of her Spanish travails. Why not be mercenary??!!

Thank you also for reminding me of Blanche Yurka - loved her too...

Now if I were a director in Hollywood in the early 40's, I'd have made a movie with Judith Anderson, Agnes Moorehead, Katina Paxinou and Blanche Yurka in it - - just to see who wins!!!! Ha, ha, ha - ponder it, folks.......
Something for you to think about today - it won't be dull!!!!!!

Larry

[Vecchiolarry]

My Dear King!!

You can contribute to my movie anytime.... I love your "Mother's Day" scenario - vunderbar!!

And, before I forget, we need to contact Lucille La Verne - - hurry before she 'drops a stitch'...............

Larry

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Maven, Moira, Larry, Kingrat, and Jackie----This is the best hoot of thread read I've had in ages!

My favorite Katina Paxinou? For Whom The Bell Tolls! Who else could have corralled all those crazy, gun-toting Spanish patriots in a cave, for gosh sakes? (Okay. I heard someone shout "Stanwyck!")

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Serious TCM ANGLOPHILE ALERT:



Tonight's lineup includes a virgin queen(The Virgin Queen), a young queen (Young Bess), and an old queen(Elizabeth and Essex). So polish up your crowns...

I just might be aleing....

[charliechaplinfan]

I haven't seen the first two but I've watched Elizabeth and Essex on a few occasions, I'm sure the real Essex couldn't have been more dashing and Elizabeth more formidable.

[Vecchiolarry]

Hi,

These are jolly good films to watch; lots happening and you're just jolly glad you're not there and watching for your head to fall.....

Bette Davis is wonderful and one thinks that's just how Good Queen Bess really was.
Jean Simmons is marvellous and so pretty; you just want to protect her. One can see why she turned out the way she did. Always have liked Deborah Kerr too, but she doesn't get much to do here.

Watch out for Elaine Stewart in "Young Bess" - she plays Anne Boleyn briefly. If you blink you'll miss her....

Happy viewing!!!!

Larry

[Sue Sue Applegate]

A great Friday night trio!

[JackFavell]

I'd never seen The Virgin Queen before. It was good! The writing was excellent, especially at the beginning with all the wordplay. and Richard Todd was just great... very surprising, I don't know what I expected. I probably saw Joan Collins name and decided it was tripe without actually ever watching. Young Bess is also quite good, but I swoon over Elizabeth and Essex.

[moira finnie]

I liked Todd in The Virgin Queen too, though I wish two things:
1.) The story had focused more on his ambition and less on his romance
2.) The '50s color cinematography had that flat, harsh, cold light to it, with over-lit interiors and a tendency with CinemaScope films to have medium and long shots, sacrificing many of the revelatory two shots and closeups that make film so effective at capturing interior lives of characters and their relation to one another.

By contrast, Elizabeth and Essex blended grandeur and pageantry with intimacy in every shot.

[JackFavell]

Yes! The more interesting aspects of the plot had to do with his ambition and how much it had to do with the way he and Elizabeth played out their relationship. It was tantalizing to watch each of them misunderstand each another's motives simply because that's their nature, and to wonder whether there was a little self serving quality to his love, not that we'll ever really know the truth of such things.

I hadn't noticed the broad long shots until you mentioned them but yes, my attention was lagging just a bit by the end and I think it had to do with the lack of closeup or shots where you could read the faces.

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Moira, I agree. Too many sweeping vistas, not enough ambition in the plot, and more revelatory close-ups. Joanie could have handled, and probably desired, a true close-up in her interaction with Richard Todd as Sir Walter. I also would have made her character seem more round, not so "stock," and having more close-ups of Bette Davis as Gloriana would not have detracted from the plot, but would have enhanced it even more. I felt I was missing several reaction shots after certain dramatic passages that would have heightened the costume of this drama. And Bert Marshall seemed especially well-suited to certain scenes as Lord Robert Dudley. A scene with a little jealousy-tinged animosity might have perked things up all around.

Glad you like Young Bess, Jackie. It's one of my favorites. Part of it has to do with the sweetness of Cecil Kellaway as Mister Parry and Kay Walsh as Kat Ashley. Charles Laughton reprising his role of Henry the VII is especially sordid here as he's caressing the necks of all those who would lose them. And Larry was right about Deborah Kerr not having much to do, but she was lovely, as always.

[JackFavell]

You mentioned my favorite characters in Young Bess, Cecil Kellaway and Kay Walsh. They are a big reason why I like the movie, also for a less sympathetic More fearsome Henry, shown as all the more dangerous for his human foibles.

[CineMaven]

For Tuesday, September 18th: JUST AN F.Y.I. FOR YOU LA CAVA DRINKERS:

Seven Gegory LaCavas on the 18th is a real treat. Gabriel Over the White House was his favorite, but I'll take Smart Woman, The Half Naked Truth, and Bed of Roses!

Oooh, thanks for mentioning the LaCavas! (It sounds like a type of percussion instrument doesn't it?) I am a big fan of his. Bed of Roses is a favorite...

LaCava ( sounds like wine to me: white or red LaCava, Monsieur...Madamoiselle? )

8:00 PM - GABRIEL OVER THE WHITE HOUSE (1933)
A crooked president reforms mysteriously. Dir: Gregory LaCava Cast:  Walter Huston, Karen Morley, Franchot Tone. BW-86 mins, TV-G, CC.

9:45 PM - SMART WOMAN (1931)
A woman plots to make her cheating husband jealous. Dir: Gregory La Cava Cast:  Mary Astor, Robert Ames, John Halliday. BW-68 mins, TV-G, CC.

11:00 PM - HALF NAKED TRUTH, THE (1933)
A carnival pitch man turns a sideshow dancer into an overnight sensation. Dir: Gregory La Cava Cast:  Lupe Velez, Lee Tracy, Eugene Pallette. BW-77 mins, TV-G.

12:30 AM - AGE OF CONSENT, THE (1932)
College co-eds learns to handle the responsibilities of romance. Dir: Gregory LaCava Cast:  Dorothy Wilson, Arline Judge, Richard Cromwell. BW-63 mins, TV-PG, CC.

1:45 AM - BED OF ROSES (1933)
A girl from the wrong side of the tracks is torn between true love and a life of sin. Dir: Gregory LaCava Cast:  Constance Bennett, Joel McCrea, John Halliday. BW-67 mins, TV-G.

3:00 AM - WHAT EVERY WOMAN KNOWS (1934)
An ambitious wife backs her husband's political career. Dir: Gregory La Cava Cast:  Helen Hayes, Brian Aherne, Madge Evans. BW-90 mins, TV-G.

4:45 AM - LAUGH AND GET RICH (1931)
A man drives his family wild with get-rich-quick schemes. Dir: Gregory La Cava Cast:  Edna May Oliver, Hugh Herbert, Dorothy Lee. BW-72 mins, TV-G.

In the age of consent, what every woman knows is the half-naked truth; so if you want to be a smart woman, know that life is no bed of roses. Laugh and get rich, for Gabriel ( is ) over the White House.

Well...I tried.

Looks like some well told tales can be told in a little more than an hour by Gregory LaCava.

[JackFavell]

I adore Gregory LaCava! He's a huge favorite of mine. I would have missed this wonderful tribute if you hadn't posted. Thanks TCM and thanks for the heads up Maven.

Gabriel Over the White House, Smart Woman and Bed of Roses are not to be missed! I can't wait to see the others... Laugh and Get Rich was on Edna May Oliver's SUTS day a couple years ago, and I can't remember whether I loved it or hated it. At least I remember that I saw it, unlike other movies lately.