August 2013 on TCM - Summer Under the Stars

[MissGoddess]

The movie made me feel a bit creeped out. Like a women's prison movie where all the girls are dying to get IN---not out (that's the creepy part). I like Mitzi and the other girl who was always getting fined .50 for mouthing off. Dale was a cutie. Jean was so bold with the guys!

I agree about the hair styles, but it's hopeless---that particular period of the 1950s hair fashion was cursed by the Harpo-effect. Even Jean eventually adopted a similar crop (People Will Talk).

Oy, all that singing. Clearly, I would never make a sorority girl!

[CineMaven]

What a great review you wrote Brother Rat. I watched "Take Care of My Little Girl" also, and was perfectly entranced by it. Jeanne Crain is lovely. Yes, she's just the girlie girl you want in your club or on your team. Composure & bearing, young maturity, and gorgeous looks. She has a bit of growing up to do in "...Little Girl" as she tries to keep her hometown ties intact, but one by one they fall off due to the snooty scrutiny of the Soror sisters. ( Sometimes you can't take folks with you. ) Jean Peters, alpha dog? Oh man, have you pegged her. And of course I love her for that. ( What? No Janice Rule? ) Crain's character makes a few mis-steps, but comes out alright in the end to find out what's really important. Jeffrey Hunter is a dream boat, even though he's a trust fund cad. I thought Mitzi Gaynor was just wonderfully sassy and normal before she got all coiffed and glammed and washed that man right out of her hair a little later in her career.

I thought she was convincing in "Dangerous Crossing" where she's gaslighted by her husband on cruise ship. In "The Model and the Marriage Broker" she has to match wits with Thelma Ritter. Thelma reigned supreme of course, but it was nice to see Jeanne not as a cornfed cutie, but a sophisticated clothes model fighting and finding love with Ritter and ( surprisingly ) loose-y goose-y Scott Brady. Her sweet and friendly look can also show haughtiness. ( What made me think this movie was the Shirley Booth matchmaking movie of bustles and corsets, I dunno. As soon as I saw the cars, I was fine. ) She had some depth, and as Moira said humanness, in "Margie" willing to be silly with her bloomers down around her ankles or having a heartbreaking crush on her teacher.

You know there's something...something I can't quite put into words. There's something psychologically satisfying when one watches an actor/actress all day. You almost come to know them, their voice, intonations, mannerisms. You see a pattern, perhaps, with their type. ( All day I heard Gable telling Loy, Crawford or Colbert: "I've been with a gazillion girls but I never met a girl like you." ) According to the TCM intros, Crain married once and had seven children; that's where her real love lay. I think having a family prevented her from really getting some of those good scripts I hear Zanuck wanted to funnel her way. Yeah she's pert and feminine and the prettiest girl in movies with a killer voice. But I see the strength in her goodness as she performed during the entire day. Even when she's up against a siren like Jean Peters, or dares to cross swords with the stunning Gene Tierney and you're sure she will lose against such fierce competition, the goodness of her shines through. And triumphs. Thanx again TCM.

[moira finnie]

So glad to see that Jean Negulesco did a good job on one of his first color films, Take Care of My Little Girl. I never saw Dale Robertson give a better performance as the older man whose gentle maturity and palpable masculinity made him a perfect match for Jeanne Crain. How could she ever have looked at that alcoholic weasel Jeffrey Hunter brought vividly to life by the young actor?

I loved kingrat's comment about "Jean Peters as the alpha dog of the sorority." Her emotional ruthlessness and hard veneer were really awesome (and scary), though I guess girls might have been sucked in by hoping to become as self-confident she appeared to be. I found it strange that almost no one (male or female) except for Robertson's outsider and Mitzi Gaynor's down-to-earth coed seemed really interested in learning--though it apparently came naturally for Jeanne Crain's character, who seemed to breeze through her classes. The girls in the sorority seemed much more devoted to their arcane rituals, which made me think of Vestal Virgins and Sappho and her pals on that Greek island. But the gals in Tri-U probably never took Greek or Latin, so I guess they were lost lambs in every sense. I'm sure some of them would have been fairly shocked to know their own possible underlying emotions--though it was another (repressed) time in every sense.

Showing how she grew up during the film through her hope, confusion, longing and epiphanies about the difference between her idea of college life and the reality, Jeanne Crain was able to make me believe she really was an 18 year old who had been spoon-fed stories about this mythic sorority by her stridently immature mother (Marjorie Crossland).

Did Natalie Schafer's house mother character strike anyone else as rather sad? She seemed so pathetically stuck in an adolescent identity she should have shed decades ago. Even her name, "Mother Cookie Clark" had an airhead quality. Her life was so empty of any depth or real feeling since she was caught up in all the trivialities of life in the sorority.

If anyone wants to see this movie, it is posted here.

[CineMaven]

Don't anyone be fooled thinking that any of those girls in college except a very scant few, went to school to get an education. They were, most of them, going to look for husbands and become Stepford Wives in suburbia. Talk about creeped out Miss G.? THAT prospect creeps me out more than prison or a sorority. The house was just a microcosm of what they'd be facing in a few years. Boys live in a jungle, a la "Lord of the Flies." Girls? Sororities.

[CineMaven]

Oh...not that there's anything wrong with living in suburbia. (( No cards and letters, folks. )) It's CONFORMITY that gets my goat.

[moira finnie]

Don't anyone be fooled thinking that any of those girls in college except a very scant few, went to school to get an education. They were, most of them, going to look for husbands and become Stepford Wives in suburbia. Talk about creeped out Miss G.? THAT prospect creeps me out more than prison or a sorority. The house was just a microcosm of what they'd be facing in a few years. Boys live in a jungle, a la "Lord of the Flies." Girls? Sororities.

Yes and no. Even back then, (in some ways even more than now because so many people had lived through the Depression and the war), many people genuinely wanted a chance to develop their minds and perhaps find a way to be useful as well as pretty and married. The latter is never going to change unless human nature and biology undergoes a disturbing change. I do think that fraternities and sororities were big then so the harm they did as dramatized (and in some ways trivialized) in this story was part of an underlying rivulet of seriousness in this movie. It's kind of difficult to come up with any movies from the '20s to the '50s that depicted college as much more than a chance to drink, fool around and snag a meal ticket mate for life. At least this movie tried to show a few people learning something more valuable.

Oh...not that there's anything wrong with living in suburbia. (( No cards and letters, folks. )) It's CONFORMITY that gets my goat

.

Yeah, there's no conformity in big cities. You bet. The two things I liked about living in the big town for most of my adult life: Opportunity and Anonymity

More people I encountered there judged others superficially (clothes, looks, hipness, education) than I care to think about now. I think people are always looking for a refuge in something. A sorority, fraternity, job, class, or another person. We must need to be reassured even when we don't realize it consciously. But hey, maybe it's just me.

[moira finnie]

Did anyone get to see Twenty Plus Two on Jeanne Crain Day? I missed everything but the first 14 minutes, dagnabbit. Loved the Richard Diamondish vibe that David Janssen was giving off. I never realized before that Brad Dexter and Frankie Laine could have been twins until Brad showed up in the bar scene. Can anyone tell me what happened? Or better yet, do you know where I can find this speck of noir?

[JackFavell]

We all seem to have missed that one Moira. I saw five minutes of it, and was able to get a bit of that RD vibe you are speaking of. I am hoping that TCM decides to keep this one in rotation, sometimes they do when a new (to them) film comes on for a special day.

I really LOVED all your reviews of TAKE CARE OF MY LITTLE GIRL, I'm so glad Moira posted a link! I was kicking myself for not watching. And Maven, your description of why you/we love Jeanne Crain was just terrific. You really captured her for me, because up to now, she was kind of indefinable for me. I could literally see her before my eyes while reading your post. You nailed her persona, and what it is I watch her for. Love what you wrote. LOVE it.

[moira finnie]

There do seem to be DVDs around of Twenty Plus Two with various prices between 12 and 32 bucks. Not listed on the TCM schedule in the near future, but maybe if we ask nicely it might reappear?

[JackFavell]

I am eagerly hoping they will release more of the Power/Young films, especially Love is News and Cafe Metropole. Not to mention the Linda Darnells and Alice Fayes. I would really love to see an Alice Faye SUTS day.

[Rita Hayworth]

I would really love to see an Alice Faye SUTS day.

So would I, JF ... because I heard so many good things about her and I never, ever, get a chance to see her films ... long overdue!

[CineMaven]

This is the way to start Kirk Douglas' day on TCM:

[moira finnie]

24 hours with Kirk Douglas today includes some good, little known films as well as the Kirk classics. Two on the schedule that I am fond of but haven't seen in recent years: Act of Love & Town Without Pity. There seems to be an emphasis on The Western Kirk this year....hmmm

Wish the Kirkiest of all his starring vehicles had been included in the lineup: The Vikings. "Odinnnnn!!"

Here's the lineup on TCM (all times shown are ET). What are your faves here and among the missing ones?:

6:00 AM
OUT OF THE PAST (1947)
A private eye becomes the dupe of a homicidal moll.
Dir: Jacques Tourneur Cast: Robert Mitchum , Jane Greer , Kirk Douglas .
BW-97 mins, TV-PG, CC,

8:00 AM
YOUNG MAN WITH A HORN (1950)
A young trumpet player is torn between an honest singer and a manipulative heiress.
Dir: Michael Curtiz Cast: Kirk Douglas , Lauren Bacall , Doris Day .
BW-112 mins, TV-PG, CC,

10:00 AM
BIG TREES, THE (1952)
An unscrupulous lumber baron has to join forces with former enemies to keep even bigger businessmen from taking over.
Dir: Felix Feist Cast: Kirk Douglas , Eve Miller , Patrice Wymore .
C-89 mins, TV-PG, CC,

11:30 AM
TWO WEEKS IN ANOTHER TOWN (1962)
A recovering alcoholic film director tries for a comeback in Rome.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli Cast: Kirk Douglas , Edward G. Robinson , Cyd Charisse .
C-107 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

1:30 PM
TOWN WITHOUT PITY (1962)
A military lawyer defends three soldiers accused of raping a girl in occupied Germany.
Dir: Gottfried Reinhardt Cast: Kirk Douglas , E. G. Marshall , Christine Kaufmann .
BW-103 mins, TV-14, CC,

3:30 PM
HOOK, THE (1963)
Three soldiers in Korea go through inner torment when they're ordered to execute an enemy soldier.
Dir: George Seaton Cast: Kirk Douglas , Robert Walker Jr. , Nick Adams .
BW-98 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

5:30 PM
WAY WEST, THE (1967)
A senator hires a veteran scout to accompany a wagon train from Missouri to Oregon.
Dir: Andrew V. McLaglen Cast: Kirk Douglas , Robert Mitchum , Richard Widmark .
BW-122 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

7:45 PM
CARSON ON TCM: KIRK DOUGLAS (8/31/88) (2013)
TCM presents a classic interview from The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson.
C-10 mins, TV-PG, CC,

8:00 PM
PATHS OF GLORY (1957)
A military lawyer comes to question the status quo when he defends three men accused of cowardice.
Dir: Stanley Kubrick Cast: Fred Bell , John Stein , Harold Benedict .
BW-88 mins, TV-PG, CC,

9:45 PM
ACT OF LOVE (1953)
An American soldier romances a beautiful Parisian during the final days of World War II.
Dir: Anatole Litvak Cast: Kirk Douglas , Dany Robin , Barbara Laage .
BW-106 mins, TV-PG, CC,

11:45 PM
LUST FOR LIFE (1956)
Passionate biography of painter Vincent van Gogh, whose genius drove him mad.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli Cast: Kirk Douglas , Anthony Quinn , James Donald .
C-122 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

2:00 AM
BIG SKY, THE (1952)
Trappers lead an expedition against river pirates and Indians along the Missouri River.
Dir: Howard Hawks Cast: Kirk Douglas , Dewey Martin , Elizabeth Threatt .
BW-138 mins, TV-PG, CC,

4:30 AM
ALONG THE GREAT DIVIDE (1951)
A U.S. Marshall tries to get a rustler to trial before a vengeful rancher can kill him.
Dir: Raoul Walsh Cast: Kirk Douglas , Virginia Mayo , John Agar .
BW-88 mins, TV-14, CC,

[MissGoddess]

I guess LONELY ARE THE BRAVE would be the one I would wish for people to see. I think I've seen THE HOOK or I've seen a movie that featured an identical scenario so I may check it out. We're closing early at the office (yay!) so I actually have the opportunity to see some movies for a change.

I have not seen TOWN WITHOUT PITY in an ice-age. I remember it being pretty grim and one of a maturing Robert Blake's more memorably disturbing performances. The song, however, is one of those that sticks like a burr in my memory and plays incessantly in my head for days after, lol.

I caught part of SEVEN DAYS IN MAY the other night and have always liked the way they put Kirk in the "quiet" role and Burt in the showier one. Very effective. Frankenheimer was such a good director.