WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

[Robert Regan]

Alison, Lorraine Bracco was quite good in Blake Edwards' Switch which also has for me Ellen Barkin's best performance, but my favorite Bracco is Medicine Man with Sean Connery. It's the same plot as Ann Patchett's recent novel State of Wonder, my favorite of hers.

[charliechaplinfan]

I just love Sunrise but you have to be prepared to go with it, at least Andrew started to watch Wendy which is more than Chris would, I don't know what would be more annoying a hubby who completely ignores something then tells me how bad it looks or one who half watches it then talks through it.

I'll look out for Medicine Man, I tend to have a strong aversion to Sean Connery's later movies but I like Bracco enough to overcome that.

[CineMaven]

I watched last night with Andrew. It was less than perfect. I thought it might catch his interest since he generally likes strong visuals. Unfortunately, he was not really prepared to give it all his attention. I guess he thought he could focus in and out at will and still understand what was going on. He started playing a game on his pad, then went to the kitchen for a snack. He spoke three times, once to ask what the movie was, once to say that women in classic movies should not get into rowboats as it always boded badly, and once to ask what the heck was going on, I thought he was going to kill her, why are they so happy?

I just love Sunrise but you have to be prepared to go with it, at least Andrew started to watch Wendy which is more than Chris would, I don't know what would be more annoying a hubby who completely ignores something then tells me how bad it looks or one who half watches it then talks through it.

I say put both of your lads in rowboats, and you two girls go catch a classic film at your local bijou's big screen.

Dang! I need a neighborhood classic film theatre....

If you build it...we will come! And you'd better have enough Twizzlers for ALL of us.

[JackFavell]

I have to admit that I was snotty in my reply to him, because really what he was saying was "this is a dumb movie" though he didn't use those words. He annoyed me by not watching when he said he was going to, then asking me stupid questions that he would have known had he watched in the first place.

This little altercation between Andrew and me made me realize that the switch in the characters takes up about a third of the movie, and is all done with a lot of closeups, and reaction shots, in which the feelings of the two 'human beings' change and grow incrementally. I really believe the change, because it takes place over time, and I can see different dynamics between the two than we have been led to expect. They begin to see each other again for what they are, not what each has done to the other or what life on the farm has made them. At first, all she can see is his violence, but over the course of their walk together though the city, she does finally realize how upset he is, and her feelings change immediately from thinking of herself to feeling so sorry for him, for his agony. And what I like about his reactions is the way he has numbed himself so completely in front of her, he can't bear to look into her face at any time during the planning of the trip and remains this way right up until that moment on the boat when he can't do it. But as they walk, it's not only their past that is replayed, but he sees that she is a desirable woman... the people of the city are delightful in showing these two that they are still young and attractive and not to be taken for granted.

[charliechaplinfan]

You've summed up in part why Sunrise is so powerful and why our husbands would miss it, if nothing else the visuals are stunning, this is a movie that needs to be watched with no interuptions.

[charliechaplinfan]

I watched Stingaree a movie starring Richard Dix and Irene Dunne and directed by William Wellman, it seemed the wrong movie for Wellman to produce, it was OK in the highway man scenes and chases but not in the musical context. However Irene is as charming as ever and Mary Boland, Una OConnor and Andy Devine are good in support. I wish I liked Irene's voice much as I wish I liked Jeanette MacDonald's but I don't, sorry but I do prefer it to some of the warbling that accounts for vocals these days.

[intothenitrate]

I agree, Stingaree is an odd choice for Wellman. Richard Dix always fascinates me -- not that I think he's great in every role. I like his measured calmness. I think the Stingaree character might have worked better with someone a bit more hyperactive.

[JackFavell]

I didn't like Stingaree at all when I first saw it, but it has grown on me. It's a weird mix of adventure, historical epic and musical, which could be a great combination, but isn't. The transitions are odd, and the two players don't really seem to be in the same movie, it's like they shoved two movies together.

And yet, I find myself liking it more and more, Dix is a sweetheart here, with a dash of danger, and Dunne is perfect in her half of the movie, and I want to see them together. It's a fun ride, and not too long and fairly suspenseful, you can't wait to see how it comes out. I am not a huge fan of the ladies singing like you Alison, I want to like both but they are sometimes too arch when singing for my taste. However, I DO like them much better than some other classical music, especially when they do songs of the 1890's, and neither is harsh or strident to listen to. I guess I just feel that a lot of movies get bogged down when the classical music starts to play and I'm afraid my immediate reaction is the same as Harpo Marx's ....

[charliechaplinfan]

I want to like both ladies singing more than I do, I much prefer Irene's comedies to her musicals but she certainly was talented. A very strange movie for Wellman to make but there is a hint of dash and daring in there and I was eager to see the lovers united.

[Robert Regan]

Alison, you are the only woman I know, including both my daughters, who has an aversion to Any movie with Sean Connery!

My favorite Irene Dunne song is in The Awful Truth. When Cary Grant falls, she laughs without missing a beat! I don't know about her voice, but her sense of humor was tops!

To you gals, don't be too hard on the spouses who may seem to be insensitive sometimes. Having the same taste in movies is not the most important factor in a happy relationship, just ask my ex!

[JackFavell]

Ha you gave me a laugh, Robert!

Andrew likes 1960's comedy, for some unknown reason. He loved THE FORTUNE COOKIE. He also liked THE LONG NIGHT and OX BOW INCIDENT, YELLOW SKY (though he pointed out loopholes in the plot) and a few other classic films. He likes Sci Fi. He's basically very manlike and simple in his tastes. I think if it has Harry Morgan in it, he likes it.

[CineMaven]

I know one shouldn't play favorites. So my apologies to Ms. Gish, Ms. Brooks and Clara. Esther Ralston gives me pause. But I must single out one lady. Today's birthday girl:



HAPPY BIRTHDAY MS. GARBO.

For me, she is the most mesmerizing actress of the 1920's.

[Robert Regan]

Wendy, funny perhaps, but true! For a different view of Harry Morgan, has Andrew seen Moonrise?

Theresa, how can we not play favorites when all this is really about our personal tastes? I love and admire Lillian, Louise, and Ms. Bow. And though there are few blondes in my personal pantheon of pulchritude, the elusive Esther Ralston gives me pause, too, and then some. Of all the famous "lost" movies, the one at the top of my wishlist is her The Case of Lena Smith that she made with Josef Von Sternberg. Every actress, nay every woman, should have been immortalized on the screen by his talented and discerning eye. Some of those thus blessed along with Ralston and, of course Dietrich, are Evelyn Brent,Betty Compson, Fay Wray, Sylvia Sidney, Frances Dee, Anna May Wong, Marian Marsh, Merle Oberon, Gene Tierney, Janet Leigh, Gloria Grahame, and Akemi Negishi.

[CineMaven]

Theresa, how can we not play favorites when all this is really about our personal tastes?...Every actress, nay every woman, should have been immortalized on the screen by his talented and discerning eye. Some of those thus blessed along with Ralston and, of course Dietrich, are Evelyn Brent,Betty Compson, Fay Wray, Sylvia Sidney, Frances Dee, Anna May Wong, Marian Marsh, Merle Oberon, Gene Tierney, Janet Leigh, Gloria Grahame, and Akemi Negishi.

This whole thing about loving classics is all subjective, isn't it? This whole thing about writing on a message board about classics is about sharing. Speaking about Gene Tierney, if anyone is up or inclined to set their dvr, or wants to re-visit the film, this Sunday morning early early early or late late late this Saturday nite ( depending on how you tell time ):

3:45AM THE SHANGHAI GESTURE ( 1941 )
A gambling queen uses blackmail to stop a British financier from closing the Chinese clip joint. Dir: Josef von Sternberg Cast: Gene Tierney, Walter Huston, Victor Mature, Ona Munsen.

This is the one movie I've begged Steve Hayes to review. If anyone out there hasn't seen it, by gosh...you're in for an over-the-top TREAT!

[charliechaplinfan]

Alison, you are the only woman I know, including both my daughters, who has an aversion to Any movie with Sean Connery!

My favorite Irene Dunne song is in The Awful Truth. When Cary Grant falls, she laughs without missing a beat! I don't know about her voice, but her sense of humor was tops!

To you gals, don't be too hard on the spouses who may seem to be insensitive sometimes. Having the same taste in movies is not the most important factor in a happy relationship, just ask my ex!

I don't mind his Bond, I don't like the man, he's a decent actor but I can't seperate the older actor from some of the things he has said. I guess I liked my actors before they were allowed to be out spoken, I'm an old fashioned gal like that.

Theresa, I love Garbo, especially in her silents, that is a lovely picture of her.