WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

[JackFavell]

I understand all too well about the books, having room for about 400 books in my home and an appetite for them that far exceeds that limitation.

I am so glad you liked those clips! I keep hoping someone will post a few more, but they never do.

[MikeBSG]

I saw "Blue Jasmine" (2013) on Friday.

I liked it. It took a while for me to like the movie, but I think it is one of Allen's better "non-comic" films. Cate Blanchett is magnificent. She holds the movie together. I can't imagine it succeeding with another actress in the role.

The cast is very good, especially Sally Hawkins as the sister and Bobby Cannavale as the sister's lover. The plot of the film is wonderfully constructed, shifting from present to past, with revelations occurring at the right moment.

This is an Allen film I admire but don't especially like. Still, it is an achievement for him.

[RedRiver]

I like everything about THE SOCIAL NETWORK, especially the fine cast. I expected to be confused. I'm a very non-technical person, and can barely identify a computer by pointing. But as with any good story, this is not about THINGS. It's about PEOPLE.

I'm hearing great things about Woody's film. A lot of art films don't even play the theatre in my town. But I'll stand in line for the video!

[CineMaven]

WHO GOT A HUG FROM ROBERT OSBORNE?



THAT'S RIGHT, CALL ME LUCKY!! THE RAVIN' CRAVEN MAVEN DID!!

I received an invitation to attend the sneak preview of TCM's latest venture: THE TCM CLASSIC FILM TOUR. A big red air-conditioned Greyhound bus took guests ( including: Robert Osborne, Jane Powell, TCM VP: Tom Brown, along with other TCM staff and fans ) on a three-hour tour ( but NOTHING like Gilligan's Island ) around Manhattan. We passed by and stopped at places that are featured in various classic films; many filmed actually on location. We rode up Broadway, down Fifth Avenue, through Central Park and over to the very tony Sutton Place. We saw where Holly Go-Lightly lived ( though the building numbers were switched ), we passed Bloomingdale's where "Moscow on the Hudson" was filmed. Rockefeller Center, the Empire State Building, St. Bart's church, Columbus Circle, Lincoln Center, Tiffany's and many many more locations were slowly rolled before us, as traffic permits. The ride was very smooth, and traffic was not bad at all.

We stopped on the UWS ( Upper West Side ) to Zabar's on 81st and Broadway, where they had nice bagged lunches waiting for us with our pick of sandwiches, apple, fudge and water. (( What? No Wine??! )) I think when the tour actually starts, tour guests will be responsible for their own lunch. On the preview tour, TCM is a well-oiled machine, Johnny-on-the-spot with everything!

Our film guide, Roseanne, was personable and knowledgeable...and a New Yorker. ( By Golly she remembered ALEXANDER'S Department Store!! ) I did feel sorry for her because while she does her schpiel, she has to run the projector that holds the film clips. I think she needs an assistant to push that button and to give instructions to the driver while she keeps her attention on us. If you have any questions, just raise your hand and fire away. Yes, there's film clips galore shown on monitors of the exact locations we'll be passing on the bus. We saw clips from "Butterfield 8" "Baby Boom" "When Harry Met Sally" "My Man Godfrey" "Naked City" "Midnite Cowboy" "The Out of Towners" "On The Town" and much much more. So there are clips, interviews, quips from the guide and New York City itself. I'd suggest sitting on the left-hand side of the bus. There seems to be more to sights to see that way.

I got a hug from Robert Osborne, had my picture taken with TCM's Tom Brown and was actually complimented by Jane Powell. Even the photographer who took my picture with Kim Novak remembered me. Those were personal highlights for me. But I'd like to share photos of what I saw, b'cuz it's also about suggesting a really good comfortable film tour for you. If you're ever here in New York, or live here and just want to REdiscover the city, the TCM CLASSIC FILM TOUR is the way to go.

http://onlocationtours.com/tour/tcm-classic-film/

Hey, you might be able to start your own sing-along on the bus!

[RedRiver]

It's MAVEN HAVEN!

[CineMaven]

thanxxx brother rat.

thank you red. another moniker for my craziness.

[feaito]

Wonderful experience Tess. Thanks for sharing.

[sandykaypax]

Catching up on pages and pages of this thread...

firstly, maven I am so jealous that not only did you get to ride on the TCM tour bus with lovely Jane Powell, but you got a big hug from Robert Osborne! I would've swooned.

Waaaay back, Mike posted about Madonna and the Seven Moons. I watched that this year, too, along with The Man in Grey from Gainesborough. I find Stewart Granger very dashing. Also, I'm now a fan of the ravishing Phyllis Calvert.

Movie star or actor or BOTH? I have to say that I agree about Deborah Kerr--movie star! That doesn't mean she isn't fine actress--she is. But I find her always to have an air of glamour about her, yes, even in Separate Tables. Actually, there is something so pure about her glamour--I'm thinking of her in Bonjour, Tristesse or Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison and even in From Here to Eternity.

Whoever said to image search pics of Mary Astor--I'll have you know that I am now starting a Pinterest board of just Mary Astor images. I agree--star AND actor.

No one mentioned two of my favorite actors--Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. Of course, Star AND Actor, both of them. Different styles, his was more natural, hers had seemingly more artifice, yet they both were great truth-tellers on screen.

I just watched The Helen Morgan Story courtesy of Ann Blyth's day on SUTS. I read several mixed reviews, but I really liked it. I thought that Ann Blyth was very effective as Morgan. I googled Helen Morgan, and of course, the film takes many, many liberties with her life story, like all bio-pics of the studio era. Paul Newman played a bootlegger/hustler/gangster type that was involved with Morgan. It seemed like a break from his usual roles to me, until I remembered that he played lots of bad boys--Hud, Ben Quick from The Long, Hot Summer come immediately to mind. I guess his smiling face on the salsa jar only reminds me of the rakish, yet honorable Newman of later years.

Sandy K

[RedRiver]

The young Newman was deliciously bad. Fast Eddie Felson, Cool Hand Luke, and just pick a Tennessee Williams character. There aren't many "good boys" in his sordid stories! But especially Hud, as you said, Sandy. Hud looks out for only himself. He doesn't even do a good job of that. (Lest I give the wrong idea, I like the movie!)

[JackFavell]

Thanks for agreeing about Deborah Kerr, Sandy! I just can't get away from the glamour. I think it's something in the way she holds herself, her deportment is impeccable. Separate Tables is probably the closest I think she comes to actor for me anyway.

Can you post a link of your Mary Astor pinterest page? I'd love to look.

[CineMaven]

I agree with you and Jack Favell. I'm loving Deborah Kerr, whether she be movie star and/or actress. I just watched her in "The Hucksters" and she's wonderful in one of my favorite films.

firstly, maven I am so jealous that not only did you get to ride on the TCM tour bus with lovely Jane Powell, but you got a big hug from Robert Osborne! I would've swooned.

The tour was great and I would recommend it to anyone from the city, in the city or coming to the city. Here are just a few fotos from the tour. There's much much more to see than here:



ATLAS - His fate was to hold up the world. This was seen in Gentlemen’s Agreement when Gregory Peck goes for his magazine job interview.

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A BIG HUG FROM ROBERT OSBORNE - Double teamed by two photographers to get these shots before the tour began.

TOM BROWN, V.P. @ TCM - Standing in front of the bus with Tom Brown.

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SCREEN LEGEND JANE POWELL - I got the chance to meet Jane Powell who was also on the bus tour.

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CENTRAL PARK - The tour bus drove through the park that’s been featured in many motion pictures. After the tour, you can take a nice horse ‘n carriage ride. It's a little steep ( $50.00 for the first 20-mins ) but what price, romance.

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COLUMBUS CIRCLE MONUMENT - This is on 59th Street and Central Park West. It was featured in Judy Holliday’s “IT SHOULD HAPPEN TO YOU.” Wait for the light to turn green before you cross the street.

59th STREET COLUMBUS CIRCLE SUBWAY STATION - This newspaper stand is the same one that appears in “On the Town” when Betty Garrett’s taxi cab pulls up and picks up three sailors ( Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly and Jules Munchin ) coming up from the subway.

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THE PLAZA HOTEL & TIFFANY's - The bus rolled down Fifth Avenue where we passed by the fancy hotel and the jewelry store. Even going down Fifth Avenue is historic if you think about "Easter Parade."

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ROCKEFELLER CENTER - In the winter time it’s a skating rink. In the summer time, it holds an outdoor restaurant. In the movies, it’s “On The Town” and three sailors singing the praises of New York City. If you look at the film, the top of the wall was filled with fans watching Frankie Sinatra, Gene Kelly and Jules Munchin do their thing.

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TAKE THE “A” TRAIN - After the tour ended, I jumped on the famous Duke Ellington “A” train and went to down to Greenwich Village for a nice cold drink. Darn it, I should have had a martini in honor of Nick and Nora Charles. But still it was a nice way to end the day.

[JackFavell]

What drink is that? It looks so cool and refreshing.

Lovely bust tour, and I'm still sitting in my chair at home! Thanks T!