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Classic films appreciation thread - come and join us!

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PrivateParkin · 06/05/2018 08:45

Following on from the recent thread about favourite actors from old films, @FatBallsAndSunflowerSeeds had the fab idea of an old movies appreciation thread... So here it is! If you like old films and actors of any kind, come and join us.

old thread

We thought we'd look out for any classic films being shown on TV, post them on this thread and then discuss them afterwards... But if you want to post about any of your favourite old films and actors at any time, that would also be fab. Basically, this is just a place to chat about old films - please come and join us!

I'm off to check the TV schedules for any potential gems coming up - I will post again with anything that looks good.

Meantime, here's James Cagney tap dancing down the stairs in Yankee Doodle Dandy - happy bank holiday everyone Smile
m.youtube.com/watch?v=xlvB4xk4LNQ

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PrivateParkin · 21/05/2018 23:02

ppeat yes agree - it does have a bit of a weird plot. Especially the end (which was not how Coward wrote it apparently?). Margaret Rutherford totally steals the show. I think my DS liked it because the ghost(s) were green, like something out of Scooby Doo! It's on the amazon BFI Player - I got it on a week's free trial then "forgot" Hmm to cancel, so was still able to watch it. I think you can rent it on Amazon as well - well worth a second watch I would say.

boldly ah I'm envious of you watching The Ghost and Mrs Muir! It sounds like a lot of fun, but I managed to miss it when it was on.

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PrivateParkin · 22/05/2018 13:04

Happy birthday dear Larry Sir Laurence Olivier was born 111 years ago today! Here he is with Joan Fontaine in Rebecca, coming up on Talking Pictures this very weekend! (Seamless link there Grin )

Classic films appreciation thread - come and join us!
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ppeatfruit · 22/05/2018 13:09

Oooh thanks Private nice pic. ! I hope to see that. i do remember that Joan is a more than a bit wimpish in it! Who plays the housekeeper,? I've forgotten, but she is positively evil!

MoreCheerfulMonica · 22/05/2018 14:28

Oh, yes, nice pic. I hadn't realised quite how old dear Larry was, and considerably older than Dame Joan. I wonder whether that connects in some way with her hints in the film that she did not have an easy life with him. Anyway, great art.

Halsall · 22/05/2018 14:35

Judith Anderson was Mrs Danvers, ppeat. Born in Australia. why don’t you jump? ShockGrin

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PrivateParkin · 22/05/2018 14:59

Ooh that gave me the shivers Halsall ! Mrs Danvers - one of the most sinister characters in film/literature of all time!

And I still can't find anywhere nearby showing Nothing Like A Dame Sad

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ppeatfruit · 22/05/2018 15:02

Thanks Halsall Yes, I always wonder why they didn't sack Mrs Danvers!

MoreCheerful Isn't he meant to be quite a bit older ? , At least that's a film where the man is SUPPOSED to be older in the plot!!

avva · 22/05/2018 17:16

We watched Kubrick's Lolita last night, now that's a tense little film. I'm amazed it was made and got past censors of the time in any form!

MoreCheerfulMonica · 22/05/2018 17:36

Oh yes, Maxim is supposed to be quite a bit older, which is one of the reasons Rebecca defers to him. What caught me by surprise, though, is that dear Larry was 20-odd years older than Joan Plowright, who hints in the film that he was difficult to live with, whatever his other talents and virtues. I’m sorry you can’t find anywhere screening it locally, Private Parkin, but if I remember correctly it was co-produced by the BBC so could be on the telly soon.

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PrivateParkin · 22/05/2018 17:47

avva is that the James Mason version? I haven't seen it, but know (roughly) the story obviously - he must have been pretty brave to take on that role.

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avva · 22/05/2018 17:55

Yes! We were watching it thinking, god, Mason must have been absolutely confidently squeaky-clean to be able to take on that role. Lots of others turned it flatly down.

They did raise the age of the girl a bit though to 15, and changed the ending and plot here and there, but it's still tense as hell to watch, and amazing that abusers' tactics were effectively documented even back then. There's a slightly poor version of it on Amazon Prime, wrong aspect ratio but watchable if you're ever interested.

Apparently he stayed firm friends with Kubrick and visited him on the set of the Shining, which is nice (given that many actors who worked with him implied it was a nightmare).

I must watch Rebecca again soon, it's another of my old favourites.

Oh, and I might be getting lost in the thread, but has anyone mentioned The Innocents yet? Another brilliant one.

ppeatfruit · 22/05/2018 17:58

Oh yes The Innocents My next door neighbour, the boy, was in that many years ago! Deborah Kerr was good in that, it's such a creepy story and film. avva

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PrivateParkin · 22/05/2018 21:38

That's v interesting avva - he (James Mason) did take some varied roles didn't he - am just thinking of Odd Man Out which I watched recently, and wasn't what I'd expected at all.

I've never seen The Innocents, although I have read The Turn of the Screw and it was a bit too creepy for me!

Good claim to fame ppeat !

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ppeatfruit · 23/05/2018 11:14

Thanks Private It was MANY years ago Grin He was in quite a few things I remember him boasting about it and counting the films with a stick along his house railings !

Yes it IS creepy, I don't why I enjoyed the film with D.K. Maybe the old fashioned feel to it. You might like it.

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PrivateParkin · 23/05/2018 17:49

I will look out for it ppeat

I googled film star birthdays today and I thought it was fairly slim pickings, until I noticed it would have been Herbert Marshall 's birthday today... I didn't know much about him, but discovered he was in The Little Foxes with Bette Davis - I don't think I've ever seen this but I know someone recommended it upthread.

I was also interested to see that Wikipedia described him as "known for his charm, he married five times" - I can't decide whether that's a totally contradictory statement or not! Although loads of the golden age stars were married loads of times, the phrasing of that just made me laugh.

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dontcallmelen · 23/05/2018 20:15

I have a confession to make I have never seen Rebecca, no idea why I know it’s been on television lots of times.

dontcallmelen · 23/05/2018 20:18

@PrivateParkin so glad blithe spirit cheered you up, I love that film such a great ensemble cast.

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PrivateParkin · 23/05/2018 23:33

Ah it really did len - it's such a strange story in a way but it's funny and all the cast are great, as you say.

Hope you can catch Rebecca this time! I'm looking forward to it.

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Halsall · 24/05/2018 07:37

Private. Your Herbert Marshall comments made me laugh because family lore has it that one of my great-aunts 'stepped out' with him for a while. He never asked her to marry him, though, as far as I know.

He'd served in WW1 and lost a leg but concealed this so well that most film fans had no idea, although he suffered a lot of pain from his injuries until the end of his life.

Boswellox · 24/05/2018 13:14

Love this thread. Another good Bette Davis film is Old Acquaintance.

frogface69 · 24/05/2018 13:40

I love an old movie called The Magic Cottage. It is hardly ever on TV, though. Bought the dvd. Very expensive for me but I must have watched it a dozen times.

ppeatfruit · 24/05/2018 13:45

Who's in it frog ?

Boswellox · 24/05/2018 14:09

frogface69 you've just reminded me of another old film I loved called Enchanted Cottage, with Dorothy Maguire and Robert Young playing a scarred ex-GI. Herbert Marshall is in it too.

ppeatfruit · 24/05/2018 15:32

Boswellox I find both Bette Davis and Joan Crawford a bit hard to take. They seem such unpleasant people and they tend to be typecast! ( I must admit I haven't seen many of their films though! Blush )

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PrivateParkin · 24/05/2018 17:25

Picture of Cary Grant apropos of nothing Grin taken by Harry Benson in 1957

Classic films appreciation thread - come and join us!
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