Table Talk!

Carole Lombard and Clark Gable

Frank Sinatra and Walter Pidgeon

Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner

Leslie Howard, Gary Cooper and Charles Farrell

Helen Hayes, Claudette Colbert and Ruth Gordon

Fay Wray and Cary Grant

George and Gracie Burns with Jane Wyman and Ronald Reagan

Susan Hayward and Ingrid Bergman

Tonight on TCM!

Merchant Ivory- who knew I was such a fan? I have seen all but one in the line-up tonight!

The Remains of the Day (1993)

 Howards End (1992)

A Room With a View (1985)
Maurice (1987)

The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)

Is Jonathan Shields (Kirk Douglas) a jerk? Sure! Has he done some pretty terrible things to his friends? Of course! Is he really just a bad person? Uh...hard to say.

Sure Jonathan sacrificed a talented and powerful friendship to get a step up in the production business and get his own studio. But what he did to Fred (Barry Sullivan) turned in Fred's favor- he became a successful director, sought out by all studios and given the freedom to choose what he would direct after years of sub par projects being thrown his way.

Sure Jonathan sacrificed the chance at true love with a devoted woman like Georgia (Lana Turner) who would have given up her entire career, one Jonathan helped build, just to be with him. Instead he turned her away and she became the famous actress she is now, making money for another studio having quit Jonathan's.

Sure Jonathan sacrificed a wonderful collaboration and friendship with author cum screenplay writer James Lee Bartlow (Dick Powell) by getting him to concentrate more on his screenplays than his wife, Rosemary (Gloria Grahame) who easily gives in to outside forces. James Lee finally got that second novel written with Jonathan's help.
So, when Jonathan Shield's studio is down and out, when he is in need of the three most important people whose lives have forever been changed by his actions, will his most faithful employee Harry Pebbel (Walter Pidgeon) be able to convince them to work with Jonathan again?

 Alternating between being a complete heel and vulnerable prankster, Douglas's Johnathan Shields is just as easy to hate as he is to love. Douglas reminds me much of James Cagney, having this ability to be wicked and fearsome, but also funny and endearing.
This movie packs a powerful punch and is definitely a must see. Lana Turner, Dick Powell and Gloria Grahame play wonderful supporting roles.

Tonight and well into Wednesday on TCM!
Kirk Douglas!!

Blossoms in the Dust (1941)

Edna (Greer Garson) and her adoptive sister Charlotte (Marsha Hunt) are happily set to be married into the upper crust of Wisconsin society. However, their destinies are changed when Edna breaks off her engagement to marry Texan Sam Gladney (Walter Pidgeon) an associate of her father’s who brashly declares he will marry her. When Sam returns a year later for Edna, after opening up his flourmill, Mr. and Mrs. Keats (Kathleen Howard and George Lessey), Charlotte's future in-laws, tell the Kahlys (Fay Holden and Samuel Hinds) that their son Allan (William Henry) cannot marry her because she was a "nameless" foundling. Charlotte is devastated by the news and kills herself.

Two years later, Edna, who has moved to Texas and married Sam, gives birth to a boy and is told that she can have no more children. On Christmas Day, a few years later, tragedy strikes when their son is killed in an accident. Edna hides her grief by becoming a society hostess until Sam and Dr. Max Bresler (Felix Bressart), who attended her at Sammy's birth, try to get her interested in caring for other children. Though reticent at first, she and Sam set up a day nursery for working mothers, which they finance from their own fortune until Sam loses his mill due to the decline of wheat prices.

Selling everything they own, they move to Fort Worth where Sam works as a mill hand while trying to develop a new wheat process. On the day that Edna takes his new process to be notarized, she sees some children in a courtroom and discovers that they are orphans, tagged like cattle, and rejected by prospective adoptive parents because they are illegitimate. She brings two children home; one of them is named Tony who is very ill. With very little money and a lot of help from her friends Zeke and Cleo (Clinton Rosemond and Theresa Harris), she opens a storefront orphanage called the Texas Children's Home and Aid Society and arranges for adoptions for her charges, making certain parents and children are well suited for each other. However, the city councilmen close the home for zoning violations. Determined to keep up the fight, Edna must do so without Sam who passes away. 

She travels throughout Texas, collecting funds until she is able to open a large new home. As the years pass, Edna finds good homes for many children, but realizes that she has additional work to do when she receives a donation from a despondent young woman who is in the same predicament as her sister Charlotte was. Determined to change the law that brands children "illegitimate" and have it removed from birth certificates she fights and wins her battle to have a bill passed in the Texas legislature. But once one battle is over she must fight another, this time she fights for Tony who is wanted by a husband and wife who recently lost their only child. Wanting Tony for herself, Edna must stop and think what’s best for the child she loves so much and eventually gives him away to a loving home where he can have all the attention from a mother and a father.

A story based on the real life of Edna Gladney, Blossoms in the Dust is a real heartwrencher. In my opinion, Greer Garson was the best at eliciting sympathy…and tears. She was a phenomenal actress as TCM will prove tonight by showing the five movies that garnered her the distinction of being the only actress besides Bette Davis to be nominated five times in a row for Best Actress! If you spend the evening with her, then you will also get a healthy dose of Walter Pidgeon, a dynamic and talented player in his own right.

Oscar trivia:

Greer Garson was nominated seven times in her career and holds the distinction of being nominated five times in a row, a distinction she share with Bette Davis. She was nominated for Best actress for her roles in Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Blossoms in the Dust, Mrs. Miniver, Madame Curie, Mrs. Parkington, The Valley of Decision, and Sunrise at Campobello. She won her only Oscar for Mrs. Miniver.


Walter Pidgeon garnered two Academy Award nominations for Best Actor for his roles in Mrs. Miniver and Madame Curie.

Mrs. Miniver (1942)

Mrs. Kay Miniver (Greer Garson) and her husband Clem (Walter Pidgeon) live a comfortable life with their three children in a village outside London. As World War II looms, the Minivers and people of the village can still afford to squabble over mundane issues. Like when Mr. Ballard (Henry Travers) enters his beautiful rose- the “Mrs. Miniver” into the village flower show causing the village to be divided by those who believe the working class man has a right to give Lady Beldon a little competition and those who think it outrageous for Mr. Ballard to challenge the current social status by entering the rose to compete with the the Beldon rose. Too, there is time for a relationship to grow between Vin (Richard Ney), the Miniver’s oldest son who is down from university and Carol Beldon (Teresa Wright), granddaughter of Lady Beldon (Dame May Whitty) from nearby Beldon Hall. Despite initial disagreements over their ideals when it comes to class restrictions, they fall in love and eventually marry, knowing they may only have a short time to love one another as the war moves closer and closer to home.

When the war does come, we find a village united with the Miniver’s doing their part. Clem helps in the Dunkirk evacuation, Vin becomes a fighter pilot, and Kay deals with a wounded and hostile German officer who is in enemy territory. All the while they must suffer through air raids, bombings, and the ever increasing knowledge that they may all not make it out of this battle alive.
After the flower show competition where Mr Ballard’s rose wins, Kay and Carol are slowly making their way back when an air attack begins. Thinking it prudent to stop the car, Kay reassures Carol that all will be well however, Carol is wounded by gunfire from a German plane. When she dies a few minutes after they reach home, Kay is devastated. Here the whole focus has been on Vin getting safely back home from a dangerous mission and Carol becomes the casualty.

Once Vin returns home, the village gathers in the remains of their local church where the vicar (Henry Wilcoxon), affirms their determination in a powerful sermon:

"We in this quiet corner of England have suffered the loss of friends very dear to us, some close to this church. George West, choirboy. James Ballard, stationmaster and bellringer, and the proud winner only an hour before his death of the Beldon Cup for his beautiful Miniver Rose. And our hearts go out in sympathy to the two families who share the cruel loss of a young girl who was married at this altar only two weeks ago.
"The homes of many of us have been destroyed, and the lives of young and old have been taken. There's scarcely a household that hasn't been struck to the heart.
"And why? Surely you must have asked yourselves this question? Why in all conscience should these be the ones to suffer? Children, old people, a young girl at the height of her loveliness? Why these? Are these our soldiers? Are these our fighters? Why should they be sacrificed?
"I shall tell you why. Because this is not only a war of soldiers in uniform. It is the war of the people, of all the people. And it must be fought not only on the battlefield but in the cities and in the villages, in the factories and on the farms, in the home and in the heart of every man, woman and child who loves freedom.
"Well, we have buried our dead, but we shall not forget them. Instead they will inspire us with an unbreakable determination to free ourselves, and those who come after us, from the tyranny and terror that threaten to strike us down.
"This is the People's War! It is our war! We are the fighters! Fight it then! Fight it with all that is in us! And may God defend the right."

Mrs. Miniver is a an emotionally moving film with unexpected results. I was unnerved at how wonderfully well Garson and Pidgeon displayed their fear and strength. The film realistically shows not only the terror of living in a war zone but how a people can rise against adversity. Simply a must see!

Trivia: Some may have been a little unnerved when they heard Mrs. Minniver married her son Vin shortly after they made this film. ;)


Tonight on TCM!
Mr. Imperium (1951) An exiled king and a film star try to rekindle a romance from the past.

Cast: Lana Turner, Ezio Pinza, Marjorie Main, Barry Sullivan Dir: Don Hartman

Julia Misbehaves (1948)

Julie Packett (Greer Garson) is an English dancehall actress who’s often broke but manages to get by with pluck, a positive attitude and charitable friends. When she learns of her estranged daughter’s pending marriage, one such friend graciously offers to deck her out and send her off to the wedding. When William Packett, (Walter Pidgeon) Julie’s ex-husband and his mother (Lucile Watson) learn of her invitation to Susan’s (Elizabeth Taylor) wedding, William hurries off to catch her halfway and convince her not to come. However, he doesn’t get his chance and Julie arrives before he gets back home and is warmly accepted by her daughter who secretly sent the invitation.
Julie sets about to make sure that Susan makes the right decision with her marriage while fending off her ex-husband’s new ignited passion for her. He left her once, who’s to say he won’t do it again.

Full of funny banter and some awkward moments, Julia Misbehaves is a fun little film. I am beginning to realize that Garson and Pidgeon were paired so often together for a reason- they had serious onscreen chemistry!


Tonight on TCM!
The Lady Eve (1941) A lady cardsharp tries to con an eccentric scientist only to fall for him.
Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn, Eugene Pallette Dir: Preston Sturges

Funny Girl (1968) "Hello Gorgeous"

A loosely based musical biopic of Fanny Brice that’s about as accurate as The Great Ziegfeld biopic that happened to feature Fanny Brice, Funny Girl isn’t a terribly bad musical. I can say that as someone who dislikes musicals because halfway through the film the music and Fanny’s career become secondary to the melodrama that is her relationship with Arnstein. A relationship that was highly fictionalized as Ray Stark, producer of both the Broadway and the film version of Funny Girl and Fanny Brice’s son-in-law was given the difficult task of appeasing remaining family members and associates of Brice. Among the most important to not offend was Arnstein himself, he was still alive when Funny Girl became a hit and eager to sue for defamation. He was hardly the Arnstein Omar Sharif portrayed in Funny Girl. Check out Funny Girl Debunked for more information.







This was Wyler’s first musical and though I am no musical officiando, I thought the film had a nice pace despite the length of it. It was a touching love story and a credit to Streisand’s wonderful voice and sense of humor. Something I wish she had stuck with instead of becoming more dramatic and reclusive. I wouldn’t have minded seeing her do more musical numbers onstage as “His Love makes Me Beautiful” and “The Swan” were hilarious.
As for the other characters in the film, Walter Pidgeon’s Ziegfeld was hardly seen enough to comment on. Omar Sharif was suave and gentlemanly and his singing wasn’t too shabby. Kay Medford was a delight as Brice’s mother and the film could have benefited from more of her one-liners. In comparison to Streisand however, all the other characters fall to the wayside.

Pet peeve: Streisand's nails. Oy vey! You want you should scratch yourself in the face with those things?

Tonight on TCM!

Gypsy (1962) A domineering mother pushes her two daughters to burlesque stardom.
Cast: Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, Paul Wallace Dir: Mervyn LeRoy

Mrs. Parkington (1941)

Mrs. Parkington is the history of a love story told through flashbacks. When scandal erupts within the Parkington family that could ruin their fortune and good name, Susie Parkington cannot help reflecting back on her marriage to the man that built the Parkington name and how he would handle the situation. Through a series of flashbacks we learn of the love and loss of Major and Mrs. Parkington from their meeting in a boarding house where Susie worked in a town called Leaping Frog, Nevada; through their private battle during a public humiliation and their estrangement following the death of their son. The underlying moral of the story beyond the hardships of love and loss is the realization of creating an empire and fortune worthy of passing down only to find that it has corrupted the potential inheritors.
With thoughts of the Major in mind, Susie makes a decision contrary to the wishes of the family, but one that she feels the Major would make as well.

I always enjoy a good story about disfunctional families, the Parkingtons are no exception. Though the film over two hours and the storyline is not uncommon, I was absorbed in the wonderful performances of Garson, Pidgeon, and Agnes Moorehead who played the extravagant Baroness Aspasia Conti. It was interesting to see Mrs. Parkington evolve from a young naive girl to a knowledgeable, unaffected woman through each flashback; to see the relationship that was questionable at first grow into true love; to see how the Major and Mrs. Parkington resolved their problems and overcame loss. It makes me look forward to seeing Mrs. Miniver all the more!


Tonight on TCM!

High Noon (1952) A retired Marshal must defend his town from a revengeful villain. Cast: Gary Cooper, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Bridges, Katy Jurado Dir: Fred Zinnemann