“When Ladies Meet” Is Playing on TCM on January 16. (USA)

Posted on January 12, 2014 by giraffe44

“When Ladies Meet” (1941) is playing on Turner Classic Movies on Thu, January 16, 2014 10:30 PM est. Closed captioned.

RT2274

“When Ladies Meet” is the story of a married couple, a lady author and a charming single journalist. Joan Crawford, the author, considers herself a “modern woman” freed from tiresome conventions and moral imperatives. Despite the movie’s 1941 date, the author’s relativistic attitude toward marriage and fidelity would be right at home in today’s left-wing intellectual circles. Her gradual evolution towards a different attitude is the meat of the movie. Mirroring the situation in her book is the situation of the married couple, Greer Garson and Herbert Marshall. The fourth member of the group is Robert Taylor as a journalist whose surface gaiety hides a serious moral foundation.The four actors make the movie much better than the script. Garson and Crawford strike sparks off each other in every scene they share. Herbert Marshall is suitably smooth and sleazy. But it’s Robert Taylor in a role involving physical comedy whose work is the most impressive. As it turns out, he is the person most grounded in reality–and the hidden hand behind everything.

Everything has the expected MGM gloss–extravagant costumes, beautiful sets, excellent photography. Highly recommended.  Review by me.

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Ursula Thiess Letter

Posted on January 9, 2014 by giraffe44

This gallery contains 21 photos.

This letter by Ursula Thiess is for sale on eBay–not by me.  It is in a lot with two letters by Robert Taylor and the seller has priced the lot at $300–way beyond my budget.  I just thought that this … Continue reading →

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“Valley of the Kings” 1954 Is Playing on TCM on January 11 (USA)

Posted on January 5, 2014 by giraffe44

“Valley of the Kings” (1954) is playing on Turner Classic Movies on Sat, January 11, 2014 at 2:00 PM est.” Closed captioned.

RT5571This is one of my favorite Robert Taylor pictures. Eleanor Parker and he had wonderful chemistry and both of them looked their best in this exotic action-adventure film.  The following is my review for the IMDb.

This isn’t a serious or “meaningful” film. It is pure entertainment, beautifully photographed on location in Egypt. The stars, Robert Taylor and Eleanor Parker, had great chemistry both off-screen and on. Taylor manages to be glamorous even when trapped in a sandstorm. The plot is relatively thin with Parker seeking to validate part of the Old Testament by finding the tomb of the Pharaoh who reigned in the time of the Biblical Joseph. She bats her eyelashes at Taylor who comes along happily. Then she introduces her husband, Carlos Thompson. There are horse and carriage chases, murders, the aforementioned sandstorm, a spectacular fight at Abu Simbel, a scorpion attack–all in ninety minutes. Given the slower pace of movies in the 1950s, there is also time for Taylor and Parker to discover each other more thoroughly (over some fermented goat). Egyptian belly dancer Samia Gamal shakes her stuff at the demure Parker. Highly enjoyable.

RT2304One of the best screen kisses–ever!

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“The Gorgeous Hussy” Is Playing on TCM on January 10 (USA)

Posted on January 5, 2014 by giraffe44

“The Gorgeous Hussy” (1936) is playing on Turner Classic Movies at 1:00 p.m. est Friday January 10.  Closed Captioned.

RT and Joan Crawford in "The Gorgeous Hussy." 1936

Robert Taylor and Joan Crawford in “The Gorgeous Hussy.” 1936

It’s a story about Washington D.C. It’s about dirty tricks, sleazy operatives, scurrilous personal attacks and lies. The 2012 presidential campaign? No, “The Gorgeous Hussy.”

The story centers around Peggy O’Neill, Joan Crawford, an innkeeper’s daughter called “Pothouse Peg,” for her politics and her men. The men are a list of Metro’s best—Robert Taylor, Jimmy Stewart, Franchot Tone, Melvyn Douglas and Lionel Barrymore. Robert Taylor dominates the first quarter of the picture with his enormous energy, his playfulness, his rapport with Crawford and his skin-tight costume. Taylor even sings and dances.

After Bow Timberlake’s (Taylor’s) heroic off screen death, things settle down. Andrew Jackson (Barrymore) dominates every scene he’s in. Beulah Bondi, as Rachel Jackson, is equally good. She won an Oscar nomination for her role. Joan Crawford is usually criticized for appearing in an historical picture because she was too “modern.” Here she handles her costumes beautifully, using her skirts to express a range of emotions. While her acting is fine, she is overwhelmed by the male contingent.

Franchot Tone, Crawford’s husband at the time, is quietly effective as Peg’s second husband John Eaton. Melvyn Douglas brings strength and intelligence to his role as Virginian John Randolph. Jimmy Stewart is wasted as Peg’s failed suitor. “The Gorgeous Hussy” is fun, sometimes moving and a reminder that political behavior wasn’t all that different in the 1820s.  Review by me for the IMDB.

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Robert Taylor in “Private Number,” 1936

Posted on January 5, 2014 by giraffe44

This gallery contains 44 photos.

“Common Clay,” a play by Cleves Kincaid, opened in August of 1915 on Broadway. The play is about class differences exemplified by a penniless young woman and her wealthy employers. It was successful and ran for 316 performances. In 1919 … Continue reading →

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