FRIDAY-- FILM NOIR-ISH BETTE DAVIS, PATRICIA NEAL, DORIS DAY ON TCM

Oznell · ‎11-08-2014

Three outstanding, moody films with dark undertones-- not all are classic film noir, but all are GOOD.

FRIDAY, 2:30 a.m. Eastern-- "The Letter". Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson, Frieda Inescort, Gale Sondergaard

One of Bette's near-perfect performances, as a fascinatingly complex woman deceiving her devoted husband (flawless Herbert Marshall) and everyone else, about an extramarital involvement and murder....

10:15 a.m. Eastern-- "The Fountainhead". Gary Cooper, Patricia Neal, Raymond Massey, Kent Smith, Henry Hull, Ray Collins

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Rebel, individualist architect (Gary Cooper) stirs the passions of formerly icy, tepidly married architecture critic ( tempestuous Patricia Neal). The art moderne interiors are fabulous.

10:00 p.m. "Storm Warning". Ginger Rogers, Doris Day, Ronald Reagan, Steve Cochran, Hugh Sanders, Ned Glass

A film noir fan favorite. Nifty 'sleeper' of a thriller, with fashion model Ginger discovering that little sister's (Doris Day) hunky husband (Steve Cochran) is a not-so-secret Ku Klux Klan member. At great personal risk, she joins forces with crusading district attorney Ronald Reagan to rout the Klan infesting the town.

EDITED TO ADD: What a dope-- these are all on Friday! I got messed up by the fact that the first, "The Letter", started at 2:30 a.m., but it was Friday, not Thursday! And ditto for the others-- mid morning, and then late night Friday. Good grief, sorry for the inconvenience, and you can still catch two of them...

Big Joanie · ‎01-02-2015

Oh My Goodness Oznell ... I am a classic movie fan .. but I have never

heard of " Storm Warning " ... Hmm .. .I love the letter ... I won it and

watch it often ....

Judaline · ‎03-10-2010

@Big Joanie wrote:
Oh My Goodness Oznell ... I am a classic movie fan .. but I have never
heard of " Storm Warning " ... Hmm .. .I love the letter ... I won it and
watch it often ....

I loved The Letter. Betty looked pretty in this movie. I loved her hair, lol. She never struck me as pretty before, tho.

Oznell · ‎11-08-2014

@Big Joanie , isn't "The Letter" just the best?!! Everything about it-- the acting, writing, the shadowy cinematography, that explosive first scene.... and Bette has never been better. I read somewhere that she and director Wyler fought about her interpretation-- whatever that involved, it sure didn't harm her performance, magnificent.

Oh, yeah, "Storm Warning" has a gritty, prickly kind of suspense. Glamorous, world-weary model walks into a situation that shocks, and then galvanizes her. Unusual casting for Ginger, and she's terrific.

Oznell · ‎11-08-2014

You're right, @Judaline -- Bette's delicately, luminously pretty in "The Letter". And her 'manner' is just spot-on as an Englishwoman in Malaysia-- nary a false move on her part, in a challenging role...

Judaline · ‎03-10-2010

@Oznell wrote:
@Big Joanie , isn't "The Letter" just the best?!! Everything about it-- the acting, writing, the shadowy cinematography, that explosive first scene.... and Bette has never been better. I read somewhere that she and director Wyler fought about her interpretation-- whatever that involved, it sure didn't harm her performance, magnificent.

I wonder if she or Wyler won the fight. I'd say her character was very placid. Very. But it worked. Terrific movie. The actress whose name escapes me we called The Dragon Lady as kids-every movie she'd pop up in we'd say, 'oh, no, the Dragon Lady.' She still scares me today, lol.

drizzellla · ‎03-14-2010

I just spent a day watching Bette Davis movies on the Movies Channel on Wednesday.

"The Letter" was one of the many movies.

It was so interesting watching the movies, one right after the other. You got to see the different roles that she played. And she did it so well.

And "The Letter" is right up there. I liked Herbert Marshall. Guess that is why he was cast for the part. He was such a decent character. And Bette was quite a sneaky contrast.

drizzellla · ‎03-14-2010

@Oznell wrote:
@Big Joanie , isn't "The Letter" just the best?!! Everything about it-- the acting, writing, the shadowy cinematography, that explosive first scene.... and Bette has never been better. I read somewhere that she and director Wyler fought about her interpretation-- whatever that involved, it sure didn't harm her performance, magnificent.

Oh, yeah, "Storm Warning" has a gritty, prickly kind of suspense. Glamorous, world-weary model walks into a situation that shocks, and then galvanizes her. Unusual casting for Ginger, and she's terrific.

Ginger Rogers was one busy woman. I watched her on Wednesday on TCM. She was in a movie "You Said a Mouthful". She was Joe E. Brown's girlfriend. The movie was from 1932. Before her dancing days.

And you look at all the 93 shows she has appeared in. What a variety of roles she played. You tend to forget she was more than just Fred Astaire's dance partner.

Mz iMac · ‎07-26-2014

@Judaline wrote:
The actress whose name escapes me we called The Dragon Lady as kids-every movie she'd pop up in we'd say, 'oh, no, the Dragon Lady.' She still scares me today, lol.

@Judaline

Gale Sondergaard

Both parents were Danish.

"Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference."

Judaline · ‎03-10-2010

@Mz iMac wrote:
@Judaline wrote:
The actress whose name escapes me we called The Dragon Lady as kids-every movie she'd pop up in we'd say, 'oh, no, the Dragon Lady.' She still scares me today, lol.
@Judaline

Gale Sondergaard
Both parents were Danish.