Alfie breaks the fourth wall

Alfie (1966 film), a film based on the play by Bill Naughton starring Michael Caine. Alfie frequently breaks the fourth wall by speaking directly to the camera narrating and justifying his actions. His words often contrast and/or totally contradict his actions. The term "fourth wall" stems from the absence of a fourth wall on a three-walled set where the audience is viewing the production. The audience is supposed to assume there is a "fourth wall" present, even though it physically is not there.

"Breaking the fourth wall" refers to a situation in which a character reveals his or her awareness of the audience. Most often, the fourth wall is broken by having a character directly address the audience. Marx Brothers' Horse Feathers, Animal House, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and Woody Allen's Annie Hall are some notable examples in film.

Walter Brennan Perfect Sidekick to Gary Cooper

Walter Brennan (July 25, 1894 – September 21, 1974) was a three-time Academy Award winning American actor. He is remembered as one of the premier character actors in motion picture history

He is often remembered for one of his best performances, as Judge Roy Bean, in The Westerner, it stars Gary Cooper as fictional interloper Cole Harden. This 1940 film directed by William Wyler led to him winning his record-setting third Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

In the 1941 Sergeant York, he played a sympathetic preacher and dry goods store owner who advised the title character played by Gary Cooper. He was particularly skilled in playing the hero's sidekick or as the "grumpy old man" in a picture. Cooper also won his first Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as the title character.

He remains the only person to have won three Best Supporting Actor awards.

1936 Come and Get It
1938 Kentucky
1940 The Westerner

What the Tweeple say: Pygmalian vs. My Fair Lady! Audrey Hepburn vs. Penelope Cruz?

Pygmalion (1913) is a play by George Bernard Shaw based on the Greek myth of the same name. It tells the story of Henry Higgins, a professor of phonetics (based on phonetician Henry Sweet), who makes a bet with his friend Colonel Pickering that he can successfully pass off a Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, as a refined society lady by teaching her how to speak with an upper class accent and training her in etiquette. In the process, Higgins and Doolittle grow close, but she ultimately rejects his domineering ways and declares she will marry Freddy Eynsford-Hill – a young, poor, gentleman. This play is based on Pygmalion, a sculptor from Greek Mythology. The play led to a several adaptations including two Award Winning films:

• Pygmalion (1938), a film adaptation by Shaw starring Leslie Howard as "Higgins" and Wendy Hiller as "Eliza".
• My Fair Lady (1964), a film version of the musical starring Audrey Hepburn as "Eliza" and Rex Harrison as "Higgins".

Pygmalion premiered on TCM tonight with My Fair Lady following. TCM viewing tweeple had some definite opinions on both.

Worth Retweeting

TCManiacs: RT @viste_m: New blog post: Audrey Hepburn vs Penélope Cruz http://tinyurl.com/cqyfk2

What the Tweeple say: Pygmalian vs. My Fair Lady! Audrey Hepburn vs. Penelope Cruz?

• j_bacardi Jiminy Christmas, is MY FAIR LADY a LONG movie or what? Seems like it's been on all night. 6 minutes ago from twitterrific
• ixtumea @TCManiacs There's no comparison. Audrey is classic. After all my research on her for my novel, I've come to absolutely love her! 17 minutes ago from web in reply to TCManiacs
• MaterialGirl850 Ridiculously big hats a la My Fair Lady are really due for a comeback. 27 minutes ago from web
• phatredg @TCManiacs No Contest. Ms. Hepburn is the winner hands down. Sorry Penelope. 43 minutes ago from web in reply to TCManiacs
• hellowren Watching My Fair Lady. Right-O guvnah. about 1 hour ago from txt
  
  
• BobHole My Fair Lady (#TCM) still not sure of the sex of the actor who gives Alfie Doolittle the news about Eliza's moving. I suspect female, but? about 1 hour ago from twhirl
• MikeOliveri Wife is watching My Fair Lady. Seems to me they ruined a perfectly good play (Pygmalion) with crummy music. about 1 hour ago from TweetDeck
• beagle lol the bath scene on my fair lady....she is givin em' ell' about 1 hour ago from TweetDeck
• haleycrain @ everyone, I mentioned Audrey Hepburn to a boy a while back and he said, "Who?" So don't judge!! At least I'm better than that! about 1 hour ago from web
• raydirector @haleycrain you've never seen My Fair Lady? I'm not sure you should be okay with that. about 1 hour ago from web in reply to haleycrain
• CharityMom What makes me happy? Stumbling upon My Fair Lady on TV tonight. about 1 hour ago from web
• HEPBURNfrenzy @TCManiacs thanks 4 finding me...I LOVE TCM...did u see "Children's hour" earlier great movie take a gander starring A. Hepburn, S. Maclaine about 1 hour ago from web in reply to TCManiacs
• BobHole My Fair Lady (TCM). It's a Bob's Favorite night. My Fair Lady and Singin' in the Rain. (Stanly Holloway's better than guy in Pygmalion) about 1 hour ago from web
• BobHole Pygmalion (#TCM) w Leslie Howard. Was wonderful good. Better acting in many roles than My Fair Lady (which is a favorite o' mine). about 1 hour ago from web
• Mahalat My brother was right. After watching Pygmalion I cannot bear My Fair Lady. about 1 hour ago from web
• DBallardReisch Pygmalion then My Fair Lady - it is possible to get too much Henry Higgins about 2 hours ago from TweetDeck
• ThursdayGirl Call me a heretic, but I prefer "Gigi" to "My Fair Lady." Of course, I'm still watching the latter which just started on TCM. about 2 hours ago from web
• amok_ OMG My Fair Lady is on. I'm such a gay for Audrey Hepburn. about 2 hours ago from web
• QQKachoo @TCManiacs Oh dear, now I feel bad. :^( Anyway, Hugh Laurie plays Dr. House on the telly, so there's that. about 2 hours ago from txt
• capnlori I was going to play Wii, but My Fair Lady is coming on TV! Oh, the choices a nerd must make. about 2 hours ago from web
• QQKachoo Okay, @TCManiacs, you lose points for adding editorial comments to your RTs. Also for not knowing who Hugh Laurie is. about 2 hours ago from txt
• seabisquick @TCManiacs I understand Leo Genn of "Quo Vadis" dances with Wendy Hiller in the embassy ball scene. about 2 hours ago from web in reply to TCManiacs
• wollenapathy - Pygmalion's the original My Fair Lady. It's hilarious. about 3 hours ago from txt
we_rob_banks Just watched Pygmalion. I much prefer it to the My Fair Lady version about 2 hours ago from txt

Miss Bishop & Mr. Chips | Cinemas Favorite Teachers

Goodbye, Mr. Chips and Miss Bishop Two novels that tell the story of a much-loved school teachers inspire several film adaptations over the years.

Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939 film) This is the best known screen version, starring Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Terry Kilburn, John Mills and Paul Henreid. Donat won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the lead role, beating Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart, and Laurence Olivier.

Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969 film) A relatively unsuccessful musical film version appeared, starring Peter O'Toole and Petula Clark. This version moved the timeline forward to Chips; career beginning in the early twentieth century and later career covering the second, rather than first, world war. While most critics deemed the songs unnecessary, both O'Toole and Clark were universally praised for their performances and the obvious chemistry between them; O'Toole was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical.

Cheers for Miss Bishop is a film based on the novel Miss Bishop by Bess Streeter Aldrich. It was directed by Tay Garnett and stars Martha Scott in the title role. The other cast members include William Gargan, Edmund Gwenn, Sterling Holloway, Dorothy Peterson, Marsha Hunt, Don Douglas, and Sidney Blackmer.

The Children's Hour | Code changes love triangle

The Children's Hour, a 1934 stage play by Lillian Hellman was made into a film directed by William Wyler. However, because of the Production Code, the story was adapted into a heterosexual love triangle, the controversial name of the play was changed and the movie eventually released as These Three. Hellman reportedly worked on the screenplay, virtually all of the play's original dialogue was kept, and she was satisfied with the result, saying the play's central theme of gossip was unaffected by the changes. In 1961 the play was adapted, with its lesbian theme intact, for the film The Children's Hour, also directed by Wyler. This version starred Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, and James Garner,

In the play, Martha Dobie shoots herself instead of hanging herself, but the film is otherwise a quite faithful adaptation, retaining much of the same dialogue found in the play and in the 1936 film version These Three.

In an interview for the documentary The Celluloid Closet (1996), MacLaine said she and Hepburn never talked about their characters' alleged homosexuality. She also claimed Wyler cut some scenes hinting at her character's love for Hepburn because of concerns about press reaction to the film.

Blackboard Jungle Starts New Genre

Blackboard Jungle was the first of what would become a popular genre: the film in which an idealistic teacher is confronted with a class of cynical teenagers, who have disengaged from conventional schooling. As so often in later films, issues of race and class lie at the heart of the dynamics. Subsequent films that exploited the theme include: To Sir, with Love (1967; starring Poitier as a black teacher in a white school), Class of 1984 (1982), The Principal (1987), Stand and Deliver (1988), Lean on Me and Dead Poets Society (both 1989), Class of 1999 (1990), Dangerous Minds (1995), The Substitute (1996), One Eight Seven (1997), Freedom Writers (2007) and Hamlet 2 (2008).