On the Waterfront | Watch Videoclip Most Famous "I coulda been a contender" Scene

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On the Waterfront is a 1954 American drama film about union violence and corruption among longshoremen. The film was directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. It stars Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint, Rod Steiger, Karl Malden and Lee J. Cobb. The soundtrack score was composed by Leonard Bernstein. It is claimed it was based on a series of articles written in the New York Sun by Malcolm Johnson. However, in 1950, playwright Arthur Miller approached Kazan with the script THE HOOK. They took it to the major Hollywood studios, where Miller would meet Marilyn Monroe for the first time. The script was checked by the F.B.I. and they concluded the script should be re-written with the crooks as Communists. Miller withdrew, and Columbia boss Harry Cohen called Miller anti-American. Kazan confessed to a past with the communist party, gave names to HUAC, and was assured he could continue with the studio. On the Waterfront is an adaptation of The Hook, except Kazan made Brando out as the guy who snitches but keeps his honour, as he wished himself to be seen as that person.

The film received eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Director. It is Leonard Bernstein's only original film score not adapted from a stage production with songs.

Charlie: Look, kid, I - how much you weigh, son? When you weighed one hundred and sixty-eight pounds you were beautiful. You coulda been another Billy Conn, and that skunk we got you for a manager, he brought you along too fast. 

Terry: It wasn't him, Charley, it was you. Remember that night in the Garden you came down to my dressing room and you said, "Kid, this ain't your night. We're going for the price on Wilson." You remember that? "This ain't your night"! My night! I coulda taken Wilson apart! So what happens? He gets the title shot outdoors on the ballpark and what do I get? A one-way ticket to Palooka-ville! You was my brother, Charley, you shoulda looked out for me a little bit. You shoulda taken care of me just a little bit so I wouldn't have to take them dives for the short-end money. 

Charlie: Oh I had some bets down for you. You saw some money.  

Terry: You don't understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it. It was you, Charley. 

Watch Video of Marlon Brando winning an Oscar® for "On the Waterfront" The best part is absurd outfit Bette Davis wears as a presenter.

A Streetcar Named Desire | "Hey, STELLA" Videoclip

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A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1951 American film adaptation of the 1947 play of the same name by Tennessee Williams, who also wrote the screenplay with Oscar Saul. The film, a romantic drama, was directed by Elia Kazan, who had also directed the original stage production, and stars Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, Kim Hunter, and Karl Malden; all but Leigh were chosen from the Broadway cast of the play, while Leigh had starred in the London West End production. It was produced by talent agent and lawyerCharles K. Feldman, and released by Warner Bros. The film had many revisions to remove references to homosexuality, among other things.

A Streetcar Named Desire was the first film to win three out of four acting categories at the Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Leigh, Best Supporting Actor for Malden, and Best Supporting Actress for Hunter. Brando's performance as Stanley Kowalski, while nominated, did not win the Oscar. The film was also the first to win both Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress.

Stanley Kowalski: Hey, STELLA.

The Bad Seed | Local Stage Production Doesn't Disappoint This Cult Film Lover

Patty McCormick as Rhoda in 1956 film The Bad Seed

Last weekend I finally had the opportunity to see a theatrical production of The Bad Seed.  When asked by my son who escorted me  to classify the Bad Seed,  I first called it a black comedy because of the movies high camp value, but clarified it later to be a comedic thriller. The intensity of the subject of serial killing family traits passed down to our children requires some comedic relief. My first experience with this unsettling story was by means of the Mervyn LeRoy directed  1956 horror film. Hands down in my opinion it has the best “gothcha” ending ever!  The ending is so critical that the film includes this final title card:

“You have just seen a motion picture whose theme dares to be startlingly different. May we ask that you do not divulge the unusual climax of this story. Thank you.”

Up to date smiling kiddie sociapath

The film, The Bad Seed  was decades ahead of similar contemporary thrillers such as The Good Son (starring Macaulay Culkin) which also gave us a sensational  surprise ending  to a mother’s slow realization she has spawned a child psychopath.  By means of the supporting characters, the mystery writer Reginald Tasker and Christine's father, Richard Bravo, a highly respected journalist,  there was a more intelligent discussion of pediatric sociapathy. It was somewhat obvious from the claustrophobic  settings and the theatricality of the dialogue that the film had been adapted from a stage play. I would eventually learn from the classic movie blogosphere that the 1956 movie had an entirely different ending than the Maxwell Anderson’s play it was based upon.  (The play was based upon William March's 1954 novel of same name.) As you might have guessed, the constraints of the Hays Code determined the ending as well as a few significant omissions from the original script.

Lucy Turner performance as Rhoda measures up!

I might never have had the opportunity to see the stage version of this obscure cult classic, if I hadn’t made the recent move to Nashville where the small non profit Street Theatre Company was reviving the play. Although I looked forward to discovering what the film had to change from the play, I worried that this local stage production would not be able to overcome my expectations for one of my favorite villainous character of all times.

Considering the fact that the film confined most of its action to the living room, the simply constructed one room set at the Street Theatre Company which is barely more than a small warehouse with folding chairs and theatrical lighting was not too much of a stretch of the imagination.  One by one the adult characters appeared on stage in very authentic and memorable vintage costumes and hairstyles. The live performance had the advantage of using color to distinguish characters. I noted the muted olive green tones used for the passive character of the mother. On the other hand the flamboyant loquacious Ms Breedlove was usually costumed in sophisticated black and white attire which I happen to note always had a black and white diagonal printed fabric incorporated into her accessory scarf or hat. Perhaps I am over analyzing, but kudos to the costume designer if she deliberately made those design choices based on the characters. 

Lucy Turner performance as Rhoda measures up!

Finally, little Miss Perfect, Rhoda Penmark takes center stage ready to go to the school picnic in her red pinafore and red shoes with the murderous metal taps  she suggested so they don’t get worn out. Before speaking her first line I was already absolutely wowed by the young  10-year-old actress  Lucy Turner’s perfect posture and expression  which  met every expectation I had for my favorite child sociopath.  Then she nails it with Rhoda’s signature line,”What will you give me for a basket of kisses?” Throughout the play her obsessive perfectionism is revealed by her constant habit of making sure her red ribboned blonde pigtails lie perfectly on each shoulder. One of the magical elements of this stage production was the inclusion of a musical jingle to highlight each instance of this specific tidy habit. I felt totally manipulated by the variations in the speed of the few well placed notes from the creepy children’s tune Claire de la Lune which was also used in the film. I don’t know much about the original Broadway production for comparison, but the sparse simple music score provided an important layer of suspense to this production.

Linda Speir’s “unsanitized” performance of the perfectly 50s costumed Monica Breedlove was the highlight of the evening. With perfect Southern sophistication she spewed her exhaustive knowledge of Freudian theory and sexual deviancy without Hayes code restrictions. She even accuses her brother of being a closet homosexual and herself of subconscious incestuous thoughts. Miss Breedlove and Leroy provided the comic relief from the serious discussions of sociopathy being environmental versus genetic by writers, Tasker and Bravo. The heart wrenching drama was also well played by both grieving mothers, Adele Akin as Mrs. Daigle, mother of the drowned boy and Lisa Marie Wright as Mrs. Pembroke, mother of the suspected murderer.

All in all, the stage version paralleled the film sans the sex talk right up until the ending. I am no theatrical critic, just a classic movie lover that happens to rate The Bad Seed amongst her favorite campy horror flicks. The Street Theatre Company pulled off a great production that kept me on the edge of my seat through the wonderful performances of a great cast accompanied by spine tingling sound and music. Not only was I not disappointed I found this play just as "thrilling" and "shocking" as the film. Very impressed!

WARNING SPOILERS:

Although I have heard many criticize the movie ending which could not allow a murderer to survive unpunished due to Hayes Code, I personally felt more satisfaction from the movie ending. The two versions remain the same until after Mrs. Penmark attempts to permanently put her daughter to sleep and take her own life by gunshot. BTW I almost wet my pants with the gunshot in dark at the play. Anyway, in the film the next scene becomes a hospital waiting room instead of the living room after the funeral for the play. The dialogue for both scenes remains almost identical and both scenes end with the revelation that Rhoda survived the sleeping pill overdose. That is the end of the surprise ending in the stage version. The Mother has just been buried but the murderous child lives on. Now that’s horror. But in the film adaptation, I really liked the fact that the kiddy psychopath was so obsessed with getting that medal that she sneaks out during a terrible storm after methodically getting dressed in (what I imagined despite black and white film) her perfect yellow rain coat, galoshes and umbrella to go out to the pier and get justice…a lightning strike from the almighty. Perhaps it’s not as horrific an ending, and perhaps it’s awful to admit but it’s a LMAO moment for me every time!

The Letter (1929) - Unsanitized Precode Version starring Jeanne Eagels BROKEN VIDEOCLIPS

Jeanne Eagels was posthumously considered for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her 1929 role in The Letter after dying suddenly that year at the age of 39.

The Letter (1929) Jeanne Eagels and Herbert Marshall

The Letter (1929) Jeanne Eagels and Reginald Owen

Flower Drum Song' s "I Enjoy Being A Girl" | GAP Commercial Video Clip

Flower Drum Song is a 1961 film adaptation of the 1958 Broadway musical play Flower Drum Song, written by the composer Richard Rodgers and the lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The film and stage play were based on the 1957 novel of the same name by the Chinese American author C.Y. Lee. This movie was unusual (for its time) in featuring nearly all Asian American cast members (one of the few speaking Caucasian parts being that of a mugger), including dancers, though two of the singing voices were not by Asian ones. Starring in this movie were Nancy Kwan, James Shigeta, Benson Fong, James Hong, Reiko Sato and the original Broadway cast members Jack Soo, Miyoshi Umeki and Juanita Hall (an African American actress who previously played the Pacific Islander Bloody Mary in the Broadway and film productions of Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific).
Among various changes for the film, the song "Like a God" was changed from a song into a beat poetry presentation. The singing voice of the character "Linda Low" was that of B. J. Baker, a non-Asian studio singer who had worked with Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, the Righteous Brothers, and Sam Cooke. The song "Love, Look Away" was also dubbed in by the American opera singer Marilyn Horne.
In 2008, Flower Drum Song was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Although the score of Flower Drum Song did not produce many hit tunes, its song "I Enjoy Being A Girl" has been widely used in other movies. The song has become familiar to many Americans, perhaps most recently with Sarah Jessica Parker in a nationally telecast Gap company commercial. It was covered by the lesbian folksinger Phranc. As of October 2006, there were 13 versions of the song on YouTube, including performances by Pat Suzuki and parodies based on Harry Potter and Battlestar Galactica.


Here's the Gap commercial as well as the original rendition from the film:

To Live Is To Fly | 2009 TCM Memorial to Our Stars in Heaven

Annual video tribute beautifully produced by Turner Classic Movies. The background song is "To Live Is To Fly" by Steve Earle. We do not have long to wait to compare to the 2010 Oscar Memorial.

Join TCM for the December Podcast

Join TCM for the December Podcast, an entertaining and in-depth look at this month's films by the passionate movie-fan employees of TCM. December highlights include a month long tribute to the Hollywood legend and Star of the Month: Humphrey Bogart, an evening of films personally selected by singer-songwriter Neko Case, and a spotlight on the films by Director Frank Capra who brought an unquenchable optimism to the screen. Employee favorites for the month include Holmes for Christmas, Director John Hughes' Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) part of our TCM Remembers, and New Year's Eve Thin Man Marathon.

Download Video and Audio Podcast»

Now Voyager | Don't Let's Ask For The Moon Videoclip

Now, Voyager is a 1942 American drama film directed by Irving Rapper. The screenplay by Casey Robinson is based on the 1941 novel of the same name by Olive Higgins Prouty, who borrowed her title from a line in the Walt Whitman poem "The Untold Want," which reads in its entirety, "The untold want by life and land ne'er granted, / Now voyager sail thou forth to seek and find." Bette Davis' portrayal garnered her an Academy Award nomination, and the film continues to be popular not only due to its star power but also the "emotional crescendos" engendered in the storyline.

For years, Davis and co-star Paul Henreid claimed the scenes in which Jerry puts two cigarettes in his mouth, lights both, then passes one to Charlotte, was developed by them during rehearsals, inspired by a habit Henreid shared with his wife, but drafts of Casey Robinson's script on file at the University of Southern California indicate it was included by the screenwriter in his original script. The scene remained an indelible trademark that Davis later would exploit as 'hers'.

Gilda Sings Put the Blame on Mame | Videoclip/Lyrics

"Put the Blame on Mame" is an 1946 song by Allan Roberts and Doris Fisher, originally made for the film Gilda - where it was sung by the title character, played by Rita Hayworth and with the singing voice actually that of Anita Ellis.

In keeping with the film character Gilda being "the ultimate femme fatale", the song sung by her at two scenes facetiously credits the amorous activities of a woman named "Mame" (the name evidently chosen to rhyme with "blame") as the true cause of three well-known cataclysmic events in American history: The Great Chicago Fire of 1871, Great Blizzard of 1888 in New York City and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

PUT THE BLAME ON MAME

As recorded by Anita Ellis, for the singing
voice of Rita Hayworth in the film "Gilda":

When Mrs. O'Leary's cow
Kicked the lantern in Chicago town
They say that started the fire
That burned Chicago down
That's the story that went around
But here's the real low-down
Put the blame on Mame, boys
Put the blame on Mame
Mame kissed a buyer from out of town
That kiss burned Chicago down
So you can put the blame on Mame, boys
Put the blame on Mame

Remember the blizzard, back in Manhattan
In eighteen-eighty-six
They say that traffic was tied up
And folks were in a fix
That's the story that went around
But here's the real low-down
Put the blame on Mame, boys
Put the blame on Mame
Mame gave a chump such an ice-cold "No"
For seven days they shovelled snow
So you can put the blame on Mame, boys
Put the blame on Mame

When they had the earthquake in San Francisco
Back in nineteen-six
They said that Mother Nature
Was up to her old tricks
That's the story that went around
But here's the real low-down
Put the blame on Mame, boys
Put the blame on Mame
One night she started to shim and shake
That brought on the Frisco quake
So you can put the blame on Mame, boys
Put the blame on Mame

They once had a shootin' up in the Klondike
When they got Dan McGrew
Folks were putting the blame on
The lady known as Lou
That's the story that went around
But here's the real low-down
Put the blame on Mame, boys
Put the blame on Mame
Mame did a dance called the hoochy-coo
That's the thing that slew McGrew
So you can put the blame on Mame, boys
Put the blame on Mame

Gilda sings Put the Blame on Mame

"Put the Blame on Mame" is an 1946 song by Allan Roberts and Doris Fisher, originally made for the film Gilda - where it was sung by the title character, played by Rita Hayworth and with the singing voice actually that of Anita Ellis.

In keeping with the film character Gilda being "the ultimate femme fatale", the song sung by her at two scenes facetiously credits the amorous activities of a woman named "Mame" (the name evidently chosen to rhyme with "blame") as the true cause of three well-known cataclysmic events in American history: The Great Chicago Fire of 1871, Great Blizzard of 1888 in New York City and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

PUT THE BLAME ON MAME

As recorded by Anita Ellis, for the singing
voice of Rita Hayworth in the film "Gilda":

When Mrs. O'Leary's cow
Kicked the lantern in Chicago town
They say that started the fire
That burned Chicago down
That's the story that went around
But here's the real low-down
Put the blame on Mame, boys
Put the blame on Mame
Mame kissed a buyer from out of town
That kiss burned Chicago down
So you can put the blame on Mame, boys
Put the blame on Mame

Remember the blizzard, back in Manhattan
In eighteen-eighty-six
They say that traffic was tied up
And folks were in a fix
That's the story that went around
But here's the real low-down
Put the blame on Mame, boys
Put the blame on Mame
Mame gave a chump such an ice-cold "No"
For seven days they shovelled snow
So you can put the blame on Mame, boys
Put the blame on Mame

When they had the earthquake in San Francisco
Back in nineteen-six
They said that Mother Nature
Was up to her old tricks
That's the story that went around
But here's the real low-down
Put the blame on Mame, boys
Put the blame on Mame
One night she started to shim and shake
That brought on the Frisco quake
So you can put the blame on Mame, boys
Put the blame on Mame

They once had a shootin' up in the Klondike
When they got Dan McGrew
Folks were putting the blame on
The lady known as Lou
That's the story that went around
But here's the real low-down
Put the blame on Mame, boys
Put the blame on Mame
Mame did a dance called the hoochy-coo
That's the thing that slew McGrew
So you can put the blame on Mame, boys
Put the blame on Mame

Best Songs of Meet me in St. Louis | Videoclips & Lyrics

"Meet me in St. Louis, Louis,
Meet me at the fair,
Don't tell me the lights are shining
any place but there;
We will dance the Hoochee Koochee,
I will be your tootsie wootsie,
If you will meet in St. Louis, Louis,
Meet me at the fair."

The moment I saw him smile,
I knew he was just my style,
My only regret is we've never met,
Though I dream of him all the while.

But he doesn't know I exist,
No matter how I may persist,
So it's clear to see there's no hope for me,
Though I live at 5135 Kensington Avenue
And he lives at 5133.

How can I ignore
The boy next door?
I love him more than I can say.
Doesn't try to please me, doesn't even tease me,
And he never sees me glance his way.

And though I'm heart-sore
The boy next door affection for me won't display,
I just adore him, so I can't ignore him,
The boy next door.

I just adore him, so I can't ignore him,
The boy next door.

~ALL~
Clang ,clang, clang went the trolley
Ding, ding, ding went the bell
Zing, zing, zing went my heartstrings as we started for Huntington Dell.
Chug, chug, chug went the motor
Bump, bump, bump went the brake
Thump, thump, thump went my heartstrings as we glided for Huntington Lake.
The day was bright, the air was sweet
The smell of honeysuckle charmed me off my feet
I tried to sing, but couldn't squeak
In fact I felt so good I couldn't even speak
Buzz, buzz, buzz went the buzzer
Time to all disembark,
Time to fall went my heartstrings as we got off at Huntington Park
As we got off at Huntington Park.

~Judy~
With my high-starched collar, and my high-topped shoes
And my hair piled high upon my head
I went to lose a jolly hour on the Trolley and lost my heart instead.
With his light brown derby and his bright green tie
He was quite the handsomest of men
I started to yen, so I counted to ten the I counted to ten again
Clang, clang, clang went the trolley
Ding, ding, ding went the bell
Zing, zing, zing went my heartstrings
From the moment I saw him I fell
Chug, chug, chug went the motor
Bump, bump, bump went the brake
Thump, thump, thump went my heartstrings
When he smiled I could feel the car shake
He tipped his hat, and took a seat
He said he hoped he hadn't stepped upon my feet
He asked my name, I held my breath
I couldn't speak because he scared me half to death
Chug, chug, chug went the motor
Plop, plop, plop went the wheels
Stop, stop, stop went my heartstrings
As he started to go then I started to know how it feels
When the universe reels

~All~
The day was bright, the air was sweet
The smell of honeysuckle charmed you off youe feet
You tried to sing, but couldn't squeaks
In fact, you loved him so you couldn't even speak

~Judy~
Buzz, buzz, buzz went the buzzer
Plop, plop, plop went the wheels
Stop, stop, stop went my heartstrings
As he started to leave I took hold of his sleeve with my hand
And as if it were planned he stay on with me
And it was grand just to stand with his hand holding mine
To the end of the line


Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on,
our troubles will be out of sight

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Make the Yule-tide gay,
From now on,
our troubles will be miles away.

Here we are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more.

Through the years
We all will be together,
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.
And have yourself A merry little Christmas now.

"Wilhelm Scream" Movies

The Wilhelm scream is a repeatedly used film and television stock sound effect first used in 1951 for the film Distant Drums. The effect gained new popularity (its use often becoming an in-joke) after it was used in Star Wars and many other blockbuster films as well as television programs and video games. The scream is often used when someone is falling to his death from great height.

The Wilhelm scream has become a well-known cinematic sound cliché, and is claimed to have been used in over 140 films, as well as every episode of Primeval, and in some form, every episode of The Middleman.

The sound effect originates from a series of sound effects recorded for the 1951 film Distant Drums. In a scene from the film, soldiers are wading through a swamp in the everglades and one of them is bitten and dragged underwater by an alligator. The scream for that scene was recorded later in a single take along with five other short pained screams, which were slated as "man getting bit by an alligator, and he screams." The fifth scream was used for the soldier in the alligator scene—but the 4th, 5th, and 6th screams recorded in the session were also used earlier in the film—when three Indians are shot during a raid on a fort. Although takes 4 through 6 are the most recognizable, all of the screams are referred to as "Wilhelm" by those in the sound community.

The Wilhelm scream's revival came from motion picture sound designer Ben Burtt, who re-discovered the original recording (which he found as a studio reel labeled "Man being eaten by alligator") and incorporated it into a scene in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, when Luke Skywalker shoots a Stormtrooper who screams as he falls. Burtt named the scream after Private Wilhelm, a minor character who emitted the same scream in the 1953 film The Charge at Feather River.^[4] Burtt began incorporating the effect in other films he worked on, including most projects involving George Lucas and/or Steven Spielberg. Other sound designers picked up on the effect, and inclusion of the sound in films became a tradition among the community of sound designers.

Although the identity of the individual who recorded the scream (or more correctly, the entire series of screams) is unknown, Burtt uncovered documentation suggesting the scream might have been recorded by singer-actor Sheb Wooley. Burtt discovered a file at Warner Brothers that contained paperwork from the editor of Distant Drums. Amongst the paperwork was a short list of names of actors who were scheduled to come in to perform various lines of dialogue for miscellaneous roles in the movie. After reviewing the actors' names and listening to their voices, Burtt determined that Sheb Wooley seemed to be the most likely suspect. Wooley played the uncredited role of Private Jessup in Distant Drums, and was one of the few actors assembled for the recording of additional vocal elements for the film. It is conceivable that he was asked to perform additional vocal elements, including the screams for a man being bitten by an alligator.

As the popularity of the screams has grown from a movie industry in-joke into being public knowledge, the screams have started to make appearances outside of film and TV – most notably in popular music. A few examples include the songs "Wilhelm Scream Dream Team" by We Be The Echo and "Yinxianghechengqi" by Tortoise. The band A Wilhelm Scream takes their name from the effect.

List of Movies with "Wilhelm Scream"

Tweevesdropping...

bjwanlund
about 6 hours ago from Tweetie

@Ihnatko OH NO! One of my former profs now cannot watch movies without thinking of the Wilhelm Scream. Sadly, I can't either.

budsharpe
about 7 hours ago from TwitterFox

@Ihnatko You might enjoy this song dedicated to the Wilhelm Scream. http://tinyurl.com/mbg68e

Ihnatko
about 7 hours ago from web

My nerd cred is wide-ranging: Enjoying this Garland song in "A Star Is Born" but equally delighted to hear a Wilhelm Scream in it