@TCManiacs Blogs

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Things To Come (1936) | Watch film online!

Things to Come (1936) is a British science fiction film, produced by Alexander Korda and directed by William Cameron Menzies. The screenplay was written by H. G. Wells and is a loose adaptation of his own 1933 novel The Shape of Things to Come and his 1931 non-fiction work, The Work, Wealth and Happiness of Mankind. The film stars Raymond Massey, Ralph Richardson, Margaretta Scott, and Cedric Hardwicke.

Wells is assumed to have had a degree of control over the project that was unprecedented for a screenwriter, and personally supervised nearly every aspect of the film. Posters and the main title bill the film as "H. G. Wells' THINGS TO COME", with "an Alexander Korda production" appearing in smaller type. In fact, Wells ultimately had no control over the finished product, with the result that many scenes, although shot, were either truncated or not included in the finished film. The standard version available today is just 92m 42s, although some prints are in circulation in the United States - where the film is in the Public Domain - that retain the additional scenes that constitute the original American release.

The film, written throughout 1934, is notable for predicting World War II, being only 16 months off by having it start on 23 December 1940, rather than 1 September 1939.

The film in the public domain available to view online here.

The Scarlet Pimpernel | View Film or Read eBook Online

The Scarlet Pimpernel is a 1934 adaptation of The Scarlet Pimpernel, the classic adventure novel by Baroness Orczy. It was produced by Alexander Korda, directed by Harold Young and stars Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon, along with Raymond Massey.

Filmed in black and white, Howard set the standard with his portrayal of Sir Percy Blakeney and this version is widely regarded as the best screen adaptation.

The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Orczy »

Film Cast of Charactors

Alexander Korda, a Hungarian, who had been born in a town not far from the Orczy farm, had recently had great success with the actor Charles Laughton in the film The Private Life of Henry VIII, so he understandably asked the famous British actor to play the role of Sir Percy. But when the announcement went out to the press, the reaction from the Pimpernel's many fans was horror — the pug-nosed Laughton to play the suave Sir Percy? Never! Korda was nothing if not pragmatic and he offered the role to Leslie Howard, with Merle Oberon as Marguerite, although Orczy herself believed Oberon was miscast.

Leslie Howard as Sir Percy Blakeney/The Scarlet Pimpernel
Merle Oberon as Lady Blakeney, née Marguerite St. Just
Raymond Massey as Citizen Chauvelin
Nigel Bruce as The Prince of Wales
Walter Rilla as Armand St. Just
Anthony Bushell as Sir Andrew Ffoulkes
O.B. Clarence as Count de Tournay
Ernest Milton as Robespierre

Watch complete film (public domain)

The Great Escape | Fact vs Fiction

Steve McQueen with Wally Floody, a former POW who was actually part of the real Great Escape plan and acted as technical advisor on the film.

The Great Escape is a 1963 film which features an all-star cast seeking to break out of a German POW camp during World War Two. Although largely fictional, elements of the film were based on fact with events and characters condensed.

While the filmmakers made every effort to remain faithful to Paul Brickhill's account of the escape, given the scope and the length of time over which the book unfolds it was inevitable that some adjustments would have to be made to allow the story to be presented on screen. The result is that much of the action has been condensed in time and many of the men appear as composites of the real-life individuals who appear in the book.

Composite Characters Explained »

One important liberty taken by the film makers was that, in actual fact, no serving member of the American armed forces was involved in the final escape. Although not originally intended, the director John Sturges was told to write American heroes into the script or abandon the project. While fictional American characters dominated the film, it does concede that it was a mainly British led operation.

General Narrative

One important fact omitted from the film was the help the POWs received from outside the camp, some of it from their home countries; they received much material that proved invaluable for this and other escapes. Acting through secret agencies such as MI9, families from Allied nations would send maps, papers, tools as disguised material hidden in gifts, books, food, and other objects. Ex-POWs asked the film-makers to exclude such details lest it jeopardize future POW escapes.

The theft of a German airplane (in the film, a Bücker Bü 181) by Hendley and Blythe is also fictitious, although there was a failed attempt by Lorne Welch and Walter Morison to steal a plane following the delousing party escape a year earlier. Likewise the movie shows the plane going over Bavaria's Neuschwanstein Castle on the way to Switzerland; the 181 range is only about 497 miles — in real life their flight from Stalag Luft III would have gone down at least 50 miles from the Swiss border — instead of going down near the Swiss Alps.

A scene shows a choir singing to cover the noise of work done for the escape, but, in reality, it was a group of prisoners who formed a musical band and called themselves the "Sagan Serenaders". Future television meteorologist Wally Kinnan, then a First Lieutenant in the US Army Air Corps, and Pilot Officer Leonard Whiteley of the British Royal Air Force had organized the group. The Serenaders received musical instruments from aid organizations and whatever the German captors could scrounge. Musicians Tiger Ward, Nick Nagorka and pianist John Bunch were also members of this group.

Number of escapees

Only 76 of the projected 200 men escaped while an air raid occurred; only three POWs escaped Germany into neutral territory: the Norwegians Per Bergsland and Jens Müller who escaped to Sweden, and the Dutchman Bram van der Stok who reached Spain. Though Roger Bartlett in the film speaks of freeing 250 men, there is no account of a target other than 200, and in the movie itself only about 15 POWS go through the tunnel to the forest.

The tunnels

The film depicts Tom's entrance as being under a stove and Harry's as in a drain sump in a washroom. In reality, Dick's entrance was the drain sump, Harry's was under the stove, and Tom's was in a darkened corner.

British veterans mark Great Escape anniversary »

British veterans of the Second World War prison camp that featured in the film The Great Escape made an emotional return to the site of the getaway tunnel on the 65th anniversary of the breakout immortalised in the Hollywood film.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Hellcats of the Navy | Ronald Reagan and wife Nancy Davis revered by the Navy | State Funeral

Hellcats of the Navy (1957) is a movie starring Ronald Reagan and wife Nancy Davis (her then professional name) — a moral World War II submarine tale — the only film in which they appear together.

Reagan plays Captain Casey Abbott, commander of the fictional submarine USS Starfish, who is ordered to undertake a dangerous mission which sees him attempting to cut off the flow of supplies between China and Japan in the heavily-mined waters off the Asiatic mainland.

As a result of this film and Mr. Reagan's service as Commander in Chief, the Reagans are particularly revered by the Navy, which was especially evident during Mr. Reagan's funeral services.

Ronald Reagan's casket, on a horse-drawn caisson, being pulled down Constitution Avenue to the Capitol Building

Reagan's casket, a Marsellus Masterpiece model, was carried by a military honor guard representing all branches of the United States Armed Forces^.Events in the capital began when Reagan's casket arrived at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. It was removed from the plane, driven by hearse in a procession through the Maryland and Virginia suburbs and the nation's capital, across the Memorial Bridge, and onto Constitution Avenue.

Near the Ellipse, and within sight of the White House, the hearse halted and Reagan's body was transferred to a horse-drawn caisson for the procession down Constitution Avenue to Capitol Hill. Nancy Reagan stepped out of her limousine to witness the body's transfer; she was met with a warm greeting, including applause. Military units escorted the caisson as it made its way to the sounds of muffled drums. Behind the caisson was a riderless horse named Sergeant York, carrying Reagan's riding boots reversed in the stirrups. The caisson paused at 4th street and Constitution Avenue, where 21 Air Force F-15s flew over in missing man formation.

The caisson stopped when it arrived at Capitol Hill; military units removed it, and Hail to the Chief was played amidst a 21-gun salute. Two teams of military body bearers carried the coffin up the steps of the Capitol to Battle Hymn of the Republic.

When the casket reached the top of the steps, Nancy Reagan and her military escort met it. As the casket passed them, Mrs. Reagan momentarily pulled away from her escort, reached out, and touched the casket. The casket was placed under the rotunda, where it lay in state on Abraham Lincoln's catafalque.An evening memorial service then took place, with dignitaries

Ronald Reagan the Actor

Ronald Reagan, born in Illinois, moved to California where he signed a contract with Warner Brothers studios in 1937. He acted in numerous films, including Love Is on the Air, Cowboy from Brooklyn, and Boy Meets Girl for the first year, and in 1938 he starred alongside Jane Wyman in Brother Rat. They married in 1940, having a child, Maureen, and adopting a son, Michael. The marriage ended in divorce in 1948. During the marriage, Reagan continued to star in flims such as Dark Victory, An Angel from Texas, Knute Rockne All American, and King's Row. After the outbreak of war in the early 1940s, Reagan joined the Army Air Force in 1942. Although his nearsightedness limited him from active duty, he was assigned to the First Motion Picture Unit, producing movies including Beyond the Line of Duty, The Rear Gunner, and This is the Army.

Following military service in the United States Cavalry, Reagan resumed his film work. He met fellow star Nancy Davis in 1950 and they married two years later; the marriage would be one of the closest in U.S. political history, and the couple had two children: Patti and Ron. Although Reagan continued his acting career, making films such as Cattle Queen of Montana, Tennessee's Partner, and Hellcats of the Navy (where he costarred alongside his wife) he did not secure as many roles any longer. Thus, Reagan turned to television, becoming the host of GE's General Electric Theater and later Death Valley Days.

The Killers was Ronald Reagan's last acting role before entering politics, and the only villain in his career. According to Kirk Douglas' autobiography The Ragman's Son, Reagan hated the movie because of a scene in which he slaps Dickinson.

From film Knute Rockne All American, the phrase "Win one for the Gipper" was later used as a political slogan by Ronald Reagan, who was often referred to as "The Gipper". A famous use of it was at the 1988 Republican National Convention when Reagan told his Vice President George H. W. Bush, "George, go out there and win one for the Gipper." It was also used in the 2004 Republican National Convention by President George W. Bush in his acceptance speech when he stated "we can now truly win one for the Gipper," shortly after Reagan's death.

As a result of film Hellcats of the Navy and Mr. Reagan's service as Commander in Chief, the Reagans are particularly revered by the Navy, which was especially evident during Mr. Reagan's funeral services.

Chronicles Reagan's Hollywood years, from the Reagan Library »

Ronald Reagan Filmography »

Worth Retweeting

Ronald Reagan TCM Star of the Month

lacantekin Posted 58 minutes ago from Web

wow. I did not know that Nancy Reagan made movies WITH Ronald?! Thanks Turners Classic Movie channel!

angusp Posted at 1:20am from twhirl

Watching a movie with Ronald Reagan in it.... and that makes it so much better

markatmd Posted at 1:13am from twitterrific

@tcmaniacs Dear Maniac, Is it wrong of me to find the Ronald Reagan movies creepy because I can't respect his political career?

MartaR73 Posted at 12:46am from Web

watching Ronald Reagan movies on TCM and wishing he were in the White House...

christingom Posted at 12:13am from mobile web

Trivia: Ronald Reagan was in a movie with Nancy Davis (his future wife).

charleyknox Posted at 11:46pm, Mar 25, 2009 from Web

Watching Ronzo and Nancy in "Hellcats of the Navy". I last saw this election eve 1980.

joek72 Posted at 11:38pm, Mar 25, 2009 from Web, in reply to TCManiacs

@TCManiacs The only Movie that Nancy and ron were in together!

RickWahler Posted at 11:30pm, Mar 25, 2009 from Web

watching Hellcats of the Navy. Its R Reagan nite on TCM

_brainfreeze_ Posted at 11:28pm, Mar 25, 2009 from TwitterFox

Going to watch "Hellcats of the Navy." Mainly so I can I did.

tcdavisjr Posted at 11:23pm, Mar 25, 2009 from Web

I am watching Ronald Reagan and his future wife, at the time, Nancy Davis in Hellcats of the Navy. I met Nancy as an active duty Marine.

TCManiacs Posted at 11:15pm, Mar 25, 2009 from HootSuite

@TCManiacs Blogs: Hellcats of the Navy | Ronald Reagan and wife Nancy Davis revered by the Navy | State Funeral http://ow.ly/1rou

kourtney12 Posted at 8:05pm, Mar 25, 2009 from txt

Ronald Reagan = very bad actor. I'm not makin it a TCM night.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Chuck Jones | Now Hear This | The Bear that Wasn't | One Froggy Evening | The Dot and the Line

Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio. He directed many of the classic short animated cartoons starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, the Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote, Pepé Le Pew and the other Warners characters, including Duck Amuck, One Froggy Evening and What's Opera, Doc? (all three of which were later inducted into the National Film Registry) and Jones' famous "Hunting Trilogy" of Rabbit Fire, Rabbit Seasoning, and Duck! Rabbit! Duck! (1951–1953).

After his career at Warner Bros. ended in 1962, Jones started Sib Tower 12 Productions and began producing cartoons for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, including a new series of Tom & Jerry shorts and the television adaptation of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. He later started his own studio, Chuck Jones Productions, which created several one-shot specials, and periodically worked on Looney Tunes related works.

Discovered Chuck Jones' daughter twittering about Chuck Jones blog:

http://blog.chuckjones.com/now_hare_this/

Examples of animated films or short subjects directed by Chuck Jones ( featured on TCM )

Now Hear This

The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics

The Bear that Wasn't

One Froggy Evening

Who is the mysterious TCManiac?

First, I'll tell you who I am not. I am not affiliated with TCM. I am not some superbot created by software developers. I am not being paid by TCM or anyone else to dedicate my time to tweeting. I am a real flesh and blood human being. I am a real maniac for TCM. I really do keep my TV tuned to TCM 24-7. I created the TCManiacs twitter as a result of my sincere passion for watching Turner Classic Movies.

How I got started?

Well, I've been a fan of TCM since its inception. As I lay flat on my back recovering from a disabling health crisis unable to do little more than watch TV and surf the internet, I found refuge watching TCM round the clock. I soon developed an obsessive habit of keeping a browser tab open for the TCM schedule and beating Robert Osbourne's introductions to finding out facts for upcoming movies. My entire day and night became defined by the TCM line-up. At the beginning of 2009 I decided to check out twitter and lucked up on some fellow TCM fans to friend. During the 31 days Oscar I decided to dedicate a twitter just to share my TCM obsession by tweeting about every movie every day of February. I was totally overwhelmed by the number of fellow TCM maniacs that became my following. Its been a WIN WIN in everyway for me. I have had the opportunity to share fun stuff with some incredible fellow classic movie lovers and bloggers. With so many followers I became committed to maintaining the twitter schedule and finding fun stuff for upcoming TCM movies.

How may followers show appreciation?

As I mentioned before, I am not employed by anyone nor being paid for my time maintaining tweets and blog. However, you may express your appreciation for my labor of love by dropping a token of your appreciation in the hat. Simply click the Donate button below. Any amount your heart moves you to give no matter how small will be graciously accepted.

What you mean to me?

Even if you decide to skip tipping the hat, please take the time to comment or send a message with your thoughts and suggestions. Send ideas on more fun stuff you would like featured. Send me links to your own classic movie websites. I just want to hear from you! Let me know what sharing my little obsession is worth to you. Every follower is priceless to me!

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Things To Come (1936) | Watch film online!

The Scarlet Pimpernel | View Film or Read eBook Online