What Classics Did You See Last Week (December 21–December 27)
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spiderwort — 3 months ago(December 30, 2025 02:45 PM)
Boy, you're sure making your way through the Douglas Fairbanks Jr. films, PL. Good for you. And I'm so glad you got to see
It's a Wonderful Life, Tenth Avenue Angel
and
The Miracle on 34th Street
this year, three of my favorites, of course. I didn't get to watch
Miracle
this year though. I meant to, but it got away from me. Next year, I guess, because now I have to start watching new films for the awards season.
And I don't remember if you had seen
Tenth Avenue Angel
before, but I agree with your rating for it – and for
Miracle
and
It's a Wonderful Life
, too (of course).
When I get a chance, I'm going to catch up on some of your Fairbanks Jr. films, especially the older ones. -
PygmyLion — 3 months ago(December 30, 2025 04:28 PM)
It was my 2nd watching of
Tenth Avenue Angel
. I watched it last year and enjoyed it, so I thought I'd watch it again.
TCM got me going a bit on Douglas Fairbanks jr by having a night of his movies up including
Chances
and
Captured!
, so I started looking at his career. He was a big star in the 1930's then went off to fight in the war in 1941. In starting up after the war, some of his movies were box office failures and he essentially got dropped by the studios. He seems to have made only 6 movies in the years after the war. Thus I was curious to see how he looked after the war, and dug up a couple of his movies. In both,
The Exile
and
The Fighting O'Flynn
, Fairbanks was trim, active, and engaging. Fairbanks produced both movies. Fairbanks was born in 1909, so he was only in his late 30's at the time.
One of the ways that I look for good movies, when there isn't anything interesting on watchTCM, is to get a list of an actor's or actress' (that I like) on IMDB and go down it and see if there are movies that sound interesting - and then see if I can find them. Last night, I watched another Fairbanks movie:
Union Depot
(1932). After I got into it, I realized I had seen it before, but I enjoyed it again. -
CoriSCapnSkip — 3 months ago(December 29, 2025 06:11 PM)
Charles Dickens' The Christmas Carol
narrated by Vincent Price (1949) on December 21. The mistakes in the title are as given in the program, also they spelled Scrooge's first name "Ebeneezer," but it is a pretty good adaptation well worth watching. I can only name two which follow the book in having Scrooge go to bed fully dressed. The other is the George C. Scott version because Scott refused to run around in a nightshirt when it was freezing.
The Littlest Angel
(1969) on December 22.
Santa Claus is Comin' to Town
(1970) on December 23.
The Little Drummer Boy
(1968) on December 24.
Frosty the Snowman
(1969) on December 24.
Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol
(1962) on December 25.
David
(2025) on December 26. -
spiderwort — 3 months ago(December 30, 2025 03:04 PM)
Of your titles, Cori, I've seen
Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, The Little Drummer Boy, Frosty the Snowman
and
Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol
, and I loved all of them, though I saw them so very long ago that I really need to see them again. Where on earth did you find them? I have to start watching new films now because of the Awards season, but I'd love to watch them again later when I have a chance. They were a real treat for me back in the day. -
CoriSCapnSkip — 3 months ago(December 30, 2025 05:09 PM)
Santa Claus is Comin' to Town
–Good Copy on Internet Archive.
The Little Drummer Boy
–On YouTube, probably best quality available. Original sadly lost or misplaced and this is a copy of a copy, still great.
Frosty the Snowman
–Free on Hulu, absolutely beautiful copy.
Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol
–Spectacular copy on YouTube, never saw it look and sound so great. -
CoriSCapnSkip — 3 months ago(January 01, 2026 05:24 PM)
You might check if Frosty is also on Internet Archive. If not, the place I go after trying YouTube and Internet Archive is ok.ru. This is a Russian site where you don't have to have an account or identify yourself in any way. You type the name of the program into Google and add ok.ru and if it brings up multiple copies play a little of each and choose the one which seems clearest. I have an HDMI cable connecting my computer to my TV and the programs play almost perfectly, with glitches no bigger than might be seen on network TV.
Schrodinger's Cat walks into a bar, and doesn't. 