What Classics Did You See Last Week (December 21–December 27)
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sheetsadam1 — 3 months ago(December 28, 2025 09:05 PM)
As I mentioned somewhere above, I'd be hard-pressed to think of a better film than
It's a Wonderful Life
. I'd hoped to rewatch it again this year, but didn't find the time.
Going My Way
is another tremendous film! I can't remember if it was this one or
The Naked City
which first introduced me to Barry Fitzgerald, but he quickly became one of my favorite classic film actors!
I enjoyed
A Star in the Night
, which is a bit uncharacteristic of Siegel's work. Siegel is one of my favorite directors. Among other highlights of his filmography, he directed the sci-fi classic
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
, two of the all-time great prison movies (
Riot in Cell Block 11
and
Escape from Alcatraz
), John Wayne's final film (
The Shootist
), the first and best
Dirty Harry
, arguably Elvis Presley's best film (the western
Flaming Star
; the only other real contenders in my book are Michael Curtiz's
King Creole
and Richard Thorpe's
Jailhouse Rock
), as well as underrated gems like
Charley Varrick
and
The Beguiled
.
And since we were talking about Clint Eastwood's latest film above, an interesting bit of trivia is that Siegel made a rare acting appearance in Eastwood's very first directorial effort, playing a bartender in
Play Misty for Me
, a very good thriller.
Come to the Stable
sounds quite interesting! I'll have to put it on my watch list for next December!
"Praise be to Allah." - President Donald J. Trump, Easter Sunday 04/05/2026 -
PygmyLion — 3 months ago(December 29, 2025 01:25 AM)
The Fighting O'Flynn
1949 - Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Helena Carter, Richard Greene. Swashbuckler. O'Flynn (Fairbanks) returns to Ireland after a long time away and helps thwart the French incursion under Bonaparte. - ***
The Exile
1947 - Douglas Fairbanks jr, Paula Corday, Henry Daniell, Nigel Bruce. Swashbuckler. Fairbanks plays Prince Charles (later to be King Charles II) in exile. He is pursued by roundhead agents who wish to kill him, and he hides out on a farm/Inn in Holland where he finds love with pretty owner Katie (Corday). ***
The Man I Love
1946 - Ida Lupino, Robert Alda, Andrea King, Bruce Bennett - Petey Brown (Lupino) who had been working in a nightclub in NYC, decides to visit her family in California for the holidays. ***
Persuasion
1995 - Amanda Root, Ciaran Hinds - a nice rendition of Jane Austen's novel. - ***1/2
Miracle on 34th Street
1947 -Edmond Gwenn, Maureen O'Hara, John Payne - I hadn't watch this Christmas classic for a several years. - ***1/2
Written on the Wind
1956 - Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, Robert Stack, Dorothy Malone. - ***
The Proud Rebel
1958 - Alan Ladd, Olivia De Havilland, David Ladd - Western - Confederate War veteran John Chandler comes to the North trying to find someone to cure his son's muteness. ***
Tenth Avenue Angel
1948 - Margaret O'Brien, George Murphy, Phyllis Thaxter - ***1/2
It's a Wonderful Life
Jimmy Stewart, Lionel Barrymore, Gloria Grahame- Christmas Classic. **** -
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. 