HelloFredFans,

It's nice to meet a group of people with the same fondness for that slight man
who could dance a little :-
Since I first saw it, I've been convinced that the number from Swing Time,
"Never Gonna Dance" is the best of the duo's presentations;  sophisticated and
technically masterful.  Curious about your thoughts.
Interesting lyrics too ....
"...thought I'm left without my penny
the wolf was not smart, he left me my heart
and so ....
I put them down on anything but de la belle  ....
a perfectly swell romance ....
never gonna dance, only gonna love
you"

Very plot specific and seldom, if ever, heard out of context.
Well, that's my Astaire musing du jour.

See you ... On the Beach :-))

Julie

they just played An American in Paris here on PBS. But now they have more recently ben playing some of the older movies, I rememer seing Royal Wedding on  once, just a few weeks ago, and they were playing some of the Marx Brother's Films too.

Elliott

Luann Wilkins Abrahams wrote:

"You are a dope!" Hee, hee, hee - that's my favorite line. I haven't watched
this one in years, partly because it was one of the first FA films I saw and
I saw it many many times, and also because it hasn't been in heavy t.v.
rotation in the last decade or so, the way many of the musicals are.

One winter in the late 70's our PBS station had a six-pack of MGM musicals
they would show. You'd get the same double feature every night for a week as
I recall. I think the pictures were Singin' in the Rain, The Band Wagon,
Kiss Me Kate, Three Little Words, On The Town, oh and one other that I can't
think of (not American in Paris, for some reason, which would have been the
obvious choice...)

Anyway, I watched them all every time they were on (on my little black and
white tv as a matter of fact.) Three Little Words is certainly the weakest
of the films named above, strictly in terms of plot, but these composer
bio-pics never really have a plot to begin with. I always find the "and then
we wrote" medley at the end so funny, since the entire picture is "and then
we wrote!" Fred loved the chance to play a songwriter, though, even if it
was as lyricist rather than composer, and he and Skelton seem to be enjoying
themselves throughout the film. They harmonize nicely. I always liked the
baseball gags, too.

Well, thanks to SallyAnn I know which tune will be running through my head
all day now...

Luann

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Dear Luann,

I'm really sorry about the tune - if it's any consolation it started me off
again as well.  The problem is that it is such a short tune that I can
remember all the words which makes it peculiarly satifying to sing.  Oh
dear.

I hadn't realised until I read your message that of course the other reason
that I liked the film so much better seeing it again was knowing more about
Fred.  As you say, knowing how much he wanted to be a song writer makes you
realise how much he must have enjoyed doing the film.  Also, there's a
lovely irony about a dancer who wanted to be a song writer doing a film
about a song writer who wanted to be a magician!  I'd also forgotten how
funny it was!

Much love

Sallyann

fred was a very big devotee to golf......when did he start???


liz

I have to chime in on TLW. I didn't need to take a second look at
this movie, I liked it the first time I saw it. Perhaps that is
because I was expecting a straight biopic and so what little dancing
there was was just an added bonus for me. I also enjoyed Red Skelton
(especially his baseball scenes)in this one. I've seen him in a few
other things and have had mixed feelings, in some things he has been
hilarious and others not so funny. However, in this one I thought he
was excellent in both the comedy and drama.
Also, some time ago I said that Vera-Ellen was not my favorite of
Fred's leading ladies, but of all the movies I've seen her in, I
thought she was best in this.
And, of course, Fred. As was mentioned, it was the frustrated
songwriter/successful dancer playing a successful
songwriter/incapacitated dancer. One thing I always think when I
watch Fred's accident scene is "Wouldn't a broken kneecap hurt more
than that?" I believe a broken kneecap was the diagnosis wasn't it?
He just shakes it around and looks mildly disturbed, but I've never
had a broken kneecap so what would I know about it? Its just one of
those meaningless observations I make whenever I see the movie (that
and 'where did the toaster go?' in Mr.and Mrs. Hoofer at home).
Someone mentioned this being a more realistic composer biopic than
most others. Is it safe to assume that Astaire and Skelton are closer
to Kalmar and Ruby than Cary Grant was to Cole Porter?

Andi

At 07:14 PM 8/2/01 , Sallyann Halstead wrote:
>I recently re-watched "Three Little Words" after a  long gap during which I
>had got hooked on the music.  ("Nevertheless" is my colleagues least
>favourite song, I think -it's really hard to stop singing once you start
>...).

Sallyann, I'm with you--this is one of Fred's underappreciated films,
IMHO.  I love the little dance he and Vera-Ellen do in Red's stateroom
while he's playing the song for them the first time.

Two anecdotes come to mind:  the first is that Fred was reportedly
suffering from a bad cold during portions of the filming.  I think it's the
only time I've seen him in a turtleneck sweater and wonder if it was to
protect his throat?  You'll notice in several scenes that while the other
characters are speaking he's swallowing like crazy, presumably to keep the
pipes lubricated or worse yet, control a bad post-nasal drip condition.

Second, I recall reading in some biography of Fred that during the filming
he and Red Skelton hit it off and used to kid around with each other.  One
infamous story has Red going out during the lunch break and buying up every
copy of Playboy magazine he could get his hands on, then plastering Fred's
dressing room with the pin-up sections.  Fred, absorbed in preparing for
the work that was about to resume, reportedly came into the dressing room,
sat down at his makeup table and was there for several minutes before he
finally noticed the pin-ups adorning his walls, to which he exclaimed,
"That red-headed SOB!"  ;-)

--Kathy M.

Andi said
> Someone mentioned this being a more realistic composer biopic than
> most others. Is it safe to assume that Astaire and Skelton are closer
> to Kalmar and Ruby than Cary Grant was to Cole Porter?

It was me that said it, Andi, and I had meant to specifically refer to Night
and Day as the lowest of the low in the genre (not that it doesn't have any
competition out there!) I only saw this recently for the first time, one of
the few Cary Grant pictures I had missed over the years. My one line review
of it to Susan Z the next day was "An utter fiction!"

Aside from the obvious fantasy of Cole Porter's daily life and
relationships, the whole story of "Night and Day" the song is so stupid. It
is the most trite of conventions in these pictures to have the most famous
song (or most identified song) be a running theme in the story. Three Little
Words uses its title song the same way. Even the Benny Goodman Story uses
"Don't Be That Way" with the same conceit. The most annoying thing for us FA
fans is of course that we know that's not how or why the song was written,
and then there's the ridiculous scene when it's performed in front of the
chorus girls in the show that is supposedly from Gay Divorce.

I just grabbed my copy of "The Films of Cary Grant" to see if there was
anything pertinent, and I found two 1946 reviews of Night and Day that hit
it right on the nose:

Theatre Arts Magazine said
"In Hollywood they are acclaiming the twentieth anniversary of the talkies.
The Warners with a proprietary interest in the event have designated Night
and Day, their motion-picture biography of Cole Porter, as the anniversary
film. If they planned to celebrate some of the incredible inanities that
have been perpetrated in the name of talk during the past two decades, they
could not have chosen a better film with which to do it..."

And Philip T. Hartung, in the Commonweal said:
"...No doubt the writers thought in basing their script on Porter's "career"
instead of his life they could avoid issues that might be precarious in
portraying people who are still alive. Unfortunately the film makes many of
these real people no more real than the dummies in a department store
window...it is difficult to single out any one of Porter's songs as best; in
fact "You're the Top" could very well have been the films title. Perhaps it
should have been; then the script-writers might not have given us that
ridiculous scene which shows Grant at the piano composing "Night and Day"
and being inspired by the "drip, drip, drip of the raindrops" and the
presence of Alexis Smith. (Porter really wrote it for Fred Astaire.)"

My sentiments exactly!

Luann

Of course, Astaire and Mercer wrote "The Afterbeat."

They did a nice piece on CBS Sunday Morning this a.m.
on the significance of the drumbeat, to the point of
exploring its therapeutic importance.

I was reminded of the late Jack Haley Jr's splendid
opening to _That's Dancing_. "The heart, the beat..."
A spectacular opening to what, I thought at the time,
a somewhat hum-drum (no pun, intended, ahem) film,
despite the fact that the very reason that JHJr
subjected himself to an interview with me was to
promote this installment in his legendary "That's..."
series. Oh well. What ya gonna do?

But there is something intrinsically riveting about
rhythm, as the Gershwins wrote, famously.

And Porter: "The beat, beat, beat of the tom-tom."

Fred was "into" the drums, as we know. Played them in
"Damsel" and "Long Legs" (and on TV's "Person to
Person" and "I've Got a Secret"). Rhythm was the
heart, and the sole, of Astaire.

Forgive the obnoxious pun. But it is truth.

Jay

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--- In astaire@y..., "Kathleen M. Miritello" <kmiritello@v...> wrote:
> At 07:14 PM 8/2/01 , Sallyann Halstead wrote:
> >I recently re-watched "Three Little Words" after a  long gap
during which I
> >had got hooked on the music.  ("Nevertheless" is my colleagues
least
> >favourite song, I think -it's really hard to stop singing once you
start
> >...).
>
> Sallyann, I'm with you--this is one of Fred's underappreciated
films,
> IMHO.  I love the little dance he and Vera-Ellen do in Red's
stateroom
> while he's playing the song for them the first time.
>
> Two anecdotes come to mind:  the first is that Fred was reportedly
> suffering from a bad cold during portions of the filming.  I think
it's the
> only time I've seen him in a turtleneck sweater and wonder if it
was to
> protect his throat?  You'll notice in several scenes that while the
other
> characters are speaking he's swallowing like crazy, presumably to
keep the
> pipes lubricated or worse yet, control a bad post-nasal drip
condition.
>
> Second, I recall reading in some biography of Fred that during the
filming
> he and Red Skelton hit it off and used to kid around with each
other.  One
> infamous story has Red going out during the lunch break and buying
up every
> copy of Playboy magazine he could get his hands on, then plastering
Fred's
> dressing room with the pin-up sections.  Fred, absorbed in
preparing for
> the work that was about to resume, reportedly came into the
dressing room,
> sat down at his makeup table and was there for several minutes
before he
> finally noticed the pin-ups adorning his walls, to which he
exclaimed,
> "That red-headed SOB!"  ;-)
>
> --Kathy M.

Kathleen,
Yes, I too have always enjoyed TLW and I love that story of Red
Skelton. I think the film benefits from being not too overblown a
biopic. I think the relationship between Red & Fred is very
convincing and I love their singing together, especially "My Sunny
Tennessee". I also like the 42 second (test) tap routine, as Mueller
says,unsurpassed by anything in his career.
Best wishes,
Gill.

Mel Brooks never misses an opportunity to mention Fred.  In a PBS
documentary tonight on the making of the cast recording of "The
Producers," Mel said:  When people ask me to name my favorite film, I
could say Jean Renoir's "Grand Illusion"--and it's a great film--but the
truth is that I'd rather watch "Top Hat," "Shall We Dance," and the
other Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musicals made at RKO in the 1930s.  I
could watch them over and over.

Maybe we should make Mel an honorary member of the group.

Mike

Liz,
I believe Fred first started playing golf in his mid or late teens.
He writes about it in "Steps In Time" but I haven't read it in a
while and I've forgotten the precise time (I've reread that book so
many times I should have it memorized by now!)
I'm glad he loved the sport enough to give it a full dance treatment
in "Carefree".

Andi


--- In astaire@y..., yahtata2285@a... wrote:
> fred was a very big devotee to golf......when did he start???
>
>
> liz

Thanks a lot! Now I'm going to have to watch the film tonight to
notice Fred's swallowing! Sheesh! ;-)
Andi



> Two anecdotes come to mind:  the first is that Fred was reportedly
> suffering from a bad cold during portions of the filming.  I think
it's the
> only time I've seen him in a turtleneck sweater and wonder if it
was to
> protect his throat?  You'll notice in several scenes that while the
other
> characters are speaking he's swallowing like crazy, presumably to
keep the
> pipes lubricated or worse yet, control a bad post-nasal drip
condition.
> > --Kathy M.

In a message dated Sun, 5 Aug 2001  7:53:46 AM Eastern Daylight Time, "Kathleen
M. Miritello" kmiritello@...> writes:

>> Two anecdotes come to mind:  the first is that Fred was reportedly suffering
from a bad cold during portions of the filming.  I think it's the only time I've
seen him in a turtleneck sweater and wonder if it was to protect his throat?  >>

Except of course for that wonderful (and way too short) solo in "Flying Down to
Rio" (you know, where they cut away to his feet--much to his annoyance).  He's
dressed casually in trousers and a turtleneck sweater and he looks fabulous!
I've often wondered why he rarely dressed like that again.

Patricia

If I may go on anachronism patrol (I love to--but I hate to be
obnoxious about it): I've heard Red Skelton tell that anecdote, but
the magazines used could not have been "Playboy," as it did not begin
publication until late 1952. He probably got the pinups
from "Esquire," which used to feature Varga(s) girls, or possibly
from some naughtier publication not in the mainstream.

I've always had an interest in the history of pinups, and about 10
years ago I worked as a fandancer with a 1930s-style orchestra lounge
act. Doc Scantlin, the leader of the band, had some 1930s girlie
magazines he leant me, and one of them had a rather risque little
photo spread about Ginger Rogers. It was from 1934, and she was
clothed in teddies and chemises/tap shorts and such (as was I during
the fan dance, I might add), but some of her poses were with an actor
and they were having sort of a ...well, gentle wrestling match.


--- In astaire@y..., "Kathleen M. Miritello" <kmiritello@v...> wrote:
> At 07:14 PM 8/2/01 , Sallyann Halstead wrote:
> >I recently re-watched "Three Little Words" after a  long gap
during which I
> >had got hooked on the music.  ("Nevertheless" is my colleagues
least
> >favourite song, I think -it's really hard to stop singing once you
start
> >...).
>
> Sallyann, I'm with you--this is one of Fred's underappreciated
films,
> IMHO.  I love the little dance he and Vera-Ellen do in Red's
stateroom
> while he's playing the song for them the first time.
>
> Two anecdotes come to mind:  the first is that Fred was reportedly
> suffering from a bad cold during portions of the filming.  I think
it's the
> only time I've seen him in a turtleneck sweater and wonder if it
was to
> protect his throat?  You'll notice in several scenes that while the
other
> characters are speaking he's swallowing like crazy, presumably to
keep the
> pipes lubricated or worse yet, control a bad post-nasal drip
condition.
>
> Second, I recall reading in some biography of Fred that during the
filming
> he and Red Skelton hit it off and used to kid around with each
other.  One
> infamous story has Red going out during the lunch break and buying
up every
> copy of Playboy magazine he could get his hands on, then plastering
Fred's
> dressing room with the pin-up sections.  Fred, absorbed in
preparing for
> the work that was about to resume, reportedly came into the
dressing room,
> sat down at his makeup table and was there for several minutes
before he
> finally noticed the pin-ups adorning his walls, to which he
exclaimed,
> "That red-headed SOB!"  ;-)
>
> --Kathy M.

Luann:

What an early morning treat!  Unfortunately on July 30 I was in Maine on
vacation..not only without TCM but even without a working TV.  However, I
did get a video player so that I could show my two young nieces (ages 10
and 12) both Top Hat and Funny Face which they loved (I also showed Gigi,
Persuasion and Emma--in addition to Fred I am trying to get them interested
in classic musicals in general and Jane Austen -- never too early to
develop good taste).  My niece Allison asked me if I remembered the first
time I ever saw a Fred Astaire movie and I told her, yes, I was 9 years
old, Top Hat was on the Sunday noon movie on Cinema 7 in Boston...and it
immediately wowed me!

Now that I am back home I can indulge in TCM (Turner Classic Movies) and
AMC (American Movie Classics) again...I, too, usually click on in the a.m.
while getting ready for work and have myself been late once or twice
because of it....

susan z



At 11:47 AM 7/30/01 -0400, you wrote:
>So, this morning I snuck a peek at TCM while I was finishing
>breakfast (just on the odd chance that something good might be on)
>and what do I stumble across but the beginning of "The Continental"
>in The Gay Divorcee! Of course I had to watch to the end of the
>picture. I was only 25 minutes late for work...
>
>This movie snacking is really the way to go. I never even use my VCR
>anymore.  I just leave it all up to fate. And we all know that fate
>is a foolish thing to take chances with!
>
>I tell ya, it's a good thing they were expecting me at work today or
>I would have played hooky to watch the whole days programming. After
>GD comes The Pirate, and then a triple header of Tracy/Hepburn
>flicks. Why don't they book a day like that on a rainy Saturday?
>
>Just as well or I'd never get anything done at all!
>
>Luann (somewhat of an igneous intrusion herself)
>
>
>
>
>Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Susan Zawalich
Dudley House Administrator
Harvard University
Lehman Hall, 3rd Floor
(617) 495-2255
FAX: (617) 496-5459
e-mail: zawalich@...

Luann wrote, in part:
"That's okay, Nevertheless is a great tune actually.
Usually the song I get stuck with from this picture is
"So Long Oo-Long," especially the painful opening
verse "Ming-Toy loved a boy, happy little Japanese."
It's wrong for so many reasons, isn't it?"

I hate to admit it, but I enjoy that Kalmar and Ruby
tune. Not due to the dated racism, but due to the tune
itself.

While I mentioned this before, I must add that I wrote
to Jessie Kalmar many years ago. (On the occasion, I
was preparing, or had prepared, a film tribute of
sorts to Bert and Harry's screen work.) She was so
gracious that she wrote back, in painstaking ink pen,
to thank me, and followed up with a parcel of music
sheets, an album, of Kalmar and Ruby material.

"So Long, Ooh-Long" being among the titles.

I only wish that I had an opportunity to meet this
lovely lady. I will always think of Jessie fondly.

Jay

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Me thinks I compose somewhat self-indulgently to this
here list. If so, I beg your forgiveness. I am,
however, anecdotal on occasion -- rather than being
creative -- which is an attribute that I enjoy so much
from others on The Astaire List.
I guess that I am opinionated too, which may be a
fault.
As regards The Jockey. Er, now how _is_ she doing
these days?...
I cannot wait for the day when this list has a lengthy
and legally-binding attribute to Mrs. Fred Astaire.
Whoops. I'm "in it" again.
My oh my.
Jay
P.S. Robyn Astaire delighted Fred Astaire and made his
final years happy ones, I suspect. We should never
forget that.

(That's for the attorneys. Ahem.)

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>Three Little Words is certainly the weakest of the films named above,
strictly in terms >of plot, but these composer bio-pics never really have a
plot to begin with. I always >find the "and then we wrote" medley at the end
so funny, since the entire picture is >"and then we wrote!" Fred loved the
chance to play a songwriter, though, even if it
>was as lyricist rather than composer, and he and Skelton seem to be
enjoying
>themselves throughout the film. They harmonise nicely. I always liked the
>baseball gags, too.
>Luann


Objections! I know that many people don't think much of Three Little Words,
but I quite like it in the quiet way it shows the relation between the
characters. I admit, it hasn't much of a story except "and then we wrote", I
admit, it hasn't the glamour of the Freed musicals. But I like the way the
parts are characterised. Although I'm not a huge fan of Red Skelton, I even
liked him in that one. I love the always enjoying Keenan Wynn, I think
Astaire gives a superb performance. I have especially a few scenes that
stick to my mind - when Kalmar had written on his script all through the
night and lies down on the couch in the morning. The quiet familiarity
between the couple Kalmar is the point I like mostly in this movie. But also
when Kalmar visits Ruby in the bar/cafe rather at the beginning and after
the pure business talk Kalmar leaves, but stops in the door to give Ruby a
look that hints towards the developing friendship.
Keep Swinging
Irene

I realised that I didn't mail about my first viewing of A Family Upside Down
yet, although it's more than a month ago that Terry's graciousness (and the
fact that he owns a copy of the movie) and PJs quiz provided me with this
tape.
Needless to say that I liked the movie a lot and I think the entire cast is
great. Being a family person myself (living in a house with three
generations) I appreciate the kind of family life portrayed in the movie -
of course it has it difficulties when different generation life together,
but with a bit of tolerance from every side and understanding for the needs
of the others, you can lead a happy life where everyone accepts the
responsibilities. For example when the son is told that his room will be
turned into the room for the elderly couple, a solution is tried to be found
to provide him with a new room of his own and he accepts it (even when it's
difficult) and even mentions that he has it even better then because the
fridge is nearer now. The only problems arise when the Astaire character
doesn't know what to do with himself and then begins to make plans involving
others.
There are a lot of scenes I truly like - the way the grandson eases the
situation when Astaire is forced to use the stair-lift because he's not
allowed to climb stairs anymore. I love the acting of Helen Hayes, I like it
when the daughter makes clear to her that the children have also need and
need some time to spend their own lives and that not everything can be about
her husband.
I love the old, well-known gesture when Astaire is sitting in the
wheelchair, but flaps his leg (in the same way as he does in the Band
Wagon). Simply love Astaire's acting when Hayes visits him in the nursing
home and he says he just want to hold on to her.
By the way, Astaire's acting is top. There are so many scenes I could
mentioned that are truly moving: When he has the heart attack he really has
this questioning fear in his eyes (I don't know how to describe it better).
You also can clearly see what Hayes means with the "joke in his eyes".
I also like the quintessence: It's not important how long you exist, it's
important how you live. If you have no plans, independence and quality, it's
not worth being alive. And he comes to realise that for himself in telling
someone else the things he had forgotten, someone who lost touch to reality
and therefore lost his life.
After seeing this movie I can understand better why he refused to play in On
Golden Pond (acc. to one K. Hepburn biography I read once) because of
sentimentality. The main theme is the same in both movies, but I'd say that
A Family Upside Down is a bit more realistic and the problems are shown more
clearly and the fact that it isn't possible without tolerance and
responsibility from every side.
Keep Swinging
Irene

>On the subject of "Three Little Words," did we discuss the dress that
appears here >and in "Easter Parade"?  The woman who plays the obnoxious
Terry character (same >woman who played Shirleen in "Barkleys"--can't
remember her name) appears in the >very same dress that Ann Miller wears in
her last scene in Easter Parade.  Funny that >they did that.  I mean, did
they think that fans of Astaire movies wouldn't notice or >something? (Just
like Delores Del Rio and Betty Grable in the same Flash Gordon >outfit in
back to back releases.)
>Patricia

They couldn't know that VCRs would be invented some say, and I guess no one
would have remembered a single dress of a supporting actress after two
years.
Keep Swinging
Irene

Recently many people had a lot of bad things to say about the movie "Night
and Day". The only thing that I can say is, that I taped it about three
years ago, watched it and erased it as soon as possible. Oh yes - and I
remember that I forced myself not to forget to avoid this movie if it's ever
on again. That's one good thing about my memory - I never remember anything
about a movie I didn't like except that I have to avoid it. That spares
capacity.
Oh well, besides my agreement about the quality of this movie I might add
that one reason why the movie is bad might be that Cary Grant and Michael
Curtiz didn't get along with each other very well. I remember a quote of
Cary Grant where he said something like: "If I'll ever work with Curtiz
again you know that I'm either crazy or broke."
Enough now.
Keep Swinging
Irene

Hello everyone,

I don't know how many of you on this list own DVD
players, but I just wanted to mention a new classic
film DVD release. (There aren't that many, so I'm
always very happy when a film older than 20 years old
gets released).

Criterion has released a wonderful DVD of My Man
Godfrey. It was available before on DVD, but only from
companies using cheap, really bad copies of the film.
Criterion found the best source material and
digitially enhanced it. It's still a little grainy,
but considering the age of the film (1930's), they did
a great job.

And it even has extras! That's what surprised me.
Outtakes, proving that Carole Lombard could swear
right up there with the best of them. lol. There's
also a commentary track by a film historian (who's
name escapes me at the moment). Oh, and my favorite
extra: They've included the Lux Radio Show performance
of My Man Godfrey, starring Lombard, William Powell
and Fred's good friend David Niven.

Wait, there's a couple more Fred tie-ins. Mischa Hauer
(sp?) is in the film (Fred uses his name as a lyric in
the song "My Shining Hour" in the film "The Sky's the
Limit") and in the film, Mischa sings a durge whose
only lyric is Orcha Chornya (sp? - again), which is a
famous catch phrase from "Shall We Dance."

If you go looking for it, make sure you get the
Criterion Edition. It'll say it right on the spine of
the box. You'll also recognize it by the wonderful
cover art: A painting of Powell and Lombard. Real
classy.

-Brandi^^

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Elliott

RussellMA@... wrote:

Mel Brooks never misses an opportunity to mention Fred.  In a PBS
documentary tonight on the making of the cast recording of "The
Producers," Mel said:  When people ask me to name my favorite film, I
could say Jean Renoir's "Grand Illusion"--and it's a great film--but the
truth is that I'd rather watch "Top Hat," "Shall We Dance," and the
other Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musicals made at RKO in the 1930s.  I
could watch them over and over.

Maybe we should make Mel an honorary member of the group.

Mike
 

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C. Elliott Wong                   cewong2@...
 UIN (ICQ): 5153365                AIM: Neo Macleoud
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  -"Just as Fire is the origin of light, Love is the
      origin of Knowlege."
                          --Unknown
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Brandi ..

Thanks for the only reference I've ever seen to the REAL Mischa Hauer or however
that's spelled.
As to the Orcha-choina reference .. .made me laugh.  After first seeing Shall We
Dance, I ran around the house doing an absurd Russian accent and saying,
"Orchacoina" and "Tweeeeeeeeeeest" all the time.  Drove my long suffering
parental units insane!

And then I read the note about Fred in A Family Upside Down and wondered why I
hadn't seen it.  And then I realized that I probably deliberately didn't see it
because I didn't think I could bear it .... I was in denial about Fred aging
that much ... and I guess I didn't want to see him at all diminished.   Shallow
of me at the time but I was protecting my memories I think.  I would see it now
if I could ... is it available on video?

Julie

Jay ... I'm thinking being self-indulgent in this venue is fine .. we all are to
a certain extent.  It's almost impossible to resist the temptation to pour our
our tap dancin little hearts and if the bytes bite a bit ... that's okay too.

Granted I'm new to this list and probably missed any dialog (perhaps heated?)
about Robyn.  I was personally not a little bitter when he married her since I
was the same age as she was then and, unlike her, a very devoted fan.  I was
particularly irritated when I read that she'd never seen his movies that she
could recall ... that amazed me ... and I worried because I was very protective.
But then I thought, well ... if this woman is someone who delights him then why
shouldn't he be delighted at this stage of his life?
And so for that alone, I am happy she rode to the edge of the sunset with him.

And wouldn't our friend Fred be amused by our speculations?  Maybe he is :-)

Julie

Thanks, Irene for reminding me of some of the best moments in this
film. I think I'll have to watch again. I like what you say about
the "quintessence" but I'd go even further. I believe it's also
saying that we each have a responsibility to our loved ones to
maintain the spark in ourselves, not to mope or repine or "switch
off". This message is contained in the beautiful smile Fred gives to
his wife when he greets them all in the nursing home to say how much
better he is and you can see she sees the "joke" return.
I made myself view this film over two nights when I first got it, to
prolong the enjoyment. On stopping halfway through I was quite
depressed, thinking that if it continued to be so realistic the
ending could only be sad. But I needn't have worried. That smile said
it all. Even if he'd dropped dead the next moment, it would have
seemed OK because he'd become himself again. Lovely, economical
acting and a profound message.
Yes, Julie, it is on video - I imported it at considerable expense
before I got on the 'net. But I think it crops up on E-bay from time
to time.
Best wishes,
Gill.