night EL slim moonseeee
Good morning everyone it's another cloudy dull day with the occasional sunny interval.
Enjoy your day everyone 
It can happen - snow in the Sahara Desert:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-60045153
@slimfern possible films for you on the Talking Pictures tv channel in the coming week:
Monday 4.15 in the morning "Thunder in the City" (1937) Edward G Robinson in an odd comedy where he comes to this country to try to promote business, Nigel Bruce and Ralph Richardson in it. Arthur Wonter is also in the film (he played Sherlock Holmes in 5 films in the early 1930s before Basil Rathbone) and Nigel Bruce was of course Dr Watson in the Rathbone films.
Thursday 10.35 in the morning "The Proud Valley" (1940) In a Welsh coal mining valley, a young man with a beautiful singing voice is called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice when a pit disaster threatens. The young man was played by Paul Robeson who had q wonderful singing voice. Won't be a cheerful film but apparently has plenty of top quality Welsh singing. Film was directed by Pen Tennyson who died in a plane crash at the age of 28. Had been assistant to Hitchcock on several of his films in the 1930s including "The 39 Steps". I haven't seen this film.
Friday 23.05 "The Man who Cheated Himself" (1950) Film noir with Lee J Cobb and Jane Wyatt. I've never come across this film before, I would remember if I had given its title. Cobb in a rare leading role.
@El Loro posted:It can happen - snow in the Sahara Desert:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-60045153
Becoming an almost yearly occurrence according to the report ....Nowhere is safe from the climate changing 
The snow/sand patterns are quite lattice like in their symmetry aren't they...remarkable 
@El Loro posted:@slimfern possible films for you on the Talking Pictures tv channel in the coming week:
Monday 4.15 in the morning "Thunder in the City" (1937) Edward G Robinson in an odd comedy where he comes to this country to try to promote business, Nigel Bruce and Ralph Richardson in it. Arthur Wonter is also in the film (he played Sherlock Holmes in 5 films in the early 1930s before Basil Rathbone) and Nigel Bruce was of course Dr Watson in the Rathbone films.
Thursday 10.35 in the morning "The Proud Valley" (1940) In a Welsh coal mining valley, a young man with a beautiful singing voice is called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice when a pit disaster threatens. The young man was played by Paul Robeson who had q wonderful singing voice. Won't be a cheerful film but apparently has plenty of top quality Welsh singing. Film was directed by Pen Tennyson who died in a plane crash at the age of 28. Had been assistant to Hitchcock on several of his films in the 1930s including "The 39 Steps". I haven't seen this film.
Friday 23.05 "The Man who Cheated Himself" (1950) Film noir with Lee J Cobb and Jane Wyatt. I've never come across this film before, I would remember if I had given its title. Cobb in a rare leading role.
Thanks El
'Thunder in the City' sounds a simple story....one to record rather than watch methinks 
'The Proud Valley' looks like it could be very depressing...I'm not sure a good singing voice is enticing enough tbh.
Sad that the director died so young 
and to have worked with Alfred Hitchcock several times, I'm quite sure he had a promising career ahead of him.
'The Man who Cheated Himself'...all for the love of a 'Bad' women 
Didn't his Mum warn him about that sort of female 
The younger brother obviously inherited the brains of the family.
@slimfern posted:
'The Man who Cheated Himself'...all for the love of a 'Bad' women
The younger brother obviously inherited the brains of the family.
The Billy Wilder classic "Double Indemnity" (1944) is on the Great Movies channel this week which neither you or I can get. Fred MacMurray, Edward G Robinson and Barbara Stanwyck as the definitive femme fatale. Contender for the best film noir film of the classic Hollywood era.
Has been on other channels and is a must see if you haven't seen it.
@El Loro posted:The Billy Wilder classic "Double Indemnity" (1944) is on the Great Movies channel this week which neither you or I can get. Fred MacMurray, Edward G Robinson and Barbara Stanwyck as the definitive femme fatale. Contender for the best film noir film of the classic Hollywood era.
Has been on other channels and is a must see if you haven't seen it.
Yes I have seen it El...very much a classic.
It was nominated for seven Academy Awards but did not win any. 
@El Loro posted:It can happen - snow in the Sahara Desert:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-60045153
love this -the snow has fallen in the curves and cervices and creates a sort of symmetry - beautiful
night EL slim moonsieeeee
Good morning everyone it's a cold and cloudy day today but at least it's dry.
Enjoy your day everyone
@El Loro posted:I've only seen "The Lost Weekend" once over 50 years ago, an unforgettable film though
I thought it quite a depressing film, but was well acted by Ray Milland He won best actor.
I can imagine Mr Hitchcock was a bit put out, as 'Spellbound' was up for Oscars too, and to be fair was by far the better film...imo.
@slimfern posted:I thought it quite a depressing film, but was well acted by Ray Milland
I can imagine Mr Hitchcock was a bit put out, as 'Spellbound' was up for a Oscars too, and to be fair was by far the better film...imo.
I agree that "The Lost Weekend" was a depressing film which is why I haven't watched it again
Those who voted for the winners of the Oscars can't have been fans of Alfred Hitchcock. He was nominated 5 times ("Rebecca", "Lifeboat", "Spellbound" as you said, "Rear Window" and "Psycho" in chronological order) but didn't win for any of them. Eventually in 1968 he was awarded the Irving G Thalberg Memorial Award at the Oscars for his film career. "Rebecca" did get the Best Picture though.
@El Loro posted:I agree that "The Lost Weekend" was a depressing film which is why I haven't watched it again
Those who voted for the winners of the Oscars can't have been fans of Alfred Hitchcock. He was nominated 5 times ("Rebecca", "Lifeboat", "Spellbound" as you said, "Rear Window" and "Psycho" in chronological order) but didn't win for any of them. Eventually in 1968 he was awarded the Irving G Thalberg Memorial Award at the Oscars for his film career. "Rebecca" did get the Best Picture though.
It's hard to believe that 'Psycho' didn't win best picture that year, it has become a classic, but then seeing it was up against 'The Apartment', it's may be not so difficult to see why. (Billy Wilder again)
He didn't appear very happy when receiving the IGT Memorial award...Do you think he would have rather won the Oscar awards
@slimfern posted:It's hard to believe that 'Psycho' didn't win best picture that year, it has become a classic, but then seeing it was up against 'The Apartment', it's may be not so difficult to see why. (Billy Wilder again)
He didn't appear very happy when receiving the IGT Memorial award...Do you think he would have rather won the Oscar awards
Quite likely
(I doubt if he liked having that music being played whilst he walked in even though it was the theme music used for his tv series, Music is Gounod's funeral march of a marionette)
Shortest speech was by Patty Duke for her best supporting actress Oscar for "The Miracle Worker" but she's clearly delighted:
@El Loro posted:Quite likely
(I doubt if he liked having that music being played whilst he walked in even though it was the theme music used for his tv series, Music is Gounod's funeral march of a marionette)
Shortest speech was by Patty Duke for her best supporting actress Oscar for "The Miracle Worker" but she's clearly delighted:
Absolutely a woman of few words.
Personally I'd rather see that sort of refined behaviour than some of the vulgar and awkward acceptance speeches given over the years.
Although that piece of music was written many years before and wasn't specific to Hitchcock's films, it did become synonymous to him and his work didn't it.
I don't expect you listen to rap music ...Eminem (a brilliant lyricist rapper) wrote an album late 2020 named 'Music to be Murdered by' with one track titled 'Alfred's Theme' which has Gounod's music as the background sound.
I won't make you listen to it
@slimfern posted:
Absolutely a woman of few words.
Personally I'd rather see that sort of refined behaviour than some of the vulgar and awkward acceptance speeches given over the years.
Although that piece of music was written many years before and wasn't specific to Hitchcock's films, it did become synonymous to him and his work didn't it.
I don't expect you listen to rap music ...Eminem (a brilliant lyricist rapper) wrote an album late 2020 named 'Music to be Murdered by' with one track titled 'Alfred's Theme' which has Gounod's music as the background sound.
I won't make you listen to it
I agree with you about the speeches
No, I don't listen to rap music, obviously I've hear of Eminem but thanks for not making me listen
@slimfern posted:
Although that piece of music was written many years before and wasn't specific to Hitchcock's films, it did become synonymous to him and his work didn't it.
I have mentioned F W Murnau's 1927 film "Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans" to you before and hope that one day you'll watch it as it's the best silent film ever made
The dialogue is in the form of title cards, not subtitles. Murnau hated using title cards and used them less and less during the course of this film so virtually non-existent by the end.
The film was the first professionally produced feature film with a actual sound track,
One of the pieces used on that sound track was Gounod's "Funeral of a Marionette". Hitchcock had seen the film and wanted to use that music for his television series. Scene in the film is that the couple go in to a photographers for a photo, whilst he's gone into the darkroom they accidentally knock a statuette off a stand, disaster when they realise the head's missing so they try to find it. It's a very humorous scene and Hitchcock had a sense of humour so that's why he chose the music.
@El Loro posted:I have mentioned F W Murnau's 1927 film "Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans" to you before and hope that one day you'll watch it as it's the best silent film ever made
The dialogue is in the form of title cards, not subtitles. Murnau hated using title cards and used them less and less during the course of this film so virtually non-existent by the end.The film was the first professionally produced feature film with a actual sound track,
One of the pieces used on that sound track was Gounod's "Funeral of a Marionette". Hitchcock had seen the film and wanted to use that music for his television series. Scene in the film is that the couple go in to a photographers for a photo, whilst he's gone into the darkroom they accidentally knock a statuette off a stand, disaster when they realise the head's missing so they try to find it. It's a very humorous scene and Hitchcock had a sense of humour so that's why he chose the music.
Have just finished watching this El ...enjoyed it too...Thanks
I thought at first it was going to be a murder story, then a tragedy, but ended up being a happy ever after love story
Notice when the characters are thinking sinister thoughts or about to commit a sinister deed, how they hunch their shoulders.
I caught the music by Gounod in the photo studio...just There's not much of it. But then I do find with the silent films that attention has to be paid, with them only having the occasional title card and a sound track. 
I'm glad the 'city girl' didn't get her wicked way in the end
@slimfern posted:Have just finished watching this El ...enjoyed it too...Thanks
I thought at first it was going to be a murder story, then a tragedy, but ended up being a happy ever after love story
Notice when the characters are thinking sinister thoughts or about to commit a sinister deed, how they hunch their shoulders.
I caught the music by Gounod in the photo studio...just
I'm glad the 'city girl' didn't get her wicked way in the end
I'm glad you enjoyed it
For a silent film, Janet Gaynor's acting was more naturalistic than what one might expect from a silent film - she got the Oscar for best actress
My other favourite silent film is "Our Hospitality" (1923), the Buster Keaton film. Young man returns from New York to his Appalachian homestead and falls in love with a woman, only to discover that there has been a feud between his family and hers. Romantic drama with a touch of thriller. It's described as a comedy though it's quite subtle and it's not over-sentimental,
It's a very well made film and Keaton went to some lengths to try to recreate the period feel to it. The film is set in the 1830s. Film starts with Keaton in New York as it might have been then. He travels by train, but this is no ordinary train, it's a working replica of Stephenson's Rocket. The train journey is a delight and one of the most charming scenes in any film. Film is also exciting with a climatic waterfall scene (Keaton was lucky not to have been swept away or drowned).
night EL slim moonsieee
Good morning everyone it's a day of thick cloud here.
Enjoy your day everyone
Recent BBC article with clip and photos on aurora hunters:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-...nds-islands-60028525
@El Loro posted:Recent BBC article with clip and photos on aurora hunters:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-...nds-islands-60028525
Some beautiful photos taken there, such vibrant colours
@slimfern posted:Some beautiful photos taken there, such vibrant colours
The red colour above the green (best seen at 57 seconds in the clip) is fairly rare and happens only when there's high solar activity.
Something which you may not know is that the colours of an aurora are generally in the same order as a rainbow - from bottom to top violet, blue, green, yellow, orange, red. Blue and purple rarely seen & pink where red mixes with one of the other colours. Also the human eye detects green more readily than other colours so looking at an aurora makes green the clearest colour, but a photo may detect other colours.
@El Loro posted:My other favourite silent film is "Our Hospitality" (1923), the Buster Keaton film. Young man returns from New York to his Appalachian homestead and falls in love with a woman, only to discover that there has been a feud between his family and hers. Romantic drama with a touch of thriller. It's described as a comedy though it's quite subtle and it's not over-sentimental,
It's a very well made film and Keaton went to some lengths to try to recreate the period feel to it. The film is set in the 1830s. Film starts with Keaton in New York as it might have been then. He travels by train, but this is no ordinary train, it's a working replica of Stephenson's Rocket. The train journey is a delight and one of the most charming scenes in any film. Film is also exciting with a climatic waterfall scene (Keaton was lucky not to have been swept away or drowned).
Whilst I had the wall screen on I watched this...
It was very funny Especially the train journey Well I guess you can call it a train as it had an engine and coaches,(literally) but not quite up to todays standards...
When they hand moved the track to divert the donkey and then going through the tunnel...and the old man that threw rocks at the engine driver to get logs. Ha! it made me laugh.
I did wonder at the stunts and whether Buster did them himself as some looked dangerous.
It was well worth the watch Thank you El