What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[LizzieMaine]

The BBC began its regular 405-line television service in 1936 (and had used variants on the Baird 30 and 60 line processes for several years prior to that), and they were doing a regular schedule of programming right up until the war put the kibosh on things in September 1939. Several manufacturers were selling sets, including Marconi, HMV, and Cossor, with the cheapest models selling for around 35 guineas, which amounts to about $180 in US money.

The prewar TV service was quite highly developed. The coronation procession of George VI in 1937 was televised live, and they began televising various sports events that same year, including cricket, Wimbledon tennis, and football.

The 405-line television service resumed in 1946 -- and remained in service from the BBC until 1985.

 

[Julian Shellhammer]

Easter Parade 1948 Fred Astaire Judy Garland Ann Miller Peter Lawford and one of my faves, Jules Munshin... the quintessential MGM Technicolor Musical... There aren't but a half dozen lines in between the next stunning song and dance display ... Colors, costumes and comedy strung together with some fabulous music with beautiful theme and dazzling dances... Judy is in really great voice and the only time she and Fred were paired... Peter Lawford looks quite the dashing part that made him a star...Ann Miller does what she does best by performing completely over the top singing/stepping synchronicity. Munshin does a pantomime salad preparation that is a hoot.

Ben Mankiewicz said Fred was not originally to be cast and he jumped at the chance after learning Gene Kelly suffered a broken ankle. And originally it was to be directed by VIncente Minelli BUT he and Judy were "in the weeds" and her shrink advised them to back off...!!!
I I love this stuff never again to be reprised from the splendor of its day...

Easter Parade is one my favorites: a romantic story line that doesn't get in the way of the musical numbers, and musical numbers that may or may not know the story line. Astaire's stunning slow motion dance routine is an example of his on-going quest to top himself with each succeeding picture. Best line in the whole picture: "Why didn't you tell me I loved you?" The studio system at its peak...

 

[Fading Fast]

The BBC began its regular 405-line television service in 1936 (and had used variants on the Baird 30 and 60 line processes for several years prior to that), and they were doing a regular schedule of programming right up until the war put the kibosh on things in September 1939. Several manufacturers were selling sets, including Marconi, HMV, and Cossor, with the cheapest models selling for around 35 guineas, which amounts to about $180 in US money.

The prewar TV service was quite highly developed. The coronation procession of George VI in 1937 was televised live, and they began televising various sports events that same year, including cricket, Wimbledon tennis, and football.

The 405-line television service resumed in 1946 -- and remained in service from the BBC until 1985.

The UK was clearly well ahead of America in this.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Germany and the Soviet Union were also developing television operations during the mid-thirties, with the emphasis on "public viewing rooms" where people could come to watch the programs. The UK had a similar phenomenon -- most of the television sets sold during the late thirties ended up in pubs and hotel lobbies, where communal viewing was encouraged.

This also paralells development in the US. The United States was a few years behind developments in Europe, but not by much -- RCA was testing its own television system during the same years that the UK, the USSR, and Germany were moving ahead with theirs, and had it ready to go in early 1939, when a regular program sechedule was inaugurated in New York. Here also most of the sets were sold to public places, and became curiosities in hotels and bars. There was one American town which really pioneered television in the home -- RCA chose Newburgh, New York, about sixty miles from Manhattan and within clear range of its Empire State Building transmitter, for an intensive test-marketing effort, and sold television sets at steep discounts to residents to get them into homes and see what sort of viewing habits could be developed. By 1940, about 2000 sets were in use.

 

[Fading Fast]

...There was one American town which really pioneered television in the home -- RCA chose Newburgh, New York, about sixty miles from Manhattan and within clear range of its Empire State Building transmitter, for an intensive test-marketing effort, and sold television sets at steep discounts to residents to get them into homes and see what sort of viewing habits could be developed. By 1940, about 2000 sets were in use.

That's fantastic. Amazing - to us today, a society with a billion channels and TV watching overdose - that there was a time, not really that long ago, when a TV Studio subsidized the selling of TV sets to see how / if individuals would adopt to watching TV in their homes.

I know I mentioned it in my post, but it was shocking (to me) to see how nonchalantly the inspector in Scotland Yard was about turning on his TV in '39 to watch a cricket match - it was as if TV was no big deal by then, and based on your post, I guess it was new, but not super new or "amazing" anymore.

 

[LizzieMaine]

There's a fascinating article in the September 28, 1940 issue of The Saturday Evening Post called "Trouble in Television," by media journalist Alva Johnston, that goes into the Newburgh experiment in considerable detail. Johnston found that despite all of RCA's talk about how cultural programming such as live theatre and opera would be a big draw, the most popular programs among Newburgh residents, by far, were boxing and wrestling matches.

 

[Fading Fast]

There's a fascinating article in the September 28, 1940 issue of The Saturday Evening Post called "Trouble in Television," by media journalist Alva Johnston, that goes into the Newburgh experiment in considerable detail. Johnston found that despite all of RCA's talk about how cultural programming such as live theatre and opera would be a big draw, the most popular programs among Newburgh residents, by far, were boxing and wrestling matches.

When I grew up on the '60s and '70s, TV and radio still had some high-brow cultural shows on - opera, classical music, serious news discussion shows (where issues were discussed, people had chunks of time to explain their position and no one yelled at the other person) - and since then, the number of channels has expanded greatly, but these type of offering have gone down (NYC only has one class-B [less powerful transmission] classical music radio station, for example, but multiple pop-music stations) because, IMHO, people don't want the cultural offerings, they want reality TV, action movies, sports, etc. Hence, no surprise that is what people wanted back then as well.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Among the early-adopters of television was legendary conductor Arturo Toscanini, who was personally presented with a top-of-the-line television set by RCA president David Sarnoff in recognition of his work with the NBC Symphony Orchestra, the most prestigious program on radio in the 1940s. Toscanini horrified Sarnoff by telling him how much he enjoyed using this set to watch professional wrestling.

 

[2jakes]

Shane. (TCM)
My all time favorite western.

 

[fashion frank]

Shane. (TCM)
My all time favorite western.

Remember the little kid at the end calling his name " Shane come back Shane " just watched A Bronx Tale for the umpteenth time ! All the Best , Fashion Frank

 

[belfastboy]

Just finished "Picnic" with William Holden and Kim Novak.....bad movie with terrible acting. Holden was downright awful while Novak was passable but stuck with a horrible script. So many old movies like old cars just do not stand the test of time.

 

[2jakes]

Remember the little kid at the end calling his name " Shane come back Shane " just watched A Bronx Tale for the umpteenth time ! All the Best , Fashion Frank

First time I watched Shane was at a drive-in theater when I was 8 yrs.
All I recall was the echoing, haunting sounds by Joey at the end of the film.
Later years I grew to understand & appreciate it more.

A Bronx Tale (1993)
This song was popular at the high school record hop held in the
auditorium.
I was the tall, skinny, shy kid holding up the wall watching everyone dance
& no one but James Dean understood how I felt!

 

[Zombie_61]

*sigh* My Big Fat Greek Watered-Down Retread of the First Movie (2016). My wife, who sets foot in a movie theater about as often as most politicians get caught telling the truth, really enjoyed the first movie and wanted to see this, so I did my husbandly duty and accompanied her Saturday evening. Much, if not all, of the humor in the first movie comes from the quirky characters. The same is true of this sequel, but instead of being amusing they come across as obnoxious and idiotic, and the few "emotional" moments feel like they were forced in with a crowbar. See it if you must, but I'd suggest you wait until it comes to cable/satellite TV.

 

[Fading Fast]

Watched two more episodes of the Fleischer Superman cartoons - "The Billion Dollar Limited" and "The Arctic Giant." Like the ones before, both are artistically beautiful - the Art Deco style is stunning. The stories are formulaic, but watching them today, you don't watch for the story but for the artistry and history, I find myself almost lost in the beauty of the drawings.

Some common themes are emerging: (1) cops use their machine guns at the drop of a hat, (2)Lois Lane is no shrinking violet - she goes after a story with gusto, takes risks, pushes men out of the way, etc. and (3) they hadn't quite settled on superman flying versus jumping, in particular, in "The Arctic Giant" he does both.

Much fun - very impressive.

 

[Fading Fast]

Watched "Bridge of Spies." Beautifully filmed - with the detailed sets and clothes, you could feel America and Germany in the early '60s come alive. The story was good, but as someone who only knows the high-level outline of the true history, I don't know how much was made up, but it felt as if they gave Tom Hanks' character a lot of credit for being the only really smart person in the room (all the time).

That said, I basically just went with it and really enjoyed it as Hanks is an actor that can carry a film on his back or, in this case, take a adequate script and make it much better and realistic.

No matter how much time passes, how familiar you are with the history, it is still always shocking to see a country build a wall to keep its citizens in and then shoot them for trying to escape.

 

[belfastboy]

I have a request....if you view the new Miles Davis biopic please post a review. I would love to hear your opinion. It has yet to open in this neck of the woods.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Batman v Superman. I went to a bargain matinee with mega-low expectations... and liked it a lot more than I expected to. Yeah, it's too long, too violent, too downbeat... but Snyder knows how to make a superhero movie that gets the iconic images right.

 

[Zombie_61]

Watched two more episodes of the Fleischer Superman cartoons...they hadn't quite settled on superman flying versus jumping, in particular, in "The Arctic Giant" he does both...

Fleischer Studios was largely responsible for giving Superman the power of flight. Superman could only leap from place to place in the comic books at the time the Fleischers started on their cartoon series. When they saw the finished animation of Superman leaping they thought it looked silly and asked if he could just fly instead. The publishers at Action Comics agreed, and Superman acquired the power of flight in both the cartoons and the comics.

 

[Gregg Axley]

The Big Clock (1948) with Ray Milland.
Excellent Noir/Thriller, with a few actors and actresses who were huge just years prior, and were still able to deliver the goods despite their declining status.
The sets are also great, especially the office building Ray works in.

 

[Fading Fast]

The Big Clock (1948) with Ray Milland.
Excellent Noir/Thriller, with a few actors and actresses who were huge just years prior, and were still able to deliver the goods despite their declining status.
The sets are also great, especially the office building Ray works in.

Agree completely. Milland almost always gives an outstanding performance - underrated in my opinion.