Diane C.'s THE THRILL OF ANTICIPATION

Love today's technology: DVDs, hundreds of channels on TV and PPV but...I sometimes miss the old days when there were only 6 TV stations and you'd check the paper to see what was on that day/week and the thrill that would come when you'd see that one of your favorites was coming on.

When The Wizard of Oz (1939) or Peter Pan (1960 with Mary Martin) was on, it would be a family event, popcorn, soda and everyone set up in front of the TV. Even regular TV, you'd go to school or work the next day and you'd hear "Did you see....?" Today there is nothing you worry about missing. Most movies if they're on once, you'll find them on three other times
that week.

Some of the movies I'd look for back then were (in no particular
order):

Gunga Din (1939) (Dad's favorite)
Sergeant York (1941)
Pride of the Yankees (1942)
Auntie Mame (1958)
Cat Baloou (1965)
The Glen Miller Story (1954)
Barefoot in the Park (1967)
Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
I also loved Jack in the Beanstalk (1952) with them, but I haven't seen it in years.
Harvey (1950)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
The Trouble with Angels (1966)
Gypsy (1962) - Just about anything with Rosalind Russell
The Bells of St. Mary (1945)
James Cagney Movies (1930-1961)
Mighty Joe Young (1949)
Shirley Temple Movies - I have some favorites, but liked them all. (1932-1949)
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Little Women {June Allyson (1949) or Katharine Hepburn (1933)}
Desk Set (1957), or just about any Tracy/Hepburn movie
Imitation of Life (1934) (Not the 1959 one with Sandra Dee! Lana Turner played the mother - talk about over acting!)

We're No Angels (1955) - my favorite scene was when they decided who was going to tell the cousin that there was a poisonous snake and he really shouldn't open the box. Then, there was Bogart's face when he's asked "Did you tell him" and he replied "He knows."

Then there were the specials Made-for-TV, two of which I can't find anywhere and I'd love to have. Back in the '80's, they made movies for Halloween, The Midnight Hour (1985) (actually, I did find that but I am not about to pay over a hundred dollars for a used DVD) and It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (1984) with Mickey Rooney. There are many more and I'll remember them as soon as I submit this, you know that snap of the fingers where I have that "I should have said..." feeling.

Last night I was looking at past messages on the People_Will_Talk mailing list and wracked my brain over the "Silent Movie Stars" I only came up with about ten. I agreed with Eric Jamborsky about horror movies, that I only really liked the ones pre-1970 (Halloween was my downfall). It made me reclassify horror movies. Now, they are Spooky (which I like) and Slasher/Gorey (which I don't). Two movies after '70, that I enjoyed and you can let kids watch are The Lady in White (1988) with Katherine Helmond and Silver Bullet (1985) with Gary Busey. Both are more scary than gory, with The Lady in White being the least gory.


*Contributed by: "Diane C." Date: Wed, Feb 8 2006

Movie still displayed: The Wizard of Oz (1939)