Posted by William E. Lurie @ 03/15/2003 08:50 AM PST

A soothsayer is saying the sooth. Thanks, Craig.

What a great question....grrrrrrrr...

Dimitri Tiomkin. Now we're talking! Of those mentioned by BK, RIO BRAVO and THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY. But my favorite of all is the lovely LOST HORIZON followed by DUEL IN THE SUN!!!

Posted by Jrand52 @ 03/15/2003 09:04 AM PST

Spring break! WOO HOO!!

Posted by Sandra @ 03/15/2003 09:22 AM PST

With watery notes such as BK's - one might have to assume this is no longer a web log but a waterlog!

I just emailed Bruce an interesting bit of business about a special event happening tomorrow. It's an event we will all be able to celebrate - so I wanted to give you plenty of time to don your pantaloons and to start slicing the cheese!

Posted by Craig @ 03/15/2003 09:40 AM PST

JMK:

Your prize is free admission to www.brucekimmel.com

Posted by Michael @ 03/15/2003 10:00 AM PST

Michael:

That prize is sparkling, or, rather, pulsating--I'm sorry, but these elderly eyes just can't take the green print on red background.

Posted by JMK @ 03/15/2003 10:34 AM PST

How about black print on the red background? Green on red? Never!

Posted by Michael @ 03/15/2003 10:50 AM PST

I'm afraid that, as with most movie scores, I don't know a Tiomkin from a Potemkin from a Patinkin … other than Mandy, of course.

Yesterday at work I was listening to "3 Musketeers" and here on HHW I thanked Phil for that. The only problem is that, although I am trading with Phil, I actually should have thanked Allan for "3 Musketeers." Please excuse my brain fart. I have a bad cold and can't help myself.

Posted by George @ 03/15/2003 11:21 AM PST

Oh...Billy Zane. A great deal of Mr Billy Zane is on display in DEAD CALM for those who might be interested in such a thing...er...or as W. Shakespeare said, as you like it.

Posted by Jrand52 @ 03/15/2003 11:25 AM PST

I'll second JMK's question, since I was an unseemly winner for THE APARTMENT/PROMISES, PROMISES question.

As for Tiomkin:
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
LOST HORIZON
GIANT
WILD IS THE WIND
HIGH NOON
THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY

also, "Strange are the Ways of Love" from THE YOUNG LAND.

Posted by td @ 03/15/2003 11:53 AM PST

I'm not a big fan of Billy Zane... in fact the only thing I ever saw him in was "Boston Public" where his part was written to be played by a bad ham actor and he fit that perfectly. And before someone reminds me he was in TITANIC I only saw the Barbara Stanwyck/Clifton Webb version. The trailer for the remake was so bad I never bothered. And I remember Gloria Stuart from GOLDDIGGERS OF 1933.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 03/15/2003 12:05 PM PST

Bill - that TITANIC from 1953 is due on DVD this year!

Terrific acting by all. Whatever happened to Harper Carter who played Norman?

Posted by Jrand52 @ 03/15/2003 12:22 PM PST

Michael:

I may be senile, but I'm not colorblind. I assure you on my computer the print is a rather strange shade of green which makes it pulsate strangely against the bright red background. I simply cannot get through a sentence since it is too hard to look at. :(

Posted by JMK @ 03/15/2003 12:23 PM PST

Well then just for you and probably all the others out there I will go in and get rid of the red! Funny when I was reading up on constructing websites they said black type on a red background was easy to read!

But all kidding aside thansk for that important feedback. I want the site to be easy to read for everyone.

Mike

Posted by Michael @ 03/15/2003 12:31 PM PST

Not to disregard the topic, but I simply can't speak intelligently about Mr. Dimitri Tiomkin (and I'll scratch out the eyes of the first clever wag who says, "that never stopped you before...").

We just watched The Scarlet Empress with Marlene Dietrich (directed by "Von" (ha!) Sternberg), and I must say that it is very strange, oh yes, very strange indeed. I realize that I am not the first person to make that observation about this film, nor will I be the last, but nonetheless I must add my voice to the chorus.

Not that we didn't enjoy it; we did. Anyway, I did -- just watching Miss Dietrich scampering about in all those luscious, over-the-top costumes was nearly worth the cost of admission. And then of course there are the gothic sets and the art direction...

As a film, however, there is undeniably something rotten in Denmark (or Moscow, as the case may be). The pacing's all off; the beginning creeps along at a snail's pace, as we are treated to the sight of a wide-eyed innocent Marlene Dietrich. In her eagerness to portray naifish naivete, Miss Dietrich swerves her unblinking gaze this way and that as she tilts her head with staccato, birdlike movements, and she speaks in a tiny, whispery little-girl voice, and is perpetually out-of-breath. This is charming for about five seconds, and then it begins to grate.

As soon as she finds out (SPOILER ALERT) that her intended beau is sleeping with the mean old Czarina of Russia, though, she instantly becomes the Marlene we all know and love (characterization be damned!), and starts sleeping with every man in the court EXCEPT said intended beau. Meanwhile, we keep getting wordy, bombastic intertitles explaining what's going on in all the scenes that von Sternberg couldn't be bothered to shoot (hey, it would take time away from his endless shots of bells being rung).

All in all, Blonde Venus remains at the top of my list of Sternberg/Dietrich collabos, but I can't say that I'm sorry I saw Scarlet Empress.

Posted by Lulu @ 03/15/2003 12:35 PM PST

Remember The Alamo!

Posted by Tom Guest @ 03/15/2003 12:43 PM PST

As usual, I don't know from movies, so I have nothing to add to today's subject, but I shall post nonetheless. Oh, yes, I shall post nonetheless.

Sandra and I are on our way out the door to see "Red Hot and Cole" at our local theater.

Posted by Laura @ 03/15/2003 12:44 PM PST

Tom,

Alamo rent-a -car?

Oh yes!....

Posted by François @ 03/15/2003 12:54 PM PST

In the spirit of today's producers/writers thinking they have to update every show to make it "accessible" to modern audiences, I offer this line - It's March 15th. Watch out!

Michael - as long as you don't make the text orange on a white background, I'll be happy. How many of us remember those computer scored tests we had to take in high school/college with that awful color scheme? I spent more time straining my eyes to see where the little boxes were (that had to be COMPLETELY filled in - with a #2 pencil of course - without going outside the box) than I did actually taking the test!

Posted by Ray @ 03/15/2003 01:21 PM PST

"The Green leaves of summer" are disappearing fast has Autunm takes its grip down under. What we need is rain. I still pray we won't end up with that other "silvery rain" that falls for years.

Posted by Tom from Oz @ 03/15/2003 01:41 PM PST

Sorry, but I like Billy Zane. Oh, not in TITANIC. I'm surprised there he didn't have a handlebar mustache to twist and an opera cape to twirl in all his dreaded evil. (But, then, I wasn't a great fan of that movie at all. MUCH preferred the Broadway musical.) but I think he's attractive and has command/charisma.

Favorite Tiomkin:

THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY (by a landslide, though damn the Wayne estate for keeping it from our midst lo these many years)
PORTRAIT OF JENNIE
GIANT
FRIENDLY PERSUASION
THE GUNS OF NAVARONE

Posted by Matt H. @ 03/15/2003 02:13 PM PST

It's raining in Southern California, and today we had a beautiful sunny day.

Yippeee!!!

Posted by Allan @ 03/15/2003 02:21 PM PST

Love Guns of Navarone score. Scarett Empress is a one-off film, but despite its wackiness it is so baroque and beautiful to look at it's fairly mesmerizing. I, too, love Blonde Venus most, followed by Morocco, Shanghai Expres and the sublime non-Dietrich Shanghai Gesture with Gene Tierney and Victor Mature as Dr. Omar (Dr. of Nothing). And lest we forget, Mike Mazurki as The Coolie (You likee Chinee New Year?).

The rain is amazing. I went over the hill on the 405 freeway and I have never seen the rain come down that hard. And, of course, the minute rain appears everyone forgets whatever few driving skills they once possessed. It was always thus, and pretty dangerous, but now it's compounded because niney percent of these toads are on their cell phones, too.

Posted by bk @ 03/15/2003 02:47 PM PST

"55 Days At Peking" and "Town Without Pity" should be given a mention as should "Wild Is The Wind". They all provided oscar nominated songs.In all Tiomkin had 8 nominated songs that I know of. (sorry there's a preposition!)

Posted by Tom from Oz @ 03/15/2003 02:50 PM PST

I just got the Turner Classic Movie Guide for April and on April 18 they are having Scores by Elmer Bernstein: The Magnificent Seven, Sweet Smell of Success and Cahil, U.S. Marshall.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 03/15/2003 03:00 PM PST

BK hasn't California outlawed non-handsfree cell phones in cars yet? NY has and they are actually giving out tickets. A lady I work with was late coming back from lunch one day last week because she was stopped for driving while holding a cell phone.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 03/15/2003 03:03 PM PST

Well, today has turned out to be the most beautiful in recent memory. The snow has almost all melted, and we opened some of our windows. Spring! Spring! Spring!
And if it gets wintry again, I will be extremely displeased indeed!
We made Hamantaschen today. I love Hamantaschen!
Synchronized swimming is a strange art form. I went to our school show last night. I'm not sorry that I went, but it was certainly weird.
I hope that we shall soon hear good things from Jason regarding his auditions! My good vibes are being sent as I type.

Posted by Hapgood @ 03/15/2003 03:08 PM PST

WEL: Another cool thing about TCM in April is that it's Harold Lloyd month! Big news for Harold Lloyd fans, as they're showing 24 of his films which are very rarely shown on television, and not available on video. Yippee!

Posted by Lulu @ 03/15/2003 03:14 PM PST

What's Hamantaschen please? Something to do with synchronised swimming???

Posted by Allan @ 03/15/2003 03:28 PM PST

Hamantaschen?

That's what French people say
when they sneeze!

Posted by François @ 03/15/2003 04:30 PM PST

I may have missed this in an earlier post, but Tony and Obie award actress Lynne Thigpen passed away earlier this week. She was on the cast album of Working that Bruce re-released on FA. She was also in Tintypes. Her film appearances also included Godspell and Tootsie

At the time of her death she was a regular cast memeber on the TV series The District and was "The Chief" on the PBS series Where in the World Is Carmen Santiago." She was also a regular on LA Law and All My Children.

An extraordinary talent actress she will be missed.

Click on my name for her film and tv credits

Go here for her Broadway credits

http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=68881

Go here for her Off-Broadway credits (partial list)

http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=people&keyword=name&first=Lynne&last=Thigpen&middle=

Posted by Michael @ 03/15/2003 04:34 PM PST

Oh my another

C I N E M A S C O P E

link....LOL

Posted by Jrand52 @ 03/15/2003 04:38 PM PST

Yesterday Ron wrote the following about my favorite show:
When it comes to "Trading Spaces," Vern Yip is "Da MAN"!

OMG, I couldn't agree more. He is my favorite. I don't think i've ever seen a room of his I didn't like. He is fantastic. His bedroom last week was so beautiful. It got the most beautiful reaction I've ever seen. One wall was darkish blue. And the other walls had this beautiful off white wood. And the bed had blues and purples on it. The lady homeowner started crying and said it was the most beautiful room she'd ever seen.

Laurie does nice work. Frank is always interesting, but I am not into folksy anything. I'm not overly fond of Genevieve, although she has done some great rooms, especially kitchens. Doug is a mixed back, and I can take or leave Hilda Santo-Tomas. Doug got a bum rap from the man and wife who didn't want their fireplace (butt ugly corner thing that it was; floor to ceiling bricks, at that. To counter that, Doug had Ty cover the fireplace with wood...and it was terrific. And all they did was gripe and grumble and sniffle and cry...carried on like a couple of spoiled infants. They needed bitch-slapping in the worst way.

I agree I like Laurie. I think Frank is very nice. But I wouldn't want him designing my room. Too artsy. Gen is also nice. But she doesn't really have my taste. Hildy is wile. Doug is fun. Although I think that the designers have to be reasonable if they are doing something that cannot be fixed after.

Then Doug did an enclosed garage into a movie theater when the family wanted a family room -- Doug just went with his theme and did what he wanted; family be damned. I thought it sucked, although the family was amused.

Oh, I hated that room. It was ugly and totally impractical.

There once was a lady named Des whose specialty was lamps. Just before the reveal when it was just her and Alex (Paige's predecessor), she'd don a funky hat, too. But she was sick a lot of the time -- and her rooms weren't always liked.

No...Vern is the designer I would prefer to have do my room, regardless of which room it was.
I never saw that other woman. But I do remember Alex. And I agree, Vern is the man.

Tonight is Doug and Frank I think.

Jennifer

Posted by Jennifer @ 03/15/2003 05:08 PM PST

Allan!! Over here!

Food dictionary;

hamantaschen

(HAH-mahn-tah-shuhn)

These small triangular
pastries hold a sweet filling,
either of honey-poppy seed,
prune or apricot.
They're one of the traditional
sweets of Purim, a festive
Jewish holiday.
Also called Haman's hats after
Haman, the wicked prime
minister of Persia who plotted
the extermination of Persian
Jews.
Haman's plot was foiled at the
last minute and the joyous
festival of Purim was
proclaimed in celebration.

Copyright Barron's
Educational Services, Inc.
1995

Posted by François @ 03/15/2003 05:10 PM PST

Favorite Tiompkin scores:

Portrait of Jennie
Friendly Persuasion
Land of the Pharaohs
Lost Horizon

Posted by Kerry @ 03/15/2003 06:02 PM PST

Wow! What a day! Busy, busy, all morning long (haircut, etc., etc, shopping, etc., etc., naptime, etc.etc, a bit of TV and then, Ohmigosh, I haven't logged on once today!)

First, WEL: I agree that "Oscar" hype has grown way out of proportion -- but I think it's the films that are up for awards year after year that don't merit the Oscar hype and NOT the hype itself.

I used not be able to sleep the night before the Oscars. Those were the days when reason told you that some of the truly deserving nominees would win...and often they did. Now...for the most part...FEH!

FEH!

And, FEH again!

Favorite "Big T" scores:

Friendly Persuasion
High and the Mighty
Fall of the Roman Empire
55 Days at Peking
Duel in the Sun

How many DVD owners in our family, I wonder, have DTS capability? For those of you who do, do you also have surround speakers?

I ask because DVDs with DTS are "m-a-g-i-c-a-l" experiences. My speakers take on a extra shimmer -- they seem to have the slightest vibration because DTS adds life to them.

I always try to get DTS versions of films, but one never knows whether a film will be issued with DTS. One such mystery was solved for me this morning (I made seven stops for shopping this a.m.) when I found "The Road to Perdition" in DTS. This one added element was the only thing separating it from the other widescreen version that doesn't have DTS. I also found "Startgate" in a DTS version that has blown me away -- the half of it I've watched so far. It's like seeing the film for the first time -- and literally, I am HEARING it the way it was MEANT to be heard for the first time.

That 5.1 CH sound suppression feature -- in my opinion -- sucks. Give me Dolby Digital 2.0 if you can't give me DTS. But keep that 5.1 stuff away from me...it's always too low, too compressed and there's no way jacking up the volume makes it better.

Rant over.

Ron

Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 03/15/2003 06:16 PM PST

Spencer Tracy was wonderful as the old man in "The Old Man and the Sea," but that movie would be nothing without Tiomkin's top-notch score.

He also composed the score for "It's a Wonderful Life." I admit that the music that comes to mind when I think of that movie is the goofy "Buffalo Gals" song, but Tiomkin's underscoring was very effective and dramatic, particularly in the graveyard scene. I believe he and Capra had a falling-out over the musical approach to this film, and that only part of Tiomkin's music was used.

Tiomkin also composed the score for "The Happy Time" with Charles Boyer, which later became a musical by none other than Kander & Ebb.

By the way, how many musicals have been made from "It's a Wonderful Life"?

Posted by Sigerson Holmes @ 03/15/2003 07:27 PM PST

Dear BK - I enjoy your interviews immensely. Immensely, I say. Immensely.

One question Nick Redman didn't answer was ... What was it like to hear all those Ethel Merman and Marilyn Monroe takes?

Tell us Nick! Tell us!

Posted by Donna - Cabaret West @ 03/15/2003 08:18 PM PST

I can show you that when it starts to rain
Everything's the same
I can show you
Raaaaaaaain
I don't mind
Shiiiiiiiiiine
The weather's fine

Posted by . @ 03/15/2003 08:26 PM PST

I have access to DTS, and it does almost always make for a more memorable aural experience with a film. I heartily recommend GLADIATOR in DTS.

I also think THE SCARLET EMPRESS is one unusual movie. Dietrich playing young and coy seems really false, but after she learns the ropes and becomes as selfish and manipulative as those around her, the film is really spellbinding.

Another Marlene I watched recently that I had missed all these years was THE GARDEN OF ALLAH. I had no idea it had such a WONDERFUL male supporting cast: Basil Rathbone, Joseph Schildkraut, Henry Brandon. Filmed in early three strip Technicolor (that won a special Oscar for cinematography), it was just breathtaking to look at.

Posted by Matt H. @ 03/15/2003 08:35 PM PST

Yahoo!!! Your rain is headed our way!!!!

Posted by Laura @ 03/15/2003 09:07 PM PST

A lull.

Posted by . @ 03/15/2003 11:01 PM PST

Donna--

How nice of you to notice I had niftily dodged the question. Actually of course, it was just an oversight. It was a tremendous experience, particularly when we were working on "There's No Business Like Show Business" which we remixed on the same stage the vocals were recorded. When listening to Ethel's songs sans orchestra, her power is incredible. Literally you can hear her voice bouncing back off the walls...she seemed to have organic reverb! With Marilyn it was very educational, because it became clear that her music director, Lionel Newman, recorded her vocals one line at a time. She has a nice, soft, natural voice, but for whatever reason she couldn't cope with a whole song, so each take was designed to be cut together word by word if necessary.often she seemed to stop and say something in the middle of a song; for example she would worry if she was pronouncing something incorrectly, or whether her "line pointing' was ok. It must have been arduous cajoling the performance out of her...but the results, as we know, are the stuff those golden dreams are made of.

Nick R.

Posted by Nick R @ 03/15/2003 11:08 PM PST

What is "line pointing"?

Last night on FMC, they showed NIAGARA with little pop-up messages. On an investment of one million dollars - on initial release, Fox earned SIX million dollars. That Casey Adams sure was popular!

I have surround but not DTS... 8-( but even that is a lot of fun especially during musicals. And you know a lot of the studio classic VHS were released in stereo as well from Fox (Titanic-1953 Woman' World-1953) and MGM (The Opposite Sex-1956) and these sound great as well.

Oh, I forgot about Tiomkin's LAND OF THE PHARAOHS which is in VHS stereo as well!

Posted by Jrand52 @ 03/16/2003 06:40 AM PST

That's three "as wells"...

I love the THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS cd...waited for it a long time! Great! Also enjoy the STATE FAIR album!

I was listening to BK's Ultimate Titanic CD last night. If you are a fan of the genre - you need to get this CD! It is the ONLY source for the Kaplan theme from the 1953 version, and a terrific version of the theme from A NIGHT TO REMEMBER as well. Also includes themes from the Broadway show, the 1996 TV version, and the latest Academy Award version!

Posted by Jrand52 @ 03/16/2003 06:44 AM PST

The editors who spliced together Marilyn's takes into a whole song deserve all of our thanks. You'd never know the effort from the results. The vocals sound smooth and seamless. I understand Louis Jordan's "Gigi" solo was also a mixture of more than forty takes, often a word at a time. Amazing how they can blend all of this into such a wondrous whole.

Back to DTS. I wasn't sold on it having only Dolby Digital capability on my receiver until a friend with both had me over to dinner to show me the difference. I really was astounded that I could hear the differences in the two renditions of the soundtrack. He used GLADIATOR to point out the variances. I came home and immediately began researching receivers with DD/DTS that also would meet my video as well as my audio needs.

Those with surround systems I'd highly recommend checking out a receiver that can decode both formats. You can get them VERY reasonably now, and they are worth the money for the differences in clarity, richness, and depth of tone.

Posted by Matt H. @ 03/16/2003 07:34 AM PST

Now we know why Allan couldn't
understand the merits of
CHARLOTTE SWEET. The librettist,
composer, director, leading lady,
and leading man (on the CD)
are/were all hamantoschen
noshers.

Posted by Ludlow29 @ 03/16/2003 07:53 AM PST