Posted by Frank R.A.J. Maloney on 04/11/06 18:51

Ursula 2.7T wrote:
> Goro wrote:
>> I'm a true to the heart sentimentalist in many ways and as such, I'm
>> a huge Capra fan. Well, i should say that of the Capra I've seen
>> (and wrt his reputation), i'm a huge fan. I've seen the mainstream
>> popular tites:
>>
>> IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT
>> MR DEEDS
>> IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
>> MR SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON
>> ARSENIC AND OLD LACE
>>
>> and now I'm looking to watch some of his other works. What are the
>> recommendations of what I should see next?
>>
>> thx
>> -goro-
>
> I'd recommend the following --
>
> * The Miracle Woman
> * Lady for a Day
>
> I'm not a huge Capra fan myself, but I do like both of these movies I
> just mentioned. Barbara Stanwyck is simply fantastic in The Miracle
> Woman. And Lady for a Day is very feel-good without getting too
> maudlin or overly sentimental. Good performances by Warren William
> and May Robson in that one.
>
> I've also heard that The Bitter Tea of General Yen (another
> Stanwyck/Capra flick) is good, but I've never seen it so can't say for
> sure. But I'm betting that would probably be a good choice too.

Last Friday night one of our local PBS stations showed _Pocketful of
Miracles_ (1961). Either I was in an impatient mood or it's not a very good
film, but I bailed after 20 minutes or so, bored to distraction by the
pacing and the obviousness of the story. The only thing that worked for me
while I did stick with it was Bette Davis as Apple Annie. Hope Lange was
absolutely hopeless as Queenie and I could certainly while so many here
dislike Glenn Ford. But then I didn't see the whole film, so what do I know?

Now I read in the IMDb that it is a remake of Capra's 1933 film _Lady for a
Day_, which I have not seen but which sounds like it would be more to my
liking.

Meanwhile, my record for liking Damon Runyon-based films remains pretty
dismal. Films like _Little Miss Marker_ (and the Bob Hope version _Sorrowful
Jones_) and _The Lemon Drop Kid_ are impossible. _Guys and Dolls_ is an
interesting failure and that's about the best I can say for any Runyon
property. But I haven't seen them all and I'm still holding out hope for _A
Slight Case of Murder_, if ever I can score a copy.

--
Frank in Seattle
____

Frank Richard Aloysius Jude Maloney
"Millennium hand and shrimp."

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