>>I don't know about this one--both Flynn and Rathbone will be hard to match/equate.

"Captain Blood" might well be my favorite. I know Peachtree is not as enamored of "The Dawn Patrol" as I am but he had one of his most naturalistic performances in that film, I thought. You forgot you were watching EF as he truly seemed to disappear in that role. Can't help but think, too, that being with buddy David Niven helped enormously with the performance as well--the comfort level was certainly there.

>>>I certainly am a Ty fan, but an Errol fan as well. There was another comedy he starred in "Footsteps in the Dark"--haven't see that one in ages, but I certainly enjoyed it. There was also a film where he portrayed a doctor working on (I think)a vaccine and ended up trying it on himself. I thought he was good in that role--title escapes me.

It was "Green Light". (Let me know if you want a copy Melody as I taped it off TCM a while back.)

>>>>I think EF was another actor that suffered a bit in broadening his skills/roles--WB kept him under tight wraps as well. I believe there was more that he could have done similar to Ty had he been loaned out or used differently by Jack Warner. His autobiography reads like the whirlwind he was! Of course, once you come to the trial it's almost like a car crashing into a wall--he personally "died" within.

>>>>And Peachtree is right on the possible CGI that could be used in the remake of CB. As great as computer graphics are, I am more amazed with the creativity of the early special effects departments. What they had to do and also having to get it right because they couldn't just "redo" on a computer. I think pretty amazing.

>>The Scarlet Pimpernel is another double-role hero… I did like Leslie Howard in the movie but my favorite version is the Anthony Andrews/Jane Seymour one.

Isn't Andrews fantastic in that, yes !! Born to play it really and wonderful chemistry with Seymour; particularly the bittersweet scenes when he thinks she betrayed him. Those were sexy scenes to boot, IMHO. Andrews is great in "Ivanhoe". Another seductive turn by him; although he should have run off with Rebecca...*that* Rebecca at least . Wonderful cast as well.

>"THE DAWN PATROL" IS ANOTHER GREAT ONE.

>>That’s a fine movie but I have a slight preference for the earlier version (the first feature directed by Howard Hawks), starring Richard Barthelmess (another favorite actor) and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. My preference probably has everything to do with Barthelmess.

My favorite is "Broken Blossoms". Positively heartbreaking. What say you about that one?


>I RECALL READING THIS (MORE THAN ONCE IF MEMORY SERVES) REGARDING DIETRICH'S BEING 'DOUBTED' THAT IT WAS HER.

>>Maybe some people thought she can’t act either?

Yeah, poor Dietrich Some of her 30's performances left a lot to be desired. But she acquited herself admirably in this one.

>IT *DOES* HAVE MANY TWISTS--I THINK ELSA LANCHESTER AND CHARLES LAUGHTON STEAL THE SHOW !

>>Those two are world-class scene stealers The fact that Ty was so memorable in their company says a lot about him!

>>I DON'T THINK I'LL EVER BE CONVERTED IN REGARDS TO THIN ICE. A SOMEWHAT THIN FILM AS WELL, IT SEEMED.

>>Well, of course it is. I think my word for it was “fluffy.” Sonja Henie is no actress though she’s quite appealing on film. But there isn’t much you can get her to do besides ice-skating. Darryl Zanuck instructed the scriptwriter of Henie’s first movie, One in a Million, to make sure she had as little dialogue as possible and to make that dialogue simple and direct.

LOL. Well, as you say one can see why. she's fun to watch but after a film or two you're Sonjad out, so to speak.

>I DUNNO, HE REALLY SEEMS HIS (VERY YOUNG) AGE IN THAT FILM AS WELL WHEREAS IN "SECOND HONEYMOON" (AND "LOVE IS NEWS" TO A LESSER DEGREE) HE WAS MORE THE SOPHSTICIATE.

>>>The young prince in Thin Ice has spent his entire life – to judge from the way he bamboozles the courtiers, diplomats and the press – learning that everyone is out for himself and he has fun tweaking their noses. In fact, the more I talk to myself about this movie, the more I begin to suspect there is something to it besides ice skating and a Cinderella story.

>>>As for Second Honeymoon, guess what, I just rewatched it. Yes, it is on the surface more sophisticated – Ty and Loretta’s characters, Raoul and Vicky, are working on love the second time around; actually for Vicky it will be the third time as a remarriage to Raoul is literally a third one for her character – but as movie champagne, I still find it pretty flat and lifeless. The characters seem to fulfill a function more than have a life of their own, and it seems to me there really isn’t anything more to the story than what’s there on the surface. In fact, this is one of the very few movies where I sit there and look at Ty thinking about how good-looking he is, rather than concentrating on the character he’s playing.

It IS pure fluff, yes, and it's not a particularly good film. In fact, one can argue that it's downright mediocre. Still, Power rises above the material most of the time..if not all, and I do think the 1st 45 min. or so, he does some of his best comedy. As often as I watch Thin Ice, it still seems to me like you can see him working at it.

>YES, WELL SAID ABOUT THE LITTLE TOUCHES HE WOULD IMBUE CERTAIN FILMS AND HIS INVESTMENT IN ROLES. I'M ASHAMED TO ADMIT THAT I HAVEN'T PAID MUCH ATTENTION TO THE USING PROPS AS YOU SAY, BUT WILL DEFINITELY DO SO NEXT TIME.

>>>Hat and cigarettes and cigarette lighters are the things I’ve been noticing mostly – it’s not as easy as it looks to deliver dialogue, hit your marks, and handle props with the right rhythm.

>>HAVE YOU SEEN MARCH IN "DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY" BTW?

Death Takes a Holiday, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and The Sign of the Cross, and Nothing Sacred, and the Barretts of Wimpole Street, and Les Miserables, and I Married a Witch, and Anna Karenina, and Anthony Adverse, and Mary of Scotland and The Buccaneer and One Foot in Heaven and The Best Years of Our Life, and Seven Days in May and Executive Suite and Inherit the Wind and … I’ll stop there.

He was an actor that improved with age, I thought. He was brilliant in "Inherit the Wind."