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Post by Fading Fast on Feb 20, 2024 10:50:56 GMT
This Sunday, February 25th, at 3pm ET / 1pm MT / 12pm PT, we will be watching and sharing our thoughts on the 1932 movie "The Animal Kingdom," starring Leslie Howard, Ann Harding and Myrna Loy
"The Animal Kingdom" is a heated mix of class, morals, the perennial art-versus-commerce debate and, most importantly, carnal passion. It is a compelling stew that represents many things the Motion Picture Production Code would snuff out of movies in only a few short years.
In this shocking-for-its-day precode, an upper-class publisher/writer chooses to marry the conservative and "proper" woman his father wants him to marry only to later realize he had been happier with his bohemian lifestyle and girlfriend.
The Animal Kingdom is also an opportunity to see three young, beautiful and talented actors - Leslie Howard, Ann Harding and Myrna Loy - in a smart and engaging picture.
Link to the movie on YouTube: "The Animal Kingdom"
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Post by topbilled on Feb 20, 2024 14:11:38 GMT
For some reason, I have never seen THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. Looking forward to this...I did recently watch the Warner Brothers remake (ONE MORE TOMORROW).
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Post by jamesjazzguitar on Feb 20, 2024 19:38:51 GMT
For some reason, I have never seen THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. Looking forward to this...I did recently watch the Warner Brothers remake (ONE MORE TOMORROW). That you haven't seen The Animal Kingdom, I find interesting. If I'm not mistaken, it was you, many years ago, that recommended Ann Harding to me. The Animal Kingdom is a solid pre-code film. Fans of Loy will find her character interesting especially in contrast to her model-wife character in the Thin Man serial. I haven't seen One More Tomorrow. I did what Wiki had to say and my suspicions were confirmed in that how much of the Barry play had to be compromised by the Code. One thing I did learn is that Olivia DeHavilland refused to do the film and was placed on suspension. This led to her infamous lawsuit against Warner Bros. that changed how contracts were done between actors and the studios as well as sport leagues. (I'm curious how Ann Sheridan played the role of the liberal free spirited gal, verses what I view as a standout performance by Harding).
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Post by topbilled on Feb 20, 2024 20:04:23 GMT
For some reason, I have never seen THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. Looking forward to this...I did recently watch the Warner Brothers remake (ONE MORE TOMORROW). That you haven't seen The Animal Kingdom, I find interesting. If I'm not mistaken, it was you, many years ago, that recommended Ann Harding to me. The Animal Kingdom is a solid pre-code film. Fans of Loy will find her character interesting especially in contrast to her model-wife character in the Thin Man serial. I haven't seen One More Tomorrow. I did what Wiki had to say and my suspicions were confirmed in that how much of the Barry play had to be compromised by the Code. One thing I did learn is that Olivia DeHavilland refused to do the film and was placed on suspension. This led to her infamous lawsuit against Warner Bros. that changed how contracts were done between actors and the studios as well as sport leagues. (I'm curious how Ann Sheridan played the role of the liberal free spirited gal, verses what I view as a standout performance by Harding). Anytime I make a post that says "I haven't seen such and such film," I usually ask myself, okay, why haven't I seen this film yet. LOL
The main reason I did not watch THE ANIMAL KINGDOM is because it's in the public domain and there used to be so many inferior quality prints on YouTube, I couldn't get past the first five minutes because the image and sound were so bad.
I am hoping there are better prints this time around...As you noted, I love Ann Harding and I would like to see all of her films, if possible.
I have a copy of ONE MORE TOMORROW which I recorded from TCM when Ann Sheridan was Star of the Month. She plays the role a bit saucy and wisecracking, like does most of her roles. But I feel she and Dennis Morgan have very good chemistry.
However, the main focus in the WB remake is on Morgan and buddy Jack Carson who plays the butler. They were WB's answer to Paramount's super duo Bing Crosby & Bob Hope. I guess you could say Ann Sheridan was often the third wheel, taking the female lead that would have gone to Dorothy Lamour at Paramount.
In a similar way, they would also insert Ann Sheridan into the James Cagney/Pat O'Brien vehicles.
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Post by jamesjazzguitar on Feb 20, 2024 20:24:19 GMT
That you haven't seen The Animal Kingdom, I find interesting. If I'm not mistaken, it was you, many years ago, that recommended Ann Harding to me. The Animal Kingdom is a solid pre-code film. Fans of Loy will find her character interesting especially in contrast to her model-wife character in the Thin Man serial. I haven't seen One More Tomorrow. I did what Wiki had to say and my suspicions were confirmed in that how much of the Barry play had to be compromised by the Code. One thing I did learn is that Olivia DeHavilland refused to do the film and was placed on suspension. This led to her infamous lawsuit against Warner Bros. that changed how contracts were done between actors and the studios as well as sport leagues. (I'm curious how Ann Sheridan played the role of the liberal free spirited gal, verses what I view as a standout performance by Harding). Anytime I make a post that says "I haven't seen such and such film," I usually ask myself, okay, why haven't I seen this film yet. LOL
The main reason I did not watch THE ANIMAL KINGDOM is because it's in the public domain and there used to be so many inferior quality prints on YouTube, I couldn't get past the first five minutes because the image and sound were so bad.
I am hoping there are better prints this time around...As you noted, I love Ann Harding and I would like to see all of her films, if possible.
I have a copy of ONE MORE TOMORROW which I recorded from TCM when Ann Sheridan was Star of the Month. She plays the role a bit saucy and wisecracking, like does most of her roles. But I feel she and Dennis Morgan have very good chemistry.
However, the main focus in the WB remake is on Morgan and buddy Jack Carson who plays the butler. They were WB's answer to Paramount's super duo Bing Crosby & Bob Hope. I guess you could say Ann Sheridan was often the third wheel, taking the female lead that would have gone to Dorothy Lamour at Paramount.
In a similar way, they would also insert Ann Sheridan into the James Cagney/Pat O'Brien vehicles.Hopefully TCM will show the UCLA preserved version done by the UCLA Film & Television Archive in 1985. (Source: UCLA Archive website). Yea, I could tell by the write-up that One More Tomorrow featured a lot more of the friend\butler\prize-fighter character and thus another Morgan \ Carson buddy film. Hey, those two had chemistry and made some good films together at WB, but why did WB decide to us this Barry play, with its subject matter as a vehicle for them. The focus of The Animal Kingdom is on the man and the two, very different women, in his life.
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Post by topbilled on Feb 20, 2024 21:21:43 GMT
Anytime I make a post that says "I haven't seen such and such film," I usually ask myself, okay, why haven't I seen this film yet. LOL
The main reason I did not watch THE ANIMAL KINGDOM is because it's in the public domain and there used to be so many inferior quality prints on YouTube, I couldn't get past the first five minutes because the image and sound were so bad.
I am hoping there are better prints this time around...As you noted, I love Ann Harding and I would like to see all of her films, if possible.
I have a copy of ONE MORE TOMORROW which I recorded from TCM when Ann Sheridan was Star of the Month. She plays the role a bit saucy and wisecracking, like does most of her roles. But I feel she and Dennis Morgan have very good chemistry.
However, the main focus in the WB remake is on Morgan and buddy Jack Carson who plays the butler. They were WB's answer to Paramount's super duo Bing Crosby & Bob Hope. I guess you could say Ann Sheridan was often the third wheel, taking the female lead that would have gone to Dorothy Lamour at Paramount.
In a similar way, they would also insert Ann Sheridan into the James Cagney/Pat O'Brien vehicles. Hopefully TCM will show the UCLA preserved version done by the UCLA Film & Television Archive in 1985. (Source: UCLA Archive website). Yea, I could tell by the write-up that One More Tomorrow featured a lot more of the friend\butler\prize-fighter character and thus another Morgan \ Carson buddy film. Hey, those two had chemistry and made some good films together at WB, but why did WB decide to us this Barry play, with its subject matter as a vehicle for them. The focus of The Animal Kingdom is on the man and the two, very different women, in his life. Yes, Alexis Smith plays the other woman in ONE MORE TOMORROW. But she is basically fourth in importance, after Morgan, Sheridan and Carson because Carson's role has obviously been expanded to play up the male buddy comedy aspects of the story.
I am not sure why THE ANIMAL KINGDOM fell into the public domain. I am guessing it's because RKO relinquished the rights to Warner Brothers and WB didn't care to renew the copyright, since its remake was more important to them.
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Post by Fading Fast on Feb 22, 2024 10:44:25 GMT
Please join us on Sunday, February 25th, at 3pm ET / 1pm MT / 12pm PT for "The Animal Kingdom" where you'll witness the ever-present-and-odd upper-class conceit of the wealthy bohemian artist, showcased 1930s style.
Link to the movie on YouTube: "The Animal Kingdom"
As to the prior discussion in this thread, this is a pretty good but not great copy. It's the best I could find, but if anyone has found a better one, please post it. Thank you.
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Post by topbilled on Feb 22, 2024 12:47:58 GMT
Yeah, that copy looks alright. The public domain prints used to be much worse.
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Post by Fading Fast on Feb 22, 2024 13:03:32 GMT
Yeah, that copy looks alright. The public domain prints used to be much worse. Is it still in the public domain?
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Post by topbilled on Feb 22, 2024 13:09:05 GMT
Yeah, that copy looks alright. The public domain prints used to be much worse. Is it still in the public domain? I believe so, yes. That's why you can find THE ANIMAL KINGDOM so easily on YouTube. Usually Warners will usually have their RKO films taken off YT in order to protect copyrighted material. (Unless they are offering the movie on YT for a fee.) In this case, the film is still in the public domain but better copies have been shown on TCM or else private collectors have managed to find better copies, and these improved quality prints are being uploaded online.
Once something goes into the public domain, it remains in the public domain unless a new copyright can be filed because new elements (music) are added.
Sometimes there are exceptions. For instance, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE fell into the public domain in the 1970s, and it became a staple on television around the holidays. However, it did not stay in the public domain because it was determined that even though the film's copyright was not renewed, the story's source material had been renewed. Now the film cannot be shown without paying royalties to the owner of the story. And those rights are controlled by NBC/Universal which is why it only airs on NBC.
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Post by BunnyWhit on Feb 23, 2024 19:20:51 GMT
I am reading the play. It is a Project Gutenberg Canada title, which you can find here.
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Post by topbilled on Feb 23, 2024 20:18:56 GMT
I am reading the play. It is a Project Gutenberg Canada title, which you can find here. I read about the play focusing more on the relationship between Howard's character and his father (played by Henry Stephenson in the 1932 film). Does that seem correct?
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Post by Fading Fast on Feb 23, 2024 20:39:05 GMT
I am reading the play. It is a Project Gutenberg Canada title, which you can find here. That is the best way to do it as you can form your own images in your mind about how everything and everyone looks and, then, see the movie version.
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Post by Fading Fast on Feb 24, 2024 15:48:21 GMT
Please join us tomorrow, February 25th, at 3pm ET / 1pm MT / 12pm PT for "The Animal Kingdom" to see Leslie Howard agonize over having to choose between Myrna Loy and Ann Harding, a decision most men would love to have to face.
Link to the movie on YouTube: "The Animal Kingdom"
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Post by BunnyWhit on Feb 24, 2024 18:00:52 GMT
I am reading the play. It is a Project Gutenberg Canada title, which you can find here. I read about the play focusing more on the relationship between Howard's character and his father (played by Henry Stephenson in the 1932 film). Does that seem correct? Having not yet seen the film, I can't really say it it's more of a focus, but the disharmony between Tom and his father, Rufus, certainly is a central theme. I'm assuming from your question that it's less so in the film? I can't wait to see how that part is different. The father/son relationship definitely works well and is essential to the action in the play. I don't want to give away too much for others who do not yet know the story.
I'm looking forward to seeing the film. I really enjoyed reading the play.
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