A Movie Scene Quiz

I started a thread about Arthur Miller's death.

http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=45481

Amazing that he continued to write all these years.

Yes, I heard the news this am. His asst. said it was heart failure. It's awesome that he was still writing and had an opening. wandeljw, what were the reviews like on the new play? Do you recall?

Aggie, glad you sobered up and yessh to Dianne Wiest and all the films, sorry I cut off "everyone said" when I decided not to make the Docteur her husband!
The last clue would have been : Keep her away from Ammo over the great white way! That was sure to get you the answer. Wait, don't speak!

Today in the am, the DJ's were asking for best romantic movie. I called in and announced that the mother of all chick-flick tearjerkers, the uber romance film, the alphadog, had to be An Affair to Remember (It was the nearest thing to Heaven--You were there!) and by extension, Sleepless in Seattle which further canonized the movie. Oh, and every film except Wait until Dark that Audrey Hepburn made!

Aaaah. Did you forget

Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest so long as I live on! I killed you. Haunt me, then! Haunt your murderer! I know that ghosts have wandered on the Earth. Be with me always. Take any form, drive me mad, only do not leave me in this dark alone where I cannot find you. I cannot live without my life! I cannot die without my soul.

What do they know of heaven and hell, Cathy, who know nothing of life.

<sigh>

An Affair to Remember comes close to No. 2

Excerpts from a review by Jonathan Abarbanel:

Finishing the Picture, the Arthur Miller world premiere at Chicago's Goodman Theatre through November 7, is inspired by the problematic production of the 1960 film The Misfits, written by Miller for his then-wife, Marilyn Monroe. Miller (Paul in the play) wrote The Misfits as a gift of love for Monroe, even as their marriage deteriorated. Miller is blunt in this new work. When Edna, Kitty's assistant, says "She loves you, Paul," he replies, "But she doesn't like me. I didn't save her; she didn't save me as we promised. No more. Just no more, for both our sakes."

The key role is the producer, Phillip -- arguably more of a stand-in for Miller than Paul -- played by Stacy Keach as a decent, smart, self-made man. No stranger to personal tragedy, Phillip earnestly seeks to make the right decision. He's paired with the self-effacing personal assistant, Edna (the sympathetic Frances Fisher). Fog-voiced Harris Yulin is the film's wise director, who's forceful without being an enforcer. Matthew Modine, tall and bespectacled as Miller himself is, plays the undeveloped role of Paul, who confesses his anger with Kitty but does little else. Scott Glenn is the vulgar, no-nonsense, veteran cameraman who's just there to work.

Those seeking meaty drama in the manner of Death of a Salesman or The Crucible will be disappointed. Rather, Finishing the Picture is an intimate relationship drama -- a play of talk and mood, not sweep and action. It's an examination rather than a conclusion; indeed, it has a weak denouement. Some will find the work unengaging and lacking in emotional satisfaction. Miller still has craft but seems past passion here, viewing things with detachment.

OK, sorry. It's just that I can never resist posting info about Wuthering Heights.

New Question:

Even though she was

1. In disguise

at the time she committed the

2. Evil deeds, not necessarily punishable by law,

she wasn't taking any chances of getting caught and accordingly made the necessary arrangement to leave her

3. Grass roots

behind

and head for the

4. remote Arctic Region

where she felt she'd be safe.

Nothing to apologize for! As far as I'm concerned, any excuse to post that picture is a good one.

In my opinion, An Affair to Remember and Wuthering Heights are probably the two most romantic movies ever made (I'd hate to have to say in which order), but if I had to pick a movie for Slot #3, it would be Camille.

Now to think about your question.

Oh, Camille, most definitely.

Even though Jessica Lange (tie-in to Sam Shepard) was

1. Masked and Anonymous

at the time she committed the

2. Crimes of the Heart

she wasn't taking any chances of getting caught and accordingly made the necessary arrangement to leave her

3. A Thousand Acres

behind

and head for the

4. Far North

where she felt she'd be safe.

Yes to Jessica Lange. I was thinking of leaving her "Country" behind, but her Thousand Acres sounds good, too.

"Country" makes more sense -- I almost put a question mark next to "A Thousand Acres" to indicate I wasn't sure about it.

New question:

She was reading some

1. pieces of mail that had been sent to her from Ultima Thule,

when suddenly a blackout knocked out all the power in the city. As she sat there,

2. Longing for the power to come back on,

a beam from

3. A nocturnal celestial body

shone through the window of her

4. Tenement flat,

enabling her to continue to reading by its light.

Wandeljw, thanks for the review. Interesting. As I set designer, I saw and designed a lot of Miller. He had a quiet naturalistic way to get in and crush you.

Aggie, someone mentioned WH on the radio show, but the hosts said it was just too devastating to even be considered. Just too much pain!

Oh, and then there's Random Harvest--for hanging on forever--and of course with the divine Ms. Garson.

Now to Bree's..think I've got it..but aggie will sneak in doubt

Shirley MacLaine was reading some

1. Postcards from the Edge,

when suddenly a blackout knocked out all the power in the city. As she sat there,

2. Waiting for the Light,

a beam from

3. The Evening Star

shone through the window of her

4. The Apartment?,

enabling her to continue to reading by its light.

You got it, lois! I had a lot of trouble coming up with something for "the edge", but I figured this crowd would have no trouble figuring out "Ultima Thule".

Blast it. Lois beat me to it.

Have you seen Random Harvest yet, Bree?

Nope -- not yet. I probably won't be seeing any movies this weekend, because I have two theatrical events coming up: tonight I'm seeing a semi-staged revival of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (part of the Encores series at City Center). I've never read the book, or seen either the movie or the musical version, so it will be a brand-new experience for me. The only song in the score I'm at all familiar with is "Make the Man Love Me", which I know from Barbra Streisand's recording.

And tomorrow afternoon I'm going to see an off-off-Broadway production of a 1599 play called "The Shoemaker's Holiday", by Thomas Dekker. I know nothing about the play, but the Wall Street Journal's critic (who is usually reliable) gave it a good review, and I was able to get a ticket for $3, so I figured, what the heck.

I beat aggie, I beat aggie!
Well, that's a first!

Hey, is there a new Random Harvest in the theater, or were you asking bree if she has seen the film?? I know there was a theater version LOOSELY based on the film in '01...

Heading to lunch will find one on my return!

Wo. I still have the leather (suede actually) apron I made for a character when we did Shoemaker's Holiday a zillion years ago in college!

Ciao-going for chow

Which you're keeping in case the suede apron look ever comes back?

Oh, I can't wait to hear what you think about A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I loved the B-way cast with Shirley Booth as Aunt Sissie, but the music might seem outdated today. It's funny you mentioned it because I was thinking about it just this morning and when you brought up "Evening Star" ,I immediately thought of "I'll Buy You A Star", one of the hits from the musical. Johnny Johnston (Kathryn Grayson's husband at the time) and who was not really B'Way material, sang it in the original musical. "Look Who's Dancin'" was Booth's big number.

I've seen the movie several times and read the book (it was actually banned (lol) when it first came out - I borrowed my mother's copy, when she wasn't looking - and my girlfriend and I read passages to one another sitting on the back porch and felt ever so wise. (LOL) I loved that book and movie.

What does "semi-stage" mean?

I'll jump in and answer that one. Semi-staged probably means that some of the play will be fully staged (like normal) but some will be sung or spoken concert-style.

Are you familiar with Reader's Theatre? That's what that style used to be called.