TCM begins decline
S D
Letterman
El Klauso
Were half of them still available, Robert Osborne could fill up TCM
with his hour long chat format, but he came along much too late. D.C.
was able to chat up major figures involved in 30's and 40's cinema from
the vantage point of the 70's. Regardless of your feelings for Cavett,
he had some splendid guests from the film world. Mike Douglas was
another example of being situated a an interesting historical moment.
Perhaps they could get busy editing those gab-fests down to something
like a worthwhile historical record.
Greg Bryant
> will start showing Dck Cavett show soon, Cavett is about two steps below
> Letterman
>
I doubt that. Dick Cavett is way above Letterman, with all the people in the
past who have given a full show to him to talk about their lives.
You're lucky on Letterman if you get three minutes squeezed in between the
Top Ten List and the Stupid Pet Tricks.
Cavett's a lot classier, the American David Frost.
Plus, these are classic historical interviews with truly great actors - not
the fifteen-minute flash in the pan that Letterman shills for.
I can't wait to see Groucho, Hitchcock, Hepburn and others in these classic
interviews.
Kingo Gondo
have already been included in TCM documentaries.
S D
any of the earlier "hosts' , tho David Suskind`s late night shows were
not that bad. Robert Osborn`s interviews are out of this world good.
Grant Hurlock
>
My favorite Cavett was when flower-child Barbara Seagull opened her
blouse & started nursing baby Free mid-interview. Dick's little jaw dropped
& his eyes popped. If I recall aright, it took a minute before techies
slapped a bar across the bottom portion of the screen. I wonder if that
show is anywhere to be seen nowadays?
Hal Erickson
> classic
> interviews.
I hope they confine the Groucho episodes to the ones from the late 1960s,
when he was still on top of his game. His final appearances in the early
1970s are sad to witness.
--Hal E
Greg Bryant
Osborne can be a bit fawning at times. Other times, he seems to miss a few
things.
Greg Bryant
Barbara Seagull, AKA Barbara Hershey.
S D
This Is Your Life".... excerpts of which also show up in TCM
documentaries.
Brigid Nelson
"This Is Your Life" epis. The Boris Karloff and Frances Farmer episodes
stick in my mind.
b
George Peatty
>Cavett's a lot classier, the American David Frost.
There's a saying in Bridge: leading from the top of nothing .. Applies here
..
Frank R.A.J. Maloney
The absolute worse Cavett that I ever saw and the one that utterly turned me
off to him was his so-called interview with Christopher Isherwood. Cavett:
"I love the way you English say ho-mo-sex-yu-al." One of the most painful
and disgraceful things I ever seen on TV.
--
Frank in Seattle
____
Frank Richard Aloysius Jude Maloney
"Millennium hand and shrimp."
Frank R.A.J. Maloney
[deletion]
> The absolute worse Cavett that I ever saw and the one that utterly
> turned me off to him was his so-called interview with Christopher
> Isherwood. Cavett: "I love the way you English say ho-mo-sex-yu-al."
> One of the most painful and disgraceful things I ever seen on TV.
Oops. Pardon the editing error; of course, I meant to type "seed", not
"seen".
Joe Gillis
> will start showing Dck Cavett show soon, Cavett is about two steps below
> Letterman
Cavett was great (Letterman himself was great in the 80s, but that's
neither here nor there). Cavett was quick witted and most of all, an
intelligent fan. He conducted interviews with many great figures of
film history (often used in documentaries) and was a great straight man
for Mel Brooks and Woody Allen (I recently saw his all-Allen show from
'71, as well as a Brooks appearance from '70 -- they were both
hilarious). I doubt if TCM will air the legendary Noel Coward interview
Cavett did, but one can hope
The ABC show was a bit before my time, but I remember Cavett's great
PBS show from '77-81, which had interviews with S.J. Perelman, Marc
Connelly, Walter Kerr (discussing The Silent Clowns), Jed Harris (!!),
King Vidor, Eva LeGalliene, Lillian Gish and even Dore Schary. Let''s
hope these shows will be made avalable soon.
Christopher P. Winter
Those would all be worth watching. And I'd like to see the episode with
Salvador Dali. According to Cavett, Dali began spouting in his typical way
until Cavett, exasperated, waved his hands in the artist's face and said
"Boojee, boojee, boojee!" Apparently it's a line from a Groucho Marx movie.
David Oberman
>Cavett was great (Letterman himself was great in the 80s, but that's
>neither here nor there). Cavett was quick witted and most of all, an
>intelligent fan. He conducted interviews with many great figures of
>film history (often used in documentaries)
>The ABC show was a bit before my time, but I remember Cavett's great
>PBS show from '77-81, which had interviews with S.J. Perelman, Marc
>Connelly, Walter Kerr (discussing The Silent Clowns), Jed Harris (!!),
>King Vidor, Eva LeGalliene, Lillian Gish and even Dore Schary. Let''s
>hope these shows will be made avalable soon.
That's really the crux right there. Who cares terribly about seeing
(or not seeing) Cavett? We want to see the Cavett tapes in order to
see the guests.
____
"Have you given it any more thought?"
-- Trilling, in a letter to Auden, dated 18 July 1947
Garondo...@yahoo.com
S D wrote:
> will start showing Dck Cavett show soon, Cavett is about two steps below
> Letterman
You're a fool.
..
Garondo Marondo!
Garondo...@yahoo.com
I highly recomend the Dick Cavett collections now available on Netflix,
unlike with most old talk shows you get the entire episode, not just
little clips.
..
Garondo Marondo!
Garondo...@yahoo.com
Gilbert Gottfried does the greatest late in life Groucho Marx
impersonation known to man. Don't know if its still in his act.
..
Garondo Marondo!
mack
"Greg Bryant" <gabr...@fuse.net> wrote in message
news:C11602CF.D858%gabr...@fuse.net...
Agreed! for my money, Cavett was head and shoulders above the so-called
late night "interviewers" of today who rhapsodize about their guest's latest
movie and nothing else. And as someone else opined, Letterman was good in
the 80s...quick and clever. Now the cleverest thing he does is throw his
pencil at the camera. Boring as watching paint dry. I occasionally watch
his show for a while just to see if there's any improvement, and it never
raises a smile for me. He's old and tired and it shows.
Greg Bryant
>
> That's really the crux right there. Who cares terribly about seeing
> (or not seeing) Cavett? We want to see the Cavett tapes in order to
> see the guests.
That is definitely the appeal of these tapes.
S D
the interview, but on the style of the "host" . Cavett was a bore. My
recollection of what took place on these shows was dull anecdotes,
pathetic attempts at humor and wit and forced laughter ; in other words
, crap. Osborne knows what to ask, no, he does not hard ball his guests,
but he gets a lot out of them.
Greg Bryant
It's not like we have a lot of choices of other interviewers who spent an
entire hour with Hepburn, Hitchcock, Groucho, etc. to choose from.
The interviews are what they are. I think it's more important that
performers of this stature chose to spend an hour with someone and talk
about their life, from their perspective late in their life.
Wonder what you thought about the interview that Volker Schlondorff
conducted with Billy wilder that ran earlier this summer on TCM? How did
that compare to the Cavett interviews, in your opinion?
S D
David Oberman
>It's not like we have a lot of choices of other interviewers who spent an
>entire hour with Hepburn, Hitchcock, Groucho, etc. to choose from.
I think they should compile all the old Melvyn Bragg profiles of
actors & directors for DVD release.
Greg Bryant
> Did not see the Wider interview, don`t like his work.
>
Too bad. You missed the kind of interview that you are looking for, with one
of the true masters of the 20th century.
Greg Bryant
> Greg Bryant <gabr...@fuse.net> wrote:
>
>> It's not like we have a lot of choices of other interviewers who spent an
>> entire hour with Hepburn, Hitchcock, Groucho, etc. to choose from.
>
> I think they should compile all the old Melvyn Bragg profiles of
> actors & directors for DVD release.
Not familiar with Melvyn Bragg. Looked him up on IMDB, but his name still
doesn't ring a bell. I'm assuming mostly familiar to British audiences?
Tony Whitaker
news:12f2lfc...@corp.supernews.com...
>>> will start showing Dck Cavett show soon, Cavett is about two steps below
>>> Letterman
> late night "interviewers" of today who rhapsodize about their guest's
> latest movie and nothing else. And as someone else opined, Letterman was
> good in the 80s...quick and clever.
Funny - I never saw Dick Cavett's show, and I am only vaguely familiar with
him because of his several appearances with David Letterman in the 80s (and
I think I saw him several times with Johnny Carson, too - was he a guest
host for the Tonight Show for a period of time?). Anyway, wherever I saw
him, I remember him as being absolutely hilarious. And now, in the year
2006, I learn that he once had his own show in which he interviewed famous
celebrities including Alfred Hitchcock - for a whole 1 hour show!!!!! Holy
cow!!!!! I don't think TCM's decision is the mark of a decline. It sounds
like a great decision to me. I wanna see these shows
Joe Gillis
S D wrote:
> Did not see the Wider interview, don`t like his work.
You're certainly batting a thousand.
Jim Beaver
"S D" <for...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:2397-44F...@storefull-3331.bay.webtv.net...
Osborne's okay, but a bit obsequious and often ill-informed. Cavett was no
film-history expert, but he was, with Paar, the closest thing to an
intellectual popular talk-show host I can recall, and his was an
astonishingly quick, very dry wit which I found amazingly entertaining. I
have missed his show and his interviews dreadfully for lo these many years,
and still quote moments from them to friends unlucky enough to have missed
seeing them.
But then, what do I know? I like Billy Wilder.
Jim Beaver
David Oberman
>Not familiar with Melvyn Bragg. Looked him up on IMDB, but his name still
>doesn't ring a bell. I'm assuming mostly familiar to British audiences?
Yes, British.
http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth237
I recommend his two-part "Laurence Olivier: A Life" on VHS:
http://imdb.com/title/tt0216874/
George Peatty
wrote:
>Cavett was no film-history expert, but he was, with Paar, the closest thing to an
>intellectual popular talk-show host I can recall, and his was an
>astonishingly quick, very dry wit which I found amazingly entertaining. I
>have missed his show and his interviews dreadfully for lo these many years,
>and still quote moments from them to friends unlucky enough to have missed
>seeing them.
Cavett could be intellectually dishonest. Talking with then Attorney
General John Mitchell, who made the comment that medical evidence proving
marijuana's harmful effects would soon be published, Cavett replied, "Well,
if the results are known in advance, it can't really be called a study, can
it?" A quote which I find belies your claims that Cavett was a)
intellectual b) witty .. Like Charlie Rose today, he too often liked to hear
himself talk.
Matt Barry
"Jim Beaver" <jumb...@prodigy.spam> wrote in message
news:mQlIg.11364$%j7....@newssvr29.news.prodigy.net...
>
> "S D" <for...@webtv.net> wrote in message
> news:2397-44F...@storefull-3331.bay.webtv.net...
>> Apparently I need to clarify : my assessment is not only on the value of
>> the interview, but on the style of the "host" . Cavett was a bore. My
>> recollection of what took place on these shows was dull anecdotes,
>> pathetic attempts at humor and wit and forced laughter ; in other words
>> , crap. Osborne knows what to ask, no, he does not hard ball his guests,
>> but he gets a lot out of them.
>
> Osborne's okay, but a bit obsequious and often ill-informed.
This is interesting. A lot of people over the years have mentioned Osborne's
lack of knowledge of film history (some have even dismissed him outright for
some of the errors he has made), despite the TCM ads that herald him as an
expert. I suppose I don't watch enough of his interviews to catch any of
these mistakes, but what are some of the more glaring and unforgivable
errors he has made over the years in regards to facts? I recall one time he
referred to Charlotte Henry as a British actress in his intro to the 1933
ALICE IN WONDERLAND, but other than that, I've seen very few examples.
Although now that I think of it, I believe he referred to DeMille's THE
SQUAW MAN as the first feature film made in Hollywood in the intro to that
film, which is highly debatable. I haven't seen any of his "Private
Screenings" interviews yet.
--
Matt Barry
Visit my pages at:
http://mbarry84.tripod.com
http://filmreel.blogspot.com
Greg Bryant
I was watching his night with Mia Farrow last week when she screened
Bunuel's Exterminating Angel. Osborne seemed a little lost with that one.
While Mia seemed to have a clear passion and understanding for the movie,
all Osborne could ask her about was what was it like to meet Salvador Dali?
Not exactly trenchant discussion.
His intro's and outro's to movies seem to favor the kind of trivia best
found on IMDB, not incisive commentary. But I give him a pass on that
because I assume that he's speaking to the average movie viewer, not me, the
longtime film student who knows what all the symbolism in Citizen Kane
means.
S D
..offline
Richard Schultz
: . . .And now, in the year 2006, I learn that he [Dick Cavett] once had his
: own show in which he interviewed famous celebrities. . .
Please tell me that you are kidding.
-----
Richard Schultz sch...@mail.biu.ac.il
Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
Opinions expressed are mine alone, and not those of Bar-Ilan University
-----
"an optimist is a guy/ that has never had/ much experience"
Richard Schultz
:
: Osborne's okay, but a bit obsequious and often ill-informed. Cavett was no
: film-history expert, but he was, with Paar, the closest thing to an
: intellectual popular talk-show host I can recall, and his was an
: astonishingly quick, very dry wit which I found amazingly entertaining.
Extra bonus points to whoever remembers the signature tune from the
old _Dick Cavett Show_.
-----
Richard Schultz sch...@mail.biu.ac.il
Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
Opinions expressed are mine alone, and not those of Bar-Ilan University
-----
"A condemned man does not request egg salad for his last meal. He also
doesn't order Alka-Seltzer."
Kehlog Ahlbran, _The Profit_
Joe Gillis
> old _Dick Cavett Show_.
>
The overture from Candide (always on the PBS show, used occasionally on
ABC) by Leonard Bern-STINE.
What do I win?
Joe Gillis
> me, the
> longtime film student who knows what all the symbolism in Citizen Kane
> means.
What does it mean?
Joe Gillis
> A lot of people over the years have mentioned Osborne's
> lack of knowledge of film history (some have even dismissed him outright for
> some of the errors he has made), despite the TCM ads that herald him as an
> expert. I suppose I don't watch enough of his interviews to catch any of
> these mistakes, but what are some of the more glaring and unforgivable
> errors he has made over the years in regards to facts?
A few years ago, after TCM showed Regeneration (1915), Robert
Osborne came on & began talking about Raoul Walsh's long career. He
then
said this:
"Walsh worked with all the greats: Cagney, Bogart, Flynn, Cooper, John
Wayne, Troy Donahue..."
I SWEAR he actually said this!
I admit, it WAS shortly after Troy died, but I mean, c'mon now...
Richard Schultz
:> Extra bonus points to whoever remembers the signature tune from the
:> old _Dick Cavett Show_.
As I said, extra bonus points.
-----
Richard Schultz sch...@mail.biu.ac.il
Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
Opinions expressed are mine alone, and not those of Bar-Ilan University
-----
"Logic is a wreath of pretty flowers which smell bad."
Tony Whitaker
news:ects04$c3v$5...@news.iucc.ac.il...
> Please tell me that you are kidding.
Why? I was in elementary school in the 70s.
Richard Schultz
: "Richard Schultz" <sch...@mail.biu.ack.il> wrote in message
: news:ects04$c3v$5...@news.iucc.ac.il...
:> Please tell me that you are kidding.
:
: Why? I was in elementary school in the 70s.
So was I, and not only do I know about Dick Cavett (and Mike Douglas and
Merv Griffin), I even know who Ernie Kovacs was.
-----
Richard Schultz sch...@mail.biu.ac.il
Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
Opinions expressed are mine alone, and not those of Bar-Ilan University
-----
"How many boards would the Mongols hoard if the Mongol hordes got bored?"
Greg Bryant
It's all about not being allowed to play with your sled.
Frank R.A.J. Maloney
> In article <1156745022.8...@p79g2000cwp.googlegroups.com>,
> Joe Gillis <Floating...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>> Extra bonus points to whoever remembers the signature tune from the
>>> old _Dick Cavett Show_.
>
>> The overture from Candide (always on the PBS show, used occasionally
>> on ABC) by Leonard Bern-STINE.
>>
>> What do I win?
>
> As I said, extra bonus points.
The name of said piece is "Glitter and be Gay." Not that there's anything
wrong with that.
--
Frank in Seattle
____
Frank Richard Aloysius Jude Maloney
"Millennium hand and shrimp."