Welcome back to the Profiles & Premiums Newsletter!
The issue's a little skimpy this month, though we do have a new profile from Tammy Stone and in lieu of a new Photo ID Guide (I think there were 5 new ones last issue!) I've instead taken time to list about 60 trading cards for immediate sale on old-magazines-for-sale.com. Also, if you do go shopping, there's a coupon included at the bottom of this issue, enjoy!
I spent tonight on the couch watching the updated AFI countdown of the 100 Greatest Movies of All-Time. I'm betting there's a good chance you caught that program too.
On the whole, I was pretty happy with the list, with a few exceptions (including one huge obvious one!). I got a little worried when The Godfather: Part II checked in somewhere in the mid-20's on the list, saying to myself, well, these next 20-plus movies better be pretty darned good--in the end, I thought they were for the most part.
No surprises on the top three picks (Citizen Kane, Godfather, Casablanca) as I remember that they were up there last time. I expected The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind to round out the top five, which they didn't, but they were close (Instead it was Raging Bull and then Singin' in the Rain).
I missed a couple of personal favorites which, unless I blinked, didn't make the top 100. I'm sure everyone that watched had a couple of these and are equally insulted, but I guess that's the way these things break down. For me I was wondering where Laura was (and crossing my fingers for The Razor's Edge, but I had an idea that wouldn't make it), and actually shocked that they left out The Third Man (Afterwards a friend I spoke with happened to have a copy of the old list and mentioned that it had ranked #57 during the original presentation ten years ago).
When they hit that The Godfather: Part 2 point I said to myself, "Wow, The Third Man is finally going to get some real respect." I repeated this notion once the countdown reached number 15 of so. Once we broke the top 10 it hit me -- they left it off. They left it off? How?
Seriously, I would have really expected that film to have gained some stature over the past ten years, so I was really surprised.
Then the obvious one, and as I write this AFI hasn't yet posted the list for review (so if I missed it I'm sure someone will let me know), but how in the world could they have left off The Birth of a Nation?
Right before one of the commercial breaks they mentioned that the countdown would highlight both the newest and oldest films on the list during the next segment. Then we all got hit with a huge cop-out -- Intolerance.
Okay, it's great, okay, it's probably better, but how is it possible to compose a list of the 100 greatest films of all time and leave off The Birth of a Nation, especially if you are including any other films from that period? (And also when it was previously ranked #44 in the original list from 1998. Have times changed that much?)
By the way, I was just now able to download the list, Intolerance, #49, is new to the list. So it completely flip-flopped with The Birth of a Nation. That's just silly.
Okay, the issue's late and the night is getting pretty late, so let's get on to the main attraction:
1955 Kane Film Stars
Well, it came down to delaying the issue another couple of days to complete the Photo ID Guide for this issue, or just going with it -- I went with it. But, you can see all of the 1955 Kane Film Stars Cards that I have by shopping for them in my off-eBay Store.
And if you do decide to shop some please be sure to use the exclusive coupon found at the bottom of this issue of the newsletter.
Richard Barthelmess
in The Silent Collection
by Tammy Stone
Richard Barthelmess has suffered the same fate as many of his contemporaries from the Golden Era of silent filmmaking: he had a string of successes and at the time was one of the first slate of rising stars. However, time has not been as kind to him as it has to people like Lillian Gish, Mary Pickford and many more of the names we remember well today. This is why it's important that we revive as many of these personalities and their stories as possible. When the early silent films were made, the star system was being born, and when we consider the enormity of the output of these silent films, we would be remiss not to acknowledge that for every film, there was a star. Richard was one, a self-made man who achieved the kind of cinematic glory that could well be envied today among the myriads of youth clamoring to be famous in the age of reality TV.
Read Tammy's entire Richard Barthelmess piece here ...
Tammy Stone is a freelance writer and journalist based in Toronto. Watch for her regular column on the greats of the Silent Screen in each issue of The Movie Profiles & Premiums Newsletter. Tammy invites you to write her at tammystone444@yahoo.ca with any questions or comments on her column.
That's all for now, I really hope you enjoy Tammy's entire piece on Richard Barthelmess over on the main site. That coupon I mentioned follows my sign-off below, I hope to see some put to use.
Talk to you around the middle of July ...
Clifford Aliperti
things-and-other-stuff.com
