This is something that I have been complaining about for ages. When I first got Sky in 1993 we had the marvellous TNT Channel, and they showed all the wonderful MGM and Warner Classics from the 1930's and '40's.
Suddenly it changed to the inferior TCM that we have now, and I have no idea why.

Thankfully, when TCM in the U.S. had a Stanwyck season last Christmas showing 55 of her films, one of the members from my group sent me several copies of the films that I wanted, including the Robert Osborne introductions. Although I have all 87 of her films these were digitally remastered, and some of these films that were more than 80 years old were just like brand new prints.

I really wish I knew who to contact to ask why our TCM is so pathetic.

I have just contacted TCM on twitter to ask about this and am waiting on a reply.

I will be very interested to hear what they have to say, their excuse will probably be something to do with copyright, and that it is different in the U.S. than in the UK.

I haven't had a reply yet but you are probably correct about copyright.

http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2004755

Take a look at this thread Walter about Zsa Zsa Gabor and her health-Especially recent posts which have links to articles containing concerns by her only daughter.Desperately sad

I know end of life care isnt cut and dry and can be morally ambigous and more importantly we DONT know all the facts.
But if its true shes being kept alive only as a commodity as the motive no matter how ill she is that weighs heavy on my heart when I ponder it

Thanks for your reply to my previous post.Yes I have seen All About Eve but I havent seen many of the others mentioned as camp so I didnt feel I could compare contrast and name All About Eve as the campest without having seen the others.Contains some great oneliners!

Would you say Bette Davis was the campest film star of all time?/from the golden era?

Yes, I have seen the Zsa, Zsa thread, and it is terribly sad. I am just 20 years younger, and I know that I would rather be put out of my misery than just be kept alive in that condition. For me it is all about quality of life, and when I can't function as I do now then I just hope that I am put down.

Bette's gay fans may feel that she is the campest of them all, but for me it is Roz Russell who is the Queen of camp, and if you see Auntie Mame you will know what I mean.

I've just been reading about a bit of a kerfuffle with regards to Joan Fontaine's Oscar being sold. I personally think the Academy are being a bit spiteful.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...t-lawsuit.html

Yes, it does seems spiteful, especially as the proceeds were going to charity.

The Acadamy don't seem to object if the Oscar is donated to a museum or University.

Barbara Stanwyck's Honorary Oscar and AFI Life Achievement Award Star are with the University of Wyoming's American Heritage Centre. One of my Group members was allowed to examine them both, although he had to wear special gloves.

Barbara also donated over 80 film and TV scripts.

I absolutely do! That's an amazing collection of photos you have. I've never seen her so young as in some of those pictures - what a stunning woman she was (inside and out by all accounts!)

I had no idea of the connection between The Lady Eve and All About Eve. The book sounds really interesting - I wish I owned more books about the golden age. Are there any you own which you'd recommend?

Speaking of Oscars, I think the story of Alice Brady's Oscar is quite a fascinating one. When she won for 'In Old Chicago', she was absent from the ceremony. Somebody got up and took it in her place, and it was never seen again!

I will have to make watching Auntie Mame a priority-Is it fairly easy to obtain?

Yes I suspect that Zsa Zsa Gabors daughter took those pictures as supporting evidence in a furthur legal attempt to gain legal guardianship of her mother as it seems increasingly doubtful that her husband has her true best interests at heart.

Was Zsa Zsa somebody Barbara Stanwyck was friendly with or had cause to socialise with?They seem like chalk and cheese.

On a scale of 1-10 How camp would you say Barbara was?

I enjoyed watching Double Indemnity last night. Barbara was very beautiful in her prime. I also now know where you got your username from Walter.

If you go to Amazon.co.uk. go to the DVD section and just type out Auntie Mame.
There are several copies, but if you look at the third in the top row there is a used copy for just £7.69. I often buy used copies because they are usually like new.

No, I should not imagine that Barbara would have had anything in common with Zsa, Zsa. She didn't make friends easily, in the 1930's it was her agent, Zeppo Marx and his wife, and Jack Benny, and his wife Mary Livingstone. In the 1940's Bill Holden and Gary Cooper. Her oldest friend was Nancy Sinatra snr who got dumped by Frank in 1950, the same year that Bob Taylor decided that he didn't want to be married to Barbara anymore. They were good friend until Barbara died 40 years later.

I'll let you judge just how camp Barbara was, take a look on You Tube and watch her singing "Take it off the E String, Play it on the G" in "Lady of Burlesque". Even her characters stage name was camp in the film, Dixie Daisy!

Something very different is the opening of "Forty Guns" a Samuel Fuller Western which has developed Cult status. The first three minutes are quite breathtaking as Barbara dressed in black and riding a white stallion, gallops over a hill top leading 40 riders. Some have described this scene as ultra camp, see what you think.

Well spotted, I did think of calling myself Phyllis Dietrichson after Barbara's character, but I thought that it might cause confusion.

I have hundreds of film books, and I especially love biography's, many of them are now out of print, but you may find them in your local library or charity shops.

My all time favourite biography is "Once a Wicked Lady" - the life of Margaret Lockwood by Hilton Tims. I judge a book by how many times I want to re read it, and I have probably read this excellent biography more than any other book in my collection. Another good read is "Bette and Joan - The Divine Feud" by Shaun Considine, the hilarious story of Davis and Crawford. "Marlene Dietrich" by her daughter Maria Riva is a brilliant biography, and really brings the fascinating Marlene to life. Incidentally, Maria is 90 years old today, the same age as her mother when she died.

Probably the most visually beautiful book in my collection is "Lana Turner - The Memories, the Myths, The Movies" by her daughter, Cheryl Crane. This coffee table size book is a must for any fan of Lana Turner, it is worth it for the beautiful photo's alone. But it is a lot more than that, a really does tell you everything about Lana, her life and her films. A really wonderful tribute from a daughter to her mother.

Thank you very much Walter!

In addition to amazon would you recommend using ebay for any particularly hard to get classic movies or old movie merchandise?Is that something youve done?

Are you aware of any good classic movies that are due to be shown on tv this christmas?

No, I have never used Ebay, it all looks too confusing, although I do copy many of the photo's that are in my Group from those that are up for sale, I have never bought or sold anything.

Hundreds of films on TV at Christmas, and most of them have been shown every year for as long as I can remember. I would like a pound for every time Casablanca has been shown, it seems to be on every week, also The Great Escape, The Wizard of Oz, Zulu, and Ben Hur. Plenty of musicals, but I am sure that you have seen Singin' in the Rain, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, The Glenn Miller Story, and On the Town. There are also a load of Carry On's, which of course have all be shown before.

About the only programme that interests me is "Darcey Bussell's Looking for Audrey Hepburn" - Strictly Come Dancing judge Darcey explores Audrey's private world, and talks to her last husband and two sons. This programme is on BBC 2 Monday 29th December.

That sounds like an interesting programme which I will definitely watch. Thanks for the info Walter.

My pleasure, and if I come across anything else that looks promising in the very bulky Christmas edition of The Radio Times, I'll let you know.

Thanks Walter!Audrey Hepburn fascinates me in some ways because shes always seemed shrouded in mystique,a sort of enigma up to a point?Was Audrey a very private person and has there been a really good biography written of her?

How familiar are you with musical star Kathryn Grayson?

There are more than 20 books on Audrey, and although I love her I don't have any of them. That is probably because I should imagine that she was very much like her screen persona. a beautiful lady, with an equally beautiful soul. Just take a look on Amazon and you will see that you are spoilt for choice when looking for books on Audrey.

Kathryn Grayson starred in Kiss Me Kate, my all time favourite musical, and a couple of films with Mario Lanza. She was OK, if a bit shrill, and I would never call her a favourite.

I heard that Paramount's Patricia Morison was fabulous in the stage version of Kiss Me Kate, but Grayson was under contract to MGM, so she got the plum role when it was filmed in 1953. I was fortunate enough to see the original 3D version at the Empire, Leicester Square, and I will never forget the thrill of seeing it for the first time.

I remember her co starring with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra in Anchors Aweigh.

Yes, and she was also in The Kissing Bandit and It Happened in Brooklyn with Sinatra. Other films include, Ziegfield Follies, Till the Clouds Roll By. Showboat, Lovely to Look At, The Desert Song, The Grace Moore Story, and The Vagabond King.

Whats your favourite Audrey Hepburn film?Mines probably Charade as I loves her pairing with Cary Grant although Ive a feeling I should say Breakfast at Tiffanys except I havent seen it!
Did Kathryn Grayson perform live musical theatre post the peak of her film career?

On another subject which stars were at the centre of the Hollywood party scene in this era?Who was known to have thrown the best parties,the wildest parties,who was the best host and held court in this sense?I can only imagine that Hollywood was home to some dreamlike parties during this period!

Charade is definitely my favourite too, and I have the Special Edition DVD, I also have Wait Until Dark which is another favourite.

In the late 1930's Basil Rathbone and his wife Ouida were renowned for the lavish parties that they threw. On January 1st 1940 they became the first in Hollywood to raise funds for British War Relief by holding a tickets only party at their Bel Air home. Joan Crawford arrived with five male escorts, all of whom were gay.

Skating star Sonja Henie was another who threw a lavish parties every year, often in fancy dress.

Many of the big stars didn't have the time or energy to hold or attend parties in the Golden Age of Hollywood, they were too busy going from film to film and getting up at 5am for sometimes a twelve hour day.

Oh for some reason I was expecting you to say people like Robert Mitchum,Frank Sinatra,Mae West or Joan Collins held big lavish parties that were notorious in Hollywood for their wildness,naughtiness or full on extragance!

Was Sinatras ratpack get togethers the extent of his party calander?I know they were quite select but for some reason I imagine him trying to being a King with his own court holding big calander marking parties in Hollywood beyond the ratpack set up.
Similarly with Elizabeth Taylor who Ive read held oscar parties at home that were quite a classy affair on occasion?Perhaps they were quiet select too as I think Oscar night now has evolved into stuff like the Vanity Fair/Elton John parties being the most sought after events to attend.