Tell it to the Judge (1949)

Rosalind Russell and Robert Cummings seem like an unlikely pair of actors to play a married couple but they were a delightfully entertaining twosome in Paramount's 1949 comedy Tell it to the Judge. 

Roz was top-billed as a would-be Federal Court judge who is being wooed by ex-husband Robert Cummings who wants her back. He remarries her only to lose her once again when Marie McDonald, a curvaceous client of his, reappears in the scene. Gig Young adds to the merriment as a debonair playboy whom Russell snags to spite her husband. 

Tell it to the Judge is chock full of witty barbs that Rosalind Russell and Bob Cummings enjoy throwing at each other and there are plenty of visual gags, too. It is one of Paramount's better comedies of the late 1940s and it brought back the bubbly vibes of the 1930s screwball comedy genre. In fact, had this film been released ten years earlier it could have been an excellent MGM comedy starring William Powell and Myrna Loy. ("Let's Fall in Love" would have been a perfect title to this imaginary production).

The film bounces along at a spritely pace with director Norman Foster making sure there was never a dull moment. The setting jumps from Washington D.C. to Palm Beach to the snowy Adirondacks and the art direction - by Carl Anderson - is wonderful. However, it is the cast that makes the picture. Rosalind Russell and Robert Cummings were in top form. Cummings is especially hilarious when he acts drowsy after taking four sleeping tablets! The rest of the cast is made up of seasoned pros such as Harry Davenport, Douglas Dumbrille, Marie McDonald, Fay Baker, Louise Beavers and Clem Bevans.

Tell it to the Judge is available on DVD and can also be seen frequently on the Cinevault Channel on Roku. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

                                     

Happy Thanksgiving dear readers! 

Shirley Temple is as surprised as we are by how quickly turkey-day has come around. We are grateful for a lot of things this year, including a wonderful Thanksgiving Day dinner, family and friends, great classic films to enjoy, and we are especially grateful for you, our loyal readers. We wish you all a blessed holiday season!

British Pathé: Map Making (1961)

In Great Britain, they have a national mapping agency known as The Ordnance Survey (OS) which provides highly-detailed geographic maps for individuals as well as for military purposes. In the early 1960s, the Ordnance Survey undertook to re-map Great Britain and it was a massive project. 

This 1961 British Pathe newsreel shows just how large a project it was and how many people were involved in the creation of these new maps... literally thousands of skilled artists and technicians! Mapping the land is difficult enough but it is even more impressive to watch the maps being made, from the super tiny ink work that needed to be done to the huge printing plates that had to be created. 

These road maps were then purchased by drivers and hikers who probably had no idea how many people were behind the making of the map that they held in their hands. 

Ready to watch Map Making? Simply click on the link below: 

Map Making (1961) - 3:36 sec

Similar British Pathé newsreels:

Map Making (1942) - 1:50 sec 

Plastic Maps (1947) - 1:23 sec

Map Survey (1965) - 2:20 sec

Ordnance Survey Mapmakers (1965) - 1:00 sec

Film Albums: The Trouble with Angels (1966)

In 1966, Jerry Goldsmith was relatively new to soundtrack scoring for comedy films (he was making a name for himself writing music for western films and television series), but nevertheless he created a marvelous score for the dramatic comedy The Trouble with Angels starring Hayley Mills and Rosalind Russell. He mixes a light-hearted upbeat tempo (reflecting the rebellious teens) with a solemn church-like theme to create an entirely new sound. It's a happy score with hints of religious themes and it was perfectly suited to the picture. 

The complete album is available on Youtube. Just click on the link below to enjoy: 

The Trouble with Angels Original Soundtrack

Track Listing

Main Title

Welcome to St. Francis

Warning #1

Dirty Dishes

Changing Seasons

Snow Birds

Silent Sunday

True Feelings

A Pot of Tea

Angels We Have Heard on High

The Sewing Circle

Future Plans

Sad Sunday

Graduation

Rachel Says Goodbye

End Title

Top Picks: Main Title, Welcome to St. Francis, Snow Birds, Rachel Says Goodbye

The Impossibly Difficult Name that Movie Game

Here's an important-looking man doing important-looking work... at least, some may think so. It depends on how much money you have riding in the 7th.

As always, if you are not familiar with the rules to the Impossibly Difficult Name that Movie game or the prize, click here!

You Never Can Tell (1951)

There's something about the comedies of the early 1950s that I find so likeable. Even when they have silly and incredulous plots, they are entertaining. You Never Can Tell is one of those films with an amusing yet decidedly implausible plot. In fact, it was publicized as "A Picture for People Who Think They've Seen Everything!" 

You may have heard of a man turning into a dog, but this film is about a dog turning into a man. Dick Powell stars as the reincarnated dog who continues to munch on kibbles and scratch behind his ear while in human form.

Powell plays Rex Shepard, a man who was known as "King" during his life on earth as a German Shepherd. King inherited millions from his eccentric owner and then was poisoned in order to clear the way for Ms. Ellen Hathaway (Peggy Dow) to be the next in line to inherit. 

When King goes to the Beastatory - the afterlife of animals - he requests to return to Earth to avenge his murder and clear his mistress Ellen of suspicion. Hence, private detective Rex Shepard suddenly appears along with his private secretary Goldie (Joyce Holden), who was formerly "Golden Harvest," a prize-winning racehorse. While the two-legged Palamino spends some time visiting her filly friends, Rex sets off to investigate his own murder and, in the process, falls in love with Ellen. 

You Never Can Tell sounds ridiculous and yet it is really an amiable bit of whimsy that's doggone addictive. The script - by David Chandler - is brimming over with canine quips and the casting is spot-on. Charles Drake plays a seemingly great guy and is re-united with his Harvey co-star Peggy Dow, while Albert Sharpe (of Darby O'Gill and the Little People) has an amusing role as Ellen's sea captain uncle. Also in the cast is Frank Nelson as a police chief. 

From the Archives: About Face (1952)

                     

This is a lovely behind-the-scenes photo of Gordon MacRae, Phyllis Kirk, and Dick Wesson on the set of About Face (1952), a Technicolor remake of the classic Brother Rat.

From the Archives is our latest series of posts where we share photos from the Silverbanks Pictures collection. Some of these may have been sold in the past, and others may still be available for purchase at our eBay store: http://stores.ebay.com/Silverbanks-Pictures