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Forgotten Films to Remember
Looks at a variety of motion pictures produced since 1928 that have been forgotten, destroyed, or lost to posterity but are, in the author's opinion, worthy of note
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1980
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 8, 2013
Surprised that there are no reviews of this book. It is
simply a must have book for people interested in old movies -
and not just big budget ones.
The marvellous thing is that nowadays a lot of the movies
in this book are readily available and are being rediscovered.
When this book was written in 1980 John Springer was urging
people to revisit films like "Scarlet Street", "Blithe Spirit",
"D.O.A" and "Out of the Past" - now they are classics. Films
that I initially read about in this book and finally had a
chance to see after many years - "Letter of Introduction" with
Adolphe Menjou and Andrea Leeds, about a stage struck girl
arriving on Broadway with a letter of introduction to a fading
matinee idol who just happens to be her father. "Lost Boundaries"
with Mel Ferrer and Beatrice Pearson, based on a true story about
a black family who live for 20 years in a small New England town
passing as white and "Anne of Green Gables" which I found every
bit as glowing as the praise Springer gave it in 1980.
The book starts with the year 1929 and goes through to 1959. There
is a small section devoted to films worth noting of the 60s and
70s. Each year has a chapter with lots of beautiful pictures, then
a small paragraph devoted to each film that Springer feels deserves
to be remembered. From the noirish "Angel Face" - "a strange
melodrama" to little picture "When I Grow Up" starring Bobby
Driscoll and Robert Preston, "a film almost thrown away by it's
distributor". Springer's comments are always very readable and
sometimes quite witty - "Sylvia Sidney, looking glamorous and
without a problem in the world except whether to marry a young man
or an old one" - "Accent on Youth". He also has plenty of films
starring his favourites Nancy Carroll, Sylvia Sidney and Myrna
Loy but who's complaining!!! There are literally hundreds of films
written about.
simply a must have book for people interested in old movies -
and not just big budget ones.
The marvellous thing is that nowadays a lot of the movies
in this book are readily available and are being rediscovered.
When this book was written in 1980 John Springer was urging
people to revisit films like "Scarlet Street", "Blithe Spirit",
"D.O.A" and "Out of the Past" - now they are classics. Films
that I initially read about in this book and finally had a
chance to see after many years - "Letter of Introduction" with
Adolphe Menjou and Andrea Leeds, about a stage struck girl
arriving on Broadway with a letter of introduction to a fading
matinee idol who just happens to be her father. "Lost Boundaries"
with Mel Ferrer and Beatrice Pearson, based on a true story about
a black family who live for 20 years in a small New England town
passing as white and "Anne of Green Gables" which I found every
bit as glowing as the praise Springer gave it in 1980.
The book starts with the year 1929 and goes through to 1959. There
is a small section devoted to films worth noting of the 60s and
70s. Each year has a chapter with lots of beautiful pictures, then
a small paragraph devoted to each film that Springer feels deserves
to be remembered. From the noirish "Angel Face" - "a strange
melodrama" to little picture "When I Grow Up" starring Bobby
Driscoll and Robert Preston, "a film almost thrown away by it's
distributor". Springer's comments are always very readable and
sometimes quite witty - "Sylvia Sidney, looking glamorous and
without a problem in the world except whether to marry a young man
or an old one" - "Accent on Youth". He also has plenty of films
starring his favourites Nancy Carroll, Sylvia Sidney and Myrna
Loy but who's complaining!!! There are literally hundreds of films
written about.
December 24, 2018
This is a good idea for a book, but the finished product could easily have been better. Most importantly, with "And a Brief History of Fifty Years of the American Talking Picture" as part of the title, it is just barely honest to cover thirty years in the first 252 pages and then do an outrageously sketchy summing up of the years 1960-1979 in the last four pages.
However, the information about the years 1928-1959 is consistently interesting. For each year, there is a brief summary of the major films of that year, and then single paragraphs devoted to films that the author believes are largely forgotten. There follow single sentences about "Other Forgotten Films Worth Noting." There are also many stills from pictures discussed.
A lot of this material was new to me and many of the films sound like they would be worth seeking out.
There are many typos and misspellings. I am going to mention only two, and those only because I think that they might confuse readers. The name of the actress from the film The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry shown in the still on the top of page 136 is Moyna Macgill, not Magill (as given on page 134) or McGill (as given on page 136). And the Montgomery Clift film mentioned on page 180 is The Big Lift, not The Big Life.
Some other errors that I noticed are:
Page 67 - The caption of the still from Beloved Enemy omits the name of the actress in that photo, Merle Oberon.
Page 81 - In the discussion of the film They Won't Forget, it states that the film is "based on the true-life Robert Franks case." This is actually the Leo Frank case. Robert "Bobby" Franks was the child murdered by Leopold and Loeb.
Page 118 - There is a film discussed without the name of the film being given. The material says just, "Henry Fonda practically repeated his Lady Eve characterization in a ripoff of that picture only mildly helped by Rouben Mamoulian's directorial skill and that of such actors as Fonda, Laird Cregar, Spring Byington, as well as the face of Gene Tierney." The film is Rings on Her Fingers.
Page 198 - The actor identified in the still from The Importance of Being Earnest as Aubrey Mather is actually Miles Malleson.
There is no point mentioning opinions expressed by Springer with which I disagree. I will mention one opinion he gives which would certainly seem controversial but with which I am (almost) in agreement. He refers to The Grapes of Wrath as the "Great American Motion Picture" - definitely a strong contender for that title, I believe.
I will also agree with Springer's repeated admiration for actors Nancy Carroll, Beulah Bondi, and Brian Aherne.
In addition to the silly twenty-years-in-four-pages summary with which the book concludes, there are two other serious problems. The captions on the stills often fail to make clear which actor in the picture goes with which name in the caption.
The other issue is simple:
THIS BOOK NEEDS AN INDEX.
However, the information about the years 1928-1959 is consistently interesting. For each year, there is a brief summary of the major films of that year, and then single paragraphs devoted to films that the author believes are largely forgotten. There follow single sentences about "Other Forgotten Films Worth Noting." There are also many stills from pictures discussed.
A lot of this material was new to me and many of the films sound like they would be worth seeking out.
There are many typos and misspellings. I am going to mention only two, and those only because I think that they might confuse readers. The name of the actress from the film The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry shown in the still on the top of page 136 is Moyna Macgill, not Magill (as given on page 134) or McGill (as given on page 136). And the Montgomery Clift film mentioned on page 180 is The Big Lift, not The Big Life.
Some other errors that I noticed are:
Page 67 - The caption of the still from Beloved Enemy omits the name of the actress in that photo, Merle Oberon.
Page 81 - In the discussion of the film They Won't Forget, it states that the film is "based on the true-life Robert Franks case." This is actually the Leo Frank case. Robert "Bobby" Franks was the child murdered by Leopold and Loeb.
Page 118 - There is a film discussed without the name of the film being given. The material says just, "Henry Fonda practically repeated his Lady Eve characterization in a ripoff of that picture only mildly helped by Rouben Mamoulian's directorial skill and that of such actors as Fonda, Laird Cregar, Spring Byington, as well as the face of Gene Tierney." The film is Rings on Her Fingers.
Page 198 - The actor identified in the still from The Importance of Being Earnest as Aubrey Mather is actually Miles Malleson.
There is no point mentioning opinions expressed by Springer with which I disagree. I will mention one opinion he gives which would certainly seem controversial but with which I am (almost) in agreement. He refers to The Grapes of Wrath as the "Great American Motion Picture" - definitely a strong contender for that title, I believe.
I will also agree with Springer's repeated admiration for actors Nancy Carroll, Beulah Bondi, and Brian Aherne.
In addition to the silly twenty-years-in-four-pages summary with which the book concludes, there are two other serious problems. The captions on the stills often fail to make clear which actor in the picture goes with which name in the caption.
The other issue is simple:
THIS BOOK NEEDS AN INDEX.
March 7, 2021
One of the most evocative glimpses into the world of movie nostalgia I ever encountered as a child. Book fell apart and I managed to find it again. Very happy I did. Great little write-ups and stills. Selections are pleasingly idiosyncratic.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews