2011's Hootenanny might have been awful but at least it reminded me of where this blog got its title from. (Though I still prefer "Overhelping" or "F International".)

So, this is a clip from Romy and Michele and is the best "improvised dance" scene in a film ever - no exaggeration...

And I'm not sure the poor people of the Ozarks deserve their story to be told through the means of a rather dull mystery story either.

Jennifer Lawrence was superb but since she looks better with an axe:

than all greased up, it's sad she's yet another young actress who didn't say no.

It looked gorgeous and full of delightful detail (just like a beautiful picture book) but the story was featherweight (or Spillerweight if you prefer). The motivation for Haru's behaviour wasn't really explained and the characterisation of the mother was borderline ridiculous: I'm surprised she managed to survive to middle age being that useless (and why was she such an old mum? It was like watching an old Hollywood movie when all mothers were grey haired and wrinkled).

For me, the best thing about the film was that the cat turned out to be a bit of a sweetie and not a typical film cat baddie.

The part that remembered most clearly was the transformation of Stephen Rea's character from man to wolf. It was the most gruesome and repulsive things I had ever seen on screen. And it remains one of the most gruesome and repulsive things I have ever seen too, partly because it scarred me for life and I avoid gore wherever possible, and partly because it is revolting.

Sarah Patterson made two films in the early 80s before she presumably furthered her education. She has appeared in a couple of films in the noughties directed by Lisa Gornick and here she is as a photographer in Tick Tock Lullaby:

I really, really like this film. It's not that it's perfect, far from it: Jerry's sobering up is too neat and his return to Joan comes at a considerable price for her, but the first two thirds of it are tremendous. I found it enthralling, highly dramatic and very involving.

Sylvia Sidney and Fredric March were fantastic. I know there are many others who could have played Joan and Jerry but they would have been hard pushed to be better. I'm sure that a huge chunk of my enjoyment was based on their performances but the supporting cast were also excellent particularly George Irving as Joan's father.

Fredric March was a particular favourite of mine when I was younger which I had all but forgotten until I saw this and remembered how good he was. He comes across as intense but not without humour. He was also very attractive.

Talking of attractive, who could not find Sylvia Sidney totally appealing? I have only seen a handful of her films so I was blown away by her performance: full of depth and emotion. And OK, she was flipping gorgeous - those eyes, that sad face, that smile, and that full figure: gorgeous.

It is brilliantly made but it is all rather heartless (oh, I am clever). What adds an even more macabre aspect to it is the fact that Véra Clouzot died in real life from a heart attack. How horrible is that?

They don't make them like this any more. Times have moved on and what was shocking and exciting and other, simply isn't anymore. We just don't need steamy, overwrought melodramas like this.

It is a period piece but didn't feel outrageously dated. It wasn't at all horrible to watch because the acting was natural and unstilted, and the camerawork wasn't static. It only really felt old because the story was so blooming ancient. The best performance was from Tallulah Bankhead and there were some unusual outdoor scenes: these location shots did ensure it felt different on that front from most Hollywood productions of the thirties.

By the way, I think I'm going to enjoy spending time at TCMdb.

I know why - it's because I'm not black. So when Irene Dunne makes a silly face and does a funny dance, that's what I see. Except she's imitating black people doing a shuffle dance which once, I'm pretty sure had a different, offensive, name. And when she appears on stage wearing blackface, I accept that by acknowledging that that sort of thing used to be on our TV screens up until the late 70s.

Andy wondered if the racist elements were why the film wasn't on DVD which seems plausible because otherwise it is a great film.

Oh dear, what a weaselly word "otherwise" is.

In the film's defence, it does tackle miscegenation which was daring and missing from the 1929 version.

On a different note, I came across a fantastic fan site devoted to Dunne which is a treasure trove of material about her. Kudos to the site owner, she has done an awesome job. Maybe I'll stumble across the equivalent for Claudette Colbert or Jean Arthur one day.

She did move into direction but after 1959 there is nothing.