# What's your opinion on "Darling Lili", an old American movie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [December 12, 2022, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-opinion-on-darling-lili-an-old-american-movie/976403 "2022-12-12T17:37:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Roman67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roman67/32/12809_2.png) [@Roman67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roman67)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2022, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-opinion-on-darling-lili-an-old-american-movie/976403/1 "2022-12-12T17:37:29Z")
I’m a fan of Julie Andrews, just because I was extremely impressed with “The Sound of Music” and “Mary Poppins”. You know, there’re loads of critics of this film, and the estimations in IMDB aren’t very high. However, it’s obvious that the most of old movies are much better than that of our era, because the actors weren’t thought to be a set of wage-slaves. P. S. It would appear that my tastes are just conservative, but, believe you me, I really regret that modern films don’t surpass the higher artistic level of old talkies. After all, I hope that the public of this category won’t answer back and backchat because of my viewpoint. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2022, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-opinion-on-darling-lili-an-old-american-movie/976403/2 "2022-12-12T17:47:06Z")
> [@Roman67](#): > > However, it’s obvious that the most of old movies are much better than that of our era, because the actors weren’t thought to be a set of wage-slaves. Fighting the hypothetical, but you are totally mistaken if you think “old-time” actors were thought of as anything **but** wage slaves. They were owned by the studios, and did what the studios told them to do, which was usually massive amounts of third-rate dreck. ---
**Author:** ![Roman67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roman67/32/12809_2.png) [@Roman67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roman67)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2022, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-opinion-on-darling-lili-an-old-american-movie/976403/3 "2022-12-12T17:49:25Z")
However, old “third-rate dreck” isn’t so unbearable in comparison with that our era, is it? ---
**Author:** ![Roman67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roman67/32/12809_2.png) [@Roman67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roman67)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2022, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-opinion-on-darling-lili-an-old-american-movie/976403/4 "2022-12-12T17:51:44Z")
All in all, what do you mean by “third-rate dreck” in this context? What are your notions about “third-rate dreck”, in brief? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2022, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-opinion-on-darling-lili-an-old-american-movie/976403/5 "2022-12-12T17:52:00Z")
> [@Roman67](#): > > However, old “third-rate dreck” isn’t so unbearable in comparison with that our era, is it? A lot of it is, yeah; the good stuff from back when gets showcased and remembered, but the mediocre-to-bad stuff from back when gets quietly put aside, and so it’s not really an apples-to-apples comparison… ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2022, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-opinion-on-darling-lili-an-old-american-movie/976403/6 "2022-12-12T18:04:46Z")
> [@Roman67](#): > > All in all, what do you mean by “third-rate dreck” in this context? What are your notions about “third-rate dreck”, in brief? Let’s take a look at Humphrey Bogart as an example. IMDB lists him in 84 movies. For every “To Have and Have Not” there are 10 "All Through the Night"s. Movies were cranked out by the trainload, and actors did what the studios told them to do. As for what I mean by “third rate dreck,” just keep Sturgeon’s Law in mind. For most of the history of motion pictures, Ted was an optimist. ---
**Author:** ![Roman67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roman67/32/12809_2.png) [@Roman67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roman67)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2022, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-opinion-on-darling-lili-an-old-american-movie/976403/7 "2022-12-12T18:05:19Z")
However, the present era of modern cinema hasn’t produced nothing but technically perfect mediocre-to-bad stuff. At least, I just abhor all the modern Hollywood movies because of its semi-pornographical and semi-trash contents. There’s a set of exceptions, though. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2022, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-opinion-on-darling-lili-an-old-american-movie/976403/8 "2022-12-12T18:08:05Z")
**Now** we see the standard modern movies are to meet - “the Good Old Days when yadda yadda yadda.” ---
**Author:** ![Roman67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roman67/32/12809_2.png) [@Roman67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roman67)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2022, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-opinion-on-darling-lili-an-old-american-movie/976403/9 "2022-12-12T18:09:57Z")
Do you really think that movies should be very naturalistic? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2022, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-opinion-on-darling-lili-an-old-american-movie/976403/10 "2022-12-12T18:14:17Z")
Not going to bite - tapping out. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2022, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-opinion-on-darling-lili-an-old-american-movie/976403/11 "2022-12-12T18:15:21Z")
> [@Roman67](#): > > Do you really think that movies should be very naturalistic? Please explain what you mean by this non sequitur response? ---
**Author:** ![Roman67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roman67/32/12809_2.png) [@Roman67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roman67)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2022, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-opinion-on-darling-lili-an-old-american-movie/976403/12 "2022-12-12T18:18:50Z")
Your thoughts contradict logic. I don’t think that the owners of studios were a set of dim-witted blimps, for their main rival in terms of cinema was the Soviet Union, and, accordingly, I hope that you don’t find the higher artistic level of Soviet movies to be dubious. By the way, I didn’t praise all the old movies, because, for instance, Grace Kelly is my real abhorrence. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2022, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-opinion-on-darling-lili-an-old-american-movie/976403/13 "2022-12-12T18:21:54Z")
> [@Roman67](#): > > for their main rival in terms of cinema was the Soviet Union Not sure where _that_ came from, but if that’s even true, it would only be for the tiny percentage of Westerners who even _saw_ Soviet film back then; most American filmgoers (the primary audience for the U.S. studios) would have had zero exposure to any movies from the Soviet Union. ---
**Author:** ![Roman67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roman67/32/12809_2.png) [@Roman67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roman67)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2022, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-opinion-on-darling-lili-an-old-american-movie/976403/14 "2022-12-12T18:30:17Z")
I didn’t correct my mistake. I’m very sorry. There should have been a negation in the above sentences. I have been using this site for two days, so its interface is new for me. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2022, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-opinion-on-darling-lili-an-old-american-movie/976403/15 "2022-12-12T18:32:23Z")
If there was a number two, it would probably be Great Britain. France and Italy would be close behind, and many of Hollywood’s great actors and directors came from Central Europe. (Examples are Peter Lorre and Billy Wilder.) ---
**Author:** ![Roman67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roman67/32/12809_2.png) [@Roman67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roman67)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2022, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-opinion-on-darling-lili-an-old-american-movie/976403/16 "2022-12-12T18:33:48Z")
I wouldn’t say so. Do you remember the accident concerning the Soviet film “Maxim’s Youth”? Seeing this film was banned in Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2022, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-opinion-on-darling-lili-an-old-american-movie/976403/17 "2022-12-12T18:34:59Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > For every “To Have and Have Not” there are 10 "All Through the Night"s. I agree with most of what you say, but do not badmouth _All Through the Night!_ It was a big fav in our house, and, yes, it’s pretty silly, but it’s a grand kind of silly. Great cast, too. Judith Anderson, Peter Lorre, Conrad Veidt, and the mooks in Gloves Donovan’s gang. And a cute dachshund who gets blowed up! Good pacing and very entertaining. No, it’s not high art, but it’s a hoot. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2022, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-opinion-on-darling-lili-an-old-american-movie/976403/18 "2022-12-12T18:36:11Z")
> [@Roman67](#): > > Do you remember the accident concerning the Soviet film “Maxim’s Youth”? Seeing this film was banned in Chicago. No, I do not, having never heard of the film, and [its Wikipedia entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Youth_of_Maxim) makes no mention about any such incident. Would you care to enlighten us, with citations? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2022, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-opinion-on-darling-lili-an-old-american-movie/976403/19 "2022-12-12T18:37:14Z")
> [@Roman67](#): > > Do you remember the accident concerning the Soviet film “Maxim’s Youth”? Uhh…no. Never even heard of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2022, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-opinion-on-darling-lili-an-old-american-movie/976403/20 "2022-12-12T18:38:13Z")
Soviet Realism is not really my cuppa. I liked _Alexander Nevsky_, but only because of the score. I _adore_ Prokofiev. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-opinion-on-darling-lili-an-old-american-movie/976403.md?page=2)