Private Screenings (1996– ) User Reviews

Excellent Role Model

[Maleejandra · 9/10 · 19 July 2006]

June Allyson was a truly amazing person, the type that doesn't seem to get any attention by Hollywood today. And it is too bad. On screen and off, she was a pure and interesting person to watch. She was typecast as the perfect woman, the type that every man wanted to marry and that every girl aspired to. Even today, girls can look to her for inspiration.

Here, Allyson is interviewed by Robert Osbourne. She tells stories about her life in Hollywood, her friendships with movie stars, her marriage to Dick Powell, and her thoughts on life. It is much too short really, but what is here is highly entertaining and wonderful. Allyson was 81 years old when this was filmed, but you would swear she was decades younger. Her personality and sweet smile are youthful and vibrant; she is very candid when answering every question.

We need more people in the world like Allyson, optimistic and charming but honest about being imperfect. It is too bad she is gone now, but what she left behind is a great role to aspire to.

A candid portrait of an unique woman

[jotix100 · 8/10 · 4 July 2006]

Tony Barbon and Sean Cameron, the directors of this marvelous piece, in the form of an interview with Debbie Reynolds, have achieved in giving the viewer, an uncanny portrait of a charming woman who has brought joy to millions. The conversation with the incomparable Robert Osborne, illuminates on a life of this generous personality who talks about her life and her career with honesty and charm.

Debbie Reynolds, the actress, has been involved in movies for a long time. Ms. Reynolds always projected a sunny personality that made her an old time favorite because her versatility and range. She could do it all. The exchange with her host, Mr. Osborn, flows easily. Her triumphs and her disappointments are all dealt with such honesty that one feels for her and what she has gone through.

Ultimately, Debbie Reynolds emerges as the survivor that she is and we get to hear from her directly how she confronted adversity. The film clips illuminate the career of a great woman, and we are privileged to have been "invited" to a front row seat to witness a life she has given to her art and her public.

Robert Osborne interviews film history...

[AlsExGal · 10/10 · 20 March 2017]

...sometimes with unexpected results!

I'm giving this one a perfect score because I don't know how the well researched and empathetic host Mr. Osborne could have done a better job both of selecting and interviewing guests.

In all, there were 28 episodes of "Private Screenings". The first 27 were interviews conducted by Mr. Osborne, host of Turner Classic Movies, over a 15 year period, 1995-2010. Mr. Osborne was truly a profile in courage to continue these interviews considering how two of the early ones went. The first one went well, and how could it not, with Robert Osborne's long time friend Jane Powell as the interviewee.

Two of the most famous, that did not go as planned were in the early years of the show. When Bob interviewed Bob Mitchum and Jane Russell, the extremely ill Mitchum stonewalled Bob at every turn. According to Bob, he was very chatty off camera and the minute they were on film he would give terse grouchy answers. Ms. Russell did her best to try to smooth over things, but I do think I remember Bob saying "I could have killed him.". I do know that Mitchum, sick with emphysema to the point he needed a nurse and an oxygen tank, would raise his hand every five minutes - to go outside and have a smoke! Stay away from the cancer sticks kids, they'll hook you beyond reason and get you in the end.

The other one was the following year, in 1997, with Mickey Rooney. Apparently Rooney got so caught up in a case of reminiscing about a dust up he had with the director of Killer McCoy that he got angry all over again, 50 years later. Rooney was so animated that Bob stayed perfectly still and perfectly silent. He said later that he wanted to smile to try and take some intensity out of the moment, but was truly afraid if he did that Rooney would hit him!

In 2000 Bob interviewed Betty Hutton, once famous Paramount star who had become so reclusive the TCM staff who knew who she was thought she was dead! Bob brought in some tapes of her past performances to familiarize the staff to her talent prior to the interview, and the actual interview was endearing. Bob put Hutton completely at ease so that she really opened up. Bob said later that he thinks that episode of Private Screenings was responsible for Hutton being remembered by many people to the point that her death seven years later made the front page of the New York Times .

The very last Private Screenings was Robert Osborne as the interviewee and his past Essentials cohost Alec Baldwin doing the interviewing. Their chemistry was awesome and illustrated why their years on The Essentials had, IMHO, some of the best discussions I've seen between Osborne and anybody else. It was part of the 20th anniversary celebration of the channel.

Even though Bob was active on the channel for the next two years before taking an extended hiatus from the channel due to his health, unfortunately never to return prior to his death, he never did another private screening episode.

It is hard to get a list in one place - even on this website! - of the Private Screenings episodes. I've put together the list for you. The years are correct, but the order within years in the case of multiple episodes within a year may be incorrect. TCM has a Private Screenings listed for Olivia De Haviland in 2014, but I cannot find confirmation that this interview ever happened. It might have been planned because Bob and Olivia were such good friends, calling one another once a week for years, but Mr. Osborne's health may have prevented it.

In reverse order: Robert Osborne (2014), Liza Minnelli (2010), Ernest Borgnine (2009), Walter Mirisch (2008), Norman Jewison (2007), Jane Fonda (2007), Stanley Donen (2006), Child Stars (2006) former child stars Margaret O'Brien, Jane Withers, Dickie Moore and Darryl Hickman, Angela Lansbury (2006), Sidney Lumet (2005), Lauren Bacall (2005), Patricia Neal (2004), Shirley MacLaine (2003), Debbie Reynolds (2002), James Garner (2001), Rod Steiger (2000), Betty Hutton (2000), Tony Curtis (1999), Leslie Caron (1999), Anthony Quinn (1999), June Allyson (1998), Lemon/Matthau (1998), Charlton Heston (1998), Ann Miller (1997), Mickey Rooney (1997), Robert Mitchum/Jane Russell (1996,) Esther Williams (1996), Jane Powell (1995)

Odd factoid - Jane Fonda was married to Ted Turner when he started TCM in 1994. They had been divorced for several years and TCM belonged to Warner Brothers by the time Bob interviewed her in 2007.

Betty Hutton interviewed by Robert Osborne...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 26 March 2007]

Filmed in 2000, BETTY HUTTON sits practically on the edge of her chair, an indication she still had a lot of energy left over from her days as the hyperactive female bombshell Paramount used for many a musical film during the '40s and into the '50s.

While she's perfectly willing to talk about herself and her career, it's not clear whether she's seeing things from an accurate viewpoint or not--especially when it comes to what went on during the filming of ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, when she replaced Judy Garland in the title role.

According to Betty, it destroyed her soul to be treated the way she was on the set--and she even mentions co-star Howard Keel as one of the culprits. Seems that everyone thought she took the part away from the very ill Judy and was unwilling to even clap at the end of a perfect take, lest they show any appreciation for her. Nor did the studio even invite her to the premiere of the movie when it opened in New York City.

Just how accurate this description really is, I don't claim to know but I do have my doubts. Stills showing Betty with other members of the cast on the set seem to cast doubt on whether the film really destroyed her the way she says it did and killed any ambitions for further displaying her talents in Hollywood. As Osborne points out, later on she did do THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH for DeMille at Paramount.

At any rate, it's clear that, as Hutton admits, her own insecurities started long before ANNIE GET YOUR GUN and perhaps the truth is somewhat different than what she claims.

Hutton looks a bit frazzled, is wearing an unflattering white wig, and seems so bubbly at times that you almost suspect she wants to jump into Osborne's lap like a little puppy seeking adoration.

Osborne treats her with fondness and respect, but it must have been a difficult thing for Hutton to do--and she obviously doesn't want to talk about her relationships with her children whom she hasn't seen in years.

A nice, generous selection of film clips reminds us how talented Betty was in her heyday.

Debbie Reynolds Up Close and Engaging

[dougdoepke · 1 September 2017]

Reynolds' natural sparkle is infectious, even in a sit-down interview. With Robert Osborne, it's a solid hour for both Reynolds' fans and fans of old movies. I love those clips from her early movies, especially the nonsense lyrics at machine gun speed, like "Abba-Dabba Honeymoon". For a non- dancer, she certainly learned in a hurry, matching even the great Gene Kelly step-for-step. But then it looks easier than it was, as she recalls with a sweaty brow. Happily, she relates personal insights on a number of films in her lengthy career. Naturally, she discusses her star-crossed marriage and break-up with Eddie Fisher. It's not gossipy, more like how she adjusted to the headline triangle with her, Fisher, and Liz Taylor. Also, her account of pre-show biz years is an interesting story of poverty and fortunate breaks, and amounts to a revealing look at 50's Hollywood.

All in all, the interview remains pretty low-key covering her life's up's and down's and personal philosophy, with Osborne only interjecting at appropriate intervals. Perhaps surprisingly, her celebrity daughter Carrie Fisher is only mentioned in passing. Thus, the hour is mainly about Debbie the person, which is as it should be.