Bob, there use to be a French photographer who went by the name of Sarah Moon. She use to do some very interesting photography using grainy image making. So I can certain see it has it's place. But I think it takes a particular kind of photographer to pull it off well, and certain subject matter or scenes that works better than others. The best I've come to it was when I was using B&W infrared film doing landscapes. But even there, as I said, certain scenes worked out better than others.
Great example of high iso film CJ. These days we tend to want an image that's so sharp that you could cut yourself with it! In some instances, the grain give an image an improved feel to it don't you thing?