JackBurley
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Posts posted by JackBurley
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How ironic.
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There's an entire thread on this subject waiting for you to chime in:
http://forums.tcm.com/jive/tcm/thread.jspa?threadID=84601&tstart=0
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"A few years ago I saw the Sunset Boulevard Movie, was it Queen Kelly??"
Yes Montgomery, 'twas Queen Kelly that's seen in Sunset Boulevard.
In Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, I know one of Bette?s movies was Parachute Jumper and Joan?s movie was Sadie McKee, both from the early 1930?s.
Thanks, Montgomery!
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"Actors" or "Stars"?
Oh well, I'll toss some out without the definitions:
Gloria Graham
Judy Holliday
Judy Garland
Giulietta Masina
Anna Magnani
Marcello Mastroianni
Cary Grant
Celeste Holm
Thelma Ritter
Audrey Hepburn
Deborah Kerr
Sidney Poitier
Shirley MacLaine
Joan Blondell
Elizabeth Taylor
Shelly Winters
Eileen Heckert
Ingrid Bergman
Katharine Hepburn
James Dean
Marlon Brando
Susan Hayward
Jean Marais
Gregory Peck
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This is a discussion of art vs. artifice. I have an appreciation for both. Two different styles of acting; two separate visual styles. I appreciate to Mr. Sirk's eye for composition and color. In fact, when watching his films (on the big screen), I think I'm watching his framing and composition more than the on-screen talent. The acting style is larger than life. Emotions are heightened; it's a burlesque of real life. Imitation of Life is the perfect title for a Douglas Sirk movie. It's not pretending to portray reality; this is not verismo. It's like seeing commedia del arte; stock characters using traditional gestures in a manner that becomes almost balletic. But this exaggeration can lend perspective: we recognize facets of humanity in these characters, just as Al Hirshfeld's caricatures allow us to see celebrities in new, yet recognizable ways.
This acting style can be seen as coded, so I think it's hard for younger audiences to relate to them. Just as they see some silent films as "dumb show" or a parade of Bulwer gestures; the acting in classic films of the 1930's with over-articulated language and then the heightened style of the 1940's and '50's are still a little removed from today's sense of "reality". But I see it and appreciate it for what it is: a dance to evoke emotions. America's Noh theatre.
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It was my understanding that WBHV took into consideration those of us who already bought Volume 1, would not have to buy the entire set. At least Shearerchic said, "For consumers who already own Volume One, a special Ultimate Collector?s Edition will be available at a price (not yet determined) which will contain empty sleeves for the five remastered and restored films released last year."
Shearerchic, can you confirm if the bonus disk will also be included? If not, NZ is so right -- this would be most irritating.
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Brief Encounter is also seen in the movie Truly Madly Deeply (as discussed in the Brief Encounter Fourm -- come join us!).
I believe there's an earlier movie shown in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, but I can't recall what it is. I'll have to check on that when I get home...
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Is it possible that this is A Matter of Life and Death wherein David Niven (in Technicolor) presides in celestial court to decide if he should live or die? Or the Story of Mankind which also provides a costumed court?
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I never caught The Flintstones (not that it's a virus), but Elizabeth Taylor was definitely in it. I believe she played Wilma's mother, and I heard that it was the highlight of an otherwise dreary film. She was said to have been hysterical in the role.
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I'm taking notes: Robert Blake is an excellent bridge from early 1940's to later years... It's interesting that you used Elisha Cooke Jr. as I think of him as a 1940's actor; yet of course he worked into the 1980's; another good bridge.
I believe that I found a way with one less step, but it involved a tv show, so I didn't use it...
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"Remember the scene in Star is Born when Judy Garland gets the makeover (including a new "nose")."
Except that in A Star Is Born, they failed. Her visage was saved by Norman Maine, who wanted her to look more herself than a Hollywood glamazon. There was a similar scene in Cover Girl when we see them redoing Rita Hayworth. The before/after is amusing in this instance since she changed from "ravishing" to "gorgeous".
Cindy Crawford used to refer to her own made-up persona as "the monster".
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I believe she was staunchly middle-class in:
Father of the Bride
Father's Little Dividend
Little Women
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
The Flintstones
But you're correct that in most of her roles she is very well off. But then so was Margaret Dumont.
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"I think the reason they chose Gogi Grant to do the singing is that her style is more in keeping with the torch singer that Helen Morgan was."
So why not hire Gogi Grant to play the part? Because she didn't have box office appeal? It seems so odd and wasteful of Miss Blyth's talents to have discarded her vocals. Perhaps a part of her thought it as complimentary though; I mean perhaps it's a testament to her acting ability if they didn't hire her for her singing.
There must have been someone else who could have played it and used their own voice. Anyone have ideas of who might have played it? Miss Garland? Peggy Lee?
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Wait, you're in Stockton, California?! I thought you were in Canada! I don't know how I got that notion. For heaven's sake, I should have campaigned to get you to the City for that wonderul night with Ann Blyth last week! We're so lucky to have rare opportunities like this, and you're only a couple of hours away. These nights are so enriching, I urge you -- for your own satisfaction -- to take advantage of them!
Why do some consider Beyond the Valley of the Dolls a "classic"? JonParker should be the spokesman for this. I always assumed that people had it in their "so bad it's good" category, but perhaps Mr. Parker sees it as a gem in a non-ironic way. I've seen it, and well... I had more appreciation for Russ Meyer's Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!. It's kitsch. I have an appreciation for it, and would call it a "camp classic" and/or "cult classic", but not "classic" in the same vein as Les Enfants du Paradis. Mr. Parker, I hope you'll give us your viewpoint on this Russ Meyer epic; an ode to Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.
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I've found that live classic movie audiences are a delight with which to share the experience. It's not like that dreadful discount multiplex that used to be on W. 50th Street (or was it 52nd?). Usually movies featuring Gloria Grahame or Irene Dunne don't attract the cell phone and chatter crowd. I've enjoyed many hours at the Film Forum on West Houston, though I've never made it to the screenings at MoMA.
I just wonder if the studios look at the box office receipts of classic screenings and assume they aren't worthy of DVD transfers if no one is going to see them. I would imagine that screenings would draw more audiences to TCM. I know that TCM sometimes sponsors screenings of classic movies in theatres. I wonder if they should do more, as a way of attracting new viewers. I fear that our lack of support of theatres will trickle down and hurt fans in the long run.
I have a confession: I've been known to buy tickets to films that I cannot attend. I see it as "voting for the movie". If a local repertory house is showing a movie that I love, yet I have other plans for the night, I'll go to the theatre and buy the ticket before going on to my intended event. I want the box office receipts to show that I supported showing that film. Only last week I attended a screening of Johnny Guitar. The manager of the theatre knows me and told the box office agent to give me a pass. I refused, saying that I wanted this Mercedes McCambridge/Joan Crawford vehicle to get the money.
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"If they showed Camille, no one would go."
I wonder. Would you? With your appreciation of Garbo and this film, would you bother to go to a cinema to see it? That's what I'm curious about: are classic film fans supporting public venues for these works?
"I have NEVER seen Beyond the Valley of the Dolls! Was Sharon Tate in it?"
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls really bears no resemblance to Valley of the Dolls. This Russ Meyer flick is not a sequel to the original. Sharon Tate is not in it (and unfortunately, was murdered the year before its release), nor anyone else that was in the earlier movie.
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"Vanzi had a general rule that we shouldn?t shoot more than about 20% to 30% of our film with a hand-held camera, since the theater audience would begin to get dizzy watching a lot of hand-held scenes on the big theater screen, even in a documentary."
In that case, Vanzi is my new hero. I've gotten motion sickness from quite a few movies featuring hand-held camerawork. Breaking the Waves was probably one of the worst; I had to walk out half way through the movie. I've never been sea sick, and rarely get car sick; but hand held camerawork makes me green...
That was an excellent post, Mr. Dobbs. Very informative and interesting. Thanks.
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Mabel and Fatty's Wash Day < Mabel Normand > Men Should Walk Home?
Men Should Walk Home? < Eugene Pallette > Suspense
Suspense < Barry Sullivan > Oh God!
Oh God! < Paul Sorvino > Most Wanted
Most Wanted < Jon Voight > Pearl Harbor
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Well, that seemed to have been an easy one. Have you another MrWrite?
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"I think you're gonna get some arguments from Jack on some of those!"
Actually, I'd say that's a pretty good list, though some of them I haven't seen to judge for myself. There are a few there that I'd like to check out too: The Helen Morgan Story, the biopic of the legendary torch song singer (and star of the 1936 Showboat) with Ann Blyth. The mystery to me regarding this movie is not "why choose Helen Morgan for a biopic" (sounds good to me!), but rather why they dubbed Ann Blyth's voice with that of Gogi Grant. And I'm curious to see Jupiter's Darling.
I'd move On A Clear Day... up to the mediocre level too, as there are some great scenes (the Brighton Pavilion, for example) to counterbalance the tedium. It's Minnelli, Beaton, Streisand...
Most surprising about NZ's list of the worst is that A Chorus Line, Annie, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang didn't make it. A great disappointment of mine is Athena. I love the Martin/Blaine score and the recording is one of my favorites thanks to Jane Powell and Vic Damone. But the story line is so poorly written and executed; character motivations make no sense. The first time I saw it was about a year after I'd bought the recording and looked forward to finally seeing the images that went with the score. Oy. But you know -- I'd watch it again. And it has camp value (as anything with Steve Reeves does!).
I always imagined that A Little Night Music would be bad, but have never seen it...
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My appreciation for Jacques Tati trumps that of Mr. Lewis. Have you seen Playtime? Wow!
Okay, let's go from Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925) to Ben Hur (1959). Actor/Actresses only...
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I always considered Chuck Jones and Mel Blanc not to be in a professional marriage, but rather in a menage-a-trois with Carl Stalling. The three musketeers of Warner Bros. animation; I can't imagine any two without the third.
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Thanks Mr. Mongo! Wasn't Keenan Wynn related to comic and once-intended Wizard of Oz, Ed Wynn?
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I poo-pooed the notion of showing this film; but then caught some of it today and really enjoyed what I saw of it. Now I'm sorry I didn't catch the entire movie. TCM is great for discovering movies and widening tastes!
* Six Degrees of Separation *
in Games and Trivia
Posted
May I trump you, using the same starting point?
Vic Morrow < King Creole > Liliane Montevecchi
Liliane Montevecchi < Meet Me In Las Vegas > Vic Damone
Or do we not count cameos?