jdb1
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Posts posted by jdb1
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Hey, calm down! Over here, we don't think Rita could be lousy in anything. You're among friends.
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What about W.C. Fields? Very funny, of course, but the asides were usually highly cynical.
Diana Lynn and Virginia Weidler could tear a few holes in the proceedings as well. Cary Grant was also very good at cynical asides, and many of his comic roles as he got older were very cynical characters.
Let's not forget Ned Sparks, always talking out of the side of his mouth in that deadpan voice, and always unhappy about something.
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Now I remember a scene - in a saloon, I think - Jocko falling down, going head over heels, and springing back up.
To tell you the truth, the supporting players of the Stooges and of Abbott & Costello (also on afternoon TV way back when) sort of run together in my head. They all wore striped double-breasted suits with big padded shoulders (men) and gaudily flowered dresses, large earrings and platform heels with ankle straps (women). The exception was A&C's Hillary Brooke - very elegant, and how did she wind up there, I wondered? I'll have to review the cast lists of the Stooges shorts to see if any names ring a particular bell with me.
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I have no problem with the Charlie Chan series - in fact, I think they are very entertaining, and certainly iconic of their time. I especially like Sen Young (a/k/a Victor Sen Young) as Number 2 Son. He was such a Hep Cat! The only racist remarks you hear in those films are made by the unenlightened villains, and they always get what they deserve by the end of the film, usually at the hands of Mr. Chan himself.
I don't hear any Belgians complaining about Hercule Poirot!
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The recent TV movie about the Stooges, showed the sound effects man right on the set with them as they filmed. I don't know if that was the method in older movies - creating the effects right there and then refining them in editing. I suppose it's a carry-over from radio, having the sound effects right there. It would certainly account for the split-second timing - at least from the perspective of the actors, who could hear the effects as they worked.
This is one of the things about the Stooges that I have come to appreciate much more than I did when I was a kid. Then, it was just broad comedy and loud noises being made by a group of portly, middle-aged men. Now, I can see the artistry at work, as well as get the more subtle verbal humor I missed the first time around.
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I can't agree - I liked TOWER OF LONDON a lot. It was like a Classics Illustrated comic of the behind the scenes royal intrigues of the War of the Roses (the medieval one, not the contemporary movie of that name). I hope you get a chance to see it again and re-assess. Karloff and Vincent Price were particularly good.
I have seen CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT, and no matter what the cinema pundits say, I can't warm to it. It's a mess. Poor Orson had to make his later films on a virtually non-existant budget, and it shows. There are gleams of what might have been in it, but not nearly enough.
I don't know enough about the others. I think I've seen the older MALTESE FALCON, but if I did, it made no impression on me.
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For you and me, maybe, but I don't think actors coming out of burlesque or vaudeville thought of it that way. Physical comedy is an art, and there are plenty of artistes out there still getting knocked about.
It seems to me that Moe was something of a workaholic, and he adored being a Stooge, and never wanted to stop, and he was probably an exacting taskmaster in the art of Stoogeing.
And how about Larry? He was always my favorite, with his sleeves coming down to his fingertips, and his steel-wool hair, so out of place in that era. He was the fulcrum that balanced the other two.
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I'll pass on this one, thanks.
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Have you tried any Debbie Reynolds websites? The lady herself may very well be hawking copies - she's quite the entrepreneuse.
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Yes to both Ms. PrimaDonna,
Dressler won an Oscar for "Min & Bill," and Brown came from vaudeville and circuses.
I think he had a background similar to that of Buster Keaton, starting out as an acrobat. I have described Brown elsewhere as "a cheerful Buster Keaton."
I don't think I've ever seen "Min & Bill" either, although I've certainly read and heard about it, and I think I've seen scenes from it at some point. When you're as old as I am, they start to run together in your head!
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"THE CLOCK" -- Judy Garland and Robert Walker at breakfast in a hotel room, the morning after their wedding night, making shy and sly little smiles at each other. It spoke volumes about what happened the night before.
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Yes - very true. Does anyone else get the impression that Moe was just a tad controlling in this regard? Maybe no one else wanted to work with him.
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GM - you make a good point here. There were certain character players who were used over and over by a director or a studio - as repertory players. The group in the Astaire/Rogers series was one, and of course Preston Sturges relied heavily on his characters to give chacter to his movies. An entity like the Hal Roach studio was made up almost entirely of character players, especially in the comedies. Even my favorite Georgian, Oliver Hardy, had a turn as a character player in talkies without Stanley, and aquitted himself well. I liked him as John Wayne's sidekick in "The Fighting Kentuckian." Has anyone seen "Zenobia?" Hardy had the starring role in that one - but it's essentially an exercise in character acting. Even Harry Langdon has a speaking part in it. It's very cute - a sort of Disney-type, family fare movie.
Does anyone have any thoughts on my previous posting about characters in un-character-istic roles?
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No doubt, given the right role and strong direction, you get gold. I thought Joe E. Brown was just lovely as Cap'n Andy in the 1950s "Showboat." He was very restrained and sweet, and was also quite effective as a loving father.
This brings to mind the great Walter Brennan in "Come and Get It," as the decent schook who marries the Frances Farmer chacter on the rebound. Who'd have thought of Brennan as a romantic character? He certainly was here - it was almost painful to see how much he loved his wife, knowing she'd never really love him back.
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Not surprised to hear about Moe's injuries. He was absolutely dedicated to the Stooge franchise, and probably would have done anything for its cause.
It's too bad that they never found anyone who really came close to accurately replacing either Curly or Shemp. It always seemed to me that without them, the rhythm was somehow off.
I think I remember Jock Mahoney in one of their shorts as well. I remember him being about twice the height and girth (but all muscle) of the Stooges.
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Ah, Frank Faylen. I love that guy! And how about his performance as the icky male nurse in "The Lost Weekend?" (Definitely WITHOUT the Good Conduct Medal. WWII - the Big One!)
All named immediately below are worth talking about. And as for my comment above - how about considering those character players who stepped out of their stereotypes to play something new and interesting? I mentioned a while back Edna May Oliver as a sassy New Woman. And we read about James Gleason's terrific performance as an alcoholic in "Come Fill the Cup." And Keenan Wynn's dramatic turn as Shelley Duvall's pathetic, tragic uncle in "Nashville." There were many more like that.
Opinions?
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Jack, now that you mention it, I do remember reading Jane Withers mysteries when I was about 10 or 11 (hey - they were old books then!) They were just Nancy Drew knock-offs, and I suppose the whole exercise was similar to the Olsen Twins and other book series for kids featuring 'real' celebrities.
I don't know anything about these older ones, though. I think I found the Withers books in my local public library, which seem to have only the oldest and most delapited books for children, which were good reads, nonetheless.
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Was it MY SIX LOVES with Debbie Reynolds (about 1962/3)? She's a movie star who takes in six orphans. The men in the movie were Cliff Robertson and David Janssen.
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I'd give James Stewart one for just about anything, but I think I'd single out his sly, touching, amusing and unassuming performance in "Harvey." I think about his delivery of the line "I recommend pleasant," every time my temper is tested.
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I am not a man. And I don't whine -- I glow.
Radiantly,
JDB
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There will probably be more information if you dig deeper into dance history. IMDB has only that one movie listed, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's the only movie he was in.
However, we digress, and we should get back to naming some more favorites. We need some more depth on the distaff side. Who likes the lady characters? My very favorite is, I think, Elsa Lanchester. Very unusual face, that could be alternately homely or pretty, depending on the part and, I suppose the way she was lit and filmed. Although she played many of the same type characters in many movies, her readings were diverse enough to keep us interested. I loved her in "The Big Clock."
Second favorite is Eve Arden - we could write reams about her, her good looks, and her scathing delivery. "Our Miss Brooks" was a staple of my early TV diet.
Dear Thelma Ritter - like our lunch ladies in public school, but probably a lot smarter.
Spring Byington - always so sweet, but never obnoxiously so. I thought she was the perfect choice for Marmee in "Little Women," although she was probably the same age as the actresses who were playing her daughters. She seemed to have been born middle-aged.
I've also liked Rosemary DeCamp, who was the kind of woman you'd like for a Mommy.
Mary Boland - with that supercilious way of talking, yet she was generally pleasant and likeable.
And you???
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Everyone talks about Shirley Temple and Bill Robinson, and all of their numbers together are great. But I am partial to Shirley's dance with Buddy Ebsen in "Captain January." He was so tall and she was so small, yet she matched him step for step. I did like his dancing - he was all leg and rather awkward looking, and yet so graceful. I always found great humor communicated in his dancing. He made quite a few films, but I think I've seen only two or three, not counting the "Davy Crockett" series.
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Take a look at this website.
http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3novlt1.htm
Apparently, Chiles and a dance partner introduced a dance called "The Novelette" in 1927 at the Biltmore Hotel in New York. He appears to have been a night club and speciality act dancer. Probably vaudeville as well, although I haven't found anything yet. I hope I get to see the segment you mentioned - is that a Bing Crosby movie?
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IMDB has virtually no information. I tried Google, but got nothing that looks like it would be him. I wonder if he danced on Broadway?
Maltese Falcon
in The Maltese Falcon (1941)
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The thing about the book, see, is that the description of Sam Spade doesn't fit Bogart at all. He's decribed as rather thin-faced and acquiline in profile. I think of Kirk Douglas. So don't freak out - think of them as two separate entities. I can't think of Sam Spade as anyone but Bogart, so I just ignore that part of the book whenever I give it a re-read.