ginabeana53

gingersk8r, I just did a quick search through Google and the Amazon UK site and I see what you mean about Shirley's films being very limited on DVD or in the PAL format. Since Shirley Temple's films were 20th Century Fox products,who probably retains the primary rights to her early films, you might search further at : http://www.thefoxmoviechannel.com/ or http://www.foxmovies.com/index1.html and at the TCM site for the UK at http://www.tcmonline.co.uk/ The only other place that I can think of to look is ebay. Good luck and I hope you find what you need!

To get us started in this discussion, I'll mention two actors whose atypical appeal is a mystery to me, though I always watch these actors with interest! 1.) Stuart Whitman-What was his appeal in such movies as "Ten North Frederick" or "The Sands of the Kalahari"? Was it the brylcreem in his black hair? Or the reformatory school sneer? Or the occasional worry lines on his rather low brow? Doesn't matter! He's the baddest & coolest guy on screen. 2.) Anthony Quinn-It's not the heroic Quinn in roles such as Zorba that I'm throwing out for discussion, but the earlier roles he first made his mark in--as a George Raft type who roughed up Ann Sheridan in "City for Conquest", dancing all over that poor girl's self-respect. Quinn as the underhanded 'compadre' of Tyrone Power in "Blood and Sand" and the guilt-ridden, mercy killing doctor in "Portrait in Black". This is the bad boy side of Quinn that appeals despite all! (And, of course, if you've read his autobiography, you gotta feel sorry for his numerous wives, who lived with this talented egomaniac offscreen.)

Okay, admit it. There are certain actors who may have appealed to you despite your hard-won sophistication and refined taste. They're usually in a bad mood in whatever they appear in, they may be a bit hard-boiled, and they're not too likely to do the right thing in the last reel. I don't mean the obvious "bad boy" actors like Brando or Dean or Bogart. They've gotten enough attention. I mean those mostly second tier actors whose visceral appeal can't be ignored! They may sometimes play the hero, but some of their most memorable work led the viewers down some fairly pretty dank, dark alleyways of movie experience!! If you'd like to jump in with an opinion or a candidate for an appealing bad boy or girl, I hope that you'll do so in the spirit of fun...

Gee, Mongo, Whoda thunk it about Dan Duryea, upstanding citizen and good joe!? Nice to hear, though. Thanks for the additional info. Oh Spencer, I wish I shared your belief that Margaret Sullavan was remembered--ask anyone under age 40 who she is. Few know her. She at least deserves a day devoted to her movies on TCM--it would have been nice if this Friday, May 16th, which would have been her 93rd birthday, saw her work appreciated somewhere. Ah, well, no matter-- she's a bit of light and gossamer, caught on film, never to be 93 on this earth, but appreciated by those who take the time to look. :-)

One thing that I forgot to mention about Duryea--he always played his villainous roles with an edge of black humor and irony--usually hinting at a capacity for violence bordering on sadism. He was one strange, intriguing actor.

Mongo's mention of Duryea as a neglected topic sparked my memory of his many effective, unsentimental performances. From his slimy youth in "The Little Foxes"(1941) to "The Flight of the Phoenix" (1965) toward the end of his career--his performances never pulled any punches. At a time when most American film actors played basically decent men onscreen, Duryea seemed to relish all things venal and cowardly in his vivid characterizations. It's almost as though he was the Picture of Dorian Gray--mirroring the dark side of the upstanding American hero. Though he could play a decent guy, as in "Lady on a Train" (1945) and "Flight of the Phoenix" (1965), his mere appearance in a film was always suspect! You were sure that he was going to wind up putting the make on the hero's best girl, blackmailing someone or swindling an old lady out of some oil shares! I guess the only actor doing comparable work to Duryea's in the '40s was Richard Widmark, yet he made the transition to quasi-hero eventually. Duryea, who worked in almost every genre and medium, never quite got the sympathy of the viewer. Someone once said that Willem Dafoe is the only contemporary actor who has a similar persona to Duryea. I think most people would regard Duryea's best work as the movies he made with Fritz Lang, such as "Scarlet Street" and "The Woman in the Window". I also like such later, minor noirs such as "Black Angel" (1946) or "The Underworld Story" (1950). I know little about this actor except for his memorable acid portraits---perhaps some knowledgeable poster can contribute more info about him?

Interesting topic! I always wondered why Heathcliff, (Laurence Olivier) in "Wuthering Heights" (1939) couldn't have been a little happier with poor Geraldine Fitzgerald--she seemed to have a much warmer heart than Merle Oberon's Cathy. In "The Blue Gardenia" (1953), I thought that Richard Conte should've fallen for Ann Southern--she was womanly, funny, intelligent, and not as neurotic as Ann Baxter's character. Baxter was good at playing the tense, highly strung roles, but boy, imagine living with those ladies she played so well??

Lewis Stone always seemed to have a thoughtful quality, even before his best remembered role as Mickey Rooney's father, as Judge Hardy in the Andy Hardy series. Stone's role seems to have consisted of his listening, evaluating and commenting on the foibles of the people around him, especially Andy. Yet even in earlier, livelier appearances in such movies as "Strictly Dishonorable" (1931) the 1936 version of "Three Godfathers" Stone usually played a philosphical sort, observing the world around him, often in silence--though with a consoling drink or a secret shame from his past to keep him warm. Maybe he struck alot of audiences as a pompous old coot, but his bemused understanding often seemed to me to be one of the best things about his movies.

The death on March 8th of 93 year old Karen Morley was announced over the weekend. The actress had appeared in such notable films as King Vidor's "Our Daily Bread," Michael Curtiz' "Black Fury," "The Littlest Rebel," (with Shirley Temple) and the all time classics, "Pride and Prejudice", and "Dinner at Eight". Ms. Morley was one of those who refused to name names for the House UnAmerican Activities Commmittee in 1947. Her career ended then. She continued to be active politically, and is survived by two grandsons, a granddaughter, a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter--as well as the wonderful films mentioned above.

Two movies make me feel as though life is cozy when it's raining: "Portrait of Jennie" & "Random Harvest"

Mrkgeegee, I think I'll have to take another look at "The Shootist" after reading your insightful critique. For some reason, I only liked the scenes with Lauren Bacall & James Stewart in that one; and I also thought Wayne looked genuinely in pain throughout the film, which saddened me. I never cared for the seemingly slo-mo shootout at the end. Too derivative of Peckinpah, I guess. In his later career, I enjoyed the comic elements of "True Grit", which only allowed a few glints of sadness to show through the bluster. Most of the other movies he made then were bu$y work and basically were trash as far as I can tell. By the way, I don't think Wayne represented all that was "right" about America either--as an icon he was much more of a mixture of good, bad and necessary characteristics in a developing country--many of which we cannot afford to indulge any longer as a people--one of the messages I took away from "The Shootist". As to his acting ability, I think his work in "The Searchers" is one of the most remarkable performances of any actor on film-perhaps largely shaped by Ford, but still intensely honest in its rage, racism and reconciliation. If you haven't seen some of these, please check out some of his early work in "Shepard of the Hills", "The Long Voyage Home", "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon", and the later,underrated "Wings of Eagles"...none of these movies are anywhere near perfect, but he has moments in each of them of great power and tenderness...he could be an actor of skill and grace, if not variety.

Re: Jimmy Stewart's War Record & Westerns: Brad, I think Stewart was also a heck of an actor, particularly in his Hitchcock films and in the complex, conflicted Westerns that he made with Anthony Mann as director, such as "Bend of the River". Unlike Wayne, Stewart's heroes thought about violence, they didn't commit acts of violence as instinctively. One of Stewart's most interesting Western roles, was with Wayne in the elegaic "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", in which Wayne's character tacitly acknowledges that a thinking man such as Stewart is the future, and he himself belongs to a dead frontier. As to Stewart's war record, he absolutely has my respect, not only for his very long service, (he was in the Air Force Reserve for decades as well), but also for the fact that his beloved stepson was killed in Vietnam. Mr. Stewart's family paid the ultimate price. He too was politically conservative. Re: John Wayne's Early Westerns: Paty, I know what you mean about Wayne's grace and seeming lack of self-conciousness in his early movies. Have you seen "The Big Trail"? As a very early talkie directed by the always reliable Raoul Walsh, it creaks a bit, but all the elements of the Duke's iconic power are there--the physical grace, the burning anger, the stolidity, as well as a tongue-tied romanticism. Besides, as a recreation of a wagon train's journey, it's a remarkable recreation, filmed on location throughout the West. I also like the poverty row Westerns where Wayne shows up as Singing Sandy or as a guy trying to help farmers in the Dust Bowl, as in "Three Faces West" (1940). Wayne's also magnetic in tiny roles in contemporary tales, such as "Baby Face" (1933) or "The Life of Jimmy Dolan" (1933), as a young father trying to box for money to help his family. Re: Wayne's Enlistment During WWII: One of the best bios I've read in terms of research and background info is "Print the Legend" by Scott Eyman about John Ford. In this book he details how Wayne had 4 children at the outbreak of the war, and he was in the midst of a complex divorce. According to this biographer, who had access to Ford's voluminous correspondence, during this period, Wayne continuously wrote Ford, (who was in the Navy and was also in his late '40s, with similar familial obligations as Wayne), that he would enlist right after one more movie. Well, according to Ford, 'one more movie' kept coming along until the war ended. Wayne may have gotten caught up in the period when he finally had a chance to make some career progress, he may have felt that he could do more as a civilian movie star supporting the troops, he may have had physical disabilities--the fact remains, he didn't enlist, others did. I think it bothered the man & I know he worked to help veterans all his life. Despite, or perhaps, because of his flaws, he's still a charismatic, under-rated actor.

Mongo, The Dog: Thanks for identifying Lassie as Wayne's "companion animal"--the brothers Westmore must've had a field day making the beautiful collie look like hell! I particularly liked the scar on her forehead. She could easily have been played by a "he", since Rudd Weatherwax usually had a male collie play Lassie, claiming that boys were smarter & easier to train!! Arrgghh! "She" should've gotten a best supporting actor award for the very effective, & atypical role played in "Hondo". I love the line when Hondo tries to warn the kid, "That dog don't take to pettin', son"...he's not kiddin'! The Duke: Having been keen on John Wayne since I was a tyke, I have always found him to be so interesting , graceful, and awesome, like a force of nature--I really never looked to him, (nor anyone else in the Dream Factory--including Jane Fonda, Susan Sarandon or whomever), for my political ideas. See, I have this novel idea: try to keep myself informed as possible, understand the line between reality and fantasy, appreciate the ole' secret ballot for all of us, and be glad we're all Americans and can disagree openly. Maybe rich guys like Wayne will always bellyache when they find that they have to pay taxes. Besides, I tend to think alot of that political talk reflected Wayne's own guilty conscience, due to his staying home during WWII &, from all accounts, he did try to help veterans whenever he could find a way. Another point about Wayne, looking at his best latter-day roles, I've always been impressed with Wayne's dark, implicit acknowledgement of the inner flaws of his basic characterizations. In Ford's "The Searchers" & "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", for example, both performances show a kind of grudging acceptance of change, an acknowledgement that old racial and political attitudes will and should change. Unlike a lot more liberal types, he played the ugly aspects of his characters without vanity, but hey, I'd need alot more space to really examine the mythic elements of Wayne's complex persona, so let's concentrate on the entertainment! Heck, as a fan, I just loved seeing the big galoot lope across the landscape with the saddle on his shoulder, shoeing that horse, beating up an ornery cuss in a bar, and telling that there purty plain gal he could smell her when he was downwind from her...oooh, Marion Michael Morrison you could pitch woo!! Some Small Quibbles: The 3-D effect in this movie wasn't overly done, did you think? Only an occasional spear chucked toward the viewer or a lunging Indian coming at 'cha. The attitude toward the Indians was really ambivalent here. One moment, there's a poetic description of Hondo's lost Indian wife, and Wayne expresses admiration for the Apache way of life, and then he's doling out the wup-**** on the poor hopeless killers! Hmmm, I think that Louis L'Amour's original ideas from his book may have been filtered through scriptwriter James Edward Grant's racist prism...According to the McBride and Eyman biographies of John Ford, Grant had a reputation for being quite racist--he left the U.S. eventually to take up residence in Franco's Spain, since he felt more comfortable in a Facist country. He didn't change the simple, interesting elements of the story here, which really are about survival of the body and heart in a harsh world. Even Vittorio, (how did a nice Indian boy get an Italian-sounding name?), was struggling to replace his dead sons with the Page's son--seeking vengeance and comfort at the same time. The Co-Star: I found Geraldine Page much less mannered in this film than in any other--she normally makes me nervous to watch her. Not surprisingly, given some of the Method school's notorious ways, from what I've read in Wayne's bios prior to this, the Duke & Miss Page didn't get along at all during the filming, but it's one of the few times he played a quasi-romantic lead effectively with someone other than Maureen O'Hara or, in later years, with Patricia O'Neal. One of the reasons I paused when I saw this movie being shown, was due to the enmity of Wayne for Page. I actually think it may have helped his performance here. You're right, it's a gem of a little movie, Mongo!

Okay, okay, that's just a sacrilegious bumper sticker, and yes, I know that many people, myself included, think he was a political neanderthal---but, what a movie star!. Maybe it's because I'm so dad-burned dumb, but after a horrible day struggling to make a buck, worrying about the fate of this crazy world, and wondering if I'd made anybody happy today, I was so glad to come across---"HONDO" (1953) on TCM!! This was my first time viewing this movie & I was so thankful that something took me away to the simple minded, yet powerful storyland of the Old West. Did or does anyone else have any opinion on this movie or Wayne?

What ballad do you think was beautifully sung and staged in any musical?

If you've ever caught host & head toady James Lipton on the oddly fascinating and appalling "Inside the Actor's Studio", you'll realize that despite the occasional appearance of an Anthony Hopkins or a Gene Hackman, for the most part, the interviews tend toward intense discussions of the oeuvre and craft of a Ben Affleck or Sara Jessica Parker. Recently, as I watched Lipton wonder why the critical establishment didn't understand the subtext of Ron Howard's early masterpiece, "Eat My Dust", and I waited for Mr. Howard to fall out of his chair, my mind wandered. I began to wonder how some true legends might answer the Bernard Pivot questions that Lipton always asks at the end of his interviews. Just for fun, any ideas how you might like a Clark Gable, John Wayne, Joan Crawford, or others answer any or all of these? 1.What is your favorite word? 2.What is your least favorite word? 3.What turns you on or what is your favorite thing? 4.What turns you off? 5.What sound or noise do you love? 6.What sound or noise do you hate? 7.What is your favorite curse word? 8.What professions other than your own would you like to attempt? 9.What profession would you not like to do? 10.If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive?

If it were possible for you to play omnipotent film historian, are there any careers that you wish had ended on a high note, with a performer leaving the spotlight at the height of his or her powers? For example, in my view, it would have been a near perfect career move, at least artistically, if Elizabeth Taylor had ceased making movies after "A Place in the Sun"(1951). Do you have any suggestions for others?