mrroberts
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Posts posted by mrroberts
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William Powell, as I've stated numerous times, my favorite actor. Hey, he was married to Carole Lombard and was probably going to marry Jean Harlow. He had to have something going for him.
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Still, I'm very glad that Hitch didn't cast Aunt Bee as the female lead in "Vertigo"
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I have a book "Jimmy Stewart, Bomber Pilot" , that I bought at the Stewart museum about a year ago. I have never read it through (so many books, so little time) . I've only read bits and pieces, someday will read it straight through. By the way, the book was written and published soon after Stewart's death. Done with the cooperation of his family and fellow servicemen from WW2.
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But by 1942/43 Cagney and Robinson were getting free of their contracts with Warner Bros. And Cagney started his own production company. He and Eddie could have had a number of opportunities to work together. As an independent Cagney had an uphill battle doing films that could make money. Having EGR as a costar would have been a big draw for the public. And Eddie was resigned to being "a supporting actor" in those years. But I don't think Cagney would have minded sharing a top billing with Robinson. In any event, the two were always on good terms.
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James Stewart seemed to work well with most of his directors. A lot of that had to do with Stewart's nature. A very affable man. But Stewart was no push over either, he demanded respect in return. I don't believe he took any nonsense from a guy like John Ford . And given Stewart's talent as an actor it was hard not to respect him. It was probably Stewart's good fortune that early in his career he got to work with a man like Capra.
Edited by: mrroberts on Sep 19, 2013 3:22 PM
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There are some people out there (the fortunate few) who have and can spend stupid amounts of money on trivial items, like a few million on a comic book or one of Elvis' used Kleenex boxes, etc. So why not spend it on something of real cultural, historical value like a classic film, and let the rest of us share in the benefit of it.
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Now that we have all of this cleared up (I think
) its appears that its only a question of motivation (and money) to get this thing done. A proper restoration of the film, and in some fashion, reinserting the additional footage into the film. This film is truly a great film and it deserves the effort. -
I have been rereading parts of my copy of "All My Yesterdays" , an autobiography of Edward G Robinson, researched and written in the later days of his life. The book was released soon after his death in 1973. Robinson talked very candidly about the events in his professional and personal life. He was a rather modest man and not overly judgmental about others, but on occasion he does speak his mind. He mentions little about Cagney, they only did that one film together, but Eddie greatly admired Cagney and always considered him a friend. It seems surprising that they didn't work together in the later years. Eddie talks more about Bogart, of course in the late 30's they did several films together, Robinson the lead, Bogie in support. Again they got along well on the sets. Years later when Bogart was the big star and Robinson was more of a supporting player they made *Key Largo* . Eddie readily states that Bogart insisted that he (Robinson) be treated as an equal costar (watch the way the titles list the names) and that the Rocco character drives most of the action in the film. Both Robinson and Bogart also treated Lionel Barrymore with the highest respect. Sounds like a very smooth production in making this film. Robinson credits Bogart for that.
Edited by: mrroberts on Sep 19, 2013 1:48 PM
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Happy Birthday to David McCallum, today he is 80 years young. He's been playing Dr Donald "Ducky" Mallard on NCIS for the past decade. But for some of us seniors out there, he's still U.N.C.L.E. agent Illya Kuryakin who kept us safe (with a little help from Robert Vaughn , aka Napoleon Solo ) from the evil organization THRUSH back in the 1960's. --- Attn TCM and Robert Osborne, David would make a great guest programmer .
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Hey Cave Girl, I'm the one who's the big RW (Richard Widmark) fan! Although I have no votes on this thread (I merely voice my opinions on the ladies' good taste) I would like to point out that tomorrow is the birthday of David McCallum (who believe it or not will be 80 years young). In the sixties, Illya Kuryakin was literally as popular with the gals as John, Paul, George or Ringo. As a little kid, . Illya was my favorite spy
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Anyone think that Hitchcock had a strong identification with Scottie? A little too obsessed with the woman's looks , hair , wardrobe, manners, etc. "Madeleine" was Hitch's ultimate woman.
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That Alfred Hitchcock episode "Revenge" was one of those that was redone in the 80's series (remember those, they used the old Hitch intros and colorized them). I remember the new version as well as the original, I believe they used the same titles and much of the same storyline.
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I'll have to ask my good buddy "Doc" (William Powell) to make up another bottle of Scotch
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*It Started With Eve* is a great Charles Laughton comedy, I've been waiting to see this one again for a long time. He and Deanna Durbin worked well together, Robert Cummings was pretty good as well.
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While everyone will remember Wally Cox as a comedic actor he did occasionally play a serious role. Just watch him as the sonar operator in Richard Widmark's great Cold War film, *The Bedford Incident*
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Constructive criticism; man that is a tough read, can someone translate please?
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CaveGirl, as Misswonderly will verify, I too am a big fan of Richard Widmark. Only I feel a little uncomfortable stating that on this thread, I think highly of him but in a different way than you ladies.
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So I guess I have to start making plans for a little trip to England ?
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I have always doubted Scottie's intentions about "love". Let's be honest here. Scottie is really a very vain guy. He is only attracted to this very superficial idea of his perfect woman. When he first sees Madeleine he is aroused only by her looks, he knows nothing about what kind of person she is. We all are like that to a degree about appearances , but he takes it to the extreme. Further proof is when he first sees Judy. She is absolutely nothing like Madeleine , except for the look. I know, Judy is made up very differently but Scottie, unconsciously or not, sees that Judy can be a new Madeleine. And that's exactly what he does, he gives Judy the complete make over to recreate Madeleine in appearance. Its all about the look. And to top things off he has, anytime he wants, a perfectly fine girl named Midge to call on. Midge may be that perfect "girl next door" and she loves him completely, but poor Midge doesn't have the "look". Midge isn't good enough. So when Judy /Madeleine takes that final fall (the second time) all Scottie has really lost is the look. He'll be in a daze again for a while, but one day he'll be walking down the street and he'll see another woman with "the look" and start buying her clothes, getting her hair colored/styled , etc.
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It seems very clear that the film *Vertigo* has a wide range of supporters and detractors. Some hail it as a masterwork, others think it is just nonsense and then there's every opinion in between. But I have noticed over the years that a great number of film makers have cited it as a powerful influence on them. Maybe not the picture in its entirety but different bits and pieces that they have studied and then imitated in their own work. I believe that Hitchcock put as much effort , maybe more, into this film as any other he ever did. That is reason enough for watching it.
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In the "Road" pictures Hope and Crosby talk to the audience almost as much as to each other.
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As much as I like both James Stewart and Kim Novak and I like both of the 1958 films they costarred in I do think the age difference between the two takes a little something out of the films. Of course this kind of casting was rather routine in Hollywood, like with Grace Kelly and some of her male costars.
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Seriously (not surely or Shirley), I remember watching *Vertigo* on the big screen (first time I ever saw the film) and found it to be a very hypnotic experience. Its hard to explain but this movie really pulled me in. I don't think seeing it on a small tv screen does it much justice. and yes, the music score really fits the film here. But the music is very similar to Herrmann's work on *The Day The Earth Stood Still*
Edited by: mrroberts on Sep 15, 2013 8:09 PM
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This idea of the editing out of 10 minutes or so because of "political" content is new news to me. Is this just one whole scene that was removed or bits and pieces that total out to about 10 minutes? What was "unacceptable" in the 40's may not be judged the same today. I believe a proper restoration should include the removed scenes or with the modern technology available on DVDs today we could have both versions available (like The Big Sleep).
(Somehow I had to link these two subjects together)
) its appears that its only a question of motivation (and money) to get this thing done. A proper restoration of the film, and in some fashion, reinserting the additional footage into the film. This film is truly a great film and it deserves the effort.
Movie Characters You Want to Bundle Up & Take Care Of
in General Discussions
Posted
Richard Widmark as Tommy Udo in *Kiss Of Death* . He was just a poor misunderstood guy, just needed a little love and affection.