CineMaven
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Posts posted by CineMaven
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I enjoyed the Joan Crawford biography yesterday, the good, the bad and the ugly.
The kennel remark though...uncalled for.
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Just finished watching "HARRIET CRAIG." I enjoyed it. But what was more surprising to me was this: I have never ever EVER liked Wendell Corey; always thought he was a drip.
Until I saw him in "Harriet Craig." He was charming, easy breezy and could really stand up to Joan Crawford. I thought he did a great job.
Battling divas??? WoW! What a worthy battle. (But I enjoyed the very same thing seeing two divas in one tawdry sordid wonderfully sleazy movie: Bette Davis and Susan Hayward in "Where Love Has Gone.")
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Hey Snorky...where you been??
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Natalie Portman (in "V for Vendetta") reminds me of Jean Seberg. Lovely delicate actress. Hollywood is not meant for everybody.
Very sad end.
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Toni's quite huggable...but I'll take Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Brian Brown. They sure make 'em manly down in Aussie country.
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Congratulations to Angela Bassett. I've been a fan of hers for years...guess just waiting for her to get the roles that Meryl and Glenn and Fonda and Linney and McDormand get. I always thought if that she could stand toe-to-toe with Davis and Crawford and Stanwyck too. I toyed with the idea of H'ywd. remaking "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers" she could do Stanwyck's part. She could be a lethal lady.
I enjoyed her immensely in "What's Love Got to Do with It" and"Contact" and in "Waiting to Exhale." Didja see how she purposfefully strode away from the car she set on-fire?
I wish Hollywood would give her the nice meaty parts I think she could pull off. Guess life's not fair but she deserves the kudoes and more.
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Pennypacker. Hmmm...somehow, THAT says it all about Clifton Webb.
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Gloria...G-L-O-R-I-A.
I may not be physiologically appropriate to comment on Gloria Grahame...but I'm going to give it the good ol' college try.
Later...
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Oh boy, yes she is.
Besides it being Hedy Lamarr Month...there are a few of trinkets I look forward to exploring when June hits:
6/ 3 "The Big Boodle" (yeah...an ignominious ending for a great star--basically a train wreck)
6/ 4 "In a Lonely Place"
6/ 5 "The Locket"
6/ 6 "A Study in Scarlet" (they allow Anna May Wong to speak English - but of course, this is a British film)
6/ 9 "White Cargo" (among other Lamarr films)
6/15 "Bonjour Tristesse"
6/16 "Libeled Lady" (a great comedy)
6/19 "The VIPs" (a wonderful guilty pleasure along with:
6/16 "The Oscars" (with Stephen
Boyd, and the beautiful Elke Sommers)
I also want to take a look-see at Samuel Fuller's Kimono and some of the Asian Festival films another group that got short shrift in Hollywood and were really stereotyped. Can someone sue "Breakfast at Tiffany's"??
Can't wait!
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OOoooooooh!!! I had a big BIG crush on Gardner McKay. Thanx for bringing up "I Sailed to Tahiti..."
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"The Naked and the Dead."
Gail Patrick or Gale Sondergaard?
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Cutie!
I've been using the IGNORE button. It makes my reading a lot shorter but calmer...and more civilized.
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Oooooh, my mind is reeling from THAT suggestion. The barbs would've flown, the sparks would be flying. He'd have to try and tame her, she'd set him on fire.
Great suggestion Mongo!
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There was a food eating scene in "9 1/2 Weeks" that was pretty mouth-watering. Or maybe that was just Kim Basinger. Hmmm...
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Thanks so much for the Honey West YouTube site. I used to watch that show as a kid. Even then I thought she was a humdinger!!!
"All About Eve" is a great film. I see how Celeste could come off a little holier than thou sanctimonious. But hey, just how many b1tches can there be in one film?
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Oh wow...I had a great time with that film and its homage to Hitch. Genevieve Bujold broke my heart in this movie.
No problem. To each his own. Novak is the reason I watch "Vertigo." I think she was perfect for the part. It might not have succeeded then but hopefully with its resurgence...Hitch has been vindicated. And Novak is still alive to see this.
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Holy Cheese and Crackers, I stay off the boards for a few day and a whole brouhaha ensues...
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Ooooh Fred, I'd better not. I've said too much already.
Ugh! My people...my people.
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Great idea for a thread Diana. I haven't seen "Daisy Kenyon" in years, but I always remembered a shot from a restaurant and in the background was a movie theatre. I pass by it often when I'm in the Village. It was the Greenwich theatre I believe. And it's no longer there. (Just passed by last nite). It is now a fitness gym. And that's a damned shame.
West 12th Street & Greenwich Avenue. If any of you Noo Yawkers are out there and up this early correct me if I'm wrong.
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No problem Ray. Just a gentle correction...still love ya anyway.
P.S. You oughta catch some early Bogie and BettE. They're good.
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I live in New York, and I saw "CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF."
These are my opinions and thoughts:
Overall I enjoyed it. Nothing was "ruined" becuz it had an all African-American cast. The play is about the dynamics of Family.
Anika Noni Rose has the tough job as Maggie (the Cat). She has a great body, but I think she hit the wrong note as Maggie. She was almost just a girl who talked too much; babbled....blathered on. For the first twenty minutes of the play it was all her. I could sense folks feeling a bit annoyed that she was going on and on. And on. I thought the role needed another actress who I believe would exude more sensuality and just a touch more pain; someone like Sanaa Lathan (who some of you may or may not be familiar with). But then again, I have to keep in mind that maybe this was how Rose was directed.
Phylicia Rashad did a good solid job as Big Momma; so different from the elegant Claire Huxtable she portrayed on "The Cosby Show." She was believable as a Southern lady of the house ruling the roost over her family. And she can stand her own with James Earl Jones.
Terence Howard got the biggest applause. Oh yes. He IS a movie star. And gorgeous. He is quite believable as a man trying to quiet his torture and torment by drinking himself to death. He portrays desperation very well...but Howard sits at the feet of the Master when James Earl Jones comes on the scene. I enjoyed their scene together. (One of the no-neck monsters was played by Terrence Howard's daughter).
Giancarlo Esposito plays Gooper. Here's where I was picturing Jack Carson...heavy, fawning. Esposito was a little too slick not like a bookish lawyer. I think this could've been re-cast.
I saw Jones onstage when we went on a high school class trip to see "The Great White Hope." There he was, big, bald, sweaty, muscular, booming voice. Now thirty years later I am middle-aged and there HE is again. Towering in size and talent. Jones IS Big Daddy...head of a family who is full of greed and mendacity. He bellows when he has to to keep his family in check. And he gets soft when trying to help his son. (Yep, I waited to hear him rant about mendacity and was NOT disappointed). He's lied to about his own medical condition and it was sad that he could not believe his own wife loved him.
The play was staged well. All one set with different sections. It was pretty long; two intermissions, but it didn't drag. There was one thing that was disturbing though. If I'm being honest...I've got to mention this. The audience was mixed racially. But I heard some inappropriate laughter. There were intense scenes where Brick crawls for a drink, or raises his crutch to strike his wife. Jones took meaningful pauses and I'd hear tittering. It felt a little unsettling to me. When I would look around, I'd see..well maybe I shouldn't go there. I just remembered thinking that this is not the Apollo, that this is NOT a comedy.
When I left the theatre I heard two girls talking about the laughter. And how they were disappointed when they felt the actors started to play TO the laughter.
"CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF" would definitely be worth seeing if you're ever in New York. Hope you get a better audience than I had.
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Wally and the Beave.
No, seriously...I've enjoyed gazing at Alice Faye with Tyrone Power. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!
When interviewed about him, I remember her saying kissing him was like dying and going to heaven.
"In Old Chicago" or "Alexander's RagTime Band."
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"I am talking about actors who seem so good for each other, but were never paired together (maybe there was extreme age difference )
Here are some I can think of:
Bettie Davis.......Humphrey Bogart (When they were both very young!)"
HEY CINEMANIACS... I'm surprised no one caught the error in this post. Tsk! Tsk!
Bogie & Bette appeared together in "MARKED WOMAN" and "DARK VICTORY" and "THE PETRIFIED FOREST."
I would like to see Paulette Goddard with Cary Grant or with Fred MacMurray if you want to tone down the sexual heat. (Sorry Fred).
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Thank you. Thank you very much! ;-)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR JOAN!
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Enjoyed "Harriet Craig" this afternoon. My god, she was monstrous
wasn't she? Though nothing like "Queen Bee." Thought she looked the best in her in "Humoresque."
Think of it...for a dancing chorus girl-to-Hollywood royalty. From the 20's to the 70's. To be a woman. Clawing (and perhaps sleeping) her way to the top.
I admire her balls to fight to get ahead in that industry.
Yo, what can I say??? I'm a fan.