CineMaven
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Posts posted by CineMaven
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That perhaps is true Rey....but I like the emotion of this:
"I feel the same way, M'Ava. If she's gone, then Hollywood really was just a dream world that never actually existed." - << (( Jack Favell )) >>
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My friend David sent me this e-mail:
Why do I have the tendency of feeling like these stars are immortal. Always feels unreal when I hear of their passing. Thank you, Elizabeth Taylor.
The pictures you and Jackaaaaaaaaaay posted are beautiful. She lived big and loved big. She was a great friend to many. I found her beauty exquisite and loved many of her film performances. For me, Elizabeth Taylor is The Last Movie Star.
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:-( Sounds fitting, Miss G. Send my regards to Sunday. :-(
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"Tall T, I'm still blushin'. Crazy B-Girl, move over because I'm about to make you look super sane...I just wrote a short review of Caught in my Robbie Ryan thread but what I didn't add was that...heaven help me, I still love the man who was crazy (Ryan)...MORE than super nice, charming, NORMAL James Mason.
Cart me off now to the padded room, lol.
P.S. by way of SOME explanation...did you SEE how GORGEOUS Ryan looked in that black turtleneck????????????????????????????????" <<< (( Miss Goddess )) >>>
Again, your post made me burst out laughing out loud. And I feel similarly about Ryan when he comes up onto the boat dock...all 6'4" of him. He looked like he could play James Bond. But I'll reveal my feelings on that in my review of "CAUGHT" which I'm still formulating.
But the sad sad news I heard this morning has just wiped me out.
Edited by: CineMaven on Mar 23, 2011 10:38 AM b'cuz TYPOS are unacceptable, no matter what.
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"Without a social education, you're never going to meet a real man."
Well.
Between this morning (with TCM's airing of "COME FLY WITH ME") and yesterday
(w/ "CAUGHT") I have learned how to catch a man, lose a man and catch another
man again. The only thing I might lose along the way is my dignity, self-esteem,
peace/(piece) of mind and my baby.
A tout a l'heure... and it will be spoiled.
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"I believe Sue-Sue had the NERVE to post that a few pages back and nearly gave me a HEART ATTACK and I'm STILL blushing to the (dark) roots of my blonde hair."
<<< (( Miss Goddess )) >>>
LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL!
LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL!
"Oh, I think trying to kill us poor, innocent guys is EXACTLY the desired effect you horrible women are striving for. And we're such nice, sweet guys, too-! Just like ALL men are!" <<< (( Circus )) >>>
GROAN! I'm looking for an oil well to buy. Do you have any? I'm trying to unload a bridge here in Brooklyn.
"I'm not crazy....Although Burgess Meredith must have had, um, something goin' on for Paulette Goddard to be interested in..." <<< (( Bronx 'I'm Not Crazy' Girl )) >>>
He probably was a great.....raconteur. I heard he was a brainiac.
Richard Carlson and Jeffrey Lynn were two of my favorite boys-next-door. They were such cutie pies.
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I need to say this somewhere where I won't get carted off to the funny farm (and I'll only post it once, don't worry) JOHN PAYNE IS GORGEOUS. Ah. I feel better now I got him...THAT...off my chest. << (( Miss Goddess )) >>
"As for John Payne, he's totally growing on me lately." << (( Jack Favell )) >>
I must be the only gal on these boards who doesn't get the warmies over John. However, I'm starting to go ga-ga over Lionel Barrymore...Now....WHERE IS THAT TRISTESSE VILLA??? << (( Bronxgirl )) >>
Well well my lovelies. I sense a pattern here. I'm with you. Now I know Jackaaaaaaaay didn't want to give the boys a heart attack with that picture of Mylene Demongeot...but women are made of stronger stock. We outlive men any way. So which one of you thinks she can post of a picture of John in the boxing ring. He's in his corner, in the chair, camera kind of looking up at him and...oh, I think you know the one I mean.
Payne and pleasure. Hmmm...sometimes it's the same thing.
I know, I know. Why oh why does she always go there?!! Is there a therapist in the house??
Bronxie, you'll never find that villa by getting the warm fuzzies with your traditionally untraditional choices. Uncle Irving, indeed! ;-)
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Whew! Again. :x
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Wavelength...well, it's just that great minds think alike. There's an intensity about Natalie Portman. But here's someone you and folks should be on the look out for: Jennifer Lawrence who appeared in "Winter's Bone." She's a very fine young actress.
In this cookie-cutter age of Hollywood, one has to have something unusual about them that stands out. I saw TCM's promo for Jean Harlow this month. As usual, TCM hit it out of the ballpark with that presentation. Their editing oft times drops my jaw. The cuts, the music make Harlow (to me) seem soooooo contemporary. Now I saw her in "Reckless." Sad to say Harlow cannot sing or dance. I chuckled when I saw those long shots of her and the cutaway shots to her feet hoofing (or whoever feet those were). Yikes! With that said, nobody, but nobody could touch her for delivering her lines. Especially what stands out for me with Harlow is her performances in "Libeled Lady" and in "Bombshell."
She can't be touched.
Great to be on your wavelength, Jack!
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"Here are some of the less naughty pics I found of Mylene Demongeot. There was a another I wanted to post but I fear the men on the boards might have had heart failure..."
"Tall T" here. HA!!! And no one to resuscitate our guys. You just saved some lives, Jack.
I think today's Natalie Portman could have played Jean Seberg's role. I want to see "Moment to Moment" again. I remember loving Arthur Hill. (Love his voice).
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"Gone With the Wind." Rhett Butler loves Scarlett O'Hara loves Ashley Wilkes loves Melanie.
A quadrangle.
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Maybe with two cans and a string? Nah, I can't do it to my buddy.
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Jackaaaaaaaay, if you don't mind...I shared your review of "BONJOUR TRISTESSE" with my ol' college buddy, who I consider my movie mentor. (You will see him in Episode 8 of "Meg Ramsey"). Below is his comment and I often thought that "...Tristesse" was too girly for guys to like. Well, I've been wrong before. I've tried to connect him with Moira Finnie over at the oasis. The way this message board stands now...I mean, how could I do that to a friend?
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"XXXXXX wrote: "Thank you for the review. Yes, I have liked 'Bonjour Tristesse' ever since, and even more as time goes by. It is another movie that is superior to its source. That shot that Jack describes of Seberg dancing was on my MUBI profile page, and now I want to put it back. Jack is really good. With you, Moira, and him there, I've got to get connected with y'all, but I must confess that the times that I have made the attempt, I have found the mechanics of the TCM site somewhat intimidating. I may need a tutorial or someone to walk me through over the phone."
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Your choice of "VERTIGO" was inspiring!!!!! Ha! P.S., Grace Kelly was certainly the object of many men's affection.
Now...which day do I get Gable???
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"... as wispy as a dandelion frond floating on the wind."
Jacks, your treatise on "BONJOUR TRISTESSE" is one of the best things you have ever written on this Message Board.
When I look at the board from my computer, it looks like swiss cheese. Everytime, and I mean almost every single time I am ready to give up on this Message Board, I come back b'cuz of the writing. Delicate, heartfelt, smart and poetic is what I got from your post. To quote our girl..."Brilliant." Honestly.
And then to read this morning's "conversation" between you and Miss Goddess ("hi, Miss G.") adds to my appreciation of the movie, adds to getting an insight on how you both see things. You both don't go the easy route: "thumbs up! thumbs down!" You give me revelatory glimpses into how you see things as a person. You've made me feel your thoughts. Hmmm...feel your thoughts. How can that be?
So I'll go through all the flotsam and jetsom of the Message Board...of real and imaginary members...of untested and wonky web designs...of complaints and flames and discords and one-upmanships and hall monitoring. I'll go through hell...b'cuz I know that when I beat through the bushes and the swamp, on the other side is a post of good cheer, clever humor, camaraderie and writing that makes me feel.
Thank you.
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Oooooh, how delish, Jackaaaaaaaaaay...
Aaaah yes. They say "three's a crowd." Well...maybe in real life. But in reel life, it sure makes things interesting. Aww heck...in real life too.
Here are some of my favorite menage-a-trois triangles in movies. Now, there may not be a romantic edge to some of my titles...but it's the triumvirates I like. I've created my list in alphabetical order. The name in the middle would be the object of affection:
1. A FREE SOUL Clark Gable, Norma Shearer, Lionel Barrymore.
2. ALL ABOUT EVE Bette Davis, Gary Merrill, Anne Baxter (though Eve was only really in love with Eve and getting herself a career).
3. ARNELO AFFAIR, THE George Murphy, Frances Gifford, John Hodiak.
4. AWFUL TRUTH, THE Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Ralph Bellamy.
5. BISHOP'S WIFE, THE Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven.
6. BLOOD AND SAND Rita Hayworth, Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell.
7. BOOMTOWN Claudette Colbert, GABLE, Hedy Lamarr.
8. CASABLANCA Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid.
9. CAT PEOPLE Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Jane Randolph (the hussy).
10. CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Patric Knowles.
11. CHILDREN'S HOUR, THE James Garner, Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine.
12. CRASH DIVE Tyrone Power, Anne Baxter, Dana Andrews.
13. CROSSFIRE Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, Robert Young (a very fine dramatic triumvirate).
14. DESERT FURY Burt Lancaster, Lizabeth Scott, John Hodiak.
15. DESERT FURY Lizabeth Scott, John Hodiak, Wendell Corey.
16. DESERT FURY Mary Astor Lizabeth Scott, John Hodiak.
17. DIABOLIQUE Simone Signoret, Paul Meurisse, Vera Clouzot
18. DUEL IN THE SUN Gregory Peck, Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten.
19. EASY TO WED Esther Williams, Van Johnson, Lucille Ball.
20. FALLEN ANGEL Alice Faye, Dana Andrews, Linda Darnell.
21. FOUR DAUGHTERS John Garfield, Priscilla Lane, Jeffrey Lynn.
22. GIANT Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean.
23. GILDA Glenn Ford, Rita Hayworth, George MacReady.
24. GILDA Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, George MacReady.
25. GONE WITH THE WIND Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard.
26. I WALK ALONE Burt Lancaster, Lizabeth Scott, Kirk Douglas.
27. GRASS IS GREENER, THE Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum. (Sigh! Decisions, decisions!)
28. KINGS GO FORTH Frank Sinatra, Natalie Wood, Tony Curtis (Eeeeeew, you cad!!!)
29. LAURA Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, Clifton Webb (Is there any contest? Well...no. But Webb did covet her if not really ?love? her).
30. LETTER TO THREE WIVES, A Jeanne Crain, Ann Sothern, Linda Darnell (* No no no, no funny business here. Just a great triumvirate of actresses).
31. LIBELED LADY Myrna Loy, William Powell, Jean Harlow.
32. LOLITA James Mason, Sue Lyon, Peter Sellers (Unseemly, but there you have it).
33. MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, THE Angela Lansbury, Laurence Harvey, Leslie Parrish. (Mamahhhh, until the day we are together once more...)
34. MOGAMBO Ava Gardner, GABLE, Grace Kelly (Girls! Girls! Puhleeze! There?s enough Gable to go around!)
35. MR. BLANDINGS BUILDS HIS DREAM HOUSE Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, Melvyn Douglas.
36. NIGHT OF THE IGUANA Ava Gardner, Richard Burton, Deborah Kerr (Tie me up, tie me down!)
37. NOTORIOUS Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains.
38. OUT OF THE PAST Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas. (Have you seen her walk in out of the sunlight?)
39. PHILADELPHIA STORY, THE Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart (Oh Kate, you lucky lucky girl!)
40. PILLOW TALK Doris Day, Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis (Just a lovely comic triumvirate, though I might put Rock in the middle of that.).
41. RED DUST Harlow, GABLE, Mary Astor (Girls, girls, can't we all just get along...and share Clark?)
42. SANDPIPERS, THE Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Eva Marie Saint.
43. SEND ME NO FLOWERS Doris Day, Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis (There goes that triumvirate again).
44. STRANGE AFFAIR OF UNCLE HARRY, THE Ella Raines, George Sanders, Geraldine Fitzgerald.
46. STRANGE LOVE OF MARTHA IVERS, THE Van Heflin, Barbara Stanwyck, Kirk Douglas.
47. SUNDAY, BLOODY SUNDAY Glenda Jackson, Peter Finch, Murray Head.
48. TORRID ZONE Ann Sheridan, James Cagney, Pat O?Brien.
49. THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT Ann Sheridan, George Raft, Ida Lupino.
50. TOO MANY HUSBANDS Fred MacMurray, Jean Arthur, Melvyn Douglas.
51. WALK ON THE WILD SIDE Laurence Harvey, Capucine Barbara Stanwyck.
52. WARLOCK Anthony Quinn, Henry Fonda, Dorothy Malone (Whew! The wild wild west!)
53. WRITTEN ON THE WIND Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, Robert Stack.
Now, about a foursome for bridge, I pick...
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Bon soir mesdames! :-)
Bronxie, both you and Miss Goddess made really excellent and succinct observations about "Bonjour Tristesse." Very nice.
I'm ambivalent about the character of Anne. Half of me is relieved when she's finally gone, the other half grieves. Then at the same time I get a sort of lump in my throat, and reflect: but at what price is this freedom? Anne was a deluded, emotionally fragile control freak, yet I can't help feeling a great loss... - << (( Bronxgirl )) >>
Yes, Kerr was a bit of a stick-in-the-mud. But Niven and Seberg were definitely morally worse for the wear with what they both did to Kerr. Her character was like Shelley Winters' in "A PLACE IN THE SUN." We feel sorry for her, all pregnant and everything...but we want her out of Liz's and Monty's way. It's like Hitchcock?s "PSYCHO." OMG, Marion's killed by Norman's mother and now he is getting rid of Marion's body. Poor Marion. Uh-oh, the car stopped sinking. I hope Norman doesn?t get caught.
What a conundrum directors put us in.
Oh heck who am I kidding, I'd sleep on the floor of the kitchen if I could only live there for a week! - << (( Jack Favell )) >>
HA! Who am I kidding? After eating Albertine and Leontine's cooking, I won't fit in the bed.
I want Cecile's little black Parisian dress. - << (( Miss Goddess )) >>
And I want David Niven.
He's a playboy, and rich and dashing. And he's not into 'Commitment.' So, knowing all of this going in...I think I'd:
* have a great fling with him
* stay in a lovely villa
* not be perceived to be a threat by his possessive daughter, and escape with my life, and my memories. I'll e-mail you guys the pix.
Go in with your eyes wide open girls, I say.
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That is MRS. CM'APM, to you...please.
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YO!!! Whaddya sayin' Gundersen?? I can't hear ya from all the snow. Ooooh, I see below me that you're Torchy now. See, now you're cookin'.
CineM'Ava Powell Mitchum.
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You betcha! I'm Dick Powell, Marge.
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Well I'm Mitchum. I make many women cry. Now let me go correct my typos. I'm Mitchum. I correct my mistakes.
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Maven, I'm thinking about it, and I think you would be somewhere between Dick Powell and Mitchum - both have a great sense of humor, but Mitchum has deep wells of something underlying it.... maybe something dangerous. I'm not sure, but there is something he doesn't want you to know... He makes me nervous. I think you have the same thing, You are funny, but I would not want to get on your bad side. Powell has a snippy side, and I don't see you that way - you are more rounded - when you say something I feel that it has more import - it's not just for laughs. There is a lot of smarts in him, and he can't quite keep it from coming out of his mouth. Yeah, you are just like Mitchum. - << ( Jack Favell ) >>
MITCHUM??? (Are you drinking so early in the afternoon??) I am flattered beyond belief. Mitchum is the epitome of...well, I'm flattered. I know that I am definitely more forthcoming than Mitchum... but I'm feeling more Powell-ish becuz of his humor in "MURDER, MY SWEET." My sense of humor has gotten me into and out of many a scrapes. Didja see the way Powell dealt with Moose? ("I want you should find a girl"). Only humor could help even the odds with a big galoot like that. Mitchum is incredibly sexy. But I share this trait with him: he means what he says and he says what he means. Mitchum, huh? I'm beaming inside. Thanx!
Cool! I haven't thought of who would play me... I'd like to say Dick Powell, but I fear I am more of a Frances McDormand from Fargo - I do love Arby's. Maybe a little of Edna Mae Oliver's suspicious nature. - << ( Jack Favell ) >>
Frances McDormand's Marge was such a tenacious little fighter. She solved the hell out of that case in a determined and disarming way...even with almost-bouts of morning sickness. Let's see Bogey's Spade or Marlowe do that! I resisted "FARGO" for years. But then when I saw it (and "THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION") I was literally blown out of my skull. I'm callin' you Marge, Jackaaaaaaaay.
Ha.. color me.. Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple.. or maybe Dame May.. as Miss Froy. (alas)
- << ( Rohanaka ) >>WoW! Ro...go on with your baaad self. I hope you wear cooler outfits than these two, but there's no challenge to their powers of deduction and detection and no-nonsense. You're it. And your first case "The Case of the Missing Message Board Threads." ( Now about that roof... )
I loved CinemAva's choice of Dick Powell and your selection of Marge Gunderson. I think Frank Drebin will play me. - << ( Frank Grimes ) >>
Ha! Grimesy me boy...Drebin? Okay, I hear ya. He was a jokester, confused and ofttimes a$$backwards, but he did get his man! Aaaaaaand Priscilla too, I might add.
I had to look up who Frank Drebin was! D'uh! I think you are very Dana Andrews in "Laura." - << ( Jack Favell ) >>
C?mon Marge!!! Get your head outta Minnesota. You?ve GOT to know who Drebin is. But I think you've totally hit the mark with likening Frank Grimes to Dana in "LAURA." A tough guy, with a soft heart and longing...ever longing for his dream girl. Playing it cool, thinking that he doesn't deserve her...but yet still wanting her. (Priscilla and Gene Tierney, Grimesy? How lucky can one guy be? Now ain't that a kick in the head). You hide behind being a Drebin, when you're really a McPherson.
I guess the closest I'd get to be is "Nora Charles", wanting my husband to entertain me by solving crimes and getting my lights punched out in the process.
- << ( Miss Goddess ) >> Hi there Miss G. Look at you...sending Nicky out there in harm's way. But look what he comes home to...you, with a martini glass waiting by the door. (I hope he remembers to bring you his paycheck to pay for that high rise condo you two share!) But check it out G, Nora was out there on the town and on the case too giving Nicky good advice and being part of the excitement. Just remember, when the bad guys start swinging...DUCK!!
Thanks. I'm not a poet like Jimmy but I have written songs and we both played(ed) piano. I will allow myself that I sing better than he did. - < ( Movieman1957 ) >>
Ah-ha '57. I take it you shall be the Singing Detective, ey?
Loving classic films has taken me out of my humdrum experience and put me in the place of movie stars of different genders and racial make-ups other than myself. What good is fantasy if I can't explore it in all different ways. In my mind's eye, I can swashbuckle like Errol Flynn...and mesmerize like Rita Hayworth. I'm as much as a buffoon as Rags Ragland and can devastate like Ava. I'm as vivacious as Betty Grable or as saturnine as Judith Anderson. Loving classic films, I can imagine being all things and still honor my ancestors James Edwards, (my favorite) Theresa Harris, Maidie Norman, Hattie MacDaniel, Fredi Washington, Paul Robeson, Roy Glenn, Dorothy Dandridge, Clarence Muse, Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, (and my other favorite) Kim Hamilton.....et al.
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Hey guys, The pages are still there! I notified the WebAdmin about this problem (it's also in Movie Rambles and Kyle's Poster Gallery) last week.
Thank you Lynn.
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"That's so interesting. Let me go all Barbara Walters on you.... If you had to
have someone portray you as a detective in a classic film, who would it be?" -
<< (( JackFavell )) >>
If this isn't just a question for MovieMan specifically, may I answer it? Even though I'm a
girl? If I had to choose a detective to play me...I'd go with Dick Powell. He wasn't super
tough and super cool. He got beat up and had a sense of humor about things. That
sounds closest to me than all the hard-boiled private eyes that were out there.
- << (
ROBERT RYAN - The Real Quiet Man
in Your Favorites
Posted
CAUGHT stars Barbara Bel Geddes, Robert Ryan and James Mason. Now knowing what James Mason's career was to become, I know he could have easily played the psychopathically domineering husband who could not take NO for an answer. But in this instance, Robert Ryan ably plays the unhinged but wealthy Rich Ohlrig. I wonder what went through Robert Ryan's mind when he read the script and accepted the role of such a distasteful man; did he find something in the man that HE wanted to explore? I kept waiting for some redeeming quality to be revealed; kept hoping b'cuz Ryan is so physically imposing and Alpha I am drawn to him in so many...uncinematic ways. But the only thing I culled was that any challenge to his character?s dominance manifested itself in him having a debilitating attack. (But to be honest girls, really...I kept hoping he'd see the error of his ways, from the safe confines of my bedroom).
What I did firmly get out of "CAUGHT" was a real and new appreciation of Barbara Bel Geddes. (I love her name). I haven't seen her in many films...just the same few movies over and over again (incl."VERTIGO", "I REMEMBER MAMA", TV?S DALLAS) which makes me feel like I know her work. When the film starts I thought she was awful pretty, pert, perky, spunky and (surprising to me) lazily comfortably sexy. Yeah. And smart, let me not leave out smart.
It was interesting to see the raison d'etre of all these girls was to get a husband. Look at the opening credits. It had the turning pages of a fashion magazine...just what all us girls read. (?) Hey, they got classes for catching a husband. Walk like this. Talk like that and VOILA!! You?ve got Him...hook, line and sinker. One 6'4" 190-lb American male. Yummy, when do we eat! You just have to cook him. I'm sure the charm school gave culinary lessons too.
I loved seeing our ol' pal (Art Smith) from "IN A LONELY PLACE" as Ohlrig's therapist. He's got it bad, but we don?t realize how bad until pretty quickly into his relationship with Bel Geddes (as Leonora). I think his domination of her is equal to his own self-hatred. Ultimately he doesn?t believe he?s worth anything without his money; that no one could possibly like him. And ultimately, that is very sad for him. He speaks contemptuously to her. (Ugh!) When he has this anxiety attack or whatever you might call it, it reminds of Cagney's Cody in "WHITE HEAT." Re: Leonora, I know she?s looking for a husband, a rich husband (is there any other kind worth looking for...in the movies)? But I never get the sense that she?s a cold-hearted gold digger. She's newly coiffed, well-tended, big pool, fancy schmancy...but the girl?s not happy. Even her visit with her ol' roommate doesn?t look too happy. I think they both unspokenly see that being married to a Rich Man is not all it?s cracked up to be. I like that Leonora does not cave in, she talks back. When Ohlrig tries to belittle her in front of all his colleagues, she answers him and walks out on him; in front of HIS colleagues. (Ha! Score One for the gold digger). That's the spunkiness I was referring to. But apparently marriage is just another means to control her.
All I care about is winning.
I hate blackmail plots in films. But psychological torture is the worst for me. I'll take ten Freddy Kreugers or Jason Voorhees exploding-headed horror films than view Ingrid Bergman tortured by Boyer. Leonora's presence is almost negligible in her husband's life. When his right-hand man, man-servant (played wonderfully by Curt Bois) plays the piano, he ignores her protestations to stop. She has to smack him in the face to get him to stop playing. The scene was tense, her asking...then begging him to stop. And he would not stop. Gr-r-r-r that is galling to me!! She was not listened to. What she wanted didn't matter. She almost did not exist. I thought that was very telling.
I like when Leonora gets steel in her spine. She leaves Ohlrig. Looks like she leaves with less than she had than when she met him. She's starting from scratch and gets a job as receptionist in a doctors office played by dreamy James Mason. He's so young and attractive...and that voice. His voice could melt icebergs...polar caps. He calls her on bringing her uptown hoity toity attitude to his downtown office and not improving her skills. (Now again in an effort to be honest, I didn?t quite buy James Mason as a doctor in a Lower East Side neighborhood. That accent is just too too. But hey...). He wants her to push herself to be better at her job. Here's a man who wants her to be more than an ornament to him.
After Ohlrig goes back to her with hat in hand (well...after he's had her followed and then goes to her), I have to admit I let my guard down and believed his sincerity.
I was wrong I admit it. It won?t be that way anymore Leonora. It won't. Well make a fresh start. We?ll make everything just the way it ought to have been. I'm so used to having my own way that it was hard for me to come here but I missed you and wanted you so much...
(I personally wished he would have sealed that with a kiss). Girls, he's just so darned big and strong. He looks like a mountain. If he would just let himself go, give himself half a chance, that little petite thing could wrap that big ol? bear around her little finger, you know she could. He does seem tender here, wanting to get her out of the "shabby" little apartment. I liked that he couldn't find the bathroom light switch. It's a little thing but I was looking for something human from him. She does have one night with him, but he doesn?t really give himself a snowball's chance in hell. To love, to be in love one must give up some control. Ohlrig and Leonora do have the one nite together, but his true motive is revealed shortly after and she's "outta" there.
If it was just a mere matter of rich (stability) vs. happiness (love), I don?t think they?d make Ohlrig such a prig. I suspect the convention would be to make him super busy and detached. But he?s putting her down in front of company. And she knows it, and calls him on it.
Leonora's back with Dr. Quinada and flourishes in her job and in her relationship with him. She can breathe and laugh and dance. I liked the scene at the bar. What was up with that lady interrupting??? Twice. I liked how Leonora didn?t give her single glance.
Some moments I enjoyed in the film:
* Did you notice Agnes from "The Big Sleep" played the charm skool receptionist?
* I liked the Mom in the clinic chastising her son who was blowing that dangfangled whistle.
* I enjoyed watching Frank Ferguson as the doctor hurrying into the office, running out of the office and loved his quiet conversations with Leonora and then with Dr. Q., Medecine Man.
* A scene I found equally as tense as the smack-the-piano player scene was when the man-servant, right-hand man, flunky pleaded with her to come down stairs to Ohlrig...and she would not. His desperation was palpable. It looked like his very life (livelihood) was dependent upon her coming downstairs. (Score Two for Leonora!)
* I thought it was a triumph for Leonora AND for this synchophantic little manny when he told Ohlrig he was a big man, but not big enough to destroy Leonora. I really felt happy. And then he quit. Bravo, Franzi.
* Did you notice the venetian blind shadows slashed across Leonora?s face...and how in the garage when Dr. Q. was grilling her, she was boxed in (or rather) her face was framed by the rung of a ladder.
* There's going to be a baby??? What the...
Yes, Leonora did go back to Ohlrig. I say she went back for the sake of the baby and its financial future. But what a low blow by Ohlrig to use Custody against her.
What is it about human nature? When I saw Ohlrig writhing on the floor asking for water, I did feel kind of bad for him. But when she walked OUT of the room, that really made me beam.
Why hasn't Barbara Bel Geddes really been on my radar before in a meaningful way? She didn?t get the big buildup of the glamor girls or the Actresses. But I see (now) she has what it takes. Her delivery is natural, conversational. She?s easy, unfussy and there?s strength in her common sense. I think I now see why Hitchcock used her in ?VERTIGO? and tamped her down. Nawwww, don?t be a silly goose. She?s no competition for Kim Novak who?s a whole ?nother galaxy and wattage completely. But from viewing CAUGHT I can see what ?Scottie? saw in ?Midge? in the first place, and not just maternal. I never saw that before ?CAUGHT/?
O? Hollywood. You spring little jewels on me. Thanx for suggesting this movie, Miss. G. I enjoyed it and Barbara Bel Geddes.