CineMaven
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Posts posted by CineMaven
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Dang it....I forgot Claire Bloom. I was trying rummage around in the cobwebs of my brain for British actresses without going imdb. You've succinctly & eloquently done it again.
< Sigh! >
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...And with all her other-worldly femininity, she had a great kind of husky voice. Lovely what you wrote.
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I went to an old record store that sold albums and CDs and VHS tapes; the store was cluttered from floor to ceiling. For five bucks I bought a VHS copy of "UNFAITHFULLY YOURS." Will I have the biting incisive "CLUNY BROWN" experience from Preston Sturgess with this film?
I ask b'cuz I resisted watching "CLUNY BROWN" for years and was head over heels about it.
I've never seen "Unfaithfully..." all the way through.
Edited by: CineMaven on Jan 16, 2011 9:06 PM - "I also bought 'PARRISH'," said the Maven sheepishly.
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We joked about "X, Y & ZEE" but she was quite a contrast to Elizabeth Taylor. She wasn't like Rita Tushingham or Julie Christie or Mary Ure or Rachel Roberts...or any of those English roses. Every
time I've seen Susannah York in films I thought she had something extra.
Of course she'd be Kal-El's mother.
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Was very sorry to hear of Susannah York's passing. She had a wonderfully fey quality about her. Sad. And Carole Lombard also passed away today in 1942.
Sad.
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YUP! Sometimes mixing up the ingredients...casting against type serves to spice things up. I'm starting to get into smooth suave handsome-looking villains. Hmmmm...those bad boyz!
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"I bought it too. But boy, does he get smacked around.... it's almost suggestive how much beating goes on during the movie." - << (( JackFavell )) >>
He certainly was. There was a plethora of pummeling and (Foley) punches that sometimes connected and other times swung in thin air. Goddess' boy with the dreamy eyes is in this
(Brad Dexter) and I think the film was trying to prove how tough John Payne was with all that punching.
He seemed like an unstable hot-head...but to be honest, not without reason, I guess. Peggie Castle was a gorgeous girl. I remember her from tv's "LAWMAN." I wonder why she didn't go further.
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"Rosalind Russell in Auntie Mame, Natalie Wood in Penelope, Marilyn Monroe in The Prince and the Showgirl and Irene Dunne in The Awful Truth are among the many who give me courage when I go out there socializing. Which was so long ago at this point...all those movies might have been in their first run. JUST KIDDING!!" - < ( MissGoddess ) >
Awwwwwww, it'll be like riding a bike. Well here?s hoping you get back out there real soon when our NYC weather comes to its senses.
"I keep tuning into the Kardashians. Some sort of horrific fascination takes hold of me. But it's usually not a good idea to watch this before a meal." - < ( BronxGirl ) >
You?re right about that, Girlie. Has Bruce just totally lost his manhood in that House of Botox, Estrogen & Bikini Waxing? Yeesh Louise!
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"He and Tom Conway are the two men with pencil thin moustaches that I don't care for. I wonder why??
Becuz pencil thin mustaches spell Oil-Can-Harry, that?s why. And who can trust Oil-Can-Harry?
?I get the name Neville Brand mixed up with John Neville, the slender British actor. Brand looks like he ought to be named Ned Beatty or Pat Hingle, not NEVILLE BRAND.?
Jackaaaaaaaay, a rose by any other name smells like Neville Brand.
Looking at my recording of John Payne's "99 River Street." Rain-soaked streets, neon lights...oh yeah, murder. He's a hot-headed tough guy, whose wife done him wrong. I believe him rough and tough. Lets see how this movie plays out.
Bronxie...your Mom certainly does get to the heart of the matter.
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Hmmmm....Molo. Your writing took me back to memories of this "little film." I've just gone through my stack of DVDs and pulled out "HEAT LIGHTNING" for a re-visit. Maybe Aline can give me re-
newed strength and courage out there when I go out there socializing...
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"Have you seen her in Heat Lightning yet? That's probably my favorite Aline MacMahon film but One Way Passage is right up there."
Howdy Molo. Yes, I have seen "Heat Lightning."
In fact if you check this out: http://forums.tcm.com/jive/tcm/thread.jspa?messageID=8372773 (3/15/10 - 9:07AM; p.104), you will find my post (excerpted here:)
> Aline is such a warrior in "HEAT LIGHTNING." A warrior in the battle of love. She actually is a > fallen warrior. She has retreated from the bright lights and big city to a desert monastery. She is > self-sequestered in this nunnery of arrid dryness out in the desert. (Perhaps a metaphor for her-
> self). In the game of love, she has lost. We see before us...a broken woman who is hiding from > love. She now protects herself in armor that the male gaze is not want to pierce = oversized shirt, > boots and overalls. Her long hair is pinned and trussed up by a bandana. I think she looks rather > fetchingly contemporary this way..."
You are soooo right when you say this Molo:
Sometimes you just need to toss all the scheming and settle down and raise chickens.
Enough with the games and come clean and at the end she did. I believed her tough dame exterior, and I believed her when she was slowly waving her fan.
I really dove into Kay's films when she was "Star on the Month" a while back. There is just something about her I like and it comes through in most every role. She can play strong characters, she has the toughness in her. She also has a lot of humor and a sense of fun. She can be noble or naughty. I found her romanticized character in One Way Passage, and particularly her spiteful turn in In Name Only to be a bit off her normal track but she plays both of them so well.
You've described her succinctly and eloquently O' Moliest of Moloes. I too watched Kay's "star" turn on TCM a while back...and became a fan of hers that month. Now she gets a birthday celebration and finding out she's a Capricorn makes me smile, as I'm one too. When I first discovered Kay it was really only having seen "In Name Only" so imagine my surprise and treat to see her doing other kinds of roles.
George Brent? I used to not think much of him but I've changed that view over the past couple of years.
I'm a new Brent convert myself. Oh of course I've seen him in those Bette Davis films all throughout my early Maven'd years, and thought he was just a big hunk o' leading man. But then I saw "Jezebel" and there was something about it in that viewing that made me give Brent the once over. I liked him better than Henry Fonda. Then seeing him with Myrna Loy in "The Rains Came" opened up my eyes again to him. So now when I see him with Davis or Stanwyck...I'm moreso checking him out.
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Mini-Minute Ramble
Watched the last half hour of "One Way Passage" a great love story. Kay's dark beauty was never lovelier...Powell was dashing...but it's Aline MacMahon who garnered most of my attention in my short stint of viewing this morning. Strong features, arresting eyes, and that long hair she was brushing....and very natural way of delivering her lines. Is it me or is she just magnificent?
"Goose and the Gander" is pretty cute. I can see it re-made today and Kay does have a nice light touch. But Georgie Porgie in his bathing trunks and thong-ish top, what a physique. And he looks good opposite Kay.
<>
Happy B'day to Kay.
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The Ernie Borgnine interstitial tribute to Robert Ryan gave me goose bumps. RYAN has got to easily be one of the most under-rated actors of Hollywood's Golden Age.
Thanxx again TCM.
C.Maven.
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"I don't believe in acting. I believe in being." - <<< (( Luise Rainer )) >>>
Wow!
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"If you have ever entered a darkened movie theater looking for pieces of eight
from the treasure chest of someone's soul, tune in on Wednesday evening
for a wealth of riches." - <<<< (( SUE SUE APPLEGATE )) >>>>
Warmly said, SueX2. Ms. Rainer oughta talk to Doris Day and Olivia de Havilland.
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I'm hoping you're having a slooooooooooooow day at work, so that even though you're there, there's not alot to do. I'm about to go to Central Park (a five block walk) to the Winter Wonder-
land that is now New York after the snowstorm.
All you Hardy fans...enjoy the L & H marathon. I love marathons! Thanks TCM.
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Actually...mine.
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Thank you Joe.
Uhmmmm...Thank YOU!!!
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:-( Oh why couldn't George Brent be waiting in the wings for dear Catherine. :-(
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THE DECK IS STACKED AGAINST MISS CATHERINE:
JACK FAVELL writes: I know the temptation when a man is having an affair with another woman is for the woman to blame the other woman.... is it similar?
We know what THAT's all about. The woman is scared to death of being angry at her man...of still losing him, so she'll be upset with the woman. A good friend of mine told me that years and years ago, she caught her husband in an "indiscretion" with a woman in his mother's basement. (Girls it was wrong on ALL counts 'cuz her Mother-In-Law never liked her). When my friend busted in on them, the girl ran around the bed screaming in fear. My friend said (and I'll clean it up for public consumption here:) "B***h I don't give a...a "fig" about you!" and she went straight for her husband and beat him with her shoe until he escaped into the bathroom. My friend wasn't fighting a female. She fought her husband, the one who cheated on her. She was not afraid to lose him. You only blame the woman, if you're afraid to lose...or want to still keep your man. ( I don't blame Elizabeth...I blame Eddie ).
MISS LAVINIA writes: She cannot be happy married to a man with money if she doesn't love him, and yet neither could she happily be the wife of a poor man who did not love her.
Whoa! Quelle dilemma. Aaaah, if only we could have our cake and eat it too!! I believe men do that more than women.
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Let's call a spade, a spade. The deck was stacked against women in the past centuries. Men held all the cards...alll the power. Remember what Pop Liebel said in "VERTIGO" about "the mad Carlotta."
Fantastic discourse, Ramblers.
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Oh. Okay.
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You have very much misunderstood my post regarding Olivia de Havilland. I am a fan of hers and becoming a bigger one. And I am aware of the history of her fighting the studios against their dra-
conian contracts and suspensions. ...And that she won.
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Ahhh! I agree... and deHavilland made few wrong choices in her career - she goes from the swooningly beautiful Errol Flynn movies into Hold Back the Dawn, In This Our Life, The Snake Pit (where does this movie suddenly come from?!), The Heiress, and My Cousin Rachel. She transitioned perfectly into a mature womanly actress.
She did, didn't she. Luckier than a lot of her contemporaries...but maybe that's b'cuz her screen persona didn't start off with the "IT" "OOOMPH" "SWEATER GIRL" "SARONG" bombshell handle or Actress with a hard capital "A" like Katharine Hepburn. I think of Kate Winslet the same way and having seen "The Black Swan" (have you seen that one, yet?) I think Natalie Portman is going on a great career path...even with her new one with Ashton Kutcher (though I'm curious to see if she can play a regular girl and do light comedy).
...My good friend Bob, who knows and speaks more eloquently about film from his pinkie than I have in the whole of my big fat Maven's head, has always told me that playing the "good girl" is the most challenging role an actress can choose.
That is the truth. I want to know how she realized so early on that these women had some fasci-nation too. I never saw "the good girl" as anything more than a hurdle to be got over in a career.
I don't know. Smart girl...good people around her. She found the kernel, the meat in many of those roles even in a film with the heat of a Paulette Goddard breathing down Boyer's neck. Some never really overcome that "good girl" hurdle. (Cathy O'Donnell). But somebody's gotta be good. Is Gail Russell in that category? (I didn't mean to get so far afield of Sir Ralph).
And I love how deHavilland uses her voice, when she lets it drop to a deeper register. (E.g.: "He came back with the same lies...")
The way she says that line - her voice is soo hard, and flat on the word 'lies'. It's an ugly voice - in complete contrast with her new more alluring look.
You're right...flat...no affect. I wonder how many women in the 19th century were created by the way men treated them. I've got to look up the nominees for Best Actress the year Olivia won. And I loved her b**ch-slapping Bette in "Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte." Aww cripes. There I go, bringing things down to the lowest common denominator again. :-(
VOILA!! Doctor Father Sloper's job is done. That might not have been his intention...but that sure was the result; isn't the road to Hell paved with good intentions. Now he has a daughter who stays a virgin...untouched and now...not allowing herself TO be loved. It's probably one of the saddest endings I've ever seen for a heroine. (Empowering maybe, but sad nonetheless). For me...it's akin to Muni's fate and last line in "I WAS A FUGITIVE OF A CHAIN GANG" No peace...ever.
It always makes me feel conflicted - that ending. I want her to take that empowerment and run with it - but she still is kind of obtuse isn't she? She has gone all the way from inncence to harridan, with no stops in between. It's a testament to the movie that I care what happens "after".
I hear ya Jackaaaaaaaay. Hasn't Catherine learned anything?? It's good you care what happens after. In fact, go over to the Oasis and re-read our scenarios of "what happens after..."
Ha!
Have you read the book on Wyler? I am thinking of getting it.
No I haven't. I haven't read a book since "Dick and Jane." (And I tell you...Spot is NO Petey).
Seriously, I haven't read a book in a long long time though in my heyday I bought a lot of film books that are probably out of print now. (Maybe I'll head over to the Strand to see what's what but (and I promise to ask this one last question and let you and the serious writers get back to your arm-y guy Sir Ralph)...but can you (or anyone else) recommend some good film bios or film books I should get for my library?? Thanks. And thanks for your indulgence to my off-topic tangent.
Edited by: CineMaven on Jan 9, 2011 10:50 AM - Oops! Re the spelling of Ms. de Havilland's name.
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G'Morning Jackaaaaaaaaaay and all you fans of TCM on this thread.
I think what I was trying to say is seeing DeHavilland later in her (40's) career made me forget about her career in the 30's.
I agree with you about DeHavilland's performance in "Gone With the Wind." And next time I see the film, I must put aside Scarlett and Rhett and have a different experience by watching it just for her. When I saw the movie the first time I was sixteen years old and when we went on a class trip. And the close-up of Gable blinded me throughout the movie...but I had just enuf cells left to have the wherewithal to be a basket case when Miss Mellie died. (Whew! I bought the program and the soundtrack and the book, which I've never read). My good friend Bob, who knows and speaks more eloquently about film from his pinkie than I have in the whole of my big fat Maven's head, has always told me that playing the "good girl" is the most challenging role an actress can choose.
(He also told me that "The Shop Around the Corner" was a film I should see too).
DeHavilland probably comes at things from the opposite end of the spectrum of those ladies she's been paired up with (Leigh, Davis). They may get the showier roles...but DeHavilland simply sim-
mers to a boil. Looking at some of the YouTube tributes to her have contributed to the opening of my eyes to her. I actually found her sexy in "MY COUSIN RACHEL" doing the push-pull thing with poor young (self-tortured) Richard Burton (who cut quite a figure in those pants). And I love how DeHavilland uses her voice, when she lets it drop to a deeper register. (E.g.: "He came back with the same lies...") I think we oughta take up a collection to buy Robert Osborne a ticket to go to Paris and interview one of the last great stars still left from Hollywood's Golden Age.
It'd be pity if TCM doesn't get her...and a pity if she doesn't let 'em. Don't forget...you heard here!
"In learning to see Morris, she also is forced to see herself and her father in a new way too - I can feel her self-hatred come rolling off the screen. Now the question is, is how she sees her-
self at the end a true picture? Not really - and her view of humanity is completely shattered - she is left a suspicious and bitter woman."
VOILA!! Doctor Father Sloper's job is done. That might not have been his intention...but that sure was the result; isn't the road to Hell paved with good intentions? Now he is assured to have a daughter who stays a virgin...untouched and even...not allowing herself TO be loved. Daddy can remain the girl's first love whether he is an absent father or not. It's probably one of the saddest endings I've ever seen for a heroine. (Empowering maybe, but sad nonetheless). For me...it's akin to Muni's fate and last line in "I WAS A FUGITIVE OF A CHAIN GANG" No peace...ever.
"Of course you're caps are perfect, showing Catherine's emotional state, her ups and downs, so to speak. I never thought of this movie in those terms before - Wyler is one of the few di-
rectors who uses that plane..."
FrankGrimes' screen caps are always good in making his point. And I wish I had the time to gushingly wax on about Wyler over in your other great thread: DIRECTORS ON TCM. If I had to choose a director's career I'd covet as a filmmaker myself...it would be Wyler. Oh make no mistake, Hitchcock is my favorite director. He can weave a tale like nobody's business and make us sometimes root for the villain...or should I say...change our perspective in mid-stream. And George Stevens can tell a story with the way he unfolds his movies...his shots. But I guess Wyler was probably more respected by folks...and he had the goods.
They don't make 'em like that anymore.
BRONXGIRL'S MOTHER, HENRY FONDA'S HIRSUTENESS, ETC.
in Films and Filmmakers
Posted
"My favorite British actress of all just might be Joyce Grenfell." - < ( Bronxgirl ) >
Kay Walsh in "CAST A DARK SHADOW" blew me away.
"The TCM Film Festival afternoon kickoff lunch at In-N-Out list is growing!" - < ( lzcutter ) >
Add my name to the list, Lynn.