JackFavell
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Posts posted by JackFavell
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I am so sorry I ranted at you... I completely skipped over the last page of posts, I came to the top of page two and thought I was at the top of page one. Then when I "returned to thread", I saw that you had already agreed with MissG. I would never have written my overblown defense of Carl had I seen that post.
But thanks for going back over it, and looking again. I can't think of too many people who once they give their opinion, will actually go back look at the film, and change their minds. Thank you for that! Does the ending strike you as any better now? And what's the difference between a prison film and a captive film?
Maven,
I knew someone was going to notice that I hadn't replied to the list making!
I have to think about my favorites from the thirties. I can definitely do a quick list of fve, but I might forget someone important. Do I have to stick with five, or can I do ten? Can I also do a long list, so I can include some favorites not always given credit? You know, I gotta get my character actors in.
Edited by: JackFavell on Dec 5, 2011 5:48 PM
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So that's how they make them! I've seen the irons, even saw some last week when shopping, but I never could figure out how they made the cookies.
My mother in law from Germany says they used to make elderberry flower pancakes in much the same way. They would take the flower, dip it in the batter and fry them up with the flower still inside.
http://www.amiexpat.com/recipes/real-german-cuisine/hollerkuchle-elder-flower-pancakes/
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I always loved *Fitzwilly* when I was a kid, but I did miss it this time. I suspect it will be on again before Christmas... but I haven't checked the sched yet.
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I am liking Irene better and better. You do have to watch Life with Father, just to see what a really good actress Dunne is - she plays totally against type there.
Now I find Irene remote, and Loy completely warm and accessible.
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Oh geez! I missed a page more of discussion!
Please disregard my previous rant.
And I do agree that Carl should have taken one look around and seen that island and found another place for her.
Wow. Back to reading..... sorry. really sorry.
Edited by: JackFavell on Dec 5, 2011 3:45 PM
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Living here on the east coast, with the sub base nearby, I see this so differently, Frank.
There are still women who wait, still men who go off to sea or to war, and I don't see the men as selfish for asking their wives to wait for them. Many are gone for months, and usually every two or three years, they have to pick up, take their kids out of school and move to a new state or country. Is this selfish of those men? Are the women foolish to wait? If they love the man they wait. Does the man have a choice? Well..... yes, if he wants to give up his career and start over in some new job with no security, if that is even possible, since the military man signs up for years at a time. So are our military men selfish? And if they are, should they just not ask any woman to marry them because the life has too much waiting?
I realize this is not really what I should be digging into with Safe in Hell, but can't help wanting to play devil's advocate here. To me, it is all fine and dandy to say that Carl kept leaving her and this didn't help matters, but I really don't see his actions as selfish for the time. I don't see any difference between Carl and millions of other men, in other jobs, who left their wives at home to wait for them till they got done working. Women did not work, for the most part, and were expected to wait for their men to come home, and when he did they were to greet him with open arms, and have dinner waiting. Many men moved away from home during the Depression, so they could scrape together enough money to get their families through the bad times. They went where the work was and might be gone for months. Some of them were selfish, but some just needed the opportunity to work, so they could keep their kids from starving.
The same can be said of immigrants who traveled to America to find a new life for their families, where work and money was more plentiful and they could earn enough to send for wives, brothers, mothers, fathers and sisters and children to come over as well. Were they selfish? Yes, I am sure some were, and I do see your point, however, all they had to do was not come back. But I don't see that at all with the Donald Cook character, that's all. If indeed it was selfish to expect the woman to wait, then blame society at that time, not Carl.
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Same here, I keep my eye out for the Allen Jenkins and the Frank McHugh's of today. They are few and far between though.
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I know I posted the Gloria Swanson sometime last year before Christmas, but in black and white.
I'm not sure it was in one of these two threads.
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Love the flappers, Jeff! I want those outfits! Bit I'd settle for one of the hats.
I also really love the Mary Pickford stills, I am always surprised at how photogenic Mary was at all times in her career.
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> {quote:title=MissGoddess wrote:}{quote}*He's gallant.*
>
> There you have it. He is that, very much so. Very much indeed. What a guy. Did you read that article posted up in, I believe, "Hot Topics", where the two actors discuss working with him when they were kids?
>
No! Thanks for the info! I'll check it out.
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> Those words made me instantly think of Samuel Fuller. Maybe they
> were kindred spirits as directors.
My goodness, I have to watch some Fuller. I like the early ones, but I haven't watched any of his big films. I like his style, he doesn't pull any punches, even when it's rough going, the same as Wellman. I wonder if he ever said who his influences were?
> Hollywood in the 30s and 40s, particularly the 30s seemed very
> egalitarian about these fringe characters. They really gave them
> them the lion's share of really grounded, even respected, character
> opportunities. They were often "in support" of the stars, of course,
> but you often got the feeling the spirit of the film makers was behind
> these guys and gals, not necessarily the leads'. A collective "Greek
> Chorus" and where the humanity can be found in so many movies.
> No wonder you like them so much. So do I.
That's a wonderful description of the art of character acting, and the spirit of classic films of the golden age. I totally agree, I think that the filmmakers were far more in synch many times with the character actors viewpoint and used them to get subtler points across. That's super - I want to start watching for that very thing now!
>We seem to have no room for the scores of character actors that there used to be in films, and it's tremendously sad to me. And yet, recently, I've seen two character actors who are working today, who pretty much blow everyone off the screen when they are there - it gives me hope for the future of film.
One is the wonderful gentleman I met recently, Michael Rispoli, who was in The Hunter Thompson movie *The Rum Diary* with Johnny Depp and also played in *While You Were Sleeping* and *The Sopranos.* Michael plays extremely memorable characters, ones who really grab your attention.
The other is Stephen Root, who's been in countless films, and has worked with The Coen Brothers a lot. He was just in the movie *J. Edgar* , and as usual, I didn't recognize him till he was on screen for a minute. He is as changeable as a chameleon, and gets these odd, sometimes bit parts, where he fades into the character so much that you don't always know it's him. He is someone I ALWAYS love to see, because I know he will do something quite different and exciting with what he's given. He also has a part in another new movie, *Big Miracle*, playing the governor of Alaska, I think.
I just watched an episode of "The Barbara Stanwyck Show" that
featured Elizabeth Patterson. She was really old by this point,
and obviously not completely well, but what a spark there still
was, and she was given generous screen time and fine role. I
can feel that she was the most humane and interesting of
the characters in the playlet, and she by this point only had
to "be", she was such a pro. I miss these people
I miss them too, so much! They feel much more like friends of mine than the movie actors they are.
Frank -
I'll have to get back to you on *Safe in Hell* tomorrow or maybe the next day. I have to go back and look at the movie again, to see if I agree about Donald Cook, but I am exhausted now and have a busy day tomorrow. Hopefully, I can look at the movie tomorrow night, and get back to you then. So far, I remember thinking of it very much like Goddess just described so well.
Edited by: JackFavell on Dec 3, 2011 10:26 PM formatting error
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> {quote:title=MissGoddess wrote:}{quote}I love that graphic of Bill! You have as always, great taste. I had no
> idea Bill was your tippy top favorite. Even more than Ben? You
> described his appeal perfectly, by the way. He is one of the most
> effortless performers. I can't wait for you to see *Lawyer Man*. It's a bit
> racy, I warn you. One scene had me gaping, it was so bold. And it was
> directed by the *Jewel Robbery* director, William Dieterle.
Oh! Who could resist him with that look on his face and a diamond bracelet in his hand? :x You have the good taste, as that photo well shows.
Yes, I have to say Bill is my ultimate favorite of all time, even over Ben. He ages well. He stays firmly in the #1 spot on my favorite list, where others who I discovered early on have dropped or moved up and down because I can see their faults more readily over time... or I see the strings working in the background of their acting. Powell, however, remains irreproachable, acting wise for me.
He's so tremendously appealing. And not because he's the best looking or the most serious actor. Perhaps it's that he's the opposite - he is just having the best time imaginable acting in films. It's as simple as that. He's never full of himself, even if his characters are.... he's rather self -effacing as an actor. He's _gallant_.
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My take on Donald Cook was that he was coming back for her, just like Maven said. That he was the one good man waiting for her, without judgment, the man who sees her for who she is inside.
As for his "selfishness", only coming to her at his own will, that's not true. He can only come to her when he has a break from his job, one of the few available (one that still takes men away for months at a time, I might add, and they don't go throwing it all away to come home to families they love). This is during the height of the Depression, and he is not going to chuck away the one hope they have for a decent life together. He is a responsible man, a good man who loves her in a world of ne'er do wells. She wants to be worthy of him, no matter the consequences.
One of the things I really loved about the movie is how much the "men in chairs" made me squirm at the beginning of the picture, and how each man changed over time in my estimation. They started out as potential rapists with really gross characteristics, but all ended up respecting Gilda, and becoming more honorable men because of her. I just loved that part of the story, they did not follow the stereotype of your usual creepy lowlifes in film. One of the reasons I love Wellman is his ability to start with a stereotype (the prostitute, the scum of the earth) and turn it upside down by the end of the film. It's his greatest gift as a filmmaker I think.
And me? I LOVED the ending. She was so damn strong and noble. She showed the world - she turned everyone's view of her into dust. She was stronger when she put her mind to it than any society bred woman would be. She's just exactly like the male characters I like, the bad men who redeem themselves but go down in flames to do it. You can take everything away, but she wasn't going to grovel in the dirt for her life, or her honor. She went out, head held high. Man, that's moving.
I might suggest for your first Garbo pictures *Flesh and the Devil* , *Ninotchka* , and maybe *Queen Christina*. She's a femme fatale in the first, though it's rather an old fashioned story, which may leave you rolling your eyes....but it's shot beautifully, and the love scenes are quite amazingly sexy. It's said that the crew ended up averting their eyes, because Gilbert and Garbo were practically making love on the set, they fell terribly in love with one another during filming, and you can see it in their eyes. Clarence Brown, the director said he couldn't take any credit for those scenes, he was simply an opportunist who happened to catch their radiating budding love on film.
*Ninotchka* is Lubitsch, and is very funny, with a script by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett. It plays with Garbo's image outright, and her performance is very good, advancing toward forties style comedy than thirties.
*Queen Christina* is Garbo having a little gender fun, she's strong and manly, and extremely comfortable in her skin here. It's quite interesting, though the movie itself is not as strong as her performance.
I am definitely a 30's girl, however, I don't at all see the boards as dominated by 1930' s fans. I haven't gotten into any really good conversations about thirties films in a really long time. I think maybe movieman, molo and I are the only ones here, and markie beckuaf and Countess Delave are the only ones outside on the other forums.
I loved your thirties list of favorites, btw.
Edited by: JackFavell on Dec 3, 2011 3:21 PM
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I am so glad every one of us is enjoying *William Powell* this month! I've been recording too.
Powell comes out on top every time I sit down to make my list of favorites. I just adore him. He's my idea of a true movie "star" and his acting pretty much can't be beat, no matter the movie. He's always good, no matter what.
Aside from his great comic sarcasm and charm, one of my favorite things about him is the way he drops his voice low when saying something serious. He's not one to wear his heart on his sleeve, but there is usually a line in each movie where he says something heartfelt and true, and maybe it's just a touch embarrassing for the man to admit those feelings. He never makes a big deal of that rare emotional response.
Powell was class all the way, even when wearing an ice bag on his head. He's sardonic - the sadder-but-wiser man with a little poignance underlying the wit, but he has a great sense of fun. To me, he is very possibly the most comforting presence in all of the movies. He's lovely, and my absolute favorite star ever.
And he has the most wonderful dimple when he allows himself the rare really big smile.
I haven't seen *Lawyer Man* yet, but I will try to get to that one next. Meanwhile, here's to the SOTM, the most nonchalant man in movies:
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My mom used to make it with cut up chicken.
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I hear you.
I have a question about your list.
You seem to have a really good mix of what Frank might call "male" and "female" films that are your favorites.
What exactly are you drawn to in films like Random Harvest and Now Voyager, or Laura ans Since You Went Away, for instance? I know they are great films, but when you watch, what chokes you up, what gets you?
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My mom used to make that! I haven't had it in years. Thanks for the recipe.
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I'm terribly sorry Rey. I wish I could help in some way. This year is difficult for so many.
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I was totally agreeing with you, Rey! My words may have come out sounding like they were directed at you, but I assure you it was more to those other members who can't for once just sit back and be happy that RO is back.
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COuld you find out more about the Arbuckle shorts?
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For Robert Osborne:
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Well, Rey, I am VERY happy to have RO back where he belongs, I could have danced for joy seeing him there on my TV last night! I think it's an event worth celebrating. You just come here and we'll all give a toast to Mr. Osborne - we'll have our own welcome home party!
Joan Crawford gets things started with a twenty one balloon salute to RO-
Some of the guests have already headed straight for the bar.
There will be dancing in the ballroom:
Even Peter Falk got dressed up to celebrate RO's return:
Rita shares a toast to RO with Willy Brand:
Aunt Pitty just heard a rumor that RO is taking more time off:
William Powell stops to say hello to Ginger Rogers:
The party is heating up and so are some of the guests.
Whew! SOTM William Powell really gets around!
Joanna Dru stops partying for a minute and relaxes with a smoke.
Just as things starts to lag, Sir Lancelot chimes in with some Calypso. Once again, he saves the entire party.
Woody Van Dyke lets Myrna and Bill know that RO is on his way downstairs.
Hume is ecstatic!
RO is arriving! Where's Bill? Oh. I should have known.
Clara brings out the Welcome Back bouquet.....
And here is the great man himself! YAAAAAY!
The party is winding down. Ray Milland and Jean Arthur are exhausted. Too much dancing, I suspect.
What a wonderful party!
I'm so glad you all came. I love you, RO, because you know such lovely people.
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Love your mix of sour and sweet, Briny Marlin.
Edited by: JackFavell on Dec 2, 2011 11:03 AM
The Annual FrankGrimes Torture Thread
in Your Favorites
Posted
Ah, OK. So The Great Escape is a captive film, and Brute Force is a prison film.