MovieProfessor

It's got to be Ralph Meeker . . . Simply because "Kiss Me Deadly" was a terrific and well made film.

Of course, for most fans, the biggest of all controversy surrounding this movie is having won the Academy Award for "Best Picture" of 1941. Most diehard film buffs will always believe "Citizen Kane" should have received the "Oscar" nod and not John Ford's sentimential sort of tribute to a working class family. If there is anything "How Green Was My Valley" has in its favor is the element of pure heart and soul. The novel from which the motion picture was based upon was highly popular and spoke emotionally to its generation of readers. The film simply expanded upon all the poignancy of the original story and gave it a life that for its time, created a bit of a sensation with the movie going public. The strange and very different unexpected surprise about the movie was that it had no real happy ending, other than the hero of the story having found a profound definition to his life from that time of growing up in his little Welsh village. Some fans of John Ford, won't even rate this movie highly, based upon the dominance of his popular western films. Whether we accept it or not, "How Green Was My Valley" is a classic in its own right; even if we feel another, more artistically based film, released that same year should have received more attention. But then, Orson Welles always said, John Ford was one of his greatest of all influences. Orson believed John Ford to be the greatest director in Hollywood history, barring none. Little did Orson realize what would happen to his status and "Citizen Kane" in the years to come!

My choice for this category would include two films from this time period of the 1960's. The first is the 1963 "Take Her, She's Mine" and the second would be the 1965 "Dear Brigitte." Both films starred Jimmy Stewart and were directed by Henry Koster. These films are now considered part of the Stewart/Koster family-comedy trilogy, adding their first big success in 1962, with "Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation." Stewart's career was somewhat revived to a large extent on a comedy level he had once before experienced during the early half of his career in the late 1930's. He was during this time period, America's favorite "motion picture dad" or family patriarch.

Ok . . . I'll begin by simply saying that Irene had what is considered one of the shortest of all careers in major motion pictures to the point that she was sidetracked by her personal life. What is known of her professional situation stems from not having any need of taking advantage of several opportunities, while first at MGM and then later at Fox Pictures and finally the last studio she worked for that was RKO. She never really took working in Hollywood and having a motion picture career so serious; Irene had been a bigger star on Broadway, where she believed the live stage was the real value to an acting career. Once in Hollywood, she partied and made a lot of friends, but in the long run, this wouldn't be enough to keep her so viable, amid other actresses emerging brightly out of the early period of talking pictures. In a practical sense, without being controversial, she was more diva-like than wanting to be a good solid actress. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Irene faded away as quickly as she appeared, because she had a very, very powerful boyfriend! After all, starlets were "a dime a dozen" throughout Hollywood; especially at the height of the Great Depression and everything else that goes with the terrible economic struggles of that time period. Irene had a better investment lurking on the fringes of her motion picture acting career! It isn't that Irene wasn't so worthy, but she absolutely didn't have to be so shrewd enough to worry about succeeding in motion pictures. Of course, the main simple fact that she would marry the chairman of S.C. Johnson Wax Company, pretty much signifies, why she would never return to motion pictures; it looks as if her marriage turned out to be the real solid goal in life or offered the best deal! Later on, she did have a few live stage appearances, but for the most part, gave up her acting career on a full time basis. She died in 1972.

If the date of his birth is correct, he is 79.

I simply believe that the story was in some technical ways too complicated. An insufficient script by Ayn Rand turned this into one of the biggest of all time potboilers, let alone, not lead towards any logical conclusion that other performers might have been able to handle the finished written script. I don't want to totally fault director King Vidor, but there has always been for me an uneven feel and look to this movie. It lacks a solid foundation of style and seems to get lost amid so much of the controversial elements surrounding personal integrity and a solemn heroine, fearful of her emotions. Gary Cooper just wasn't right for this film. He looked unconvincing and it's the aura of his motion picture star power that has to be relied on too much for the fans to accept him and perhaps come off more towards an excuse to defend him, if not, the motion picture itself! Of course, a story like this one needs a bit more showmanship or the serious minded presenation of a roadshow production. This is the sort of movie that can't be so easily produced by the old studio system, because it gets caught within a triangle of attempting to be pretentiously dramatic, egotistically big towards an epic formula and ends up sour with no clear cut, flowing character development. Other than the private, behind the scenes scandal that occured during the making of this movie, it really has nothing to offer of interest or make us even feel we can actually take something away to contemplate and mentally stimulate us. So, I'll have to settle on the gossip that surrounded this big piece of motion picture junk that today is not only laughable, but one of those big studio productions that turns into a charity project of Hollywood nonsense.

Ok. . . Let's get down to the nitty-gritty!! If one issue might be connected to the film having been ruined, it could have all come down to the real-life torrid love affair between Copper and Neal that emerged during filming. The popular Cooper had actually begun his romance with Neal several years earlier, when she was just a hopeful starlet. By the time of "The Fountainhead" and her career about to take off, they were now recklessly entangled into their love affair. There would be a bit of suspicious publicity from a few of the fan magazines that openly began to link the two movie stars. Through this ordeal, Neal became pregnant by Cooper, but he persuaded her to have an abortion that later on resulted in what was rumored an attempted suicide by Neal. The on and off again relationship between the two stars lasted for about six years, until Copper's passion for the love affair had cooled and he went back to his wife on something of a full-time basis! Today, this information has had a profound and fascinating effect upon numerous film buffs who find what some call a morbid obsession to watch the film, aside from any idea that their might be some quality or other interest to watching "The Fountainhead."

> hlywdkjk . . . Whatever way you want to look at it, it's basically about being in love, real love for the first time with Jerry. An emotional door has been open for Charlotte to honestly relate with her life and understand what she needs or who she wants to be. Even at that time, long before the big sexual revolution, women usually had affairs with a man, out of marriage primary for love. Charlotte is simply justifying whatever happened on that roadside night to signify she isn't in love with the Bostonian. This might have something an impact to what the Bostonian might now feel and therefore sever the engagement, but Charlotte cleverly knows he's logical enough to accept her conclusion. As much as she likes and does admire the Bostonian guy, Jerry is simply too strong a lingering memory for her to toss aside and start her life up with someone else. That feeling for Jerry isn't governed by what physical needs she might have. Sure, it's possible that the Bostonian might feel she's been "de-flowered," but I think it's all too obvious that he realizes, Charlotte can't love him enough to want to totally commit, regardless of her past and they simply part ways in a nice, digintied way. The key to this is when he notices she never allows anyone to buy flowers for her and remarks its a persoanl secret she has about herself. Any guy whose been around could figure out that would be symbolic of someone else in the heart and mind of a woman. So, it doesn't really matter what Charlotte insinuates about her need to call it quits. It won't shed any scandalous light on Charlotte, because it's all about who she really loves or wants to be in love with.

> TikiSoo you ask: > When Jerry & Charlotte are left overnight in the stranded car, do they have sex? Or is just the idea of two people "sleeping together" enough to be a scandal? > Was Charlotte a tart? Or just experimenting/fooling around? Comon' now! This was 1942, so you have to use your imagination! Most fans would agree that they must have had a physical relationship that night in the mountainside shack. And, Charlotte was absolutely no sort of tramp. She had already one love affair that resulted in a series of emotional breakdowns and a low selfesteem. The ocean cruise was simply a means to boost her self-confidence and get her out into the world. Jerry just so happened to come along and in a poignant way, perhaps he identified with her emotional problems. The finest moment of his recognition to her, besides sort of exposing his needs, isn't the night they first make love, but when he buys her the bottle of perfume. Later on in the story, the perfume becomes symbolic of their affair.

It was around the early 1970's that Sam had a bit of short-lived, major exposure to his career in motion pictures. This was especially the case with the 1972 cult favorite horror film, "Frogs," and the exciting western, "Molly and Lawless John." Despite moderately good reviews, the western film didn't create much of an impact with the general movie going public. So, for the next four years, Sam dirfted over to television, until 1976 and a really good dramatic film, "Lifeguard." Unfortunately, once again Sam didn't generate enough important interest to establish a major career, never able to really get into the focus of becoming a leading man in films. Today, Sam has settled on a continued venue in television and as a supporting player in motion pictures. In an ironic twist of fate, Sam has had a good marriage with none other than actress Katharine Ross, who starred in the 1969 classic western, "Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid," where Sam had his first bit role in a major motion picture! They didn't know each other during the making of the film. It wouldn't be until 1978, when they both worked together in the film "The Legacy." This led to a romance and their long held marriage that resulted in the birth of their daughter, in 1984.

> FredCDobbs you wrote: > It's interesting that this film means different things to different people. And Bette makes the character seem so realistic. Well, this was one of the very few times, Warner Brothers allowed Bette a chance to sink herself deeply into a project. She identified herself so much with the story, simply because it was about her original "neck-of-the-woods," New England and the Boston area. It's easy to understand why Bette believed so much in this film and what it meant to her, upon learning about her childhood and family. This is especially the case with the "real-life" relationship Bette would have with her mother and father. Some fans truly believe that "Now, Voyager" is symbolic to who Bette Davis really was and how she foresaw her life. This movie is one of those rare times, an actress is given the opportunity to express her sense of circumstance to how she sees her life and in the process exhibits a passion of moral courage. If anything is so obvious about this movie, it centers itself around the determination and fearlessness Bette had about being an actress and striving towards a defining point of value to her motion picture career.

Comon' Fred, that was her mother! You know, blood is thicker than water and so forth . . . I know some fans will look at old lady Vale as having abused Charlotte, but after the ocean cruise, the old lady mellowed a bit, once she realized there was a loss of control. However we want to look at it, I think Charlotte would always find some need to want to love her mother. I think deep down inside, the old lady wasn't as fierce as she appeared to be. She just needed time to come out of her emotionally charged shell, as Charlotte had done.

I tend to believe that old lady Vale wouldn't have disinherited Charlotte. By the time Charlotte broke free of her chains after the ocean cruise, the old lady was ailing and Charlotte was now in control of the household. I sort of see Charlotte somehow coming to terms with the old lady, seeking a compromise while Charlotte attempts to care for her and keep a sense of order to both their lives. Had the old lady lived, Charlotte wasn't going anywhere and with time and some understanding, I see Charlotte turning things around for her mother to realize, the daughter isn't going to abandoned her in the first place. There will have to be some comfort coming for the two of them lurking on the horizon.

Certainly, William S. Hart was the first Western Movie Superstar of them all! Hart was also born the year the Civil War ended. He later on learned and experienced many things about the real west, during his travels as a youth throughout the untamed places he visited. The strange thing to consider, if not, realize was that he became a trained and distinguished Shakespearean actor first, before embarking on a motion picture career full-time in 1914. Of course, there were other actors in silent films who become well known western players before Hart, but none of them held on to the vast amount of popularity Hart managed to achieve. The main reason for Hart's success and admiration came due to his stark realism and fastidious means of recreating western life that he really knew about. Hart approached his films with an adult posture that wasn't based around an artificial method of glamorization. His films were dead-serious in their storyline and characters. There were times his films had something of a documentary style and look that appeared as if they were authentic events. Perhaps his greatest contribution came with the various plot formulas he introduced to the western genre, such as the basic gunslinger who turns out good and gives a redeeming aspect to the storyline. This and other characteristics would later on be adapted by so many other actors and filmmakers for the western film. So, you might ask why isn't Hart remembered so fondly or from the viewpoint of his innovated techniques? It's believed that by the time of the Golden Age of The Silent Movie, during the 1920's, the western film had turned into a major, spectacular adventure yarn, especially with such stars as Tom Mix and others who performed in a lively manner as to create more a myth about the western heros than the reality Hart strove to create. The onslaught of the glizty western movie, right into the "talking-picture" era spelled an end to Hart's methods and style of story telling. With the coming of Duke Wayne and John Ford, the western movie managed to achieve a high status and respect that was in some ways similar to what Hart always envisioned. Even though Duke was more prone to feel influenced by Harry Carey, there can be no doubt that Hart was always lingering somewhere to what would later make Duke the greatest of all Western Superstar the world as ever known.

> Fred you ask: > Who was June Vale, played by Bonita Granville? You are correct! Ilka Chase played June's wonderful and loving mom.

> jbh you asked: > Do people really need a detail-by-detail critique of this beautiful movie? I think FredD. hit on something very interesting, in that the film has issues that were ahead of their time and have credence to warrant a discussion on changing morals and in having faith towards a decency that isn't so easily practice within humanity. This is the sort of movie that makes a lot of sense to ponder what might have happened if the main characters had gone towards a different attribute to what is finalized in the story. The ending to the story or film is a middle of the road conclusion, because from the standpoint of what most might considered to be a certain reality, such as Jerry leaving his wife for Charlotte or she becomes his mistress are the typical resolutions that would probably be considered more logical than an outcome towards a diginfied way of thinking. This is why the movie has a beautiful subtance to deliberate upon and want to wonder about, if not, give one's opinion over how one feels about the alteratives.

>TikiSoo . . . your quote: > That was her sister-in-law. Charlotte was the only girl. Thanks for the correction! I'm always one to want to get it right or have it made clear!

I think it was old "Mose Harper" who ate the wood . . . "You should do like your uncle Ethan says" . . . "No, I won't tell you, but I'll tell Marty" . . . "I ate grass, made out like I was crazy, but I fooled em' " . . . "You don't think I'm crazy . . . Do you marm?" . . . "All I want is my rocking chair." . . .

Clore: That's a really good run-down you did on Universal. About the only really big prestigious film they ever had going out of the 1950's and into 1960 was "Spartacus." But then, once Doris got on board, first with Rock, at least the box-office was buzzing with delight throughout the 1960's and a few fortunes were made. Now, I have to wonder if, say RKO was in the same sort of low-end market during the 1950's as was Universal? What's your opinion on this? Certainly, during the 1950's, Harry Cohn who was still running Columbia made RKO and Universal really look second-rate! I'd even go a step further and say Unitied Artists was a shade way better than what Universal and RKO were coming up with. I like what you said about having vision and composition that is essential in certain ways to give a film something of a structured value that sets it a part to easily figure out there is primarily good quailty. A director like Henry King probably wasn't as fine-tuned as Ford, but he understood so vividly all of those important distinct elements that can make a motion picture product look real good and have a vigorous amount of flare to be identified with having been put together with skill. I think you're very right to say King made many a moive star look good by his directorial style. King could be, if not debatable, rated second best at 20th Century-Fox, after John Ford. There were of course, other good directors at the studio, but I'll bank on King as having been part of giving 20th Century-Fox its notable identity. I can agree to some extent that Sirk might have done well with directing "This Earth is Mine." I can tell you that Blake Edwards had been under contract to Columbia, until about 1957. He then made the switch over to Universal for about four years, until 1961 and he freelanced from that time on.

HA! . . . What'll know! I didn't even notice the misspelled title! Eatwood? Maybe that might be somebody we don't know about?

It has to be Duke, simply because of his overall record in Hollywood, working with some of the biggest names in the western genre. Also, Duke had a mentor in Harry Carey Sr., whose career in western films was one of the biggest of the silent movie era. Duke learned his craft through Carey Sr. when he first arrived in Hollywood. This has historical importance to where Carey Sr. passed on his mantel to Duke. Clint is important to keeping alive the western genre, at the time of Clint's western stardom during the 1960's, Duke had become something of a film icon and not so much a typical movie star. In the long run, it's the body of work that counts and there simply will never be an actor around to match what Duke did with his career, be in westerns or not! In general, Duke has come to symbolize what we could call the "Western Movie Superstar." This is a title that few would argue with. While other great actors and stars would do their fair share of westerns, it all boils down to what performer is synonymous with the western movie as a whole and the lenght of one's career. Well, nobody can match Duke's career in its lenght and this covers the longest period of any major motion picture star, barring none! Sure, Clint was wonderful in his westerns as was Gary Cooper, Roy Rogers, Gene Aurtry, Tom Mix, William S. Hart, Harry Carey, Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott. But John "Duke" Wayne is the standard to everything necessary and what we expect from every possible angle of what is the Western Movie Genre. If anything can be plausibly said are the number of classic, huge (major) western movies he appeared in that is a record never to ever be broken or even matched by others one might think were as important.

There are many stories about Thorpe that would be of historical movie interest, along the lines of how he managed himself while at MGM. The problem about his career standing is the plain and simple fact that he never really directed a quote: "Great Motion Picture," unquote. Yet, he was for all intended purposes, a reliable director in all genres, best suited to be under the control of the old studio system. Thorpe lacked the polish and style of King and Clarence, in that he could bring in an entertaining product, but everything surrounding his abilities was unpretentious and unlike King and Clarence, Thorpe never acquired a directorial image to the point that he ended up nothing more than a director for hire. Looking at any of his films, there is little in the way of any personal technicalities or touches to make his films stand-out and visually speak from an individual technique. This I think is the real big difference about him, when compared to others who worked within the studio system. Thorpe was lucky to have become popular with various stars on the MGM studio lot. His proficiency can only be measured by this means of attempting to create a comfortable atmosphere, but under conditions that required a factory, assembly-line sort of method to satisfy the studio front office. In other words, Thorpe just loved making movies and not to gaze beyond any other possibilities of having added something special to the medium of film. This issue of a sort of outstanding, traditional motion picture directorial technique can clearly be seen in what Henry King did for "This Earth is Mine." Most of the films of Rock Hudson at Universal have a factory like, assembly-line imagery, with little in the way of having a cinematic impact or even to remember something technical about the films. The only obvious exception to Rock's career at Universal that had some special, technical substance would be a few of the films he made with director Douglas Sirk. But, in looking at "This Earth is Mine," I doubt Sirk (who by that time was Universal's most important dramatic director) could have done a better job than Henry King did. The imagery that King gave the film had a look and style not so prone to what Universal had been use to exhibiting. Sirk comes close to some reasonably interesting and stand-out technique, but he lacked an exhilarating image that King and even Clarence could give a movie. It's natural for some film buffs to feel that King and Clarence might have had better support from their major studios. Yet, just idea that Universal went ahead with hiring King must have meant the studio or even Rock needed a more refined, elaborate director to handle what was supposed to be one of their biggest of all productions.

>TikiSoo . . . You've made some very good, striking points about the posture and attitudes of the period. In the long run, the film and it's storyline is held in check, so differently from today's mode of social thinking. The only point in the movie that's somewhat ahead of its time is the understanding that both Jerry and Charlotte come accept their love affair having had a value and has brought to them both a sense of positive purpose. The whole issue of Charlotte not walking out on her tyrannical mother isn't all that critical to ponder, because there is an underlying issue that the mother emotionally needs Charlotte to stay technically trapped in the house to somehow maintain this capacity of authority over the family. The whole domineering point of the mother towards Charlotte is to hold on to something of a traditional sense of family order that unfortunately becomes a bit corrupted. Common sense would dictate that if the mother had disinherited Charlotte, at least somebody in the family, like her loving sister who first helped her would have never allowed Charlotte out of the family! In the end, Charlotte will become the commading factor to the legacy of Vale's and this I think is what's so remarkable and decisive about the story. As wonderful and poignant is the love affair Charlotte has with Jerry, as well as her coming to the aid of Jerry's emotionally disturbed daughter, Charlotte will in the end realize she must take up the mantel of the Vale family and in doing so she forsakes any chance at an intimate relationship with Jerry. She will come to accept that this position as family matriarch is what she was intended for!

Funny to mention Richard Thorpe, because what I will always remember about him and his career at MGM is how Mario Lanza hated him! It was in 1950, producer Joe Pasternak had to spend a lot of time trying to keep a sense of order between them during the making of "The Great Caruso." Despite the movie becoming a huge hit, Thorpe never held back his discontent and grumblings about Mario. These complaints went on throughout his directorial career at the MGM. Comes 1954 and Pasternak deciding to produce a new version of "The Student Prince," he hired Thorpe to direct the movie with Mario to star. There was a lot of protest from Mario, but it didn't matter, because Thorpe got his revenge, when Mario was too fat and out of shape to be in the movie. Joe Pasternak became so desperate to release the film that one of the strangest of all situations occurred, when Joe went ahead with only using Mario's singing voice to dub for British actor Edmund Purdom. It was all a crazy process for MGM, being that one of their major singing stars couldn't visually appear on film and had to rely on the huge popularity of Mario's singing! Thorpe would later admit how stupid the whole idea turned out. And, just as Thorpe had predicted and complained to the MGM front office, Mario's career standing wouldn't last long, due to a lack of discipline.

CLORE . . . WOW! YOU'RE ON A ROLL! Is there any other director that you may have known, who only worked at one major studio throughout their career? At this time I can't recall of any other than Clarence and now King. Of course, Clarence, like King, work for MGM when it was another company, before the merger. This is an interesting subject you've reflected on.