wouldbestar

I just spent 21/2 hours watching Duel in the Sun for the first time. Wish I could go back to noon and gain that time back. The scenery was breathtaking, the score marvelous, the costumes beautiful. The actors-all great practitioners of their raft- tried hard to make us believe it was all real. But the ?epic? story was anything but and sank the rest of the work. The whole romantic triangle story never rang true for me. Pearl was not an evil woman, just looking for love and respectability within the confines of Society?s mores. I believed that Pearl felt she loved Jesse in the beginning and why but didn?t find the Pearl/Lewt affair to be that believable. Peck and Jones had no chemistry for me, here or later in Grey Flannel Suit and to make the story work a strong sexual magnetism had to be there. I never saw love from him, just lust and control; he only showed affection for the father who let him get away with murder. Pearl?s feelings were more real but based more on neediness and desperation than love. She is at her best when Lewt shoots Jesse for taking her in and she decides to avenge him. It?s obvious that she loves Jesse as much as she is capable of truly doing so and is happy that he has Helen. Pearl and Lewt?s beginning-the near rape-was clumsily written and that ending was just unbelievable for words. They mortally shoot each other but with dying breath say ?I Love You? which is supposed to make it okay. Yuck! I understand this was not a box office hit when released, critically panned, and outraged moral watchdogs. Didn?t the Legion of Decency condemn it because of the way Pearl was portrayed? I imagine it was pretty racy for 1946. Carey, Sr., Gish, Cotten, Bickford, Jones, and Peck plus magnificent production values- it?s a shame so much money and talent was spent on such a misfire.

MissGoddess and CineMaven: Thank you for your help but I cannot even get the suns themselves on the board. And I love raspberries, especially when they're mixed with some gooey chocolate treat!

The first time I saw him was in the early 50's doing a Coca-Cola commerical in his Army uniform. I think I knew he was a singer. I watched him on his variety series which was sponsored by my father's brad of cigarettes, Chesterfield. Just before "Le Scandale" Debbie Reynolds was a guest; by then she's had a hit record with Tammy. I thought he was an okay singer; I think I was already in Perry Como's camp by then. I thought he had a strained relationship with his children. If they are truly mourning him, I send my sympathies. As to his marriages, I saw that William Boyd's widow died as well and she had been _his_ 5th wife so what else is new. We all have skeletons in the closet RIP!

I watched Rio Lobo Saturday and found it better than I expected. John Wayne and Jorge Rivera worked well together and Jennifer O'Neill held her own with them. I guess I have to break down and try El Dorado all the way through. As I have repeatedly proved to you all I am practically computer illiterate, will somebody _please_ show me how to add the little suns to my posts? They are so expressive. Thank you to whoever helps me with this.

FredC: I remember back in the 60?s when a man named Max Rafferty had a big position in the California school system. He was constantly pushing the need for students to read and study the classics of literature and other uplifting fare. He felt this would make for a more enlightened and better society. A great many people agreed with him. If a steady diet of positive reading is good than can we say the reverse is also true? If kids whose minds and consciences are still developing are exposed to violence and the ideas that there are no moral values and anything goes if it gets you what you want we end up having to defend ourselves from their actions. The case of Maria Goretti, the Italian girl killed because she refused a neighbor?s advances, is one. Her killer admitted he tried to act out what he saw in a steady diet of porn. We are what we put in our bodies and minds.

Thank you for reminding me of Another World. I worked for a now gone Southern cafeteria chain in the late 60's when the Steve-Alice and Sam-Lee-Lahoma storylines began. We had a 2 to 4 break and would head to the breakroom after lunch. There was a old black and white TV and the headwaiter, who had waited on me as a baby, would turn to Another World. He wanted Sam(Jordan Charney of Thrree's Company) to end up with Lee but I was rooting for Lahoma(the first time I saw Ann Wedgeworth and I've been a fan ever since). We'd argue about it until work time. I won. Courtney and Reinholt ended up on One Life to Live but the same magic wasn't there and they were gone after a few years. I don't know what happened to her but his tempermentalism killed his career and by the 1090's an ET peice showed him being a paid escort but looking like Hell. I almost cried. I tried to tape the last episode but I am practically electronically illiterate and it didn't work.

Might I have a picture of him here as I recognize the name but can't quite place his face? Since we're talking about Pauls, how about Paul Stevens who was in Exodus, Patton, and the TV soap Another World among other things? He did a Gunsmoke with Richard Dreyfuss playing a Jewish patriarch who refused to compromise his faith even to catch his son's killer. I remembered it for 30 years and was delighted to see it again recently. He did a did a movie back in the 80's or 90's and our local excuse for a critic called him "unknown". He should have asked us "couch potatoes", we knew who he was. Nice looking in a rugged way; he could have had my number anytime.

This is 1939. They would have been afraid to mention God unless it was part of a prayer. The Hays/Breen office would never have allowed it either. It's like Eva Marie Saint on the train in North By Northwest saying she never makes love on an empty stomach. You see her saying the words but there's a voice over using a less risque term.

It began on April 02, 1956 and ends tomorrow, September 17, 2010. In those 54 years a number of stage, TV, and film stars appeared on it; among them Meg Ryan and Margaret Colin. Twenty years before Luke ?met? Laura, Rosemary Prinz and Mark Rydell became the first romantic "super couple"-and nobody raped anybody-before he left acting for directing. If nothing else we owe it thanks for that. Rydell?s leaving in 1962 is what?s sticking in my mind. I was about seventeen and had never lost a friend or close relative though I knew folks who had. There was no advance publicity about his leaving and the viewers figured his character, Jeff, would survive the car crash. In the last scene on Friday, we found out he didn?t and couldn?t believe it. It was Tuesday before it was confirmed. I had watched with my Mom ever since it had started and had to keep telling myself it was just a show and the character, not the actor, had died. I still felt like I?d been kicked in the gut and felt real grief. I used this in the future, realizing that for people who really lost loved ones it must be 100 times worse. Eventually I joined the club and found out I was right but this helped a then immature girl relate. I followed Rydell?s career and am delighted that he?s had such a successful one. I?m sure more of you have favorite performers from the show and am sorry to see it go even if the genre seems to have become obsolete. To the performers and production people, thanks for your work and I hope you?re all employed again soon.

FredC: If this is what happens in the book, it changes the whole dynamic of what the story is about. If our nameless heroine goes along with what she knows about the murder, she condones it and becomes an "accessory after the fact" How are we supposed to root for her to beat the ghost of Rebecca and Mrs. Danvers? Her innocence as opposed to Rebecca's vanity and infidelity is why we like her. I wonder how the book sold if she becomes an enabler and perjurer. This was a case of Hollywood improving on the original. I'm with you again.

Ok, you asked for it. I?ve been accused of ?lecturing? by another poster. If you find this true, let me know; I just think of myself as a humble poster with questions to ask and info to share. The thing for me about Film Noir movies is that they have a high degree of morality even though they deal with some of the most vicious crimes. Sometimes the leads are decent on the outside but let themselves be suckered into the world of crime for money, pride, or what they think is love. Sometimes it is the real thing but doesn?t black out the quagmire they end up in. Even if they want to turn back they have often lost control and have to play it out with them-and us-hoping for a positive outcome. If not, the end is no cause for rejoicing but just the opposite. Sometimes the kingpins are living high on the hog but the usually dark tone of the film-both b&w and story-show they can?t really enjoy it. If an underling isn?t trying to overtake them, the law is. It?s tough trying to look over both shoulders at once. The women seem to be two types: the innocent drawn into the conflict by her feelings for a lead male-Cathy O?Donnell or Audrey Long-or the hard as nails moll-Claire Trevor, anyone-who sometimes finds herself falling for a ?good guy? but because she has gone along with so much of the villain?s skullduggery the code and justice-mostly the code-demand a 45 in the gut and a long death scene. The atmosphere is dark and pessimistic or starts cheery but soon dissolves into the former. While it seems that people are ?getting away with it? they don?t really and it all catches up to them in the end. Crime doesn?t really pay in any of them in the long run. These stories were really morality plays done up in a sophisticated veneer and modern setting so the message got us under the radar before we even noticed. That they were able to be made at so little a cost and be so good is a point sadly lacking today-too much frosting and not enough cake or layers not tasty enough to stand by themselves. It?s obvious the people involved gave a damn and took pride in their work regardless of whether or not they were Oscar worthy. And Narrow Margin was.

I loved James Whitmore in Give Em Hell, Harry and had no idea that anyone else did it as well. Is Mr. McCarthy?s version on anything that can be bought or downloaded? I would really like to see this as I can just picture how dynamic a performance it would be.

If nothing else, this movie does something I was beginning to think was impossible; FredC and I actually agree on something. I hope we can keep it up, Fred, I really respect somebody who has packed so much living into your allotted time and sincerely hope you have a lot more left. Agreeor not, I always read your posts.

Cody, that is one of my favorite TZ episodes. His character was Walter Jameson and now that I am on the downward slide of life I can relate to not wanting to leave even though I am a Christian. Everything has an end though; I keep reminding myself that I'm heading for something better. I first saw him when he appeared in several episodes of the religious program The Christophers in the 50's and I gathered from that that he was a decent man. He got a bad break when his wife left him for her soap-opera co-star but he seems to ave not become bitter. RIP, Sir.

Wasn?t he Trampas to Joel McCrea?s Virginian? He was also in Canyon Passage which we recently discussed on the Western forum. I think I remember seeing him with his little daughter in a 40?s short; I hope he was a caring father for real.

This thread is always a mixed blessing. So many wonderful character actors are finally getting much deserved recognition but often it comes too late for them to know it. I think Mickey Shaughnessy got an Oscar nomination and Harold Gould was up for some Emmys. If they were in it, I watched it. Thank you, gentlemen, from your grateful fans.

Misswonderly's Sept. 12 description of what makes a movie "film Noir" was on the spot. I was going to kick in my opinions but she skillfully beat me to it. I know Jules Dassin directed The Naked Citywhich is more like a documentary than Noir but did he do other films in the genre? I remember the TV show from the 50's-60's which is a genuine classic, gritty and realistic in terms of story and consequences. It came as close to Noir as they would let TV be. Besides CityI only know Dassin from Never on Sunday which definately belongs on another thread. As for the genre-they don't make then like this any more. Want to add a crying sun but don't know how to add those cute little cartoons yet.

Thank you, Izcutter, for the bio. I did not become aware of him as an actor until Mr. Smith and Angel and the Badman. I grew up watching "Dobey" and was finally able to see where he got some of his talent from-Olive was a great actress too. I love his face-determination without harshness. I'll bet he was well loved by his peers. You made my day.

He never gave a bad performance. Need to add Streets of Laredo to the list. Even when he was the bad guy you couldn't stop watching him. You'd never confuse him with the handsome hero but he often outacted then. That said it all.

Did the body go to the same place as the birthday cake in Godfather II? One minute it was at the edge of the table the next gone but nobody had left the table yet. This movie is strange. I think Ms. Crawford was too old and her makeup too grotesque for her to be believable. I think it might have been better with someone else in the lead. By the way, why did she treat Joan Collins so shabbily when Joan told her she had been named for her? I don't know how old Ms. Collins was when they met but I'm thinking Ms. Crawford did not want to be reminded that she was old enought to have an adult namesake? Most folks would have taken it as a complement.

I'm very sure-it's my favorite genre next to Westerns. My favorites are Out of the Past, Double Indemnity, and Dead Reckoning. It's amazing how many good ones were made on what were obviously limited budgets. RKO seemed to have the template as so many of them came from there. Oops, I forgot the original Narrow Margin.

Regarding: The List So many of these wonderful actors have left us so recently-as early as this year-so the set's a great way to remember them or introduce them to younger people who might not know who they are. The show was a pleasant way to spend a Sunday evening even if you wondered how there could still be a Cabot Cove when one or two citizens got killed off every week. Ms. Landsbury is a classy lady who put family safety over career even when told she might not have one to come back to. Thanks to Murder she is more well known today than ever before and I loved Ms. Harris Goes to Paris. Nice folks don't always finish last.

We were just talking about one of his Western films, Decision at Sundown, in the Westerns forum. He is the bad guy to Randolph Scott's hero but not a monster. It's from the mid 1950's.

He had it bad and was that ever good for us. He was also Icepick, the retired gangster and Rick's mentor, in Magnum, PI. He either died or became very ill during it and they had Icepick die. I liked him and Mr. Cook's work even when he was at his worst. Big thing in a small package.

If Westbound and Decision at Sundown are the "worst" of the Scott/Boetticher collaborations, that's really saying something about the quality of the films. Who says you needed big budget to make good movies? Decision as no neat ending. Bart's friend is killed because of his stubborness, he finds out his wife was tramp, and he rides out knowing the truth but not at peace. Kimbrough actually ends up better off; unlike Lucy the saloon woman knows him, loves him anyway, and leaves with him. The town gets a conscience but at the cost of blood. Lucy and the doctor seem to get together at the end does she really know what she wants? I saw A Man Alone this week and noticed a similar catalyst in Westbound; a stage is robbed and the passengers-including a woman and little girl-are murdered. This is after the Union veteran is killed in cold blood. This is too much for the town of mostly Confederate sympathizers and they help bring down one of their own who is really out for himself and jealous revenge for an infidelity that's never happened. They are finally shown as something other than crazy fanatics. The David Buttolph theme is one of his best and every time I think of this movie it's in my head for hours. I'll take either film over a lot of "spectaculars" I can think of any time.