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Posts posted by TomJH
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I think it's safe to say that during the '30s Paul Muni enjoyed more prestige with the critics for his acting talent that did either Robinson or Cagney (or, of course, Bogie, who had yet to achieve stardom).
Today I think that it's equally safe to say that Muni's at times highly theatrical, busy performances date more (at least, in my eyes) than the more naturalistic acting styles of the other three actors. Truth is, at times, such as in Hudson's Bay (1940) or A Song to Remember (1945), Muni was a terrible ham.
However, having said that, I think that two of Muni's earliest talkie performances, with two very contrasting acting styles, hold up extraordinarily well, in Scarface and I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang. It's when he started his celebrated biographical series, with Pasteur and Zola, that he really started to chew scenery, as far as I'm concerned.

Howard Hawks' Scarface, far and away the best of the early talkie gangster epics, with a terrific broadstroke performance by Paul Muni. He is as much fun to watch in this film as he would later be such a pain in some of his later film performances. The film also helped to make a star of a coin flipping George Raft.
I now wonder if there's any poster that prefers Muni as a performer to our three tough guy stars.
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I would have to go with Cagney as probably being the most versatile of the three actors. When you consider his strong dramatic abilities, combined with his verve for comedy, as well as song-and-dance, he was quite a package as an entertainer.
As crazyblonde pointed out, EGR could not play the romantic, though, to be fair, Eddie came across, to me, as the most cerebral of the trio. Having said that, though, Cagney and Bogie still came across as having a lot of street smarts.
As I stated in an earlier posting, I think that of the three Bogart scored biggest as a mature man-of-the world and his cool cynicism helped to eventually give him the most iconic status of the three actors. I would suspect that as far as the general public is concerned, Bogart remains the most recognized name of the three actors.
But for versatility - give me Cagney.
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An older Eddie Robinson owned the role of Lancey Howard, the aging poker legend, in The Cincinnati Kid. I can't see either Cagney or Bogart pulling off the same performance. Cagney was usually high energy, not the right kind of actor trying a deadpan poker bluff and demonstrating nerves of steel by taking on a "cool" dude at a card table.
"I'm better than you, Lancey."
"Prove it, Kid."
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And Robinson was wonderful in The Whole Town's Talking, too. The other two actors in the same dual roles? Bogart, not a chance. Cagney, I wonder. But, again, when it came to playing it meek, Robinson was terrific, showing his great versatility in this one film.
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!
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Fritz Lang silents:
Woman on the Moon

Metropolis




That's the monocled Lang in the centre, with his left arm around Brigitte Helm. You can see the heads of a smiling Gustav Froelich and a bizarre-looking (what else?) Fritz Rasp in the background. By any chance, can anyone identify the others in this group photo?
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Thanks for those pictures, Nora. I suppose it's hardly a surprise that Ingrid Bergman would have such attractive children.
And I'm glad you liked my little personal Dietrich anecdote. My letter to which she responded made reference to her effort at entertaining the troops during the war and how after that conflict she suffered from a down period of readjustment back into civilian life, just like many of the men in uniform. That was a reflection of her book. I also recalled in that second letter David Niven's comment that this "glamourous" woman was in so many ways a hausfrau in real life. Comments like that, I strongly suspect, appealed to Marlene Dietrich, far more than my first letter, which was all about her screen image.
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That speculation I made about Edward G. Robinson in One, Two, Three prompts me to ask myself a question: namely what are the roles that any of these three great actors played that would have been uniquely ideal for one of them but not roles that the other two tough guys could have played.
Coming, rather easily to mind, of course, are any of the dancing roles that Cagney had. Cagney's man child appeal, including that rapport with the Dead End Kids, made him great in Angels with Dirty Faces while the other two would have bombed, I feel. Strawberry Blonde, perfect for Cagney, not the other two. Plus that sexy bouncing rapport with Ann Sheridan in Torrid Zone - forget the other two.
In fact, forget anything involving romance for Eddie Robinson. Casablanca great for Bogie. Robinson, forget it. Cagney? Maybe but it seems a stretch.
At the same time, Robinson was wonderful when he played roles requiring meekness (Woman in the Window, Scarlet Street, Our Vines Have Tender Grapes). The other two actors would have been laughable doing that.
I wonder if anyone else has any ideas along these lines.
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That's right, lavenderblue. So far it's 3 to 2 in favour of One, Two, Three. Yeah, we're still ahead!
But I'm still in shock that Dargo disagreed with me. My hair used to lie flat on my head. Now it's touching the ceiling. (I live in a very small house).
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That's the really wonderful thing about unsubstantiated rumours. No matter how many wives and friends Flynn had to deny those unproven allegations about him over the years, people still continue to repeat them. And, I'm afraid, always will. It's not fair, but, then, who said that life is supposed to be.
Obviously, these same "he swung both ways" circulated rumours apply to many other celebrities, as well, not just Flynn.
I might point out, however, that recent expose book released (Full Service by Scotty Bowers) in which the author named the sexual peccadilloes of countless Hollywood stars he had personally known. He knew and named Errol Flynn in that book that was exposing so many others as being gay, making no reference to Flynn along those lines. The worst he said about Errol was that he passed out from his excessive drinking at times when he was with a lady. Well, bad form there, old boy, as they say. But we all knew he was an alcoholic. From what I can see that other talk about Flynn is just that, talk.
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What, Dargo, you disagree with my assessment of One, Two, Three? But we never disagree! I'm shocked, SHOCKED that it has finally happened!
But I also understand your viewpoint, and understand why others may have problems with the film for the same reasons. And, let's face it, the topicality of that comedy does date it, and there would be many modern viewers (heck, probably most) that simply wouldn't get a lot of the inside joke references. (Though that latter drawback doesn't apply to us as viewers).
The sheer speed of this comedy entertains me, though, along with the great skill of the dialogue delivery. Let's face it, this is the kind of material at which Cagney could, and did in this instance, excel. I love watching him in this film, as I stated earlier. He was a unique performer in a lot of ways. Bogart would have been hopeless in a film like this. Eddie Robinson could do fast dialogue, very fast, but I think he had really slowed down physically by this time this one was made. And while he could play comedy, he never did it with the same verve as Cagney. This film needed a Cagney. This was the actor's first dialogue-driven comedy in over 20 twenty years. I think the old master proved that he still had it.
But, who knows, Dargo? Cagney himself never saw the film, and he tended to be a rather harsh critic of many of his own films. If he had seen it, he may have agreed with your assessment.
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Notorious:


Hitchcock's cinematographer zeroing in on Ingrid Bergman's hand for a closeup of the key to the wine cellar

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crazyblonde, I didn't know that Cagney's own painting, The Winner, appeared in Terrible Joe Moran. Thanks for the information.
It's been decades since I've seen that film but I remember finding it terribly depressing because of the severe health problems that Cagney was undergoing when the film was in production. It's not the way I want to remember him.
There's been a lot of speculation about Marge Zimmerman, Cagney's caretaker in his later years who obtained power of attorney over him, took over his life, drove him away from his children (according to some) and pressured him, largely against his own will, to make that last film.
You can read an article on Cagney and Zimmerman at this link:
http://www.jamescagneyonline.com/Article-on-Zimmerman.html
Particularly disturbing is the account of how Cagney, on the Terrible Joe Moran set, wracked with arthritis and watching an image of himself as a young man in a film made 50 years earlier, suddenly broke down and started to cry. I hate the fact that making that film put Jimmy Cagney through that turmoil. It's not a film I intend to watch again soon, if ever again.
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Thanks very much, lavenderblue. Glad to see that you think One, Two, Three is a fun film, too, even if it falls short of the classic status of some of Wilder's best work.
You may be interested to know, too, that during production (the film, of course, shot on location in Bavaria and Munich, as well as Berlin) Wilder received some complaints about the use of the Coke brand name by Joan Crawford, recently widowed by Alfred Steele, and now appointed as one of the board of directors for Pepsi-Cola.
As a result, that's why, to appease Crawford and Pepsi, we see the film's final joke, in which Cagney is shocked to see a Pepsi bottle pop out of a Coke machine.
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!
"Schlemmer!"
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crazyblonde, while I agree with you that the other two comedies don't work particularly well for me, I rather like One, Two, Three. Perhaps the film is more fast than really funny but the film's high energy level, propelled so much by Cagney's performance, along with the appropriateness of Wilder selecting the Sabre Dance as background music, makes this Cold War comedy quite entertaining for me.
Cagney plays the ambitious Coca Cola executive with the same ruthlessness, albeit for comic effect, that he had played so many other tough guys in his career. It really is a joy for me to watch him in this part, no matter what the actor himself thought of his somewhat sour experience in making the film.
Billy Wilder had this to say about the film:
"We knew that we were going to have a comedy, we (were) not going to be waiting for the laughs. But we had to go with Cagney, because Cagney was the whole picture. He really had the rhythm and that was very good. It was not funny. But the speed was funny . . . The general idea was, let's make the fastest picture in the world . . . And, yeah, we did not wait, for once, for the big laughs."
Cagney wrote the following about One, Two, Three:
"When Billy Wilder gave me the script for One, Two, Three, its foreward said in effect, 'We are embarking on a job here that requires sixty around the curves, and a hundred miles per hour on the straightaway.' I can see why he thought of me. I've been a rat-a-tat talker all my life. But when we went at it, it verified for me that speed is always relative. Something is fast only because something else is slower."
Cagney explained to Wilder his experience in dealing with Warners brass when he made Boy Meets Girl twenty years before, wanting that comedy to have a few slower stretches in it so the audience would have a chance to breathe again. Clearly the actor thought that the final 1938 product produced mixed results.
". . . let's benefit from experience," Cagney told Wilder, "Let's take our time for a spiel, then pick it up and go like hell again." And this is what we did to a degree. I never saw the picture, but they tell me it was funny. I hope so. It was certainly a lot of hard work."
I'd be interested in hearing what any other posters think about Cagney's last film before retirement.
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JAMES CAGNEY'S LAST ROUNDUP

Director Billy Wilder's One, Two, Three (1961) turned out to be an unexpectedly unpleasant experience for James Cagney. (As of the time of his autobiography written 15 years after the film's release, the actor's disinterest in the film was such that he still hadn't seen it). One, Two, Three is certainly very fast in its comedic pacing, possibly the fastest of the actor's career. There is the belief that the usually letter-perfect actor had problems with some of his lines, Wilder reputedly having him do 30 takes of one particularly difficult dialogue-heavy scene.
And then there was co-star Horst Buchholz . . .

Here Cagney threatens Buchholz with a grapefruit facial massage, an inside reference to his famous scene with Mae Clarke in The Public Enemy. In this particular case, though, Cagney would undoubtedly have enjoyed landing that fruit special on his German co-star.
Wrote Cagney about Buchholz:
"It is very interesting that not until the very end of my career did I meet an uncooperative fellow actor. As I review the pictures I've been in, I realize that each and every actor I've worked with had a part in shaping my summary views on acting. We all worked together rewardingly with what I hoped was mutual enrichment. I never had the slightest difficulty with a fellow actor until the making of One, Two, Three. In that picture, Horst Buchholz tried all kinds of scene stealing didoes, and I had to depend on Billy Wilder to take some steps to correct this kid. If Billy hadn't, I was going to knock Buchholz on his ***, which at several points I would have been very happy to do."
It was during the final stages of this Wilder production that Cagney simply decided to call it a career. The truth is that he had bought a 200 acre farm land on Martha's Vineyard in 1936, spending much of his best time there over the years, in 1955 purchasing another farm in New York state where he would increasingly spend even more time. In many ways, he had long been shooting for a final retirement. He was a city boy that loved the peace, quiet and solitude of the country.
Yes, he would return to the screen during the '80s for appearances in a pair of films, appearances done reluctantly on his part. One, Two, Three, though, would essentially end the tough guy's film career. He did so, I'm happy to say, with an at-times breath-taking display of gusto in his mile-a-minute comedy dialogue delivery. Problems or not during production, it doesn't show on screen. The old pro still had it.
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!
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Yeah, Andy that relationship Bogart had with Methot was a pretty self destructive one. His life really did change for the better when Baby entered his life.
Bogart would always remain a boozer after Methot, of course, ("The whole world is three drinks behind," he used to say, "and it's high time it caught up") but it never seemed to impact his professionalism on the set. The actor took great pride in the fact that he could handle his alcohol, at least as far as his career was concerned.
There would be the occasional incident in a night club, however.
From Peter Bogdanovich's Who the Hell's In It:
"On one occasion he and a friend bought two enormous stuffed panda bears and took them as their dates to El Morocco. They sat them in chairs at a table for four and when an ambitious young lady came over and touched Bogart's bear, he shoved her away. 'I'm a happily married man,' he said, 'and don't touch my panda.'
The woman brought assault charges against him, and when asked if he was drunk at four o'clock in the morning, he replied, 'Sure, isn't everybody?' (The judge ruled that since the panda was Bogart's personal property, he could defend it.)"
In a 1949 article in the LA Times, Bogart said, "So we get stiff once in a while. So we have a little fun. What's wrong with that? This is a free country, isn't it? I can take my panda any place I want to. And if I wanna buy it a drink, that's my business."
Bogart[/i]and+pandas.jpg]
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Q: How did the Bacall character in To Have and Have Not develop?
Howard Hawks: We discovered that she was a little girl who, when she became insolent, became rather attractive. That was the only way you noticed her, because she could do it with a grin. So I said to Bogey, "We are going to try an interesting thing. You are about the most insolent man on the screen and I'm going to make a girl a little more insolent than you are."
"Well," he said, "you're going to have a fat time doing that." And I said, "No, I've got a great advantage because I'm the director. I'll tell you just one thing: she's got to walk out on you in every scene." So as every scene ended, she walked out on him. It was a sex antagonism, that's what it was, and it made the scenes easy."
Excerpt from Howard Hawks: Interviews
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Thanks very much, Mongo. It's great to see these four great stars all together on the set of one of my favourite Billy Wilder films, Witness for the Prosecution. At the same time, of course, considering the fact that they've all been gone so long now, it's also a little sad.
Years ago I sent a fan letter to Marlene Dietrich. It was a pretty typical gushy kind of thing, to which she did not reply. Afterward I read a book of hers, Marlene's ABCs, I think it was called. I then sent a second letter, far different from the first, more reflective of her personality from that book. This time I received a response by mail from her within two weeks.
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Mark of the Vampire director Todd Browning seated, observing Elizabeth Allan, with Carol Borland in the background

Browning and cameraman James Wong Howe observing Bela Lugosi and Borland

Bride of Frankenstein- the lab set

Bride of Frankenstein friends on the set: Ernest Thesiger (Dr. Pretorius) and director James Whale
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{font:arial, helvetica, sans-serif} *crazyblonde said :Tom, If you want to get me hot post some half naked men.*
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How about a half naked duck? {font}
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Well, MissW, while I know that this image is not exactly the same kind of hot you are talking about, it can work out to our advantage on a hot, sticky summer day like this:
Now don't tell me that this guy's temperature is skyrocketing because of the weather. And then, if you're lucky:
AH, relief! And, except for the inevitable visit by the fire department, how sweet it is!
By the way, for those who thought that this posting was just a cheap excuse to show off a sexy shot of Sophia Loren, you're wrong.
If, on the other hand, I had posted this picture:

. . . you'd be right!
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PHOTO GLIMPSES OF BOGART:

The Battling Bogarts, they were dubbed by the press, Bogie with third wife Mayo Methot. Both were heavy drinkers, as evidenced by this picture, known for their highly tumultuous marriage, which lasted from 1938 to 1945. Mayo brandished a gun on at least one drunken occasion and on another stabbed Bogart with a knife (not seriously), in an incident kept out of the newspapers. Methot, a stage and film actress primarily known for playing tough dames, continued an alcoholic decline after their divorce, and was found dead in a hotel room in 1951, her body not discovered for several days. Upon hearing of her death while filming The African Queen in Africa, Bogart said "What a waste."
According to Wikipedia, Bogart and Methot joined director John Huston in Italy during the war. At one moment Mayo insisted on singing a song, much to the protest of others present. The embarrassment of her drunken singing voice became the basis for a scene that would later be filmed in Huston's Key Largo (1948) in which a washed up Claire Trevor embarrasses herself and everyone else present by singing a song, Moanin' Low, off key.

Three of Warners foremost tough guys: Bogart, Eddie G., George Raft. The dapper Raft, of course, was the only one who actually associated who real mobsters, among them the legendary Bugsy Siegel, the smooth talking hood who fianced the construction of Vegas' first major casino, the Flamingo.

Big Papa Bear Sydney Greenstreet with all his cubs gathered around

His wedding day to Lauren Bacall

Bogart was one of Hollywood's foremost yachtsmen. On board the Santana in 1951.

This, I strongly suspect, was the premiere of How to Marry a Millionaire.

A really sweet photo, Bogie with his son, Stephen

Humphrey Bogart, family man
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It's that Charles Atlas workout course.

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Thanks, crazyblonde, for pointing out that today would have been the 114th birthday of James Cagney.
One of the lesser known modes of artistic expression from Cagney came through the satisfaction that he received from sketching and painting.
As the actor wrote in his autobiography:
"My bent for art had been obvious since early childhood, and if my mother and father had been more aware of it all those long years ago, it would probably have been well if they had steered me in that direction. I might not have been as materially successful as I was in show business, but, taking it all in all, I might have been a lot happier."

A picture of Cagney sketching with artist friend John W. Hilton
And here's some samples of Cagney art:




There was a New York City auction of Cagney-owned memorabilia in 1992. It included some of his paintings. Last April a Cagney flower still life sold on ebay for just $266.
Cagney wrote:
"Since childhood, a certain fella has been on my mind. This is the fighter who goes through his career as a terrific puncher but also a terrific receiver. He winds up with a flat nose; cauliflower ears; thick, protrusive lips; proud flesh over his eyes; cuts on the cheekbone; slashes around his mouth - a human caricature. I've seen these fellas come out of fights with everything hanging loose - ears, lips, eyes - but victorious. This kind of guy has stayed in my mind for years. I have been making sketches of him with arm held high by the referee although his legs are folding under him; his eyes are almost sightless from the pounding - but still he stands, a battered hulk. From these sketches I did an oil painting I call 'The Winner' and took it into Bongart (a painter teacher).
'Jesus Christ, Jimmy! Who's that?'
'I've been thinking of this poor guy. He's numbered by the thousands in the fight racket.'
'Very spooky, very spooky."
And infinitely sad as well."
There's a reproduction of this painting in the actor's autobiography, Cagney By Cagney. The battered fighter, with his hand raised in victory, almost looks like his face is melting. He has slits were there had once been eyes, in Cagney's oil painting. His mouth hangs open, as if gasping for air. The painter's anguish over the fighter's sad fate is apparent in every brush stroke.
Unfortunately, I could find no copy of The Winner to reproduce here, except for this tiny image with the artist standing beside it.
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Archive of unaired interviews with the biggest names in classic movies
in General Discussions
Posted
Thanks once again, OrcoDec, for providing some segments of your father's interviews.
I wonder if the Madge Bellamy interview includes any reminiscences about either Bela Lugosi or White Zombie, the film for which she is probably best remembered today, even, though, at the time she was probably not happy about appearing in such a horror cheapie.
Fascinating to hear how Lina Basquette says she influenced the casting of Jolson in The Jazz Singer, (mind you, she was Mrs. Sam Warner), not to mention the fact that Jolson got into trouble when flirting with Ruby Keeler, then a gangster's girlfriend (I had no idea that Ruby had that wild side). Might that Basquette interview also include any mention about her working with DeMille in The Godless Girl, the director's last silent, or her relationship with Jack Dempsey?
Of the old time studio directors, might there be any interviews with the loquacious Vincent Sherman or, of course, Frank Capra? I assume that directors such as Raoul Walsh or Wild Bill Wellman were probably gone before your father had the chance to interview them. Of the stars, is there any chance of interviews with Vincent Price, Jane Russell or Olivia de Havilland, the latter still actually with us today.