ValeskaSuratt
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Posts posted by ValeskaSuratt
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AdW,
You're a breath of fresh air in a hurricane of halitosis.
Malice Adams ... :^0 ! ... written by Tooth Barkington ... ?
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> {quote:title=AndyM108 wrote:}{quote}
> Filmgoddess, you have excellent taste in actresses.
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> {quote:title=kriegerg69 wrote:}{quote}
> > {quote:title=ValeskaSuratt wrote:}{quote}RO's outro had some surprising facts ... like Peyton Place received NINE Oscar nominations ???
> Why is that so surprising?
Well, in the first (peyton) place ... because from the instant the book was published in 1956, it was so widely panned as "filth" and "trash." (The link I posted above to a Vanity Fair article about Peyton Place author Grace Metalious graphically describes the controversy and its considerable scope.)
Also because (per Wikipedia):
"Peyton Place was the second-highest grossing film of 1958, although in the first few months of its release it did not do well at the box office, until a real-life tragedy gave it an unexpected boost. On April 4, 1958, star Lana Turner's daughter Cheryl killed her mother's abusive lover, mobster Johnny Stompanato and was placed in Juvenile Hall. The press coverage of the subsequent investigation boosted ticket sales by 32%, and the film eventually grossed $25,600,000 in the US."
Luckily for Lana, the combination of Peyton Place and the Stompanato scandal only re-vitalized her stalled career. (Twenty years earlier it could well have killed it.) Ironically, Peyton Place turned out to be Lana's only Oscar nom.
So ... considering the amount of schmutz contained in, swirling around, and even mirrored in real life by Peyton Place ... ?
That the film was SO honored by the Academy -- with not just one Oscar nomination or maybe two, or even with three or four, but -- with a total of *NINE* Academy Award nominations ...?
That's why it's surprising.
Even when the same thing happened a year or so later -- when a virtually-unfilmable book combined with an actress' real-life tragedy, and near-death pneumonia helped propel Elizabeth Taylor's un-stalled career all the way to a Best Actress Oscar for Butterfield 8, causing co-nominee Shirley MacLaine to lament, "I lost to a tracheotomy !!" ... ?
THAT was surprising, too !
Maybe not quite as surprising as Peyton Place but, hey, still ... surprising. Shirley MacLaine sounded surprised ...
,Valeska Suratt
(aka "She Whose Plastic Surgery Makes Her Appear Perpetually Surprised Even Though Very Little Actually Surprises Her Anymore")
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> {quote:title=dpompper wrote:}{quote}I'd advise any Hepburn fan interested in her "early" films to instead try "Bringing Up Baby" and/or "The Philadelphia Story."
Considering that Hepburn made her film debut in 1932, Baby (1938) and Philadelphia (1940) are not examples of Hepburn's '"early' films."
In fact, they bookend the period she was considered "box-office poison."
Her first film, Bill of Divorcement, is remarkable for her raw energy and -- especially when considered alongside the films of 1932's top female movie stars -- shows why Hepburn made such a splash.
She's also a great Jo in Little Women (1933), her masquerade as a young boy in Sylvia Scarlett (1935) is what gave it cult status, and Stage Door (1937) is an absolute Must-See for those who enjoy sparkling repartee AND those who've ever heard Hepburn parodied with the line "The cala lillies are in bloom again ..."
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RO's outro had some surprising facts ... like Peyton Place received NINE Oscar nominations ???
But even more fascinating is the story of the novel's author, Grace Metallious:
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2006/03/peytonplace200603
"Overnight, Grace Metalious became wealthy, spending lavishly on stays at the Plaza and flirting with Cary Grant, her name and face splashed in newspapers across the nation. Eight years, another husband, and more than a million p*d-away dollars later, at the age of 39, she lay dying in a Boston hospital, in the company of a mysterious British lover to whom she had left her entire estate—by changing her will on her deathbed. 'Be careful what you wish for,' she told him in the hours before she died. 'You just might get it.'"
Edited by: ValeskaSuratt on Jul 15, 2012 4:55 PM
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> {quote:title=Hibi wrote:}{quote}Does anyone know who wrote the script?
The writer's a guy named Christopher ****. Of his credits on imdb.com, the most familiar to me was a 1995 feature film called "The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain" starring Hugh Grant.
Daily Beast has an article called " ‘Liz & Dick’: 8 Crazy Scenes from Lindsay Lohan’s Elizabeth Taylor Biopic." For those of us hoping to see a classy treatment of two of our idols, it doesn't bode well:
**** is, however, a Welshman like Richard Burton so maybe that'll help ... ?
As for those trying to equate Lohan's personal problems with Taylor's, it strikes me as a pretty odious comparison.
Elizabeth (who BTW hated being called "Liz") never sank to the depths Lohan has with her multiple drug convictions, jail time, DUI's, hit-and-run accidents, falling down drunk in public, etc.
And though Taylor sought help much later in life, she faced her addictions very bravely and head-on, enjoying many years of uninterrupted sobriety as a result. Lohan has on occasion reportedly gone directly from rehab to her dealer's house.
I also found it highly admirable that despite having guarded her privacy like a junk yard dog, Taylor went public with many intimate personal details of her addictions and recovery -- for the sole purpose of helping others.
Lohan on the other hand griped about her community service and showed up in court with the f-word emblazoned on her fingernails.
Whatever ... I don't mean to be bashing Lohan, and I hope "Liz and Dick" helps put her career back on track.
But what I really hope is that she can finally find the strength to avoid joining the parade of Hollywood drug deaths that stretches from Olive Thomas and Wally Reid in the 1920s to Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson so recently.
Here's Lohan as "Liz" with Grant Bowler as "Dick" ...
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A Hollywood Reporter article claims that two film industry unions, SAG and IATSE, are investigating the Liz and Dick production for working the cast and crew such long hours that they may have exceeded union regulations and/or state labor laws:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/Lindsay-lohan-liz-dick-elizabeth-taylor-339543
On Saturday, Lohan tweeted that she'd worked 85 hours in 4 days ... no word yet on whether she succeeded in getting into character or not ...
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Sepiatone,
How lucky zat you actually get to SEE zis tres horrible *Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter* prior to her June 22nd release so you could raise ze battle cry !
(Eet IS safe to assume you actually SEE ze movie before trying to "drive ze stake through his heart," oui ? For eet would just be tres ABSURD to -- how you American say ? -- "judge ze boook by his title" ... n'est pas ?)
If you would be so kind, please you will describe what is ze most "un-American" scenes ... ?
Zis would be of beacoup help with ze drafting of zis long-overdue law -- ze "Un-American Movie Muzzling Mandate" (or UMMM .... )
Merci beaucoup for your vigilance, monsieur ! Few know better ze dangers of associating with ze vampires zan a girl like I !!
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Congratulations and thank you, TCM, for a thoroughly enjoyable celebration of Judy's 90th !
I thought the comments from Garland-expert John Fricke were fascinating and illuminating, the playlist was (for the most part) excellent, and the whole tone of the day's tribute was both respectful and honest -- not an easy combination when honoring one of our more "tortured" show biz greats.
The obligatory commenter's quibble: while I know it's not possible for financial reasons, I wish some of Judy's talk show interviews could have been included because they prove what so many who knew her have claimed: that Garland was as great a story-teller and raconteuse off the screen as she was a singer and actress on ... (the screen).
My favorite example is her riff about Marlene Dietrich during a 1964 TV appearance with Jack Paar. Despite the cattiness and her obvious inebriation, I think it's hilarious.
Not the greatest quality video, but better than nothing:
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Miss Wonderly,
Sorry for that formatting problem. I finally fixed my post, but that problem occurs so often when I use the "Quote Original" feature. I don't know why, I just know that I HATE IT.
And thanks much for checking, but no snootiness detected. Had there been, however, the fault would have been mine for trying to concoct a little joke which only fell flatter than a shell-shocked souffle.
What I was TRYING to suggest is that The Browning Version is sort of the "British reserve" version of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf ?
On the surface, comparing the Taylor-Burton warfare to Richardson and Jean Kent's is like comparing WW II to a feverish game of tiddlywinks. Still, I think the two films are strikingly similar.
Both explore the theme of unhappily married couples playing corrosively cruel power-games, both utilize the setting of teachers and schools, and in both the wife is an adulterous schemer and the husband an ineffectual lump. (Though yes, TBV does contain a sprinkle of Goodbye, Mr. Chips which WAVW lacks.)
It seems like the main difference between the two is how the "marriage games" are played in American versus British culture. And while I've long admired WAVW, the more subtle savagery in TBV hits me much harder.
I mean ... the scene in which Kent tells Richardson the "truth" about his student's gift ??? That she KNOWS she's emotionally eviscerating her husband and yet treats the information as so trivial and obvious that she smiles condescendingly while revealing it is SO devastatingly cruel it makes me squirm !
Sorry to say, I can think of no similarly affecting scene in Virginia Woolf despite all of George and Martha's ferocious mud-wrestling
One of the hallmarks -- and joys -- of classic British films is seeing just how much it takes before that proverbial "stiff upper lip" starts to quaver.
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> {quote:title=misswonderly wrote:}{quote}
> I find it kind of interesting that this very fine film received no attention on these boards, except for the original poster here. Nobody responded to this thread until I did. How come? The Browning Version is an exceptionally good film, and one of the best I can think of that's been made into a movie from a play.
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> I cannot help but suspect that North American audiences simply don't "get" British films, or at least don't care for them half as much as their beloved Hollywood productions.
>
I think it's partly because we boisterously expressive Americans have a hard time relating to the famous British "reserve."
I mean, all that icy-cold cruelty Richardson's wife inflicts on him is very Who Feareth Virginia Woolf ?
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Saratoga Trunk is one of my all-time faves ... one of those films that each time I see it, I notice something new.
This morning it was the fact that Bergman's character, Clio Dulaine, is bi-polar -- she has a full-blown manic episode after arriving in Saratoga, then passes out for two days to recuperate.
Supposedly, Jack Warner bought the property for Errol Flynn (who would have been great) and Bette Davis (who would have been ... interesting?) but scheduling conflicts interfered.
Other actresses who tested for Clio included Ann Sheridan, Olivia De Havilland, Eleanor Parker and Tamara Toumanova but it's hard to imagine any of them being better than Ingrid.
And while Flora Robson (under all that make-up) was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, I think Jerry Austin as Clio's servant Cupidon steals all his scenes.
When he begs Clint (Gary Cooper) to let him go along for the huge railroad fight but Coop keeps calling him "little man," telling him to go home and "take care of the women," and finally Cupidon looks up at him, terribly hurt but with such dignity, and says "I'm a MAN !" ... heart-breaking.
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> Ridiculous story, even for a Hollywood movie. And why is that insane montage at the beginning? I've heard explanations of it, but it seem a relic of an earlier version.
I know, right ??? -- just like in "Night at the Opera" when all those people just show up in Groucho's stateroom at exactly the same time ? No way would that ever happen ...
/end attempt at gentle ribbing
Safe to say that "ridiculous story," "overplaying," and "insane montage" are just a few of the bizarre but essential elements of a Preston Sturges farce.
Or, as the Princess Centimillia (Mary Astor) would have said it: "Nyeetz, Toto !! NYEETZ !!!":^0
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TCMFan23,
Kenneth Anger (rhymes with "hanger") was born in 1927 and initially became famous as an underground experimental filmmaker, ultimately racking up over 40 short films.
Though lauded by an eclectic mix of "intellegentsia" (from Mick Jagger to the Kinsey Institute), neither Anger nor his work are likely to show up on TCM anytime soon owing to his films very "adult" content and his own unpredictable behavior -- for example, commenting loudly throughout the eulogy at a friend's funeral.
Hollywood Babylon was first published in French in 1959 and a U.S. version finally appeared in 1965, followed a decade later with a sequel cleverly called Hollywood Babylon II. As of late, Anger has announced completion of Hollywood Babylon III but claims it can't be published for fear of severe legal repercussions (specifically, he says, because of his chapter about Tom Cruise and Scientology).
Virtually devoid of any sourcing, the two published volumes have nonetheless become "cult classics" due to their smarmy tone, salacious details, and decadent disrespect, the latter typified by graphic photos of Jayne Mansfield's fatal car accident and Lewis Stone's body lying in a driveway following his fatal heart attack.
That these historical hack-jobs have done permanent damage is best exemplified by the rudely revisionist version of Lupe Velez' 1944 suicide contained in (as Anger calls it) "Holy Baby I." Rather than remembered for her beauty, comedic timing, or stature as one of the first Hispanic movie stars in Hollywood, Google her name today and the THIRD item is "Did Lupe Velez really drown in the toilet?"
Never mind that such a grisly, undignified scene is found nowhere in the coroner's report, witness statements or newspaper accounts of the day. In Anger's catty commentary, Velez' attempted Seconal overdose is undone by violent nausea, causing her to stagger to the bathroom to be sick where, he writes, "she slipped on the tiles and plunged headfirst into her black Egyptian onyx, Hush-Flush model deluxe ...The scoop macabre was the one Louella had been sitting on."
Of the many who've attacked the books' veracity, esteemed film historian Kevin Brownlow has lead the charge, describing Anger's research as "Mental telepathy, apparently."
Further evidence comes from a post on Allan Ellenberger's wonderful site, Hollywoodland:
"Among his other claims, Anger has said that he was the Changeling Prince in the 1935 A Midsummer Night’s Dream, even publishing pictures from the film in his books. It turns out that Anger obviously exaggerated this fact (imagine that) and the role was actually played by a girl named Sheila Brown. Reportedly, costars Mickey Rooney and Olivia De Havilland have confirmed this and the Warner Bros. studio casting forms and call sheets have identified Sheila Brown as the child actress who played the Prince."
http://allanellenberger.com/book-flm-news/a-prediction-by-kenneth-anger/
Essentially, Hollywood Babylon I & II are the print equivalent of Wilson Mizner's opinion of Tinsel Town: "a trip through a sewer in a glass-bottomed boat."
And I ought to know -- total hypocrite that I am, they've been stinking up MY bookshelves for over 30 years.
Ashamedly,
Valeska
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> {quote:title=SansFin wrote:}{quote}I hope there is a celebration of some sort on this site for his birthday. He is a wonderful man and many of us love him dearly even although we have never met him.
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> I do not think it would be appropriate to have considerable notice taken of it on the channel. There is a dividing line between personal life and professional life. Any promotion of the personal detracts from the presentation of the material. It is much the same as a reputable journalist does not inject their self into their coverage.
Excellent point, well put.
My earlier post should have included something like: "Of the many reasons TCM may not acknowledge RO's birthday, here's the first hypothetical conspiracy theory that came to mind."
I've been off my game ever since the aliens abducted me.
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> {quote:title=rover27 wrote:}{quote} And the man is in his late 70s, I believe.
>
Robert will turn 80 on May 3rd.
Does anyone know if TCM is planning any sort of celebration ? I would hope they aren't planning on downplaying it out of fear it would turn off younger viewers. I hate to think they'd succumb to such ageism -- especially when the majority of their viewers are 40+.
Or maybe Bob prefers no fuss be made ?
IMHO, he alone makes the case that America needs to create an honor equivalent to England's knighthood.
That fantasy aside, what's the most appropriate way to mark his 80th ?
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Can't even write it without puddling up:
*"I'm frightened, Auntie Em! I'm frightened!"*
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> {quote:title=finance wrote:}{quote}Did he ever actually state his name during the interview? Maybe he DIDN'T remember it.
I thought he did, right at the beginning ... "Hello, I'm Teter O'Poole ... I mean, Pooter O'Teele ... um, Tooty O'Pooty ... oh, for $%# sake, Rawbuht, awsk me something else ... "
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Considering he was 79, and spent so many years indulging in what's been described as "heavy drinking, even by heavy drinking standards," it's a miracle he remembered his own name ...
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MovieProfessor,
Thanks for the info on the PBS docu ..
I'm actually more curious about the whole history of cinema acting ... f''rinstance, re: Method Acting:
* Why it impacted the movies so strongly that Marilyn Monroe would become an acolyte in mid-career ... (It was better than her rabbit's foot ?)
* Why it became such a phenomenon that even folks in the hinterlands might have heard of it ...
(Brando's looks didn't hurt, and his "realistic" line readings generated both controversy and parody ... I vaguely recall one by Stan Freberg. ... )
* What the acceptance of the Method's level of "realism" -- characterized by detractors as "stuttering" and "nose picking" -- might say about movie audiences of the 50s ...
(Like that they'd become tired of the traditional "grand" style of acting and wanted stars who seemed more like themselves ?)
But heck, YOU'RE the expert ... so re: producing a history of movie acting for TCM, let's just put you down as a definite maybe for now ... ?
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MovieProfessor,
I've wished for a long time that someone would produce a documentary on the history of acting in the movies, starting with its roots in the old declamatory style of the late 19th century theater and tracing its evolution into the (supposed) "realism" of today.
Among the topics: the impact of stage acting enlarged to nickleodeon screen-size ... how early cinema actors coped with the lack of scripted dialogue ... the revolutions caused by the introduction of close-ups and then sound ... the many performers -- Theda Bara, Greta Garbo, James Dean, Robert DeNro, etc. -- whose style or training (like the Method) resulted in re-defining "great" acting ... the relationship between movie acting and how people behave in real life ... it really could be a fascinating show ...
Based on your posts here ... ? Please do it.
Anxiously awaiting an airdate, I remain
Yours (platonically speaking),
Valeska
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Such a great list, fredbaetz, I can't resist ...
Insteada:
1. John Wayne as Genghis Khan, head of the Mongol Empire, in "The Conqueror" ... ?
YUL BRYNNER, ANTHONY QUINN or VICTOR MATURE.
2. Marlon Brando as Sakini, a Japanese farmer/conman, in "Teahouse of the August Moon" ... ?
PETER LORRE or PETER SELLERS.
3. Clint Eastwood singing love ballads in "Paint Your Wagon" ... ?
ROBERT GOULET, GEORGE CHAKIRIS or (if their singing could be acceptably dubbed) ROBERT REDFORD or WARREN BEATTY.
4. Mickey Rooney as Japanese neighbor of Holly Golightly in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" ... ?
SESSUE HAYAKAWA ! (He could've just reprised his character from "Bridge on the River Kwai" ...)
5. Melanie Griffith as a N.Y. cop undercover as a Hasidid Jewess in "A Stranger Among Us" ... ?
Tough one. DEBRA WINGER ? ... BARBRA STREISAND ? (no way she'd have done it though it could've been a great career move) ... or else turn it into a comedy with either BETTE MIDLER or MISS PIGGY.
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slaytonf,
Hard as it is for this Roz & Alec fan, I totally agree.
The nominee for a "Mis-Casty Award" that springs instantly to mind is Dragon Seed with Katharine "Jade Tan" Hepburn.
I have others ... (What self-respecting cinemaddict does NOT have lists of "Bests," "Worsts" and "Shoulda Beens" ?)
But the "Mis-Casties" changed for me a few years ago when a similarly deranged fellow Hollywoodphile and I created our own little trivia game in which we got to re-cast our Most Mis-cast movies. We called it "Insteada."
Say that you can go back in time and "correctly" cast, say, A Majority of One ... BUT you have to do it within the rough "parameters" of the industry as it was then -- and while It DOES help to know a heap of Hollywood trivia, it can also be a hoot Googling for casting ideas along with who's hot and who's not, who "just" starred in what films, who's freelance and who would have to be loaned out, who's been branded a Commie, a drunk or a pervert ... who's sworn that they'll NEVER work with that louse "So-and-So" again ... EVER ! ... etc.
Fortunately, in your favor, you are reeeally powerful and pursuasive ...
So ... Bam ! It's 1960 - 61 and Majority of One is in pre-production at Warner Bros -- which means Jack Warner is still stalking the halls, looking for fresh victims to tell his terrible, tasteless jokes to.
You're co-producing with Mervyn Leroy, he's also directing, and the script is by Leonard Spiegelglass (no slouch !) who adapted it from his hit stage play.
So insteada Roz ... WHO ?
1. Gotta Go There: she played it on Broadway for Leonard and it ran over a year ... Gertrude Berg.
Mervyn: "You mean the yenta in the tenement on the TV show ?"
Leonard: "Mmmm ... 'The Goldbergs.' I love Gertie Berg but she'll hardly knock 'em dead in Kokomo. I've got points in this picture and two kids in college, y'know ?"
Jack: "Ha ha ! Remember the Titanic ! ... Berg ? Titanic ? Ha ha !"
2. Plowing Ahead: Okay, how about Shirley Booth ?
Mervyn: "You mean the yenta who's the maid on the TV show ? Do you watch anything else but TV shows ? Like movies ? Plays ? Birds ?"
Jack: "Shirley you jest! Ha ha!"
Leonard: "Mmmmmm ... Shirrrrrleeeeeey ... ? Mmmmmmaybe as a back-up."
3. Going For It: We could "Stunt Cast" it with Merman !
Mervyn: "You mean make it a musical ???"
Leonard: "Mmmm, an extremely LOUD musical ... "
Jack: "Anybody else want a sandwich ?"
4. The Hail Mary Pass: Well, there's always Bette Davis ...
Mervyn: "She played it four years ago and nobody's begging for a sequel to "Catered Affair'."
Leonard: "Mmmm ... we could call it The Cratered Affair' ..."
Jack: (ulcer churning with Bette memories) "Burrrrrrrrp! -- Hey, did you guys know I can burp 'The Star Spangled Banner' ?"
As for insteada Alec, it's too obvious: Sessue Hayakawa.
Mervyn: "Hmmmm. Might be his Oscar ..."
Leonard: "Didn't he start back in silent movies or something ?"
Jack: "No -- doing my laundry ! Ha ha ! Burrrrp!"
All in unison: "So how 'bout that sandwich, J.L. ?" ... "Yeah, great idea, J.L." ... "Mmmmmaybe lunch will help ..."
And so on, and so on ... etc.etc. ... we still play via email.
There is just one tiny little danger: Insteada should not be played alone or one can easily become susceptable to a condition called terminal normadesmonditis in which a classic movie lover slips slowly but permanently into the fantasy world of a "perfect Hollywood" in which he or she is very powerful and persuasive.
Well ... now ... I'm sure I've moooore than adequately explained the ins and outs of Insteada ... to death ... (or, as someone remarked following my recitation of some interminable Hollywood anecdote, "Wow!! That sounds REEEALLY interesting ... to YOU.")
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Who was JACK CONWAY and why did TCM show a morning of his films?
in General Discussions
Posted
TopBilled,
Thank you for shedding some light on the unsung career of Jack Conway.
(I had a tinge of trepidation this was yet another "how could TCM shew movees what i don't like ???" rant before noticing you were the author.)
As happens so often with a topic or personality mentioned here, I got to Googling and while it's so far resulted in a paucity of information about Conway, I did find a few tidbits of the trivia at imdb potentially revealing:
** "There is a street in Pacific Palisades named after him: Jacon Way."*
Named after him, or perhaps his vastly under-rated directorial style ? It almost sounds like a buzz-phrase you'd have heard around the MGM lot in the 20s and 30s:
"What way should I direct it, L.B.?"
"How else, Clarence ? The Jacon Way !!"
Very few auteur acolytes ever talk about the rampant and highly destructive self-indulgence so inherent in that style.
An artist who squanders a patron's largesse risks only his own neck. However, from von Stroheim to Michael Cimino, auteur filmmakers have single-handedly run entire studios into the ground.
That Conway cranked out hit after hit (and, in hind-sight, classic after classic) while working within the stringent confines of both MGM's bottom line AND Papa Mayer's "tastes" is as sure a sign of virtuousity as Mozart playing a flawless concerto with his back to the piano keys.
** "Starred in one of the earliest movies ever filmed in Hollywood, Her Indian Hero (1912)."*
A clue to his expedience: an actor-turned-director is more likely to communicate efficiently with his cast.
** "Directed the first 'talkie' for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Alias Jimmy Valentine (1928)."*
Isn't this the picture where the famous line "Take him for a ride !" is shouted at a telephone concealing a microphone ?
Another of Conway's overlooked achievements: he was a technical innovator during the early days of sound.
** "His career move from acting to directing occurred after he had refused to step into a cage and wrestle a lion."*
Proof that Jack Conway wasn't just a studio lackey. There WERE some things he wouldn't do !
Thanks again for the great post.