[The Making of "Gone With the Wind" Documentary (1989)]

 

"Who you think you foolin', Hunny Chile? You forty if you a day.

Now less fine sumthin' to cover yo bosoms with 'foe the neighbors start in to laughin'."

[The Making of "Gone With the Wind" Documentary (1989)]

After watching all of the proposed Scarlett role audition clips in this documentary the other night, I thought Joan Bennett probably came as close as anybody could at being as good as Leigh would eventually be as the character, and even more so than the front-runner for the part for a time, Paulette Goddard.

 

And while I really like Jean Arthur in roles where she's playing either "one of the guys" or the slightly befuddled type, I almost laughed out loud while watching her audition clip and wondered who could have possibly thought that she would have been at all well cast for the role of the sexy vixen Scarlett.

 

(...I mean Jean was cute and all, but REALLY?...SCARLETT???...this was somebody's idea of a joke, RIGHT?!)

 

Yeah, the best thing about that documentary (and it's a terrific documentary) is the parade of screen tests made by all the actresses. Personally, were there never a Vivien Leigh to enter the picture, I felt like PAULETTE GODDARD just aced it, there's even a fun scene where she performs the lines for both Scarlett and Mammy and it's pretty funny...

 

Lana Turner was awful; Susan Hayward (as Edith Marriner) was unsteady.

 

Jean Arthur's test was interesting in that she appears to be wearing an off-the-rack strapless sun dress with shawl- not authentic costuming in the least- and I think he hair is also modern-styled. She was also 39 and would've been loooong in the tooth for Scarlet.

 

 

...but the minute you see the test with Vivien Leigh and Hattie McDaniel, something clicks and you know: these are the two.

 

ps- for the Melanie screen tests, I was quite impressed with Andrea Leeds, although Anne Shirley was good too.

[Pat At Last]

I wonder where Douglas was that he didnt appear???

 

To hear Richard Nixon tell it, he and Helen were off speaking at a Bolshevik Rally.

[Pat At Last]

I actually watched the clip of Brandon de Wilde accepting Melvyn Douglas's Oscar for HUD before you posted it, and he looks great in those glasses.

 

Sadly, to tack on to a note I made in the last post, he only did one feature after HUD- IN HARM'S WAY (1965)- and I wonder if his appearance had something to do with Patricia Neal's presence in the film.

 

The rest of his work is all on television, and even then just one appearance a year until his death in 1970.

 

I think DeWilde was a good actor, and heaven knows he was handsome enough, but I have seen two unsteady performances of his on television that makes me wonder about how solid his instincts as an actor were- one in THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE, an episode of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS that never aired because its finale was considered too gruesome (it's not) and an episode of BORIS KARLOFF'S THRILLER wherein he and his brother spend the night in an abandoned southern mansion that is guarded by bewitched animals (don't remember the title.)

 

In both, he's doing a weak retread of his naive, adoring film roles and it doesn't translate well.

[Did anyone catch "Waterloo Bridge" (1931)?]

Every time I've looked at the schedule this month, it's printed the following day's schedule immediately underneath the present day's, so I haven't had that issue.

 

One note: most films with a listing on imdb will actually have a note somewhere prominently beneath their title and information right at the heading that it will be showing soon on TCM and it will give the time and date.

 

(So you can always look them up that way if you are having issues with the tcm schedule.)

[Pat At Last]

I like the movie HUD a lot but for me the weakest link (and I know many will disagree with me) is Paul Newman.

To me, he comes across as "trying not to act" which reads as "acting" to me.

I don't think his accent sounds very authentic either.

 

Patricia Neal, Brandon deWilde and Melvyn Douglas are all so vibrantly alive in the movie.

I'm always amazed that a New York guy like Brandon deWilde can speak with such a natural-sounding Southern accent.

 

 

I can see where you'r coming from with this, I think part of the fault lies in the fact that Newman is required to start 'speechifyin'" every so often by the script, giving a lot of thematically heavy soliloquoys- some of which are heavy handed. Personally, I felt like he did a good job in a demanding role.

 

Personally, I have found myself wondering- after watching HUD on this most recent outing- whether or not it was ultimately bad for the career of Brandon de Wilde- because he's basically in the same role that he played a year before in ALL FALL DOWN and more or less, ten years before that in SHANE, it's like how many "misguided Hero worship makes boy-become-man" parts can you do?

 

And he's good- don't get me wrong. He gets the part down, it's just bad luck for him that he is in an ensemble quartet with three hardcore pros who are latching in to their parts like a terrier on a tube sock, and those parts are more dynamic and showy than his....it's like he's in a thankless position, if he plays the part right, he looks like a weak link.

 

 

.....and i've heard he was very hurt by being the only member of the cast not nominated for an Oscar...and it's worth noting he didn't do a follow-up to HUD until 1965, in which he reteamed with Patricia Neal in In Harm's Way.

[Pat At Last]

It is certainly punishing! But not every film can-- or should -- be Mary Poppins! 

 

My nieces were recently watching MARY POPPINS.

I would sooner watch an honest-to-God snuff film than sit through MARY POPPINS in its entirety.

 

ps- my favorite Rachel Roberts performance is MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS. For years I totally though she was German.

[Pat At Last]

This Sporting Life is a really fine film, and Rachel Roberts, who was nominated, gave an extraordinary performance.

 

To me, THIS SPORTING LIFE has some excellent moments, and Rachel Roberts is great in it- but overall, it is one of the most PUNISHING, brutal films to sit through.

 

And ironically, Rachel Robert's role comes close to being supporting, in fact, had she agreed to've been "campaigned" for in the category, she would've won hands-down.

[Pat At Last]

I was quite young, but I remember the Oscars that year. I hadn't seen Hud and didn't know much about Pat. I was pulling for Leslie Caron to win, for her incredible performance in The L-Shaped Room. I was happy about the Oscars for Tom Jones, though I thought Albert Finney should have won over Sidney Poitier.

 Me too.

 

Leslie Caron's part in THE L-SHAPED ROOM is a lot more substantial than Neal's is in HUD, but Patricia is just that good in HUD...the other three nominees are fine, but hampered by the fact that their films aren't as good as they could be.

[Pat At Last]

Yes, its one of those roles that is really a supporting role, but could also be considered a leading role since it is the lead actress in the story....

 

 

Plus, it helped that 1963 was a weak year for film in general and solid lead performances (by both actors and actresses.) Although I have always wondered how it was that Judy Garland in I COULD GO ON SINGING didn't at least get a nomination....

[GREASE sing-a-long]

You make a very excellent point.

 

And the JAWS theme is melodically similar to the opening horns of "Don't Rain On My Parade."  

 

Why do you think Anne Francis disappears after a few minutes in the movie?

Barbra ate her.

Then regurgitated her.

Then ate her again.

[Pat At Last]

(that baby so clearly wants to put that Oscar in his mouth...)

 

[Pat At Last]

I watched HUD for the first time in a long time on Pat Neal's night.

 

Her work in that film is one of those very rare supporting performances that deservedly won a leading Oscar because it is so strong it dominates the movie (see also: Anthony Hopkins in SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.) I wish she had more scenes, because her Alma (which is most appropriately the Spanish word for "soul") is the heart and soul of HUD.

 

It is a shame though that she maybe appeared in less than five features after winning, although she did get a second nomination (for THE SUBJECT WAS ROSES) and did plenty of stage and television.

[Did anyone catch "Waterloo Bridge" (1931)?]

I don't know who did this, but it is brilliant:

 

[Did anyone catch "Waterloo Bridge" (1931)?]

"Waterloo Bridge" by Claude Monet

 

[Did anyone catch "Waterloo Bridge" (1931)?]

WATERLOO BRIDGE (1931) is airing on TCM on August 20 as part of Mae Clarke's day during Summer Under The Stars.

 

Thank you so much for digging this up!

 

Only thing I'll add is that the film is showing at 8:00 pm and the day is laden with a lot of early thirties precodes and the like, PENTHOUSE on at 1:45 pm is one I've always been interested in and want to catch.

 

I also also add that any of you who DVR'd the Vivien Leigh version of WATERLOO BRIDGE, it's really interesting to contrast them both and there are enough differences, you can even enjoy them back-to-back.

[Yvonne Craig (1937-2015)]

How sad..,

 

Hardcore BATfan here, and while I think the third season of the show has some issues (the writing got waaaaaaaay "out there" and Batgirl was a kind of unnecessary addition inserted into the action who didn't always fit) it's hard not to like Craig in the role.

 

Sigh.

 

I wish all the episodes of the show were more readily available than they presently are.

[GREASE sing-a-long]

You are wrong for that!

Why?

 

JAWS is about a great white shark laying claim on an island community (Amity.)

 

FUNNY GIRL is about a great white woman laying a claim on an island community (Manhattan.)

 

and both will devour anything that gets in their path.

[GREASE sing-a-long]

I'm surprised someone hasn't written JAWS: THE MUSICAL.

They did. It was called FUNNY GIRL.

[SUTS picks, day by day.]

 

-Gunga Din, I recorded this more for Cary Grant, but I have a feeling he's miscast.

you've never seen it, I gather? It is excelelnt, he is excellent, everyone and everything in it is excellent. If you haven't seen it yet, you are in for a treat.

 

 

I made sure to record The Breaking Point since it was so highly recommended.  I'm thinking of doing a double feature and watching To Have and Have Not and then follow it up with The Breaking Point so that I can compare. 

There is no comparison, and not just on the level that plot, dialogue and characterwise they have no similarities at all, but also in quality. THE BREAKING POINT is one of the best films of the 1950's; TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT features two all-time great performances, but outside of that it is "meh"-sville. KEY LARGO has a lot of similarites to THE BREAKING POINT though.

 

I also recorded Hud which I understand may have experienced some technical difficulties.  I'll have to check out how my satellite feed looked and see if it ruins the overall viewing experience.

I saw no technical difficulties and I watched the airing.

 

 

I still have The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone recorded on the DVR from last time it was on.  I'm not sure if I'll like the film or not, but I always find the Tennessee Williams' plays turned films interesting.

It is. Depressing, and ambiguously ended, but it is interesting. A (typically) wonderful performance by Vivien Leigh that I wish had found room on the Best Actress list that year (1961)- but that was a terrific year for leading performances by women,

[SUTS picks, day by day.]

Both versions of WATERLOO BRIDGE are highly recommended and are interesting to compare.

 

I mean the 1940 MGM version with Vivien Leigh and the 1931(?) version with Mae Clarke- who is also a SUTS honoree this year and whose day is coming up. Surely they are showing the James Whale-helmed version she did for Universal?

[GREASE sing-a-long]

 

The only problem was I thought that IT was gonna be a "song-along" kind'a thing TOO.

 

(...'cause when I started making those tuba-like sounds in the notes of F and F-sharp out loud in the theater while the movie was playing, you wouldn't BELIEVE the dirty looks I got from those sitting around me)

 

 

How AWESOME would an actual JAWS singalong be?

 

Like, when the score starts in, they run a scroll along the bottom of the screen with a bouncing ball over the words "dunh-uh....dunh-un-uhhh...DUNTON TONTON dunton ton ton ton ton ton...") and the audience follows along.

 

Conversely, if you ever want to hardcore prank someone, hire a marching band to follow them around playing the JAWS theme, preferably in the formation of a shark and wearing grey and white.

[I Just Watched...]

Lorna, baby, sorry I didn't make myself clear. I didn't mean, 25 years later since the making of Day for Night and today  (which would actually be more like forty years).

 

Damn it, I hate math.

[I Just Watched...]

Honestly, THIEVES HIGHWAY really reminded me of something that Clifford Odets would write, and I don't mean that as a compliment.

 

to expand on this, watching the opening scene wherein our Hero returns from the Pacific front with a pair of slippers as a gift for his immigrant truck-driver father, who wheels back to reveal he has no legs, I was all "Oh. It's going to be one of those movies. Wonder if he'll start taking violin lessons a few scenes from now."

[I Just Watched...]

I rushed home from the gym, so I could watch THIEVES' HIGHWAY. Then, what a downer. It was so bad that I turned it off after about 45 minutes. Who cares about the details of produce hauling? There was nothing about this film that I liked, and I couldn't even follow the plot.

 

Yup, pretty much "ditto"- even down to the rushing home so I could catch the movie (there was an admiring thread about it back during the SUMMER OF DARKNESS.)

 

At least I liked Valentina Cortese, she didn't show up until about 45 minutes or so in, so I guess you mostly missed her, the exploration of her character's relations with the protagonist and the contrast to his relationship with his shrew-fiancee was the only interesting thing about the picture (Dassin seems to have had a thing for gold-hearted hookers)....I also had a moment later on where I actually got up and started to do other things so bored was I with the film, but then Valentina started talking and lured me back in, where I stayed til the finish.

 

Oh, I think you also missed Hope Emerson, who was really good in her small, small role. (I wish Marjorie Main hadn't hogged all the aggressive, masculine nurse/domestic roles, Emerson was a more interesting actress.)

 

Honestly, THIEVES HIGHWAY really reminded me of something that Clifford Odets would write, and I don't mean that as a compliment.