movieman1957
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Posts posted by movieman1957
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Since Hellman wrote the screenplay I am surprised that the appearance connection was made so little of. At least it seemed that way to me. Maybe I am too thick. (Well, I am it is just a matter of degree.)
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The TCM database provides two wildly different times so I looked at imdb and they show 110m on the 2004 Criterion DVD and among all the other countries running times they list the USA time at 99m. Since none of the other times listed share the 120m time on TCM I am inclined to dismiss it for the purpose of the contest.
For a time slot two hours is fine and you can pick either time depending on if you want to program a short film.
I know that doesn't really answer your question but I hope it helps for your schedule.
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>I think that Teresa Wright deliberately appears older than she should for the character because Regina, a control freak if ever I saw one, would have picked out the girl's clothing and chosen her hair style long after girls of her age began to dress in a more grown up style. This was probably because Regina would have wanted the girl to appear pre-pubescent, allowing her to exert her will on the child, still play a bit of a coquette when needed, and ensuring that her own perception of her erotic power was undiminished by time and a potential rival for attention.
Well, that is what threw me. I couldn't reconcile her physical maturity with her teenage look. Granted even the way she talks about or to her father still seem rather youngish but when she finally tells Bette off that all goes away. Maybe that is the point. At the end Alexandra shows she is grown up. She has come out from under her mother. Her actions now contrast with her "age."
Thanks for filling in the finer points to my thought.
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How old does anyone think Wright was playing? I'm guessing somewhere around 16. If that is the case that makes her relationship with Dave a little odd. I thought him to be mid 20s.
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I'd like to see it but it might be a couple of days. Maybe I can squeeze it in tonight after my bride goes to bed. (4:00am comes early for her.)
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You are right about the relationship between Regina and Ben. At the end Ben has just been cut off at the knees and he takes it in good humor. He knows he has been bested and he just as well make of it what he can. I find him incredibly patronizing through most of the film. That sets him quite apart from the other siblings. Oscar is just pathetic. I think he wants to believe he is as smart as the others but he is clearly not in their league.
What an interesting living arrangement too. The three of them living within shouting distance of each other is a bit odd until I remember that a long time ago I had three aunts and two uncles that lived within a mile of each other. (We lived 450 miles away.)
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Thank you.
I think "Birdy" is such a sad figure. She wants to be loved. She wants to be important. She wants to be relevant. She is none of them and only succeeds in annoying everyone. It is a beautiful scene where she admits everything she is out with the group who do like her but I found it odd that after she is taken away by "Alexandra" we never see her again.
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If ever a more insidious, arrogant, pathetic set of siblings came into the world of fiction it would be hard to beat the Hubbard family in William Wyler's *"The Little Foxes."* Their greed knows no bounds. Their hearts know no love. In reality they have nothing but each other and it's a sad end to it all.
It is also a movie of reactions. I found myself watching the rest of the cast when someone was speaking. How did they react? Herbert Marshall (Horace) as Regina's (Davis) husband has plenty to react to. Whether it is coming to a home where there is no love or listening to the plans of his family's greed he is wonderful in showing his annoyance and disgust. His only light is his daughter Alexandra (Teresa Wright.)
Everyone on the fringe of this triad from hell is poisoned by their greed. Whether it is brother Oscar's wife Birdy, a sweet and lonely soul who softens her life with a drink or their own son Leo (Dan Duryea) who is so the product of the family that his mother can't stand him no one wins. Until the last. The one who does win is, oddly enough, Alexandra. When all the back stabbing and wheeling and dealing is over she is the only one who can stand up to Regina. That is only because she wants nothing that her mother can give her. On the night her father dies she leaves her mother and is free of it all. She is the only one free of it all.
Very good performances all around. The only drawback for me is Teresa Wright. She is playing a part that seems to be quite a bit younger then she is. She parades around the whole movie with a big bow in her hair and a pair of Buster Brown shoes. Duryea is good as the young not very bright son. Near the end when he gets slapped by Alexandra's young man it is given more like a man to an insolent child. It is not one good one but a quick series of slaps that ring more of disgust than anger.
They all had it coming.
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deleted.
Edited by: movieman1957 on Jun 7, 2010 11:37 AM
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Another schedule. Yeah! Thanks for taking the time and for the hard work.
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That's great. We look forward to your schedule as well.
A reminder to all who are still working on theirs is that you have until this Thursday night.
Keep 'em coming.
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>The shot that most caught me was during Andreas' hair shaving scene - the way his mother, at the window, covered the sight of it with her hand, and it blocked our view of her horrified face, then the way her hand stayed on the window until the dissolve - oh golly I can still see that hand.....
The thing that struck me about the scene was two fold. One was his hair falling sort of focusing on the curls seemed to me to point out his youth. The hand on the glass might be a refection on the blessing she gave the older boys. The shadow of her hand over their faces is now replaced by the flat distortion of her hand on the glass.
As far as the composer credit goes this, as I recall, is not unique to this film. At least they attempted to make it look like it fit.
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As fate would have it I watched an episode of "Cheyenne" tonight (I just pulled it off the Netflix site) and who shows up but Dennis Hopper. He played a nutjob outlaw and played it well. Kind of out of the box for the time.
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Thank you. You are most kind.
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He came to deeply respect them. I think they came to understand why Taylor had to drive them like he did. And they all, seemingly, lived happily ever after.
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I don't even know what film you are discussing and you make perfect sense --- as always.
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I finished the film and agree with everyone that this is more of a Mother's Day type film. In fact the title probably should have reflected more of her than her sons.
It is a lovely film. A wonderful performance by Margaret Mann as the mother. It seemed to me that as her last son went off to war her appearance changed. Not quite as proper as she was earlier. Her shawl gives her a "poor" look. And maybe she was as her last son went away while deep in her heart I think she knew he would not come back. His departure on the train and her desperate attempt to kiss his hand is a wonderful scene.
I did find it funny that Joseph could go across the ocean and in a foggy battlefield in France stumble upon his brother when he later couldn't find his mother in NY. France was a stretch but NY is completely understandable. It was a nice ending.
A wonderful surprise to find this film.
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>Do you think Solid Gold Cadillac is a Romantic Comedy?
Yes.
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The last 15 minutes or so of this is pretty special. The women want to regain the femininity before they meet the men. They have been resourceful in getting there now they will be that to dress themselves up with what they have left. (So much was left behind in the desert.) It is an elegant meeting.
No one was picky. No one was bothered by what their mate looked like. Both men and women knew it was a gamble but they were willing to take it head on. All for the sake of the companionship. Who knows if they would all work but they had gone through too much not to give it their best. Of course happy endings are meant to be just that.
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As a kid I thought it was funny. (I was only 11. What did I know about family dynamics?) However, 40 years and it TV's evolution can make you shake your head when looking through an older set of eyes.
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>Is it just me? Does anyone remember the curse of the Bonanza men?
No it is not just you. It all started with Ben. All the boys had different mothers. They all died. THe boys had the same problem except it was always before marriage. Although I do seem to remember someone saying Joe either did marry or was pretty close when the girl died. I am not quite sure.
Even David Canady and that younger kid late in the show threw the dynamics a little. A wife probably would have destroyed it.
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I watched about the first 40 minutes before work and the primary thing that struck me so far is the economy and beauty with which each character is introduced. (I count the German Army as a character so far.)
From the dissolve from the name on each drawer in the dresser to a 15 or 20 second clip you get such a sense of each brother. Even the bar owner and family is defined by their size and the way they "run" through the restaurant.
The Germans at once are shown to be arrogant, pompous, superficial and somewhat ridiculous. Right from the moment the train comes into the station (which has a very nice reverse dolly shot to go along side the train) it is required to back up about 15 feet so the commander can get out exactly where he wants. The "double mint twins" get off the train first, dressed exactly alike then move exactly alike all the while being ever so precise and proper as the commander gets off.
Then with the Army as they go off to war a lovely shot of the Army coming through town from the view through the cemetery. Certainly an indication of things to come for some of them. And then with the officers leading the way a black cat runs in front of them (also like "Stagecoach") and the commander is so upset he kills it with his sword.
One nice touch musically was when Joseph shows up in America, as if you couldn't tell from the traffic, the music changes to a few bars of jazz to reinforce his location.
Mother is set up with plenty of love from her boys and the village. I like the shot of the shadow of her hand over the boys as she prays for them as they go off to war. Sentimental, yes but a very touching moment.
Not much going on yet but we get in that time a deep sense of who these people are and some of their dreams. Looking forward to the rest of it.
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Pardon the interruption but----
If anyone has been looking for it "Strangers On A Train" airs Sat. the 6th at 10:15am ET. I know some points have been touched but maybe there is more to be mined,
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You sure know how to take care of your people.
Mr. Osborne and Mr. Baldwin disagree a lot
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For your review.