Poinciana Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 Four that come to mind as great contributions to the story: Bill Holden's narration as Joe Gillis in Sunset Blvd. Diane Varsi's touching narration as Allison MacKenzie in Peyton Place. Eleanor Parker as Lucy Tibbetts in Above and Beyond added so much to the story. Mrs. Tibbetts telling her husband's story thru her point of view. Gil Stratton's in Stalag 17. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 Robert Mitchum's narration in "Out of the Past" and Martin Sheen's narration in "Apocalypse Now". "Never get out of the boat." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poinciana Posted April 18, 2008 Author Share Posted April 18, 2008 Yeah and who could forget Ray Liotta's in Goodfellas and Joe Pesci's in Casino! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 The Casino narration is perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lzcutter Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 Kim Stanley's haunting voice-overs in *To Kill a Mockingbird" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiO Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Lionel Stander narrating in the second-person in Blast of Silence. Tom Neal in Detour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poinciana Posted April 19, 2008 Author Share Posted April 19, 2008 Jeanne Crain in Cheaper By The Dozen and the incomparable Celeste Holm the voice of Addie Ross in A Letter To Three Wives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankGrimes Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 A great favorite of mine is Claire Trevor's narration over a haunting theremin in Anthony Mann's Raw Deal. "In my heart, I know that this is right for Joe. This is what he wanted." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlofffan Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Worst narration: John Huston in Cannery Row (1982). Disembodied voice out of nowhere interjecting non-sequiturs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabethtown Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Orson Welles in The Magnificent Ambersons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattHelm Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Who could forget Jean Shepard's narration in A Christmas Story? "In the heat of battle my father wove a tapestry of obscenities that as far as we know is still hanging in space over Lake Michigan." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poinciana Posted April 19, 2008 Author Share Posted April 19, 2008 Thanks a million for that quote! Also, who could forget (if they ever saw it) The Phantom of the Hearth. Another story narrated by Jean. I could be wrong, but I believe it takes us back to Ralph in his teenage years in the Fifties. It was priceless also. The last time I saw it was a zillion years ago on Public Television. Please TCM find this piece of Americana and air it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattHelm Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 You're welcome. And what about the narration of Moroni Olsen, Joseph Granby and Henry Travers, as the angels in It's a Wonderful Life? That was great stuff, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poinciana Posted April 20, 2008 Author Share Posted April 20, 2008 It was great stuff. I haven't seen that movie in a long time. Why do you suppose TCM never shows it? Didn't Turner own it and colorize it (big mistake)? Speaking of Angels, Janet Leigh had a nice turn in Angels in the Outfield. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CineMaven Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 Nice to see your name and question again light up the board Poinciana. Let me add this contribution: BARBARA BEL GEDDES in "I REMEMBER MAMA." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankGrimes Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 The Lady from Shanghai is another favorite of mine that features a forboding narration. Fools know they are being fooled. That's what makes them fools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 Rebecca started out with a narration. Wuthering Heights had a narration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bansi4 Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 One of my favorites is Morgan Freeman narrating "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scsu1975 Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 Dick Powell in Murder, My Sweet, and Robert Mitchum in the remake, Farewell, My Lovely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lzcutter Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 Not everyone's cup of tea but Harrison Ford in *Blade Runner* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redriver Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 I like voice over. At the same time, it can detract from cinematic values. A film teacher might say, Don't tell what happened. Show it. Pictures; not words. But I'm not a film teacher, so here goes. I like the opening sequence of SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, with Don Lockwood relating the big success of his early years, as the footage depicts just the opposite. Very clever! Woody Allen opens and closes ANNIE HALL effectively. But there's not much narration throughout. The format so fits noir, it's almost expected. DETOUR and OUT OF THE PAST have been appropriately cited. MURDER, MY SWEET lifts some Chandler right out of the text. My favorite? "Me. Walter Neff. 35. No visible scars. Until now, that is." DOUBLE INDEMNITY. The best of the genre, and one of the greatest of all movies. The narration is slick, stylish, and so cold it makes the hair stand out on your neck. Some of the best screenwriting I've seen (heard.) "And that was when you came in, Keyes." Message was edited by: redriver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lzcutter Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 William Holden in *Sunset Blvd* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeeteeze Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 Interesting that someone would bring up "Bladerunner". It was major issue that held up it's initial release. Something to the effect that some studio heads felt the story line was too complex for the target audience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filmlover Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 Robert Mitchum's in Farewell, My Lovely. His narration revealed the tiredness of Marlowe. And, while not a narration but more of a Greek chorus, I liked Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye in Cat Ballou. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cagney69 Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 I 've got a few. Celeste Holm in All About Eve There is a narrator in The Roaring Twenties I believe Cagney narrates in Yankee Doodle Dandy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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