RAMBLES Part II

[HollywoodGolightly]

> {quote:title=lzcutter wrote:}{quote}

> I would have thought you would have watched them as they all deal with movie history here in the City of Angels.

>

> He and Ben are good buddies from the looks of those segments.

 

As I said in the previous post, I've seen them. But after the first viewing, I just don't pay much attention to them anymore.

 

So I really wouldn't have recognized Mr. Brown from looking at his photo, because it's been years probably since I watched the promos with Ben and actually looked at the two guys.

 

Oh, and by the way, I do think they are good promos, and hope they might make some more of them at some point. There must be many more spots around L.A. where they could shoot.

[sineaste]

Those are delightful little segments, though after you've seen them four or five

times...and the cemetery guide is a sweet little thing. But, this is just more

proof of Mank's star power. When he's in the scene, everybody else just fades

into the background (except for the cemetery guide). Tom who?

[HollywoodGolightly]

I hope I didn't sound mean when I said I don't bother watching them any more. I really did enjoy them the first time I watched them. But that was a few years ago, I believe, and eventually I just started tuning out when they came on.

 

Maybe that is why I got such a big kick out of the new Oscar intro that they started using today...

[molo14]

Hi Theresa,

 

*At least you people get snow!!! Austin doesn't get any....earlier this winter, we had one day where it snowed very lightly for a couple hours and it all melted immediately as it hit the ground and the city had a panic attack...it was quite amusing. heehee!*

 

I wish I could send you our snow. We are supposed to get another batch this weekend! People here may actually get used to it, if this keeps up.

 

*How hot does it get there during the summer?*

 

It can get really hot here. It gets so humid! That's the worst thing. We usually don't go past a 100 but the humidity makes it feel yucky. I noticed it stayed really hot for weeks in parts of Texas last summer. I was thinking at least I'm not there.

 

*Cute!....hey Frankie lied to me! He said you can't see the different between Lassie and Greer! heehee!*

 

I just don't know where Frank gets these ideas!

[molo14]

CineMaven,

 

Thanks, I can't wait!

[butterscotchgreer]

I wish I could send you our snow. We are supposed to get another batch this weekend! People here may actually get used to it, if this keeps up.

 

Lucky ducky!...Could you pretty please send me some? maybe enough to make a small snow angel?

 

It can get really hot here. It gets so humid! That's the worst thing. We usually don't go past a 100 but the humidity makes it feel yucky. I noticed it stayed really hot for weeks in parts of Texas last summer. I was thinking at least I'm not there.

 

Humidity can be really sticky...yucky! This last summer, the temperature got to around 110 degrees. You couldn't walk out the door without fainting from heat exhaustion. heehee! Just rub it in a little more. Honestly! Heehee!

 

I just don't know where Frank gets these ideas!

 

I dunno! Have you seen any Greer movies lately? Or any other good movies lately?

[molo14]

*I was practically attacked by a horde of black birds on my way to the supermarket on Friday. It's the end of the world. I just hope Tippi Hedren doesn't come to town.*

 

Careful Bronxie! First the stalking frog, then the ants, now the birds! It just never stops. Don't let 'em get you. We need you here!

[molo14]

*Lucky ducky!...Could you pretty please send me some? maybe enough to make a small snow angel?*

 

I wish I could! Maybe you will get some of your own soon. Snow seems to be everywhere this year.

 

*Humidity can be really sticky...yucky! This last summer, the temperature got to around 110 degrees. You couldn't walk out the door without fainting from heat exhaustion. heehee! Just rub it in a little more. Honestly! Heehee!*

 

To be honest if I I had to make a choice, I would rather deal with all this cold and snow, than that kind of awful heat.

 

*Have you seen any Greer movies lately? Or any other good movies lately?*

 

Not lately. I think the last one I watched was *Madame Curie*. I did catch *The Little Drummer Boy* over the holidays. I had forgotten that she narrated that. I think the next one I watch will be *Adventure*. I've heard it's not that good but I want to see for myself. Gable and Garson together is interesting to me.

[lzcutter]

*I wish I could send you our snow.*

 

Mighty Mo,

 

If we get the rain predicted for later this week here in the City of Angels, I'll try to send you some to melt that snow.

 

Deal?

[molo14]

Thanks Lynn. It's a deal!

[rohanaka]

Careful Bronxie! First the stalking frog, then the ants, now the birds! It just never stops.

 

Don't forget Night of the Frozen Falling Iguanas..... BOY... Boca must be the Nightmare Animal Capital of the WORLD... (poor Bronxie!)

 

HEY there Molo... sorry about your snow... better you than m.. Um... I mean.. OH I hope it melts off for you folks soon..

 

Seriously, kid. Take care... and watch your step. You Virginnie folks aren't used to all that white GOO. Hang on... Spring will get here SOMEDAY. :-)

[movieman1957]

Has your bruising sufficiently subsided? (How is that for a loaded way to see how you are?)

[rohanaka]

Ha... howdy there Mr Movieman. HOW are you???

 

And yes... I am doing ok... the only remnant of my ridiculous bout with gravity is my still wounded pride. Ha.

[movieman1957]

I am cold. We had snow Saturday. We expect a little more today. Hopefully, it won't be too bad until after practice tonight. We are only expecting one or two inches but for some drivers it just as well be a blizzard. Other than that everything is normal.

[rohanaka]

Well hang in there sir... at the risk of repeating myself... Spring is coming... someday... (I'm TRYING to stay optimistic here... but golly it has been a LONG winter already and we are only half done) ugh... where are the Beatles when we need them????????? :-)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvygx3nYM-k&feature=related

 

Edited by: rohanaka on Feb 2, 2010 12:10 PM

[CineMaven]

Spring is coming??? Ha! Promises...promises.

 

BTW, I'll keep my promise 2 u.

[butterscotchgreer]

Spring is coming??? Ha! Promises...promises.

 

No no no no no!! It doesn't turn to spring until Austin gets a good day of snow!! Pretty please with sugar on top?

[CineMaven]

:-)

[casablancalover]

Hum, the Cabin Fever edition.

All my days are strange right now. Winter has six weeks more in my mind, no more. By the time the Academy Awards come up, it'll be just couple of weeks before the Spring snow. I am only half sarcastic; Spring snow can melt faster than anything.. And the air smells of Spring when it happens.

 

May I brag like a proud mother? My son's sound crew was nominated this year. Editing and mixing.

 

-casablancalover (Debbie Reynolds)

 

Edited by: casablancalover on Feb 3, 2010 7:39 AM

[CineMaven]

"May I brag like a proud mother? My son's sound crew was nominated this year. Editing and mixing."

 

GET OUT OF HERE!!!!! That's absolutely F A N T A S T I C !

 

Ummm...call me Grace Kelly.

[JackFavell]

*Congratulations, CB Lover on your son's nom! Wow, that's fantastic!*

 

Well, I fell asleep on the couch last night, and ended up waking up for *Best Years of Our Lives*. Every time I see it, cannot believe how good this movie is.

 

And I realized that the lynchpin to the whole story is *Dana Andrews*. He is just about as good as an actor can get.... it becomes *Fred Derry's* story, really. His is the only unresolved storyline.

 

I started watching just before Fred has his nightmare while staying over at the Stephenson's house. Here are some things I noticed about the film and this scene in particular...

 

When Fred is dreaming, he is rapidly firing off orders to the men to get out of the plane.... it's all very intense and happens very fast. We see him from a side angle, lying in bed. When his friend is burned, he sits bolt upright facing the screen, staring wide-eyed and haunted as he relives the events that happened to him. Wyler's camera is unsparing.

 

The most intense moment is actually after this, when Peggy (Theresa Wright) places her hand quickly over his eyes to shield him (and herself) from the terrible sight....we know it shields nothing. She takes her hand away, pulling her handkerchief from her pocket. As she does, Fred turns and curls into the bed. He starts to cry. Andrews and Wright's faces are SO expressive in this film that I find myself gulping to keep tears back throughout the whole thing. Fred falls back to sleep, as Peggy wipes his forehead, then she does something unusual - she wipes his nose, like a mother would with a child. It's such an endearing move, and I realize that it is meant to show how loving and caring Peggy is, and how vulnerable Fred actually is, behind his tough guy exterior. I love that moment.

 

Other moments that captured me.....

 

When Andrews wakes up in Peggy's room, he thinks he has had a quick fling... he doesn't remember where he is..... The way he looks at Peggy is quite funny. The music playing sounds just like the pixie music in *My Man Godfrey*, to give us the idea that he is suffering from hangover. When he stands up in her girlish room with the canopy bed, he dwarfs everything around him. He's like Alice in Wonderland, grown too big for the house he's in.... He literally DOESN'T FIT in this world. It sets up a subtle class consciousness that exptends through the movie, though I think Fred is more aware of it than the Stephensons.

 

The scene in the kitchen is just as charming, with Fred apologizing for "getting out of line". The relief he feels when he finally realizes that she is Al's daughter is sweet.

 

As Fred suffers humiliation after humiliation, Andrew's face registers each hurt magnificently. When Al tells him he isn't to see Peggy anymore, he stoically hardens himself at first, but when he makes his decision to call her and break it off, his face just crumples. This ability of Andrews to simply crumple up his gorgeous face makes this movie his. In a movie full of great performances, his is magnificent.

 

 

In any other movie, we would watch as Fred makes that phone call..... but instead, the camera stays on Al's face as Fred gets up and crosses to the phone. March's face registers a bleak expression...he is horrified at what he's just done to protect his family. He immediately calls for a drink, still watching Fred at the phone booth.... he wants to call him back... but this is what he must do for the good of his family.... maybe......that same doubt about his job is expressed in this scene - do you forfeit a man because he has no collateral? Because he isn't of your class? Because he is a risk? This man has been a friend... but family is different from work. You must protect your family, musn't you?

 

Andrews' scenes follow his spiral down into the depths of despair, and when he reaches bottom, he ends up at the graveyard... the warplane graveyard ---- I never noticed before that the all but one of the planes are lacking the nosepiece - the very place Fred would sit doing his job in the war.

 

The only other performance that dwarfs Andrews' in my opinion, is that of *Roman Bohnen* as Fred's dad. The way he reads Fred's citations just blows me away every time. The long pause he makes while he collects his emotion never fails to make me weep.

 

 

I was incredibly irritated that at the end of the film, just as Fred and Peggy were staring at one another across the crowded room.... the emergency disaster test warning popped up on my screen and stayed there until the words "The End" showed up. Sheesh. Thank goodness I didn't record it.

 

 

 

.

 

Edited by: JackFavell on Feb 3, 2010 9:37 AM

 

Edited by: JackFavell on Feb 3, 2010 10:06 AM

 

Edited by: JackFavell on Feb 3, 2010 10:08 AM

[CineMaven]

Lovely rambling Jackaaaaay.

 

I watched a bit of the film last night myself. This time I was mostly taping it for Virginia Mayo. I have this film on a couple of different VHS tapes. (YES VHS!!) I have a collection of Best Picture, Myrna Loy, Teeresa Wright tapes where this great movie appears. So now, on my Virginia Mayo tape, this is added.

 

I don't think I ever consciously thought of this as Fred's movie...but I believe (and concur) you are quite right. You eloquently captured the scenes with "Fred and Peggy." I daresay "Best Years..." and (for me) "The Oxbow Incident" are Dana Andrews' finest moments on film. And I agree with you about Roman Bohnen. How could this be the same smarmy actor that was in the beginning of "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers." He is a class act as a character actor...and as an actor, period. He takes a small moment in the sun...and darn near eclipses the sun!! And let's not sleep on the great Gladys George. You can see she was the step-mother, and a loving caring one at that. She kind of tries to cover for Virginia Mayo's character when Fred first comes home. She's washed his socks for him...gives him his high school sweater. She cared for Fred's father. Small...BIG.

 

Even though Cathy O'Donnell's arms don't ever move when she walks (what's up with that?) she's my girl all the way. She is the perfect girl next door that any boy should run to. So much love and warmth in her eyes looking up at Homer. And Virginia Mayo...oh boy. She does play it up. I love how she is when she greets Fred at his coming home...and pouts when they can't go out...and gives Peggy some "sisterly" advice in the ladies room and handles the photogarapher. (I thought that was Theresa Harris as bathroom attendant, but alas...no. Oh, by the by, I always squeal with glee at a Theresa Harris sighting!) Virginia Mayo played her part very well; the "unholy wife" disillusioned when the "image" is tarnished and ready to move on. (And moving onto Steve Cochran ain't bad either). Small part but he was a soldier too. (Is it okay to say I'm in love with Steve Cochran?)

 

I oftimes think Loy & March's son in the film gets short shrift. His name is the very last one in the cast credits. I love love love the way he bites his lip in holding back his emotion over seeing his dad back. (Yeah, I caught that little move because I am a movie addict. See this thread: http://forums.tcm.com/jive/tcm/thread.jspa?threadID=150922&tstart=0 and offer any of your movie addiction tips to RedRiver). I loved this kid's look and his way of talking as Fredric March gives him the trappings of war, and the kid talks of the atomic bomb and radiation's effects. I'm always mildly shocked when I hear acknowledgment of Hiroshima even discussed in a movie. (You know how antiseptic Hollywood can kind of sort of be). I love that kid. (I can say that, right?)

 

What can one say about Myrna Loy and Fredric March that hasn't already been said about their performance in this movie or others. They were fantastic. Two old pros, lobbing and sparring and having each other's back. Two stalwarts from the 1930's who we see NOW in their full maturity and love...and lovely maturity. Is it okay for me to say I'm in love with Myrna Loy? (Will I be booby hatched or GLAADed off or what!) I love watching her in movies, whether as Fu Manchu's daughter or Flo Ziegfeld's wife or Nick Charles' better half. (I loved her in "From the Terrace" as a drunk too). See Julianne Moore's TCM mini-tribute to her. Wunnerful!

 

But as you say Jackaaaay...Dana Andrews is the lynch-pin. And who better to back you up than Teresa Wright. ("I'M GOING TO BUST THIS MARRIAGE UP!!!") WHAT??? Yeah, trailing behind Virginia Mayo on the way to the Ladies Room is an obvious unfair comparison (whew! blinding, 'cuz Mayo's soooo Mayo) but where the lovely Miss Wright shines and always (IMHO) shines is in those quiet tender moments. I always have had a soft spot for Teresa Wright. Luckily for me the ending of the film wasn't impeded by that dad blasted, consarnit "the emergency disaster test warning" thingamabobs (Helll!!! I thought we and the Russians made up!) here in NYC. Because the ending... the last seven minutes of the films gets me every time. They find each other across a crowded room...when the vows are spoken Fred's looking just at her. (Does she seem to have a little extra sun light on her). And when Homer and his girl kiss, Fred walks right over to Peggy. He tells her how rough it'll be. Her response to future tough times...a kiss.

 

I have goose bumps as I think of that scene.

 

But all praises go to the master. I bow to WILLIAM WYLER, who made a motion picture that sixty-four years later still holds up. It was his steady unerring hand and restraint that is the reason we are still moved by this film today. He got performances of a lifetime from everyone.

[JackFavell]

WOW! I bow at your feet, Mistress Maven. You are the master of the ramble....

 

I LOVE Myrna too... the way she takes the drink out of March's hand ever so subtly, the way she looks up at him all aglow when he has just effectively killed his career in banking with that sublime drunken speech... I like how she listens to Theresa but never says a word as March asks, "How do you KNOW they're unhappy? Are you GOD?" Then she utters that devastating line about how many times she and Al thought that they were through..... crumbling Theresa's resolve to destroy the marriage. Then she just holds her while she cries and cries. Much of Myrna's role in the film is unspoken.... when she does speak, it means so much more.

 

and you forgot her achingly sad turn in Lonelyhearts....

 

Gladys George - your review was absolutely spot on. That old couple may not be up and comers, but they are good people. She has always been a favorite of mine. Gladys gives me her WHOLE backstory without speaking somehow - a tough early life, married to god knows what kind of awful jerk, only to find Roman a calm port in a storm in her declining years. These two have led a HARD life, not Hollywood hard, but real hardship. Somehow they found each other and gave Fred what they could. She takes care of Derry, so Fred knows he is going to be OK. They don't talk, tell each other their feelings, or say I love you in this family, but the feeling of love and respect for Fred's sacrifice is so palpable in that scene it makes me cry.

 

Cathy O'Donnell - leaving the door just a little ajar after she kisses Homer good night.....

 

Whenever I see this film, I actually do feel for Virginia Mayo's character. From her point of view - Dana comes in and starts bossing her around, and his stubborn pride won't let her work for a living. If they loved one another they could weather the storm, but they don't and there is no way around it. From the minute Fred rings that doorbell at Mayo's apartment, we know, just as Peggy knows, that there is something wrong here. And by the way, the scene with Andrews standing outside the door waiting for her to buzz him in is amazing... a man shouldn't have to wait for his wife to answer the door buzzer.... Theresa Wright looks like a mom leaving her boy at Kindergarten for the first day of school.

 

Anyway, back to La Mayo -- she's so delightfully trashy, so inelegant that I give her kudos for portraying the bad guy with so much gusto and good-natured sluttiness. What do you bet she makes a play for Woody, the upstanding young man of good family, while she is enjoying Steve Cochran's charms? And yes, the contrast between Mayo's gorgeous white and glitttered body, and Wright's perfectly taliored, innocent black dress is stunning visually.

 

And I've always appreciated Mayo getting the title line in the movie - "I've given you the best years of my life, and for WHAT?" The fact that she says it to Andrews just makes the irony of it complete.

 

What's amazing is how much we can take from this film and apply it to our lives and relationships now...Al's business quandery is one I can completely relate to, having worked in banking for many years. All the characters are making adjustments between what is expected of them in the world, and what is necessary for them at home. Wyler was a genius. The best movie of our lives? I think it just might be.

[casablancalover]

I really should get back to my work.. but...

 

JF and Grace Kelly, your observations are right on!

The scene establishing the relationship between Peggy and Fred is pitch perfect for me too. The previous scenes shows Peggy engaging Fred in conversation at Butch's place, but remaining a wise young lady and aloof. Not cold, but aloof.

>*...Why don't you call your wife?* -Peggy Stephenson

It is all very proper. Even as Fred gets drunker, and they must bring him home.

 

I love how Wyler shows the gentle ways relationships develop. It is one of the themes. These fellas had to depend on each other in times of war, and that continues when they return. The obstacles have shifted, from matters of life and death (the references to atomic energy and the "big one" are intentional) and the importance of the little victories that can help us win the WAR of life.

 

Fred Derry has his battle made really personal, and true, his is the last to be resolved. Homer Parrish has his fight for everyone to watch and observe. His obstacles are painfully obvious, so his demeanor cannot be like Fred's. Yet, it is a miraculous thing to watch him grow internally as his character is forced to act confident and competent externally. Wilma loves him, and is seeing him as he is, and he is bothered that maybe she will see the diminished Homer and they will break up. So he unconsciencely sabotages her love.

>*Did I say I don't want you?* Homer Parrish.(from memory here)

I don't think he is being deliberate; I think he's just trying to preempt the pain of losing her. He has emotional baggage to deal with, and he has to get through it too. But fear, not love, is ruling him in the movie.

Did we say this is a movie about change? So what do you think of the whole lunch at Luigi's thing?

[JackFavell]

The scene in the restaurant is interesting for me, because it shows vulnerable Fred again.... Fred saying things like, "When I came back I swore I'd never eat in a dump like this again." or talking about his dreams - owning a home, finding a career outside the drugstore, etc. He really expected that his years in the military would have counted for something, experience wise. That his training and skill would be appreciated without his having to "sell" himself. Actually selling is a huge theme in the movie isn't it? The new age of commercialism... banking as a business, and business as a way to keep the lower classes in their place... interesting.

 

And then at the same time, Wyler never forfeits the personal story for the themes. It's touching the way Peggy listens to Fred, and understands him. Fred opens up, like a plant being watered, under her gentle but appreciative attention ... and even though he's been told he's crazy for wanting those things, he tells her of his very simple needs.

 

We see Fred's worth through Peggy....She sees his dream as perfectly achievable.....but how can a man like Fred rise from the depths of poverty to the place he wants to be? He doesn't want much - a chance to earn a better living, a home with a woman of character. She has never seen his real home, his life... or where he came from. She can't know how he yearns for what Al has without even knowing it....He's a good worker, it ought to be easy for him, but it isn't. He is in his own way... he is too proud. He could achieve those things if Peggy were his, because she believes in him, in his dream....she is the living proof of that dream. She would tell him if he was too straight- arrow.... But just like all his other dreams, he fears it won't happen. He is on the brink....stumbling, though, just like Al. He is not to be given the leeway Al Stephenson is when he makes "a mistake"... all because he was born on the other side of the tracks. Does he have to change to fit in this society? How? By becoming a "seller"? Or by becoming the man he was meant to be? That the war made him into?

 

The movie is interesting because it deals with how the war made certain men...the war isn't looked at as a bad thing. It made these men stronger, more aware of those around them, more sensitive......Fascinating...

 

Edited by: JackFavell on Feb 3, 2010 12:16 PM