Jump to content
 
Search In
  • More options...
Find results that contain...
Find results in...

Jose Ferrer-Forgotten Star


bhryun
 Share

Recommended Posts

It would be great fot TCM to do a retrospective on Jose Ferrer. He was an outstanding actor who not only starred in good films such as "Moulin Rouge" and "Cyrano de Bergerac", but also directed one of the first media expose movies with "The Great Man". His career took a bad turn and he ended up in some really bad movies in the 1970's and 1980's, but he was still a very interesting actor. And he had one of the great voices in movies!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

such a consummate actor, jmpomar2004!

 

And you are right, his work in that denouncing of a famous radio personage, called "The Great Man" is an indictment of all the folksy caricatures who proliferated on tv in the '50's, who were not quite so nice and down to earth as they appeared. Godfrey, who has been mentioned as the source material, seems to inspire hatred in many individuals, but no one can beat him for his work on those Lipton soup commercials or his ukelele playing. I think he may have also inspired aspects of Kazan's "A Face in the Crowd".

 

My favorite Ferrer role, is as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in "Moulin Rouge". I just bought this on dvd, and look forward to rewatching him walking around on his knees, which must have been as painful as some of those Chaney roles. The film is a masterpiece and many scenes start off with exact duplicates in reel life, of many of his paintings, drawings and posters. A true joy for any art lover of Lautrec.

 

Ferrer did have a wonderfully rich, mellifluous voice and his son Miquel sounds a bit like him, and really looks like him. I enjoy seeing his dead pan portrayal of that FBI guy, Albert in the "Twin Peaks" series.

 

I too wish TCM might show some of Jose's best movies!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I enjoy Ferrer in anything he's in. Toward the end of his life he played a recurring role on Newhart as Stephanie's dad and why quite funny. His son Miguel reminds me a lot of him. Has anyone seen Crisis with him and Cary Grant? I know it gets panned but I actually like it and the interplay between his and Grant's characters.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

TCM will be airing "The World, The Flesh And The Devil" June 22 at 2:15 A.M. About a black man, a white woman and a racist, whom are the only people left alive after a nuclear disaster. It stars Harry Belafonte, Inger Stevens and Mel Ferrer as the racist. Pretty good flick, I've had this on tape for quite some time and watch it about twice a year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Glad to see other people who appreciate Jose Ferrer.

My favorite movies of his are:

Moulin Rouge

The Great Man

Cyrano de Bergerac

 

 

What was amazing too was that even though he was Puerto Rican, he was able to play all kinds of roles, from Frenchmen, to Arabs to Nazis(!).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A film I found interesting with Ferrer was "The Shrike" (1955) with an outstanding performance by June Allyson, about a nagging woman who drives her husband into a nervous breakdown. Ferrer also directed the movie.

However my very favorite Ferrer performance is in "Moulin Rouge" as Toulouse-Lautrec. He was outstanding.

 

Mongo

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only film I really liked Ferrer in was John Huston's MOULIN ROUGE. Ferrer was excellent as the tortured artist Toulouse-Lautrec. However he could also give some bad performances such as the Reverend Davidson in the 1953 remake of MISS SADIE THOMPSON, overacting all the way. Rita Hayworth walked away with that picture.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 Share

© 2022 Turner Classic Movies Inc. All Rights Reserved Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Settings
×
×
  • Create New...