Friday, June 15, 2012
Temple Hopping: An Itinerary
Temple Hopping: An Itinerary: I figure every itinerant needs an itinerary—however sketchy—so here’s mine. Some dates are firm; some are still TBD. June 19 ...
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
The Bohemian Girl
Back in the two thousands I gathered up my oldest grandson and took the two of us down to El Segundo to view "The Bohemian Girl." I don't remember exactly how we got there which could have been by train into L.A. by subway to the rail line that goes to Long Beach, and then climbing down a station below that line, to take another separate line to El Segundo. That's rather involved, so I think that we probably drove the 50 miles. I queried Tyler, and he doesn't remember either.
The theatre is a small show house off the main drag. It mainly shows old classic films. the owner was the one who took the tickets to get in and then provided about a 15 minute organ concert before playing the film. It's a massive concert organ that originally was located in one of the First run theater's in Long Beach, CA. It was kind of fun to hear and watch an organist playing in that environment. If you think you might be interested in checking out the theater it is called "The Old Time Music Hall." They regularly have films and also musical entertainments as well. In addition they have a Laurel and Hardy festival scheduled for this Fall.
The film was the third in the series of long features, over an hour, done by the pair following the very funny "Sons of the Desert" the latter of which I had decided was world class funny. The Bohemian Girl tuned out to be funny as well and was typical of Laurel and Hardy in the parts that featured them. There were a lot of incidents of significance to the film and its final release version that I was unaware of. This past Christmas my son and his wife gave me a huge collection of Laurel and Hardy films and the Bohemian Girl was one of them. Re-viewing the film led me to note more details that had not occurred to me before and also led me to read up more about the production. These readings revealed that there was a lot more interesting history as to the original product and it's final appearance.
The film completed shooting in late 1935. It's leading female star was Thelma Todd a woman who had been in several Laurel and Hardy films and who had her own series that she had done with Zasu Pitts on occasion and Patsy Kelly. Todd had also appeared in several other big productions. In addition Todd had opened a night club out on the Pacific Coast Highway which was largely known by her nickname of Toddy's. In mid December of 1935 Todd was discovered dead in her car, a big chocolate colored Lincoln. It was parked in her garage and she apparently died because of carbon monoxide poisoning. Though the death was finally listed as suicide there were many questions as to this conclusion. There is still a controversy as to who and why. There is much information on the internet about her death, and I'll let you do what ever investigations you might want to pursue.
Hal Roach, the Bohemian Girls producer was in a quandary. There was much controversy over Todd's death and he decided because of that it might be inappropriate to release the film with her as the star, so he re-shot all the parts that Todd played in except for one segment where she sang. In her place he brought in Mae Busch who had played in several of the Laurel and Hardy films usually and most notably as Hardy's hardnosed wife. She was a classic performer in this kind of role with pursed lips and an aggressive threatening way about her.
The change in lead actresses worked well with most people including yours truly being unaware of the change. It also required some changes in role identification which went with such a change as causing Busch's role to be changed from Todd's gypsy queen to Busch's turn as the daughter of the gypsy queen.
The Bohemian Queen film was based on an operetta of the same title which had been written in the mid 1800's by Irish composer Michael Balfe. The story, or operetta, concerned the kidnapping of a Count's very young daughter in what today would be the Czech Republic. This child was to end up being raised in the Gypsy camp. Her kidnapping was in revenge for a flogging that the gypsy received for a transgression as ordered by the Count. Late in the story the daughter is restored to her father because of the discovery that she was wearing a necklace he had given her shortly before her kidnapping.
When Roach remade the story as a vehicle for his top humor team Laurel and Hardy he kept many aspects of the story with the comedy duo playing a couple of gypsy's. There is much singing in the film a product of the original compositions. Mae Busch in the role that was originated by Thelma Todd plays the gypsy wife of Oliver Hardy. She is the gypsy Queen's daughter. Antonio Moreno is her secret lover who is playing fast and loose with Busch. Moreno, with the film name of Devil's Hoof is caught illegally on the Count's castle grounds and is given a flogging for that transgression which accounts for his hatred of the Count.
The kidnapped little girl, played by the delightful Darla Hood of Our Gang Comedy fame, is deposited with Busch and is dressed in a gypsy costume. Finally, she and Moreno decide to run away together. Up to this time Hardy had not noticed that he has a little child in the gypsy wagon he calls home. When he asks Busch who the child is she tells him she is his. He is shocked by this and asks why neither he or the child has been told. Busch tells him that she felt the child was to young to stand the shock.
The film segues up nearly 15 years and the little girl is now a beautiful young woman. Julie Bishop plays this role, but this being early in her career, she had opted for a different name and is identified as Jacqueline Wells. She also is captured for transgression on to the Count's property and is about to be lashed for her transgression when he discovers that she still has the locket he had given her years ago.
Everyone is very happy now except for Stanley and Oliver who had been subjected to a special brand of torture which you will have to see to understand and see the result of this particular kind of brutality.
The film includes one other Laurel and Hardy regular, the dramatically over acting Jimmy Finlayson who plays a Captain in the Count's guard. In one scene Stan pulls his trick of a poke in the eye and Finlayson responds, "He poked me in my good eye." You may recall that Finlayson's stock in trade was a one eyed squint. In addition to Finlayson there were two other performers of interest who I failed to note or identify either time I saw the film. They are Paulette Goddard playing a gypsy woman and L.A. Disc Jockey Peter Potter playing a soldier.
It's fairly typical Laurel and Hardy material but the background story makes in more interesting than a lot of films. Thelma Todd was still shown in the scene where she sings. She and Busch wear the exact same dress. Actually, it is rather difficult to tell them apart dressed the same and Todd wearing a wig to cover her blond hair. I guess I'll have to give the film another viewing to see if I can identify some of the changes that took place and special cast members.
The theatre is a small show house off the main drag. It mainly shows old classic films. the owner was the one who took the tickets to get in and then provided about a 15 minute organ concert before playing the film. It's a massive concert organ that originally was located in one of the First run theater's in Long Beach, CA. It was kind of fun to hear and watch an organist playing in that environment. If you think you might be interested in checking out the theater it is called "The Old Time Music Hall." They regularly have films and also musical entertainments as well. In addition they have a Laurel and Hardy festival scheduled for this Fall.
The film was the third in the series of long features, over an hour, done by the pair following the very funny "Sons of the Desert" the latter of which I had decided was world class funny. The Bohemian Girl tuned out to be funny as well and was typical of Laurel and Hardy in the parts that featured them. There were a lot of incidents of significance to the film and its final release version that I was unaware of. This past Christmas my son and his wife gave me a huge collection of Laurel and Hardy films and the Bohemian Girl was one of them. Re-viewing the film led me to note more details that had not occurred to me before and also led me to read up more about the production. These readings revealed that there was a lot more interesting history as to the original product and it's final appearance.
The film completed shooting in late 1935. It's leading female star was Thelma Todd a woman who had been in several Laurel and Hardy films and who had her own series that she had done with Zasu Pitts on occasion and Patsy Kelly. Todd had also appeared in several other big productions. In addition Todd had opened a night club out on the Pacific Coast Highway which was largely known by her nickname of Toddy's. In mid December of 1935 Todd was discovered dead in her car, a big chocolate colored Lincoln. It was parked in her garage and she apparently died because of carbon monoxide poisoning. Though the death was finally listed as suicide there were many questions as to this conclusion. There is still a controversy as to who and why. There is much information on the internet about her death, and I'll let you do what ever investigations you might want to pursue.
Hal Roach, the Bohemian Girls producer was in a quandary. There was much controversy over Todd's death and he decided because of that it might be inappropriate to release the film with her as the star, so he re-shot all the parts that Todd played in except for one segment where she sang. In her place he brought in Mae Busch who had played in several of the Laurel and Hardy films usually and most notably as Hardy's hardnosed wife. She was a classic performer in this kind of role with pursed lips and an aggressive threatening way about her.
The change in lead actresses worked well with most people including yours truly being unaware of the change. It also required some changes in role identification which went with such a change as causing Busch's role to be changed from Todd's gypsy queen to Busch's turn as the daughter of the gypsy queen.
The Bohemian Queen film was based on an operetta of the same title which had been written in the mid 1800's by Irish composer Michael Balfe. The story, or operetta, concerned the kidnapping of a Count's very young daughter in what today would be the Czech Republic. This child was to end up being raised in the Gypsy camp. Her kidnapping was in revenge for a flogging that the gypsy received for a transgression as ordered by the Count. Late in the story the daughter is restored to her father because of the discovery that she was wearing a necklace he had given her shortly before her kidnapping.
When Roach remade the story as a vehicle for his top humor team Laurel and Hardy he kept many aspects of the story with the comedy duo playing a couple of gypsy's. There is much singing in the film a product of the original compositions. Mae Busch in the role that was originated by Thelma Todd plays the gypsy wife of Oliver Hardy. She is the gypsy Queen's daughter. Antonio Moreno is her secret lover who is playing fast and loose with Busch. Moreno, with the film name of Devil's Hoof is caught illegally on the Count's castle grounds and is given a flogging for that transgression which accounts for his hatred of the Count.
The kidnapped little girl, played by the delightful Darla Hood of Our Gang Comedy fame, is deposited with Busch and is dressed in a gypsy costume. Finally, she and Moreno decide to run away together. Up to this time Hardy had not noticed that he has a little child in the gypsy wagon he calls home. When he asks Busch who the child is she tells him she is his. He is shocked by this and asks why neither he or the child has been told. Busch tells him that she felt the child was to young to stand the shock.
The film segues up nearly 15 years and the little girl is now a beautiful young woman. Julie Bishop plays this role, but this being early in her career, she had opted for a different name and is identified as Jacqueline Wells. She also is captured for transgression on to the Count's property and is about to be lashed for her transgression when he discovers that she still has the locket he had given her years ago.
Everyone is very happy now except for Stanley and Oliver who had been subjected to a special brand of torture which you will have to see to understand and see the result of this particular kind of brutality.
The film includes one other Laurel and Hardy regular, the dramatically over acting Jimmy Finlayson who plays a Captain in the Count's guard. In one scene Stan pulls his trick of a poke in the eye and Finlayson responds, "He poked me in my good eye." You may recall that Finlayson's stock in trade was a one eyed squint. In addition to Finlayson there were two other performers of interest who I failed to note or identify either time I saw the film. They are Paulette Goddard playing a gypsy woman and L.A. Disc Jockey Peter Potter playing a soldier.
It's fairly typical Laurel and Hardy material but the background story makes in more interesting than a lot of films. Thelma Todd was still shown in the scene where she sings. She and Busch wear the exact same dress. Actually, it is rather difficult to tell them apart dressed the same and Todd wearing a wig to cover her blond hair. I guess I'll have to give the film another viewing to see if I can identify some of the changes that took place and special cast members.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Dead Again
Back in the 1980's Masterpiece Theatre presented a seven part program called the "Fortune's of War." It starred among others Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson. This supposedly was the first meeting of the pair and resulted in a marriage two years later. It was a series set initially in the Balkans, specifically Rumania, and involved British members of government and private citizens and their relationships and experiences in World War II. The initial series moved to Greece after the Germans moved into the Balkans. When the Germans next moved into the Greek peninsula, the series moved to Egypt where the Brits were enveloped in the war in North Africa and Near East. It was a terrific series and provided an perfect introduction to the skills in acting, directing, producing and writing of Branagh and Thompson.
Through the years both together and separately have provided a wide range of performances. Branagh, in particular, did Shakespeare with great flair including "Henry V" a really worthy yet very different interpretation than that of Olivier's Academy Award winning version of the 1940's. Branagh also did "Hamlet" and a particularly humorous version of "Much Ado About Nothing." Wife Emma had key roles in both the latter film and Henvy V. Branagh also provided versatility with a very different performance in the Australian based film "Rabbit Proof Fence," a story about the Crown's nearly perfect example of how to do things wrong to the native Australian people and those children who were products of both cultures. In "Peter's Friends" he worked again with Emma Thompson and some of their earlier pre-film friends Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie in a really nice film that encompassed Christmas and a lovely rendition of "The Way You Look Tonight," with Laurie playing the piano and Imelda Staunton singing lead.
Thompson had an even more extensive career in films including besides those mentioned above "The Remains of the Day," in which she co-starred with Anthony Hopkins. In "Love Actually" she played the sister of the British Prime Minister played by Hugh Grant in a film that had only about twelve other well known co-stars. It's a really nice Christmas film. Her most famous effort was in Jane Austin's "Sense and Sensibility" where she played the elder Dashwood sister and in which she also wrote the script. She not only played leads but in the film "An Education" she played the principal of a girls school in Britain who had to deal with a student, an outstanding student, who was seduced by a married con-artist. It's another excellent effort. Carey Mulligan plays the unfortunate school girl. And finally it should be remembered that Thompson also played again most successfully with Anthony Hopkins in E. M. Forester's classic novel "Howard's End,"
In "Dead Again" Branagh and Thompson appear together again in a film that is part mystery and part fantasy. And, interestingly enough, the two Brits easily handle American accents required for it's setting in the United States, Los Angeles to be exact. The picture's fantasy is a depiction of reincarnation, or perhaps not really reincarnation. It is really difficult to tell. In it both actors play two roles. Branagh in the early part which is shot in black and white plays Roman Strauss, a famous conductor of the Los Angeles symphony orchestra who is married to an outstanding pianist, Margaret. Forty years later Branagh plays, this time in color, a private eye named Mike Church hired to try to identify a young woman who has wandered into a Catholic School and who has lost her memory. The pictures concept is that the woman is the re-incarnation of Margaret the pianist who was murdered back in the 1940's a crime that was committed by her husband the conductor who was executed for the murder.
The supposition is played out with Branagh as detective Mike, watching out for Thompson known as Grace in this part of the story. After she is refused admittance back at the Catholic facility he takes her into his home and eventually decides to run an ad in the L.A. Times with a picture in an attempt to identify the person. The first person answering the ad is an antique shop dealer, Derick Jacoby, who also is apparently a hypnotist. He is finally hired to see if he can coach Grace out of her amnesia in order to see if she can then identify herself.
This process is an important part of the film and eventually we learn more about who Grace is and what her real name is and what leads up to an amazing confrontation at Branagh's house where the truth or at least some of is resolved. Believe me, the film is very interesting in the development of this eventual closure or semi-closure of the films issues.
Several other people are of interest in the film. Cuban-American Andy Garcia has an important role as an L.A. newspaper man who wrote extensively about the case at the time of the murder. Campbell Scott has a small role as man who attempts to prove he knows who Grace is. Miriam Gargolyes is very amusing as a woman hypnotised by Jacobi who apparently uses his hypnotic skills to identify and locate antique items. And finally Hannah Schygulla plays Jacobi's mother. There are also short segments involving Wayne Knight known principally as Jerry Seinfeld's irritating mail carrier neighbor and Robin Williams.
For an Angeleno and one who lived largely in much of the area where the film is shot it is an extra pleasure. Branagh's house is an interesting Mission style residence located on the side of hill with a tower supposedly holding a staircase. The actual house is about three blocks from Marshall high school in L.A. where I attended in the early 40's. Also a part of the action is filmed on the so-called Shakespeare Bridge which is just another block away. The bridge is over a small gorge which leads out to what eventually became the site of ABC television studios and which earlier had been the site of the Vitagraph film company. The tower structure elevator is located just off Highland avenue in Hollywood and is not a part of the Branagh residence in the film.
The park where Branagh and Thompson visit next to a lake is Echo Park Lake. The old Pacific Electric subway line ran by here before it's one mile journey underground to downtown Los Angeles. The Echo Park district which when the film was shot was a somewhat rundown area has now been revitalized. Old structures there were rebuilt and modernized. It's kind of an in place to live for those who like a more avant-garde environment.
I might also note that Branagh as detective Mike drives a beautiful Chevrolet Corvette of earlier vintage. One of my best friends had exactly the same car and I remember greatly admiring it.
You do not have to be a resident of L.A. to enjoy this film. You can watch it and wonder what it all means and the meanings of the reincarnation episodes as to whether they existed or were just a demonstration of interesting story telling.
Through the years both together and separately have provided a wide range of performances. Branagh, in particular, did Shakespeare with great flair including "Henry V" a really worthy yet very different interpretation than that of Olivier's Academy Award winning version of the 1940's. Branagh also did "Hamlet" and a particularly humorous version of "Much Ado About Nothing." Wife Emma had key roles in both the latter film and Henvy V. Branagh also provided versatility with a very different performance in the Australian based film "Rabbit Proof Fence," a story about the Crown's nearly perfect example of how to do things wrong to the native Australian people and those children who were products of both cultures. In "Peter's Friends" he worked again with Emma Thompson and some of their earlier pre-film friends Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie in a really nice film that encompassed Christmas and a lovely rendition of "The Way You Look Tonight," with Laurie playing the piano and Imelda Staunton singing lead.
Thompson had an even more extensive career in films including besides those mentioned above "The Remains of the Day," in which she co-starred with Anthony Hopkins. In "Love Actually" she played the sister of the British Prime Minister played by Hugh Grant in a film that had only about twelve other well known co-stars. It's a really nice Christmas film. Her most famous effort was in Jane Austin's "Sense and Sensibility" where she played the elder Dashwood sister and in which she also wrote the script. She not only played leads but in the film "An Education" she played the principal of a girls school in Britain who had to deal with a student, an outstanding student, who was seduced by a married con-artist. It's another excellent effort. Carey Mulligan plays the unfortunate school girl. And finally it should be remembered that Thompson also played again most successfully with Anthony Hopkins in E. M. Forester's classic novel "Howard's End,"
In "Dead Again" Branagh and Thompson appear together again in a film that is part mystery and part fantasy. And, interestingly enough, the two Brits easily handle American accents required for it's setting in the United States, Los Angeles to be exact. The picture's fantasy is a depiction of reincarnation, or perhaps not really reincarnation. It is really difficult to tell. In it both actors play two roles. Branagh in the early part which is shot in black and white plays Roman Strauss, a famous conductor of the Los Angeles symphony orchestra who is married to an outstanding pianist, Margaret. Forty years later Branagh plays, this time in color, a private eye named Mike Church hired to try to identify a young woman who has wandered into a Catholic School and who has lost her memory. The pictures concept is that the woman is the re-incarnation of Margaret the pianist who was murdered back in the 1940's a crime that was committed by her husband the conductor who was executed for the murder.
The supposition is played out with Branagh as detective Mike, watching out for Thompson known as Grace in this part of the story. After she is refused admittance back at the Catholic facility he takes her into his home and eventually decides to run an ad in the L.A. Times with a picture in an attempt to identify the person. The first person answering the ad is an antique shop dealer, Derick Jacoby, who also is apparently a hypnotist. He is finally hired to see if he can coach Grace out of her amnesia in order to see if she can then identify herself.
This process is an important part of the film and eventually we learn more about who Grace is and what her real name is and what leads up to an amazing confrontation at Branagh's house where the truth or at least some of is resolved. Believe me, the film is very interesting in the development of this eventual closure or semi-closure of the films issues.
Several other people are of interest in the film. Cuban-American Andy Garcia has an important role as an L.A. newspaper man who wrote extensively about the case at the time of the murder. Campbell Scott has a small role as man who attempts to prove he knows who Grace is. Miriam Gargolyes is very amusing as a woman hypnotised by Jacobi who apparently uses his hypnotic skills to identify and locate antique items. And finally Hannah Schygulla plays Jacobi's mother. There are also short segments involving Wayne Knight known principally as Jerry Seinfeld's irritating mail carrier neighbor and Robin Williams.
For an Angeleno and one who lived largely in much of the area where the film is shot it is an extra pleasure. Branagh's house is an interesting Mission style residence located on the side of hill with a tower supposedly holding a staircase. The actual house is about three blocks from Marshall high school in L.A. where I attended in the early 40's. Also a part of the action is filmed on the so-called Shakespeare Bridge which is just another block away. The bridge is over a small gorge which leads out to what eventually became the site of ABC television studios and which earlier had been the site of the Vitagraph film company. The tower structure elevator is located just off Highland avenue in Hollywood and is not a part of the Branagh residence in the film.
The park where Branagh and Thompson visit next to a lake is Echo Park Lake. The old Pacific Electric subway line ran by here before it's one mile journey underground to downtown Los Angeles. The Echo Park district which when the film was shot was a somewhat rundown area has now been revitalized. Old structures there were rebuilt and modernized. It's kind of an in place to live for those who like a more avant-garde environment.
I might also note that Branagh as detective Mike drives a beautiful Chevrolet Corvette of earlier vintage. One of my best friends had exactly the same car and I remember greatly admiring it.
You do not have to be a resident of L.A. to enjoy this film. You can watch it and wonder what it all means and the meanings of the reincarnation episodes as to whether they existed or were just a demonstration of interesting story telling.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
2011 Golden Year for Films
There is no real explanation for my recent lack of updates to Mensa Classic Films. No, I did not take the Grand Tour of Europe, take a World Tour that included Victoria, British Columbia, the Falkland Islands, Easter Island or other such world wide locales. I was not seriously ill at any time except for a broken wrist. In fact my failure could only be blamed on laziness. But I'm amending that now to note that this past year has produced more films that I want to see than any other recent year.
This will not be a full review but rather a touch on titles and a short comment on why I want to see them. I will note, that so far I have seen "THE HELP" which I thoroughly enjoyed. I have liked Viola Davis in the few films I've seen her in and this film is no exception.
I should note one caveat on why I haven't seen more. My hearing problems which I apparently inherited from my mother's father have grown much worse in recent years so that I really can't go to the theatre for a film. If it ain't got sub-titles/close captions, I don't know what they are talking about. So that means, watching on TV when I can put the words on the bottom of the screen. It has one bad feature in that I am so busy reading that I'm not always seeing the action. Certainly a disadvantage. Anyhow, I'll provide a short list and commentary on everything I'm looking forward to seeing and principally in order of my desire to see them.
THE ARTIST - First on my list. Actually my wife says I could see it in the theatre without sub-titles and probably not miss anything. I will note that the ads I have seen have been very enticing. Both the two French leads seem to be charming and attractive. The lead gentleman, and I apologize for not giving his or for that matter her name reminds me a lot of John Gilbert who had a similar problem when talkie's came in, though in his case I am under the impression that his voice was sabotaged when he spoke by some faulty equipment. At least I have read that.
HUGO - This picture seems to be particularly delightful from the interesting setting of a Paris train station. It also deals to a certain extent with an earlier period in the life of the movies and with the added advantage of dealing with trains.
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS - I have long been a fan of Woody Allen films from his earliest days. Do you recall his first film, "What's up Fortune Cookie" or something like that where he dubbed English on to a Japanese cloak and dagger film of not necessarily high quality and made a very funny vehicle out of it. The Midnight in Paris film also has a nostalgia ring to it and is set in Paris, neither of which is bad in my book.
THE DESCENDANTS - I have long been a fan of George Clooney and this film shows him in good though not typical form. He's one of those actors who seemingly can do almost any genre with ease. The story has it's twists and turns which makes it more interesting at least in my analysis of various reviews and short cuts I've seen on the tube.
TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY - This story was outstanding in it's original novel form as written by John Le Carre and in a four part serious on PBS. The film's lead at that time starred Alec Guinness as master spy George Smiley and included a really top set of supporting players. Oldman who carries the Smiley role in this shorter film version apparently has all the skills demonstrated by Guinness in his performance of the original.
EXTREMELY LOUD AND TERRIBLY CLOSE - This film features two of my favorite artists, Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock. Hanks seems to have the singular ability to play almost any kind of role without seeming to go out of character. Sandra Bullock has perfected her screen image so well that you know what you can expect but because she does it so well you're not disappointed. This film is mostly about a boy and elderly man. The latter is up for an Academy Award as a supporting actor, Christopher Plumber.
There are a number of other films of interest to me including the foreign film entry from Iran, "A SEPARATION." "SHAME," a film with a strong sexual emphasis. "THE TREE OF A LIFE" a complicated film that stars Brad Pitt. "MELANCHOLIA" a downer starring Dirst. "MARTHA, MARCEY, MAY MARLENE," another downer and the final film of the "HARRY POTTER" series "THE DEATHLY HOLLOWS - PART 2" with the last gathering of Radcliffe and his friends. And there's a World War I film "THE WAR HORSE" which essentially stars a horse. Tilda Swinton in her usual good form in "WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN" a world class downer if there ever was one and two outstanding actresses, Glenn Close and Janet McTeer in a story about a woman called NOBBS who is living as a man. And lastly the almost always reliable Paul Giamatti in a sports film called "WIN WIN."
All in all it is truly an outstanding years. I'm sure that those of you who are really into films will find that several of these will take more than a couple viewings to really digest what they have to say.
This will not be a full review but rather a touch on titles and a short comment on why I want to see them. I will note, that so far I have seen "THE HELP" which I thoroughly enjoyed. I have liked Viola Davis in the few films I've seen her in and this film is no exception.
I should note one caveat on why I haven't seen more. My hearing problems which I apparently inherited from my mother's father have grown much worse in recent years so that I really can't go to the theatre for a film. If it ain't got sub-titles/close captions, I don't know what they are talking about. So that means, watching on TV when I can put the words on the bottom of the screen. It has one bad feature in that I am so busy reading that I'm not always seeing the action. Certainly a disadvantage. Anyhow, I'll provide a short list and commentary on everything I'm looking forward to seeing and principally in order of my desire to see them.
THE ARTIST - First on my list. Actually my wife says I could see it in the theatre without sub-titles and probably not miss anything. I will note that the ads I have seen have been very enticing. Both the two French leads seem to be charming and attractive. The lead gentleman, and I apologize for not giving his or for that matter her name reminds me a lot of John Gilbert who had a similar problem when talkie's came in, though in his case I am under the impression that his voice was sabotaged when he spoke by some faulty equipment. At least I have read that.
HUGO - This picture seems to be particularly delightful from the interesting setting of a Paris train station. It also deals to a certain extent with an earlier period in the life of the movies and with the added advantage of dealing with trains.
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS - I have long been a fan of Woody Allen films from his earliest days. Do you recall his first film, "What's up Fortune Cookie" or something like that where he dubbed English on to a Japanese cloak and dagger film of not necessarily high quality and made a very funny vehicle out of it. The Midnight in Paris film also has a nostalgia ring to it and is set in Paris, neither of which is bad in my book.
THE DESCENDANTS - I have long been a fan of George Clooney and this film shows him in good though not typical form. He's one of those actors who seemingly can do almost any genre with ease. The story has it's twists and turns which makes it more interesting at least in my analysis of various reviews and short cuts I've seen on the tube.
TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY - This story was outstanding in it's original novel form as written by John Le Carre and in a four part serious on PBS. The film's lead at that time starred Alec Guinness as master spy George Smiley and included a really top set of supporting players. Oldman who carries the Smiley role in this shorter film version apparently has all the skills demonstrated by Guinness in his performance of the original.
EXTREMELY LOUD AND TERRIBLY CLOSE - This film features two of my favorite artists, Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock. Hanks seems to have the singular ability to play almost any kind of role without seeming to go out of character. Sandra Bullock has perfected her screen image so well that you know what you can expect but because she does it so well you're not disappointed. This film is mostly about a boy and elderly man. The latter is up for an Academy Award as a supporting actor, Christopher Plumber.
There are a number of other films of interest to me including the foreign film entry from Iran, "A SEPARATION." "SHAME," a film with a strong sexual emphasis. "THE TREE OF A LIFE" a complicated film that stars Brad Pitt. "MELANCHOLIA" a downer starring Dirst. "MARTHA, MARCEY, MAY MARLENE," another downer and the final film of the "HARRY POTTER" series "THE DEATHLY HOLLOWS - PART 2" with the last gathering of Radcliffe and his friends. And there's a World War I film "THE WAR HORSE" which essentially stars a horse. Tilda Swinton in her usual good form in "WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN" a world class downer if there ever was one and two outstanding actresses, Glenn Close and Janet McTeer in a story about a woman called NOBBS who is living as a man. And lastly the almost always reliable Paul Giamatti in a sports film called "WIN WIN."
All in all it is truly an outstanding years. I'm sure that those of you who are really into films will find that several of these will take more than a couple viewings to really digest what they have to say.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Irene Dunne
Irene Dunne is an unusual Hollywood icon in that much like Joel McCrea she led a life in Hollywood that was most noteworthy for it's lack of negative publicity. This is particularly applicable because of Ms. Dunne's remarkable ability to do comedy in a very realistic style. Though she is remembered for other reasons as well, a beautiful singing voice for one which was demonstrated in her turn as a Magnolia in "Show Boat" and in the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers starrer, "Roberta," her series of four films in the Screwball Comedy genre that she made in the late 30's probably identify her more than any other film work.
I have decide to list my personal favorites in a mixed order combining her various humorous films, her singing roles and finally her roles where drama was emphasized. Starting first we have the comedies, with the generally considered best of the bunch.
THE AWFUL TRUTH - 1937
I've always had trouble keeping this story separated from her 1940 film "My Favorite Wife." Cary Grant was her co-star in both these films and they also worked together in one of her serious films, "A Night to Remember." She revealed in later life that Cary Grant complemented her on occasion after they had worked together by telling her she always had perfect timing when doing comedy and smelled better than any one else he had worked with. She really liked this fun comment.
In the Awful Truth Grant and Dunne are getting a divorce with the settlement trying to determine the actual visiting time each will have with their dog, Mr Smith. This role was performed by the same clever dog or dogs who appeared as Asta in the "Thin Man" films. Other matrimonial problems have set in as well including suspicions of joint infidelity. It is all resolved in the end with a closing scene very reminiscent of the close to "My Favorite Wife," separate bedrooms but with proximity. Ralph Bellamy is around in his usual clever portrayal of a clueless man, in this case an Oklahoma cattleman who still lives with this mother. Dunne has a duet with the latter to "Home on the Range," which is world class funny. She includes some excellent whistling in this rendition. She also plays a very broad bimbo type to the astonished members of a wealthy family while pretending to be Grant's rather unpredictable country girl sister. The film ends up being one helluvalot of fun.
MY FAVORITE WIFE - 1940
This film and the "The Awful Truth" are almost like pairs of the same subject with but with a different cut. Dunne plays Grant's wife who supposedly drowned at sea several years ago. In fact she hadn't drowned but rather had spent those years on a South Pacific Island with a scientific type played by a very athletic looking Randolph Scott. Confusion results when Grant has remarried having had Dunne declared legally dead. His new wife is the always reliable, Gail Patrick, largely noted for playing slightly unpleasant or poisonous women. Grant has one of his great double takes when he thinks he's spotted the presumed dead Dunne while he is getting into an elevator. Things move along with eventually, like in "The Awful Truth," the two of them in separate rooms in a mountain cabin. Grant's room is the attic and he has a classic line of "Merry Christmas," at the end which I will leave for you to discover when watching the film.
THEODORA GOES WILD - 1936
I had never seen this film until recently. It features Dunne again playing this time as a member of a small town women's literary group. This small town is in Vermont and is the home of what in those days was considered typically bigoted small town women, very sanctimonious and down on any sense of indecency particularly in literature. At the beginning of the picture they are having a meeting discussion of a current licentious best seller written by what has to be a depraved woman. It's called "The Sinner." Dunne has a reason to go to New York and there she meets with the novels publisher and the firms book cover artist, Melvin Douglas. At this point we viewers learn that she is actually the books author writing under an assumed name. The going wild part is a result of her getting high at a nightclub as the publisher's guest. The club features strip tease dancers. Dunne manages to lose her dress in the ladies room, something having spilled on it, which is grabbed by a stripper who is in mid routine doing her number when the police raid the club. This results in Dunne's arrest by the police who presume she is the stripper trying to escape. Now if that isn't a plot to work with, I don't know what is. Eventually everything works out. Her nemesis, male lead, is Melvyn Douglas .
LOVE AFFAIR - 1939
Dunne in another role as a small town girl, this time the mayor of a small town, probably in Vermont again. She is the mayor because an ancestor of her's more or less was the driving force in the town a few years back. A bad incident takes place during a terrific thunder, lightning and rain storm when the tall metal statue of the town's founder is struck by lightning resulting in the decapitation of her ancestor's statue's head. Dunne has to head to New York to get the sculptor to reattach the head. The latter is delightfully played by Charles Boyer. All kinds of events happen to Dunne in New York and almost result in her being impeached from her job as mayor for corrupt behavior. In the end, Boyer who has fallen in love with her, is called to her home town to reattach the head which again was struck by a terrific lightning bolt. He had attached the head very loosely hoping for just such an incident, the beheading of the statue once again, which would give him the opportunity to romance Dunne.
Those four films provide a nice quartet of fun pictures that are easily classified as screwball comedies. Dunne made them in a four year period and not at a young age. She was born in 1898 so these were all in either her late 30's or early 40's. She made her first film in 1930 when she was already in her 30's.
Dunne's initial goal in life was to be a performer with Opera. She auditioned at an early age, but did not successfully complete the audition. Through out her film career she was called on to sing. Most people will associate her with music environments most particularly in the film "Show Boat."
SHOW BOAT - 1936
This film was made the same year as "Theodora Goes Wild." It was very well received by film goers. Her singing was lovely in the romantic numbers most particularly in "Make Believe," which she sang in duet with Alan Jones. She also sang "After The Ball," in a stage hall scene and one very humorous number which would be verboten today because it was done in blackface. This film also included such stalwarts as Paul Robeson doing "Old Man River," and the delightful "I still suits me," which he sang in a duet with Hattie McDaniel. "Can't Help Loving that man" was sung by Helen Morgan who duplicated her stage role.
ROBERTA - 1935
Though Dunne really had the lead role in this film it is basically viewed as a Rogers and Astaire, musical. Dunne had three vocal numbers. Perhaps the most memorable of these was "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes," which she sang at a dinner get together at a Russian based nightclub with members of the exiled Russians community who were living in Paris at this time. She sang it to Randolph Scott who she had had a memorable argument with earlier and which continued and ended during this nightclub scene. She also had a delightful vocal on "Lovely To Look At," wearing a white gown and white fur as she descended a staircase. She sang this to Scott as well which ended up being a reunion of their love. Astaire and Rogers danced to this song after a segue from "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" with Ginger wearing a skin tight long dress that looked like it had been sown on her. Ginger is also to be remembered for her affecting Russian accented English which was particularly obvious during her singing, most notably in "Won't Dance."
There are many other resources available featuring and starring Irene Dunne. Two more serious films would include the following.
I REMEMBER MAMA - 1948
This was a serious though tender role for Ms. Dunne. She plays a Scandinavian woman in San Francisco before the turn of the century. She had the accent down pat and played the role with her usual reserved style without the added humor. Oscar Homolka and Philip Dorn were co-stars. Despite her age, she was over 50 at the time, she had to have makeup applied to appear the age she represented.
PENNY SERENADE - 1941
This can be classified as a three or four hankie film. Dunne's co-star again was Cary Grant. Penny Serenade is the story of a young woman marrying a man who is by trade is a newspaper man. They meet in New York and after a short romance are married and move to northern California where he is editor and publisher of a small community paper. Unfortunately they are not able to have children and so they end up deciding to adopt. They have wanted a little boy but the lady at the Orphan Asylum, manages to talk them into taking a perfect little girl baby. The Orphan Asylum manager is perfectly played by Beulah Bondi in a very uncharacteristic role for her. Eventually, tragedy occurs and the little girl dies when she is around nine or ten. this totally unhinges Grant in particular and leads to the loss of communication between the two. Near the end, they receive another call from Bondi who lets them know that another baby is available for them if they want it, It's a really nice story. Edgar Buchanan is particularly noteworthy as the man who operates the newspapers printing press. He has a classic scene where he shows Dunne how to diaper her new baby.
There are a number other riches from Irene Dunne's film career. Just to note a few:
BACK STREET - 1932
TOGETHER AGAIN - 1944
ANNA & THE KING OF SIAM - 1936 (with Rex Harrison)
WHEN TOMORROW COMES - 1939
CIMARRON -1931 (A very dated, static film that co-starred Richard Dix)
WHITE CLIFFS OF DOVER - 1944
LIFE WITH FATHER - 1947 (with William Powell)
In my search through the internet archives of information I tried to find a picture or two of Irene Dunne in a swimming suit. Much to my surprise there are none, and I can't recall any film where she wears a shorts or a short skirt. In Cimarron she looked heavier, but I'm guessing it might have been in the late 19th and early 20th century clothes she wore for her role. Somehow, even when playing off character, she came across as a lady with class.
I have decide to list my personal favorites in a mixed order combining her various humorous films, her singing roles and finally her roles where drama was emphasized. Starting first we have the comedies, with the generally considered best of the bunch.
THE AWFUL TRUTH - 1937
I've always had trouble keeping this story separated from her 1940 film "My Favorite Wife." Cary Grant was her co-star in both these films and they also worked together in one of her serious films, "A Night to Remember." She revealed in later life that Cary Grant complemented her on occasion after they had worked together by telling her she always had perfect timing when doing comedy and smelled better than any one else he had worked with. She really liked this fun comment.
In the Awful Truth Grant and Dunne are getting a divorce with the settlement trying to determine the actual visiting time each will have with their dog, Mr Smith. This role was performed by the same clever dog or dogs who appeared as Asta in the "Thin Man" films. Other matrimonial problems have set in as well including suspicions of joint infidelity. It is all resolved in the end with a closing scene very reminiscent of the close to "My Favorite Wife," separate bedrooms but with proximity. Ralph Bellamy is around in his usual clever portrayal of a clueless man, in this case an Oklahoma cattleman who still lives with this mother. Dunne has a duet with the latter to "Home on the Range," which is world class funny. She includes some excellent whistling in this rendition. She also plays a very broad bimbo type to the astonished members of a wealthy family while pretending to be Grant's rather unpredictable country girl sister. The film ends up being one helluvalot of fun.
MY FAVORITE WIFE - 1940
This film and the "The Awful Truth" are almost like pairs of the same subject with but with a different cut. Dunne plays Grant's wife who supposedly drowned at sea several years ago. In fact she hadn't drowned but rather had spent those years on a South Pacific Island with a scientific type played by a very athletic looking Randolph Scott. Confusion results when Grant has remarried having had Dunne declared legally dead. His new wife is the always reliable, Gail Patrick, largely noted for playing slightly unpleasant or poisonous women. Grant has one of his great double takes when he thinks he's spotted the presumed dead Dunne while he is getting into an elevator. Things move along with eventually, like in "The Awful Truth," the two of them in separate rooms in a mountain cabin. Grant's room is the attic and he has a classic line of "Merry Christmas," at the end which I will leave for you to discover when watching the film.
THEODORA GOES WILD - 1936
I had never seen this film until recently. It features Dunne again playing this time as a member of a small town women's literary group. This small town is in Vermont and is the home of what in those days was considered typically bigoted small town women, very sanctimonious and down on any sense of indecency particularly in literature. At the beginning of the picture they are having a meeting discussion of a current licentious best seller written by what has to be a depraved woman. It's called "The Sinner." Dunne has a reason to go to New York and there she meets with the novels publisher and the firms book cover artist, Melvin Douglas. At this point we viewers learn that she is actually the books author writing under an assumed name. The going wild part is a result of her getting high at a nightclub as the publisher's guest. The club features strip tease dancers. Dunne manages to lose her dress in the ladies room, something having spilled on it, which is grabbed by a stripper who is in mid routine doing her number when the police raid the club. This results in Dunne's arrest by the police who presume she is the stripper trying to escape. Now if that isn't a plot to work with, I don't know what is. Eventually everything works out. Her nemesis, male lead, is Melvyn Douglas .
LOVE AFFAIR - 1939
Dunne in another role as a small town girl, this time the mayor of a small town, probably in Vermont again. She is the mayor because an ancestor of her's more or less was the driving force in the town a few years back. A bad incident takes place during a terrific thunder, lightning and rain storm when the tall metal statue of the town's founder is struck by lightning resulting in the decapitation of her ancestor's statue's head. Dunne has to head to New York to get the sculptor to reattach the head. The latter is delightfully played by Charles Boyer. All kinds of events happen to Dunne in New York and almost result in her being impeached from her job as mayor for corrupt behavior. In the end, Boyer who has fallen in love with her, is called to her home town to reattach the head which again was struck by a terrific lightning bolt. He had attached the head very loosely hoping for just such an incident, the beheading of the statue once again, which would give him the opportunity to romance Dunne.
Those four films provide a nice quartet of fun pictures that are easily classified as screwball comedies. Dunne made them in a four year period and not at a young age. She was born in 1898 so these were all in either her late 30's or early 40's. She made her first film in 1930 when she was already in her 30's.
Dunne's initial goal in life was to be a performer with Opera. She auditioned at an early age, but did not successfully complete the audition. Through out her film career she was called on to sing. Most people will associate her with music environments most particularly in the film "Show Boat."
SHOW BOAT - 1936
This film was made the same year as "Theodora Goes Wild." It was very well received by film goers. Her singing was lovely in the romantic numbers most particularly in "Make Believe," which she sang in duet with Alan Jones. She also sang "After The Ball," in a stage hall scene and one very humorous number which would be verboten today because it was done in blackface. This film also included such stalwarts as Paul Robeson doing "Old Man River," and the delightful "I still suits me," which he sang in a duet with Hattie McDaniel. "Can't Help Loving that man" was sung by Helen Morgan who duplicated her stage role.
ROBERTA - 1935
Though Dunne really had the lead role in this film it is basically viewed as a Rogers and Astaire, musical. Dunne had three vocal numbers. Perhaps the most memorable of these was "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes," which she sang at a dinner get together at a Russian based nightclub with members of the exiled Russians community who were living in Paris at this time. She sang it to Randolph Scott who she had had a memorable argument with earlier and which continued and ended during this nightclub scene. She also had a delightful vocal on "Lovely To Look At," wearing a white gown and white fur as she descended a staircase. She sang this to Scott as well which ended up being a reunion of their love. Astaire and Rogers danced to this song after a segue from "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" with Ginger wearing a skin tight long dress that looked like it had been sown on her. Ginger is also to be remembered for her affecting Russian accented English which was particularly obvious during her singing, most notably in "Won't Dance."
There are many other resources available featuring and starring Irene Dunne. Two more serious films would include the following.
I REMEMBER MAMA - 1948
This was a serious though tender role for Ms. Dunne. She plays a Scandinavian woman in San Francisco before the turn of the century. She had the accent down pat and played the role with her usual reserved style without the added humor. Oscar Homolka and Philip Dorn were co-stars. Despite her age, she was over 50 at the time, she had to have makeup applied to appear the age she represented.
PENNY SERENADE - 1941
This can be classified as a three or four hankie film. Dunne's co-star again was Cary Grant. Penny Serenade is the story of a young woman marrying a man who is by trade is a newspaper man. They meet in New York and after a short romance are married and move to northern California where he is editor and publisher of a small community paper. Unfortunately they are not able to have children and so they end up deciding to adopt. They have wanted a little boy but the lady at the Orphan Asylum, manages to talk them into taking a perfect little girl baby. The Orphan Asylum manager is perfectly played by Beulah Bondi in a very uncharacteristic role for her. Eventually, tragedy occurs and the little girl dies when she is around nine or ten. this totally unhinges Grant in particular and leads to the loss of communication between the two. Near the end, they receive another call from Bondi who lets them know that another baby is available for them if they want it, It's a really nice story. Edgar Buchanan is particularly noteworthy as the man who operates the newspapers printing press. He has a classic scene where he shows Dunne how to diaper her new baby.
There are a number other riches from Irene Dunne's film career. Just to note a few:
BACK STREET - 1932
TOGETHER AGAIN - 1944
ANNA & THE KING OF SIAM - 1936 (with Rex Harrison)
WHEN TOMORROW COMES - 1939
CIMARRON -1931 (A very dated, static film that co-starred Richard Dix)
WHITE CLIFFS OF DOVER - 1944
LIFE WITH FATHER - 1947 (with William Powell)
In my search through the internet archives of information I tried to find a picture or two of Irene Dunne in a swimming suit. Much to my surprise there are none, and I can't recall any film where she wears a shorts or a short skirt. In Cimarron she looked heavier, but I'm guessing it might have been in the late 19th and early 20th century clothes she wore for her role. Somehow, even when playing off character, she came across as a lady with class.
Monday, June 20, 2011
King Solomon's Mine and Lady in the Lake
Actually, these two films have no direct connection except through me. They are both films based on books. In the case of Solomon's mine, I had recently bought a selection of nicely bound and produced hard cover books that I found offered for $1.00 at my local branch of the Los Angeles County Library system. I only selected books I had never read which included Haggard's novel written in 1885.
In the case of Chandler's Lady in the Lake I saw the last 20 or 25 minutes of it on the tube and became confused as to what had happened. Consequently, I bought the book from my favorite book store, Powell's Books of Portland, Oregon and read it as well.
After I had read both of these books I re-watched video's of the two films. What interested me most is that neither film was much like the story they were based on. I'll discuss them separately.
KING SOLOMON'S MINE - 1950
In H. Ryder Haggard's original novel the story covered the trip of a party of three Englishmen and a native South African to an mysterious and unknown land in the heart of Africa where supposedly, Solomon had stored his treasure in a cavern. The men were led by a man named Allan Quatermain who was a well known African hunter in his early 50's. Their objective was to find the brother of one of the Quatermain's two companions. With much hazardous journeying they crossed through jungles and then a terrible desert to eventually climb a couple of peaks remarkably named the Sheba's Two Breasts which had snow at their summits. From there they descended and crossed a into a lush valley along an ancient road that led to a village or Krall.
At this point they learned that a Black African man who had joined their party was of royal blood. A tremendous battle between thousands of native men ensued where in their claimant to the throne's forces conduct a ferocious battle with the troops of his cousin who had usurped the throne. After this venture they were led to the cavern and discovered the huge fortune of mostly diamonds but also of gold and ivory that had been accumulated by Solomon. There through treachery they were trapped in the cavern but fortunately managed to find a way out along the course of a river that exited the cavern on the slopes of the mountain the cave was located in.
In 1950 a rousing beautifully shot color film was made of this story. This is generally acknowledged to be the best of the films made of Haggard's adventure novel. I remembered very little of the film except for the tall Watusi man who played the true king but most of all beautiful Deborah Kerr sitting next to a thundering waterfall looking as beautiful as she could look. The party included Quatermain, a handsome Stewart Granger, Richard Carlson playing the brother of the missing man and Kerr as a replacement for the novels third man. I discovered later that the waterfall that Kerr was sitting next to was the famous Murchinson Fall that exits Lake Victoria.
Again there was a desert, though the peaks known as the two breasts were not involved. And eventually the party arrived at the Krall where the usurper to the throne lived. Again there is a battle but in this case just the usurper and the rightful king fight, and of course the latter wins by throwing a spear into the body of his opponent. They are led to the mine and because of treachery are locked in its depths, but they find the river and manage to swim out to safety.
I must admit to enjoying the film version of the story more than that of the book. Haggard, was largely influenced by the Zulu war which had occurred in that part of South Africa a few years earlier in 1879. The people he described were related to the Zulu's and had the same military practices as those used by the Zulu people during their war with the English. These people were entirely fictional. The actual Watusi people used in the film were different in stature from the Zulu's who were a tall and muscular. The Watusi tended to be tall and slim
The Zulu War was an important part of the British experience in Southern Africa. Three major battles were fought, and the Zulu's armed just with spears won all three of them but with a terrible loss of life. There is a history of this war that came out in the 1965 which covers it in great detail. If you like history you may like this book, "The Washing of the Spears." It was written by Donald R. Morris who had a long career in the United State Navy and in intelligence operations. The books title of washing of the spears is meant their being blooded after use in a battle.
THE LADY IN THE LAKE - 1947
This story was one of Raymond Chandler's most well liked. In involved four murders three of which being committed by one person. The fourth was a subsequent murder of the protagonist of the first three murders. It involves Chandler's hard boiled detective, Philip Marlowe, being hired to locate the wife of an important publisher of crime novels. The story takes Marlowe up to a lake in the San Bernardino mountains where the Publisher has a mountain home. In checking out what might have happened there a body is discovered under a pier in the lake. This body turns out to the wife of a handyman who works at the site.
The wife Marlowe is searching for, Crystal Kingsley apparently ran off with a guy who has been courting her, a kind of low life womanizer named Chris Lavery. Marlowe visits him and is accosted by the police when a neighbor of the womanizer spots him hanging around. The local police don't much like private eyes such as Marlowe.
Later Chandler visits the womanizer's home again and discovers the owner of the rented house coming down the stairs with a gun in her hand which she says she found on the stairs. She's there because he's behind in his rent. Later Marlowe discovers the guy slumped dead in his shower from bullet wounds.
The case seems to be getting more and more involved in that Marlowe discovers that the wife of the doctor who lived across the street died a few months back of mysterious causes. No autopsy was ever done on her body. That's murder number three. Finally Marlowe comes back again and he meets the person who has done all three crimes. There, while they are talking he is sapped from behind. When he wakes up he finds that person dead and laying on the floor next to him.
Marlowe reviews the case and explains who did what and who they were. I'm not going to reveal it here, you'll either have to read the book or see the film.
When the film was made starring Robert Montgomery as Marlowe they used a different technique. In it the only time you saw Marlowe was when he was in front of or looking in a mirror. At all other times people talking to him in the film address the camera. This includes the couple of times he gets knocked out.
The story was changed so that emphasis was placed on other roles. Audrey Totter had the lead role and she played a person with very little action in the book, the secretary of the man who hired Marlowe, publisher Derace Kingsley. In the film she hires Marlowe without telling her boss. Initially Totter plays the role pretty smoothly, but eventually she seems to come over so broadly that you tend to laugh at her outbursts and become over her performance. Much better, at least to me, was Jayne Meadows who played the landlord of the murdered guy. Her performance was more in keeping with that of book.
If you have a choice, read this book and don't bother with the movie. Go the other route with King Solomon's Mines. The book ends up killing more native African people than you would think was possible. Besides, Deborah Kerr looks particularly young and beautiful in the trek after Solomon's riches. One other thought. Stewart Granger as Quatermain is far more concerned about the welfare of the native animals than the Quatermain of the book. The latter leads a shooting of several elephants just to secure their tusks, something the Quatermain of the film would never approve of.
Through the years Philip Marlowe was played by several different actors, most particularly by Humphrey Bogart who also played Sam Spade the other most famous private eye of this type. Dick Powell played Marlowe in one film, George Montgomery in another, and Elliot Gould had the role several years later. In addition James Garner and Robert Mitchum took a crack at the character. In some respects, Philip Marlowe is the closest modern day challenger to Sherlock Holmes.
In the case of Chandler's Lady in the Lake I saw the last 20 or 25 minutes of it on the tube and became confused as to what had happened. Consequently, I bought the book from my favorite book store, Powell's Books of Portland, Oregon and read it as well.
After I had read both of these books I re-watched video's of the two films. What interested me most is that neither film was much like the story they were based on. I'll discuss them separately.
KING SOLOMON'S MINE - 1950
In H. Ryder Haggard's original novel the story covered the trip of a party of three Englishmen and a native South African to an mysterious and unknown land in the heart of Africa where supposedly, Solomon had stored his treasure in a cavern. The men were led by a man named Allan Quatermain who was a well known African hunter in his early 50's. Their objective was to find the brother of one of the Quatermain's two companions. With much hazardous journeying they crossed through jungles and then a terrible desert to eventually climb a couple of peaks remarkably named the Sheba's Two Breasts which had snow at their summits. From there they descended and crossed a into a lush valley along an ancient road that led to a village or Krall.
At this point they learned that a Black African man who had joined their party was of royal blood. A tremendous battle between thousands of native men ensued where in their claimant to the throne's forces conduct a ferocious battle with the troops of his cousin who had usurped the throne. After this venture they were led to the cavern and discovered the huge fortune of mostly diamonds but also of gold and ivory that had been accumulated by Solomon. There through treachery they were trapped in the cavern but fortunately managed to find a way out along the course of a river that exited the cavern on the slopes of the mountain the cave was located in.
In 1950 a rousing beautifully shot color film was made of this story. This is generally acknowledged to be the best of the films made of Haggard's adventure novel. I remembered very little of the film except for the tall Watusi man who played the true king but most of all beautiful Deborah Kerr sitting next to a thundering waterfall looking as beautiful as she could look. The party included Quatermain, a handsome Stewart Granger, Richard Carlson playing the brother of the missing man and Kerr as a replacement for the novels third man. I discovered later that the waterfall that Kerr was sitting next to was the famous Murchinson Fall that exits Lake Victoria.
Again there was a desert, though the peaks known as the two breasts were not involved. And eventually the party arrived at the Krall where the usurper to the throne lived. Again there is a battle but in this case just the usurper and the rightful king fight, and of course the latter wins by throwing a spear into the body of his opponent. They are led to the mine and because of treachery are locked in its depths, but they find the river and manage to swim out to safety.
I must admit to enjoying the film version of the story more than that of the book. Haggard, was largely influenced by the Zulu war which had occurred in that part of South Africa a few years earlier in 1879. The people he described were related to the Zulu's and had the same military practices as those used by the Zulu people during their war with the English. These people were entirely fictional. The actual Watusi people used in the film were different in stature from the Zulu's who were a tall and muscular. The Watusi tended to be tall and slim
The Zulu War was an important part of the British experience in Southern Africa. Three major battles were fought, and the Zulu's armed just with spears won all three of them but with a terrible loss of life. There is a history of this war that came out in the 1965 which covers it in great detail. If you like history you may like this book, "The Washing of the Spears." It was written by Donald R. Morris who had a long career in the United State Navy and in intelligence operations. The books title of washing of the spears is meant their being blooded after use in a battle.
THE LADY IN THE LAKE - 1947
This story was one of Raymond Chandler's most well liked. In involved four murders three of which being committed by one person. The fourth was a subsequent murder of the protagonist of the first three murders. It involves Chandler's hard boiled detective, Philip Marlowe, being hired to locate the wife of an important publisher of crime novels. The story takes Marlowe up to a lake in the San Bernardino mountains where the Publisher has a mountain home. In checking out what might have happened there a body is discovered under a pier in the lake. This body turns out to the wife of a handyman who works at the site.
The wife Marlowe is searching for, Crystal Kingsley apparently ran off with a guy who has been courting her, a kind of low life womanizer named Chris Lavery. Marlowe visits him and is accosted by the police when a neighbor of the womanizer spots him hanging around. The local police don't much like private eyes such as Marlowe.
Later Chandler visits the womanizer's home again and discovers the owner of the rented house coming down the stairs with a gun in her hand which she says she found on the stairs. She's there because he's behind in his rent. Later Marlowe discovers the guy slumped dead in his shower from bullet wounds.
The case seems to be getting more and more involved in that Marlowe discovers that the wife of the doctor who lived across the street died a few months back of mysterious causes. No autopsy was ever done on her body. That's murder number three. Finally Marlowe comes back again and he meets the person who has done all three crimes. There, while they are talking he is sapped from behind. When he wakes up he finds that person dead and laying on the floor next to him.
Marlowe reviews the case and explains who did what and who they were. I'm not going to reveal it here, you'll either have to read the book or see the film.
When the film was made starring Robert Montgomery as Marlowe they used a different technique. In it the only time you saw Marlowe was when he was in front of or looking in a mirror. At all other times people talking to him in the film address the camera. This includes the couple of times he gets knocked out.
The story was changed so that emphasis was placed on other roles. Audrey Totter had the lead role and she played a person with very little action in the book, the secretary of the man who hired Marlowe, publisher Derace Kingsley. In the film she hires Marlowe without telling her boss. Initially Totter plays the role pretty smoothly, but eventually she seems to come over so broadly that you tend to laugh at her outbursts and become over her performance. Much better, at least to me, was Jayne Meadows who played the landlord of the murdered guy. Her performance was more in keeping with that of book.
If you have a choice, read this book and don't bother with the movie. Go the other route with King Solomon's Mines. The book ends up killing more native African people than you would think was possible. Besides, Deborah Kerr looks particularly young and beautiful in the trek after Solomon's riches. One other thought. Stewart Granger as Quatermain is far more concerned about the welfare of the native animals than the Quatermain of the book. The latter leads a shooting of several elephants just to secure their tusks, something the Quatermain of the film would never approve of.
Through the years Philip Marlowe was played by several different actors, most particularly by Humphrey Bogart who also played Sam Spade the other most famous private eye of this type. Dick Powell played Marlowe in one film, George Montgomery in another, and Elliot Gould had the role several years later. In addition James Garner and Robert Mitchum took a crack at the character. In some respects, Philip Marlowe is the closest modern day challenger to Sherlock Holmes.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Supporting Players
Back in the early days of talking pictures, those of the 30's, 40's and 50's supporting players were an important part of each picture. Supporting players were people that you might recognize but would be unlikely to remember their names. To a great extent they would be type cast. Particular directors or produceers would request certain people whenever they had a role of a certain type. However, this wasn't always true. Preston Sturges for example tended to use people outside their normally expected role. A really good example is Jack Norton who was noted through nearly 100 separate films for playing drunks. When Norton played a drunk there was no question as to what his problem was. A good example is the W.C. Fields film "The Bank Dick" where Norton playing a movie film director is completely pie eyed and stumbling along held up by two filming assistants. When Sturges used Norton in "Hail the Conquering Hero" he had him cast as a band director leading a marching band. Norton didn't have any screen credit for this role, and not everyone recognized him which would not have been the case if he had played his typical drunk. Incidentally his screen role title in The Bank Dick was A Pismo Clam.
Things have changed in recent years. The film "An Education," a well received film from 20o9, is an interesting example. It starred Casey Mulligan in the lead role along with Peter Sarsgaard, and Olivia Williams. There were several lead supporting players. Far down the list was Emma Thompson, who has played leads and directed and produced films very successfully for several years. Her work is widely known, but here she was a lower supporting player playing the role of an English girls school principal, with just three short scenes. Even more remarkable was Sally Hawkins who has played lead roles in several films including the recent fun film "Poppy." Her role consisted of about four lines of dialogue with not more than 25 words.
In the earlier days this just didn't happen. A lead actor might not play a supporing role of any type until they reached thesenior or near-senior age backet. Supporting roles were for extras, standins and the like. A real good example of this paradox is the well known but mostly under-appreciated Fanklin Pangborn. Pangborn played in nearly 100 films in his nearly 50 year film career. In most of these he is easily recognized as a rather prissy clerk at a counter or the like. He sported a very skinny moustache and looked about what he portrayed. A slightly different take on his role was in the Bing Crosby short film "Blues In the Night" which was released in 1933. Bing's singing by then was greatly appreciated. During this period he made six films for Matt Sennett that mainly consisted of shallow roles but lots of singing. Arguably the best of these was "Blues In the Night.' In this one Pangborn oddly enough played a film director in his prissy style. He drove a big contervible, perhaps a Deusenberg or some othe vehicle of that class. Twice he manages to fall into or be pushed into a swimming pool where several persons are gathered around. Among them was Toby Wing the very delectable teenager, she was 17 at the time, who most people remember only as Dick Powell's companion in the "Young and Helathy" number for the film "42nd street." Toby has no lines in this film which was typical of her fate. But she was easily remembered for sexy appearance in the 42nd Street number.
Things have changed in recent years. The film "An Education," a well received film from 20o9, is an interesting example. It starred Casey Mulligan in the lead role along with Peter Sarsgaard, and Olivia Williams. There were several lead supporting players. Far down the list was Emma Thompson, who has played leads and directed and produced films very successfully for several years. Her work is widely known, but here she was a lower supporting player playing the role of an English girls school principal, with just three short scenes. Even more remarkable was Sally Hawkins who has played lead roles in several films including the recent fun film "Poppy." Her role consisted of about four lines of dialogue with not more than 25 words.
In the earlier days this just didn't happen. A lead actor might not play a supporing role of any type until they reached thesenior or near-senior age backet. Supporting roles were for extras, standins and the like. A real good example of this paradox is the well known but mostly under-appreciated Fanklin Pangborn. Pangborn played in nearly 100 films in his nearly 50 year film career. In most of these he is easily recognized as a rather prissy clerk at a counter or the like. He sported a very skinny moustache and looked about what he portrayed. A slightly different take on his role was in the Bing Crosby short film "Blues In the Night" which was released in 1933. Bing's singing by then was greatly appreciated. During this period he made six films for Matt Sennett that mainly consisted of shallow roles but lots of singing. Arguably the best of these was "Blues In the Night.' In this one Pangborn oddly enough played a film director in his prissy style. He drove a big contervible, perhaps a Deusenberg or some othe vehicle of that class. Twice he manages to fall into or be pushed into a swimming pool where several persons are gathered around. Among them was Toby Wing the very delectable teenager, she was 17 at the time, who most people remember only as Dick Powell's companion in the "Young and Helathy" number for the film "42nd street." Toby has no lines in this film which was typical of her fate. But she was easily remembered for sexy appearance in the 42nd Street number.
An oddity of the "Blues in the Night" film is something that normally would happen on camera result in thescene having to be re-shot. Bing is talking to the films female lead Babe Kane near the pool. As they are talking you can see in the distant background a young woman running full out. She disappears in back of a car. You see her next at the swimming pool and you then recognize that it was the peroxide blond Wing.
Toby did have a line in one of Cary Grant's earlier but not particularly popular pictures. Grant plays a Parisian specialist at making women beautiful in face and figure. It's a very shallow role. Toby is one of the women who comes to him for help. She has a couple of lines of dialogue and takes off her dress and stands in her undergarments. Her beauty and lovely figure made her career advance as much as it did. Incidently in this role she is called Consuelo of Claghorne. Grant, the Parisian beauty expert is Dr. Maurice Lamar.
Pangborn made films forever. Some of his memorable roles were in Preston Sturgess films including "Hail the Conquering Hero" which we discussed above relative to Jack Norton, Pangborn played the organizer and director of the welcoming program for Eddie Bracken's faux hero. This is the same segment where Norton is scene as one of the band leaders.
Here is a short list of films where Pangborn plays in his typical humorous style. All of these are highly rated humor films. You can't go wrong if you make a point of viewing some of them: Sullivan's Travels - 1941, the most highly rated of Preston Sturgis films. The Bank Dick - 1940, where Pangborn plays a bank examiner whose last name is surprisingly,"Snoopington." My Man Godfrey - 1936, a classic screwball comedy starring the real experts in that type of role, William Powell and Carole Lombard. Palm Beach Story - 1942, another Preston Sturges classic starring Joel McCrea and Claudette Colbert, which also includes Jack Norton playing a member of the Ale and Quale club. Flying Down to Rio - 1933, the first pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Mr. Deeds Goes to town - 1936, with Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur. There are a number more where Pangborn contributes his particular expertese, but if you sample some of these you will get acquainted with the Franklin Pangborn style.
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