One of my favorite Movies starring a very popular actor. It involves him as a Gunboat engineer in China. In fact this movie exemplifies perfectly what Our Country is now dealing with.
Are you referring to the Sand Pebbles? I really liked Steve McQueen; we don't have alpha male actors anymore - can you think of any?
Yes,One of my favorite McQueen movies.Plus one of the least mentioned.Along with - Nevada Smith - { 1966 } McQueen had a theory regarding acting.That the fewer words an actor uses,the more they meant or had a bigger impact. I tend to agree.Really verbose or wordy actors can be unsettling, if not downright boring. Name for us a Wordy actor. Or actress. How about Barbara Stanwyck. Who I didn't appreciate until I was more studied about Film. She was the highest paid actress in the '40's.
Probably because they was No " Greatest Generation " of Golden Age actors to build character.I like Kurt Russell. And Nick Nolte.No longer like or care for Robert DeNiro. Robert Downing Jr. is talented. But no more McQueens or Newmans, or even Bruce Derns. Forget about those like Jack lemmon or Walter Mathau. I guess the last rock standing is probably Clint Eastwood. But his early movies kinda sucked { Spaghetti Westerns }. Liked his detective movies { Dirty Harry }. Jon Voight is still active and doesn't seem to age. Tom Hanks is very overatted.I predicted his greatness after - Joe Versus the Volcano - He had a certain quality. Christopher Plummer did a really good movie : - Remember - { 2015 } which I highly recommend. I also like Geoffrey Rush { Shine } who did - The Best Offer - { 2013 } and absolute Must See.His - Les Miserables - { 1998 } as the French authority Javert was very good.
Rosalind Russell was wordy - maybe that was just the snappy repartee style of the era. His Girl Friday with another great heart-throb.
Yes by all means ... Miss Mame.I always liked her due primarily to her Spunk.She had both tenacity & verve.Plus she was both dramatic as well funny.Like Eve Arden. I think early Angela Lansbury was kinda wordy.She really capitalized on it with her immensely popular ... - Murder,She Wrote -. I ordered a copy of - All Fall Down - {1962} which was a somewhat banned and risqué movie in the tradition of - Baby Doll - { 1954 }. Warren Beatty as Berry-Berry in - All Fall Down - is true to type because in real life he was an aggressive womanizer.In fact,notoriously so in the realms of Hollywood and their gossip mill. I was disappointed in the movie because it kinda started out with a bang and slowly devolved into ho-hum,so what. Which is surprising considering William Inge is a fantastic writer and John Frankenheimer,one of the best ever Directors. Lansbury was constantly doting over grown spoiled brat son Berry-Berry as if a model student looking to attend Ivy League. When in reality Berry-Berry was a loafer and Gigolo looking to fleece the right woman ... Or chick ... whichever came first. I don't wanna recommend - Seconds - { 1966 } because I refuse to get a copy it is that disturbing.The score is THE Most terrifying in movie history.I could have a nightmare with that creepy score alone. The movie has surreal Salvadore Dali like scenes { camera work made to seem like one is dreaming or going under }. It stars Rock Hudson.It doesn't have a funnybone scene in it's entirety.The ending is literally To Die For. The Movie is just plausible enough to make for a nightmare of reality and terrifying look at coulda,woulda,shoulda. Will Greer { The Waltons } is nothing short of magnifique.
- The Sand Pebbles - was long enough and important enough to have an Intermission.I like Long movies,as long as they are good.Very many aren't. The next really good actor question is this : Why and what made actor Steve McQueen so popular,even beloved. Sure he was among the coolest actors ever.But that had nothing to do with Long hair or facial hair.McQueen kept his hair cropped and short. No beard or moustache.McQueen also didn't parade around any Tattoos. Or was a Braggart.Or was some loudmouth like Oliver Reed who died on account he literally drank himself to death.When McQueen went to visit Reed in Britain in the *{60's ?} ,he had to deal with just that.Reed being the big loudmouth boozer.Before they even got to go out Partying,Reed managed to throw-up all over McQueen.Right on his shoes.Because Reed was a serious boozer and had to show off. McQueen didn't cotton showoffs.And especially loudmouth braggarts. That was his Coolness.He was handsome in a boyish way.Almost quiet in conversation.But he had that unique way of cutting thru the malarkey of showoffs.His coolness was unique and very effective.Be honest and not a braggart or loudmouth showoff.Kept to your word and try to do right by others.Don't look for bullies but don't run from them either. Billie Graham was the one McQueen asked go with him in his beat-up pickup truck to Mexico for a special operation to rid his cancer.McQueen ended up having Mesothelioma.Which there was not much known about at the time,let alone a diagnosis. McQueen got it from Racing cars.He would wrap an asbestos cloth across his crash helmut to reduce the race car octane fumes. Ironic.Because Irony is part of life.Steve McQueen was a car thief as a juvenile gang member and grew into an Hollywood Icon only to pass early due to Car { Race car Fumes and asbestos cloths }. Nevertheless ... No one gets out of life alive. * or the early 1970's.
Foolardi - just watched "Bells are Ringing" with Judy Holliday and Dean Martin. What a wonderful time capsule: landlines with no voicemail, switchboards, rolling typewriter stands and carbon paper. Very entertaining.
Early on when I was developing skill at being a Movie Buff I couldn't understand the quality or skill in acting that Judy Holiday possessed. I think it was my admiration for Jack Lemmon { one of my favorite actors } when he talked of Judy Holiday.He thought the world of her. So from that point on,whenever I watched one of her movies { usually offbeat light comedy } I payed closer attention. And sure enough she was special.Her timing and the way she could upstage even the biggest actors in Hollywood.She had a certain way. Even though her voice was kind of Queensish squeaky. Far from being her typecast " dumb blond " she had an I.Q. of 172. She won a Tony Award in 1957 for her Broadway performance as a Musical in - Bells Are Ringing -. She became associated with her unique comedic style and dizzy blond voice inflection. She began her association with the theatre as a backstage switchboard operator for Orson Welles's Mercury Theatre.Around that time she formed a Cabaret group { The Revuers } which led to her early minor roles in 3 Hollywood Films. I like those movies she did with certain leading men. Like - The Solid Gold Cadillac - { 1956 } because I like Paul Douglas. Also - It Should Happen to You { 1954 } because of Jack Lemmon. I like - Born Yesterday - { 1950 } her Academy Award performance entirely because of William Holden. Broderick Crawford bores me. I think in real life he was a loudmouth bully.I remember reading how he and Lon Chaney Jr. used to drink heavily in their trailers and once almost got arrested for a huge brawl that ensued. They were both in real life more like punch drunk sailors. Which is alright by me.But C'mon... have a little class. Miss Holiday was very classy in most every role. I also like a movie she did with Aldo Ray - The Marrying Kind - { 1952 } because it was down to earth.Most Movies Judy Holiday did were a showcase for wardrobes.
Judy is completely under rated. I first became a fan for Born Yesterday. I liked Holden, but Judy had a kind of vulnerability that came through in the roll. In Bells Are Ringing I was surprised, however, that she could do accents as well as she did. I though her dialect in Born Yesterday was her natural way of speech - she did it so well. And she has a good singing voice. I suspected Marni Nixon voice overs, but no; it was Judy's own voice.
The sad part is ... she died way too young.And her kind of films are seldom put on Video.Much less played on Movie channels. AMC and even TCM { Turner Classic Movies } used to have movie star months and Birthday movies of stars.I kinda gave up on AMC once they broke their pledge to never air commercials.That was well over 10 years ago. Robert Osbourne { TCM } and Host of - The Essentials - fell ill and eventually passed { in March,2017 }. But fear not ... Alec Baldwin to the rescue as Host ... Drat ... double drat drat !! I got a kick out of Drew Barrymore and Osbourne talking movies. Not so much Sally Field.Rose McGowan was kind of interesting. Sally Field,not so much. Carrie Fischer { never a fan because I never watched - Star Wars - } was knowledgable.Her mom was a Great Star. I wonder if snotrag actor Alec Baldwin with ever have The Good Baldwin on - The Essentials -. That being Stephen Baldwin. - Crossing the Bridge - { 1992 } is a fantastic movie.
I loved Robert Osborne, and I was fine with the actors who seemed to have insider knowledge. I don't like the young woman who currently hosts. She doesn't bring much knowledge to her introductions, but mainly it's her mush-mouth way of speaking. Enunciation! Diction! Is it a lost art?
Robert Osborne was very knowledgable and also quite the gentleman.AMC had Bob Dorian and then Nick Clooney.Both very good Film Afficianado.I don't mind Ben Mankiewicz except he's not a commentator but actually a full-blooded Trotskyite at The Young Turks.Which translates very easily.,He lives to mock, denigrate and besmirch Patriots and especially Conservatives. Which means if he ever dared come up against a guy like Adolphe Menjou he'd probably walk away with the sniffles. Menjou was a committed ultra right-winger.Wouldn't tolerate the commie talk of those like The Young Turks. I doubt any of these Great Golden Age Republicans would sit idly by and have Little Ben,the Young Turk look down on their politics. Take your pick. Jimmy Stewart John Wayne Bob Hope Charlton Heston Gary Cooper Cary Grant Dennis Hopper { yes,even Mr.Easy Rider } Mickey Rooney Gene Autry and many many more.
Something about the newly named White House Communications Director made me think of this movie: Anyone know the name? P.S. Best fencing ever between Stewart Granger and Mel Ferrar.
Mel Ferrer was one of those actors who played strong but forgettable roles.He was married to the saintly Audrey Hepburn and had a son with her { Sean Ferrer } as her first hubby.He helped produce a classic thriller and a must-see movie - Wait Until Dark - with one of Richard Crennas best performances. The movie you are seeking is : - Scaramouche - { 1952 } a costume affair. A movie that did absolutely nothing for the careers of Janet Leigh and Eleanor Parker { a favorite of mine }. Mel Ferrer had a gentleman's demeanor and distinct quality to his voice.Probably best remembered for - War and Peace - { 1956 } and possibly - Rancho Notorious - { 1952 } with Marlene Dietrich, the absolute Queen of Femme Fatale.