Posted on 04/20/2010 4:25:51 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
True then, maybe. Is it still the case?
I always thought Merle Oberon was easy on the eyes. The photo in this review doesn’t do her justice. And not just because she has a big black slash on her forehead.
What’s fascinating are the ads for live plays in these pages. The stars who were onstage - including the Tin Man and Cowardly Lion!
I see John Barrymore listed in one...I always loved the Barrymore’s...from Ethel to John to Lionel. I even like Drew although she is no where near John who I think after Ethel was the best of the bunch.
I like those too. I saw Jack Haley right off, in "Higher and Higher." The Cowardly Lion eluded me for a while until I spotted him in "Du Barry Was a Lady," with Betty Grable (Soon to be pinned to the walls of tents all over the world.)
The traffic on the path from Broadway to Hollywood was heavy back then. John Garfield, in "Heavenly Express." Monty Woolley will transfer "The Man Who Came to Dinner" directly to the screen before long. Didn't Will Geer upgrade from "Tobacco Road" to Walton's Mountain decades later? Ricky Ricardo in (naturally) "Too Many Girls." And how about Burgess Meredith, Ingrid Bergman and Elia Kazan in some furrin film?
I should have said, some furrin play.
THAT’S A HUGH MISTEAK!
Of course my favorite Oberon movies are “Withering Heights” and “The Scarlet Pumpernickle”.
I've unfortunately never lived in any location where theaters of this sort were available, much to my sorrow. In fact, how many are left at all today.....and how many folks are left who'd even want to see such cinematically-historic pieces?
I'd love to watch the work of the famous foreign stars (and directors) of the twenties and thirties. They seemed to have a depth, exoticism and charisma we seldom see today. The current American crop of bland "Reese Witherspoons" and "Tom Cruises" just don't cut the mustard for me.
Alas, running down to a local art theater on a Saturday night to watch a foreign film doesn't appear to be in the cards for us now or in the future.
Leni
Seventy years later, there's about 1000 x that "vast history" (at least). But it is still true that remakes almost never match the original. 'Man On Fire' is one recent exception, and there are others. John Carpenter's, 'The Thing' and Warren Beatty's, 'Heaven Can Wait' were improvements.
I agree with you. Today, too many movies rely upon computer graphics, and very few movies provide character and plot development. As a result, we just have a bunch of cookie-cutter pretty faces with no substance. I cannot think of one really “great” actor or actress who is making movies today. And yes, that includes Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. I think they are mediocre; in 1955 they would only have earned 3rd billing or would have made the cheapies.
Actors and actresses who had to work their way up through Broadway before getting on the big screen were much better prepared to practice their art. They were able to refine their talents in front of live audiences, and got the invaluable feedback of what worked for them, and what did not. You cannot teach people how to act. It’s a gift, and has to be developed through practice. I don’t think the cold set of a movie shot can refine that talent. And they need to continuously go back to Broadway for “refresher” courses.
Paul Newman was the “last great actor.” He could make a one-word line memorable. He even made low-budget “B” movies like “Slap Shot” into screen classics.
“Scouts?”
Oh, I don’t know. I loved her in “50 First Dates”. I told my wife that if she had that malady then I wouldn’t mind going to bed angry. Unfortunately, she remembers I said that.
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