The Actors' Canon - A Game!

Boy With A Problem · Post by **Boy With A Problem** » Mon Nov 03, 2003 7:15 pm

bobster -

We watched A Place In The Sun Saturday night on dvd. My wife had never seen it and wasn't at all familiar with Montgomery Clift (her tastes running more towards movies like Encino Man and Deuce Bigelow). She said he was the most handsome man she had ever seen. Anyway, did George Stevens appear on any of the director's threads? He made some great ones - Gunga Din, A Place In The Sun, Shane, Giant, and The Diary of Anne Frank (another great Shelley Winter performance.)?

She's scared of Bette Davis, but I'm going to make her watch All About Eve next week.

bobster · Post by **bobster** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 12:53 am

I don't half blame her! It's those Bette Davis eyes! But seriously, avoid at all costs "Another Part of the Forest" the movie where she actually says "What...a...dump!" "All About Eve", though, is great stuff. She was in a lot of very cool little movies around that time too, but that's still the best....When I grow up, I wanna be an evil critic, just like George Sanders and hang around with Marilyn Monroe and Anne Sheridan!

Re: George Stevens. I'm in the midst of a re-evaluation of him. "Shane" doesn't do much for me, and "Adam's Rib" moves at bit slow for me,though I still like it. I love parts of "Gunga Din" a lot, but I'm not sure I like as much as lots of people do. I had always sort of dismissed him until I recently. I'd always avoided "Giant" because I'm not crazy about Rock Hudson and I have to be sort of dragged into soapy melodrama, though I often end up digging it.

But thent, I saw this semi-obscure musical comedy he directed called "Damsel in Distress" with Fred Astaire, Joan Fontaine and Burns & Allen and cowritten by P.G. Wodehouse. It was really wonderful and had some pretty amazing musical sequences, including one in a fun house that really blew my mind. Then, I finally saw the DVD of "A Place in the Sun" for the very first time. It simply hadn't really interested me that much before, since I tend to lean towards comedic or genre material, but I knew it was a big hole in my viewing. I've got to agree with M. Scorsese and everyone else now, an absolute masterpiece.

Haven't seen his version of "Anne Frank" (bad Jew! bad Jew!...even worse, I haven't read it!).

bobster · Post by **bobster** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 1:07 am

Speaking of musicals....(and returning to format)

Fred Astaire -- it's rare that you can name someone the absolute "best" at anything and be secure about it. But I've never seen a better dancer. Ever. I think even the ballet people agree on this. Besides that, a wonderful, highly underrated actor and yes, singer, too.

The Bandwagon
Swing Time
Damsel in Distress
Top Hat
The Gay Divorcee

Ann Miller -- what legs! And those adorable chipmunk cheeks!

On the Town
Kiss Me Kate
Easter Parade
Reveille with Beverly (too long a story to even describe how/why I saw this "programmer" when I was a kid...)
Mulholland Drive

bobster · Post by **bobster** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 1:23 am

Boy With A Problem wrote:bobster -

We watched A Place In The Sun Saturday night on dvd. My wife had never seen it and wasn't at all familiar with Montgomery Clift (her tastes running more towards movies like Encino Man and Deuce Bigelow)

And, in aid of BWAP's wife's cinematic education, here's five from Monty Clift (not sure if he's been "done" yet, but what the hell...). BTW, BWAP -- you'll have to warn her about the way Monty's looks changed later on...you could ease into the subject by playing The Clash's "The Right Profile"

Anyhow, for my money Clift was, by far, the best of the of the sort of "method" young leading men of the early fifties, better than Dean and (I speak sacrilege now) way better than the talented but somewhat overrated showboat Marlon Brando. There I said it, and I'm glad. Anyhow, here's my favorites of his, performance wise...

Red River
A Place in the Sun
I Confess
The Misfits
Judgement at Nuremburg

pip_52 · Post by **pip_52** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 2:01 am

Ooh, Judgement At Nuremberg . . . that was a great movie.

Something about Montgomery Clift must be very educational, because I was forced to watch A Place in the Sun in high school and Judgement At Nuremberg in college (twice!). I didnt mind too much.

El Vez · Post by **El Vez** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 9:29 am

Wild River and The Search are another couple of Monty films well worth catching.

bobster · Post by **bobster** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 3:17 pm

Noted!