Showing posts with label Powers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Powers. Show all posts
Friday, November 12, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)
Cyrano(José Ferrer), is a charismatic swordsman-poet with an enviable vocabulary at his feet. Though he can turn a pretty verse and heroically fight a hundred men at once, he can’t seem to win the love of a woman or more importantly, a certain woman, Roxane (Mala Powers). Cyrano blames this solely on his large proboscis, a sore point and cause of many a duel. Though he is hopelessly in love withRoxane, he chivalrously agrees to protect and encourage a love match between her and the man she does adore, Christian (William Prince). Unfortunately, Christian isn’t as pretty with words as he is with deeds and relies on Cyrano to help him woo Roxane. However, the innocent deception turns out to have tragic results.
This is a movie my father has been trying to get me to watch for years. Knowing my love for Steve Martin's version- Roxanne, he called me last week and demanded I watch Cyrano de Bergerac which was showing last Sunday on TCM.
Full of witty repartee with a Shakespearean twist, Cyrano de Bergerac is a cleverly done piece. José Ferrer, who won both an Oscar and a Tony (and was nominated for an Emmy- making him the first man to be nominated in all three categories) for his characterization of Cyrano, carried the entire film. Powers and Prince, indeed all the other characters in comparison fell quite flat, not so much due to their performances but because they did not have the wonderful lines or actions that make Cyrano stand apart, which is really the whole point.
Tonight on TCM!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Die! Die! My Darling! (1965)
Mrs. Trefoile (Tallulah Bankhead), is an aging religious fanatic who devotes her days to reading the Bible and mourning her son, Stephen, whom died in a crash and as later revealed, caused the crash on purpose. Trefoile companions are a sullen housekeeper, Anna (Yootha Joyce); Anna’s womanizing husband, Harry (Peter Vaughan); and a mentally challenged gardener, Joseph (Donald Sutherland). When Trefoile receives a visit from her dead son's former fiancée, Patricia Carroll (Stephanie Powers) she learns, to her horror that Patricia will not be “clean” enough to join her beloved son in the hereafter. With the help of Anna and Harry, who are companions against their will due to Trefoile threats to reveal a theft Harry committed over sixteen years ago, Trefoile locks Patricia up in the attic and prepares to "cleanse her soul". All of Patricia's efforts to escape are thwarted, even her attempt to lure Harry into releasing her through sexual favors, which ends up getting him killed by Trefoile in the basement of the house. Eventually, Patricia's fiancé, Alan Glentower (Maurice Kaufmann), becomes worried about her absence and comes after her. Despite Mrs. Trefoile telling him Patricia has already left, he discovers the truth in enough time to stop Trefoile from perform murdering Patricia. While Alan and Patricia escape, Anna discovers her husband's body in the basement and stabs Trefoile in the back. As she dies, she embraces her dead son's portrait and murmurs, "Stephen, they hurt me."
Her last leading role in a film, Tallulah Bankhead stands out in this film mostly due to her restrained performance, her complete refusal to be seen as another Bette Davis (Whatever Happen to Baby Jane?) or Joan Crawford (Straight Jacket) despite acting in a film that sought to cash in on just such movies and performances. Instead of being over-the-top, Bankhead resolves to have Trefoile unravel slowly as she peels away the layers that make up Patricia and realizes she does not like what she sees within- a reflection of herself. Die! Die! My Darling! had the ability to be much more psychologically thrilling had it been given the attention. Unfortunately it sought to be another camp classic complete with its glamour star cum horror queen so very popular in that era of horror films. There is a deep irony in her role as Mrs. Trefoile, a former actress turned religious fanatic- the polar opposite of Bankhead’s off screen persona- it lends more sadness than camp to the film. A horrid and depressing swan song for Bankhead as the film ends with her expiring amongst her photos, costumes, and sets of a bygone era. Tonight on TCM!
The Informer (1935) An Irish rebel turns in his best friend to earn passage money to America, then has to dodge the suspicions of his cohorts. Cast: Victor McLaglen, Heather Angel, Preston Foster, Margot Grahame Dir: John Ford
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Blake Edwards weekend...
I just couldn't seem to get off the couch on Saturday or get to the remote control in order to turn on the DVR and get to the ever-growing list of movies I have waiting there. Thus, I saw three movies I normally would not have watched and despite former misgivings, Glenn Ford may have finally won me over. The director of the day was Blake Edwards and the variety in which his work was displayed on TCM was wonderful. Below are the movies I watched and enjoyed.
Experiment in Terror (1962)
Kelly Sherwood (Lee Remick) a young bank teller is accosted in her garage by an unseen man(Ross Martin) who threatens to kill her and her teenage sister Toby (Stephanie Powers) if she does not steal $100,000 from the bank where she works. Despite being warned not to, Kelly contacts the FBI and agent John Ripley (Glenn Ford) who must protect Kelly and Toby while hunting down the psychopath with no leads to go on. Ripley working with a local police informant eventually identifies the man as Red Lynch (Ross Martin), a criminal who has already murdered twice before. On the day of the transaction Lynch kidnaps Toby to ensure that he'll get the money and leads Kelly on a wild goose chase to find him and hand it over. It all comes to a climatic and famous end after a Dodgers game at San Francisco Giant’s Candlestick Park.
Overall the film was good. I could have done without some of the more drawn out scenes, apparently a technique of Blake's to let the action play out. Everyone, especially Ross Martin puts on a terrific performance.
The Carey Treatment (1972)
The scene opens with Dr. Peter Carey, a pathologist (James Coburn) arriving for his first day at a Boston hospital where he has transferred. Within minutes he has won over the hospital's dietician Georgia Hightower (Jennifer O'Neill). A few days after his arrival, the daughter of the hospital's Chief of Staff dies after an illegal abortion goes wrong, and Carey's friend and colleague Dr. David Tao (James Hong)is accused of performing the abortion. Carey doesn't buy it and begins his own investigation, angering the girl's father in the process. In a series of unpredictable, and at times unbelievable tactics, Carey manages to find out who performed the abortion and how that related to the hospital's on-going investigation of stolen morphine.
Despite my laziness, I was immediately mesmerized by this movie. James Coburn oozes authority and sexuality that you just can peel your eyes away from. Though their relationship moves at the pace of a locomotive, you can understand why Georgia is so easily taken in by him. Besides the pace of their relationship, the only other issue I had with the movie was some of the tactics Carey used to get answers and how he put his job on hold while doing the investigating on a case the police and the hospital's Chief of Staff/father considered already solved.
Side note: Micheal Blodgett looks like he could be Robert Montgomery's son.
Victor Victoria (1982)
Set in 1930s Paris, Victoria (Julie Andrews) is a down on her luck opera singer in 1930's Paris. With the aid of a gay cabaret performer Toddy (Robert Preston), Victoria dons his ex's clothes and they pass her off as a female impersonator. A woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman. Perfect! Or it would be if Chicago "businessman" King Marchand (James Garner) didn't feel the need to investigate why he feels so attracted to "Victor" spurning his moll Norma Cassidy (Leslie Ann Warren). The revelation of Kings infatuation and his need to keep it a secret for Victoria's sake brings his body guard 'Squash' Bernstein (Alex Karras) out of the closet and allows for a little hilarity to ensue.
I'm not a great fan of Julie Andrews as I am not really a great fan of musicals. In fact, I can proudly say I have never seen Oklahoma. However, I did enjoy her performance although she did not come off masculine whatsoever. James Garner, who I find endearing and comedic did not disappoint and I think Leslie Ann Warren put on the best perfomance in the whole movie. A lot of tongue-in-cheek humor with a fantastic ending performed by Robert Preston.
Experiment in Terror (1962)
Kelly Sherwood (Lee Remick) a young bank teller is accosted in her garage by an unseen man(Ross Martin) who threatens to kill her and her teenage sister Toby (Stephanie Powers) if she does not steal $100,000 from the bank where she works. Despite being warned not to, Kelly contacts the FBI and agent John Ripley (Glenn Ford) who must protect Kelly and Toby while hunting down the psychopath with no leads to go on. Ripley working with a local police informant eventually identifies the man as Red Lynch (Ross Martin), a criminal who has already murdered twice before. On the day of the transaction Lynch kidnaps Toby to ensure that he'll get the money and leads Kelly on a wild goose chase to find him and hand it over. It all comes to a climatic and famous end after a Dodgers game at San Francisco Giant’s Candlestick Park.
Overall the film was good. I could have done without some of the more drawn out scenes, apparently a technique of Blake's to let the action play out. Everyone, especially Ross Martin puts on a terrific performance.
The Carey Treatment (1972)
The scene opens with Dr. Peter Carey, a pathologist (James Coburn) arriving for his first day at a Boston hospital where he has transferred. Within minutes he has won over the hospital's dietician Georgia Hightower (Jennifer O'Neill). A few days after his arrival, the daughter of the hospital's Chief of Staff dies after an illegal abortion goes wrong, and Carey's friend and colleague Dr. David Tao (James Hong)is accused of performing the abortion. Carey doesn't buy it and begins his own investigation, angering the girl's father in the process. In a series of unpredictable, and at times unbelievable tactics, Carey manages to find out who performed the abortion and how that related to the hospital's on-going investigation of stolen morphine.
Despite my laziness, I was immediately mesmerized by this movie. James Coburn oozes authority and sexuality that you just can peel your eyes away from. Though their relationship moves at the pace of a locomotive, you can understand why Georgia is so easily taken in by him. Besides the pace of their relationship, the only other issue I had with the movie was some of the tactics Carey used to get answers and how he put his job on hold while doing the investigating on a case the police and the hospital's Chief of Staff/father considered already solved.
Side note: Micheal Blodgett looks like he could be Robert Montgomery's son.
Victor Victoria (1982)
Set in 1930s Paris, Victoria (Julie Andrews) is a down on her luck opera singer in 1930's Paris. With the aid of a gay cabaret performer Toddy (Robert Preston), Victoria dons his ex's clothes and they pass her off as a female impersonator. A woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman. Perfect! Or it would be if Chicago "businessman" King Marchand (James Garner) didn't feel the need to investigate why he feels so attracted to "Victor" spurning his moll Norma Cassidy (Leslie Ann Warren). The revelation of Kings infatuation and his need to keep it a secret for Victoria's sake brings his body guard 'Squash' Bernstein (Alex Karras) out of the closet and allows for a little hilarity to ensue.
I'm not a great fan of Julie Andrews as I am not really a great fan of musicals. In fact, I can proudly say I have never seen Oklahoma. However, I did enjoy her performance although she did not come off masculine whatsoever. James Garner, who I find endearing and comedic did not disappoint and I think Leslie Ann Warren put on the best perfomance in the whole movie. A lot of tongue-in-cheek humor with a fantastic ending performed by Robert Preston.
Tonight on TCM!
Ernst Lubitsch!
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