The King of Hollywood

Just finished reading the Warren Harris bio of Clark Gable, an American icon if ever there was one. I'm particularly drawn to those whose life and career stretch across several eras, and manage to not only survive, but retain their signficance and attraction to the movie going public. "The King of Hollywood" got his start in bit parts during the silent era of the mid '20s, became a genuine star at the start of the 'talking' era, and maintained his leading actor star status in films right into the Kennedy era.


Gable is probably best known for his role of Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind. Understandably so; MGM re-released it every ten years or so, making money for MGM during lean periods (both the studio's, and Gable's...and he had some lulls.)

Without rehashing his whole life (and it's definitely the most fascinating film star biography I've read), I'm struck by how impossible this guy is to pin down; he might be called a hero (he flew combat missions in WWII) but he was no saint, and the number of female companions he managed (besides his five wives) might be a three-digit number (if you include just the famous ones.)

Some items about the man which stick in my head upon finishing the book...

• His preoccupation with being 'manly'; he thought crying was for sissies, and you'll find next to none of it in any of his roles.
• He spent most of his life at MGM, helping to lead the 'king' of the early studios to prominence; he was rejected by rival Warner Brothers because studio head Darryl Zanuck thought his ears were too big.
• Women found him seemingly irresistable, even later in life when he was physically out of shape, and despite those ears.
• His co-stars included Clara Bow in the silent era, and Marilyn Monroe, in his last film, The Misfits, released in 1961. Other pairings included Joan Crawford, Jean Harlow, Lana Turner, Norma Shearer, Greta Garbo, Claudette Colbert, Myrna Loy, Sophia Loren and Ava Gardner. (Nothing like trying to replicate success...he was in 8 films with Crawford, 7 with Myrna Loy, 6 with Jean Harlow, and 4 with Lana Turner.)
• Though he is most often associated with MGM, he won his only Oscar when he was 'loaned' out against his will - a common practice during this 'studio' era' - to Columbia, where he won Best Actor for It Happened One Night in 1934. He was nominated for Mutiny On the Bounty (1935) and of course Gone With the Wind (1939) but fell short each time.
• His daughter Judy Lewis, did not know Gable was her father until after his death. Nor did she know that Loretta Young was her real mother, not her adopted mother.
• His second wife (and the one with whom he was most happy) Carole Lombard was proclaimed by FDR "the first woman to be killed in action in the defense of her country" in WWII; she died flying home from a tour to raise war bonds. Lombard's mother, a believer in numerology, begged her not to fly because she believed the number 16 was an omen of death, and that 3 was an unlucky number. The crash took place on January 16th, 1942, on a DC-3, on Flight No. 3, with a total party of 3 on board; and Lombard was 33 years old.
• Despite his lengthy career, Gable died at the relatively young age of 59. His last film, The Misfits was released on his 60th birthday. His only son, John Clark Gable, was born to his fifth wife Kay, four months after his death.
• During filming The Misfits, Gable would become so angry at waiting around for Marilyn Monroe, who was suffering from personal problems at the time, that he would 'do anything to keep himself occupied', including many of his own stunts in the movie; his wife Kay claimed that this was a contributing factor to his heart attacks and death soon after. When reporters asked Monroe if she felt guilty about Gable's death, 'it dawned on her, and she became deeply disturbed, wondering if she'd done it subconsciously to punish the absentee father whom she confused with Gable...After several frustrated attempts at suicide, she finally succeeded in the summer of 1962.'

Fascinating stuff. I'm looking forward to watching more of the King's movies with Joan.
Also wouldn't mind catching some of those classic Warner Bros. cartoons which lampooned the old-time Hollywood stars to perfection in the 40's, including Gable, ears and all.

Jim

Who is Greta Garbo?

Who is Greta Garbo?

Those words, uttered by magistrate Robert Norman Macleod in 1938 painted an intelligent, upstanding pillar of the community as an oddity. At that time, especially just after the triumph of Camille, Greta Garbo was the best known woman in the world. It would not be an overstatement to say that she was considered a goddess.

Jim and I have watched several Garbo movies. Some I've liked, some not as much, mostly because I couldn't be sure if she was overacting or her co-stars under acting. But this movie--Camille--makes it clear what all the fuss is about.

I can't say enough about how great she was in that movie. The other actors were good, believable...but Garbo. Amazing. I believe this was one of the top ten best performances I've enjoyed.

The Lady of the Camellias (La Dame aux camélias) began as a novel written by Alexandre Dumas in 1848 which was adapted for the theater in 1852. It was such a success that famed composer, Giuseppe Verdi wasted no time in setting it to music, coming away with the transcendental opera, La Traviata. According to Wikipedia, there have been 16 stage adaptations of Dumas' book, and about 20 screen versions.

After having watched Camille, with Greta Garbo, I'm quite satisfied that I've seen the best adaptation of the work.

In the film, it's never quite clear what Marguerite is suffering from, though her occasional coughing and shortness of breath suggests tuberculosis. The characterizations throughout the film are well done, beginning with gaudy Prudence, who played by Laura Hope Crews (Aunt Pittypat, Gone with the Wind), pushing for Marguerite to settle with the Baron de Varville so that all her bills will be paid. Obviously, the hard-drinking milliner has her own best interests at heart, but she pushes Marguerite into Box A so that she'll meet the Baron. It's occupied by a vapid courtesan called Olympe who has her own ideas for M. Le Baron.

Henry Daniel, who plays the middle-aged Baron, is perfect in his role. He shows just the right amount of arrogance and disdain, but somehow manages to elicit, if not sympathy, at least a bit of empathy.

Of course, there's Lionel Barrymore to take into account as well. He usually plays a bad guy, and we end up hating him this time, too. Even though his errand with Marguerite is heartfelt and in his son's best interest, his meddling is tragic, all the same.


I found this collage on a website called Tinypic.com and had to share--click here for more pictures

The film was rich in emotion from start to finish, even including Olympe, the shallow fair-weather friend who swears she has been visiting and looking after Marguerite as her illness worsens.

I won't give the film away, though there can't be too many people who don't know the barest story line. Even the King of Sweden felt that Garbo deserved more than an Academy Award nomination and conferred upon her the decoration of "Litteris et Artibus"--an ancient award given for exceptional Literary achievement.

In all my ravings about Garbo, I realize I haven't mentioned Robert Taylor at all. This was the first movie I've ever seen him in; in fact, I believe it was his first film ever. He was quite believable as the love-struck innocent,determined to sweet his lady off her feet and take her away from the tawdry life she'd led. He plays his part well, so offended by the slights against his love, completely ignorant of the importance of money and excess in Paris, and so sure that love would conquer all.

I read that Garbo kept her distance from Taylor during filming. She wanted to envision him as perfect, and had she gotten to know him, she might have liked him, but he'd have been human, flaws and all.

I wish I could offer up some visionary insight based on the film, the actors, the story. All I can say was it's a great move and you should see it.

Joan

To Oscar or not to Oscar?

Well, last night was Oscar night, wasn't it?

Isn't he pretty?


Not very many folks get to see this guy up close, although, judging by the length of the show and the number of those little statues handed out, it seemed like everyone and his poodle got an award.

Of course, the only movie I really recognized was Star Trek. A friend had it on DVD and loved how it provided insight to so many of the quirks and events of Gene Roddenberry's original characters and plot lines.

Otherwise, I was totally lost watching the very long show. Finally, I had to go to bed, though Jim let me know who won, later.

Frankly, my favorite nod to the Academy Awards happened earlier this year during TCM's 31 days of Oscar.

We saw some amazing movies, one right after the other. The Snake Pit, 1948,
with Olivia de Havilland stands out especially. She was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role, but didn't win. I was reluctant and uneasy about it. It sounded disturbing...but it pulled me in. I think Jim and I will watch that again so that we can talk about it fresh. Of course, we watched African Queen, 1951, a second time. I LOVE that movie! We saw All About Eve, 1950, too. I've become quite a fan of George Saunders after watching Children of the Damned--with commentary, no Oscar there, though, I'm afraid.

I don't know what we'll watch next, though I should warn you that, while looking for some inspiration on this month's AMC lineup, The Bride of Chucky (1998) was featured. Can it be considered a classic if it's less than 20 years old? As I intend to be fast asleep at 4:00 am, I guess I'll have to give that a miss, so I guess it doesn't matter.

Oh, well.

While we have plenty of fodder for blogging, I think it's only fair to view each movie right before we write in order to give each movie, and therefore you, our very best consideration.

We get a lot of our movies from the local library, but when times get tough, there's always Blockbuster, right?

If you call Old Blighty home, you don't even have to go outside to rent a movie...

Blockbuster UK

In fact, the US has a great deal going on right now:

BLOCKBUSTER Online® Gives You Movie Night, Any Night


nice, huh? You know what I'll be doing pretty soon.

Well, work beckons, so I'll be back as soon as I catch another movie.

Take care!

Joan

To Have and Have Not (continued)

No surprise, it's also one of the favorites on this end of 'Jimandjoan'. Well, we did watch it together. Again. And I enjoyed it as much this time around.

For me, this is as good as Casablanca, a film which preceded it by three years, and which it mirrors in many ways. I'm sure at some point we'll discuss that other great Bogart classic in detail. Oddly enough, it doesn't seem like a copy or remake in any way, which is all the more remarkable, considering all of the similarities. Among them: World-weary Bogart is introduced as spending most of his time in a bar (and friendly with the resident world-class piano playing crooner); only caring about himself at first, he gradually finds his way toward assisting others in fighting the Nazi-controlled French forces. And the quotes are just as good. (If you're even reading this blog, I'm sure there's no need to even restate Bacall's legendary 'whistle' quote.) The biggest difference? Bogey gets the girl in this one. (He gets her in real life, too!) But, if you've seen both movies, that's as it should be. Bacall's 'Slim' is Bogey's sassy match in every way. You don't question them winding up together. In Casablanca, we know Bergman already broke Bogey's heart once, and we don't mind the selfless choice he makes at the end. (Much more on that one in the future, most likely!)

As Joan pointed out, the movie plot deviates greatly from Hemingway's novel (one of my favorites). That Harry Morgan is also a down-on-his-luck fishing boat captain - 'in', not 'out of', Key West - and also involved with smuggling human cargo (here, from Cuba to Key West). But, although Bogart fits the literary character perfectly, in print he is not 'transformed' in any way; his tale is one of survival from beginning to end. He isn't going off with Lauren Bacall. In fact, he's going nowhere. And speaking of endings (and I find this fascinating); if you've read the novel, and have seen all or most of Bogart's classics, you should recognize the ending of Key Largo (the last of the Bogey-Bacall classics) as having been the true climax of Hemingway's To Have and Have Not! But again, more on that classic another time.

And the screenplay was actually co-written by a rival of Hemingway's, and one of the most respected authors of the 20th century in his own right, William Faulkner. (The 'whistle' line comes from Faulkner.)

I don't mind Joan's critiquing of the minor plot points...much. But since I brought it up... Why wouldn't Slim be 'domestic' enough to get some hot water? She stays in character while doing it, with her snippy one liners. And, we don't know her background. It was purposely left mysterious. At the police station, I don't think the police were concerned about her as much as Harry Morgan, whom they suspected of being contacted by the Free French. There's nothing that endangers my 'willing suspension of belief'. But then, Joan always paid attention to the little details. (Too much attention?) I might pay for this comment later...

Jim

Was you ever bit by a dead bee?

I thought this would be the best movie to kick off our Classic Movie Monoblogue.

What movie, you ask? No, you didn't ask that, because you LOVE old movies. (just play along if you don't recognize it, I'll cover for you)

To Have and Have Not, of course! Humphrey Bogart: confident, cocky, just the right side of rude... Lauren Bacall: elegant and sassy onscreen, the perfect mix of vulnerable and defiant. Now that was acting.

Obviously, I love that movie. In fact, I think it was one of the first movies we ever watched together...but maybe I just want to remember things that way.

Talk about an all-star cast! I didn't realize that Hoagy Carmichael was in it until Jim pointed it out to me. Walter Brennan as Eddie is amazing. I always laugh at his antics, even though it's obvious that Bogart can't decide whether to laugh or cry most of the time. Sheldon Leonard is always a treat for classic movie lovers like me. Oh, and we couldn't possibly forget the suitably sleazy Dan Seymour as Captain Renard. I always ask where I remember him from--every single movie. What's funny about that is that he plays a similar character in most of the Hemingway movies. But he does it so well that it's new to me each time.

Still, that's enough gushing. There are things to criticize. I pick at the details, to distraction, in fact. It's not that I can't willingly suspend belief. The problem is, some things just have to be said. It's not my fault!

Jim mentioned right away that the story deviates from Hemingway's masterpiece, but not in such a way that it took away from the film. I, on the other hand, couldn't help but notice that the police were oddly selective about whom they interviewed and what they asked. That' didn't take me out of the story, but still, they didn't even ask Slim for her money. And wasn't she a little quick--and out of character--to turn domestic suddenly after that impromptu surgery? Not to mention the surprise search of Bogie's hotel room. They just accepted that Slim was the only person hiding there?

Well, I won't go on, because although there were gaps in likely logic, (digging a bullet out of a guy's shoulder and putting him on a boat the next day?) it was a helluva movie either way. And I enjoy finding the plot holes, even the tiny ones...almost as much as Jim likes reciting the quotes.

But anyway, there's my opinion of the classic movie To Have and Have Not

It's a keeper!