Future Nominees for Summer Under the Stars

[moira finnie]

I know they had a Guy Kibbee lineup during the day in the last year, but it might be a good choice for next year. I like his cherubic foolishness, esp. in supporting roles, but find some of his starring movies don't always hold up too well and his more desperate attempts to breath life into scripts and roles was sometimes rather tiresome. The good thing is that he was teamed with Aline MacMahon ten times, so something good would come out of it for me. The biggest disappointment for me among his movies was Babbitt (1934), based Sinclair Lewis' tragi-comic novel. William Keighley directed and the barely over an hour movie lost all the pathos and yearning in Lewis' character.

One of his best, that I really got many chuckles from was the political tale, The Dark Horse (1932) directed by Alfred E. Green with a good, cynical script by Wilson Mizner. Green also got a touching performance from Kibbee in Union Depot (1932). You know, I think Guy Kibbee might be a pretty entertaining choice for SUTS after all. Please thank your daughter for her suggestion, Wen.

[jansullivanstravels]

Moira,

Did someone say COLIN CLIVE?!? I've been in love with the man since I was eight years old; I wrote about him and "Journey's End" on the TCM fan blog in case you'd like to have a peek:

http://fan.tcm.com/_Love-and-War-and-Ch ... 66470.html

And he really didn't have a tortured, narrow range; check out "Christopher Strong" or "The Key" or "The Woman I Love," or "Looking Forward," or "One More River," for instance. Or, if you dare, the godawful 1934 version of "Jane Eyre," in which he was quite charming in a dreadful film! And his stage work was even more diverse.

But you're right about him being a tortured soul in real life.

I would LOVE a Colin Clive Day!! Every year when they announce Summer Under the Stars, I hope he'll turn up... I've even got the movies picked out (not really that hard, as he made only 18 and one, "Lily Christine," is a lost film and another, "The Stronger Sex," only the BFI seems to have a copy of).

Journey's End
Frankenstein
Christopher Strong
The Right to Live
The Key
The Woman I Love
History Is Made at Night
The Bride of Frankenstein
Mad Love
Looking Forward
One More River

Had he lived, I think he could have played a lot of the roles Olivier did. I would love to have seen him as Maxim deWinter in "Rebecca."

[jansullivanstravels]

Considering the acronym TCM uses for Summer Under The Stars is SUTS, I guess it's fortunate they didn't call it Summer Languishing Under The Stars...

[JackFavell]

I think your assessment of Kibbee is right on target. So I was really surprised when Alice took a shine to him. I imagine what he COULD do and what he got to do were pretty far apart, acting wise. I love him in Union Depot, where he actually gets to play a real character with depth. I haven't seen The Dark Horse but will be looking for it now. I really don't understand why they made Babbitt, because they seem to have missed the entire point of the book. It's enjoyable as a small comedy thanks to the performances.....IF you haven't read the book.

[moira finnie]

Did someone say COLIN CLIVE?!? I've been in love with the man since I was eight years old

Great to see your beautifully expressed appreciation of CC, Jan. Journey's End really deserves more attention, as does your delightful blog, with many more intriguing posts found here. I am so glad you have posted here on the SSO too.

I can't say that the Frankenstein films made me see how good an actor Clive could be--though he was certainly convincing as a man in the grip of an overwhelming impulse. When I saw Journey's End two years ago for the first time, the impact on me was tremendous. I can't imagine it as an eight year old. I have been researching about him, the play and the film since then when I could. If I can ever finish my draft of a piece I've been "polishing" for far too long (trying to make it worthwhile reading), I'll share my impressions in full. It would be heartening to see him seriously considered as a SUTS next year.

[jansullivanstravels]

Dear Moira,

Thank you so much for your kind words about my reminiscences of Colin Clive! They really mean a lot to me. And oh boy, do I know what you mean by spending time "polishing" work!! I look forward to seeing yours about "Journey's End"!

I am hoping to get a good copy of the movie out there for the anniversary of WWI. It is kind of my mission. I've set up a website, where you can find out a little more about it. I will be posting articles about the movie, the various stage incarnations, Colin, James Whale and R.C. Sherriff. So far, I have posted the cr@ppy version of the movie, available on youtube, as well as the first part of my bio of Colin Clive. I'll be adding more stuff soon. It's here:

www.journeysendproject.com

Happy Journeys!! <3

Warmest wishes,

Janet

[moira finnie]

This is a great idea for a restoration project, Jan. Thanks for the link and for your efforts. I am not sure if it is possible to restore all films, but historically (beyond cinematic and theatrical history) the early talkie of Journey's End deserves to be preserved and cherished. When watching it, I always remember that many of the people involved in making it, had first hand memories of the war, which infused the R.C. Sherriff drama with much more meaning for them--and those of us who never knew them or their lives first hand.

Being a movie peasant, and having grown up watching scratchy prints of great stuff on broadcast tv, it is easy to forget technical issues with older films--esp. when the story and acting is engaging.

[RedRiver]

Yes, an adolescent who likes Guy Kibbee is something precious. I've enjoyed the work of this goofball for years, but I don't know if I've seen him in a starring role. That's kind of hard to picture!