FREDRIC MARCH

[JackFavell]

Wow! That's amazing information, intothenitrate! Where did you read that, if I might ask? I am heavily into Wellman right now, and thought I might see if there is anything to read about him. I only know the most rudimentary things about him - he was a flyer, how he met his wife, etc.....I think his son wrote a book, didn't he? Isn't it interesting that what other people might hide and bury from their lives, Wellman put into a movie.....

[RedRiver]

Death of a Salesman (1951), which has been out of circulation for years

Has it ever! This movie has never crossed my path. There was a time I wasn't even sure there was a movie.

[charliechaplinfan]

I posted a link a while back but haven't got around to watching it yet. I'm looking forward to watching March's interpretation. In my eyes, he looks and has the feel of a Willy Loman, I have high hopes for it.

[intothenitrate]

Wow! That's amazing information, intothenitrate! Where did you read that, if I might ask? I am heavily into Wellman right now, and thought I might see if there is anything to read about him. I only know the most rudimentary things about him - he was a flyer, how he met his wife, etc.....I think his son wrote a book, didn't he? Isn't it interesting that what other people might hide and bury from their lives, Wellman put into a movie.....

That must have been from a documentary series called something like "Men who Made the Movies" that I recorded a while back. I think Sydney Pollack narrated it. There is a lot of footage of him being interviewed later in life. He's quite lucid, animated and charming. Maybe there's a little BS thrown in here and there, but who cares?

A lot of my recordings of Wellman's films come from a month when he was the featured director. Bill Jr. co-hosted with RO at the time. He shares a number of first hand recollections, but is also very well informed about his dad's career. I don't rememeber a book being mentioned, but if there is, it's likely to be very definitive.

I'd be very interested to know what things were like during those pre-code days at Warner. He was definitely in "the zone."

If you come across any nuggets in your quest, please post them!

[intothenitrate]

Wow! That's amazing information, intothenitrate! Where did you read that, if I might ask? I am heavily into Wellman right now, and thought I might see if there is anything to read about him. I only know the most rudimentary things about him - he was a flyer, how he met his wife, etc.....I think his son wrote a book, didn't he? Isn't it interesting that what other people might hide and bury from their lives, Wellman put into a movie.....

That must have been from a documentary series called something like "Men who Made the Movies" that I recorded a while back. I think Sydney Pollack narrated it. There is a lot of footage of him being interviewed later in life. He's quite lucid, animated and charming. Maybe there's a little BS thrown in here and there, but who cares?

A lot of my recordings of Wellman's films come from a month when he was the featured director. Bill Jr. co-hosted with RO at the time. He shares a number of first hand recollections, but is also very well informed about his dad's career. I don't remember a book being mentioned, but if there is, it's likely to be quite definitive.

I'd be very interested to know what things were like during those pre-code days at Warner. He was definitely in "the zone."

If you come across any nuggets in your quest, please post them!

[JackFavell]

I definitely will! Ive seen The Men Who Made the Movies, back when it came out and I was a young pup, and then recently I watched some of them, but I think I missed the Wellman one. I remember when Bill Jr. was on TCM, but I missed most of the interviews and intros for some reason. I'll definitely be on the lookout for info as well as movies.

[intothenitrate]

I hate to impose like this on Freddie's thread, but I heard a good Wellman story during the introduction to a silent film called The Boob directed by Wellman for MGM in 1926.

RO said that shortly after making that film, Wellman received a lucrative seven year contract at Paramount. He "quit" after only working there for two years, citing artistic differences. The real story, Osborne said, was that one day during production, he goosed an actress as she was walking by the camera. This startled her so that she knocked the camera over and it broke (a $ 25,000 loss). If that wasn't bad enough, Adolf Zukor happened to be giving a number of bankers a tour of the set at that moment, as part of a pitch to get them to strike some kind of refinancing deal.

I guess if we want to keep this up, we should probably start posting on the Wellman thread, but I couldn't wait to tell you about it.

[moirafinnie]

I love those Wellman stories! What a character.

Btw, there is an online event called Pre-Code March hosted by the blog, Sitting on a Backyard Fence that is also celebrating Freddy in his earliest years on screen when he played so many unbridled and youthfully rambunctious characters. You can see more here:
http://sittinonabackyardfence.com/2012/ ... o-to-hell/

[Lzcutter]

Jacks (and all other Wild Bill fans),

Wild Bill wrote an entertaining autobiography called Short Time for Insanity which, if you love Wild Bill is well worth reading. His son, Bill, has also written a book about his father and the making of Wings called The Man and His Wings. It, too, is well worth reading.

Wild Bill's Men Who Love the Movies airs periodically on TCM. I saw that series back in the early 1970s and of all the interviews, the one with Wild Bill caught my fancy the most and I started to try and find out more about him and his films. In that pre-home video era, finding his films wasn't as easy as it would become but thanks to Richard Schickel's series, I've been a Wild Bill fan ever since.

Hard to believe that was almost forty years ago.

[JackFavell]

Oh my gosh what a great story!

Thanks Lz, for the info on Wild Bill, I thought there were a couple of books, but I wasn't sure. I suppose I really should go find the Wellman thread now, instead of sidetrakcing this one.

And Moira, thats great news about the blog, I just happened to go there this very morning and looked around. I was very impressed by it, and absolutely loved the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde posters they have in the second article from the top.

[RedRiver]

Sitting on a Backyard Fence

I bet that title comes from the cute little Berkely number in FOOTLIGHT PARADE.

[intothenitrate]

I'm halfway through watching Anna Karenina (1935), which I haven't seen for a while. March's performance has me scratching my head. He can usually be counted on for a little sparkle, but so far, I'm not seeing it. I've heard the "garlic story" (how Garbo allegedly ate garlic to make herself unappealing during the love scenes). Has anyone heard anything else about the making this film that would explain such a subdued performance?

[feaito]

I saw the long anticipated "Trade Winds" (1938) and I must say that it disappointed me a bit. As everyone stated, it is a little bit of everything: romance, adventure, travelogue, comedy, crime, etc. March is very good as a shameless womanizer and has great chemistry with Joan Bennett, who looks fetching both as a blonde and a brunette. She went dark-haired obviously to cash in the Hedy Lamarr trend. Ann Sothern is wonderfully funny as the wisecracking secretary. Ralph Bellamy's nerdy character annoyed me at first, but in the end he won me; his interpretation seemed a little bit forced at the beginning but then I got used to it. The excessive use of background footage which looks obviously fake, also annoyed me. I read on March's book on his films that this movie was an excuse for using all the footage Garnett obtained in one of his trips. Fine film, but nothing special.

[CineMaven]

Sometimes you've just got to watch a film just to have it under your belt. Here is some of what I thought about it when I posted a brief ( haaaaaa, me brief ) review over at TCM-City:

TRADE WINDS (1938) - "You're not the girl I want. You're the girl I want too much." 

This movie was twisty turny. I couldn't quite get my footing with the comic moments blending with the drama. The tone kept me a bit off-balance. I really just wanted to cut away the fat and look at Bennett with Fredric March and their romance. She was luminous in love...then disillusioned...then accepting that she's in love even if it means going to prison just to spend time with March. Her reaction to the seeming betrayal of March was good; she was devastated being turned into the law, and now behind bars. You really just can't take your eyes off her... - May 12, 2011.

[feaito]

Thanks for posting it Theresa. Fred & Joanie's rapport is the best asset of this film. The print is pretty so-so too.