CLAUDETTE COLBERT

Discussion of the actors, directors and film-makers who 'made it all happen'
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Lomm
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Re: CLAUDETTE COLBERT

Post by Lomm »

RedRiver wrote:One thing I appreciated about it was how quickly we got to the crux of the story. It's probably not three minutes in and they are already on the escape from the ship.

How I miss that technique. Why should it be 15 minutes before we begin to give a ****?
15 minutes? I'd be happy to wait only that long. It seems like most bigger movies today take the first hour to set everything up. By the time we have scenes, say, with Spider-Man on screen, or dinosaurs wreaking havoc, it's half over!

Back on topic, I forgot that I actually own Four Frightened People in the DeMille box set I picked up recently! :lol: I need to watch it again.
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moira finnie
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Re: CLAUDETTE COLBERT

Post by moira finnie »

Chris Red, & Lomm:
I agree about the rapidity of the way that older films often get into the meat of a story. Nowadays, it seems as though most modern films are bogged down by their special effects and huge budgets, *sigh*

Fernando:
Thanks for the endorsement of 4 Frightened People. I know that you and I have similar tastes in comedies, so I will try to see this one soon.

Larry:
It's so nice to know I am not alone in The Herbert Marshall Fan Club!

Loved him in the films you mentioned as well as the lighter touch he displayed in Trouble in Paradise (1932) and The Good Fairy (1935). Dramatically, I always felt that his characters were the emotional touchstone of the romantically charged stories in The Dark Angel (1935), The Enchanted Cottage (1945) and The Secret Garden (1949) even though he was not the central character.

I won't mention them by name to help others discover these surprising portrayals for themselves, but I also like Marshall's baddies, in part because the actor infused each of them with a suavity that hints at unexpressed emotion rooted in his characters' self-loathing.

And, besides, who else could have played W. Somerset Maugham on film seemingly better than the real author in The Moon and Sixpence (1942) & The Razor's Edge (1946)??
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Re: CLAUDETTE COLBERT

Post by RedRiver »

A friend of mine has a p.h.d in English. He taught at a university. He said once that movies are better than they used to be. I said, "In what way?" Well, the dialogue is realistic; not artificial. "You mean...dramatic?" The technology is better. "So, by this logic, the novels of 200 years ago are not good because people don't say, DUDE?" No. He respects books. He's a book person. Some people just don't get movies.

I have young Facebook friends who are arguing about which of these is THE GREATEST movie of all time. ALIEN or BLADE RUNNER. Ok, be serious! Those are good movies. Maybe even great, though I wouldn't go that far. They are not among the very best movies of all time. That's simply ridiculous!
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