Tyrone Power

Discussion of the actors, directors and film-makers who 'made it all happen'
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pvitari
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Tyrone Power

Post by pvitari »

Is there really not a thread for one of 20th Century-Fox's greatest leading men, Tyrone Power? Couldn't find one.

Anyone, I promised I'd spread the news that there is a new Facebook page for him at https://www.facebook.com/groups/467466409968746/

So please come join the fun there. And post here too if you want. ;)
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mrsl
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Re: Tyrone Power

Post by mrsl »

.
Pvitari:

Tyrone was one of the few actors who worked almost exclusively for 20th Century and until recently, TCM did not have access to their films. Because of this, many of us are not very knowledgeable about 20th Century actors as we are about MGM and RKO, etc. When I first started posting on the old TCM boards, I wondered why nobody ever talked about Tyrone, and finally realized the reason - we're just not that familiar with him. I do like him a lot and always thought him the handsomest actor of the 40's and 50's. My favorite role of his was The Eddie Duchin Story, and The Long Gray Line runs a close second.
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Anne


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pvitari
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Re: Tyrone Power

Post by pvitari »

Anne, although many of Ty's films did not show on TCM, Fox has released lots of them on VHS tape and then DVD so they've been easily available for purchase or rental viewing for about three decades now. In fact, some of the titles released on VHS have not made it to DVD yet! ;) And of course they show up on the Fox Movie Channel too.

The Eddie Duchin Story -- which was released by Columbia, not Fox -- is a terrific film and Power's finger-synching (or whatever you want to call it) is just breathtaking. Unfortunately the DVD that is available is not the best looking (though it is widescreen at least) -- I keep praying for newly remastered Blu-ray.

For those of you not familiar with Tyrone Power, I really urge you to watch his films. He was a physically beautiful man, but he took his acting VERY SERIOUSLY and threw himself as much into his roles as any Actor with a Capital A. Even in the lightest of musicals he was always the picture of grace, charm and flair, something he worked hard to accomplish and make it appear to be effortless. Watch one of those -- and then watch his dream project, the very dark noir Nightmare Alley, where his slicker qualities are put to terrific use as a grifter but once he falls, he will haunt you. Then go back and watch his Mark of Zorro, where he seemingly effortlessly plays one character with three different faces -- his foppish Don Diego, his heroic Zorro, and his real self, the kind and loving son. (Basil Rathbone, one of Hollywood's finest swordsman, makes for a dandy villain). It's an astonishing performance but one that may not be appreciated at first as some may just think it another swashbuckler, and since Rathbone is such a devilishly delightful scene stealer.

I also love his audio recording of Byron's poetry.

Check out the little boy in this screencap from Where Are My Children? (1916) :)

Image
Western Guy
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Re: Tyrone Power

Post by Western Guy »

Ty Power was a wonderful actor - indeed, perhaps underrated because of his physical beauty. But watch him in films such as JOHNNY APOLLO or ABANDON SHIP (of course WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION) and you see an actor of depth. My very good friend Steve Hayes knew Tyrone quite well and said that he was one of the kindest, most decent men he ever knew: considerate to everyone (much like Steve's other pal Alan Ladd). Don't want to make a commercial here, but Steve is the author of two books on Googie's "Coffee Shop to the Stars" (where he both worked and managed during his struggling acting days) and he gives great insight into personalities of the era. Guys like James Dean, Steve McQueen, etc.
Maricatrin
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Re: Tyrone Power

Post by Maricatrin »

pvitari wrote: I also love his audio recording of Byron's poetry.
Thank you for mentioning them Paula, I hadn't been aware of their existence, but they are excellent! Right now I'm listening to 'There Was a Sound of Revelry By Night.

http://www.myspace.com/tyronepowermusic ... n-11099771

He was an amazingly handsome man, and as such didn't get proper recognition for his acting talent.

To me, Guy Williams is the definitive Zorro, but Tyrone Power is a close second. A personal favorite Tyrone Power film is The Luck of the Irish (1948) , a charming comedy/romance/fantasy.
https://www.youtube.com/c/MaricatrinsMusicVideos
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charliechaplinfan
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Re: Tyrone Power

Post by charliechaplinfan »

Theresa where are you? A Tyrone Power thread and you haven't been here yet, his biggest fan.

I am very late coming to Tyrone Power and still haven't watched a great deal of his work. What I have watched makes it evident that Fox didn't want to stretch his talent as much as Tyrone wanted. The films he actually wanted to do and got to make are the work of a consummate actor, Witness for the Prosecution is my favourite. I like him, I see his physical beauty but he's almost too beautiful and that's probably what trapped him in certain roles.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
feaito

Re: Tyrone Power

Post by feaito »

Since Tyrone Power (along with Charlton Heston) is my mother's favorite star (she thinks they both were the handsomest men in pictures) I have been familiar with him since childhood. In fact I think he's one of the actors of whom I have watched more films in which he appeared in my life.

I'm very fond of the films he made and appreciate his acting talent; luckily enough I have been able to buy a lot of his films released by FOX, some by Columbia (and one by MGM) on DVD, plus two Collections (Matinée Idol and Adventure films). Through the Matinée Idol Collection I became familiar with his skill at comedy in films opposite Loretta Young and Linda Darnell ("Café Metropole", "Love is News" (both 1937), "Daytime Wife" (1939)); I also got to see the wonderful "Girl's Dormitory" (1936) in which Ruth Chatterton, Herbert Marshall and Simone Simon give sensitive performances (he has a bit part); saw the very good "Johnny Apollo" (1940) with Dot Lamour; the beautiful "I'll Never Forget You" (1951) which brought memories from my childhood (this film impressed me very much as a kid; everything seemed so magical to me at the time. In fact this film introduced me to Fantasy films of which I became very fond); I discovered the truly superb comedy "The Luck of the Irish" (1948) with Cecil Kellaway as a lovable and mischievous leprechaun and Anne Baxter as his love interest, as well as the excellent drama "This Above All" with Joan Fontaine.

"Crash Dive" (1943), "Witness for the Prosecution" (1957), "The Rains Came" (1939), "Nightmare Alley" (1947), "The Razor's Edge" (1946), "Blood and Sand" (1941), "The Mark of Zorro" (1940), "Captain from Castile" (1947), "Son of Fury" (1942), are all among my very favorite adventure and/or dramatic films, and I saw most of them for the first time as a child.

I have also seen "The Long Gray Line" (1954), "The Eddy Duchin Story" (1956), "The Sun Also Rises" (1957), "King of Khyber Rifles" (1951), "Mississippi Gambler" (1955), "The Black Swan" (1942), "Prince of Foxes" (1949), "Marie Antoinette" (1938), "Jesse James" (1939), "A Yank in the RAF" (1941), "In Old Chicago" (1938), "Rose of Washington Square" (1939), "Second Fiddle" (1939), "Alexander's Ragtime Band" (1938), "Suez" (1938) and they are all good.

I'd like to see again another film that impressed me as a kid: the rousing adventure film "Untamed" (1955) with Susan Hayward.
Western Guy
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Re: Tyrone Power

Post by Western Guy »

Fernando, speaking of Ty and Susan Hayward, have you seen RAWHIDE? A terrific Western with a wonderfully suspenseful climax. Recommend it highly.
feaito

Re: Tyrone Power

Post by feaito »

Hi Stone, Have not seen that one; it's on my "Pending" List. I have wanted to see it ever since I heard for the first time the title tune sung by Frankie Laine, back in the 1970s....Thanks for the recommendation. I'll look for it.
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mongoII
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Re: Tyrone Power

Post by mongoII »

Stone, the movie "Rawhide" is one of my favorite westerns, where Hayward and Power jell well together.
Of course I believe his best role was in "Nightmare Alley" in which he was a heel and a geek.
Also enjoyed him in many other films, especially "The Long Gray Line" and "Witness for the Prosecution". He was definitely a movie star.
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pvitari
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Re: Tyrone Power

Post by pvitari »

Power is great in Rawhide in a role that depends entirely on his acting skills and not on his looks.

He and Susan Hayward would be reunited four years later in Untamed, but that movie is a drag, at least that's my reaction watching it in a crappy pan and scan video.

20th Century-Fox saw Power first as a light leading man, then a swashbuckler and costume drama heartthrob. At first it was fun, especially in movies like The Mark of Zorro where it was all pretty new and of course that was fine movie and a challenging role. But then he was typecast and the material got thinner and thinner. Power was a very well-educated, well-read man with a lot of hidden, deep feelings, and a yearning to be worthy of his distinguished acting ancestors, including his father, a very popular theater actor who literally died from a heart attack in the teenage Tyrone's arms. These costume roles were incredibly frustrating to him.

Power was a cargo plane pilot during World War II -- he was one of the first Americans into Japan after the atom bombs and saw terrible things -- and like everyone in that war, he came back marked by it. Fox tried to accommodate the return of their now older, now more mature golden boy with a prestige project, an adaption of Of Human Bondage, but the studio version stripped all the life (i.e., sex) from the story and his character Larry became a plaster saint. The failure of Nightmare Alley (which received no support whatsoever from the studio) saw him returning to ever-more formulaic swashbucklers. His last film for Fox under his original contract was a forgettable "Northern," Pony Soldier, in which he played a Canadian Mountie trying to prevent war between the whites and the Indians. (Pony Soldier has just been released on Blu-ray on the Twilight Time label.)

It's such a shame that such a talented man died so young. I wish he could have found his post-war groove and a new persona more suited to the times the same way that James Stewart did, but he never really had the time. :(

Mai Zetterling, who worked with Power in Abandon Ship (another much-underappreciated film) and had an affair with him, wrote a chapter about him in her book All Those Tomorrows. It's a real eye-opener about the kind of person he was.

Feaito, I love I'll Never Forget You. I'm so glad that Fox released this tender romantic fantasy on DVD before it gave up releasing its classic film library. (The less we speak of the current Fox Cinema Archives program, the better.) It reminds me a bit of Powell and Pressburger's (superior) A Matter of Life and Death (and shares some cast members with it too).
feaito

Re: Tyrone Power

Post by feaito »

pvitari wrote:Power is great in Rawhide in a role that depends entirely on his acting skills and not on his looks.
mongoII wrote:Stone, the movie "Rawhide" is one of my favorite westerns, where Hayward and Power jell well together.
With three recommendations I ought to see this one :D
pvitari wrote:Feaito, I love I'll Never Forget You. I'm so glad that Fox released this tender romantic fantasy on DVD before it gave up releasing its classic film library. (The less we speak of the current Fox Cinema Archives program, the better.) It reminds me a bit of Powell and Pressburger's (superior) A Matter of Life and Death (and shares some cast members with it too).
I was lucky to buy those releases. I don't like Fox Archives program either; neither the Columbia, Time Warner (WB-MGM-RKO), Universal (Paramount and Universal) Archive-TCM releases, because they are expensive and on DVD-R format. But I guess it's what we'll have from now on.... and perhaps aftwerwards not even that, probably only streaming.

Paula, I love thirties films, but I have to admit that I feel that cinematically "I'll Never Forget You" (1951) (Roy Baker) is superior than the original version of the story: "Berkeley Square" (1933), because the latter is too stagey and uninspired (Frank Lloyd directed I believe). That movie along with "Smilin' Through" (1932), "Peter Ibbetson" (1935), "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" (1947), "Portrait of Jennie" (1948) and "Somewhere in Time" (1980) are my favorite fantasy, surrealistic -in a way- films.
RedRiver
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Re: Tyrone Power

Post by RedRiver »

The man made some fine movies. I like Hathaway's stylish RAWHIDE. BLOOD AND SAND offers an excellent first half. THE SUN ALSO RISES is not superior filmmaking. But the actor makes a commendable contribution. WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION? The combined talents of Billy Wilder, Agatha Christie and a list of first rate players put the "class" in classic!

I caught a little of JOHNNY APOLLO and was quite impressed. Haven't seen the whole thing. Perhaps the sleeper here is the tender I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU. It's a quiet, sensitive fantasy that, in my experience, doesn't get much play. It showcases Mr. Powers' talent in a lovely and fascinating story. This is a film we don't get many opportunities to see. If you have one, take it!
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CineMaven
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Re: Tyrone Power

Post by CineMaven »

pvitari wrote:Is there really not a thread for one of 20th Century-Fox's greatest leading men, Tyrone Power? Couldn't find one...
WHAT? Can it be? Paula, YOU strayed away from the B.J. Ranch to this 20th Century heart throb? WoW! :shock:

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charliechaplinfan wrote:Theresa where are you? A Tyrone Power thread and you haven't been here yet, his biggest fan.

HA!! Right? Just absorbing it all. And in my reverie...
I am very late coming to Tyrone Power and still haven't watched a great deal of his work. What I have watched makes it evident that Fox didn't want to stretch his talent as much as Tyrone wanted. The films he actually wanted to do and got to make are the work of a consummate actor, Witness for the Prosecution is my favourite. I like him, I see his physical beauty but he's almost too beautiful and that's probably what trapped him in certain roles.
You've hit the nail on the head Alison. 20th Century didn't let him stretch much. He was like a beautiful woman who's only job is to look beautiful. For my MovieCHAT opening credits you can spot Tyrone Power twice. The second time will be obvious, but can you or anyone else spot him the first time? Click here:

Image
( A picture's worth a thousand words )

THANK YOU PAULA. :) Tyrone Power needed this!
"You build my gallows high, baby."

http://www.megramsey.com
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pvitari
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Re: Tyrone Power

Post by pvitari »

Cinemaven, the "BJ Ranch" is my main obsession but there are a LOT of fish in the cinematic sea and it would be such a shame to let them go to waste. My list of favorite actors is a long one, and Tyrone Power is very very high on that list. ;) I don't mind at all that Power was so gorgeous ;) but if he weren't also a wonderful actor I am pretty sure I would not be paying attention to him. ;)
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