Joel McCrea

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Lzcutter
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Joel McCrea

Post by Lzcutter »

I should have been outside today as the weather was great, the sun was shining and it was warm. I should have called Marco (left a message) and talked to rudyfan (Donna) but the Western Channel sucked me in with a series of films on Joel McCrea.

From Shoot-Out in Dodge City which I caught the tail end of to Andre deToth's weird but strangely watchable Ramrod with Joel and Veronica Lake to Jacques Torneur's Witchita with Vera Miles (and her real life husband Keith Larsen as Bat Materson to McCrea's Wyatt Earp. Also in the cast was a young Peter Graves who looked remarkably like his brother James Arness. Frenchie with Shelley Winters and now Trooper Hook with Joel and Barbara Stanwyck as a white woman captured by Indians years ago and returned to society.

Like John Wayne and Randolph (cue chorus) Scott, McCrea embodies what we have come to believe is the western hero. Stoic, loyal and determined to live by a code of honor in a desperate land, McCrea's characters all have a humanity and a truth about them.

He is quoted as saying "I should have tried to be a better actor" when, in reality, he was a damn fine actor, perhaps more comfortable on a horse and in western (like Scott) than modern day settings.

I hope one of these days that TCM celebrates this man's wonderful career and spotlight him as a Star of the Month.
Lynn in Lake Balboa

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"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese

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Re: Joel McCrea

Post by moira finnie »

Lzcutter wrote:He is quoted as saying "I should have tried to be a better actor" when, in reality, he was a damn fine actor, perhaps more comfortable on a horse and in western (like Scott) than modern day settings.
I know that McCrea's Westerns are among the best (even if the scripts weren't always great, he was), but I do like him very, very much in modern dress films such as These Three, Dead End, Foreign Correspondent, Primrose Path, Palm Beach Story and Sullivan's Travels. The guy--like Gary Cooper--didn't seem to be acting but behaving and real, no matter what the genre. (Oh, and I wish that Randy had done more modern dress parts--especially comedies. He always seemed to have such a delightfully sneaky sense of humor in anything he ever did).
Lzcutter wrote:I hope one of these days that TCM celebrates this man's wonderful career and spotlight him as a Star of the Month.
You mean they have never had him as SoTM? :shock:

Cripes. Why not, I wonder?
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Re: Joel McCrea

Post by movieman1957 »

You mean they have never had him as SoTM?
The closest you ever got was as SOTM in one of my programming challenge schedules. He went easily from romantic comedy charmer to stoic, fair minded, easy going cowboy. I had my recorder working overtime today. I have already seen "Wichita" and have "Ramrod." I also got "Four Faces West" from some broadcast. Netflix even has some.

I really enjoy his work.
Chris

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Re: Joel McCrea

Post by Lzcutter »

No, they have never had him as SOTM. I think we should start an email campaign!

I love him in his pre-war films set in modern times, Dead End (though when it is all said and done, Bogey and the actress who played his ma steal the movie), The More the Merrier, Foreign Correspondent are all on my favs list but he just seems so relaxed and so at home in the saddle.

Probably helped that he and Frances Dee (like Scott and Stanwyck) had a large horse ranch in the San Fernando Valley. Most of it has been donated to conservation and is now part of a park as I understand it.

Scott, Stanwyck and McCrea all took Will Roger's advice and bought lots of land in the Valley before the war and it made them very well off in their later years.

Now about that email campaign.....
Lynn in Lake Balboa

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"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese

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Re: Joel McCrea

Post by moira finnie »

Chris,
Do you think you could share your dream line-up of Joel McCrea films from that previous programming challenge? I'd love to see your choices, if possible.

Lynn,
Oh, yeah. That email campaign is just what TCM needs. One more passel of viewers with our flaming torches and pitchforks requesting a hearing! :wink:

Pssst, don't tell anyone, but I will be glad to participate in any campaign that gets Mr. McCrea his well-deserved month in the TCM sun.
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Re: Joel McCrea

Post by movieman1957 »

“Birthday Salute to Joel McCrea” from Challenge 9 (got more of these than SOTM listings.)

6:00am – The Most Dangerous Game – 1932 – 63m – RKO*
7:15am – Stars In My Crown – 1950 – 90m – MGM
9:00am – Primrose Path – 1940 – Ginger Rogers – 93m – RKO
10:45am – The More The Merrier – 1943 – Jean Arthur – 101m – Col.
12:30pm – The Silver Horde – 1930 – Jean Arthur – 76m – RKO
2:00pm – Trooper Hook – 1957 – 82m – UA
3:30pm – Colorado Territory – 1948 – 94m – WB*
5:30pm – Union Pacific – 1939 – B. Stanwyck – 135m – Paramount – Premiere
(it was just easier to copy from my computer file.)

SOTM was back sometime in 2006.
Foreign Correspondent - 1940
Palm Beach Story - 1942
The Virginian - 1946

* Were used is the earlier challenge for SOTM.
Chris

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Re: Joel McCrea

Post by feaito »

We have surely discussed this greatly underrated actor before (as unfairly underrated as his colleague Fred MacMurray). In so many ways he reminds me of Gary Cooper, although they both have very distinctive screen personas. McCrea appeared in one of the most romantic scenes ever filmed for an American film (the porch scene in "The More the Merrier") and has starred in landmark masterpieces such as Colorado Territory, Stars in my Crown, Palm Beach Story, Foreign Correspondant et al. He deserves to be SOTM!
Last edited by feaito on March 28th, 2010, 8:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Joel McCrea

Post by Lzcutter »

Chris,

I had him as SOTM on my recent TCM Challenge. I'll see if I can find it and post my selections as well!

Here's my rather staid McCrea selections from the last Challenge you hosted, though I do wish TCM would do an Original Documentary on McCrea. I am sad that his son, Jody, died before getting a chance to do a Bill Wellman, Jr (they were friends) and sit down with Robert O and introduce a month's worth of films that his father did. But Jody has two other brothers so there's still hope. (Though Jody really looked his dad).

Happy Birthday, Joel McCrea
8::00 P Dead End (1937) Joel McCrea, Dir. William Wyler, UA, 95 mins
9:45 P Joel McCrea: The Quiet Hero (2010) TCM Original Documentary, 60 mins. Premiere #8
10:45 P The More the Merrier (1943) Joel McCrea, Dir. George Stevens, Col, 101 mins
12:30 A Sullivan’s Travels (1942) Joel McCrea, Dir. Preston Sturges, Par, 90 mins
2:00 A Colorado Territory (1949) Joel McCrea, Dir. Raoul Walsh, WB, 94mins
3:45 A Ride the High Country (1962) Joel McCrea, Dir. Sam Peckinpah, MGM, 94 mins
Lynn in Lake Balboa

"Film is history. With every foot of film lost, we lose a link to our culture, to the world around us, to each other and to ourselves."

"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese

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Re: Joel McCrea

Post by feaito »

Great line-up Lynn.
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Re: Joel McCrea

Post by JackFavell »

Joel McCrea is ALWAYS good...no matter what he is in, he gives a solid, realistic performance. He had a great sense of humor, and as I recall, he said he got into movies so he could meet girls. Only that wasn't quite the way he said it.

He also said that almost every script that came his way had been offered to Coop first and turned down...

He was modest without all that aw shucks stuff, but you felt he had a lot of down home confidence. It's a great combination - He's unapologetically male - not exactly 1970's Alan Alda sensitive, but not shoving his masculinity in your face either. He just had IT.

My faves would be (in order):

The More the Merrier

Stars in My Crown

Ride the High Country

Foreign Correspondent
(Hitch was great at bringing out his humor and humanity, I wish they had worked together again)

Sullivan's Travels

Colorado Territory

Union Pacific

Come and Get it

Palm Beach Story


He had a great sense of irony, without being pointed.

Like Moira, I enjoy him in modern dress, the guy looked awesome in a tux. My absolute favorite Joel McCrea scene is the one in The More the Merrier at the restaurant.... Joel comes in and finds Jean Arthur with her fiance, who is dragged off to a timely meeting with Charles Coburn. The minute Washington's female population gets a look at Joel, he is surrounded by giggling, staring, almost slavering women.... there must be a shortage of eligible males in Washington, and it's Joel McCrea, man! McCrea is slow to realize what is happening. All he wants is to have his date with Jean, but these women come and surround him, sitting in a ring around his table... it's laugh out loud funny - this greek chorus of females, and the punch line is when Arthur comes back and says, "Mr. Pendergast says he wants you to take me home." The ladies very vocal exclamations of disappointment never fail to make me guffaw.

I just realized I have The Lost Squadron here recorded, but have never watched it. Maybe that's my next movie to concentrate on.
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Re: Joel McCrea

Post by klondike »

There is so much every one of us could say about Joel McCrea, and probably, sometime, should, but were I to try nutshelling the core of his appeal to myself, I would have to at least start by saying that for me, he was the guy I'd want to work beside . . rather than, necessarily, chum around with, or live next-door to on the street, or go into combat behind . .
You know, someone to toil & drip sweat beside, to pass a water noggin to, or get a hand-up from when the whistle blows, or share a match when there's time for a smoke, a guy who you could count on to speak a word of encouragement, maybe, when a day's misery was pushing in extra hard . . .
And maybe, today, that's right where I should stop, too. :roll:
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Re: Joel McCrea

Post by moira finnie »

Hey, guess what?

Image

Joel McCrea is finally going to be the Star of the Month on TCM in May, 2012!! You can see more and varied comments about this bit of earth-rattling wonderful news over on the TCM message board.

Thank you, TCM!!
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Re: Joel McCrea

Post by movieman1957 »

Yea!
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Re: Joel McCrea

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ImageImageImageImage
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Re: Joel McCrea

Post by knitwit45 »

"PAPA!!!!!" :oops: :oops: :oops:

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and then...what is this thing called love????

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