Re: KIM NOVAK
Posted: February 23rd, 2014, 1:40 pm
I agree with you. I think each captured certain qualities in their very different performances.
Oddly, though I think he wasn't as understanding of Philip's uncertainty, Paul Henreid captured something of obsession that I found interesting. He really showed how a man wants more what he cannot have. Each time he met Mildred, he found it irritating that she spurned him, even though he felt he was on a higher level...and that was what led him to want her. It was more of a comment on class than on love. He didn't capture the embarrassment or hurt of people noticing his deformity. It was almost as if he had none, but as for the obsession, he was spot on.
I really dislike Laurence Harvey, but he's generally a fairly good actor, if rather one note. I didn't find anything of interest in his more 'potboiler' version of Philip. I thought he was completely misdirected, or didn't understand what was required in the role. Though he combined his usual disdain and self loathing, it seemed like it was just another Butterfield 8, not a separate story with a different character. He worked fine as a warm body for Novak to work her genuinely great performance off of.
If I had to pick one who was the closest to the book version, I'd say it was Leslie Howard. He's got the sensitivity, the feeling, the hurt quality....the overwhelming embarrassment and envy that Philip has in the book. He has the ...what's the word I want? lethargy and fear of someone who is unable to move forward. But he's way too much of a doormat which can be really irritating. I kind of wish that Howard had taken Henreid's obsessive tack just a little, while retaining his own sensitivity.
Oddly, though I think he wasn't as understanding of Philip's uncertainty, Paul Henreid captured something of obsession that I found interesting. He really showed how a man wants more what he cannot have. Each time he met Mildred, he found it irritating that she spurned him, even though he felt he was on a higher level...and that was what led him to want her. It was more of a comment on class than on love. He didn't capture the embarrassment or hurt of people noticing his deformity. It was almost as if he had none, but as for the obsession, he was spot on.
I really dislike Laurence Harvey, but he's generally a fairly good actor, if rather one note. I didn't find anything of interest in his more 'potboiler' version of Philip. I thought he was completely misdirected, or didn't understand what was required in the role. Though he combined his usual disdain and self loathing, it seemed like it was just another Butterfield 8, not a separate story with a different character. He worked fine as a warm body for Novak to work her genuinely great performance off of.
If I had to pick one who was the closest to the book version, I'd say it was Leslie Howard. He's got the sensitivity, the feeling, the hurt quality....the overwhelming embarrassment and envy that Philip has in the book. He has the ...what's the word I want? lethargy and fear of someone who is unable to move forward. But he's way too much of a doormat which can be really irritating. I kind of wish that Howard had taken Henreid's obsessive tack just a little, while retaining his own sensitivity.