Mary Astor

[JackFavell]

That's my favorite scene in the movie too. I like how Leon Ames reaches for the high note! And then she puts it down in 'his key'. The way they come together, mother and father, to express something that is really unexpressed, it's simply beautiful, I like how she doesn't complain. They move toward one another, rather than away. It's how it should be.

[knitwit45]

ooooo, I just thought of one more. Christmas Eve, after the big announcement. She stands beside the piano, trying so hard not to cry, while the rest of her brood tears into the gifts..Papa looks at her, and just takes her in his arms....perfection.

[JackFavell]

I love the way that's directed knitty, the way she just drifts off to the side to have her moment.

Something else I love about Mary: the way she says, "Tootie fell, dear, and cut her lip. She's fine."

[RedRiver]

the piano playing scene in MMISL is my favorite

A truly heartfelt and sensitive moment. The epitome of great filmmaking, it says volumes without uttering a word of dialogue. Magnificent.

[charliechaplinfan]

I'm wondering if I can get the kids to watch MMISL before Christmas, I've had Judy singing Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas on the ipod, they quite liked that.

[charliechaplinfan]

Well Alison, another consideration may have been that Myron was using whatever tactic at hand to keep George from doing the film, which actually seems unlikely given the number of refusals Raft gave at Warners, thus affecting Selznick's commissions, I'm sure.

Or . . . perhaps George told Tuska that story merely to justify his turning down the role. Don't forget, in later years when Bela Lugosi's career was going down the toilet he liked to tell reporters that he had turned down the role of the monster in FRANKENSTEIN. At times he'd boldly go forward by stating that it was he who suggested Karloff for the role.

I reckon that the actor's ego (especially when a career boo-boo is recognized) needs that self-boosting.

It just seems a little uncharacteristic to be seen to be critical of another performer without naming her of course and someone of Mary's stature. I think you're right though, the project was probably offered to George first without the supporting players in place and this was the first big movie that Raft gifted Bogart, perhaps the one he felt he had to explain away the most, Sam Spade isn't a bad man, a bit rough around the edges, George had justified some of his other refusals because of the nature of the character but he couldn't here. I do understand his turning down The Maltese Falcon, it's become such an iconic film nowadays but judging from the earlier film and an untested director, it could have been a disaster and he didn't have the bonhomie that Bogart shared with Huston, they were on the same wavelength from the off. It's another film I'm going to have to rewatch much as George should have taken the role I'm not sure he could be as sardonic as Bogart could. Dashiell Hamett and Raymond Chandler seemed to write for Bogart, even before he was a major player in the films.

[JackFavell]

I agree, he's the embodiment of the character, as if it were written for him.

Bogart is very deep as an actor. I don't know how, but he is. There's complexity on complexity with him. It was just something that came out of him, all those conflicting emotions and as you say, he was quite sardonic. To me there is nothing as great as seeing Bogart laugh when he leaves the room after confounding the police or setting the criminals against one another. He wasn't a nice man in any way shape or form in the film, he's cruel and he has to be, just like the book. The only weak point for him is Brigid, and he's in a catch 22 with her, let her off the hook and she'll screw him over, or send her up and maybe win her undying affection. He's caught, but he's got strength of character to do the right thing. Bogie shows that all on his face in that last scene. One feels he's played these games for so long that he can never really be a true lover to anyone, just like Brigid, they really are meant for each other, maybe because it can never work out. But with Wilmer and Cairo he's downright sadistic and Bogie brings this across as well. He enjoys it. Maybe George instinctively felt this, and just couldn't bring himself to admit he couldn't find anything to cling to in the role.

It must have sucked being asked about it over and over again.

[charliechaplinfan]

You've just summed up why I like Bogart even though he rarely plays pleasant characters there is a depth there. The interplay between Sam and Brigid was perhaps too mature for me when I first saw The Maltese Falcon many years ago but I see it now, clearly how jaded Sam is and what life has done to him, Brigid too.

It must have been a bummer being asked about turning down The Maltese Falcon time and again, I only hope that interviewers were politer years ago, some, I'm not saying all can be quite abrasive with their subjects these days, unless they are in the upper echelons of film godliness, the Pitts, Anistons Lopez's who seem beyond criticism, interviewers can sometimes be rough on their guests. Or maybe it's just Britain.

[RedRiver]

I've had Judy singing Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas on the ipod

My highly opinionated brother calls this THE VERY BEST performance of a Christmas song he's ever seen.

He's caught, but he's got strength of character to do the right thing.

In the long run, I think this is why Spade turns Brigid in. The other factors are present as well. He can never really trust her. An ongoing relationship with Brigid could be dangerous. The last witness to all her shenanigans? But his primary motivation is explained in the dramatic speech he makes to her. "When a man's partner is killed..." It's a beautiful speech and a multi-leveled delivery.

[JackFavell]

I agree, red. He even says somewhere along the way, "Don't be too sure I'm playing on the wrong side of the law" or something like.

[CineMaven]

A man. A woman. These are not kids. These are not matinee idols. Sam and Brigid have seen a lot of the seedy side of life. I'm sure Brigid has used all her "feminine wiles" to get what she wanted through life. And then she meets Sam. I'm sure Sam has seen all matter of deceipt, greed and downright inhumanity. He's not above even sleeping with his partner's wife. And then he meets Brigid. How do two guarded people let their guard down enough to fall in love? I think the core of Spade's character is the line paraphrased by Wendy, "Don't be too sure I'm playing on the wrong side of the law." Guess he can get more rats with pretend larceny than he can with honey ( ? ) I like when movies show two opposing forces; the dichotomy of the unstoppable force meets an immovable object. Bogie has the gravitas & complexity to play two emotions at once. He just needed a break. And "High Sierra" offered that to him. Mary too. She's not a blushing ingenue; she's a full-blown woman. Full blown actress. She can play the grey areas. To do the right thing when your heart is breaking, that's tough. Not this time Brigid. Not this one. Sam has a code of ethics. He is a very moral guy. He has to do the right thing. He couldn't live with himself otherwise. I feel sorry for both of them.

Any woman can break Bogie's heart. Look what Ilsa did.

[JackFavell]

That's a great sexy guarded interplay, the yin and yang of Sam and Brigid, Maven! The grey areas... yup. How do they get together through the walls each of them put up, yards thick? They move in that grey world, the world in between. It's the second or third time today I've read about grey areas in acting, this is where I like to be. Do you think they might be the first grey characters presented on screen? Or am I putting too much importance on this one movie, these two characters?

[RedRiver]

Sam and Brigid have seen a lot of the seedy side of life.

In Hammett's format establishing "Continental Op" stories, the detective dives right into this pool. He loses days to an opium binge. Wakes up to gin. He's just about as comfortable with the underworld as with the law. I was young when I read these stories. I was shocked! I thought, This is the good guy! This is Dashiel Hammett.

How do two guarded people let their guard down enough to fall in love?

Sam and Brigid are in love. That's what makes the situation so tragic. I'm glad fans of the movie see that. The book makes it abundantly clear. The movie could almost take a little time to develop that aspect. It looks a little like they're just playing around. But this bolt of cinematic lightning is not inclined toward extra footage. Anything that would have hampered that exquisite pace had to go. I can't fault that choice. How could I? This is one of my favorite movies!

[CineMaven]

To leave what you love...what you can't have, because you'd lose what would cost too much. Your family ( "Brief Encounter" ) or your crazy sense of honor ( "Casablanca." ) "Roman Holiday" comes to mind. And I know I'm forgetting zillions of movies where one has to give up love for the greater good of something other than self. Spade's sense of morality was such that there was no question she had to square it with society before they could be together. Luckily this only happens in the movies.

[CineMaven]