MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

Discussion of the actors, directors and film-makers who 'made it all happen'
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Dargo
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

Post by Dargo »

Andree wrote: March 25th, 2023, 3:55 pm I've noticed it on the FX schedule but never was that interested in watching it, though I've seen parts of it over the years.
Danger, Will Robinson! The psycho moment about to begin is most noticeable to me in It's a Wonderful Life and to a lesser
extent in Vertigo. It's especially shocking in the former, as Jimmy is a regular guy with some degree of frustration about
how his life turned out, then it all explodes in his eyes. Yikes, pretty frightening. :smiley_shock:
Image

Image

Image

(...and even over half a century after first watching this film, I still believe Jimmy's performance in this one to be one of the best to ever be captured on film)
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Andree
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

Post by Andree »

Yeah, that's the look--the alll-American boy going bonkers. Forget the loaf of bread and the jug of wine.
Give this guy some tranquillizers.
Every man has a right to an umbrella.~Dostoyevsky
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Dargo
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

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Andree wrote: March 25th, 2023, 6:55 pm Yeah, that's the look--the alll-American boy going bonkers. Forget the loaf of bread and the jug of wine.
Give this guy some tranquillizers.
Yep, it's like I've always said: All the great ones back then didn't need "The Method", and 'cause they just somehow naturally knew how to use their eyes while acting.

(...and with Jimmy here being a prime example of this)
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Andree
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

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True, though I don't mind if they feel they need da method. To each their own.
Every man has a right to an umbrella.~Dostoyevsky
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Dargo
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

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Andree wrote: March 25th, 2023, 11:18 pm True, though I don't mind if they feel they need da method. To each their own.
And true as well here. However, I too often feel "The Method" has been overblown in its importance to the craft of acting, as it often seems when it's discussed there's quite often some implied or suggested notion that the acting done by so many of the greats of the cinema (such as Jimmy here for instance) who began and had established their film careers before the Actors Studio came into being are relegated to an almost "less than" status within the profession, and that "real acting" only began after Kazan, Strasberg, et al, began teaching it there.

(...but then again, what do I know...I ain't no actor...well, not professionally anyway) ;)
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Andree
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

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That's probably true, though now that the Method itself is so old I doubt many people care one way or the other.
I really don't pay much attention to it. I'm not an actor either, though I'm a bit of a faker on occasion.
Every man has a right to an umbrella.~Dostoyevsky
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Bronxgirl48
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

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The 1962 MOTB was on the TCM schedule last week so I decided to dive right in but as soon as Marlon opened his mouth, I just could not continue.

Andree, re: Vera Clouzot -- she wore those braids in DIABOLIQUE so that's why I thought your avatar was a publicity still from the movie.

ON GOLDEN POND (ugh) is on now following THE LOST WEEKEND -- how surreal, lol. (Billy Wilder is my favorite director)

Must respectfully disagree on THE YEARLING -- do not think it is preachy at all but just a lovely, picturesque, poignant coming-of-age story that does not overdo the sentiment.
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

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Dargo, Jimmy is indeed marvelous in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE but the film itself sort of leaves me, well, cold. Not really a Capra fan. I love his two most atypical -- THE BITTER TEA OF GENERAL YEN and ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, plus Frank Sinatra's performance in A HOLE IN THE HEAD.
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Swithin
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

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Bronxgirl48 wrote: March 26th, 2023, 5:58 pm Dargo, Jimmy is indeed marvelous in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE but the film itself sort of leaves me, well, cold. Not really a Capra fan. I love his two most atypical -- THE BITTER TEA OF GENERAL YEN and ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, plus Frank Sinatra's performance in A HOLE IN THE HEAD.
My favorite Frank Capra movie is one that I think is atypical: Lost Horizon.
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

Post by Bronxgirl48 »

Ronald Colman is wonderful in everything as far as I'm concerned.
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

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Bronxgirl48 wrote: March 26th, 2023, 5:52 pm The 1962 MOTB was on the TCM schedule last week so I decided to dive right in but as soon as Marlon opened his mouth, I just could not continue.

Andree, re: Vera Clouzot -- she wore those braids in DIABOLIQUE so that's why I thought your avatar was a publicity still from the movie.

ON GOLDEN POND (ugh) is on now following THE LOST WEEKEND -- how surreal, lol. (Billy Wilder is my favorite director)

Must respectfully disagree on THE YEARLING -- do not think it is preachy at all but just a lovely, picturesque, poignant coming-of-age story that does not overdo the sentiment.
I skipped MOTB as I had seen it (for the first time) a few months ago. As I already posted, I got a total kick out of Marlon's lisping
aristo clotheshorse. I sure wasn't expecting it. I suppose it detracts a bit from the story, but what a crazy performance.

Vera's photo could be a still from Les Diaboliques though I don't recognize the dress, but that by itself doesn't mean it isn't.
I just love her sweet innocent expression. There are some photos of her with a short upswept hairdo that just looks awful to me.

For the most part I liked The Yearling, but it seemed to me the kid just couldn't do typical kids stuff without pa trying to
impart some lesson. I am glad that old Slewfoot the bear wasn't killed. When it's a human against an animal, I usually root for
the animal.

I've been watching the Columbo marathon today. Who should show up but the High Lama himself, Sam Jaffe. He played
the hubby of Janet Leigh, who wanted him to bankroll her return to Broadway along with her dance partner John Payne.
Sammy wouldn't go for it, so Janet decided to dispatch him. Now, who's the psycho? Jane Greer was in another episode.
Every man has a right to an umbrella.~Dostoyevsky
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

Post by Hibi »

Bronxgirl48 wrote: March 26th, 2023, 5:52 pm The 1962 MOTB was on the TCM schedule last week so I decided to dive right in but as soon as Marlon opened his mouth, I just could not continue.

Andree, re: Vera Clouzot -- she wore those braids in DIABOLIQUE so that's why I thought your avatar was a publicity still from the movie.

ON GOLDEN POND (ugh) is on now following THE LOST WEEKEND -- how surreal, lol. (Billy Wilder is my favorite director)

Must respectfully disagree on THE YEARLING -- do not think it is preachy at all but just a lovely, picturesque, poignant coming-of-age story that does not overdo the sentiment.

On Golden Pond hasn't aged well. I tried watching it but bailed after around 10 mins. Watching it today, is just unbelievable it was nominated for 10 Oscars! Kate's win was so undeserved.
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

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Hibi wrote: March 27th, 2023, 12:40 pm
Bronxgirl48 wrote: March 26th, 2023, 5:52 pm The 1962 MOTB was on the TCM schedule last week so I decided to dive right in but as soon as Marlon opened his mouth, I just could not continue.

Andree, re: Vera Clouzot -- she wore those braids in DIABOLIQUE so that's why I thought your avatar was a publicity still from the movie.

ON GOLDEN POND (ugh) is on now following THE LOST WEEKEND -- how surreal, lol. (Billy Wilder is my favorite director)

Must respectfully disagree on THE YEARLING -- do not think it is preachy at all but just a lovely, picturesque, poignant coming-of-age story that does not overdo the sentiment.

DELETE
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Andree
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

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Caught Errol Morris' The Fog of War last night. It's not so much a documentary as a 105 minute long apologia/commercial
for Robert McNamara. It's almost as if Big Mac hired Morris for a cleanup job in aisle 8 or as if he wanted an extended Ford
advert. Mac is very upset over the death of JFK, but almost giddy when explaining how he used data to assist in the fire-
bombing of Tokyo, which resulted in 100,000 civilian deaths. Even Mac admits that if we had lost the war he would likely
have been prosecuted, and rightfully so, as a war criminal. Perhaps McNamara was a fan of Stalin's apocryphal quote 'The death
of one man is a tragedy, the death of a million (or 100,00) is a statistic.' As the subtitle makes clear, even a war criminal has
11 lessons to impart. There are detours into Baby Strange's time with Ford and his personal life, but the main part of the movie
deals with his time as Secretary of Defense under JFK and LBJ. It's satisfying to know that Big Mac was one of the "best and
brightest" American imperialistas who were defeated, as the phrase goes, by a bunch of people in black pajamas. Lesson 12:
Your bs flick didn't work.
Every man has a right to an umbrella.~Dostoyevsky
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Dargo
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Re: MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

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Andree wrote: March 30th, 2023, 4:23 pm Caught Errol Morris' The Fog of War last night. It's not so much a documentary as a 105 minute long apologia/commercial
for Robert McNamara. It's almost as if Big Mac hired Morris for a cleanup job in aisle 8 or as if he wanted an extended Ford
advert. Mac is very upset over the death of JFK, but almost giddy when explaining how he used data to assist in the fire-
bombing of Tokyo, which resulted in 100,000 civilian deaths. Even Mac admits that if we had lost the war he would likely
have been prosecuted, and rightfully so, as a war criminal. Perhaps McNamara was a fan of Stalin's apocryphal quote 'The death
of one man is a tragedy, the death of a million (or 100,00) is a statistic.' As the subtitle makes clear, even a war criminal has
11 lessons to impart. There are detours into Baby Strange's time with Ford and his personal life, but the main part of the movie
deals with his time as Secretary of Defense under JFK and LBJ. It's satisfying to know that Big Mac was one of the "best and
brightest" American imperialistas who were defeated, as the phrase goes, by a bunch of people in black pajamas. Lesson 12:
Your bs flick didn't work.
Enjoyed reading your take on this film, Andree. And yes, your disgust with it is now duly noted and a feeling that is perfectly understandable considering that the subject of this film never states or issues any apologies but only regrets for his leading role in one of America's biggest foreign policy blunders nor for all the lives throughout the world that were so unnecessarily lost due to his poor judgment and advice.

However, I must say as I finished reading your take on this film, I began to think of the analogy you drew with your clever "extended Ford advert" comment, and then thinking that this might be more than a little misplaced, and I'll tell you why. It's because I don't ever recall seeing any Ford sponsored commericals in which it's shown a Ford Pinto exploding after being rear-ended. You remember, such as those film clips of that particular model Ford that were made public a few years after many people had already lost their lives while driving this Ford produced vehicle on the roads of this country.

And so in other words and what I'm suggesting here is that while you apparently believe documentarian Errol Morris "sold out" by even presenting McNamara a venue to express himself and his rationalizations, couldn't you at least also admit that by presenting his subject warts and all, Morris' film at least deserves some credit for that and to say nothing of its value as being a cautionary tale for future generations?

(...well, I think so anyway, and have thought so since the day I watched this film some years ago now)
Last edited by Dargo on April 1st, 2023, 1:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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