Maureen O'Sullivan's African Queen

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stuart.uk
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Maureen O'Sullivan's African Queen

Post by stuart.uk »

The one film that reminds me of the Katharine Hepburn/Humphrey Bogart classic the African Queen is The Tall T with Randolph Scott and Maureen O'Sullivan. The Tall T is a minor classic, made in a typical format of a 1950s western

Though recently married, the plain middle aged O'Sullivan's character was inexperienced in matters of love. even Randy Scott comments on her plainess when in conversation with bad guy Richard Boone and his gang.

however, after Maureen's gold-digging cutless wonder husband is killed, she suddenly becomes attractive to Scott, who like Hepburn in TAQ, is sexually awakened in middle-age. this new found sensuality is used to help her and Scott make their escape
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MissGoddess
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Post by MissGoddess »

Hi Stuart,

I still haven't seen this elusive classic western and it's the one Budd ("Bood") Boetticher title I am most interested in. I was very impressed with Seven Men from Now. I never thought about the correllation between it and The African Queen, interesting. You still haven't contributed your Top 15 in the Best Western Ever contest!
stuart.uk
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Post by stuart.uk »

hi Miss G

where do i go. i still finding my way around here
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mrsl
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Post by mrsl »

Stuart:

Next thread after this one - Dust off your six shooters . . . etc.

I love your way of finding correlations between westerns and other genres.

Anne
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MissGoddess
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Post by MissGoddess »

Hi Stuart, like Anne said it's the next thread from yours, here:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis/viewtopic.php?t=1486
stuart.uk
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Post by stuart.uk »

Anne try this for size

Stagecoach and Bus Stop
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mrsl
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Post by mrsl »

I printed something in here, but just realized it was incorrect. You made a case between Bus Stop and GWTW didn't you? Have you printed Stagecoach and Bus Stop?

Anne
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movieman1957
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Post by movieman1957 »

I've seen "The Tall T" and I can't quite agree about Miss O'Sullivan. Frankly I find Maureen to be too weepy and shy. As I remember she doesn't really do much except at Scott's urging. She frequently cowers at anything unpleasant and after Scott saves the day she still is crying to where our hero, Randolph Scott (cue chorus) essentially tells her stop it.

"It's gonna be a good day."

While it is nice to see her in anything I wish it would have been a stronger role. "Ride Lonesome" has a far stronger female lead.
Chris

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
stuart.uk
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Post by stuart.uk »

Stagecaoch and Bus Stop Anne. it's been said that Ringo wasn't aware of Dallas' past, but i think he was and still loved her. still he was clearly inexperieced in love after being in prison since he was 17. Don Murray's Beau was both. While Marilyn's Cherie wasn't a dance hall girl like Claire Trevor's Dallas, it was made clear during the film, she'd been around the block
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Post by MissGoddess »

Hi Stuart. I'm not sure I saw any shades of The African Queen in this movie but here's my review, at last:

I finally saw The Tall T last night after years of waiting to. Nicely done. Scott is perfectly cast and the photography and setting is harsh yet harshly beautiful (and the quality of the print Encore shows looks mighty fine---I assume this movie was not shot in widescreen, or was it? That would be my only quibble, if so.)

I now understand the complaints about Maureen O'Sullivan's character. She was whiny. But I want to fault the writers here, for not giving us enough explanation as to why she's like this. She only has one expository bit of dialogue, which contained the quite surprising revelation that she'd grown up in her father's mining camps. I had of course assumed she had grown up or been educated "back east" which would explain her unfamiliarity with the harshness of the West and its men. She acted like she'd never seen a tumbleweed much less ridden a horse and I wonder how she managed that if she grew up out there.

As for her "plainness", well they tried to dog her down quite a bit but she's a beauty compared to how most women out there would have really looked, so all the remarks by other characters about her seem highly specious. Because of her character, and it's lack of an "arch"---I kept waiting for her to change and I really didn't see much change except for the object of her future prospects (from a wienie to a man)----I rate this movie lower than Seven Men from Now or The Bullfighter and the Lady and just about even with The Man from the Alamo, which I also saw for the first time last night. That story was very exciting and less psychologically driven. It should be better known and more frequently mentioned among Boetticher aficianados.

One question I'm still puzzling over---perhaps I missed something---but what exactly is "The Tall T"? Is it Scott's ranch? I don't recall it being mentioned by name.

I still have a couple of other "Bood" Boetticher westerns in my Netflix queue.
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Post by stuart.uk »

Miss G

I connect it to the African Queen because both films have it seems to me two virginal middle-aged woman who are sexually awakened by Bogie and Randy

it's maybe a poor example, but remember how Donna Reed was so screwed up in Trouble Along The Way, because she was brought up by a single dad and in her own words became a misfit at 13. she wasn't that young herself when Duke awakened the beast in her
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Post by MissGoddess »

OK, I see what you're saying. Thought Boetticher didn't really go into the feelings between Scott and O'Sullivan much at all. I felt this aspect of the movie to be terribly "dry".
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Post by movieman1957 »

Just finished watching it again. A couple of things struck me that follow this conversation.

Maureen is still overly whiny except for two places. One when she tells Scott what it's like to be lonely. It doesn't seem pitiful as it is matter of fact. once again during the shootout. The place where they have their big kiss made me wonder whether Scott really felt she was a WOMAN or whether he was, in a way, building her confidence as he would need her the next day. Maybe some of each.

Boone wants what Scott has and part of that includes Maureen. That's why Boone is kind to her. He may not want her but he knows that "a man shouldn't be alone. He likes to talk to Scott because he's another man and he's tired of listening to the other two. Scott has a ranch. Boone would like one. They have that in common.

At the end Boone has nothing left and I guess just can't walk away from the money or losing.

It's still a good movie.
Chris

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
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Post by MissGoddess »

Salient points, Chris, that put it into better perspective for me. I still think the movie should have been longer for the sake of some further character development, but it was good nonetheless. I see The Man from the Alamo is airing this month on Encore. I could have waited instead of renting it on Netflix. It's pretty good, too, for those who haven't seen it. (The print on the dvd looks better, though, and may even be widescreen, I don't remember. The pan-and-scan presentations on Encore are a bit disappointing).
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Post by stuart.uk »

I'm sure many notice that during the 50s middle aged actors were playing increasingly oppisite younger women. it would take to long to go throught the list, but in 50s Westerns two actors Randolph Scott and Joel McRae appeared usually with younger actresses like Karen Steele, Angela Lansbury, Barbara Hale and Dorothy Malone. it was a refreshing change to see Randy with a woman nearer his own age and in a Stranger In Town it was another oldie Claire Trevor
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