movieman1957 wrote:When one of my daughter's young friends mentioned he had recently seen "The Caine Mutiny" I was not only stunned (that he knew it much less had seen it) but surprised that he mentioned Fred MacMurray. I told him that was the film where I "found" him. I had known him in Disney pictures and "My Three Sons" but "Mutiny" showed me a new man. Then finding not only his comedies with Colbert but also things like "Remember The Night" and "Hands Across The Table" really blew up my perception of him.
Don't you just love it when you can introduce people to "the real Fred," which is how I think of him in his movies in the '30s and '40s? I loved
Son of Flubber as a kid, but when you realize how good an actor he was it just kills me when people only think he was the old duffer on
My Three Sons.
I'm glad that you mentioned
Hands Across the Table. Two favorite scenes:
1.) When Fred plays hopscotch on the tiles in the hall--thinking that no one can see him, but not caring when they do.
2.) When Lombard and Fred are trying not to be drawn to each other in the apartment, but neither can sleep. This is a subtly played scene and well edited.
MacMurray always credited Lombard with teaching him how to act on camera. He was terribly shy and self-conscious and she would think of bits of business for him to do in scenes to keep from being nervous and to break out of his Wisconsin-bred inhibitions. One of her ideas was reportedly that hopscotch moment.
I really wish MacMurray had done more roles like
Double Indemnity, The Caine Mutiny, Pushover and
The Apartment. He was terrific, even if they made him a bit queasy.
