The Silver Screen Oasis

This is an excerpt of an e-mail from my good ol' college buddy Robert:

Hi Theresa,

Many thanks for these goodies. By an interesting coincidence, I was on Moira's site only last night, having been linked by Mubi to her delightful piece on Rampage with the delightful Elsa Martinelli (OMG, I love them all! Except, of course, Joan Crawford.). Browsing around the blog, I came across the Zinneman article, but it was getting pretty late and I couldn't keep my eyes open long enough to read it then. So, I am glad that first thing this morning I found this reminder. Zinneman was one of the first directors I admired back in the early fifties, along with Huston, Kazan, and Reed. With the passing of the years my admiration for him waned considerably but, though I have seen very few of his films in recent decades, I have often thought that it might be time to reconsider his work. Kingrat's article surely increased this thought. Parenthetically, I have never forgotten Audrey Hepburn announcing the winner of the best director oscar and the loving joy with which she shouted out, "Freddy Zinneman!!!"

Guess I've got some readin' and watchin' to do.

Thanks, Kingrat. I thought that Teresa had a semi-documentary feel about it, similar to The Search, but not as successful dramatically (and without the dynamic between Montgomery Clift and Ivan Jandl). I would love to have seen Angeli opposite Brando at this stage. She would have given him more than he expected. I love what you said about Patricia Collinge & her housedress! I am especially interested in David Cairns comments on the film and will try to read that in the next week.

Thanks for the review, kingrat. The Search is probably my favorite of Zinnemann movies, so maybe I should give Theresa a try next time it pops up.

I like THE SEARCH a lot. It's dramatic without being overly sentimental. HIGH NOON may be my favorite film by this director. FROM HERE TO ETERNITY is more entertaining than the book, but so is diarrhea. I'm not familiar with TERESA, but your analysis, King Rat, is intriguing.

The Search is so utterly plain, it's a story told without any flourishes or dramatics, it doesn't need them it's emotional enough without them. Every time it's on I watch and bawl my eyes out. I simply can't help it. It's pretty near a perfect movie.

Can you imagine having a run of movies like Zinnemann did especially in those few short years from 1948 to 1953?

1977 Julia

1973 The Day of the Jackal

1966 A Man for All Seasons

1964 Behold a Pale Horse

1960 The Sundowners

1959 The Nun's Story

1958 The Old Man and the Sea (uncredited)

1957 A Hatful of Rain

1956 Screen Directors Playhouse (TV series)
– Markheim (1956)

1955 Oklahoma!

1953 From Here to Eternity

1952 The Member of the Wedding

1952 High Noon

1951 Teresa

1951 Benjy (short)

1950 The Men

1948 Act of Violence

1948 The Search

I adore Zinneman'sn work. I would love to see him adored as much as Hitch or Lubitsch.

JULIA is very interesting. Quite well done.

Fred Zinnemann is an Excellent Director and one of my favorites ... why Jack Favell pretty much sum it all from 1948 to 1953. No question about it ... his movies were fabulous in many ways shapes and forms.

I WAS wondering about that gap, kingrat. You'd think a director coming off of an academy award winning film would be in demand, but this explains a lot. How terrible that not only was he unable to complete the film, but the studio sued him as well. Nice thing, to kick you when your down.

I know you are going from memory, but did Kael elaborate on why she liked Zinnemann the best?

When all the indie filmmakers out there feel discouraged...they really should look at the careers of some of classic films' great directors. They should take solace in the fact that even the best of 'em have had trouble getting their vision out there. Thanks for bumping up his thread Brother Rat.

I must add Zinneman's name to that directory I created here. Thanx again, man.