kingrat wrote:Thursday morning shows four films made from J.M. Barrie plays--JF has commented on them above--and the fourth of these films, The Admirable Crichton, is directed by Lewis Gilbert (best known for Alfie), and three more films he directed follow. Clever programming. Then there's a movie I've used in programming challenges but never seen, Loss of Innocence (1961), based on Rumer Godden's novel The Greengage Summer, starring Kenneth More, Susannah York, and Danielle Darrieux.
I am looking forward to seeing
The Admirable Crichton again as well as
Loss of Innocence. Barrie's "Crichton" is a delightful story about class, and features several favorite actors such as
Cecil Parker and the sublime
Diane Cilento. I fell for these films' star,
Kenneth More, eons ago when he played "Young Jolyon" Forsythe in the '60s BBC production of the Galsworthy saga. He managed to convey decency and playfulness in a character whose only real talent was for living and being kind. At the time, he also reminded me of my favorite yellow teddy bear, and I'd like to see if he still does.
Loss of Innocence allowed
More to play a more ambiguous character who has to face his own limitations when a nubile girl, wondrously played by
Susannah York, is far too nearby. A very young Jane Birkin plays her sister.
kingrat wrote:I've never seen The Good Die Young (1954), but a heist film with Laurence Harvey, Gloria Grahame, and Richard Basehart sounds interesting.
Since I am starting to warm up to Laurence Harvey's interestingly creepy style (yeah, I know there is probably an Rx for that), I am eager to see
The Good Die Young, which I've heard is darkly effective.
kingrat wrote:I have seen, and definitely recommend, The Seventh Dawn (1964), with William Holden, Susannah York, and Capucine. Holden plays an American soldier who fights with his Malayan friend against the Japanese in WWII. Later, his friend is Soviet-educated and becomes a leader of the Communist insurgency in Malaya. Movies like Richard Brooks' Something of Value or The Quiet American (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1958) or The Seventh Dawn may speak more strongly to us than to American audiences of the time who weren't too interested in moral dilemmas set in faraway countries. Capucine, sometimes wooden, gives an excellent performance, and this is a fine role for William Holden.
I am not among those who felt that Capucine was wooden, but she is fascinating in a beyond human way, even in less subtle films. When she is on-screen, she is the only person I really notice. I agree that for once, she had a very good role and played it well in
The Seventh Dawn. I love your description of that movie and think your comparison to others of the period is very apt. Thanks so much for the reminder. I'd forgotten this was going to be on TCM.
kingrat wrote:ILater this month during the Margaret Lockwood tribute on Oct. 22, another Lewis Gilbert film, Cast a Dark Shadow (1955), will be shown. This is an enjoyable noir with some fine acting. Perhaps Gilbert is a better director than his reputation allows.
Lewis Gilbert was a very good director, and did more than
Alfie, which everyone remembers best. He was especially effective in the fifties and early sixties when he made many of the better war films of that period including the unforgettable
Carve Her Name With Pride and noirish films such as you mentioned above.
Of course, like everyone in the commercial movie biz, he did quite a bit of awful stuff too If you have ever seen
Cosh Boy (1953) with Joan Collins, you know how unfortunate Gilbert's early work could be sometimes. I've always liked Gilbert's James Bond movies, (esp.
You Only Live Twice) and have even gotten a lot of chuckles out of his best known bit of sixties schlock,
The Adventurers (1969). I guess he sort of made a return to smaller, more human-scaled movies in his later years with the enjoyable
Shirley Valentine (1989) and
Educating Rita (1983). And
Stepping Out (1991), featuring the skilled mime Bill Irwin and someone named Liza, is a delightful little movie about tap-dancing in Buffalo. If you have ever been to Buffalo, you know how important that can be.
BTW, I have recently found a copy of Gilbert's
Ferry to Hong Kong (1959) with Curt Jurgens & Orson Welles. Now I just have to find time to watch it.