The Silver Screen Oasis

I started a thread on the subject of cuteness, and overcoming it here:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/vie ... 71#p125571

Ha! Clifton Webb was a character straight from "Characterville!"

Good points about Zorba the Greek, Kingrat.

I made it all the way to the end of "Three Coins in the Fountain," but just barely.I hadn't seen it in so long, it was a treasure, and I also seriously coveted that spacious apartment.

Dear All,



I'm looking forward seeing
2:00 PM (Eastern Standard Time)
Singin' In The Rain (1952)

I love your description of THE ROBE as comfort food, but disagree with your assessment of Victor Mature's performance. I thought he out-acted Burton the 'great' here. He's serious, and does a super convincing job, and is very respectful of the material, though I suppose his American accent is just a little disconcerting. For me, Mature is the best thing about the movie.

Revisiting The Robe recently confirmed that Victor Mature, for me, was one of the anchors of its believability, and his connection helped to enhance Burton's moment of recognition for me. It seemed that Demetrius sets up the stepping stone of initial belief that Marcellus' character requires in order for him to accept the validity of his own changing moral compass. I was moved more with this performance of Mature's than in any other of his films.

It might be because of all his other more Biblical/ancient characters that led to a sort of believability that Mature's appearance equated a depth and finesse with acceptance of a supreme being, more than just looking good in a suit of armor or a cocked fedora. He just gave it more credibility so that Burton could evince the emotions he needed to reveal to carry the character to the end of his story arc.

And to Mature's credit, he was certainly able to mock his production image of the haughty A or B list player status. Who can forget his sweaty, stained countenance, leaky with excess colored styling in After the Fox. He had to have a sense of humor at least equal to his need for a paycheck!

That's such a great description of his work in The Robe, Sue Sue!

And I LOVE him in After the Fox, he was such a great guy to lampoon his own image that way!

You have to have a respect for yourself and an understanding of your industry to be that silly in front of the world stage.

Plus, I have a feeling Peter Sellers' persona had something to do with influencing his performance. It was so reminiscent of Joseph Bologna as King Kaiser in My Favorite Year.

And I don't feel "Old Hollywood" recognized this aspect of his performance. Mature was parodying his former self, and some of the sixties crowd was still too set in stone to accept such change, or acknowledge his ability to move forward with the times.

After the Fox was letting Cinecitta and the Neo-Realists have it. Can anyone see a bit of Stromboli in this movie or is it just me?

0ooh, I must revisit "After The Fox." I haven't seen it in years. Love your description of Victor Mature's role in "The Robe."

Thanks!

I'll have to go back and look at it to see any specific connection to Stromboli, but I do remember it being a rather scathing and funny satire of the neo-realists. I like My Favorite Year too. I suspect you and I are very close in our liking of movie satire. Just watched Singing in the Rain again this afternoon and couldn't help laughing at some of the in jokes, especially surrounding producer R.F. Simpson, as played by Millard Mitchell, a more flip floppy guy could not be found in the movies, except of course in real life Hollywood.

Guess who else was watching Singing in the Rain? That flip-floppy administrator is commonly found at just about every educational institution where I have found myself gainfully employed! And I caaaaannnntstannnhim!

But I love Millard Mitchell in SITR. He's great!

He's hilariously wishy washy. I always think it was a spot on impersonation of a man who can't quite decide which is the most profitable side to come down on, so he'll stay on the fence as long as he can.

You know what really jumped out at me, on this gazillionth time watching? The color scheme. It all starts with GREY which is mostly paired with pink (Very pretty and kind of old fashionedy looking). Then light blue comes into the scheme - mostly pastel, but occasionally fading to deeper hues - pink into reds or lavenders, or sky blue fading into deep royals. Secondary colors include pastel green at the beginning, brighter yellow at the end (Gene's vest in the big Gotta Dance number or Lina and Zelda's dresses when they discover Kathy dubbing Lina's voice). It was really intricate, but it always came back to grey. I had to laugh at the scene that frames the big technicolor number because for the first time in the whole movie, Gene does not wear grey, he's wearing the same colors as the big production number - royal blue and yellow and white. Then in the next scene he's wearing....pink and grey again.

I am totally in love with Cosmo. My favorite character. I especially like him in grey trousers and deep teal sweater that matches his eyes.

Cosmo! Make 'em Laugh!

I saw one of Lina's costumes at the TCMFF 2010, and it was from Debbie Reynold's collection, and directly relates to the colorful hues you discuss. It had purples, yellows, greens, and was a stunning outfit, even thought it was crafted in the early 50's. The attention to detail, the palettes, the time to craft a scene of immeasurable creativity and skill, the musical score, and the script, with difficult to pronounce and perform dialogue and song lyrics all contributed to the popularity and professionalism of this film. I can't NOT watch it if it is on!

Did you get a picture of it Sue Sue? My favorite dress of hers (though its hard to choose) is the incredibly pale green one with the iridescent fringe she wears at the beginning of the movie - not in the flashbacks, but when they are at the premiere and then go to R.F.'s party.... you know, the cake in the kisser dress.