The Silver Screen Oasis

Judith, thanks to TimeWarner and my DVR box, I got to see Somewhere In the Night late last night. I kept thinking the story was vaguely familiar, but couldn't place it until the scene with Josephine Hutchinson. Her bizarre "mad scene", his compassion for her, and then that great scream at the window... it hit me, this was my first glimpse of John Hodiak, at the tender age of 11 or so, and I fell madly in love with him. Must have been on Million Dollar Movie, because I (now) remember watching it at least two times...Friday night and Saturday morning, when movies would be repeated. The TV station also ran The Harvey Girls, and I was totally hooked. Don't think I ever have completely gotten over him...
This time, however, I actually paid attention to the story, and it was a bit overdone, but it was a great way to spend an evening.

I was never a big fan of Hodiak, but I liked him very much in this movie. Maybe I just don't like him much in those working class roles he played so often. I liked him much better in a suit (but that silly little moustache -- ugh). He had lots of closeups, and I hadn't really before seen what beautiful, expressive eyes he had.

John Hodiak and Nancy Guild

Poor amnesiac, just out of the Marines, and lost somewhere in the night

jdb1 wrote:I was never a big fan of Hodiak, but I liked him very much in this movie. Maybe I just don't like him much in those working class roles he played so often. I liked him much better in a suit (but that silly little moustache -- ugh). He had lots of closeups, and I hadn't really before seen what beautiful, expressive eyes he had.

John Hodiak and Nancy Guild

As someone who likes Hodiak, I have to agree--that mustache was not flattering, but was oh, so popular among all sorts of actors once Clark Gable wore it after becoming a star, (I prefer Gable without that dumb mustache too). John Hodiak adored Gable btw, using him as a role model though I think Hodiak might have made it bigger if he'd been just himself. In an interview with Nancy Guild that I once read, she remembered Hodiak as a nice but rather tense guy, and one who had a guarded nature. Having come from an immigrant family, he was a man who struggled all his life to acquire the polish he needed to make it as an actor. He had high blood pressure problems for several years before he died, according to Anne Baxter's autobiography. Too bad he died so young at only 41. If you liked Hodiak in this movie, you might enjoy him in the flawed but interesting The Arnelo Affair, which shows up on TCM once in awhile. A Bell for Adano (1945) which begins here on youtube is another good role for Hodiak. It's a nice low-key performance from him along with William Bendix, Harry Morgan, and a very unlikely blond Gene Tierney in John Hershey's story of liberated Italy.

One other Hodiak tidbit:
James Garner gave an interview once describing how one of his first jobs as an actor was to play a judge in the stage show of The Caine Mutiny Court Martial on Broadway in the early '50s. He had no lines but had to look attentive night after night. Gradually, Garner said that he never forgot that experience, which he considered his acting school, where he learned to act by watching three teachers: Henry Fonda, Lloyd Nolan and John Hodiak who worked night after night, bringing the story to life in a fresh way each evening for 415 performances.

He did have beautiful blue eyes, didn't he?

WHOA, BABY!

moirafinnie wrote:
As someone who likes Hodiak, I have to agree--that mustache was not flattering, but was oh, so popular among all sorts of actors once Clark Gable wore it after becoming a star, (I prefer Gable without that dumb mustache too). John Hodiak adored Gable btw, using him as a role model though I think Hodiak might have made it bigger if he'd been just himself.

Moira, do you think that might have come about from co-starring with Gable in Command Decision? I watched that one just two nights ago, and what a tense little piece of work! Gable had to scramble to flirt the camera in this one - not only was JH's performance cutting edge good, but they had to share many scenes with the likes of Bickford, Pidgeon, Donlevy & McIntire!

moirafinnie wrote: In an interview with Nancy Guild that I once read, she remembered Hodiak as a nice but rather tense guy, and one who had a guarded nature. Having come from an immigrant family, he was a man who struggled all his life to acquire the polish he needed to make it as an actor.

You say polish, I'm saying Polish . . because we Bellowsfallsians have of our own family of Hodiaks here in the village, and friendly, hard-working Poles they all are . . but they pronounce their surname "hoe / jack" . . do you happen to know how our John pronounced his name?

I don't know how he pronounced his name, but I suspect that for professional reasons it may have been said to rhyme with Kodiak. He was strongly pressured to change his name to something less ethnic, but, according to a couple of sources I've come across he was quoted as saying, "I like my name. It sounds like I look."

Actually, from what I gather, Hodiak idolized Gable from the time he started working as an actor professionally in the early '30s and made Homecoming, Command Decision, & Across the Wide Missouri with the star.

Thanks, Moira.
And thanks in particular for sharing that quote: "I like my name. It sounds like I look."; guess it just goes to the concept of the power of words, but that really resonated with me, giving me, I feel, a deeper peek into the man's psyche.
Think I'll log those words into my memory file right next to his name & face; and I think the next time I spot John Hodiak in something fun & old, I'll be watching him a little closer!

Some interesting films coming on Sundance this week, including Bunuel's Diary of a Chambermaid (1964). A nice double dose of Moreau if you're already planning on catching The Bride Wore Black (1968) on TCM Tuesday. The real knockout however, is Teinosuke Kinugasa's Gate of Hell (1953) showing early Saturday morning on IFC (10/3). An intense drama shot in three-strip technicolor, Gate of Hell is something akin to Samurai film meets Greek tragedy. This movie is currently OOP and shows very rarely. A must see at all costs!

As was noted elsewhere, Letter to Three Wives is showing all this month on Fox Movie Channel...hooray!!!!! It's Thelma Ritter at her wisecracking, hat tilted best.

Knitwit:

Not to mention what a great movie it is anyway. A Letter to Three Wives. Linda Darnell is smart, sharp, gorgeous and sexy, and it's a kick watching her wrap that big teddy bear around her little finger. This is one of the few parts I like Kirk Douglas in, for once there's no hamming it up with clenched teeth, and bulging eyes, just playing the professor husband who loves classical music, and his wife, not necessarily in that order. Plus he's right. Why do pillows have to be plumped and look like nobody ever sits with them, or eats candy out of the bowl? I have to give Kirk credit for how he handled that broken record, he's a better man than I would have been Gunga din. I've lived close enough to the Metra track to know what they went through in that apartment, but never had everything shake like it did. I have it taped and watch it a lot of times when I'm not sure what mood I'm in. I put it in and just enjoy, and it always lifts my spirits. They remade it in the 80's and it came nowhere within miles of the original.
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I was just looking at the FMC December schedule and I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is that there's more older films on the schedule, extending further into the afternoon and even in prime time some days. However, the bad news is that they're all repeat showings (sometimes multiple repeat showings) of the same films that been in the film rotation all year long. I guess that I could have missed one, but I didn't notice a single older title that's new to FMC's schedule.

Then for those those who can't get enough of a good or a bad thing (you choose) starting at 8pm on Christmas Eve and running until 6am on the 26th, there are 17 consecutive showings of HOME ALONE. I know that TBS's 24 hour A CHRISTMAS STORY marathon has become a tradition and works very well for them, but I'm not sure HOME ALONE is equal to the task at FMC.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, anybody who complains about repeats on TCM should watch FMC for a year. They will never complain again.

Coming up tonight, 11:35pm ET, on Encore's Western Channel is "Rancho Notorious." It will most likely play again over the next few days.

Also at the end of the month (27th) they are doing one of their "Six Gun Salutes" to Joel McCrea.

The Fox Channel will be showing Claudine (1974) late Wednesday/early Thursday morning.

Although this is a great romantic comedy, it's also an interesting study of the welfare system and has some wonderful performances by James Earl Jones and Diahann Carroll. Gladys Knight and the Pips round out the experience with a hip soundtrack. Don't miss this one!