The Golden Age: Classic Movie Thread

[LAX]

I was on a Memorial Day war movie marathon yesterday on AMC and TMC. My last movie before bedtime was Since You Went Away. I spent about half the movie wondering who actress playing the younger daughter was until it finally dawned on me that it was Shirley Temple. I can see why she never was able to transition into adult roles, she was atrocious. That furrowed brow & pouty-trouty lips way of talking might have worked for a little moppet, but it was sure annoying in a young adult.

[Daisy Pusher]

May 31, 2011 13:01:19 GMT -4 LAX said:

I was on a Memorial Day war movie marathon yesterday on AMC and TMC. My last movie before bedtime was Since You Went Away. I spent about half the movie wondering who actress playing the younger daughter was until it finally dawned on me that it was Shirley Temple. I can see why she never was able to transition into adult roles, she was atrocious. That furrowed brow & pouty-trouty lips way of talking might have worked for a little moppet, but it was sure annoying in a young adult.

LAX, I watched the same marathon! It was a good one. Shirley Temple was pretty annoying as Brig, but OTOH, that same babyish/pouty manner worked to fairly good effect in The Bachelor and The Bobby Soxer, I thought. At any rate, her film career finally petered out shortly after the war. Since You Went Away--terrific movie. Bit of trivia--Jennifer Jones and Robert Walker, who played Jane and her doomed boyfriend, Bill, had actually been married in real life (back when they were still trying to break into films) and were going through a contentious divorce at the time of filming Since You Went Away. Apparently Jennifer was extraordinarily stressed throughout filming, but got a ton of support from the producer (and her future husband), David O. Selznick.

[chonies]

I also think it might have just been bad luck for Shirley Temple. Her cutesy babyish features worked when she was a precocious kid, but she retained the rounded features and looked kind of potato-faced next to Jennifer Jones (and Myrna Loy, and everyone else) and other people who had more mature, classically pretty faces.

[Peggy Lane]

I only caught "Best Years of Our Lives" and "Since You Went Away" but both movies are so good. The chemistry between Dana Andrews and Teresa Wright is palatable. And they might not have had a term yet for PTSD, but Andrews (and all the men, really) did a fine job of portraying it.

[LAX]

I didn't know that about Jennifer Jones and Robert Walker. I wonder if killing off Walker's character in the film was part of Selznik's courtship.

Not only did Shirley Temple have a potato face, she also had some major cankles. It was like her chubby baby legs hadn't matured yet. Poor thing, it must have been tough to be up against all the stunning screen stars of that era.

[proper stranger]

I've always heard that Jennifer Jones and David O. Selznick started their affair while both were still married. (Selnick was married to Louis B. Mayer's daughter, Irene.) Robert Walker took the divorce badly--started to drink heavily, eventually had a breakdown, and died young. Sad story.

I read somewhere that Selznick ordered many takes of Jones and Walker's love scenes in Since You Went Away, which had to have been painful for both actors. That was some Grade A douche behavior on Selznick's part.

Personal drama aside (or, maybe partly because of it), Robert Walker was fantastic in Strangers on a Train. And The Clock with him and Judy Garland is one of my romantic faves.

May 31, 2011 22:28:26 GMT -4 Peggy Lane said:

I only caught "Best Years of Our Lives" and "Since You Went Away" but both movies are so good. The chemistry between Dana Andrews and Teresa Wright is palatable. And they might not have had a term yet for PTSD, but Andrews (and all the men, really) did a fine job of portraying it.

The Best Years of Our Lives is such a great movie. The scene where Harold Russell shows his fiancee the difficulties of his life is so moving and beautiful.

[margojata]

May 31, 2011 22:28:26 GMT -4 Peggy Lane said:

I only caught "Best Years of Our Lives" and "Since You Went Away" but both movies are so good. The chemistry between Dana Andrews and Teresa Wright is palatable. And they might not have had a term yet for PTSD, but Andrews (and all the men, really) did a fine job of portraying it.

It's a great movie. None of the flag waving propaganda stuff Hollywood had been throwing out. My dad could never watch it - it all hit too close to home. Speaking of PTSD, dad had similar crazy shouting flashbacks when he was in the hospital - 60 YEARS after the war! It scared me to death, and immediately reminded me of the movie.

[Shalamar]

I haven't seen it since I was a kid - wasn't there a part in which the father (Joseph Cotton? Can't remember) couldn't get his old job back because it had been given to someone else while he was in the war, and he ended up pumping gas, or something? Gritty stuff for the time.

[proper stranger]

Just caught the last part of Black Narcissus on TCM. God, the color in that movie is gorgeous. And those last 20 minutes are so creepy and atmospheric.

I'm seeing Captain Blood on the big screen tomorrow night. Excited!

[mike]

black narcissus 1947 is a beautiful color movie directed by michael powell,the following year he made, the red shoes, which is equally beautiful and also happens to be martin scorceses favorite movie...i have seen "a lot" of beautiful color movies,leave her to heaven 1945,the river 1951,singin in the rain 1952, gone with the wind 1939,lawrence of arabia 1962 ect,ect, come to mind ,but to me, the most gorgeous color movie ever made is ,curse of the golden flower 2006 by yimou zhang, his use of color in this movie is astonishing and breathtaking,the best use of color i have ever seen, its without equal, the set designs are amazing, i cant think of anymore adjectives to use to describe this film! does anyone else agree?