Notes from my brain as I rewatched Otto Preminger's Laura:
My God, look how young Vincent Price was in 1944. This was nine years before he began his career in horror movies. Otherwise he'd never have gotten the 4 year gig on radio as The Saint. But I have to say when I was young I read my way through a stack of Charteris' The Saint novels, and Price's was certainly not the voice I ever imagined for that British swash-buckler. (You can listen to the episodes HERE.) Meanwhile, Price's Shelby is tall and soft and definitely a gigolo, which makes the idea that Gene Tierney's [breathtakingly beautiful] Laura would fall for him a real problem. Judith Anderson's Ann Treadwell (Laura's aunt) is more understandable, although I think they should have had Agnes Moorehead reprise her role as Emily Hawkins in Since You Went Away. She would have eaten Shelby alive, purring the whole time.
Musing: Agnes Moorehead is the main reason to watch Since You Went Away, because I find the movie pretty saccharine, not to mention trite, melodramatic, and I get tired of watching Claudette Colbert only being filmed from one angle. Oh, and I keep waiting for Jane to run into one of the posts as she runs after Bill's departing train. They spoofed that in some movie, but I can't remember which one.
BTW, Dana Andrews (Detective McPherson) and Gene Tierney had real chemistry. I looked it up, and they ended up doing 5 movies together - Tobacco Road, Belle Starr, Laura, The Iron Curtain, and Where The Sidewalk Ends. BTW, my favorite Dana Andrews movie is The Best Years of Our Lives.
And my favorite comment about him comes from Radio Days, where all the kids are down at the Rockaway shore and talking about their favorite actresses:
Young Joe's Friend #1: My favorite is Rita Hayworth.
Young Joe's Friend #2: I like Betty Grable.
Young Joe's Friend #3: I like Dana Andrews.
Young Joe's Friend #2: Are you kidding? Dana Andrews is a man.
Young Joe's Friend #3: She is? (IMDB)
And I'm always happy to see Clifton Webb.
He alternated between character actor and leads, nominated 3 times for an Academy Award - Laura, Sitting Pretty, and The Razor's Edge - and deservedly won it for The Razor's Edge (and if you've never seen it, watch it - Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney are the leads.) He also played Frank Galbraith in Cheaper by the Dozen (with Myrna Loy as his wife), and his character, Mr. Belvedere (in Sitting Pretty and Mr. Belvedere Goes to College) was the model for Mr. Peabody in my favorite cartoon series of all time, Rocky & Bullwinkle.
Excuse me while I wallow in nostalgia: Mr. Peabody, Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties, Boris Badenov, Natasha & Fearless Leader, Fractured Fairytales, Aesop & Son, Bullwinkle's Corner & Mr. Know-It-All...
And Myrna Loy was also Frederic March's loyal wife in The Best Years of Our Lives, which brings us back to Dana Andrews, and back to Gene Tierney:
Very beautiful, with great range. Watch Laura, and then watch her Oscar nominated performance in Leave Her to Heaven and The Razor's Edge. Great success, interrupted more than once by tragedy. Manic-depressive before anyone knew what that really was, and the shock treatments made her lose much of her memory. And of course, hers was the source of the tragedy in Agatha Christie's The Mirror Crack'd: her daughter, Daria, was born deaf and mentally disabled, because a fan broke a rubella quarantine and infected the pregnant Tierney while she volunteered at the Hollywood Canteen.
EDITORIAL INTRUSION: GET YOUR DAMN VACCINATION OR STAY HOME!!!!
YOUR ACTIONS DO HAVE EFFING CONSEQUENCES!!!
Otto Preminger was a great director. Here are the ones (besides Laura) that I remember watching a long, long time ago:
The Man With the Golden Arm
Bonjour Tristesse
Anatomy of a Murder
Exodus
Advise and Consent
Bunny Lake is Missing (this one will twist your head off)
Hurry Sundown (Michael Caine in one of his many appalling American accents, but otherwise, like all of these, very educational for a young girl/teen in the 1960s…)
I've loved "Laura" (can't find a way to get italics into a comment) since I first saw it many years ago on television. You can imagine my excitement when, around 1980, the art film movie theater in Cambridge, MA announced a showing on its big screen. Alas, some things shouldn't be revisited when writ large. I alternated between bouts of outrage at the snickering around me and my own cringing. I had never noticed the over-the-top use of cigarettes as a way to express emotion. Anger, fear, love, hate. All surrounded by clouds of smoke. There were other provocations, which I can no longer remember. However, I'm pleased to report that I've revisited the movie on a tv screen since then and have rediscovered my affection for it. It remains one of my favorite romantic films, with a perfect cast and outstanding screenplay. Thanks for the memories, Eve.
ReplyDeleteWendy, I wonder if we visited the same theatre, perhaps the Orson Welles? And my date at the time was a special… Wendy. I also liked the Exeter in Boston.
DeleteWendy, here's that story about Wendy.
DeleteEve, I love that unshakeable atmosphere in black-and-white celluloid. Noir and color/colour don't go well together.
ReplyDelete