What A Character: S.Z. Sakall

With his assortment of lovable supporting roles — befuddled yet helpful uncles and friends, slightly curmudgeonly shop owners, eccentric producers — S.Z. “Cuddles” Sakall is pretty much the definition of a Hollywood character actor. His variations on a discombobulated theme, often tinged with sly wit, charmed American audiences from the early ’40s through the mid-’50s, yet he’d been acting for 30 years before he ever set foot in Hollywood.


Who the heck is Gerö Jenö? That is S.Z. Sakall’s birth name, sometimes translated from his native Hungarian as “Jacob Gerö,” which is what appeared on his U.S. citizenship paperwork. Most sources say he was born in 1883, on February 2 in Budapest. (In case you were wondering, he was a Capricorn Aquarius.) Edit: Someone rightly commented that Feb. 2 is Aquarius, it’s squarely in the sign, not sure I got Capricorn from.

By the early 1900s, Gerö Jenö was writing scripts for musical-comedy theatre in Hungary. Several sources mention that he took his stage name, S.Z. Sakall, from the Hungarian phrase “szoke szakall,” in English “blond beard,” which he apparently grew to look older. He started acting at the age of 18. In the early ’20s, he moved to Berlin and appeared in his first film in 1927.

He continued working on stage and in film in Vienna and Berlin, and briefly had a production company, until 1933, when the Nazis took over Germany. Sakall, who was Jewish, had to go back to Hungary. In 1940, Hungary joined the Axis, giving the Nazis control of most of Europe.  Many — Jews and others who objected to the regime — who were able to leave, did so. Those in the film industry made their way to either London or Hollywood, and formed an essential part of American and western European moviemaking for the next two decades, exerting tremendous influence on both the style and content of films. A look at the cast and crew list for Casablanca (1942) has a fair proportion of these refugees: director Michael Curtiz; composer Max Steiner; and actors Paul Henreid, Conrad Veidt, Peter Lorre, and Sakall.


RENAULT: Carl, see that Major Strasser gets a good table, one close to the ladies.
CARL: I have already given him the best, knowing he is German, and would take it anyway.

I can’t help but wonder how Sakall was affected by these lines and others in Casablanca. Perhaps the proximity of art to life was the reason Sakall at first refused the role of Carl the math-professor-turned-headwaiter, even though his Yankee Doodle Dandy director and fellow Hungarian Curtiz was helming, and the cast included top-name talent. Pure speculation on my part. What I do know is that all three of his sisters, his niece, and his wife’s brother and sister were murdered by the Nazis.

1948 photo from The Baltimore Sun: HAPPY HOLLYWOOD WEDLOCK — S.Z. (“Cuddles”) Sakall and his spouse Boeszike (he can pronounce it) have enjoyed nearly 30 years of wedded bliss. Boeszike comes to work with Cuddles nearly every day to help him with his lines, and bits of business, and for them love’s young dream is still way up there on rosy cloud No. 1. Cuddles, assisted by Boeszike, is soon to be seen in Warner Bros.’ “Whiplash.” / From: Warner Bros. Studio / Burbank, California

I don’t know for sure when Sakall acquired his famous nickname, Cuddles, or who gave it to him — his TCM clip cites Jack Warner as the source, but I’ve also heard that Doris Day coined it. He was first credited as “S.Z. ‘Cuddles’ Sakall” in 1945’s San Antonio.* I’ve read that he wasn’t fond of his nickname, and also that his charm, basic niceness and, um, cuddly exterior made it entirely appropriate both in film and in life.
In 1954, Sakall published his wonderfully-titled memoir, The Story of Cuddles: My Life Under the Emperor Francis Joseph, Adolph Hitler and the Warner Brothers. The book is out of print and the one used copy I could find goes for $480.10. If anyone wants to buy me this for Christmas…I’m just saying. He passed away from heart failure in 1955.

It wouldn’t be going out on much of a limb to say Cuddles is best-known for Casablanca. So it is fitting that Humphrey Bogart, Sidney Greenstreet, John Qualen, the film’s producer Hal Wallis, its director Michael Curtiz, its composer Max Steiner, and S.Z. “Cuddles” Sakall were all laid to rest in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.**

My Top Three Cuddles Roles

Ball of Fire Sakall plays one of 7 professors attempting to produce an encyclopedia. Because they’ve been cloistered in a mansion for 9 years, the group reacts strongly when showgirl Sugarpuss O’Shea (Barbara Stanwyck) turns up. As kindly physiology professor Magenbruch, he delivers many of his lines with a touch of mischief…his area of academic study is sex.

Christmas in Connecticut Sakall reunited with Stanwyck for this screwball comedy about a homemaking columnist who isn’t married and doesn’t have any kids. Cuddles plays her good friend, a chef named Felix, who is soon promoted to uncle. In my opinion, this is the quintessential Cuddles role, featuring all the befuddlement and exasperation for which he is known, together with the classic phrase, “It’ll be hunky-dunky,” Cuddle-ese for “hunky-dory.”

Casablanca As mentioned above, Sakall was unwilling to appear in this film. He tried to get Warner Brothers to pay him four weeks’ work, but the studio would only agree to three. His name was misspelled in the credits. But the character is essential to the story and serves as a sympathetic counterpoint to Humphrey Bogart’s brusque Rick.

*San Antonio starred Errol Flynn as a cowboy fighting cattle rustlers and Alexis Smith as the singer who falls in love with him. Sakall plays the singer’s manager, who repeatedly refers to riderless horses as “empty horses.” This phrase was most likely borrowed from, and a dig at, Casablanca director Michael Curtiz, with whom Flynn and David Niven notoriously clashed while filming Charge of the Light Brigade. (Niven called his second autobiography Bring on the Empty Horses.) There is at least one other connection to Casablanca: Dan Seymour, who played the bouncer Abdul, appears uncredited in San Antonio. The entire film is available on YouTube.

** Sakall’s nearest famous neighbors at Forest Lawn are the Ruggles brothers. Actor Charlie is in the same row; director Wesley is in the next row, across from Charlie.

WHAT A CHARACTER! Blogathon update

Hello Film Loving Characters!

It’s almost time for the first-ever WHAT A CHARACTER! Blogathon. Hosted by Aurora of Once Upon A Screen, Kellee of Outspoken and Freckled and Paula of Paula’s Cinema Club, we are excited to host this fun inaugural blogging event. We have set up a schedule (below) for the bloggers who have signed up thus far for next weekend, September 22, 23 and 24.

Remember, this blogathon is all about those scene-stealing delightful character actors that we all love to see on the big screen. We’re anxious to read all of these wonderful posts. So many great character actors have been chosen so far. However, there are many great ones yet unspoken for. So, feel free to join in the film blogging fun while there’s still time! If interested, please contact one of us ASAP with your character choice and contact info so we can add you to the list. We will need all links to be provided and live no later than 24 hours prior to your assigned date to allow for formatting and promotion time.

Plus… don’t forget that we have provided a lovely banner (above) to go with your character blog post and we encourage you to proudly display it on your site.

THANKS SO MUCH!!

Aurora aka Once Upon A Screen
Kellee aka Outspoken & Freckled
Paula aka Paula’s Cinema Club

Saturday, September 22 — Kellee

Aline MacMahon Emma Lets Misbehave
Ann Miller Kay Kay Star Style
Beulah Bondi Janet Coulon
Charles McGraw Ivan Thrilling Days of Yesteryear
Eddie “Rochester” Anderson Terry A Shroud of Thoughts
Edgar Kennedy Gregory Maupin
Edward Everett Horton Jill Blake Sittin On A Backyard Fence
Eli Wallach PG Cooper PG Cooper’s Movie Review
Elsa Lanchester Beth Ann Spellbound By Movies
Eric Blore Lindsey The Motion Pictures
Erik Rhodes and Alan Hale Annmarie Classic Movie Hub
Felix Bressart Kristina Speakeasy
Eve Arden Kellee Outspoken & Freckled

Sunday, September 23 — Aurora

Lucille Wilson and Maude Eburne Patricia Nolan Caftan Woman
Frank McHugh Dorian Tales of the Easily Distracted
Gail Patrick Laurie One Gal’s Musings
Grady Sutton Jessica Comet Over Hollywood
Hume Cronyn in Shadow of a Doubt Jackie Jaxbra Tumblr
John Qualen Kristen Sales on Film
Lee J. Cobb in We Raid Calais Tonight Ruth Silver Screenings
Lew Ayres in Holiday Marya Cinematic Fanatic
Louise Beavers Margaret The Great Katherine Hepburn
Marjorie Main Lucy Secluded Charm
Mary Wickes Brandie True Classics
Sam Levene Duke Picture Spoilers
Thelma Ritter Aurora Once Upon A Screen

Monday, September 24 — Paula

David Landau Cliff Immortal Ephemera
Margaret Dumont Manish Once Upon A Screen
Porter Hall Joel Joel’s Classic Film Passion
Richard Jaeckel Jack Deth Paula’s Cinema Club
S.Z. Sakall Paula Paula’s Cinema Club
Una Merkyl Kevyn The Most Beautiful Fraud In The World
Una O’Connor Anthony Strand Zeppo Marxism
Victor Jory Jacqueline T. Lynch Another Old Movie Blog
Victor Moore Kari What Happened 2 Hollywood
Virginia Weidler Nikki Lynn All Things Classic Film
Walter Brennan & Mercedes Cambridge Le Critica Retro
Ward Bond Tonya GoosePimply Allover
William Demarest Sean The Joy and Agony of Movies

Universal Studios Backlot Blogathon: DRACULA (Spanish version, 1931)

In which I explain how the Spanish-language version of Dracula led to American Pie. This post is part of the Universal Backlot Blogathon, hosted by Kristen at Journeys in Classic Film.

It seems to me that most film fans are familiar with Universal’s 1931 version of Dracula. Starring Bela Lugosi in the role that made him a star, it’s still a popular choice at Halloween, and it’s still capable of creeping you out. However, many are unaware of, and fewer still have seen, Universal’s Drácula, a Spanish-language version, also from 1931. Instead of Lugosi in the title role and Helen Chandler as Mina, en el versión español there are Carlos Villarias and 21-year-old Lupita Tovar as Eva (like Mina, but, as we’ll see, different). While Tod Browning shot the English version during the day, George Melford helmed the Spanish version by night on the same sets. The two productions also shared some of the same crew, who were able to learn from any mishaps or discoveries that occurred during the day. Browning’s version began filming on September 29, 1931; Melford’s on October 23.

Drácula (Carlos Villarias) menaces Eva (Lupita Tovar) in Universal’s Spanish-language version of DRACULA (1931).

The Depression had taken a slice of Universal’s profit pie, and, with the advent of sound, producing films for the once-lucrative foreign markets had gotten more expensive. A silent film could play anywhere in the world with an update to the titles, but effective dubbing was in the future. From The Vampire Book:

Universal’s Czechoslovakian-born executive Paul Kohner suggested a solution to the studio’s head, Carl Laemmle, Jr.: shoot foreign language versions of motion pictures simultaneously with the English versions, thus cutting costs by using the sets more than once. Kohner also argued that salaries for foreign actors and actresses were far less than those of Americans. Laemmle appointed Kohner head of foreign productions. The first result was a Spanish version of The Cat Creeps, a talkie remake of The Cat and the Canary, which Universal had originally done as a silent film. Released in 1930 as La Voluntad del Muerto, it was an overwhelming success in Mexico and made actress Lupita Tovar a star.
Kohner decided to make a Spanish version of Dracula and moved quickly to secure the youthful Tovar for the lead before she could return to Mexico. He chose Carlos Villarias (or Villar) for the role of Dracula, and secured a capable supporting cast with Barry Norton (“Juan” or Jonathan Harker) , Eduardo Arozamena (Abraham Van Helsing), and Pablo Alvarez Rubio (R. N. Renfield).

Not all was smooth sailing. In 2008, at the age of 98, Tovar recalled the vampire-like hours the Spanish-language cast and crew kept, plus another slight detail…Melford didn’t speak Spanish.

Despite any difficulties during the shoot, the Spanish-language version has everything the English-language version has, and more. The camera shakes off that early-talkie stasis and actually moves, following characters in pans or swooping tracking shots. The lighting is more complicated and the scenes which rely on effects are technically better; for instance, when Dracula appears out of a cloud of smoke. Tovar’s characterization of Eva is more dynamic, and she was given a more realistic wardrobe, than Chandler as Mina.

Lupita Tovar, c. 1930.

The only deficiency in Drácula is unfortunately…Dracula himself. Villarias’ performance, especially when compared with Lugosi’s, seems exaggerated and tends to evoke more laughter than fear. When I saw the film on the big screen a couple of years ago, the audience couldn’t help but laugh, during even the most suspenseful and/or horrifying scenes. I guess it could have been just a bunch of people catching the giggles from each other; you can judge for yourself because the whole movie is on YouTube. [Edit: It’s no longer on YouTube, watch for it at your local arthouse.]

Villarias aside, Kohner certainly delivered value for money at Universal. Drácula cost just a tenth of what the English-language version had. Though it disappeared for a while in the mid-twentieth century, a revival in the 1990s returned it to prominence and many critics now rate it more highly than its English-language counterpart.

According to Michael Mallory, writing in Universal Studios Monsters: A Legacy of Horror, Kohner had another motive besides saving money for making Dracula in Spanish: preventing Lupita Tovar from resuming her career in Mexico. Mallory maintains that Kohner was “madly stricken” with Tovar, who wanted to pursue opportunities at home, and that the producer’s thrifty idea was at least in part a scheme concocted to keep the beautiful actress in the U.S. and on the lot. Whether this is true or not, Kohner and Tovar married in 1932 and remained together until Kohner’s death in 1988. Their daughter, Susan Kohner, who played Sarah Jane in Imitation of Life, had two sons — Paul and Chris Weitz, the writer/directors responsible for About a Boy, In Good Company, and yes, American Pie.

MHDL'S Fan Magazine Collection takes you back in movie time

A while back, I happened upon possibly the only site that may be a bigger time suck than tumblr….the Fan Magazine Collection put together by Media History Digital Library (MHDL). This remarkable archive contains full-page scans of magazines that you can browse through or even download to your computer for later consumption.

All’s well at M-G-M “the happy lot:” (L to R) Madge Evans, Robert Montgomery, Marie Dressler, John Gilbert, Anita Page, Joan Crawford and Clark Gable. Photoplay, May 1932.

The star of the show is MHDL’s complete set of Photoplay magazine, comprising all the issues from 1914 until 1940. These magazines are a gold mine for the classic movie fan…in just one issue, I found publicist-approved info like Mary Pickford’s secret for staying slim (hint: skip lunch), Clark Gable’s explanation of some pesky rumors, Myrna Loy and Carole Lombard’s hairdo tips, and addresses for all the stars, plus tons of images. They are also fascinating cultural artifacts, a window into U.S. society’s past concerns (which haven’t actually changed all that much.) This site will occupy more of your time than you probably can spare.

Joan Blondell. Photoplay, May 1932.

 

One of Photoplay’s interesting and often hilarious features is “The Audience Talks Back,” in which fans air their critiques and grievances. It’s like Twitter…only longer and on paper:

“No matter what the critics write, the audience always has the final word” — Letters to Photoplay, May 1932.

 

I cannot even imagine the work that went into scanning these, and MHDL has even more collections…for instance, the Early Cinema archive covers several publications from 1904 to 1919. All the collections are listed here. MHDL is a non-profit organization, “dedicated to digitizing collections of classic media periodicals that belong in the public domain for full public access…We have currently scanned over 400,000 pages, and that number is growing.” The scanning is paid for by collectors and donors, so if you see the value in any of this, please support their work — there’s a “Donate” button in the right sidebar.

Photoplay, April 1932.

Happy birthday, #TCMParty!

Some of you may know that I run #TCMParty, a live tweet of movies shown on TCM, but you may not know that today, September 3, 2012, is the one year anniversary of the first-ever TCM Party.

TCMP-feat-imgWhile I wasn’t present on that occasion, I did start tweeting along soon afterwards, on September 11, 2011. The film was Casablanca. I remember my first ever #TCMParty tweet was something like, “Bring out the private stock,” or words to that effect.

#TCMParty was actually the brainchild of Kathleen Callaway, aka @hockmangirl. A group of her friends on Twitter were tweeting along to classic movies, so she figured, why not use a hashtag so everyone could see everyone else’s tweets. She began “hosting,” i.e. picking a specific movie from the TCM schedule, promoting the date and time it would be on to get as many people together as possible, and tweeting information about it during the air time.

I started hosting TCM Parties sometime in October, and soon after decided we needed a separate Twitter account, so we wouldn’t blow up our followers’ feeds while we were feverishly tweeting about a movie some of them might not care about at all. If you’ve ever wondered why there’s an underscore in @TCM_Party, it’s because @tcmparty was taken. We also started a Facebook page and a tumblr, which are still going strong.

I guess it was destiny…I have this poster in my office at work
I guess it was destiny…I have this poster in my office at work

In March 2012, Kathleen decided to concentrate on her handcrafts and animal rescue work. My nickname for her is “Wonder Woman” for all the stuff she gets done. I had persuaded silent film connoisseur Trevor Jost, aka @tpjost, to guest host Sunrise (1927), and he offered to help with TCM Party on the regular. I am glad that he did, because I have a huge gap in my knowledge of both silents and most films made before “the magic year” 1939. (Actually…if you look carefully enough…there’s tweets and Examiner movie columns around in which I declare my dislike of silent films. What can I say…at least I have the courage to admit publicly that I was wrong.)

From CASABLANCA to TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT, Humphrey Bogart is a recurring TCM Party theme
From CASABLANCA to TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT, Humphrey Bogart is a recurring TCM Party theme

TCMP has less to do with Trevor and I than it does with everybody who shows up and tweets. In the year that people have been gathering around #TCMParty, we’ve trended nationally a few times and brought countless new fans to TCM and classic films. By “we,” I mean all the TCM Party people. I’ve learned so much from everyone and had a ton of fun along the way. I hope it will continue to make more people aware of how really great most classic films are. (I’d be shirking my duties if I didn’t mention that our next #TCMParty is Wednesday, September 5 at 8 p.m. Eastern, To Have and Have Not, starring TCM’s Star of the Month, Lauren Bacall. Make sure to follow @TCM_Party for further updates.)

I’d like to thank everyone who has “attended” our virtual shindigs, helped get the word out, and/or guest-hosted over the past year.

So…what’s your favorite #TCMParty memory?

 

Carol Burnett loves old movies

There’s a few sure things in life, and one is that I’ll watch A Stolen Life, a mistaken-identity melodrama in which Bette Davis plays twins, every time it’s on TCM. A while ago, my friend Tonya from Goosepimply Allover sent me a link to a parody of the film, called “A Swiped Life,” from The Carol Burnett Show. If you’ve  seen the film, you’ll find it hilarious. You can tell Burnett really studied Ms. Davis’ speech patterns and facial expressions…and then way over-emphasized them.

They also did a parody of Double Indemnity, called “Double Calamity.”

And one more…a “tribute” to Fred and Ginger. Roddy McDowall is excellent in the Edward Everett Horton role:

 

What really strikes me about these spoofs is that, at some point, these movies were well-known enough for jokes and references about them to be understood by enough people that it was a regular feature on a national network TV show. Now with the wide variety of entertainment options, there isn’t any one film, TV show, book or musical act that everyone is familiar with.

Also, even though I’ve enjoyed the occasional episode of Jersey Shore, I can’t help but wish there was something as smart and fun as The Carol Burnett Show on TV now.

UPDATE: In the interests of completism, here is the immortal Carol Burnett Gone With The Wind parody, “Went With The Wind:”

7 x 7 – My Favorite Posts

It is my honor that Iba from I Luv Cinema tagged me with a 7 x 7 Link award. Due to continuous chaos and a sick doggie, I haven’t been able to respond until now. Similar to the Liebster Award, it’s a “get to know you” award. I love these!

The 7 x 7 Award highlights a blogger’s favourite pieces of work and is passed on to others so that they too can do the same as a way to promote posts and/or blogs.

Unlike the Liebster, the questions do not vary, but like the Liebster, some are more difficult than others. So here we go.

 

1.Tell everyone something that no one else knows about you.
I don’t think I’ve told very many people why I don’t like camping. By “camping” I mean, sleeping in a tent, not a cabin or a camper, and cooking your meals over a fire. My parents were really into it but it was never something I liked. Then I nearly drowned on a canoe trip in the Canadian wilderness, and that pretty much sealed the deal. Canoeing isn’t my favorite thing either.

 

2. Link to one of the posts that I think best fits the following categories:

Shut up and deal…Jack Lemmon as Bud and Shirley MacLaine as Fran

a. Most beautiful piece: I don’t know! I think it’s The Best Picture Project: THE APARTMENT (1960).

b. Most helpful piece: The post that I find most helpful to refer back to is The Artist: Homages, tributes & shoutouts. Not only is it a record of all the details noticed by myself and others, it also shows me how very much I have to learn about silent films. I hope other people find it helpful too.

c. Most popular piece: Future Classic Movies Blogathon MEGA POST. The Future Classic Movies (FCM) Blogathon involves predicting films made in 2000 or after that will still be drawing audiences on TV, or a chip in our brains, or whatever form of communication exists, 30 or 40 years from now. These will be as old then as the ones we watch on TCM now. And my pick for the inaugural FCM blogathon…well, have I mentioned how much I like The Artist?

The film’s cinematography is beautifully done by Wally Pfister, famous for his work with Christopher Nolan.

d. Most controversial piece: I don’t have too many controversial opinions (about movies anyway), but there’s no question that my pick for Future Classic Movies, Round 2, Moneyball, did not meet with unanimous, or even minimal, approval. I just saw it again, and I stand by my choice 100%.

e. Surprisingly successful piece: That would be Dana Andrews Blogathon: BOOMERANG! I didn’t think this would be one of my most-read posts but I’m happy that it is because I think Andrews is really underrated and more people should see his lesser-known work.

Opening credit sequence – MY MAN GODFREY

f. Most underrated piece: I don’t know about underrated, but my movie typography posts on Espionage Agent and My Man Godfrey are two of my least-read posts.

Ida Lupino is the woman hiding from Stephen MacNally

g. Most pride-worthy piece: Who’s The Boss? Ida Lupino. This was a really spontaneously-written post prompted by research I was doing for TCM Party, the live tweet I run. I think it’s one of my better-written pieces; it seems to flow well, and I managed to cite all my sources.

3. Pass this award on to seven other bloggers:

UPDATE: Here are my nominees for the 7 x 7:

R.A. –  Silver Screenings
Stephen – Classic Movie Man
Eric – The Warning Sign
Kristen – Journeys In Classic Film
Lindsey – The Motion Pictures
PG – PG Cooper’s Movie Reviews
Karen – Shadows and Satin

If by some chance, you’ve already gotten a 7 x 7 that I missed, please feel free to pass it along to the deserving blogger of your choice 🙂

I’d also like to highlight some previous winners’ 7 x 7 posts:

Andina – Inspired Ground
Iba – I Luv Cinema
Ruth – Flix Chatter
Michael – It Rains… You Get Wet

 

And the Liebster goes to…

A few days ago I was honored to receive the Liebster Award from Iba at I Luv Cinema and from Ruth at Flix Chatter and I couldn’t be more surprised and grateful. It’s a really cool idea for a blog event.

The rules:

  1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
  2. Answer the 11 questions the person giving the award has set for you.
  3. Create 11 questions for the people you will be giving the award to.
  4. Choose 11 people to award and send them a link to your post.
  5. Go to their page and tell them. I think letting people know on Twitter is cool.
  6. NO TAG BACKS. Although I will answer my own questions.

 

First, 11 things about me:

  • My favorite writers of all-time are Jane Austen and Raymond Chandler. F. Scott Fitzgerald is up there too. I’ve read all of their work a few times. I really like Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter.
  • I loathe sushi. I know most people love it, but unless it’s a California veggie roll…seriously, you forgot to cook that.
  • I wish I had time to write a music blog. I like all kinds except heavy metal. Bet you didn’t know I listen to some country (Johnny Cash and The Dixie Chicks). I would be lost without Emusic, the Hype Machine, and SiriusXM channel 35.
  • A movie is a couple hours, but a TV show is a much lengthier commitment. I only watch two shows, Mad Men and The Vampire Diaries. Don’t knock TVD unless and until you’ve actually watched a couple episodes of it 🙂
  • I love anything French, and any book/film about or taking place in France. The 2011 Three Musketeers? Yep, I saw it, it was actually pretty good.
  • Related to that, I want to write about French film and film noir more often.
  • My dad and my husband’s dad went to the same high school.
  • I have three tattoos and am working on a fourth.
  • One of the people I most admire is the inventor James Dyson for his creativity and resilience. Plus, if you have furry pets, the Dyson vacuum cleaner will change your life.
  • I believe in that astrology stuff (I’m a Taurus). It isn’t just your sun sign, it’s where all the planets are in your whole chart. I’ve been a lot happier since I started to rely more on astrology and my intuition.
  • Over the past few years, I’ve lost around 100 lbs. and am still dropping.

 

Now, my answers to Iba’s questions:

1. Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter?
What a question! Wow. While I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings first, Harry Potter has the slightest edge. Don’t tell my husband.

 

I waited 2 or 3 hours for Christian Bale in BATMAN BEGINS back in 2005

2. What’s the longest you have waited in line for a movie?
Two or three hours. Not long, compared to other people.

 

No disrespect meant, but ALEXANDER (2004) just wasn’t my thing

3. Have you ever fallen asleep in a film? If so, which one?
Never, though I got pretty drowsy during Alexander(2004).

 

Pretty weird, huh?

4. What was your first concert experience?
Andy Williams. I was eight or nine, I think. So hip!

 

Paris 2010. Tim in front of the café Da Stuzzi, aka Café Debussy in INCEPTION

5. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Back to Paris, and I wouldn’t ever leave.

6. Any hidden talent(s)?
Black belt designer/art director and Adobe Creative Suite ninja. I have other talents, but they will remain hidden.

7. Subtitles: Yea or Nay?
That’s a definite yea! Dubbing is horrible to watch, the voices never match the actors, and you can pick up and/or practice another language by watching subtitled movies.

 

With Michael Fassbender and Tom Hiddleston on board, THE ENGLISHMAN’S DAUGHTER is sure to be awesome.

8. What book would you like to be seen made into a movie?
The Englishman’s Daughter by Ben McIntyre. It’s one of those non-fiction novels, about English soldiers who get caught in a French village behind the enemy lines during World War I. That’s all I’m going to say, you should read it! But it’s short and McIntyre’s style is fairly cinematic; it would make an excellent film. I think Joe Wright, François Ozon, or Guillaume Canet (Ne le dis à personne) should direct it, Michael Fassbender and Tom Hiddleston should be two of the soldiers, and all my favorite French actors should be in it — Marion Cotillard, Mèlanie Laurent, Audrey Tautou, Catherine Deneuve, Alain Delon, Jean Rochefort, Daniel Auteuil, Gilles Lelouche, and Gaspard Ulliel.

9. What is the first thing you would do if you won the lottery?
After I took care of all my entire family’s financial obligations, I’d buy a movie theater.

10. Have you ever snuck into a film without paying for it?
Yes, I have. I did actually pay, but I saw another film after the one I paid for. I guess that’s half price.

11. What is your favorite silent film?
I haven’t seen that many, although I’ve seen more in the last six months than I have my whole life. I’ve got a soft spot in my heart for The Artist, the “silent film gateway drug,” but I also love Sunrise (1927) and Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1919).

And, my answers to Ruth’s questions:

1. Who’s your favorite movie actor who’s currently starring in a TV show?
I guess Jon Hamm or Ian Somerhalder. They have both been in a couple movies. Or maybe Kristen Wiig, although she’s not on TV anymore.

2. Could you date someone who does not love movies?
No.

3. What makes you want to have a movie blog?
I write a column for Examiner about classic movies in Detroit and I wanted to branch out and write about current movies and other classics. Also, it gives me somewhere to put all my movie babble instead of driving everyone around me crazy with it. I have to say, this blog wouldn’t exist without the encouragement of Ruth (Flix Chatter).

Science fiction film, Emma Thompson plays the lead. Call me, QT!

4. Which director/actor collaboration you’d like to see [it has to be people who have never worked together before]?
Quentin Tarantino and Emma Thompson.

5. What dish are you good at making?
Any kind of Italian or Mexican food. I also make a mean potato salad and the best pancakes.

I met Martin Sheen considerably after this picture was taken

6. Any encounter with a celebrity you care to share?
I met Martin Sheen once. He’s about my height and seemed like one of the nicest people you’d ever want to meet.

 

TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY is set mostly in London

7. Since the Olympics is still going on, what’s your favorite movie set in London?
There’s so many…I’ll stick to the most recent one I really liked, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

8. Which is your favorite movie writer [could be a journalist, novelist, etc.]?
Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell) in His Girl Friday (1940-above) or Jo March (Winona Ryder) in Little Women (1994).

9. Which do you prefer: sweltering heat vs. cool, rainy days?
You need some of both, and I really like sweltering heat, but I like cool rainy days just that little bit more.

 

I broke the rules on this one…MAD MEN is not a movie. [Image from Down The Retro Rabbit Hole]
10. Favorite outfit/costume from a movie?
The costumes in Marie Antoinette (2006). Myrna Loy’s dresses in Libeled Lady. Peppy Miller’s outfits in The Artist, especially the shoes. And Joan Holloway Harris’ entire wardrobe on Mad Men. I know it’s not a movie, but it’s not often that a fictional character has my body type 🙂

11. Which actor/actress you initially detest but then slowly warming up to? [Feel free to reverse the question, that is an actor you initially love but now can’t stand.]
I never detested Channing Tatum, I just didn’t understand why he kept getting movies…he works a lot. But he was pretty good in The Eagle and hilarious in 21 Jump Street, which is getting its own sequel.

Now…the nominations:

Kellee @ Outspoken & Freckled
Aurora @ Once Upon A Screen
Will @ Cinematically Insane
Joel @ Joel’s Classic Film Passion
Kristen @ Journeys In Classic Film
Terry @ A Shroud Of Thoughts
Steve @ Classic Movie Man
T @ The Focused Filmographer
Ivan @ Thrilling Days Of Yesteryear
Michael @ It Rains… You Get Wet
Tim @ T. K. Guthat

And my eleven questions:

  1. What is your guilty movie pleasure?
  2. What mediocre classic-era film would you like to see remade?
  3. Are there are any modern actors you think could have held their own in the classic era?
  4. What movie(s) do you always, without fail, stop to watch if you happen upon it/them while flipping channels?
  5. Which actor’s or director’s work do you like in spite of yourself?
  6. Who would play you in the movie of your life story (classic or modern)?
  7. Mac or PC?
  8. What’s your (astrological, not traffic!) sign?
  9. What five people (living or dead) connected with film (modern or classic) would you invite to dinner?
  10. Favorite movie snack.
  11. Craziest G/PG-rated thing that ever happened to you at a movie theater.

UPDATE: These hearty souls actually answered my questions:

T @ The Focused Filmographer
Michael @ It Rains… You Get Wet

TCM Week – July 30-August 5

Interesting week on TCM. Leslie Howard month wraps up and Summer Under The Stars kicks off with two of my favorites, John Wayne and Myrna Loy. As always, all times are Eastern.

Monday, July 30
9:30 p.m. Island in the Sky (1953)
***TCM PARTY***
Captain Dooley (John Wayne) is the pilot of a plane that crashes “so far north that the area is barely on the map.” He’s in charge of the stranded crew, which has very limited provisions, only a wood fire for heat and barely any juice for the radio signal. Can the Duke keep everyone alive until they’re rescued? Look for us on Twitter with #TCMParty…watch and tweet along with our guest hosts @biscuitkitten and @ScribeHard.

Tuesday, July 31
Star of the Month: Leslie Howard
8:00 p.m. The Scarlet Pimpernel (1935)
This is one of my favorite Leslie Howard films ever. In the 1790s, an apparently shallow British nobleman, Sir Percy Blakeney (Howard), defies the evil French revolutionary Chauvelin (Raymond Massey) by spiriting his fellow aristocrats away from the guillotine and out of France. Also starring the beautiful Merle Oberon as Lady Marguerite Blakeney and luxuriously produced by Alexander Korda, this is perhaps not the most realistic film ever made about the French Revolution, but it may be the most fun.

Beginning early Wednesday at 1:30 a.m., TCM has booked three mystery films starring Joan Blondell: There’s Always a Woman (1938), co-starring Melvyn Douglas and Mary Astor; The Famous Ferguson Case (1932), directed by Lloyd Bacon; and Miss Pinkerton (1932), with George Brent. I haven’t seen any of these, but Blondell’s sassy presence is enough to get me to set the DVR.

Wednesday, August 1
John Wayne
Summer Under The Stars kicks off today. It’s difficult to go wrong with anything on the schedule…seriously…it’s John Wayne. If you need to start somewhere, and can only DVR one movie today, I recommend Stagecoach (1939), The Searchers (1956) or Rio Bravo (1959).

1933: (Left to right) Hollywood stars Myrna Loy (1905 – 1993), Ramon Novarro (1899 – 1968) and Louise Closser Hale relax in the sun during takes for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production THE BARBARIAN. (Photo by Margaret Chute) via doctormacro.com

Thursday, August 2
Myrna Loy
Loy is another favorite of mine who is mostly known today as Nora Charles in The Thin Man series, but she made around 80 films before she became a star in 1934 with the first of those films. So the films she made before that are lesser-known. There’s five of them this morning beginning with The Great Divide (1929) at 6:00 a.m. and including The Naughty Flirt (1931), The Barbarian (1933), When Ladies Meet (1933), and The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933). Then tonight at 8:00 p.m., Loy has a supporting but pivotal role in William Wyler’s The Best Years of Our Lives, one of the best movies ever made. It’s also our ***TCM PARTY*** for tonight. Look for us on Twitter with #TCMParty…watch and tweet along!

Friday, August 3
Johnny Weissmuller
What can I say, a lot of people dig Tarzan pictures. Maybe I’ll check some of them out.

Saturday, August 4
Marilyn Monroe
The film I haven’t seen today is Clash By Night (1952) and it’s got an interesting director and cast. Directed by Fritz Lang, it stars Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Ryan and Monroe. I’m expecting something in noir, seeing as Lang directed M, The Woman in the Window, Scarlet Street, The Big Heat, etc.

Sunday, August 5
Claude Rains
You can’t really go wrong with anything today either. I say that a lot. If I’m forced to pick, I’ll go with The Invisible Man (1933) and Mr. Skeffington (1944). Did you know that in addition to being a great actor, Rains was an acting teacher? Two of his most famous students were Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud.

Dana Andrews Blogathon: BOOMERANG!

Dana Andrews and the films he made have long been favorites of mine so I was delighted when I found out that Steve Reginald (aka @sreggie) of Classic Movie Man was putting together a Dana Andrews Blogathon. The following is my contribution; see the rest of the excellent posts here.

I’ve chosen Boomerang! (1947), directed by Elia Kazan. The film is based on an actual case of an innocent man being convicted of murder in Connecticut in 1928 (though the city was changed from Stamford to Bridgeport). Kazan wanted to meld the documentary style of a newsreel with Hollywood moviemaking techniques, and he succeeded — this film is the direct ancestor of the “fact-based” docudramas with which we’re so familiar today. It was supervised by the same producer as the March of Time newsreels, Louis de Rochemont, much of it was shot on the run in real locations, and there’s no score. Despite this, Kazan later expressed dissatisfaction with the film, and with his star.

The no-nonsense credits — names typewritten on the plain white pages of a script, turned by an unseen hand — reflect the bare-bones staging of the film. The voice-over introduction makes it clear that arresting an the wrong person can happen anywhere: “people are the same everywhere,” it admonishes. Then the fast-paced action kicks off with the murder: The victim, a minister, is shot off-screen. The townspeople react with shock, disbelief and sadness that such a well-known and beloved man could be shot to death just like that; even the local hoodlums throw some money together for a wreath. We see the minister’s life in an economical flashback. He was part of the “reform” government that cleaned up the town, and he knew a lot of peoples’ secrets. The perpetrator could have been anyone. The description of the murderer is appropriately vague: “a man in a dark coat, light hat, medium build.”

Andrews plays State’s Attorney Henry Harvey, who is based on the DA in the real case. He’s first seen around 10 minutes in, when police chief “Robbie” Robinson (Lee J. Cobb) goes to Harvey’s office to give him an update. It’s clear that the case is already a pressure cooker. The local paper, a property of the reform government’s opposition, is taking the opportunity to make the police, and by extension, the incumbents, look incompetent. Editorials in print and on the radio are agitating the citizenry, neighbors are bickering, and even Harvey’s wife Madge (Jane Wyatt) is after him about the case. It’s no surprise that the shadow side of human nature would begin to dominate. When a “tramp” matching the description is found in Ohio, with a gun of the same caliber that killed the minister, and admitting to having left town when the murderer supposedly would have, he’s arrested and brought back to Connecticut. He’s actually a WWII veteran named Waldron (Arthur Kennedy), who is right out of the Army and can’t find a job. The police torture a confession out of him and the case goes to an inquest, which proceeds as you might expect.

Harvey is at first keen to convict Waldron, practically bounding up the stairs to tell the Chief that ballistics says the bullet and the gun match. But before he takes the next step in the process and indicts Waldron, the attorney decides to chat with him in his cell. This scene is when Andrews really begins to shine. He starts out stern, but as he listens to the prisoner’s story — Waldron has had a lot of bad luck after five years in the military — he shows us the faint glimmers of doubt beginning to creep into Harvey’s mind. Something just isn’t right.  It soon becomes even more clear that the “authorities” are concerned with something other than justice — staying in office, getting elected, escaping public ridicule — except Harvey. Because when court is in session, and everyone is expecting an indictment, Harvey declares that Waldron is innocent. The rest of the film is a kind of trial, as Harvey recalls witnesses from the inquest and introduces new evidence to prove his statement true, all the while ending his political career.

Andrews is always underrated, but never more than by the director of Boomerang! Kazan is quoted on the TCM site as saying,

There was very little you could do with Dana….He could learn three pages in five minutes. He had a fantastic memory, even though he’d been up late drinking the night before. He’d come to work, dress up, and we’d roll him out. His style was okay in the movie, because he was playing a lawyer, and essentially there wasn’t supposed to be too much going on inside of him. But unfortunately that kind of acting leaves you with the feeling that there was nothing really personal at stake.

Maybe Kazan felt this way because this was an early work (his third feature), and he was still perfecting his style, but I can’t help but think he’s seeing a different film. Maybe he forgot to watch Andrews in the scene in the courtroom where, in order to recreate the crime, Harvey has one of his assistants shoot him with the loaded murder weapon. Andrews certainly isn’t melodramatic (though at one point, as Harvey deals with a gun-toting, blackmailing political hack, we do see a flash of Lt. McPherson from Laura). His performance is subtle and controlled, as in appropriate for a prosecutor, but it’s a very authentic. His Harvey isn’t perfect, just that rare person who will temper his ambition to see justice served. One of the ways Andrews makes him real is that he behaves differently at home than he does at work. (Most people do, maybe even you.)

This film isn’t on DVD, and Fox pulled most of it down from YouTube (hence the mediocre screenshots), so keep an eye for it on TCM. You don’t want to miss one of Dana Andrews’ best performances.

UPDATE: Boomerang! is actually available from ClassicFlix or via Amazon. You could do a lot worse than buying this film. Thanks Stephen!