Jennifer Jones

Discussion of the actors, directors and film-makers who 'made it all happen'
feaito

Re: Jennifer Jones

Post by feaito »

Thanks to Alison I saw "Cluny Brown" (1946) and I loved it. It's a perfect film, full of charm, totally offbeat, with wonderful, enchanting, unforgettable performances by the marvelous cast: Charles Boyer as Belinski is superb! Jennifer Jones as the free spirited Cluny Brown is a joy to behold; Helen Walker as the honourable Betty Cream, another delight. Even Peter Lawfrod sparks as Belinski's passionate admirer and Betty Cream's number one Beau; Reginald Owen and Margaret Bannerman are deliciously funny as his lordship and her ladyship; Sara Allgood and Ernest Cossart deftly impersonate their proud servants; Richard Haydn is Cluny's pompous fiancée; lovable Una O'Connor his non-speaking (but constantly coughing) mother; Reginald Gardiner is a hoot as the host of a cocktail party; and Billy Bevan is amusing as Cluny's uncle. The film is not predictable at all, not formulaic, full of wonderful vignettes and a marvelous mise-en-scene. They just dont make them anymore like this.
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charliechaplinfan
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Re: Jennifer Jones

Post by charliechaplinfan »

I'm glad I was able to share with you the two region 2 dvds. They are some of Jennifer's best work, I'm glad you enjoyed them as much as I did.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
RedRiver
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Re: Jennifer Jones

Post by RedRiver »

I don't think I've ever seen this classic. And I like Henry King's work as often as not. I'm one of those whose cup of tea it probably isn't. So I've yet to surrender to it! As a child, I liked THE MIRACLE OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA. I was very young, but it worked from that perspective.
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mrsl
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Jennifer Jones

Post by mrsl »

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I watched for about the 6th time, Good Morning Miss Dove, the other day. For some reason this movie sticks with me. It's not any particular performance, and I admit I'm a sucker for any "favorite person of the town" stories, but this one just rolls along. I am not necessarily a Jennifer Jones fan, but I do credit her with at least a minimum of acting talent here. It's not hard to play a french coquette like Madame Bovary, or a rich/b**** southern belle like Ruby Gentry, and in Love Letters she's a wacko, just like Duel in the Sun, and I found Portrait of Jennie kind of a sad paranormal attempt, but in Miss Dove, Jennifer actually has to act. She grows from a starry eyed young lady, to a middle aged woman, and finally a fairly older lady, all the time interacting with several children and adults.

Can anyone give me some ideas to change my mind?
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Anne


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moira finnie
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Re: Jennifer Jones

Post by moira finnie »

mrsl wrote:Can anyone give me some ideas to change my mind?
I don't know if anyone can really change a person's mind about a performer, Anne. It is such a subjective thing, but I think that Jennifer Jones is an actress people love or don't for sometimes indefinable reasons. Her best role may have been her first big hit, in The Song of Bernadette in which her performance was shaped and showcased so beautifully by the director Henry King and the material. I am also fond of Love Letters and Portrait of Jennie, but can understand how these stories might not appeal to everyone.

While her range was not huge, I do think that Jones was quite good as part of the ensemble in Since You Went Away (1945) and Madame Bovary (1949), particularly in the latter film's scenes when she expressed an intense longing for the kind of experience that her character dreamed of as a girl. I like Good Morning Miss Dove okay--but more for the secondary story of her neglected student, played by Chuck Connors as an adult, than for the rather stiff character Jones portrayed.

I don't think that she was as successful trying to play earthy women (Duel in the Sun, Ruby Gentry) but, generally speaking, and based on the portrait of her marriage to David O.Selznick that emerged in the biography, "Showman the Life of David O Selznick" by David Thomson, those types of parts were chosen and created much more by the obsessive producer than an ambitious actress.

Three roles that I thought suited Jones and that paired her with good filmmakers that might be of interest:
Gone to Earth (1950) aka The Wild Heart: Director Michael Powell and writer-producer Emeric Pressburger tell the story of a young woman in rural Shropshire attuned to nature who is torn between convention and the release of emotion. You can see the movie here:
[youtube][/youtube]

The Indiscretion of an American Wife (1953) aka Terminal Station: Director Vittorio de Sica (working often at odds with Selznick) evoked beautifully balanced turns by Jones and Montgomery Clift in a tragic romance along the lines of Brief Encounter, but not as satisfying as that David Lean masterpiece. Worth seeing for the performances:
[youtube][/youtube]

Best of all--Cluny Brown (1945) in which Jones played a delightful, almost down-to-earth character in a comedy of manners directed by the great Ernst Lubitsch. I wish that J.J. had been in more comedies (one other to see is Beat the Devil, which is odd fun). Cluny Brown begins below:
[youtube][/youtube]
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RedRiver
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Re: Jennifer Jones

Post by RedRiver »

I'm a sucker for any "favorite person of the town" stories

And I am a sucker for "long life and lasting influence" stories! More or less the same thing, I guess. I like "Miss Dove" too.
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