George Brent Redux

Discussion of the actors, directors and film-makers who 'made it all happen'
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moira finnie
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George Brent Redux

Post by moira finnie »

A new book, George Brent - Ireland's Gift to Hollywood and its Leading Ladies, by a longtime friend of The Silver Screen Oasis, Scott O'Brien, is now available.

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No one has been harder on George Brent as an actor than me, but it's good to know that first impressions are not always entirely accurate. In the past I have spouted off about Brent being a "human tranquilizer" and mocking his sleepier performances. Still, I have to admit that in the last five years, my attitude has changed somewhat. I've seen such obscure films as The Go-Getter (1937), The Right to Live (1935), Racket Busters (1938), 'Til We Meet Again (1940) and begun to appreciate his quieter moments in great films such as Dark Victory (1939) (thank you, TCM, I could never have seen these without you guys!). Now the man's career has begun to interest me beyond his ability to be the perfect frame showcasing flamboyant actresses and his off-screen reputation for his involvements with Garbo and Bette Davis, and marriages to Ruth Chatterton and Ann Sheridan.

Even the apocryphal-sounding stories about his involvement as a teenage runner for Michael Collins in the Irish Rebellion in the first quarter of the 20th century have begun to seem a bit less of a fantasy. This became clearer after seeing seeing the documentary Reabhloidithe Hollywood (2014) aka Hollywood Rebels (2014-Brian Reddin), which chronicled the involvement of actors George Brent and Arthur Shields in this movement (and which included on-camera interviews with Scott O'Brien). As ever with Scott, his meticulous research and eye for detail promises to make this new biography an intriguing read. Here's hoping that Scott will visit us for a Q & A here when he has time in the near future. Links to online venues where you can learn more about this book are below, along with past conversations we have enjoyed with Scott in the past.

George Brent - Ireland's Gift to Hollywood and its Leading Ladies

Here are links to past conversations with Scott about his books on such topics as Kay Francis, Ann Harding and Ruth Chatterton here on the SSO:

2008:
A Conversation about Kay Francis: I Can't Wait To Be Forgotten
http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/vie ... ien#p30220

2010:
A Conversation about Ann Harding - Cinema's Gallant Lady
http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/vie ... ien#p74433

2013:
A Conversation about Ruth Chatterton: Actress - Aviator- Author
http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/vie ... tt+o+brien
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Vecchiolarry
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Re: George Brent Redux

Post by Vecchiolarry »

Hi,

I too was never really that interested in George Brent - he was always just there in movies which had someone or something else that interested me more.

But, after seeing "The Rains Came" (1939), I quite appreciated his performance in that; he was really good...
Since then, I have a better admiration for him in other films that I'd previously dismissed him in - "Jezebel", "The Old Maid", "The Great Lie" and "Dark Victory"...
He gave another fine performance in "The Spiral Staircase" I think.

Larry
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pvitari
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Re: George Brent Redux

Post by pvitari »

The movie that hooked me on George Brent was Frank Borzage's Living on Velvet, in which Brent plays a pilot tormented by the deaths of his family in a flying accident. Kay Francis tries mightily -- oh, how she tries! -- to redeem him. It's about as Borzagean as Borzage could get under the restrictions of the Warner house style and has one of the best "falling instantly in love" scenes ever put on film. It's available through the Warner Archive Collection and shows up now and then on TCM.
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