The Silver Screen Oasis

Hello Everyone,
What do you think about Jack Clayton and his filmmaking? The film I loved from Jack Clayton was The Innocents (1961). Here are the other films he directed - The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987), Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983), The Great Gatsby (1974) , Our Mother's House (1967), The Pumpkin Eater (1964), and Room at the Top (1959).

I'm a big Anne Bancroft fan but I haven't seen this film in years and years. Click on the picture of Annie above. You'll see the conversation that was had about "THE PUMPKIN EATER."

Here is your discussion of The Pumpkin Eater from last year, kingrat:
http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/vie ... 67&start=0

The Innocents, The Pumpkin Eater and Our Mother's House are beautifully made, highly detailed movies that it are often difficult for me to watch due to the children involved, though they are certainly compelling dramas. Clayton was one of the directors who could elicit a seemingly natural performance from children.

I haven't seen Room at the Top in years, but Clayton got two of the best career performances from Harvey and Signoret. Even though it was often hard to sympathize with Harvey's actions you could feel how ambition for something more ate away at his insides. My Mother's House stands out as one of Dirk Bogarde's slimiest roles (and that's saying quite a bit considering some of Dirk's other excursions on screen).

The only one of Clayton's relatively small number of films I saw in a theater was Something Wicked This Way Comes. It was not as moving as Bradbury's book, but it was very engrossing and used darkness in a way that now reminds me of film noir. Having learned that there was apparently some interference from the producers on this film's content and that it was originally written with Gene Kelly in mind for the Jonathan Pryce role, I can't help wondering what it might have been.

I wish Clayton's movies were shown more.

I remember watching parts of The Pumpking Eater. But not the entire film. With The Innocents, I liked how the story becomes mysterious and mysterious. When we think that the mystery is almost over at the end, it starts again by developing into an another idea.

You are well informed, Konway. I didn't know Clayton's name. But I admire his crafting of THE INNOCENTS and ROOM AT THE TOP. Bradbury fans looked forward to "Something Wicked." As I haven't read the book, I skipped the movie as well!

Now, Clayton Moore...that's a name I know!

Moore is rolling in his grave to see that they gave the role of Tonto to Johnny ( ACK! ) Depp!

Rangers of The Caribbean!

The interesting thing with The Innocents is it's fine connection towards Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca. Rebecca is a representation of evil that exists spiritually. We see this spiritual evil in The innocents through Peter Quint.

Jack Clayton also directed a wonderful short in 1956, "The Bespoke Overcoat", from the story by Nikolai Gogol, with Alfie Bass and David Kossoff. A really moving adaptation of this ghost story, one of the best featurettes (33 mns) that I saw in my life.