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Re: October Schedule 2014

Posted: October 7th, 2014, 11:04 pm
by Bronxgirl48
Western Guy wrote:Anyone catch Silent Sunday's THE BLOT? I can't believe Louis Calhern was ever that young.



Certain actors look like they were born old. Louis (one of my favorite character actors, btw) is one of them, lol.

Maybe we should compile a list. I'll start:

Grant Mitchell
Clarence Kolb
Samuel S. Hinds
Henry Stephenson
Lionel Barrymore

Re: October Schedule 2014

Posted: October 8th, 2014, 5:12 am
by ChiO
Isn't Burt Mustin president of the club?

Re: October Schedule 2014

Posted: October 8th, 2014, 8:34 am
by Western Guy
Huge admirer of Louis Calhern, too - especially his role as the sleazy lawyer in THE ASPHALT JUNGLE, for which he richly deserved an Oscar nod.

Yeah, ChiO, if Burt Mustin is not president of the club, I'd certainly cast my vote for him.

Re: October Schedule 2014

Posted: October 8th, 2014, 9:17 am
by JackFavell
Charles Lane and especially Ian Wolfe. Wolfe should be vice president....

Re: October Schedule 2014

Posted: October 8th, 2014, 9:39 am
by Western Guy
Think I can top you, Wendy:

Charles Grapewin
Henry Travers
George "Gabby" Hayes
Tully Marshall

Re: October Schedule 2014

Posted: October 8th, 2014, 11:52 am
by RedRiver
"30", King Rat? The Jack Webb newspaper movie? Love it! Or were you talking about something else?

Love Charley Grapewin! Harry Davenport is another "always old" character actor. And a darn good one! And yes, Burt Mustin could have played Fred Ott's grandfather!

Huge admirer of Louis Calhern, too - especially his role as the sleazy lawyer in THE ASPHALT JUNGLE

I'm glad you said this, Western Guy. A few years ago, I read something that suggested this actor was REALLY bad. I mean remarkably bad. Are they kidding? He's wonderful in "Asphalt." His portrayal of Oliver Wendell Holmes is rich and vigorous. The man played Julius Caesar, for crying out loud. Actors of his generation, most of them stage trained, played to the back of the house. They employed broad, exaggerated mannerisms. That doesn't add up to bad acting. It's just a different style.

I'm not sure where I read this. I believe it was on...that other message board!

Re: October Schedule 2014

Posted: October 8th, 2014, 12:03 pm
by Western Guy
Yes, there definitely was an exaggeration in Louis Calhern's acting, R.R., but it was a slight exaggeration and - to me at least - made his performances all the more entertaining, particularly in THE ASPHALT JUNGLE (my fourth all-time favorite movie). On another board I used to belong to there was the decided comment that Paul Muni was probably the worst actor of all time. Granted, Muni was more broadly theatrical in his mannerisms than Calhern, but I enjoy watching him and your remarks R.R. are right on the money. Actors trained onstage during that era were instructed to play it grandly. Bela Lugosi was another exaggerated performer whose acting I continue to enjoy. I mean, if not for his theatrical presence could anyone tolerate those terrible 40s Monogram films he did?"

Re: October Schedule 2014

Posted: October 8th, 2014, 12:21 pm
by ChiO
WG wrote:
Think I can top you, Wendy:

Charles Grapewin
Henry Travers
George "Gabby" Hayes
Tully Marshall
Two words:

Will...Wright.

Re: October Schedule 2014

Posted: October 8th, 2014, 12:59 pm
by RedRiver
I enjoy Paul Muni's work too, Western Guy. Film acting didn't begin with De Niro!

Re: October Schedule 2014

Posted: October 8th, 2014, 4:04 pm
by Western Guy
. . . Or Brando.

Re: October Schedule 2014

Posted: October 8th, 2014, 11:26 pm
by CineMaven
[color=#4040BF][u]Western[/u] [u]Guy[/u][/color] wrote:Think I can top you, Wendy:

Charles Grapewin
Henry Travers
George "Gabby" Hayes
Tully Marshall
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
[u][color=#BF0000]ChiO[/color][/u] wrote:
Two words:

Will...Wright.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *

ChiO - I'll see your Will Wright and raise you three words...C. Aubrey Smith.

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I did the collage...you can at least do the math.

There are all sorts of names for people over a...‘certain age.’ But these classic film thespian seniors were working “character actors.” They probably made more movies than the leads they supported. And boy, are they characters alright: kindly, curmudgeonly, stern, courtly, irascible sweetie pies. It seems in the classic film era, EVERY BODY had a job. And just to add a little cheesecake for the fellas, I included one of my favorites: Gertrude Hoffman. What a pixie she was. ( I remember her as Mrs. Odetts on “My Little Margie.” ) We all have our favorites ( Sammykins! ) and if you don’t see yours, add his name to the list of men who seemed to have been born old.

Re: October Schedule 2014

Posted: October 9th, 2014, 9:10 am
by Western Guy
C. Aubrey Smith. Perfect!

How about Ernest Thesiger?

Re: October Schedule 2014

Posted: October 9th, 2014, 10:34 am
by CineMaven
Brilliant!

Re: October Schedule 2014

Posted: October 9th, 2014, 11:18 am
by moira finnie
Loved this collection of comments about older actors...just to prove that they were young once, here's an eclectic bunch of actors in their relatively youthful days:

Burt Mustin (in college when he was a goalie on the hockey team):
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Harry Davenport:
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Cathleen Nesbitt in the mid-teens:
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C. Aubrey Smith in the 1880s & 1890s when he was a professional cricketeer famed throughout the British Empire for his sportsmanship, not his acting:
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Fay Bainter & Estelle Winwood in Hay Fever in 1927:
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Fay Bainter in The Kiss Burglar on Broadway (1918):
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Estelle Winwood photographed by Edward Steichen 1923:

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Henry Hull (circa 1910):
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Hattie McDaniel (circa 1915):
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Eugene Pallette as a baby and as a young & svelte fellow:
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Paul Fix as a young sailor:
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Isobel Elsom as a young British star on stage:
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Porter Hall in the '20s:
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Boris Karloff in the late teens (before eyebrow grooming?):
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Sidney Blackmer early in his career:
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Cecil Kellaway as a young actor:
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Walter Hampden as Othello in 1925, when he was in his mid-40s:
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Lloyd Nolan in college in the '20s:
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Natalie Schaefer & Louis Calhern, sometime during their marriage (1933-1942):
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Gladys Cooper in her teens:
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Re: October Schedule 2014

Posted: October 9th, 2014, 11:32 am
by Western Guy
Wow, what a collection, Moira!

Proves they were young once.Cool to see Burt Mustin so young. But one could still identify him even at that age.

But some of those faces I'd never be able to recognize. Not all had those distinctive features of Mustin . . . or Boris Karloff.