Ernest Borgnine Under the Stars

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jdb1

Ernest Borgnine Under the Stars

Post by jdb1 »

A heads up recommendation for Aug. 14 - Ernest Borgnine night on TCM:

Late that night/early next morning, at 3:00 AM, the film "Season of Passion" is listed. The last time I saw it, it was called "Summer of the 17th Doll," and I thought it very good. It's an indy British/Australian film starring Borgnine, Anne Baxter (who was living on a "station" (ranch) in Australia at the time), John Mills and Angela Lansbury.

I recommend a viewing - it's one of the few films in which I liked both these ladies, not being much of a fan of either. Hearing Borgnine do a fairly credible Ozzie accent is pretty interesting as well.

Also, I can recommend Baxter's memoir "Intermission," about her life Australia -- she married an American who bought a cattle ranch there, and she did her best to fit in as one of the girls. Apparently, without much success, though she did manage to make this nice, bittersweet, movie.
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precoder
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Post by precoder »

"Marty" was the movie I saw that forever changed my perception of Borgnine from *what do they see in this guy?* to *Oh yeah, I get it ** light goes on in head ** that's what* ...

Anne Baxter convinced me in "All About Eve" ...
I absolutely adore movies. Even bad ones. I don't like pretentious ones, but a good bad movie, you must admit, is great. ~ Roddy McDowell
jdb1

Post by jdb1 »

precoder wrote:"Marty" was the movie I saw that forever changed my perception of Borgnine from *what do they see in this guy?* to *Oh yeah, I get it ** light goes on in head ** that's what* ...

Anne Baxter convinced me in "All About Eve" ...
I like Borgnine very much, and I think he is a very intelligent actor, in the Edward G. Robinson mode: he may not be much to look at, but every performance he gives is emotionally magnetic and well thought out, and when he is onscreen, he is the one you look at. Not all the movies he's been in are wonderful, though, but he is always professional, and worth seeing. You should take a look at his work when TCM celebrates him on the 14th.

He has made something of a second career as a voice actor, and I love him on "SpongeBob Squarepants" as SpongeBob's idol, the former television superhero Mermaid Man, now living in a retirement home, wearing little pink slippers. Very funny.
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markbeckuaf
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Borgnine Rocks!

Post by markbeckuaf »

Heya precoder! :)

I agree re: MARTY and Borgnine, same experience for me. Until then, I dug him as the Captain of the PT-109 boat on MCHALE'S NAVY. I thought he was cool on there, but his acting range wasn't explored, naturally. I'm looking forward to other of his films on that day as well.


precoder wrote:"Marty" was the movie I saw that forever changed my perception of Borgnine from *what do they see in this guy?* to *Oh yeah, I get it ** light goes on in head ** that's what* ...

Anne Baxter convinced me in "All About Eve" ...
It's a pre-code world and we're living in it!
jdb1

Post by jdb1 »

Watching "Marty" again, recently, I was so bowled over by Borgnine's little scene where Marty calls a girl he met a few weeks before to ask for a date. How Borgnine subtly and believably goes from nervous, to hopeful, to humiliated in the space of a minute or two - it's painful to watch, and oh so real.

I have also seen the original, written for TV version of "Marty," with Rod Steiger. While it is very good, it is nowhere near as full and true a performance as Borgnine's. The trouble for me began when Steiger's Marty lamented to his mother that he was just a fat, ugly, little man. See -- at that time Steiger was neither, fat, little or in any way ugly. He was a rather nice looking man. Putting Borgnine into the role made it far more resonant. Borgnine well deserved his Oscar, IMO.
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Moraldo Rubini
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Spare the Strike

Post by Moraldo Rubini »

Judith wrote:Watching Marty again, recently, I was so bowled over by Borgnine's little scene...
"Bowled over"! How appropriate for Marty, denizen of the alleys. I once put together a montage of bowling scenes from movies. It was a bit of a struggle for me to think of bowling scenes, but Marty was the first to come to mind... C'est une bon mot, Judith!
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Post by sugarpuss »

Okay, I'll say it. I loved him in The Poseidon Adventure. He totally made the movie for me. I might get 'ding-ed' a few notches down for admitting this, but I did!

This is one of the SUTS days that I'm most looking forward to. I try not to watch Marty too much, because I always find that scene of Betsy Blair crying at home just too painful to watch. I've been there and it hurts. It hurts to see the brutal realism of it, while knowing how everyone doesn't think she's good enough for Marty. I am looking forward to the movie you mentioned, Season of Passion as well as The Rabbit Trap, just because.

But seeing all the movies lined up, I think he has one of the best SUTS days lined up this year. The one movie I would have liked to seen added in is The Wild Bunch. Not only is Ernest great, but the whole movie is fantastic.
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Re: Spare the Strike

Post by jdb1 »

Moraldo Rubini wrote:
Judith wrote:Watching Marty again, recently, I was so bowled over by Borgnine's little scene...
"Bowled over"! How appropriate for Marty, denizen of the alleys. I once put together a montage of bowling scenes from movies. It was a bit of a struggle for me to think of bowling scenes, but Marty was the first to come to mind... C'est une bon mot, Judith!
A bowling montage - that sounds like fun, Marco. Do tell - which films did you use? Were they all from Golden Agers?
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Moraldo Rubini
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Post by Moraldo Rubini »

Judith wrote:A bowling montage - that sounds like fun, Marco. Do tell - which films did you use? Were they all from Golden Agers?
Well let's see how many I can remember now... this was several years ago. I used to bowl with a gang of friends every Monday night. This was back when the Oscars were telecast on Mondays. When Oscar night approached, I invited everyone to my place to watch the show; then instead of watching the commericals, I'd turn on the video of bowling scenes. I remember that I included:

Marty
Since You Went Away
Four Corners
King Pin


If memory serves, I a Montgomery Clift movie too... A Place in the Sun? It would have been swell to have had the Silver Screen Oasis back then, as I'd depend on all of you to help me think of scenes. I know I had more than those four, but can't think of them now. I wonder if I still have that tape somewhere...
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precoder
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Post by precoder »

jdb1 wrote:Watching "Marty" again, recently, I was so bowled over by Borgnine's little scene where Marty calls a girl he met a few weeks before to ask for a date. How Borgnine subtly and believably goes from nervous, to hopeful, to humiliated in the space of a minute or two - it's painful to watch, and oh so real.
That performance not only knocked me over, it sorta brought back first-love memories for me. That unsure awkwardness you feel and try to hide under your giddy joy. You really felt like that was happening with them. They were so reluctant to separate themselves even for a moment that first night. I remember that feeling ...

Boy, did I ever stand up and cheer at the end when finally he shunned his stubborn friends and made that phonecall ... I was like ~ "Yes" ... :D
I absolutely adore movies. Even bad ones. I don't like pretentious ones, but a good bad movie, you must admit, is great. ~ Roddy McDowell
jdb1

Post by jdb1 »

Yes, it is a lovely movie, and I think it holds up very well after 50 years.

I remember (I was a little girl then) that "Marty" sparked a "Whaddya wanna do tonight?" craze. That was parodied on TV ad infinitum.

I also recall members of my family interjecting "Boy, that Mickey Spillane, he sure can write!" whenever a conversation called for a statement of amazement -- something I have occasionally done myself these many since. Now that "Marty" is available on DVD and has been broadcast once again on TV, maybe people will understand what I'm talking about.
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Post by MikeBSG »

Ernest Borgnine is currently keeping himself busy as the voice of aging superhero "Mermaid Man" on "SpongeBob SquarePants." He is very funny. Tim Conway plays his sidekick, "Barnacle Boy."

As for great bowling scenes in movies, remember Karloff's death scene in "Scarface."
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Moraldo Rubini
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Bowled Over

Post by Moraldo Rubini »

MikeBSG wrote:As for great bowling scenes in movies, remember Karloff's death scene in Scarface.
Wow! That's great! Where were you when I needed you?!
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Post by Mr. Arkadin »

sugarpuss wrote:
But seeing all the movies lined up, I think he has one of the best SUTS days lined up this year. The one movie I would have liked to seen added in is The Wild Bunch. Not only is Ernest great, but the whole movie is fantastic.
Agreed. Dutch is the conscience of the Bunch as Angel (as his name implies) is the catlyst to their redemption. A great role and deftly played.
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