Hi
bobhopefan! Sorry to take so long to respond - I was feeling kinda puny and not on the board over the weekend, and I wanted to work on this post at home because it requires more thought than alot of the foolishness I post elsewhere.
So this is really my first opportunity, now that avatar making is done for the night.
bobhopefan1940 wrote:I agree on Chaplin, actually our conversation here sparked more curiosity in me. He is an incredibly fascinating person, I always enjoy reading more about him. I think not only was he himself in images, but also when the film was rolling. Sure, he may have been in character, but I think he put so much of himself and his feeling into his films that you really do get a feel for who he was.
Well, I think this is true. The Tramp had to have been large part Chaplin himself...or he never would have been able to think all this stuff up.
And because all of Chaplin's films are so layered with meaning (not just a string of gags, but situations intended to pull at the viewer's emotions, and oftentimes teach a social lesson as well) I do think that Chaplin put alot of himself and his beliefs into them. Certainly alot of the scenery Chaplin used, while mainly in Los Angeles, was selected with the intention of 'recreating' the poverty of Chaplin's own youth - it was a condition he was all too familiar with...and he used poverty as a central theme for a huge chunk of his films.
I have always loved Chaplin, but I went through and watched all my old DVDs of him last night, the set from 1914. I had never actually watched all of them, but there were a few I missed before. Obviously, you've seen these before... lol Some were
very interesting! I even think his earliest work was pretty entertaining, especially shorts like
A Busy Day and I found
Charlie's Recreation interesting because he is totally out of Tramp costume
Wow, you did go back to some early ones, didn't you! I like the early ones - all of the Keystones I've seen, for example...and the Essanays. But IMO Chaplin really comes into his own during the Mutuals. I LOVE those films. I could watch
1 A.M. every day and never tire of it, I think it's so funny.
And I watched
Limelight for the first time last night, and I felt like an idiot crying at it. I thought it was a sad movie, but I thought Chaplin was adorable in it. I loved his hair, and I've always been a huge fan of his voice... The scene where he is fantasizing about his past performances and he turns to see the audience gone
Oh, well - I've gotten off on Chaplin's films more than his images, sorry!
No problem...I guess I have also...
But Chaplin is a favorite of mine...so I love talking about him every which way!
don't know that much about Flynn, I'll honestly say I have never seen any of his films. I did download some images of him for a friend of mine, who just adores him. Other than that, I have not seen much of him
Any suggestions for first flicks? Got any fave pics of him you'd like to share? Maybe some of the ones you think are more expressive of who he was.
Oh my, my, my...Now you have me rooting around in Errol Flynn photos.
I could be here all night.
I think that a combination of Errol Flynn, Gary Cooper, Rudolph Valentino and Johnny Depp photos take up about 1/4 of my hard drive.
But if I had to pick one photo that expressed the most what Errol Flynn was all about in real life, it would be this one:
You can't really see into his eyes very well in this one, but this photo more than any other of Flynn says it all. The Zaca while she was at sea was where he was happiest, and Flynn quite literally sailed all over the world on that boat. And you can tell from this photo that he loved sailing and the sea with a passion. It really was his first love.
Now that I think of it, acting was pretty far down the list in terms of his passions. Certainly the sea was first - that's a given. Writing was probably second...and probably traveling/adventure in general was third. Reading was probably fourth.
He was a really fascinating individual.
As for films, I'd be happy to recommend Errol Flynn films. But first I'd like to know a bit about the sort of films you enjoy. Do you prefer adventure/swashbuckler films...because he made a TON of those.
But he also made some cute romantic comedies toward the beginning of his career...several westerns, and a few very good war movies.
Probably the easiest of his films to see on TCM would be
The Adventures of Robin Hood (alot of people's favorite Flynn film, but my 4th favorite),
Captain Blood (probably my favorite Flynn film - and interestingly, his first starring role. This film needs to be watched with the idea in mind that at the time it was made, he was an unknown that Jack Warner was 'taking a chance on' - that'll give you an idea of just how quickly he rocketed to stardom after this film was released), and probably
Dodge City (one of his best westerns). But my personal favorite Flynn films are:
1. Captain Blood (Pirates! But for a good reason.
Plus Olivia! This is where they became the cutest couple EVER! And Basil Rathbone is excellent as well. Get used to seeing Flynn and Rathbone in sword fights - they have alot of them over the years.)
2. The Charge of the Light Brigade (David Niven, Olivia deHavilland, Patric Knowles and others) - huge production involving one of the biggest calvary-like battle scenes ever done. IMO, Flynn is at his absolutely most stunningly beautiful in this film - WHOA BABY!
)
3. The Dawn Patrol (war film about flyers - with David Niven and Basil Rathbone)
4. The Adventures of Robin Hood (I believe the first technicolor film ever made? But great story, great cast - including Olivia deHavilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains and others)
5. Objective, Burma! (a war film - not a single woman in the whole thing, as best I can remember - unusual for a Flynn picture)
6. The Adventures of Don Juan (hilarious, but better if you know alot about Flynn because he parodies himself...and shows off Errol's real life sense of humor)
7. The Sisters (a romance! With Bette Davis! Before they hated each other!
)
8. Gentleman Jim (boxing and Alexis Smith)
9. The Sea Hawk (more pirates with a purpose!)
10. Footsteps in the Dark (adorably cute romantic comedy/mystery). Highly underrated by fans who think all Errol is good at is waving a sword.
11. They Died With Their Boots On (last film of 8 films done with Olivia - sad on and off screen. Flynn as Custer. And you know what happens to Custer.
)
12. Cry Wolf (not really my 12th favorite, but unusual in that it is a very dark mystery with Barbara Stanwyck)
Did you ever visit simplyclassics.net before it went MIA? They had some beautiful pictures of Chaplin out of costume, and some wonderful pics of Flynn I know. All high resolution scans, much like doctmacro.com but without the standard of quality.
Oh yes...I snagged alot of their photos - Flynn, Cooper, Chaplin, Valentino, Myrna Loy, Kay Francis, William Powell, Clark Gable, Barbara Stanwyck, James Cagney, Charles Boyer and a few others. Wish I'd gotten more now...but I have alot of photos so I shouldn't be greedy.