Lee Marvin

[moira finnie]

I came across this terrific series of interviews by John Gallagher with Lee Marvin (made just a year before he died) on YouTube and thought that you might enjoy it. He was a very articulate guy.

Marvin talks about his early days as an actor around NY and in television:
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He talks about John Ford in this one. Listen to his description of the power of black and white photography!
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Here Marvin talks about the following directors:

Sam Fuller
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John Boorman
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Robert Aldrich
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I hope that you enjoy these.

[MissGoddess]

They're great interviews---everyone who's a fan should watch them! The picture quality is also good for YouTube.

[ChiO]

I immediately went to the Sam Fuller interview (who woulda guessed?). Not much on Fuller himself, but it is a joy to listen to Lee Marvin regardless of the topic, film or director.

Thanks for posting these!

[Sue Sue Applegate]

I just saw these. What a great interview series. And it is always fun to watch Lee Marvin! Thanks, Moira.

[Dewey1960]

Post of the Day, Moira! Many thanks!

[raftfan]

Yes indeed, many thanks for this link, Moira. There was only one Lee Marvin, and when he was on the screen, he invariably caught and held your attention. Even in such a small role as "Meatball" in The Caine Mutiny. Just love that guy!

[Lzcutter]

Moira,

I am swooning!!!!

Thank you so much for posting these. I could listen to Lee Marvin talk all night. I love his voice and, as you know, I adore him as an actor.

I still say Lorne Greene should have died twice so that Lee Marvin could have stayed with us awhile longer.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[Lzcutter]

I also love how Lee is talking about Wagon Train and the interviewer thinks it is some other film (possibly a foreign film or something of great import from the way he is asking about it).

I'm sitting watching it, saying "No, the television show with Ward Bond!!!"

Smacks head.

Did this series really air on television? Who else did they talk to, does anyone know?

[MissGoddess]

I saw the interview on YouTube they did with Ralph Bellamy. They interviewed several other directors, more modern ones.

[Alan K.]

Fascinating interviews. I wanted more.

[MikeBSG]

I love Lee Marvin in "The Big Heat," "Seven Men from Now" and "Liberty Valance." However, it was a revelation to see him in John Frankenheimer's "The Iceman Cometh" as Hickey.

He was terrific! This was a part that was nearly all dialogue, and strong. silent type Lee Marvin was chatting away as if he were the doomed salesman from Indiana. It was really eye-opening for me, and it made me wonder what we missed by having Marvin stuck in all those bad guy roles all those years.

Not that I would trade Liberty Valance for anything.

[moira finnie]

I'm delighted that we all got so much out of them.

I also viewed the Ralph Bellamy interview by John Gallagher and enjoyed it a great deal, even though Ralph has a very different ethos than Lee Marvin. Mr. B. who knew everybody and worked in theatre, early tv and movies, as well as being very active in actor's unionization, had alot to say about working at Paramount with Carole Lombard & director Mitchell Leisen, working with John Ford in Air Mail and many others. Many of these thoughts can be seen in a series of snippets of Mr. Bellamy's memories, found here

Here's another link to a series of John Gallagher's interviews with, among others, Gene Nelson, James Toback, Richard Attenborough, Gillian Armstrong, Adrian Lyne, Paul Schrader, and Max Von Sydow, along with some others. Gene Nelson was quite interesting to me, since if he is remembered at all, it is for his dancing, not his interesting work as a journeyman director.

Lynn,
No love for Lorne Greene, eh? And how could a whippersnapper with a microphone and a video camera not know about Wagon Train!? Shocking!

[raftfan]

Was just chatting online with Sybil Jason and she told me the following story about Lee Marvin that I'd like to share:

My husband's personal buddy was Lee Marvin and I can still hear them screaming "OUTSIDE" when they were in the water waiting to catch a good wave. Lee always bicycled down from his home in Santa Monica....never drove. He was a rather wild cat, but incongruously a very sweet man. I was pregnant at that time with my daughter Toni and he was very solicitous and caring about my welfare. I have always had fnd memories of Lee.

[movieman1957]

Moira:

You mentioned Ralph Bellamy and it reminded me of a story in a Cagney biography I'm reading. Cagney was teaching Bellamy how to throw a punch. unfortunately he caught Jimmy on the jaw and busted a tooth. He was so upset about he says he never threw a punch on screen again.

[ChiO]

Nothing like digging up a reeeeaaallllyyy old thread.

While others are going through the Have Gun, Will Travel and Gunsmoke TV series (worthy endeavors in the extremis), I started this week to go through M Squad.

WOW! Slack jaw. Cigarette. Slouch. Tilt of body while putting weight on one leg. It's all there. Along with superb camera work and taut stories. The greatest 23-minute TV film noirs ever.

Until I receive Johnny Staccato shortly after October 12.