The Beauty of a Lived In Face (Part Deux)
Posted: April 21st, 2007, 5:17 pm
I thought that I might post the "The Beauty of a Lived In Face" again...
I caught the last half hour of Inherit the Wind (1960) tonight, and was reminded of the depth of beauty and expressiveness that one can see in the face of a person who has lived. Botox, hair dye, sun block, and lawd knows what alchemy is all the rage, in that mad rush to stop time, of course. Heaven forbid anyone should look as though they've been around the block more than a few times. But so much is lost, particularly for an actor. I'm particularly fond of those players whose face has come to look, some might say, "like five miles of bad road".
Of course, for film actors this is particularly poignant, since movies celebrate beautiful surfaces, and have always favored the young, the handsome, and the beautiful. When time inevitably marks them, movie stars are always competing against not just others, but their younger selves. Yes, "they had faces then", but, they weren't all smooth and shining and the most interesting ones were often the most deeply marked by life.
Some brave and talented souls--some who were stars and some who were journeymen--with their furrowed brows, seamed smiles and crinkled eyes, each used this to their audience's advantage, giving their acting a deeper dimension. So here's a spot to chronicle a few favorite weather beaten faces. Hope that you might mention some of your most cherished wrinkled mugs.
Spencer Tracy, "old? yes, burnt-out, maybe", but still in command of the screen in Inherit the Wind.
Vladimir Sokoloff, a character actor of great sensitivity and versatility. He played many ethnic sorts from the '30s to the '60s, in such films as The Magnificent Seven and For Whom the Bell Tolls. Why, he even played a convincing Russian on occasion.
Gladys Cooper, a celebrated stage beauty in her youth, who aged wonderfully and gained much deserved movie fame as an older actress capable of a broad range of emotions, in part due to the character in her face. You can appreciate Miss Cooper in such diverse films as Rebecca, Now, Voyager, Love Letters and Separate Tables.
C. Aubrey Smith, in all his leonine splendour. Born while the U.S. Civil War raged, he was still beguiling audiences as late as 1949, (in the MGM remake of Little Women, released the year following his death!).
Charles Bickford, who played everything from a cowboy to a cardinal, in films such as Anna Christie, Duel in the Sun, Brute Force and A Star is Born. H had the authoritative manner and fascinating face to make you believe every role he inhabited.
Ethel Barrymore, whose mysterious, magnetic presence added greatly to her relatively few films. There was something about her that made you always wonder what was going on beneath the surface.
I caught the last half hour of Inherit the Wind (1960) tonight, and was reminded of the depth of beauty and expressiveness that one can see in the face of a person who has lived. Botox, hair dye, sun block, and lawd knows what alchemy is all the rage, in that mad rush to stop time, of course. Heaven forbid anyone should look as though they've been around the block more than a few times. But so much is lost, particularly for an actor. I'm particularly fond of those players whose face has come to look, some might say, "like five miles of bad road".
Of course, for film actors this is particularly poignant, since movies celebrate beautiful surfaces, and have always favored the young, the handsome, and the beautiful. When time inevitably marks them, movie stars are always competing against not just others, but their younger selves. Yes, "they had faces then", but, they weren't all smooth and shining and the most interesting ones were often the most deeply marked by life.
Some brave and talented souls--some who were stars and some who were journeymen--with their furrowed brows, seamed smiles and crinkled eyes, each used this to their audience's advantage, giving their acting a deeper dimension. So here's a spot to chronicle a few favorite weather beaten faces. Hope that you might mention some of your most cherished wrinkled mugs.
Spencer Tracy, "old? yes, burnt-out, maybe", but still in command of the screen in Inherit the Wind.
Vladimir Sokoloff, a character actor of great sensitivity and versatility. He played many ethnic sorts from the '30s to the '60s, in such films as The Magnificent Seven and For Whom the Bell Tolls. Why, he even played a convincing Russian on occasion.
Gladys Cooper, a celebrated stage beauty in her youth, who aged wonderfully and gained much deserved movie fame as an older actress capable of a broad range of emotions, in part due to the character in her face. You can appreciate Miss Cooper in such diverse films as Rebecca, Now, Voyager, Love Letters and Separate Tables.
C. Aubrey Smith, in all his leonine splendour. Born while the U.S. Civil War raged, he was still beguiling audiences as late as 1949, (in the MGM remake of Little Women, released the year following his death!).
Charles Bickford, who played everything from a cowboy to a cardinal, in films such as Anna Christie, Duel in the Sun, Brute Force and A Star is Born. H had the authoritative manner and fascinating face to make you believe every role he inhabited.
Ethel Barrymore, whose mysterious, magnetic presence added greatly to her relatively few films. There was something about her that made you always wonder what was going on beneath the surface.