I Just Watched...

[jamesjazzguitar]

So, to be clear, you were pulling our leg when you said: And two years later he would play his greatest role and earn that salary!

I assume most people would say his 'greatest role' was one year later: Double Indemnity. That film by Paramount earned the salary of both MacMurray and Barabara Stanwyck since it cost < 1 million and made over 5 million at the box office. (and yea, I know that you might not feel that way since you're not much of a fan of Babs).

To be clear, he's not one of my favorite actors, no more than Babs is one of my favorite actresses. But I like many of their movies. I do think he's better at comedy, and in that context think his role in Murder, He Says is about as good a performance as he's capable of giving. Regarding Double Indemnity, for those many who would say that's his greatest role, that is the kind of thing they can say. I don't like the movie. I'm not a noir-ist, though I like some noirs.

I believe Fred's greatest role was as the smarmy LT Tom Keefer in The Caine Mutiny. Fred had the perfect screen persona for such a role since he come off as so likeable, it takes a while to see that he is a major snake!

[TikiSoo]

I believe Fred's greatest role was as the smarmy LT Tom Keefer in The Caine Mutiny. Fred had the perfect screen persona for such a role since he come off as so likeable, it takes a while to see that he is a major snake!

Nice! I'll watch that one next!

[jamesjazzguitar]

I believe Fred's greatest role was as the smarmy LT Tom Keefer in The Caine Mutiny. Fred had the perfect screen persona for such a role since he come off as so likeable, it takes a while to see that he is a major snake!

Nice! I'll watch that one next!

The cast give some of their best performances: In addition to MacMurray, Van, and Jose Ferrer. The funny thing is that Tom Tully was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, but he has a minor role in the film. Hey, I thing Tully is a fine actor, but I always found that strange. Bogie was nominated for Best Actor.

[Fedya]

Nominated, not won. Didn't Edmond O'Brien win that year for The Barefoot Contessa?

[Cinemaspeak59]

True Confession (1937) Carole Lombard and Fred MacMurray’s last pairing may be their zaniest. Carole is a good-intentioned serial liar, with nothing off-limits. Fred plays her husband, a lawyer with admirable ethical standards and very few clients. When Carole is charged with murder, Fred defends her. The courtroom scenes are unconventional, to say the least. Comedic high points come from Lombard’s variety of hilarious facial expressions. John Barrymore and Una Merkel are along for the ride.

[jamesjazzguitar]

True Confession (1937) Carole Lombard and Fred MacMurray’s last pairing may be their zaniest. Carole is a good-intentioned serial liar, with nothing off-limits. Fred plays her husband, a lawyer with admirable ethical standards and very few clients. When Carole is charged with murder, Fred defends her. The courtroom scenes are unconventional, to say the least. Comedic high points come from Lombard’s variety of hilarious facial expressions. John Barrymore and Una Merkel are along for the ride.

True Confession is my least favorite of the 4 Lombard\MacMurray films. I agree that it is the zaniest and that is one of the reasons it doesn't appeal to me as much as the 3 others. (can there be a thing as too-much screwball?). Also, the pair are husband and wife. What I like about the others is that there is more romance in the other 3 due to the fact that they are not married. Both actors (but especially Lombard), were good at romantic banter with a comic feel. Barrymore and Merkel do add to the zaniness.

[Detective Jim McLeod]

Nominated, not won. Didn't Edmond O'Brien win that year for The Barefoot Contessa?

Yes, O'Brien won. The other nominees were Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden and Rod Steiger, all from On The Waterfront

[jamesjazzguitar]

Nominated, not won. Didn't Edmond O'Brien win that year for The Barefoot Contessa?

Thanks for the correction. I edited my posted.

Either way, even being nominated was odd given he wasn't in the film much. (which makes me wonder if, like Nina Foch, who was nominated for Executive Suite, if these two are among the shortest screen time nominees in Oscar history).

[Belle]

"A King in New York", 1957. Charles Chaplin. A beautiful restoration with the full glories of black and white on display.

The film itself was silly and Chaplin was a cold, one-dimensional actor in his speaking parts. He was always the same and he should never have made a sound film with himself in the main roles. "The Great Dictator" had some excellent and funny scenes but the speech at the end of it was pure self-indulgence, best avoided. His 'acting' in the film was purely satirical imitation; the scene with 'the globe' was inspired and required no dialogue!!

Charles Chaplin should have stuck to directing in his 'talkies'. The occasional great sequences weren't enough to sustain most of them - and this is one of them:

[Swithin]

Nominated, not won. Didn't Edmond O'Brien win that year for The Barefoot Contessa?

Thanks for the correction. I edited my posted.

Either way, even being nominated was odd given he wasn't in the film much. (which makes me wonder if, like Nina Foch, who was nominated for Executive Suite, if these two are among the shortest screen time nominees in Oscar history).

https://www.screentimecentral.com/short ... rformances

[jamesjazzguitar]

Nominated, not won. Didn't Edmond O'Brien win that year for The Barefoot Contessa?

Thanks for the correction. I edited my posted.

Either way, even being nominated was odd given he wasn't in the film much. (which makes me wonder if, like Nina Foch, who was nominated for Executive Suite, if these two are among the shortest screen time nominees in Oscar history).

https://www.screentimecentral.com/short ... rformances

Thanks for the link! Wow, the two actors I mentioned are not even in the top 10 (for best supporting).

[TikiSoo]

The other night I watched The Jackie Robinson Story 1950, a short 77 minute movie now in the public domain. I saw Louise Beavers played his Mom and Ruby Dee his girlfriend/wife, both actresses I like very much. They, and the other professional supporting actors helped Robinson portray himself in this biography of his own life. Although not an actor, having Robinson portraying himself was a brilliant move, actually bringing realism & truth to the story.

While knowing Robinson was the first black man to play in the "major leagues", I don't really know what that means, not being a sports fan. I had known baseball was segregated both by skin tone and gender and just assumed he had become a major player within his segregated league.

What a delightful shock to realize that Robinson was the first black player on an all white team! In 1947, the Brooklyn Dodgers made the bold move to hire a player based on merit rather than skin tone/gender. (I always thought teams were made from residents of the City represented )

One of the most important aspects of the story was the Dodgers Manager coaching Robinson that no matter what is said/done in opposition, Robinson was forbidden to fight back. Everyone knew there would be a backlash-from teammates, the opposing team and even the crowd.

The Manager was 100% correct- simply playing the game & ignoring what others said/did, exposed the opposition as the ones "in the wrong".
A very simple statement and really the basis of MLK's Civil Rights Movement 20 years later.

Of course in the end, everyone is won over by Robinson's talent & humility and he has rightfully earned his place in history. A little "pat" but how wonderful we have this succinct movie with the real guy starring in it. Robinson was around 32 when he made this movie.

[laffite]

The Major Leagues are made up of the American League and the National League. The American League was formed around 1900 and the National some 25 years before that. The are the cream of the crop to this day. The Negro leagues date from 1880 and were not considered as a part of the Major Leagues. Jackie indeed was a big deal being the first black Major League player. Jackie was a National League player. The first American League black player was Larry Doby, playing for the Cleveland Indians. He was signed three months after Jackie. His name doesn't seem on the radar in this context.

[Allhallowsday]

A SPECIAL DAY (1977 aka Una giornata particolare) Starring MARCELLO MASTROIANNI and SOPHIA LOREN An unusual film and story where a persecuted Gay man's life is juxtaposed with an unhappy housewife in Fascist Italy 1938. It's the day hitler came to Rome to publicly meet mussolini, the apartment building is empty except for those two and the ugly old witch landlady. Often brutal, in words and symbolic actions. The two best actors in Italian cinema at the peak of their form, challenging convention any way one cares to define it. The horror and tension of the rally radio broadcast echoing through the courtyard is a constant reminder of the near future.

He gives her what she needs and she gives him what he needs. They each need love.

[CinemaInternational]

I've watched a handful of films since it, but I found 1939's King of the Underworld to be a surprising B-movie since Bogart, billed solely above the title is actually the main support, and its actually a Kay Francis film! It must have irked her to be billed under the title, and this was soon after the notorious "box office pois on" article.

Otherwise recently, I've been watching a lot of old Columbia B-movies from the 30s and 40s. I think 1934's The Defense Rests was one of the best of them.