The Silver Screen Oasis

Great, thorough post & review WEN.

Thanks Fernando!

I revisited "Stargate" (1994). The Blu Ray release's quality is excellent. I saw the extended version of the film and enjoyed it completely all over again. It has the usual clichés, but the film is handled rather well by Emmerich and they do not become tiresome; IMO it's a simple, appealing film that does not fall into the category of the typical overblown super-production. Jaye Davidson, without speaking too many lines, stands out as the menacing and terrible Ra; he displays screen presence on this movie.

Well silly me, I seem to have been the only person to have seen Shake Hands With the Devil with Jeffrey Hunter in it, everyone else saw Don Murray in the role. Thanks Moira for pointing it out to me. These lapses in memory are fairly common with me, when I get Cagney and Gable mixed up or Errol Flynn and Boris Karloff, then you can worry but otherwise, it's just me being typically scatty.

I can certainly understand getting those two mixed up, Alison! We all do it at some point or other, I've confused Fay Bainter with Fay Holden, and Pat O'Brien with Robert Armstrong. And those arr just the ones I've gotten caught confusing for each other!

In fact, I think the studios wanted us to get our stars mixed up with each other, they had so many 'types' and stars that they backed up with other stars who looked or acted exactly like them.

I've only seen a part of Shake Hands With the Devil, the very end which was powerful but I was more watching Glynis Johns, it was hard to tell what Cagney's character was from the part I saw.

We all do it at some point or other

I'm getting worse as I get older. Not so much confusing the players. With me it's, "Hey, have you seen GONE WITH THE WIND?" I'm not sure. What's it about?

Oh yeah. titles are much worse! I look forward to seeing a movie I've never seen before and it comes on and guess what?

As long as you're not confusing Fay Holden with William Holden all will be well.

Ha! Never! Then you'll know I'm off my rocker.

Gosh, Alison! I only mentioned that Jeffrey Hunter-Don Murray thing to you by PM because I thought you'd want to know the difference. As I should have mentioned, we all have done it, and I can never keep everyone straight. For years I used to confuse Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster. And don't get me started on the number of times I called Henry Travers by Gene Lockhart's name...or was it Charlie Grapewin? I still can't keep it straight differentiating between William Gargan and Edward Gargan! I apologize if I hurt your feelings in any way. I love to see others posts here and your candid reactions to films you encounter are often a high spot of my day.

More interestingly, it suddenly occurred to me when I read your reference to Hunter rather than Murray in Shake Hands With the Devil that the pair of them should have played brothers at one time. They really did resemble one another, and both seem fairly underrated as actors. Maybe if Hunter had lived longer he might have gained a bigger rep, especially when the world started to appreciate the ahead-of-their-time movies like The Searchers (1956) and a relatively obscure film such as Brainstorm (1965). At least Don Murray, who seems to be quite active still, with a broader range of interests beyond show biz, is still around and able to hear an occasional "thank you" from some of those curious about his early career--though the guy must be pretty tired of those Marilyn Monroe questions. Here's a fairly recent two part interview with Murray:
http://www.actorsreporter.com/2011/inte ... on-murray/

I've confused William Gargan and Edward Gargan too.

JackFavell wrote: I've only seen a part of Shake Hands With the Devil, the very end which was powerful but I was more watching Glynis Johns, it was hard to tell what Cagney's character was from the part I saw.

His character is an IRA chief, a skilled Dublin surgeon, and a man who disapproves strongly of loose women (Glynis John's character an example), but is ready to kill anyone he has to for the good of "the cause." Cagney is great in the part, with just the right blending of personal magnetism, cleverness, and deadly purpose.

Yes, it's a powerful ending, to a powerful story. The film does an fine job depicting the brutality on both sides, while showing very plausibly how someone like Don Murray's character could get drawn/forced into the fight.

The quintessential lines in the film, for me, are these:

Cagney" "Forget pity, and mercy, those are peacetime words, used to soften and weaken us."

Murray: "I don't think any war is worth winning, if you forget mercy and pity."

...And all the talk about mixing up actors reminds me of this thread: http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/vie ... f=8&t=5624

In the mid to late sixties, it seemed Don Murray played all the charming young man roles. Movies, TV. Some good, some not so. The man was everywhere! I felt like I was in good company when this personable player was around.

Don't worry about it Moira, I thank you for letting me know, especially how it's made me realise I'm not alone in my confusion. It made me think how good they would have been as brothers, two good actors, one asked constantly about Marilyn and one who would have been pestered by Trekkies.

Wendy, it worth seeking out, without giving anything away about the plot, it's a well constructed tale about a man who against his own will is dragged into the Irish conflict, Glynis Johns has a great part, Cagney takes over most of the scenes he's in, Murray's character is such a contrast to him. Richard Harris has a supporting part, as does Cyril Cusack.

I watched Save the Tiger the other day, I've never seen it before but ten years ago I filled in a survey for Channel 4 about my favourite actors and put Jack Lemmon in there, he makes the most mundane material, like this and turns it into something so different, so watchable and so far away from Daphne. The film was depressing though, I've never seen LA look so bad, apart from the beach scene, it was an interesting movie.

Lemmon is a very believable actor. He's Everyman, like Henry Fonda. That quality takes the material right to the heart.