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Post by I Love Melvin on Sept 3, 2023 11:23:02 GMT
For a tough guy, Wayne could sure tap into a softer side as well when co-starred with these two women in particular, without sacrificing any of his signature heroic qualities. I love the scene in the rain that you pictured. I also love the scene where she sits in his lap and they sit quietly together. The look on his face...You're right, he had a gentle, softer side. I believe he was an underrated actor. I think he was underrated too. I know from personal experience. As a youngster I loved North to Alaska (1960) and Hatari (1962) and had seen some of the early westerns on TV, but as a young adult by the late 1960's I was caught up in the counter-cultural zeitgeist which disapproved of him and his politics. It was a number of years before I could look at his work level-headedly and began to be amazed by what I was seeing in movies like She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Red River and The Searchers. Terrific actor. |
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Post by topbilled on Sept 3, 2023 13:33:40 GMT
For a one-hit wonder, I would say William Powell and Jean Arthur in The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (1936). Funny but last night I listed my top 10 favorite couples who had made at least 3 films together: Leslie Howard and Bette Davis: The Petrified Forest, Its Love I'm After, Of Human Bondage Humphery Bogart \ Lauren Bacall: The Big Sleep, To Have and Have Not, Dark Passage William Powell \ Myrna Loy: The Thin Man, Libeled Lady, The Great Zigfield Cary Grant \ Katherine Hepburn: Holiday, Bringing up Baby, The Philadelphia Story Fred MacMurray \ Carole Lombard: Hands Across the Table, Swing High \ Swing Low, The Princess Comes Across Alan Ladd \ Veronia Lake: The Glass Key, The Blue Dahlia, This Gun for Hire Errol Flynn \ Olivia DeHavilland: The Adventures of Robin Hood, Captain Blood, Dodge City Fred Astaire \ Ginger Rogers: Top Hat, Swing Time, The Gay Divorcee Spencer Tracy \ Katherine Hepburn: Pat and Mike, Woman of the Year, State of the Union Clark Gable \ Myrna Loy: Test Pilot, Manhattan Melodrama, Wife and Secretary |
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Post by topbilled on Sept 3, 2023 13:37:04 GMT
"When you've got steak at home, why go out for a hamburger?" - Paul Newman |
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Post by topbilled on Sept 3, 2023 13:41:53 GMT
Ginger Rogers and Henry Fonda have a very easy chemistry in their 20 minute segment in the anthology film TALES OF MANHATTAN (1942). It's too bad they weren't given their own starring vehicle to do.
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sme
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Post by sme on Sept 4, 2023 2:36:09 GMT
Yes, he supposedly had a long-term girlfriend in the mid-to-late 60s, but that was something they didn't discuss in interviews afterwards. I figured his directing her in RACHEL RACHEL and THE EFFECT OF GAMMA RAYS was meant to make up for his infidelity.
I've never seen those two movies. They're a little too young for me. |
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sme
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Post by sme on Sept 4, 2023 2:46:03 GMT
My favorite couple is Loy & Powell. They sparkled on the screen. However, I think Cary Grant & Ingrid Bergman were wonderful together, too. He had an adoring way of looking at his female costars, especially in his later years, that seemed to convey "love".
My favorite one hit wonder is Cary Grant & Rosalind Russell. I wish they had made more movies together.
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sme
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Post by sme on Sept 4, 2023 2:51:53 GMT
I think he was underrated too. I know from personal experience. As a youngster I loved North to Alaska (1960) and Hatari (1962) and had seen some of the early westerns on TV, but as a young adult by the late 1960's I was caught up in the counter-cultural zeitgeist which disapproved of him and his politics. It was a number of years before I could look at his work level-headedly and began to be amazed by what I was seeing in movies like She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Red River and The Searchers. Terrific actor. |
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Post by BunnyWhit on Sept 4, 2023 17:23:36 GMT
Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon had great chemistry. They starred together nine times:
Blossoms in the Dust (1941)
Mrs. Miniver (1942)
The Youngest Profession (1943)
Madame Curie (1943)
Mrs. Parkington (1944)
Julia Misbehaves (1948)
That Forsyte Woman (1949)
The Miniver Story (1950)
Scandal at Scourie (1953)
In each pairing, they had a playful, deep connection that made the films shine. Even in argument scenes, they always seemed very gentle and tender with one another.
  
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sme
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Post by sme on Sept 4, 2023 17:41:58 GMT
Garson and Pidgeon rank 2nd on my list. I may be one of the few who feel this way, but I'm crazy about Walter Pidgeon. Garson is one of my favorites, too, but I like him even more. He had an ernest, solid, mature air about him that shone through even in his comedies that I've always enjoyed.
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sme
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Post by sme on Sept 20, 2023 2:23:23 GMT
Welcome to the forum, you started a fun thread topic.
I'm sure, over time, we'll fill in all the classics - Tracy-Hepburn, Powell-Loy, Bogie-Bacall, etc. - but I'm going to start off with a one-hit wonder: William Powell and Ann Harding in 1933's "Double Harness." They had great chemistry, it made the movie work, but I believe it was their only star pairing.
I have had this movie on DVD for several years, but somehow, never watched it. Strange because William Powell is one of my favorites. Since you mentioned it, I decided to watch it. I can't honestly say I agree Harding and Powell had chemistry. However, I may feel this way because I didn't particulary like the movie. I think they were both miscast. They were too old. It's difficult not to view the film through a modern lens, but still, it's hard for me to swallow that, even in the early 1930s, two 40 year olds would be required to get married because one of their parents caught them in a compromsing positition. It would be easier to believe if the actors, especially in the female role, had been younger. I know Ann Harding wasn't actually 40, but the way she comes across, she could pass for it. Powell fared better in his role, but though he was playing an irresponsible, fun loving cad, there was little fun about the character. I haven't seen many Harding films. Was she always so listless and matronly? |
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Post by Fading Fast on Sept 20, 2023 3:33:54 GMT
Welcome to the forum, you started a fun thread topic.
I'm sure, over time, we'll fill in all the classics - Tracy-Hepburn, Powell-Loy, Bogie-Bacall, etc. - but I'm going to start off with a one-hit wonder: William Powell and Ann Harding in 1933's "Double Harness." They had great chemistry, it made the movie work, but I believe it was their only star pairing.
I have had this movie on DVD for several years, but somehow, never watched it. Strange because William Powell is one of my favorites. Since you mentioned it, I decided to watch it. I can't honestly say I agree Harding and Powell had chemistry. However, I may feel this way because I didn't particulary like the movie. I think they were both miscast. They were too old. It's difficult not to view the film through a modern lens, but still, it's hard for me to swallow that, even in the early 1930s, two 40 year olds would be required to get married because one of their parents caught them in a compromsing positition. It would be easier to believe if the actors, especially in the female role, had been younger. I know Ann Harding wasn't actually 40, but the way she comes across, she could pass for it. Powell fared better in his role, but though he was playing an irresponsible, fun loving cad, there was little fun about the character. I haven't seen many Harding films. Was she always so listless and matronly?
To your last point, if you're interested in seeing her in some of her better movies, I'd recommend "The Animal Kingdom" first, but you might also want to check out "Westward Passage," she's a bit more lively in that one, or "When Ladies Meet," it's a role which fits her screen persona very well. That said, her acting mien is pretty consistent, so she just might not be an actress that works for you.
I agree, both she and Powell were old for the roles in "Double Harness," but Hollywood does that with stars. As to the "forced" marriage, at that time, it was more than parental pressure as, had the fact that she spent the night at his apartment gotten out, her "reputation" would have been ruined in "society," so there was additional pressure on them to marry. But your point is a fair one as, like many plots, it's a bit contrived. |
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Post by topbilled on Sept 20, 2023 5:16:02 GMT
I have had this movie on DVD for several years, but somehow, never watched it. Strange because William Powell is one of my favorites. Since you mentioned it, I decided to watch it. I can't honestly say I agree Harding and Powell had chemistry. However, I may feel this way because I didn't particulary like the movie. I think they were both miscast. They were too old. It's difficult not to view the film through a modern lens, but still, it's hard for me to swallow that, even in the early 1930s, two 40 year olds would be required to get married because one of their parents caught them in a compromsing positition. It would be easier to believe if the actors, especially in the female role, had been younger. I know Ann Harding wasn't actually 40, but the way she comes across, she could pass for it. Powell fared better in his role, but though he was playing an irresponsible, fun loving cad, there was little fun about the character. I haven't seen many Harding films. Was she always so listless and matronly?
To your last point, if you're interested in seeing her in some of her better movies, I'd recommend "The Animal Kingdom" first, but you might also want to check out "Westward Passage," she's a bit more lively in that one, or "When Ladies Meet," it's a role which fits her screen persona very well. That said, her acting mien is pretty consistent, so she just might not be an actress that works for you.
I agree, both she and Powell were old for the roles in "Double Harness," but Hollywood does that with stars. As to the "forced" marriage, at that time, it was more than parental pressure as, had the fact that she spent the night at his apartment gotten out, her "reputation" would have been ruined in "society," so there was additional pressure on them to marry. But your point is a fair one as, like many plots, it's a bit contrived. |
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sme
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Post by sme on Sept 20, 2023 11:11:16 GMT
I apologize if I came across as critical or mean. My intention was to criticize the film, not anyone’s opinions about it or the actors involved.
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Post by kims on Sept 20, 2023 12:05:30 GMT
Check out IT HAPPENED ON FIFTH AVENUE-it's usually played at Christmas on TCM. Harding has a more playful character in this film. It made me a fan of her.
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