The Best "Happy Easter" I Ever Got!

My good friend FlickChick knows of my lifelong love for The Great Flynn, and she created this clever and unique Easter card!  Thanks a billion, Chick!  This is a keeper!

A Powell and Pressberger Masterpiece - The Red Shoes

Leonide Massine and Moira Shearer

The Red Shoes, created in 1948 by the unmatchable team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressberger, is a film of conflict, love and tragedy, without doubt the most famous ballet-themed movie ever made.  The film is adored by many and disliked by some – it’s unusual, at times unearthly, certainly larger-than-life telling of the story has engendered much discussion among film-lovers for decades.  In this article, I am spotlighting the actors and dancers in front of the camera whose talents made Powell and Pressberger’s vision come to life.  

Structured as a story within a story, Hans Christian Anderson’s tale about a girl who covets a pair of red shoes, only to find that they dance her to her doom, is mirrored in the story of ballerina Vicky Page (Moira Shearer).  Her love of dancing and fascination with ballet impresario Boris Lermontov (Anton Walbrook) collides with her wish for normal life and love with composer Julian Craster (Marius Goring).  This conflict is portrayed on a melodramatic and epic scale.  The brilliant Ballet of the Red Shoes is a marvel of impressionistic artistry (certainly a precursor and inspiration for Gene Kelly’s 1951 American in Paris ballet).  The ballet was choreographed by the great premier danseur Robert Helpmann.  Celebrated choreographer and premier danseur Leonide Massine brings his eccentric brilliance to the role of the demonic shoemaker.  With luminous music by Brian Easdale, glorious cinematography by Jack Cardiff, and the genius of writer-producer-directors Powell and Pressberger, The Red Shoes has earned its high place in cinema history.

Moira Shearer

Already a principal ballerina at the Royal Ballet in England, 22-year old Scottish-born Moira Shearer was chosen to play the part of Vicky Page.  Several actresses had been discussed for the part, including Merle Oberon, Ann Todd and Hazel Court.  However, none of the women were dancers and the ballet would have to be performed by a double.  Powell was adamant that the part must be played by a professional ballerina, and the difficult search was on for someone who could carry the entire performance – act, dance and be radiantly beautiful at the same time.  When Shearer came to the team’s attention, she knocked out all competition.  To their distress, Shearer was not at all interested in starring in a movie.  Unlike today, the world of ballet at the time frowned upon seeing its celebrated dancers become involved in movies, considering the ballet a higher form of art.  It took a year for the team to persuade Shearer to accept the part.   

At the Royal Ballet, Shearer was considered second only to the great and immensely popular Dame Margot Fonteyn, who was in her prime.  Shearer knew there would be little chance to step into Fonteyn’s shoes, and this may have had something to do with her decision to accept The Red Shoes.  Filming of the movie was not a good experience for Shearer.  Accustomed to dancing classical ballet on the stage from start to finish, she found the constant stops and starts in filming to be frustrating.  She had to dance on unsprung concrete floors, and was plagued with swelling of her legs and feet.  A special bright spotlight, extremely hot, had to be used to light her during the ballet.  Shearer really disliked the long periods of time she had to spend in harness with a wind machine blowing on her during portions of the ballet’s filming.  In her defense, the making of a movie and the performance of a ballet on stage are worlds apart, and Shearer had no experience with movies.  She said in later years, “Isn’t it strange that something you’ve never really wanted to do turns out to be the very thing that’s given you a name and identity? … (The Red Shoes) ruined my career in the ballet.  They never trusted me again.”

Shearer went on to dance again after The Red Shoes, but, as one who had not yet attained world-class status as a ballerina, she had lost her prominent place in the line-up of the world of ballet.  She made only a few more movies, one with Michael Powell, The Peeping Tom (1960).  Her other movies of note were The Tales of Hoffman (1951) and The Story of Three Loves (1953), both renowned.  But it is as Vicky Page that Shearer will always be remembered, and without her The Red Shoes would not have attained the magnitude of great film that it is.

Anton Walbrook

It would be hard to imagine anyone but Anton Walbrook playing the complexity of the dominating, sometimes ruthless, sometimes poignant part of  Boris Lermontov, impresario of the ballet.  The character of Lermontov was based upon real-life master of the Ballet Russes during the golden age of Nijinsky, Fokine and Stravinsky in the early 20^th century.  Walbrook pulls out all the stops in his portrayal of Lermontov, sinister, charming, ruthless and driven to control Vicky Page, in whom he saw greatness and for whom he felt a frightening love. Walbrook, an Austrian actor, was 52 years old and well-established when The Red Shoes was released.  Walbrook used his facial expressions, body language, knife-edged speech and mesmerizing eyes to create a dynamic performance, just short of ham acting but close enough to be unforgettable.

Walbrook starred with Diana Wynyard in the British version of the famous movie Gaslight (1940), which was released before the American version with Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman.  Hollywood squashed the British version in favor of their own, and Americans did not see it for many years.  In my opinion, as much as I liked Charles Boyer, Walbrook was superior in the part of the cruel tormentor in Gaslight.  Walbrook’s career was a long one. He made another popular movie with Powell and Pressberger in 1943, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp.  Also of interest, in 1962 he starred as Waldo Lydecker in an American television adaptation of Laura.  What a good part for such an actor.

Marius Goring

Strikingly handsome 36-year old English actor Marius Goring played composer Julian Craster, Vicky Page’s lover.  Goring, in my opinion, was the only fly in the ointment in The Red Shoes.  Unlike Walbrook, who although playing his part to the hilt, was able to keep it in controlled context of the character, Goring was all ham.  His over-acting in  many scenes was noticeable even amongst the extremely dramatic style of the other actors. Much of the blame for this has to land on the back of director Michael Powell, who should have reined him in during much of his performance.  Goring was not a bad actor, as can be seen in later performances, but this was not one of his best.  He had a long acting career, and got better as he got older.  Some of his work included Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951) with James Mason and Ava Gardner, the television miniseries Holocaust (1978), and a run in the hugely popular Dr. Who series playing Theodore Maxtible. 

Robert Helpmann 

Australian-born Robert Helpmann was 39 years old when he acted, choreographed and danced several parts in The Ballet of the Red Shoes.  Helpmann was principal dancer in England’s Royal Ballet from 1933 to 1950, dancing predominantly as partner to Dame Margot Fonteyn.  Helpmann could do it all.  His one-of-a-kind personality of humor, charm and talent made him a great favorite with audiences of all types of media.  He was an actor on the English stage, at one point playing Hamlet on alternating nights with the great Paul Scofield.   His movies showed a remarkable range of talent, from the more serious (The Tales of Hoffman, partnering again with Moira Shearer), to the comic (Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang, in which he played the funny and dreaded Child Catcher.)

Two quotes from Helpmann show both his serious and comic side:


"Theatre remains the only thing I understand.  It is in the community of the theatre that I have my being.  In spite of jealousies and fears, emotional conflicts and human tensions; in spite of the penalty of success and the dread of failure; in spite of tears and feverish gaiety, this is the only life I know.  It is the life I love.”

“The trouble with nude dancing is that not everything stops when the music does!”

Leonide Massine

Massine was born in Russia in 1896.  He created and danced the part of the Shoemaker in The Ballet of the Red Shoes.  As Ljubov in The Red Shoes, Massine played his part well, with a unique emotional range of humor, outrage and sorrow.  As the Shoemaker, he choreographed himself and danced brilliantly.  Massine’s career as a dancer and eventually seminal choreographer was astonishing.  He was discovered at the age of 16 by Sergei Diaghilev, who immediately took him in to replace the great Nijinsky, with whom Diaghilev had a falling-out.  Massine was not a trained dancer, and developed an unusual style of his own.  During that period of the Ballet Russes’ golden age, Massine danced and began to choreograph works with the music and designs of Stravinsky, Michael Fokine, Picasso, Dali and Chagall.  Massine was ahead of his time in his desire to create a new form of dance, one that utilized the human body in contour and line different from traditional ballet. He was first to showcase ballet using great symphonies and other musical pieces not composed strictly for ballet.  His uniqueness in dance and choreography were world-renowned during his long career, and he was considered the first and only premier choreographer of dance from the early 20^th century until George Balanchine came on the scene.

Of his vision of the dance, Massine once said:

“I am firmly of the opinion that there is more to dancing than conveying a legend, story or fairytale, and more than simply a display of virtuosity.  I believe that the harmonious form of the human body is capable of creating dynamic and graphic shapes to coincide with a symphony, in a way that is as convincing as the symphony itself.”

The principal actors and dancers of The Red Shoes came from all over the world.  Yet in their partnership for this great film, they became one culture in the world of truly great film art.

(This article is my contribution to the Classic Film and TV Café’s blogathon for the films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressberger, known as the Archers.  Fellow blogger Christian of Silver Screen Modiste, www.silverscreenmodiste.com, will be posting an article with his own unique point of view about The Red Shoes on Tuesday, March 27^th.  Don’t miss it!)

Nightmare Alley - A Dark Gem

By 1947, Tyrone Power was an established star best known for his romantic and swashbuckling roles, an extremely handsome matinee idol. However, like many actors since the inception of motion pictures, he wanted to break out and do some serious acting in a serious role. In 1946, he appeared in W. Somerset Maugham’s “The Razor’s Edge” in the role of Larry Darrell, a young man searching for truth and the meaning of life. This was a good role taken from the pages of great literature, and Power’s first real introduction into a story with depth and dignity. However, it was not enough for Power, who in that same year bought the rights to a novel called “Nightmare Alley” by William Lindsay Gresham. The part that Power wanted to play was that of Stanton Carlisle, a manipulative, sociopathic grifter working in a seedy carnival.

Darryl Zanuck of 20th Century Fox was not happy with the thought of Power playing such a character. He believed that such a dark role would hurt Power’s image. However, Power insisted, and the project got underway in 1947. The film was produced by George Jessel, the vaudevillian who later became known as the Toastmaster General of the United States because of his many roasts of political and entertainment figures. Zanuck decided to back his star with A film treatment. However, he still didn’t approve, gave it minimal publicity and shelved it after the first round of showing. This hurt the reputation of the movie, critics were not kind, and the public barely got a chance to respond because of this negligible handling. I believe that the critics were wrong. “Nightmare Alley” is a marvel of a movie with one of Power’s best performances. It is dark and frightening, depicting the lowest class of man, and one man in particular who uses the vulnerable and the needy to further his own ambitions.

The story begins in a seedy carnival, for which 20th Century Fox built a full, working set and hired real carny workers. Power as Stan is a roustabout and a barker, working for Zeena and Pete in their phony mind-reading act. Zeena (wonderful Joan Blondell) is hard-boiled yet soft-hearted for the pitiable drunk that the once great Pete has become. Pete is played by Ian Keith in what I consider to be an academy-award worthy performance. (Ian Keith’s career spanned a long period, with many of his movies directed by Cecil B. DeMille such as “The Crusades”, “Cleopatra”, “The Sign of the Cross” and “The 10 Commandments”.) The carnival carries a “geek”, an attraction of which Zeena says “lots of performers won’t work in a show that carries one.” Stan is fascinated by the geek, purported to be a wild man, but really only a pathetic alcoholic who actually eats live chickens for a bottle a day and a bed to sleep in. Stan can’t understand how anyone can sink so low. Soon, Stan learns of a valuable code used by Pete and Zeena in their glory days, a code for use in a realistic and mesmerizing mind-reading act. Zeena can sell the code for a great deal of money, but is saving it for her and Pete, partly to pay for “a cure” for Pete’s alcoholism. Once Stan learns of the code, he moves in on Zeena, seducing her in an effort to get the code for himself. After the tragic death of Pete, in which Stan plays a part, Zeena agrees to teach him the code.

Stan and Zeena (Joan Blondell)

Pete (Ian Keith) and Stan

Stan and Molly (Colleen Gray)

Stan betrays Zeena, and marries Molly (Colleen Gray), a beautiful girl who is one of the carnival’s entertainers. Stan wonders aloud why it doesn’t matter to him if he hurts people. He doesn’t know why, but doesn’t have the conscience to do anything about it. Molly is deeply in love with Stan, but Stan sees her merely as window dressing for the new act he designs. He becomes “The Great Stanton” in a nightclub mind-reading act with Molly and the code. He meets Lilith (Helen Walker), a therapist who sees through Stan’s pose and likes it. The mind-reading act is not enough for Stan’s ambition. He goes into the medium game, garnering secrets of Lilith’s rich clients and pretending to be speaking to their dead loved ones. His specialty is rich, grieving, vulnerable people. Molly is horrified at Stan’s phony religious posturing, warning him that he is trying to play God. Stan retorts that a lot of people do so, but Molly says “But they don’t sound like ministers. You do!” Stan doesn’t heed Molly’s warning and continues to use phrases from the Bible, even going so far as to use the words of Jesus in his spiel. Stan finally goes too far, finds that Lilith is really himself in female form, and his downward spiral begins
.

Stan's alter-ego Lilith (Helen Walker)

Stan deceives his rich, sorrowful mark,
Ezra Grindle (Taylor Holmes)  

Nightmare Alley” is directed by Edmund Goulding, a great director responsible for such films as The Razor’s Edge, The Great Lie, Dark Victory and Dawn Patrol. The score by Cyril Mockridge blends beautifully with this disturbing story, discordant and weaving elements of carnival music throughout. Mockridge was a prolific composer, with some of his better-known films being Cheaper by the Dozen, Desk Set and Bus Stop. Perhaps one of the most marked talents is makeup man Ben Nye, who manages to turn the strikingly handsome Power into a man who has created nightmares for others and finally lives one himself. “Nightmare Alley” is a must-see for classic movie fans. It never got the praise or promotion it deserved, and is well worth the search to find it. (Fox Movie Channel shows it periodically.)

Despicable Dames

I think it would be fun to give a nod to some of the truly nasty ladies on screen who are not given the spotlight very often.  Of course there are the oft-discussed greats like Bette Davis in The Letter or Of Human Bondage and Gene Tierney in Leave Her To Heaven -- but there are other wicked women in wonderful movies.  I've chosen six who have absolutely no redeeming qualities, not even remorse at the end.  No mental illness, no childhood traumas -- they are just evil, plain and simple.

Glamorous Olga Baclanova as Venus, the trapeze artist, in Freaks (1932)

This nasty woman works her wiles on a love-struck little person
(Harry Earles).  Her greed and incredible cruelty give her
a special place in the annals of  despicable dames.

 But Venus gets hers in the end:

Not a cute chick anymore...

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Gorgeous Claudette Colbert as Empress Poppea in The Sign of the Cross (1932).

DeMille always created larger-than-life characters, and Poppea certainly qualifies.  She does her best to corrupt a Roman centurion (Fredric March), routinely cheats on her admittedly disgusting husband, Nero (Charles Laughton), submits a beautiful Christian girl (Elissa Landi) to orgies, and looks forward to watching the Christian-chewing lions.

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Platinum vamp Jean Harlow turned Red-Headed Woman (1932)

"Red" wastes no time or effort in luring a weak husband (Chester Morris) away from his heart-broken wife.  Red will stop at nothing for his name and money, but still wants more.  She has an affair with an older rich man AND his chauffeur (young Charles Boyer).  Oh, and she LOVES it when Chester hits her (and he seems to like that a lot).    (Perhaps they really were made for each other.)

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Jeanette Nolan as Lady Macbeth in Orson Welles' version of Macbeth (1948)

Shakespeare's queen of Scotland is one of the great evil women in literature.  Her ambition is limitless, driving her to corrupt her morally weak husband so far as to murder the king. When Macbeth cannot do it, she snatches the knives from his hands and does the bloody deed herself, scorning him for his unmanliness.  Of course, she gets hers in the end as well, losing her mind completely, but you can't feel sorry for her -- she did it to herself.  As Rhett said to Scarlett:  "You are like the thief who is not the least bit sorry he stole, but is very, very sorry he is going to jail."

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Sian Phillips as Livia in the BBC production of  I, Claudius (1976)

No, she is not from the classic era of the silver screen, but Livia is probably the most despicable dame on any screen, and this is a true story.  As wife to Roman Emperor Augustus (Brian Blessed), Livia spends years poisoning every heir to Augustus' throne who is in the way of her own son, Tiberius.  Her victims include her other uncooperative children, nieces, nephews, including at last her own husband.  Livia, a real Empress of Rome, proves that nothing can top real life.

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And let's not forget ...
The Wicked Witch of the East ... we hardly knew ye ... R.I.P. 1939

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The men will get their turn -- there are many god-awful guys to discuss at a later date.  Do you have any favorite despicable dames?  I'd love to hear about them!

Classic Movie Dogathon: The Hound of the Baskervilles

Classic Film and TV Cafe is sponsoring a Dogathon -- movies about or featuring some of the most memorable canine actors.  My contribution is a little tribute to a dog that scared me to death.  My first Sherlock Holmes movie experience as a little girl was 1939's The Hound of the Baskervilles.  I fell in love with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Holmes and Watson, a love that continues.  I fell in love with Baskerville Hall and the bleak, eerie English moors.  As for the Hound -- I have always been afraid of big dogs, and he was a BIG dog.

The Hound was played by a 156-pound Great Dane.  His real name was Blitzen (German for flash or lightning), but in 1939, when Hitler was beginning his devastating march across Europe, 20th Century Fox decided that a name with such a Teutonic overtone was not acceptable.  His name was changed to Chief -- personally, I think Gargantua would have suited him better.  

Despite my best efforts, I was not able to find any kind of bio of Chief.  I don't know if he ever played in other movies.  To me, though, he was the most unforgettable movie dog ever.  I did learn that Great Danes, despite their huge size and dominating look, are actually called gentle giants. Chief was certainly a giant, but he did not look gentle as the Hound.  He was terrifying.

There have been other versions of the The Hound of the Baskervilles, some very good, one or two probably even better, but this one lives in my memory as my introduction to the beloved team of Rathbone and Bruce, one of the best movie sets of the moors, my love for the shadowy beauty of black and white film, and Chief, the Hound that scared a little girl who still watched the movie any time it was on.

Just For Fun -- A Re-Post Of One Of My Favorites!

My Faithful Readers know me as a real purist with classic film -- I saw a commercial years ago that had used special effects to have Fred Astaire doing one of his best numbers with a vacuum cleaner replacing the girl.  I almost had to call paramedics to be taken to the hospital!  So this is a surprise to me ... in looking for Gene Kelly numbers on YouTube, I ran across a tribute to Kelly set to 80's singing star Robert Palmer's hit song, "Simply Irresistible."  My first thought was, oh Lord, here we go again.  I've seen several posts on there which replace the music from classic film musical number with stupid rap songs or disco crap.  Makes me sick and shivery every time.

This is completely different.  For one thing, I love Robert Palmer and this great song, but even that wouldn't do it.  The creator of this clip, KYO175,  put an incredible amount of work into it.  The clips of several Kelly dance numbers actually match the rhythm of the song, and it's absolutely thrilling.  To anyone who knows me, they know it has to be really good for me to even like it, much less highlight and share it.  Hope you like it too!



In case the embedded version does not work, just follow this link:
http://youtu.be/AfSUgFRJI5g


Thank you KYO175 for your creation, which matches its name!

Countdown to 2012 -- Will The World Really End?

Should we trust the Mayan calendar that does not go beyond 2012?  Maybe they just ran out of flat stones and chisels ... that's as good a theory as any.  I have made plans for 2012 anyway.  If the world winks out sometime during the year, at least I won't have to do all the work I'm making for myself.  My blog is definitely a main focus.  I have not written anything substantial for a couple of months, and I have ideas that are waiting to be born.  My first post of 2012 will be one I have promised to myself for a long time -- a celebration of one of my favorite performers, Sophie Tucker.  I also want to do a list of the top 50 movies that I love; participate in the CMBA Comedy Classics blogathon; do a companion post to my earlier Bad Bette Davis pictorial by showing the Good Bette; and write a tribute to the great romantic classic films. 

Before all that, however, comes New Year's Eve.  Mine is all planned!

My date is the intense, intellectual type with a little kink ...

I have a lovely new ensemble for our "marathon" evening ...

We plan to start imbibing early ...

A gourmet meal to ring in the new year ...

We will be partying at my place, so we won't have to deal with this guy ...

... and this won't be our eventual destination ...

The party's over ... it's time to call it a day ...

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL, AND REMEMBER TO TAKE THREE ASPIRIN BEFORE YOU GO TO BED -- IT HELPS THE MORNING HEADACHE!

God Bless Us All, Every One ...

So far, I am being allowed by my fiendishly fickle computer demon to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas -- at least I will know if that is so after I try to post it.  Hit and miss is the phrase of the day for my internet connection.  Well, I'll give it a try...

On my sidebar is a spiritual proclamation for Christmas, and here is the worldly wish I make for all of my Faithful Readers and friends:

May you find lots of presents under the tree ...

May you drink wassail (in my case, frozen daiquiris)
until you are dizzy and happy ...





and may you eat goodies until you go into a joyful coma ...

               ***MERRY CHRISTMAS***

The Genius of Picasso

The eye that saw the world as no one else did.

The masters of great art have been on my mind, and Picasso is one of my great loves.  He captures the human condition in a completely unique way. I am unable to post anything very substantial right now, and a comprehensive biography of Picasso would be difficult because of ongoing computer problems.  However, I would like to share with my Faithful Readers some of my favorites:

Weeping Woman

Picasso painting with light

Girl Before A Mirror

Mother and Child

The Visit - Two Sisters

Romancing Picasso Art within Art Painting by k Madison Moore Inspired by Picasso.

Old Man With Guitar



Guernica

It is very difficult to do justice to Picasso's masterpiece in this forum.
This enormous painting depicts a small Spanish Basque town
obliterated by Nazi bombers during the Spanish Civil War

The last two paintings hang on my living room wall.  If I had to choose just one more, it would be Art Within Art, an explosion of joyous color.  I don't pretend to be a Picasso expert -- I am only self-educated in art that speaks to me.  It is feeling more than knowledge that moves me.  Picasso is not to everybody's taste, but I hope you have found something in these paintings that I particularly love.

Can You Describe A Movie In One Short Phrase?

In this game, you must describe each movie in a short phrase, no longer than 6 words (I just picked that number out of the air).  All are classics with their remakes ... some are not exactly remakes but films about the same story.  You don't have to judge which is better, but you can if you want to.  It should be a little challenging and interesting to see what you can say in a few words ...




Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Fredric March and Fredric March

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Spencer Tracy and Spencer Tracy

Mutiny on the Bounty
Clark Gable and Charles Laughton

Mutiny on the Bounty
Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard



The Fly
David Hedison

The Fly
Jeff Goldblum

The Thing From Another World
James Arness

The Thing
Kurt Russell

Gunfight at the OK Corral
Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas

Wyatt Earp
Kevin Costner and Dennis Quaid

Tombstone
Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer