tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post6568063188876339081..comments2024-01-01T21:31:27.654-08:00Comments on UNCLE EDDIE'S THEORY CORNER: WHAT IS GOOD ACTING?Eddie Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07729949238666234774noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-2910397046898537002011-07-16T13:39:31.959-07:002011-07-16T13:39:31.959-07:00Bell: I answered your comment on the mid-July 2011...Bell: I answered your comment on the mid-July 2011 post about Gustave Dore.Eddie Fitzgeraldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07729949238666234774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-51637219490053054432011-07-16T05:45:45.842-07:002011-07-16T05:45:45.842-07:00hi im 13 and i want to be an actress im ok but not...hi im 13 and i want to be an actress im ok but not that great i was wondering if you people had any tips or anything because you seem to know alot about acting, if you do that would be really good coz i cant really find anywhere that helps :)Bellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-29412999218304847122007-02-16T22:07:00.000-08:002007-02-16T22:07:00.000-08:00Eddie Fitzgerald: Yes, "The Lost One" is the auth...Eddie Fitzgerald: Yes, "The Lost One" is the authorized biography of Peter Lorre, published in 2005.<BR/><BR/>Lorre's acting theories are discussed throughout the book. The easiest way to locate all references is to turn to page 597 in the Index and use the listing under "Lorre, Peter: Stage and Screen Career". One entry, for example, is "Acting, duality of".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-37211437265843450782007-02-14T11:39:00.000-08:002007-02-14T11:39:00.000-08:00>> I saw Crime and Punishment at a revival screeni...>> I saw Crime and Punishment at a revival screening at the Egyptian theater in LA. It definitely deserves its reputation of mixed reviews. It's one of those Hollywood movies that doesn't do justice to its source material. It looks real nice, though. <<<BR/><BR/>Thanks J.J. that's very close to what I expected from this movie. I agree, with Von Sternberg behind the camera, it must look nice. He was one of the greatest visual stylists of that era (and possibly one of my favorite directors) and it's a shame that his career started to disintegrate after the mid-'30s. What do you think of Lorre's interpretation in this movie?Hammersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08524100093821093668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-47508557093457679762007-02-14T11:31:00.000-08:002007-02-14T11:31:00.000-08:00>> STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR (1940) - a classic,...>> STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR (1940) - a classic, NOT available on DVD, of course. Thanks, video industry.<BR/><BR/>Jenny mentions THE VERDICT (1946) with Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet - another classic, also not available on DVD. <<<BR/><BR/>We also don't have Betty Boop, Terrytoons and the complete Tex Avery on DVD, because their respective owners think they wouldn't sell. And what we have instead? A DVD box set of "Wait 'Till Your Father Gets Home"!!! Now, that's a true classic and a landmark in animation history :(<BR/><BR/>Warner could really put a fine DVD collection of Peter Lorre movies. They own "The Verdict" and "Stranger...", and several other Lorre pictures. Somebody should propose this idea on the upcoming chat with Warner Home Video executives at the Home Theater Forum.Hammersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08524100093821093668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-19227433388266612612007-02-14T11:14:00.000-08:002007-02-14T11:14:00.000-08:00Lady: Thanks a million for posting that Stranger e...Lady: Thanks a million for posting that Stranger excerpt. If it's convenient, maybe sometime you'd consider putting up an excerpt from Lorre's final speech from M. That's a great speech but I prefer his performance in Stranger. It would be fun to compare the two.Eddie Fitzgeraldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07729949238666234774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-1519810297175762482007-02-14T07:17:00.000-08:002007-02-14T07:17:00.000-08:00Peter Lorre was considered one of the most gifted ...Peter Lorre was considered one of the most gifted actors of his day and I think his acting technique dates very well. There's a lot of naturalistic observation in his characterizations. You can tell a lot about the character he's playing just by how he holds his cigarette.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-10565418859872351782007-02-14T04:50:00.000-08:002007-02-14T04:50:00.000-08:00Wow! I'm very honored that folks enjoyed my YouTu...Wow! I'm very honored that folks enjoyed my YouTube clip! I've been trying to capture some of my favorite Lorre moments for others to appreciate. I believe that the reason most people know Lorre only as a sinister person is that most of Lorre's best work hasn't been released to video. Please check out one of my other clips from "I Was an Adventuress". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn1Tk6-dU-k He plays a sweet-natured individual who can't control his kleptomaniacal urges. :D Lorre himself was said to be a very kind, compassionate individual who cared greatly for people. ~Jen (ladylove72)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-38820686483866409212007-02-14T01:16:00.000-08:002007-02-14T01:16:00.000-08:00pappy: An interesting analysis!Anonymous: "Lost On...pappy: An interesting analysis!<BR/><BR/>Anonymous: "Lost One"'s the newest Lorre book isn't it? If so I thumbed through it but didn't find much acting theory in it. The author gave short shrift to "Stranger on the Third Floor"Eddie Fitzgeraldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07729949238666234774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-8279912014487040942007-02-13T18:21:00.000-08:002007-02-13T18:21:00.000-08:00"...another Peter Lorre film that I'm extremely cu...<I>"...another Peter Lorre film that I'm extremely curious about is "Crime and Punishment" (1935, directed by Josef Von Sternberg). Peter Lorre plays Raskolnikov, and that was his first Hollywood movie. Has anybody seen it? It seems to be very hard to find, and it received quite mixed reviews."</I><BR/><BR/>I saw Crime and Punishment at a revival screening at the Egyptian theater in LA. It definitely deserves its reputation of mixed reviews. It's one of those Hollywood movies that doesn't do justice to its source material. It looks real nice, though.J. J. Hunseckerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04067327948394872768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-37900032330348173112007-02-13T14:58:00.000-08:002007-02-13T14:58:00.000-08:00One thing i have to say about Mamet is that he is ...One thing i have to say about Mamet is that he is writer. As a writer it is logical to assume that he would want his own words to take primacy over the acting. I'm not saying that he is in favor of dull, inferior acting, but if I labored over every detail of script I'd want to make sure all of the words get heard. <BR/><BR/>Counterpoint: Kurt Kobain doesn't care if you hear every word he sings. He only wants you feel how he sings it. At least on first impression. In fact, that reminds me of an interview with Maynard J Keenan of the bands Tool and A perfect CIrcle in which he stated that very sentiment.<BR/><BR/>In effect, cartooning is like grunge music. Good writing and words help a whole lot but mostly people care about how well the acting is animated. Sorta.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17020145920932782176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-61191026147854064062007-02-13T14:47:00.000-08:002007-02-13T14:47:00.000-08:00Well i think the voice acting in the student piece...Well i think the voice acting in the student piece is flawed too. But that's part of the acting as a whole. By just listening i can tell it isn't genuine. It's an imitation of genres of emotional states. Pure stereo types streaming at us. Moreover, it seemed rushed. There were no pauses where one would expect them. No space for these supposed emotions to develop. <BR/><BR/>In contrast the Peter Lorre scene is full of silences. Silences where the actors faces and gestures tell the other half of the story. The emotions of the characters of course aren't even totally identifiable. That makes Lorre's character seem so unstable. You can't exactly tell where his feeling are going until actually starts attacking. Even then it seems he might even swing back to the gentle soul that feeds the dog. Now that's compelling! You become curious about what these murky emotions actually are, what they will be. The student piece is so categorizable and cliché that it holds no interest.<BR/><BR/>This reminds me of this video i was watching today that reminds me of John K's acting theories. I think I'll make my own post on that at nizzbear.blogspot.comAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17020145920932782176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-133612828393388252007-02-13T14:46:00.000-08:002007-02-13T14:46:00.000-08:00Great post, Eddie! That Lorre scene was a good cho...Great post, Eddie! That Lorre scene was a good choice, too. It serves your point & also Mamet's. In his book, he talks about the "uninflected" performance & uses an example from an early experiment by one of those Soviet filmmakers where a shot of a man looking at the camera is cut with scenes of a turkey, a beautiful girl, etc. Each time the audience interpreted him as being hungry, lustful, & so forth, based on the editing. <BR/><BR/>If Lorre had played him as a slavering, twitching lunatic, it would have been far less affecting. In this clip, he's kind to animals, sympathetic, even timid. He seems so ordinary (except, maybe for the flamboyant scarf)that when he blandly lets it drop, by way of small-talk that he's killed someone, you're shocked. You realise that you pass shabby little guys like him every day, but you avoid eye contact & especially conversation with them. The character seems genuinely pleased to have had a conversation with another human being & when he realises that he has to kill her he seems disappointed & even disillusioned.<BR/><BR/>It seems to me that the biggest trick to acting is to get inside the character's skin, then just be real in the moment of the scene. It's harder in animation since there's no such thing as spontaneity. You have to feel it spontaneously, then drape the emotions over a matrix of 24 frms./sec., analyse what you were feeling & key it out.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-53120192986165904962007-02-13T11:16:00.000-08:002007-02-13T11:16:00.000-08:00STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR (1940) - a classic, NO...STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR (1940) - a classic, NOT available on DVD, of course. Thanks, video industry.<BR/> <BR/>Jenny mentions THE VERDICT (1946) with Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet - another classic, also not available on DVD.<BR/> <BR/>(But you can get DUDE, WHERE'S MY CAR and I EAT YOUR SKIN on DVD. The mind boggles.)<BR/><BR/>Leonard Maltin used the term "cultural amnesia" in his recent tribute to Frankie Laine - to describe what happened to entertainment journalism in recent years. Sad, huh?<BR/><BR/>http://www.leonardmaltin.com/mike fontanellihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02685917448327606335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-3500359277664032612007-02-13T09:31:00.000-08:002007-02-13T09:31:00.000-08:00Wow, I have to own this movie!!! What a great sequ...Wow, I have to own this movie!!!<BR/> What a great sequence!<BR/>Whenever anyone talkes about Lorre, they always forget how nuanced he could be. The guy could do anything. He's great in "The Maltese Falcon", he's great in "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea". 2 completely different kinds of roles. Versatile!John S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03562963042584020477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-91863170508179857972007-02-13T09:29:00.000-08:002007-02-13T09:29:00.000-08:00Hey, is Warner Bros. considering releasing a Peter...Hey, is Warner Bros. considering releasing a Peter Lorre DVD collection much like they've done for Clark Gable, Bette Davis, and James Cagney? If not, they really really should.<BR/><BR/>They could even include cartoon extras like <B>Birth of a Notion</B> and <B>Racketeer Rabbit</B> and any other that has a Peter Lorre caricature in it.David Germainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15242095374521702596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-51975239324588877192007-02-13T08:09:00.000-08:002007-02-13T08:09:00.000-08:00Ah, "Stranger on the Third Floor"... great movie! ...Ah, "Stranger on the Third Floor"... great movie! Lorre is awesome, and there's a lengthy bizarre dream sequence that has almost cartoony quality. It certainly wouldn't be out of place in a Bob Clampett cartoon, or John K. psychodrama.<BR/>I will look up for "The Verdict", and another Peter Lorre film that I'm extremely curious about is "Crime and Punishment" (1935, directed by Josef Von Sternberg). Peter Lorre plays Raskolnikov, and that was his first Hollywood movie. Has anybody seen it? It seems to be very hard to find, and it received quite mixed reviews. Some hailed it as a near masterpiece and one of Lorre's best films, while others dismissed it as a total failure. It would be really interesting to see.Hammersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08524100093821093668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-55072133573109512652007-02-13T07:46:00.000-08:002007-02-13T07:46:00.000-08:00I'm lovin' all the comments about Peter Lorre! He...I'm lovin' all the comments about Peter Lorre! He's been my favorite actor for more than 30 years. You might enjoy reading his authorized biography -- "The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre" by Stephen Youngkin. Official website -- http://www.PeterLorreBook.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-56711556785792934742007-02-13T07:09:00.000-08:002007-02-13T07:09:00.000-08:00The Moto I saw didn't impress me that much but may...<I>The Moto I saw didn't impress me that much but maybe I didn't see the right one.</I><BR/><BR/>Well, the Mr. Motos aren't his absolute greatest work but they're a hell of a lot of fun--and of the 4 I've seen,(or was it six?), two were definitely lesser. I'd say the first one, "Think Fast, Mr. Moto" was the best, along with (I think) "Thank you, Mr. Moto"--one that has him in Shanghai, with an especially touching dath scene(not his). Maybe one has to be in just the right mood, I don't know--but man, I thought those two were crackerjack! And the way Lorre played Stanford-educated Moto was just....unexpected and sublime!<BR/><BR/>But definitely look for "The Verdict". : )Jenny Lerewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06668171465801333811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-35737951543192589232007-02-13T01:58:00.000-08:002007-02-13T01:58:00.000-08:00Gabriel, Anonymous: I love Mamet but his style of ...Gabriel, Anonymous: I love Mamet but his style of acting is intended to fit the unique kind of stories he tells. I still like my way of doing things. <BR/><BR/>Thanks for reminding me of Mamet's book. It sounds great! I'll try to read it!<BR/><BR/>Brian: A good contemporary actor? I like Jim Carey's best scenes. Woody Allen was good in his "Annie Hall" days. There's obviously more good actors than that but these two fit my theories nicely so I boost them up to the top of the list. <BR/><BR/>John, Jennifer, Jenny et al: Lorre's great alright! I'll have to take another look at his facial muscles. The name of the movie is "Stranger on the Third Floor." In my opinion he gives an even better performance here than he does in "M." The Moto I saw didn't impress me that much but maybe I didn't see the right one.<BR/><BR/>Leo, Drunk: Wow! Thanks for the great acting theories! I'm going to write them down!Eddie Fitzgeraldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07729949238666234774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-50389170731771668942007-02-13T01:28:00.000-08:002007-02-13T01:28:00.000-08:00I should watch more Peter Lorre movies. I only rem...I should watch more Peter Lorre movies. I only remember the way Mel Blanc imitated him and the scenes of his model "zombie" charicature in "Mad Monster Party!"Sean Worshamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02847304253885335658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-42131887128818436032007-02-12T21:43:00.000-08:002007-02-12T21:43:00.000-08:00If you go to YouTube and do a search on Peter Lorr...If you go to YouTube and do a search on Peter Lorre, you'll find scenes from many rarely shown films of his. It's been said he never gave the same film performance twice, and the range of his roles available on YouTube bears this out. <BR/>He was truly an amazingly talented actor.Addiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08533255580829947118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-51960694886258666742007-02-12T20:38:00.000-08:002007-02-12T20:38:00.000-08:00Shawn(and Eddie), I also highly recommend "The Ver...Shawn(and Eddie), I also highly recommend "The Verdict", a starrer for both Greenstreet and Lorre, who of course play off each other beautifully as always. They loved each other as actors and it shows. It's a terrific, nicely shot period mystery.Jenny Lerewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06668171465801333811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-81893184783956214232007-02-12T17:42:00.000-08:002007-02-12T17:42:00.000-08:00Great clip! Did John base Ren's voice on Peter Lor...Great clip! Did John base Ren's voice on Peter Lorre?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28525168.post-25619260931541443562007-02-12T17:18:00.000-08:002007-02-12T17:18:00.000-08:00Hey, Jenny. How could I have forgotten Mr. Moto? F...Hey, Jenny. How could I have forgotten Mr. Moto? Fantastic stuff. I've never seen "The Mask Of Dimitrios", but I'll seek it out. Thanks!Shawn Dickinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12489620525595098628noreply@blogger.com