Saturday, August 28, 2010
THE INCOMPARABLE ANNA MAGNANI
Anna Magnani is arguably the best actress of the film era. What a treat to see her in a film (clip, above) with Marlin Brando in his best period. The film: Tennessee Williams' "The Fugitive Kind."
Magnani's great here. Brando has to get out of town to escape the law, but Magnani thinks he's leaving to be with another woman. When he tries to push past her she grabs his precious guitar and won't let go. That's such a Magnani thing to do! She fights for her man. She won't take no for an answer. He slaps her and she just takes the slaps and holds on.
But Brando knows he's got a real woman. In another sequence (on YouTube, not shown here) a beautiful girl throws herself at him and he says disdainfully: "Look at your wrists, they're so thin. I could snap them like a twig with two fingers. That's not the way a real woman is." The real woman is Anna Magnani, who has wrists like Popeye.
My only criticism is that the script doesn't give Magnani enough to say. She needed more lines. Maybe the studio was afraid Magnani would outshine Brando. Or maybe Williams slipped up. Maybe Magnani couldn't learn enough English. I wish I knew.
From another film, here's (above) Magnani playing a wife whose husband is taken away by the fascists, maybe to be shot. Magnani's a real woman. When her man is threatened she battles her way through a gauntlet of armed soldiers to get him back. When you see this you say to yourself, "Now that's what love is. If you're not willing to do that for your significant other, then you're not really in love."
Here's (above) Magnani and a beau taking a walk in the woods. What's so special about a walk you ask, but when Magnani does a scene everything is special. Her feigned helplessness is beautiful to behold. Watch the first minute and a half, and don't be put off by the documentary footage that begins it.
Thinking about "The Fugitive Kind" reminded me of Brando's performance in that film. Here's (above) the standout first sequence of that film, beloved by caricaturists and impressionists everywhere. It's one of Brandos funniest.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
WOMENS FASHION IN THE 50S
Women of this period who couldn't afford Mink coats wore mink "stoles" instead. Stoles were entire dead animals: face, paws and tails, stitched together and draped over the shoulder. |
Then as now, photography always favors models who look other-worldly (above), and seem to have disdain for the human race. |
I imagine that fashionable 50s women must have followed suit by snubbing everyone around them. If there were no strangers to snub, then they snubbed a friend. |
Some high fashion never filtered down to street level, thank God. Paris tried to foist ugly, tent dresses on women, and they refused to accept them. |
Girdle ads of the period (above) are fascinating. Models had to strike classical poses, frequently next to pillars. They were very classy and aloof. |
That's very odd, because the dresses that were made to show off the conservative girdles (above) were often outrageously sexy. |
Lots of girls I knew when I was a little kid wore dresses like the "Chubettes" one above. The ad says they were for "chubby lasses." Gee, maybe I live around a lot of fat girls. |
Were pajamas (above) an invention of the fifties? I love wearing them, but I confess that in an entire lifetime I've never had a pair that fit. |
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
"CRIME WAVE"
The trailer's on YouTube, but take my advice and skip it. It makes the film appear amateurish and boring, which it isn't. Instead take a look at this short video (above) about the film's director, Andre De Toth. He's the same guy who directed the underrated horror film, "House of Wax."
Sunday, August 22, 2010
A DINNER I WON'T FORGET
Before I start, let me apologize for taking the Pizza Boy story down. It's only temporary. I'll put up an improved version soon, and I think you'll like it a lot better. I had trouble with Beta Blogger, which isn't set up for the kind of photo stories I like to do, but it gets better every day and, well...you can't argue with the price. Thanks to Roberto, Jorge, Rooni, Fritz and Ben for the kind comments on that post.
Fortunately, I have another pizza story ready to go, this one taken from real life...
Fortunately, I have another pizza story ready to go, this one taken from real life...
When the family got up to go, I felt like shaking the kids hand and giving him my wallet. What a gift he gave to his father! What a son! What a night!
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Labels:
dad,
dad and son,
good son,
night to remember
Thursday, August 19, 2010
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF JAMES ELLROY?
It occurred to me that in my post on writers James Ellroy and Elmore Leonard I forgot to include a sample of Ellroy's writing. Ill make up for that here with a couple of brief Ellroy interviews. He writes the way he talks, so this should give you an idea of what the writing's like.
Ellroy talks in short sentenses with short words. It's a very lean style. In the interviews he comes off as obsessive, which doesn't surprise me. I think all good literary stylists have compulsive disorders. They write whether they get paid for it or not. You have to write an awful. awful lot to get the kind of feel for words that they have.
The trick is to avoid getting seduced by your own beautiful words, and to never neglect the content. Good writing is always about something that's worth knowing.
YouTube has several videos where Ellroy talks about Elizabeth Short, the famous "Black Dahlia" whose corpse was found surgically cut in half in Hollywood in the forties. His own mother was murdered when Ellroy was a kid, some (not Ellroy) believe by the same killer. The two murders are always on Ellroy's mind. I'm surprised that Ellroy is able to keep focused on a subject he's spoken and written about so frequently through the years. Maybe this is another example of how you have to be an an obsessive compulsive in order to write well.
Maybe the tragic crimes gave him a nucleus around which he could grow a compulsion. Maybe the best writers need compulsions for fuel and deliberately set about to acquire and nurture them. Or maybe I'm trying to over explain something that's simple and doesn't need an explanation. I don't know. Anyway, I love the way Ellroy talks.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
FILLER
I hate filler. I hate it in books, cartoons, films, food...you name it. Filler sucks.
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Sunday, August 15, 2010
PHILOSOPHY GIRLS AUDITIONS (PART 1)
INT. THEORY BUILDING: ON THE APPLICANTS:
BUTTERCUP: "Only two slots left, and there's dozens of girls ahead of us. It doesn't look good!"
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