The other day I learned not only that Marlon Brando had 13 children, but that one of his grandchildren, Tuki, is a fashion model. So I have a new addition to the good genes post:
The story of Tuki's family is very, very sad and dramatic; and he wasn't included in Brando's will. He was raised in Tahiti and his name means "heartbeat". He seems to be a very down-to-earth person.
"Acting is my grandfather and modelling is me," he says. "Even if I wanted to, it would be too hard for me. People would say, 'Ah, he's not as good as his grandfather'. I want to do something different. "Three months ago I saw A Streetcar Named Desire. It was funny to see him on TV, looking so young. He was already old when I first met him." His grandmother encouraged Tuki to visit the famous grandfather who hurt them all so badly. "I saw him often,' he says of Brando. "He was really nice, but he was the boss of the house. When he wanted to see you, you would see him. But if you wanted to see him, he would decide. "When you were in his house, you couldn't scream because he hated noise. He told me, 'Don't make a noise, don't speak too loud'. And he never went out anywhere. He just wanted calm and rest."
I also want to talk about another legend's descendant. In the previous good genes post, Becky mentioned another Errol's grandson, Sean (son of Rory Flynn). I had seen pictures of him and I though he didn't look like his ancestors.
If you're reading this on your RSS Reader/Facebook etc...well, you'll have to check my blog to understand what I'm talking about :)
We say goodbye to the old header, "Sleeping Audrey"...
And welcome the new one..."Audrey having her hair washed".
I also made some few more changes:
Created a more visible/legible title and tag line, because I'm sure there are a lot of people that don't know how my blog is really called :)
My super menu is still there, only I removed the image buttons because in some browsers they loaded too slowly.
Added an Amazon Search Bar, so if I've piqued your interest with my reviews you can immediately look for the title in this store...and help me with some cents :)
If you have any (any) kind of problem with my site or some suggestions, please let me know. I'm trying to improve the experience of visiting Via Margutta 51 for you and me :)
Hi guys, here are my brief commentaries of the movies I've seen lately but haven't reviewed:
1. The three lives of Thomasina (1964; Don Chaffey)
I really liked this Disney movie. It's about a widower (a vet) his daughter, and her cat, Thomasina living in a small village. After his wife died, the vet became kind of detached: if an animal is dying, he doesn't care about the feelings of the owner. When Thomasina, the cat, is seriously injured, he doesn't try to help her and is let to die.
The daughter doesn't forgive her dad for this; everyone believe the cat died. Only she didn't and a nice "witch" is taking care of her. It was fun, kept you intrigued and the kids from Mary Poppins (Karen Dotrice & Mathew Garber) play the main characters here too.
DorianTb recommended me this movie and I loved it! Told in flashbacks from different points of views, the movie tells the story of a woman (Carole Landis) that was murdered. The police is trying to find the killer and her manager (Victor Mature) is the main suspect. The victim's sister (Betty Grable) doesn't agree. Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone, the film makes you wonder, makes you change your opinion with every flashback and then root for the innocents. It was great to see Laird Cregar, the Devil from Heaven can wait (review), playing a mysterious Police Inspector.
Loved this "drama", although I didn't like the ending very much. Basically, a widow (Barbara Stanwyck) is condemned by the society and her family because she's in love with George Brent and they hang out WITHOUT BEING MARRIED. Obviously, you have to see this movie in perspective to get the drama in that. My favorite things from this movie are Eve Arden's awesomely well delivered jokes (made me want to watch more from her movies as you'll see in the next post of mini reviews) and Barbara Stanwyck's usual terrific acting skills. Please, check this scene:
Why I didn't like the ending? Because they decided to end everything according to the social rules (and the Hays Code I guess). I enjoyed watching it anyway.
I actually re-watched this film. Gary Cooper is a writer (inspired in Francis Scott Fitzgerald) that likes to drink and party with his wife. At some point he decides to start writing a new book in the country, alone. There he meets a Pole family of farmers with strict rules and falls in love with the simplicity and sweetness of the daughter, Anna Sten (although in real life the actors hated each other and he called her Anna "Stench").
I love this movie (even when it seems that the portrayal of the Poles was far too barbaric) and it always makes me cry. Anna has to marry a primitive-looking Ralph Bellamy (he does a great job, makes you forget his elegant roles) because her dad needs lands or money or whatever.
There are some scenes beautifully played, that makes you really empathize with the characters. The protagonists need each other and you can see they would be happy together and help each other...but, well, see the movie to check what happens. I like how they developed the ending.
This is a movie that was made to give strengths to the people during World War II. You know them: they always end with a speech delivered by someone looking to the horizon. But I enjoyed the ride: Tyrone Power and Joan Fontaine are great together.
Set in England, their chracters have different social backgrounds: he comes from the working class while her family is rich and powerful. She decided to become a volunteer and while she is on that, she meets Ty, a guy that has issues with having to defend his country. I liked it because they enjoy their love and give a leap of faith, facing social prejudice (like taking ONE room at a hotel for a weekend) and their own fears.
Well, that's all for now, folks! I wrote 5 mini-reviews more, I'll publish them in a few days (so don't believe is the same post).
PS: Remember that if you're replying as a guest you can leave the link to you site. Just click the option "Link to your website" under "Your name".
See what was the first movie-related thought my readers had when I said HORSE:
"National Velvet with Elizabeth Taylor and Mickey Rooney"
"Trigger, the smartest horse in the movies."
"Shane."
"The Searchers. I also thought about The Horse Soldiers. When I was a child there was a TV show that I loved about a horse. I think it was called Fury." (Translated from Spanish)
"Audrey Hepburn in War & peace in her white-and-red dress and a big hat. She's drawing a horse in some field and her "brother" comes to say something. (My favorite scene in that movie, but all i remember is Audrey drawing a horse :) )"
"'Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse' with Rudolph Valentino"
(Translated from Spanish) "Devotion, there's a scene in which Ida Lupino (Emily Brönte) dreams about a rider that takes her away, I think that at then end she dies and you can see the rider taking her away..." Source
The first HORSE that comes to my mind is always Gui-Pago, Audrey's Arabian stallion in The Unforgiven. Sadly:
"Production was suspended for several months in 1959 after Ms. Hepburn broke her back when she fell off a horse while rehearsing a scene. Although she eventually recovered, the accident was blamed for a subsequent miscarriage Hepburn suffered. According to several published biographies of Hepburn, she blamed herself for the accident and subsequently all but disowned the film, although she did complete it when she was well enough to return to work." (Wikipedia).
Thanks for participating, guys! Great thoughts everyone :)
A quick post to share a link to this event. The place: London (yeah, I'll go swimming). The date: 7 July - 23 October. It will feature awesome portraits of Hollywood's Golden Age, all part of the archive of the John Jobal Foundation.
Guys, just a quick post to apologize! The day of THE auction of the century I stayed up late and caught a cold. I was in bed since then, today is the first day I'm feeling a bit better. So, I decided to make a post of classic movies showing sick people...but people that recovers, not dying people like Camille or Beth in Little Women.
Just press play to go to the interesting part!
The Apartment: poor C. C. Baxter caught a cold!
The Shop Around the Corner: Mr. Kralik (James Stewart) visits sick Klara...
The Nun's Story: Audrey has TB and a cute monkey + Peter Finch to take care of her...
Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison: Drunk Mr. Allison scared Sister Angela and now he needs to save her...
I remember mama: One of the kids of a poor Norwegian family is sick and the hospital doesn't allow visitors...Mama Irene Dunne won't take no for an answer...
Sullivan's Travels: Joel McCrea caught a cold and is pissed off...
Which scene featuring sick people do you remember the most?
Happy Father's Day, people! I arranged a gallery with famous actor dads (and a couple of dads of famous actresses); this doesn't mean they were all the best fathers in the world, but they're unforgettable anyway.
Come and play, kids: here's the fourth edition of When I say, you say, the game in which I say a word and you write your first (1st) movie related thought: titles, actors, scenes, names, passages from biographies, etc...
Have you heard of the concept bio-compelled viewing? No? Well, that's OK, because I just coined it. According to my dictionary,
Bio-compelled viewing: The movies you just need to [re]watch after reading or watching a biography of someone related to cinema.
Example: this post.
I know, I know, I'm bombarding you with Gene Tierney movies, but since I watched her bio on Youtube I've been trying to check more of her films. When I heard that she and Rory Calhoun came to neighbor country Argentina to shoot Way of a Gaucho (Jacques Torneur, 1952 ), well, I just needed to watch it! That was totally a bio-compelled viewing, you know?
1.- Well, the first reason why I absolutely loved this movie is the story it presents. Basically a gaucho is a cowboy/peasant from some regions of South America, especially Argentina. The story, based on a novel by Herbert Childs and adapted/produced by Philip Dunne (How Green Was My Valley, ETC), takes place in the 1870s: Martín (Rory Calhoun) is a gaucho, step-brother of a rich (and kind) landowner. In the very first minutes he commits a crime and is sent to the army, which leads him to face different situations.
2.- The second reason, is that it was filmed in Argentina(at least most of it) in Technicolor. You really don't know how it feels to watch a classic movie shot in a place you can actually relate to. No, you know TOO well; I didn't know. And it was a great feeling. Watching the mountains, the pampas, South American flora and fauna...it was just mind blowing! And the fact that Rory Calhoun and Gene Tierney were playing the leads made everything cooler :)
3.- The third aspect I loved from this movie is that overall the characters weren't stereotyped. Martín is a guy that is fighting against everything, sometimes his decisions are not the best and he ends up seeing the errors of his ways . This movie is really a drama of a man that feels displaced and doesn't know how to fight against it. On the other hand, the "enemy", a major played by Richard Boone, wasn't really bad, he was doing what he thought it was correct, just like Martín. Also his step-brother isn't the usual rich guy that doesn't care about the rest, he tries to protect Martín. That makes everything more interesting.
4.- Another element that was a great surprise is that Jacques Torneur, Philip Dune and the crew really cared about presenting accurate historical and artistic details. The costumes are precise, they even included a special kind of boot wore by the gauchos that was made with horse leather; the way they depicted Tehuelches (one of the many natives that lived down here) was very accurate, using boleadoras and spears to face the enemy; the army is wearing the old typical uniform "inspired" in the French one (we copied it here in Chile too) and also using the guns of the time. They also decided to cast all but the major parts in Argentina.
5.- The fifth reason is Rory Calhoun. I just had seen him in How to marry a millionaire and didn't get my attention then. But I'll never forget his Martín Peñalosa. Rory is the kind of people that look gorgeous from certain angles. Well, the angles here are all flattering. But the most important thing is that he knew everything about horses, just like Martín. And that enriches the experience of watching this film:
6.- We've discussed Gene Tierney's presence on screen: she's always luminous and she's always effective. Her character, Teresa, a woman from the city, is so in love with Martín that she's willing to make all the necessary efforts to be with him. Teresa shows vulnerability in some scenes: Gene makes you suffer with her.
7.- And the last reason is that the characters almost almost almost got to Chile. At some point Martín and Teresa have to escape and they head to Chile (yay!). But when they're almost there (here)....
...a certain event occurs and they have to go back (damn it!). But at least Chile gets three (3) mentions :)
Well, I hope I've picked your interest; I invite you to know a bit more about South America by watching this film.
A very interesting study of this film can be (partially) found here (Google Books: Jacques Tourneur: the cinema of nightfall).
