Classic actors' last lines on film (part one?)

The screenwriter didn't know that he or she was redacting what would end being the last lines spoken by a Classic Star in a motion picture. That's a powerful thought.

I collected some of my favorite actors' last moments, in which I consider to be the first of a series of posts (fingers crossed). I included only their last proper films, because some of them did unfindable TV series or TV movies at the end of their careers. 

Carole Lombard: To be or not to be (1942)
I like the fact that her last scene and line is playful and cheerful. She's a festive bully.

REPORTER: And you, Mr. Tura. You played the real hero in this amazing play.
JOSEF: I did my best and I was very ably assisted by my colleagues. Thank you, my friends, for everything you did. As little as it may have been.
REPORTER: I am sure England will want to show its gratitude. What do you desire most, Mr. Tura?
JOSEF: Well, l--
MARIA: He wants to play Hamlet.
JOSEF: After all, we are in the country of William Shakespeare--
MARIA: He wants to play Hamlet.

Clark Gable & Marilyn Monroe: The misfits (1961)
I like the fact Marilyn last completed film is intense and well-acted. She deserved it I guess. I like their lines, they're trascendental and powerful. 

GAY: Well, I'm finished with it. It's... It's like ropin' a dream now. Just gotta find another way to be alive, that's all. If there is one any more. Perce, cut that mare loose for me, will you?
PERCE: Sure.
GAY (to Roslyn): Drive you back, if you want.
PERCE: Um, I'm pleased to have met you, Roslyn.
ROSLYN: Don't get hurt any more, will you, Perce?
GAY: See you around, Guido.
GUIDO: Where'll you be? Polishin' windshields? Makin' change in a supermarket? Try the Laundromat! They need a fella there to load the machines! Gay!
ROSLYN: I'll leave tomorrow. OK?
GAY: I bless you, girl.
ROSLYN: Gay, if there could be one person in the world...a child who could be brave from the beginning...I was scared to when you asked me. But I'm not so much now. Are you?
GAY: No.
ROSLYN: How do you find your way back in the dark?
GAY: Just head for that big star straight on. The highway's under it. It'll take us right home.

THE NEXT DIALOG = SPOILER (you've been warned )

Gary Cooper: The Naked Edge (1961)
This movie is very good and little known! I wrote about it in case you're interested. And I think that it's great that Gary's last film is a thriller, because it expanded his range of genres and allows you to see him in a very suffocating atmosphere, alongside Miss Kerr.

GEORGE: I was so sure it was Heath. I've condemned the wrong man.
MARTHA: So did I.

Vivien Leigh: Ship of fools (1965)
Ah, Vivien, intense and dramatic till the end.

MARY (to herself): Baby, you just haven't managed to grow up. Mrs. Treadwell of Murray Hill, Virginia. Now! You can paint your toenails green.You know how it ends, don't you? Alone. Sitting in a cafe with a paid escort.
(She cries. Tenny enters the room and kisses her)
MARY: Let me go. Let me go.
TENNY: Mrs. Treadwell. Excuse me. That greaser told me Cabin 14. Excuse me. Excuse me.
MARY: Get out! Get out! Get out!
TENNY: You know l'm sorry, l truly am sorry. l didn't know it l was just..
MARY: Pig!
(Mary starts hitting Tenny)
TENNY: Hey, what the hell?
MARY: Go on. Get out. Get out. Get out! Get out! Beast. Beast. Get out. Get out. No! No!

Bette Davis: Wicked stepmother (1989)
Uhm, I had never heard of this movie before. It seems that it's awful, but I like the novel line, very Bette-ish :) Seems that her voice can be heard after this scene, but it's her actual last physical appearance.

MIRANDA: I was reading a sexy novel.
JENNY: Hey Miranda, don't try any tricks. You can't hide it now. Inspection! I saw it. I saw it in here!
MIRANDA: You saw what?
JENNY: I looked at the window. Got you there!
MIRANDA: Jenny needs help. Boy, it's a terrible affliction.
JENNY: There was a cat in here, I can tell it: my upper lip it's still itching. I now what you did with it! You threw it out the window! Here kitty, kitty, kitty. Meow. I'm going to search every inch of this room.
(Door bell rings)
MIRANDA: Who do you suppose that is?
MAN: You woke up one of the neighbors.
MIRANDA: Priscilla.
MAN: Priscilla who?
MIRANDA: My daughter, Priscilla. She has come to visit.
JENNY: No.
MIRANDA: I wrote to her and asked her to come. You are going to love her.
(Magically disappears).

Audrey Hepburn: Always (1989)
Audrey played God in her last film. There is nothing else to add.

PETE: What do you want from me, Hap? If I'm really dead, how come I hurt so bad? What kind of deal is this? You said I was going back to be an inspiration. You never said I would feel what I'm feeling. You didn't tell me that I would...see Dorinda. What do you really want from me?
HAP: We gave you a chance to say: "I'm glad I lived. I'm glad I was alive. Now it's my turn to give you a hand. Let me give you what I had." But I also sent you back to settle with the one you love. I sent you back to say goodbye. Until you do that, she won't be free. And neither will you.
PETE: I'm not ready to say goodbye.
HAP: You're such a good man, Pete. We don't send back the other kind. But you still have to learn that to gain your freedom, you have to give it. So go find out.

Katharine Hepburn: Love affair (1994)
The grandma (Janou/Ginny) scene in these films is always soooo emotive. I like the fact that Katharine was the last granny and that it's a goodbye scene. 

GINNY: Five o'clock. You must go?
TERRY: Yes. May I?
GINNY: Thank you. Thank you. I wore this when I was married.
TERRY: Beautiful.
GINNY: Well, off you go. These petals are supposedly the hands of a Polynesian princess. It's been hanging around for 62 years and it's still holding together. I wish I could say the same for myself.
MIKE: We'll see you soon.

What was your favorite moment? 

The 10 SADDEST old movies (I've watched)

NOTE: This entry was reposted over MovieFanFare, becoming one of their most popular articles with nearly 1,000 comments :)

Well, you know them. You're watching them and you're thinking:

"Mother of god, life can be awful. Why people have to suffer so much! I'm not gonna cry, I'm not gonna cry. Think of something positive. Or something that makes you angry. Oh no, a tear is coming. I'm gonna cough to try to pass this heavy lump in my throat. Oh, what did she or he have to say that line? That's the saddest thing..."

Credits

Anyway, I sacrificed myself for you, and re-watched some of these films. I included movies in which the predominant feeling is sadness or those whose endings are very dramatic.

So, grab your tissues, here we go (warning: spoilers ahead):


10.- Les parapluies de Cherbourg (1964)
Plot: A girl and a boy fall in love and have a child but can't be together (review).
You can't hold your tears when...they say goodbye at the train station (watch).

Credits

9.- Waterloo Bridge (1940)
Plot: Vivien Leigh thinks her boyfriend Robert Taylor is dead so she finds a socially rejected way to survive (mentioned in 5 movies in which tragedy was caused by chance).
You can't hold your tears when...the camera focus a little special object after some tragic event and then Robert remembers Vivien in the bridge (watch the ending).

8.- The Wedding Night (1935)
Plot: A writer (Gary Cooper) falls in love with a girl (Anna Stern) from a strict Pole family of farmers (review).
You can't hold your tears when...at the end, Gary looks out the window and "sees" the love of his life disappearing (watch a clip from the movie).

Credits

7.- This Land Is Mine (1943)
Plot: Awesome Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara respectively play a coward teacher and his love interest in this World War II film (review).
You can't hold your tears when...Charles sees how a teacher he admired and respected is killed. But the worst part is the ending, one of the best fictional uses of the Declaration of Human Rights (watch).

6.- Camille (1936)
Plot: An impossible love between a courtesan (Greta Garbo) and Robert Taylor (listed in Favorite Movies).
You can't hold your tears when...Camille faces Lionel Barrymore and when Robert visits a "very weak" Camille in the last scene (watch the trailer).

5.- A star is born (1937)
Plot: After two actors marry, the success of their careers enter in a inversely proportional relationship (review and haiku).
You can't hold your tears when...the granny takes her granddaughter to the station. And when Fredric March embraces Janet Gaynor knowing it would be the last time and then he says "do you mind if I take just one more look?" (watch the second moment).

4.- Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
Plot: An old couple (Victor Moore and Beulah Bondi) realize they have the worst children in the history of cinema (mention).
You can't hold your tears when...these people are humiliated and separated, which is practically the whole film (watch an example).

Credits

3.- Three Comrades (1938)
Plot: After World War I, three German friends (Robert Taylor, Franchot Tone, Robert Young)  meet Margaret Sullavan and their lives change forever. Adapted by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
You can't hold your tears when...you watch the final scenes. Really. (here are some of them edited).

2.- The small one (1978)
Plot: A poor family have to get rid of their old donkey, a task that is entrusted to the kid (mention).
You can't hold your tears when...the last time I saw this one I cried my eyes out like the whole film, especially when the kid tries to cheer up his little animal and the ending (watch the whole film).

1.- Ever in my heart (1933)
Plot: Barbara Stanwyck marries a German before World War I (review).
You can't hold your tears when...the family faces tragic situations (I mean TRAGIC) and the ending (trailer).

Honorable mentions: Letter from an Unknown Woman (mini review), I Remember Mama (mention), Penny Serenade and Doctor Zhivago.

What do you think?

New FB poll: what's your favorite movie from Vivien Leigh....

...when Gone in the wind is not among the options? That's the question chosen to commemorate Vivien Leigh's birthday :)

Vote here, please: Via Margutta 51 Fan Page.

(If you don't have a Facebook account, you can leave a comment here in the blog)

5 movies in which the tragedy was caused by chance

Yesterday I was re-watching Waterloo Bridge with Vivien Leigh and Robert Taylor and started thinking that there aren't many movies in which the main characters, for unexpected reasons completely out of their control, succumb or have to face epic tragedies. These films are unfair with their characters, because even when they're trying to do things the best they can, they end up living a bitter life...or not living at all.

Here's the list of movies I could think of:

WARNING: MASSIVE SPOILER ALERT.

Ben-Hur:
Random thing that happens and screws everything: While watching the arrival of new Roman generals, Tirzah, Judah's sister, leans over a loose tile and this tile almost hits an important guy.

The result: The family is imprisoned, ill-treated, separated, the mother and sister are infected with leprosy, Judah must work in a galley as a slave...etc. The only different thing with this one, is they all are reunited in the end and saved by not other than Jesus himself.

The wrong man:

Random thing that happens and screws everything: People mistakenly identify Henry Fonda as a robber.

The result: Henry is prosecuted, he loses his family, his wife ends up in a mental hospital, he starts thinking he's guilty, etc. The ending, with titles, indicates that they were reunited and lived happily ever after, but you end up with a bitter feeling anyway.

Romeo and Juliet: I know, I know, but I had to add it!

Random thing that happens and screws everything: There's a plague in some town, so the letter from Juliet explaining all the super plan to Romeo is not delivered.

The result: Romeo thinks Juliet is really dead and kills himself; then Juliet wakes up and sees her lover dead and kills herself too. I'm sorry, I know this must be shocking news to you!

To each his own: Well, this movie has one of the most "AAAARGHHH!" moments in the history of cinema. To the understand it you must know that:

• Olivia de Havilland lost her handsome lover in the war. 
• She is pregnant but she doesn't tell anyone.
• To avoid all the criticism of her stupid gossipy town, she makes a plan.
• She asks a nurse to leave her baby at a neighbor door. This neighbor has so many kids that's just fed up with them. She will go there and "adopt" the new infant.
• Everything goes swimmingly. The neighbor has approved the adoption and Olivia goes to buy some clothes.

Random thing that happens and screws everything: JUST in that moment, the wife of a friend of Olivia loses her baby during labor, so the mentioned neighbor decides to give the child to them.

The result: Olivia must live a bitter life away from her kid.

Waterloo Bridge:

Random thing that happens and screws everything: Vivien Leigh reads the newspaper and sees the name of her fiancé among the "fallen officers". The only problem is that the information was WRONG and was the product of a lost dog tag.

The result: Depressed Vivien can't find any formal job to survive so she becomes a prostitute (and loses contact with her mother in law); then, when she discovers her fiancé was alive, she thinks she's not longer worthy of him, so she kills herself.

So, that's it... can you think in more movies in which random, external, practically "trivial" factors like those mentioned make the main characters succumb? 

PS: Movies like An affair to remember don't count, because the whole dilemma is very well solved at the end. 

If I Had to Keep 4 | Guest: Kendra

Like Rebecca Black would say: it's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday..etc etc...This time all the fun is brought to you by no other than Kendra from the globally beloved, ultra cool, informative and beautiful site Viv and Larry.

See the awesome items she picked, next:

1. This might be my prized possession. It's a scrapbook that was compiled by a woman called Emilie Davie. She was an American actress and New York socialite who became a member of London's prestigious Old Vic Theatre Company for the 1937-38 season. As a bit player, she acted opposite the greats: Laurence Olivier in Macbeth and Othello (when he played Iago), Emlyn Williams in Richard III, and Vivien Leigh in A Midsummer Night's Dream, among others.

The scrapbook is comprised of her personal memorabilia--personalized letters from theatrical director and part-time film actor Tyrone Guthrie and producer Michel Saint-Denis, autographs from Emlyn Williams and Laurence Olivier, original photos by Angus McBean and D.W. Debenham. It's a real piece of amazing theatre history and although very fragile, I still fell lucky to own it!

2. Before Vivien Leigh married Laurence Olivier, she had a fling with a man called John Buckmaster, Gladys Cooper's son. This photo, from 1950, is personally made out to him and autographed. Awkward? Maybe. Awesome? Oh, yeah. This was a gift from an author friend of mine.

3. One of the best things about running a fan site about someone/people you love is meeting people who equally share your passion for the subject(s). About three years ago, one of the visitors at vivandlarry.com was downsizing his collection, and sent this autographed card to me in the mail as a birthday present. I may or may not have totally cried, it was such a lovely thought!

4. One of my favorite things to do is rummage through old book shops--you know, the kind where old tomes are piled on the floor and a musty aroma attacks you as soon as you step inside the door. A couple of years ago on a solo trip to London, I stopped in one such shop in the Charing Cross Road. It's actually a theatre ephemera shop, run by a nice old man who knows everything he has in his enormous inventory. I asked for anything Laurence Olivier or Vivien Leigh. He handed me a shoe box full of old playbills. As I started digging through it, I came across a white envelope and inside was this gem.

It was one of the yearly Christmas cards the Oliviers sent out to their friends and family. The cover was designed by set designer Roger Furse (Hamlet, Henry V) and depicts a scene from the 1953 Terrence Rattigan play The Sleeping Prince, which the Oliviers staged for the Coronation year. The inside reads "To bring you the happiest wishes for Christmas and the New Year, Vivien and Laurence Olivier”.

Thanks Kendra for being part of If I Had to Keep 4! Hope you guys enjoyed this post as much as I did!

You can check the previous posts of this series here.

If you want to share your classic movie items with us, just send me an e-mail at kfercovic[at]gmail[dot]com.

PS: If you haven't checked Millie's post about some awesome home movies starring Lauren Bacall, Paul Newman, Natalie Wood, Anthony Perkins, Jane Fonda...well, I really don't know what's wrong with you :)

Keep rockin'.

8 Classic Movies I can watch over and over...

...and I know I won't get tired of them. Ever. That means that if you visit me here in Chile there are a lot possibilities that we end watching one of these (I can be very convincing). And it's weird, because there are films that you really really love, but you wouldn't watch in every occasion. For example, I love Singin' in the Rain, but sometimes I go "Mmm, and have to watch all the musical numbers? And the whole thing with the star that doesn't have a god voice? It's OK, but not for now". Well, here are some films I can watch without over thinking:

Ben - Hur (1959) : Like many of the movies in this list, I've watched Ben Hur with my parents since I was a child. It's so cool. I mean, the classic story of revenge, perfectly done, with great performances and settings. And when you think that you just saw a great scene, a better one follows. My favorite part is, of course, the chariot race, such a terrific climax. We are all rooting for Judah and the horses are so beautiful (gosh, I'm such a serious reviewer)...and then Jesus (!!!) makes a miracle and saves Judah's mom and sister. So, yes, great film. *Patting William Wyler on the back*

An affair to remember (1957): I know that there are people who hate this movie because it's an official remake of Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer's Love affair. Official because both were directed by Leo McCarey, who decided to make an almost exact copy. But even when I like Charles Boyer a lot, I prefer Cary Grant, of course. And Deborah is one of my favorite actresses. And Cary and Deborah are great too at mixing comedy and drama. And Technicolor gives it a special atmosphere. 

And beyond comparisons, the story is so good and romantic and sad and funny at some points. And the old granny! My favorite scenes are when they meet each other in public places on the ship and everyone is staring and whispering, or this one when they plan the 6 months from now thing. Pay attention to the timing of both performers, how they cut each others lines out of emotion. Soo good.

The Searchers (1956) One of my favorite movies from John Wayne. It's so good that I even forgive the racist scenes with the Comanche woman. Another story of revenge, John Wayne looks the whole film for his niece, captured by...Scar. At the end he has to choose between his hate to Indians or little Natalie Wood. Great music, beautiful locations, Jeffrey Hunter, terrific script, memorable performance by Wayne. My favorite scene? I have a lot, but the ending is really special.  What a way to go, John Ford!

Roman Holiday (1951): This is the last movie I discovered from this list. Like two years ago. Even when it has a sad ending, the whole film is so entertaining and Audrey and Gregory give such honest performances. It has so many little memorable moments and makes you feel good. This was the tribute I made some years ago. *Patting William Wyler on the back again*

Hitchcock movies: Obviously, there are some of them I can't stand. Like The Paradine Case. But I LOVE most of Hitch's films. Some of my favorites are Rear Window, The Lady Vanishes, Rebecca, Spellbound, The Birds, Vertigo and Notorious, to name a few. Hitchcock = fun.

Yes, my Disney VHS collection :)

Disney movies: Yeah, I still watch my old VHS. I could watch them (and sing along the Spanish version of the songs) anytime. My favorite films are The Beauty and the Beast (by far), Pocahontas, The Lion King, One Hundred Dalmatians and Sleeping Beauty. Oh, I've recently discovered non-cartoons films produced by Disney, like Hayley Mills' Pollyana and The Parent Trap. Fun, fun, fun.

Gone with the wind (1939) What a movie! Magnificent! I love everything about it (although my least favorite character is Ashley Wilkes). I love even the minor characters, like Prissy (check "A day in the life of Prissy") and Belle Watling. Olivia de Havilland and Hattie McDaniel at their best (my favorite scene from them is when Hattie tells Olivia what happened with Clark after Bonnie died, while they go upstairs). Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable making history. The music by Max Steiner. Memorable scene after memorable scene. Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn. A classic. 

The Sound of Music (1965) I can't count how many times I've seen this movie. I saw it when the Von Trapp kids were my age, I saw it when I though Liesl was old and now I saw it and I think about the passage of time. Anyway, this movie is perfect IMO. A had a teacher who said he won't see it ever ever, because he knew it would be cheesy, but I just love it. 

The songs are perfect, the kids are perfect, Julie, Christopher & Eleanor are perfect, Vienna is perfect...You can watch it when you're sad, when you're happy, when you're bored, etc. One of my favorites scenes is when the kids are singing by themselves, very hungry and sad because Maria is gone, and then a voice joins, and it's Maria! I also love when they sing Edelweiss in the music contest (or when Christopher sings it). Oh the first scene in the mountains. And the ending. And, oh, when The Baroness is playing the most boring game ever with a ball...etc etc etc.

What are the films you can watch over and over and never get tired of?

 More lists :

• The 10 most handsome men from Classic Hollywood
• 10 types of annoying people to watch a movie with
• My top 10 Billy Wilder movies

The Scarlett O'Hara War (1980): guess who's who

I finally watched this movie! I was so curious to find out how was it like and how close were the actors playing Classic Stars. Well, one of the few good things about this movie --based on the novel Moviola by Garson Kanin-- is that at least it gives you an idea about the great crusade that meant looking for the perfect Scarlett O'Hara. The main characters are David O. Selznick --played by Tony Curtis-- and his brother, Myron Selznick.

The main events shown are: the conversations with Crawford and Paulette Goddard who really wanted the role (the other actresses are just shown briefly); parties given by David to promote the movie; castings in several cities; two random guys who made a parallel fake casting to get girls; screen test with many performers, including Tallulah Bankhead; a party were David reunited all the possible actresses to play Scarlett; Myron noticing Vivien and then the burning of Atlanta. 

I don't know too much about old Hollywood gossips, hope you can help me out here, but according to this movie Joan Crawford slept with David Selznick to try to get the role. I don't think that this is a good movie; I didn't like, for example, the way they made fun of Chaplin, showing him always doing exercises and looking stupid. Most of the characters were really a caricature, all their dialogs were unidimensional. There are also dialogs that sounds fake, like Mayer explaining Gable what happened when he showed his t-shirt in It happened one night. 

But it was fun to spot someone that was supposedly a Classic Star and to hear people mentioning famous movies, like at some point someone laughs about Mayer doing a crazy musical called The Wizard of Oz. Then they mention Rebecca (at the end Myron is looking the screen test and notices Vivien). Also Cukor talks with Crawford and other actresses about the idea of The Women. Chaplin would be doing a movie about Hitler (The great dictator).

I know, I know, you want to see famous people. Some of them are OK, the actress playing Joan Crawford for example had something; but there are some that are not remotely alike. My least favorite is Carole Lombard, gosh, did they see a picture of her before the casting?? Oh, I can't say if they talked like the original actors, because the only copy I got was dubbed in Spanish. Well, try to guess who's who before reading the caption:

David O. Selznick

Myron Selznick

Louella Parsons

Charles Chaplin

George Cukor

Louis B. Mayer

Katharine Hepburn

Paulette Goddard

Tallulah Bankhead

Joan Crawford

Joan Bennett and Margaret Sullavan

Miriam Hopkins and Jean Arthur

Lucille Ball

Carole Lombard...really.

Yeah...really. Carole Lombard and Clark Gable.

Laurence Olivier...I think.

Clark Gable

Vivien Leigh. The actress, Morgan Britanny, had played Vivien in Gable and Lombard. 

What do you think? Who's your favorite? And your least favorite?

PS: 101 people have decided to follow my blog so far. That means that I'll be celebrating this weekend, stay tuned!