Posts tagged All About Eve

BETTE DAVIS — You Didn’t Know That?

May24
2013 1 Comment Written by classicmovieguys

Ok, we admit it.  Classic Movie Chat has not given Bette Davis her just due. While we have, for example, published many blogs about Davis contemporary Deanna Durbin, our cupboard is pretty much bare when it comes to this great star.

Davis was, of course, not only a great and popular actress — her $328,477 annual salary earned in 1946 made her the highest paid woman in America — but she also launched a one-woman rebellion against the studio contract system than led to fundamental changes in the way Golden-age Hollywood did business. She asserted her independence long before the feminist movement was even heard of.

Hello, everybody. Joe Morella and Frank Segers, your classic movie guys, here to try and make amends with our first Bette Davis quiz.

The questions here are based on the actress’ autobiography, The Lonely Life, first published in 1962, and updated to just before her death at 81 in Paris on Oct. 6, 1989. Ok, here we go:

Question: Davis’ first movie appearance came in 1931 when she was in her early 20′s in Universal’s melodrama, Bad Sister, starring Conrad Nagle. Prior to this appearance, her confidence was shaken by a rude remark blurted out by a studio executive.  Can you name this exec, and identify what he said?  1) Studio co-founder Mark Dintenfass, who mocked Davis’ “bad breath”; 2) studio boss Carl Laemmle, who cracked that Davis had “as much sex appeal as Slim Summerville“; or 3) studio co-founder Charles Bauman who complained of Bette’s “New England accent?”

Question: In her autobiography, Davis is discreet about most aspects of her private life, and is remarkably restrained in criticizing other performers.  But she lets loose on one particular actress.  Which one? 1) Joan Crawford, 2) Faye Dunaway; 3) Olivia DeHavilland or  4) Jane Fonda?

Question: One of Davis’ biggest professional regrets is that she never got to play Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With The Wind.  True or false? And in what picture DID she portray a spoiled Southern Belle?

Question: Who was Davis’ favorite director (and sometime lover)? 1) Orson Welles, 2)  Joseph L. Mankiewicz; 3) Michael Curtiz; or 4) William Wyler?

Question: Can you name the title of the movie, directed by Bette’s Now, Voyager costar Paul Henreid, in which she starred in the TWO leading roles: that of the mousy sister and also that of the rich, glamorous twin she murders?

Question: Despite their successful pairing in director Robert Aldrich’s 1962 drama Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?, Bette Davis could not overcome her longstanding loathing of Joan Crawford.  True or false.

Question: Where did Davis’ celebrated legal battle with Warner Bros. play out, and what was it about? 1) In Hollywood over the studio’s demand that she marry Errol Flynn; 2) in England over her studio suspension after refusing several projects proffered by management; or 3) in the Bahamas over expensive beachfront property contractually obligated to be purchased for the actress.

Question:  Davis was not the first choice for perhaps the most celebrated role of her career, that of Margo Channing in 1950′s All About Eve. Who was? 1) Joan Crawford; 2) Claudette Colbert, 3) Tallulah Bankhead; or 4) Loretta Young?

Question: Davis was known to be unusually blunt and outspoken by Hollywood standards, and more than occasionally abused people who worked for her, especially publicists.  True or false?

Question: Who was the driving parental force in Bette’s life?  Her father, Harlow Morrell Davis, or her mother, Ruth?

Question: Twentieth Century Fox tried to coerce Davis into starring in a sequel to All About Eve, which prompted a legal response from the actress, who was adamantly opposed.  True or false?

Ok, mark down your choices and stay tuned.  Answers coming shortly.

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George Sanders Best Movie? Not Necessarily ‘All About Eve’

Apr24
2013 Leave a Comment Written by classicmovieguys

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When George Sanders was about to start production on 1950′s All About Eve his then wife Zsa Zsa Gabor asked him to get her a small part in the picture, little more than a walk-on in the last minutes of the film.

Sanders responded with this: Don’t be silly.  Acting isn’t for you.

Hello, everybody. Joe Morella and Frank Segers, your classic movie guys, here today with another in our series of George Sanders blogs, noting that his cutting putdown – which could have easily have tripped off the acid tongue of Eve’s drama critic-narrator Addison de Witt — did his marriage to Zsa Zsa no favors.

It also displayed the fact that the actor’s offscreen demeanor was getting uncomfortably close to de Witt’s sublime onscreen nastiness.

George the cad versus George the confused emotional softy. The tension between the two dogged Sanders throughout his life.  The hapless Zsa Zsa witnessed the softer side of his personality that 1951 night when he walked off with his best supporting actor Oscar for unforgettably personifying the cynical DeWitt.

George was presented his Oscar by Mercedes McCambridge, who had won the Best Supporting Actress award the year before, according to Richard VanDerBeets’ concise and informative 1990 biography, George Sanders: An Exhausted Life.

When his name was announced he arose without looking at Zsa Zsa, walked to the stage, accepted the statuette with a bow to the audience, and disappeared behind the curtain… Once behind the curtain and backstage, he began to weep uncontrollably. ‘I can’t help it,’ he sobbed. ‘This has unnerved me.’

Is All About Eve the best of more than 110 movies Sanders appeared in over a career that lasted nearly 40 years? Probably.  It certainly was the one that was most lauded by the Hollywood establishment, winning a half dozen Academy Awards.  And it remains a great pleasure to see today, the definition of a classic movie.

But there’s another, far lesser known movie that Sanders made in Italy in 1953 opposite Ingrid Bergman that could take the best-Sanders-movie honor. Directed in black and white by Bergman’s then husband Robert Rossellini, Viaggo in Italia (Journey To Italy) follows a worn out middle-aged couple’s visit to Naples to dispose of a deceased relative’s villa.

The vitality of the surrounding Neapolitans effects the couple in ways that they could not have  predicted.  Few movies portray the vicissitudes of long term marriage more realistically and honestly than this one.

As it turns out, Sanders hated making the picture. He had accepted the offer because of his admiration for the director and also because he wished to work with Bergman again, writes VanDerBeets. (Sanders and Bergman were teamed at MGM, and appeared in 1941′s Rage In Heaven.)

But upon his arrival in Naples, (Sanders) learned that the Maestro, as he came to call Rossellini disdainfully, intended to shoot the picture without a script. This and other of the director’s eccentricities — aimless shooting, jumbled dialogue, non-existent plot — eventually reduced George to tears of frustration.

When he asked to be released from the picture, he was told that Rossellini, whose reputation was at a low ebb, had been able to raise money for the production only by getting a ’name’ actor to costar with Bergman and that backing had been secured on the basis of his being in the film. (Sanders) felt ill-used… 

Be that as it may, he wound up giving perhaps the performance of his life.

Writes British critic David Thomson: In fact Rossellini boldly cut through irritability to the shy observer of life who hid behind Sanders’ barbs. The actor was visibly unsettled by this and by the heat and spontaneity of Naples, and thus all the more profoundly resembled an inhibited English snob at a loss with his marriage.

We recommend you track down this picture.  The search may not be easy.  We’re not even sure Journey To Italy is out on DVD (we saw it on VHS).  But try and see it. It may be George Sanders’ finest 97 minutes onscreen.

 

 

 

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GEORGE SANDERS — Hollywood’s Classic Cad.

Apr11
2013 Leave a Comment Written by classicmovieguys

There have been few Hollywood actors who could match George Sanders for supercilious nastiness onscreen (and perhaps off as well).

As drama critic-narrator Addison de Witt in 1950′s All About Eve, he gave  what critic David Thomson describes as a supreme demonstration of soft-spoken, tranquil caddishness.

He also stole the show, and won an Oscar in the process.  The movie was easily the best of Sanders’ 36-year film career, which spanned more than 110 films stretching from 1936, shortly after he emigrated to Hollywood, to 1972, the year he took his own life.

Although he put time in  studio costume clunkers and productions that went nowhere (he played in drag in John Huston’s 1970 misadventure, The Kremlin Letter), he worked in movies from a roster of distinguished directors including:  Alfred Hitchcock, George Cukor, John Ford, Fritz Lang, Otto Preminger, Jean Renoir, Roberto Rossellini and John Ford.

Enjoying Sanders at his best is something akin to a guilty pleasure. You can delight in his performances and at the same time feel a bit guilty.  But we say, resist the guilt and admire.

Although Sanders played lead roles in some 30 titles, he proudly viewed himself as a character actor. Stars fade, he figured.  But character actors keep working, which Sanders appreciated since he was always conscious of the value of a buck.

Hello, everybody. Joe Morella and Frank Segers, your classic movie guys, here today to introduce the first of our series of blogs on George Sanders. We’ll cover his private life, his career, his older brother, actor Tom Conway, and his romantic misadventures with Zsa Zsa Gabor.

And, with the help of author Richard VanDerBeets’ concise and informative 1990 biography, George Sanders: An Exhausted Life, we’ll explore the circumstances of his death. No, contrary to legend, the actor DID NOT in any sense die of boredom.

It may surprise you to discover that Sanders was an athlete in his younger days, a confident and skilled boxer and an admirer of Greco-Roman wrestling.  He discussed wrestling at length with Mike Mazurki, the hulking 6-foot 5 inch character actor who memorably played Moose Malloy in 1944′s Murder My Sweet and appeared with George in 1949′s Samson and Delilah (talk about odd couples).

Also something of a surprise, he was a capable piano player. Sanders also was a pretty good singer, a mellifluous baritone that almost won him the lead in the Broadway musical South Pacific replacing former opera star Ezio Pinza. (Terrified about appearing before live theater audiences, Sanders suddenly came down with a last-minute backache both severe and mysterious in origin, and withdrew from his contract.)

Sanders developed a close friendship with Tyrone Power, one of Hollywood’s most appealing and successful leading men.  The two costarred in director King Vidor’s biblical epic, Solomon and Sheba, filmed in Spain and released in 1959. 

After several strenuous sword-fight scenes with Sanders, Power — who also co-produced the picture – collapsed complaining of pains in his chest and arms. The end came on Nov. 15, 1958, before the movie was completed.  Power was just 44 years old. (He was replaced by Yul Brynner)

In his 1960 book about himself – Memoirs of a Professional Cad – Sanders  noted that when stars became producers, their attachment to money tends to grow. They start saving, acquiring financial acumen.

This of course was not true of all of them — Ty Power’s attitude for instance was different. He spent his money freely. He had a yacht, a private aeroplane, and gave lavish parties. And women, who are usually more expensive than yachts and aeroplanes, found ways of spending his money when he ran out of ideas.

Ty didn’t seem to mind. Perhaps he had some premonition that he did not need to save for his old age.

Sanders eulogized his friend with these words: I shall always remember Tyrone Power as a bountiful man. A man who gave freely of himself. It mattered not to whom he gave. His concern was in the giving. I shall always remember his wonderful smile, a smile that would light up the darkest hour of the day like a sunburst. I shall always remember Tyrone Power as a man who gave more of himself than it was wise for him to give. Until in the end he gave his life.

Yes, Sanders could be poetic. And he could portray the suave cad better than anyone.  But the actor himself  was a lot more complicated. Please stay with us as we delve deeper into various aspects of his life and amazing career. 

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George Sanders Greets Rubi’s Penis!

Aug24
2011 Leave a Comment Written by classicmovieguys

“You’re maudlin and full of self pity… You’re magnificent.”

This, one of our all time favorite movie lines, was superbly delivered by George Sanders in 1950′s “All About Eve.” It is directed at Bette Davis as stage diva Margo Channing in the throes of an temperamental explosion encapsulized by the familiar line: “Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.”

For our money, Sanders’ delivery of his line (as dyspeptic and ultra-cynical drama critic Addison de Witt) was more than sufficient to earn him 1950′s best supporting actor Oscar. This is a notable time when the Academy got it exactly right.

Sanders’ line also sounds like something that the actor himself might have written, although he didn’t (director Joseph J. Mankiewicz wrote the “All About Eve” script.) The Russian-born Brit was not only a facile and entertaining actor — not great but very good — but also a gifted writer.

Hello everybody, classic movie guys Joe Morella and Frank Segers with the first of several blogs to come on Classic Movie Chat about George Sanders both as actor and as writer.

The Sanders material that we have unearthed is not just a pleasure to read but also provides humorously incisive behind-the-scenes looks at Hollywood’s social mores over two decades beginning in the late 1930′s.

After appearing in several British movies in 1936, he decided that his fortunes lie in America. He was right. His Hollywood career lasted more than three decades, covering well more than 100 movies, many dogs but several gems including “Eve.”

Sanders himself was married four times, most famously to Zsa Zsa Gabor from 1949 to 1954. (The actor later was married for a year beginning in 1970 to Zsa Zsa’s sister, Magda.)

It is the end of the Zsa Zsa marriage that we discuss in today’s Sanders anecdote, quoting from a letter scriptwriter-director Nunnally Johnson wrote to a Hollywood pal in early 1954. (Later blogs will come directly from Sanders writings.)

Seems that Zsa Zsa was prickly about reaching a final property agreement as part of the couple’s divorce settlement. She kept upping the ante at the last minute, demanding more and then still more, which irritated Sanders. “But he figured it wouldn’t be difficult to get something on her,” wrote Johnson.

At the time Gabor had taken up with Dominican playboy-diplomat Porfirio Rubirosa — a notorious womanizer said to have been exceptionally well endowed. Sanders came up with the idea of catching Zsa Zsa in flagrante delicto with Rubirosa (known as simply “Rubi”) at the Bel Air residence they shared.

Wrote Johnson: “So on Christmas Eve, that holy day, (Sanders) prepared to raid her home to catch Rubirosa in the hay with her.” Somehow George managed with the help of four private detectives to hoist a ladder to a second-floor balcony outside Gabor’s bedroom, and to actually climb up and into her boudoir.

Johnson recounts what happened: “(There) he saw two naked forms break the record for the dash to the bathroom, where the light was on… Rubi and Zsa Zsa had slammed the door shut but in their excitement they forgot it could also be locked.

“The door opened inward and then it became a head-on push between George and Rubi, Rubi trying to hold the door shut, George trying to bull it open.

“Now, according to George, he was hitting low, just like Knute Rockne always said, and with a powerful lunge he managed to get the door open about a foot, which to his astonishment brought him face to face with Rubirosa’s organ, whereupon, in a moment of whimsy, he shook it heartily and called Merry Christmas to them both.

“‘Now, George, really!,’” exclaimed Zsa Zsa. “‘Please be seated and I’ll be out in just a moment.’

“She emerged in a diaphanous negligee, leaving the shy Mr. Rubirosa skulking in the can.” Johnson’s letter goes on to note that Zsa Zsa employed her charm to calm the situation, even showing Sanders and his gumshoes the living room Christmas tree and inquiring of Sanders if he had received her gift.

Sanders and entourage exited through the front door, handshakes and exchanges of “God bless you’s” all around.

Stay tuned for more about George Sanders, whose life was often far more interesting than the roles he played onscreen.

 

 

 

 

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