|
Post by telegonus on Apr 2, 2019 7:32:42 GMT
Edward Arnold was mentioned in the article. Was he ever box-office material? Since I've always seen him as one of the great Supporting actor stars. Edward Arnold had achieved some success as a character star, a sort of young grand old man, in the mid-Thirties, and moviegoers did seem to like him, but his name alone could not make a film a success. He did much better as a character actor. It helped that Edward Arnold had a friend, professionally anyway, in Frank Capra, an association that helped him bounce back into prominence in Hollywood if not true stardom.A similar career in some ways was Charles Bickford's. He was a true early talkie star, got a reputation for being "difficult", then suffered some bad luck, such as being mauled by a lion on the set of a film he was making, which hurt the actor's standing in Hollywood. In the late Thirties it's like he'd (virtually) fallen off the face of the earth movie-wise; and then his solid, measured, dignified playing of ranch foreman Slim in Of Mice And Men gave him the break he needed to return to form as a movie player. By the early Forties he was on the comeback trail, and in mostly good to excellent films (though he made all kinds). From 1943's Song Of Bernadette through Jim Thorpe,--All American nearly a decade later, Bickford seemed to be on a roll, enjoyed a terrific run in some outstanding movies. One of Hollywood's most distinguished "elder statesmen" among character players during his last twenty years, Charles Bickford never lost his skill or his strong screen presence. One can see this in his final film, the sharpy writen comedy western A Big Hand For The Little Lady.
|
|
|
Post by BATouttaheck on Apr 2, 2019 13:52:51 GMT
A Great one who "took a break" 1961 - 1981 IMDb: "James Cagney had such a negative experience making One Two Three that he retired from films for 20 years until his cameo in Ragtime (1981). "
|
|
|
Post by Doghouse6 on Apr 2, 2019 21:33:58 GMT
Edward Arnold was mentioned in the article. Was he ever box-office material? Since I've always seen him as one of the great Supporting actor stars. Although Arnold is primarily remembered for his supporting roles, telegonus was on target referring to him as "a character star," and he indeed topped the bill in several "A" pictures: 1935's Diamond Jim and Crime and Punishment (a gem-like battle of wits with Peter Lorre); 1936's Come and Get It; 1937's The Toast Of New York (with Cary Grant in support, if you please); 1941's The Devil and Daniel Webster, and did so as well in some MGM "Bs:" The Penalty (1941); The War Against Mrs. Hadley (1942, a little charmer with something to say); two as the blind, unfailingly genial and resourceful investigator Duncan Maclain, Eyes In the Night (1942) and The Hidden Eye (1945). Otherwise, his inclusion on the Box Office Poison list worked no hardship on his reliability as a versatile supporting character player, and some of his best-known roles came about thereafter.
|
|
|
Post by amyghost on Apr 3, 2019 17:19:21 GMT
Al Pacino didn’t appear on film for four years after the box office failure of Revolution (1985). Actually, an earlier flop, Bobby Deerfield (1977), set Pacino's career back pretty badly as well. As I recall, he went into near-seclusion for a couple of years afterward, and there were rumors (fortunately wrong) that he might not do any further films.
|
|
|
Post by Aj_June on Apr 3, 2019 17:28:21 GMT
Al Pacino didn’t appear on film for four years after the box office failure of Revolution (1985). Actually, an earlier flop, Bobby Deerfield (1977), set Pacino's career back pretty badly as well. As I recall, he went into near-seclusion for a couple of years afterward, and there were rumors (fortunately wrong) that he might not do any further films. Hi Amy Hope all's great at your end.
|
|
|
Post by amyghost on Apr 3, 2019 17:31:40 GMT
Actually, an earlier flop, Bobby Deerfield (1977), set Pacino's career back pretty badly as well. As I recall, he went into near-seclusion for a couple of years afterward, and there were rumors (fortunately wrong) that he might not do any further films. Hi Amy Hope all's great at your end. Still kind of uphill, but looking better. Thanks, Ai--it's good to hear from you!
|
|
|
Post by Aj_June on Apr 3, 2019 17:35:41 GMT
Hi Amy Hope all's great at your end. Still kind of uphill, but looking better. Thanks, Ai--it's good to hear from you! Thanks! I am glad to hear from you as well as it has been a long time. But I hope things go perfectly fine for you in whatever tasks you undertake.
|
|
|
Post by amyghost on Apr 3, 2019 17:41:07 GMT
Still kind of uphill, but looking better. Thanks, Ai--it's good to hear from you! Thanks! I am glad to hear from you as well as it has been a long time. But I hope things go perfectly fine for you in whatever tasks you undertake. A lot of tasks recently, but resuming posting here will definitely be one of the more enjoyable ones .
|
|
|
Post by BATouttaheck on Apr 4, 2019 4:49:03 GMT
"Otto Ludwig Preminger became a stage director. He directed his first film in 1931, and came to the US in 1936 to direct on the Broadway stage. He alternated between stage and film until the great success of Laura (1944) made him an A-list director in Hollywood. For two decades after "Laura was released in 1944, Preminger ranked as one of the top directors in the world. His powers began to wane after Advise & Consent (1962), and by the end of the decade, he was considered washed-up. However, such was the potency of his craftsmanship that he continued to direct major motion pictures into the 1970s, with Rosebud (1975) getting scathing reviews. His last directorial effort was The Human Factor (1979), which won him respectful notices."
|
|
|
Post by telegonus on Apr 4, 2019 9:28:24 GMT
One career slump seldom discussed even by movie buffs: William Holden. After a full decade as a boyish leading man he finally jumped a notch (and then some) when Billy Wilder cast him as the screenwriter turned reluctant gigolo in the 1950 classic Sunset Blvd. Suddenly, almost overnight, the seemingly perennial juvenile became a real grownup, and he went on to achieve his greatest success in the following decade as Hollywood's top male star player, arguably, with all due respect for his contemporaries,--Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Glenn Ford and Richard Widmark, (et al)--Holden became the "signature" leading man of the decade (allowing for the very different Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift and, briefly, and mostly posthumously, James Dean). His films of this period scarcely need mentioning (but WTF):Stalag 17, The Moon Is Blue, Executive Suite, The Country Girl, Sabrina, Picnic and The Bridge On The River Kwai.
One more big hit in the early Sixties, The World Of Suzie Wong, and then Holden finally began to not so much fail but become irrelevant in the new decade. His best years were during the Eisenhower presidency, and with a new president, John F. Kennedy, who looked (and sometimes acted) like a leading man-superstar got elected, he became America's top draw (so to speak). Holden began to work abroad more, moved to Europe, appeared in mostly mediocre movies till he finally caught a big one, The Wild Bunch, and just past fifty, Holden once again became, strangely, relevant again. He didn't have that many hit films afterwards, but what he got was solid: the multi-star Towering Inferno and Paddy Chayefsky's bitter satire of the way television networks are run, Network, most notably.
The Seventies was pretty much the end of the line for Holden, who died due to a drunken fall in his L.A. apartment in 1981, a still active and sought after star despite his personal problems, of which he had many. Although in his early sixties, and looking every year of it, Holden never really grew old on screen, not the way many stars who lived much longer did. He was four decades a star, and with more ups and downs than most, one could see him change, like America itself, during his years as a film actor. William Holden seldom seemed to be acting. When he was well cast, and in a few instances, perfectly cast, he could effortlessly own his every. scene. There's a modest, almost shy beauty to Holden's playing. He never hammed; and he tended to serve his material, seldom (ever?) appeared in a "vehicle" to sell his persona. I don't think there was ever such a thing as a William Holden Picture.
|
|
|
Post by BATouttaheck on Apr 4, 2019 11:53:52 GMT
Holden was a MomBat favorite so I saw a LOT of Holden movies. He is the lead in many of my forever pictures. Thanks so much for the great thread addition, telegonus.
|
|