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Post by petrolino on Apr 17, 2017 2:55:47 GMT
What are your favourite moments in the career of William Shatner? In tv, music, cinema or otherwise?
Thanks!
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Post by manfromplanetx on Apr 17, 2017 4:29:55 GMT
"Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (1963) episode 123 ...The Twilight Zone
William Shatner played it perfectly...here is the opening narration
"Portrait of a frightened man: Mr. Robert Wilson, thirty-seven, husband, father, and salesman on sick leave. Mr. Wilson has just been discharged from a sanitarium where he spent the last six months recovering from a nervous breakdown, the onset of which took place on an evening not dissimilar to this one, on an airliner very much like the one in which Mr. Wilson is about to be flown home—the difference being that, on that evening half a year ago, Mr. Wilson's flight was terminated by the onslaught of his mental breakdown. Tonight, he's traveling all the way to his appointed destination, which, contrary to Mr. Wilson's plan, happens to be in the darkest corner of the Twilight Zone.".....
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Post by petrolino on Apr 17, 2017 9:46:04 GMT
"Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (1963) episode 123 ...The Twilight Zone
William Shatner played it perfectly...here is the opening narration
"Portrait of a frightened man: Mr. Robert Wilson, thirty-seven, husband, father, and salesman on sick leave. Mr. Wilson has just been discharged from a sanitarium where he spent the last six months recovering from a nervous breakdown, the onset of which took place on an evening not dissimilar to this one, on an airliner very much like the one in which Mr. Wilson is about to be flown home—the difference being that, on that evening half a year ago, Mr. Wilson's flight was terminated by the onslaught of his mental breakdown. Tonight, he's traveling all the way to his appointed destination, which, contrary to Mr. Wilson's plan, happens to be in the darkest corner of the Twilight Zone."..... Spooky. I like those old 'Twilight Zone' episodes.
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Post by Doghouse6 on Apr 17, 2017 15:04:06 GMT
There have been any number of players who, over the course of a decades-long career, have reinvented themselves. In Shatner's case, I'd call it more revelation than reinvention: as maturity, the passing of time and fashion have demanded, he's successively - and successfully - revealed to audiences dimensions one suspects were always there, just waiting for the appropriate opportunities to present themselves. In this way, he's managed to negotiate a colorful collection of roles and public personas that have run the gamut from emphatic earnest to self-mocking buffoonery, a trajectory that's now making its way through an astonishing seventh decade. And he's done so by taking his performances, but never himself, too seriously.
To single out an earlier and perhaps overlooked endeavor, I submit 1961's Judgement At Nuremburg. As Capt. Byers, military aide to Spencer Tracy's Judge Heywood, Shatner embodies perfectly-balanced notes suiting both the character and its place in the story: the character is formal and respectful yet genial, helpful and dutifully ingratiating but never to the point of obsequiousness; the actor is a scene-enhancer rather than either a scene-stealer or intimidated and overpowered minor player. As well, Shatner enjoys the good fortune of being the only one in the high-octane cast other than Marlene Dietrich to share multiple one-on-one scenes with Tracy alone, and makes the very most of them, comfortably complimenting Tracy's trademark sincerity with his own credible, in-the-moment spontaneity, and the two work beautifully together.
I have no knowledge of such a thing, but I'd like to think that Tracy might have remarked to him after a take, "Very nice, Bill, that was just right," or had said to director Kramer at some point, "Hey Stan, this Shatner kid's pretty good."
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Post by petrolino on Apr 17, 2017 15:11:19 GMT
To single out an earlier and perhaps overlooked endeavor, I submit 1961's Judgement At Nuremburg. As Capt. Byers, military aide to Spencer Tracy's Judge Heywood, Shatner embodies perfectly-balanced notes suiting both the character and its place in the story: the character is formal and respectful yet genial, helpful and dutifully ingratiating but never to the point of obsequiousness; the actor is a scene-enhancer rather than either a scene-stealer or intimidated and overpowered minor player. As well, Shatner enjoys the good fortune of being the only one in the high-octane cast other than Marlene Dietrich to share multiple one-on-one scenes with Tracy alone, and makes the very most of them, comfortably complimenting Tracy's trademark sincerity with his own credible, in-the-moment spontaneity, and the two work beautifully together. I have no knowledge of such a thing, but I'd like to think that Tracy might have remarked to him after a take, "Very nice, Bill, that was just right," or had said to director Kramer at some point, "Hey Stan, this Shatner kid's pretty good." Great stuff on the classic drama 'Judgement At Nuremberg', thanks for sharing.
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Post by hi224 on Apr 17, 2017 15:18:35 GMT
I always forget he was in it, good stuff with him as a compliment for Tracy and he has screen presence.
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Post by petrolino on Apr 17, 2017 15:24:06 GMT
I always forget he was in it, good stuff with him as a compliment for Tracy and he has screen presence. I forgot too, a plum early role for him to land in Hollywood.
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Post by Doghouse6 on Apr 17, 2017 16:12:38 GMT
Great stuff on the classic drama 'Judgement At Nuremberg', thanks for sharing. And thank you. JAN is something of an acting smorgasbord: the naturalism of Tracy; the stylized theatricality of Lancaster; the regal control of Dietrich; the bellicosity of Widmark; the harrowing, from-the-gut work of Garland and Clift; the modulating amplitude of the electric Schell; even perennially-supporting players like Virginia Christine, Alan Baxter and Ray Teal, among others, get their moments to shine. There's something interesting on offer from each moment to the next, and to suit every taste.
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Post by mikef6 on Apr 17, 2017 18:15:32 GMT
Incubus / Leslie Stevens (1966). I am crazy for this film, a true movie curio. It is the only feature film in the “universal (artificial) language” of Esperanto. William Shatner who stars is a fluent speaker and advocate for the language (I did not know that until I saw this movie a few years ago). It was released in 1966 just a month after the premiere of “Star Trek.” For the movie itself, as far as low-budget, b&w, ‘60s horror goes, it is pretty good. Suspensful.
Speaking of Shatner in trail dramas (as in Judgment At Nuremburg), in 1970 he starred in a production of Saul Levitt’s Broadway play “The Andersonville Trail,” directed by George C. Scott. It played, if I remember correctly, on PBS. Based on the historical 1865 trial which put the Condederate commander of a dismal POW camp at the dock for war crimes, Shatner was the lead as the prosecuting attorney (Scott had played the role on Broadway). Jack Cassidy was for the defense, and Richard Basehart was the defendant. Cameron Mitchell was General Lew Wallace, the leader of the military panel sitting in judgment. Great, almost supernatural, acting from everyone involved.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2017 18:21:49 GMT
Captain James T. Kirk is a serious TV hero of mine.
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Post by wmcclain on Apr 17, 2017 18:33:48 GMT
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Post by Doghouse6 on Apr 17, 2017 21:57:56 GMT
Incubus / Leslie Stevens (1966). I am crazy for this film, a true movie curio. It is the only feature film in the “universal (artificial) language” of Esperanto. William Shatner who stars is a fluent speaker and advocate for the language (I did not know that until I saw this movie a few years ago). It was released in 1966 just a month after the premiere of “Star Trek.” For the movie itself, as far as low-budget, b&w, ‘60s horror goes, it is pretty good. Suspensful. Speaking of Shatner in trail dramas (as in Judgment At Nuremburg), in 1970 he starred in a production of Saul Levitt’s Broadway play “ The Andersonville Trail,” directed by George C. Scott. It played, if I remember correctly, on PBS. Based on the historical 1865 trial which put the Condederate commander of a dismal POW camp at the dock for war crimes, Shatner was the lead as the prosecuting attorney (Scott had played the role on Broadway). Jack Cassidy was for the defense, and Richard Basehart was the defendant. Cameron Mitchell was General Lew Wallace, the leader of the military panel sitting in judgment. Great, almost supernatural, acting from everyone involved. Thanks for the reminder about The Andersonville Trial. That was some riveting television (and right up Shatner's alley). One of the cable stations recently repeated the equally-riveting The Missiles Of October from '74; the opportunity to see it again was quite rewarding, and I'd very much welcome a similar one for TAT.
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Post by movielover on Apr 18, 2017 20:55:35 GMT
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Post by Nalkarj on Apr 19, 2017 16:45:01 GMT
My favorite Shatner performance may be a strange choice, and may have too much of his patented histrionic style for some tastes, but here goes: "The Hungry Glass," from the television series Thriller (hosted by our old friend Boris Karloff). I find it a tad stronger than his other key Thriller performance, in "The Grim Reaper." In fact, "The Hungry Glass" is one of my favorite cinematic (or, rather, televised) ghost stories of them all. It may be a bit hokey in some places, but it is genuinely scary, with a properly eerie and nihilistic ending.
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Post by gadolinium on Apr 21, 2017 21:20:14 GMT
His role in Judgment at Nuremberg.
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Post by petrolino on Apr 22, 2017 22:15:47 GMT
Incubus / Leslie Stevens (1966). I am crazy for this film, a true movie curio. It is the only feature film in the “universal (artificial) language” of Esperanto. William Shatner who stars is a fluent speaker and advocate for the language (I did not know that until I saw this movie a few years ago). It was released in 1966 just a month after the premiere of “Star Trek.” For the movie itself, as far as low-budget, b&w, ‘60s horror goes, it is pretty good. Suspensful. Speaking of Shatner in trail dramas (as in Judgment At Nuremburg), in 1970 he starred in a production of Saul Levitt’s Broadway play “ The Andersonville Trail,” directed by George C. Scott. It played, if I remember correctly, on PBS. Based on the historical 1865 trial which put the Condederate commander of a dismal POW camp at the dock for war crimes, Shatner was the lead as the prosecuting attorney (Scott had played the role on Broadway). Jack Cassidy was for the defense, and Richard Basehart was the defendant. Cameron Mitchell was General Lew Wallace, the leader of the military panel sitting in judgment. Great, almost supernatural, acting from everyone involved. 'Incubus' has been on my radar for many years now but I've yet to see it. It sounds intriguing and horror is my favourite genre. It's shot by Conrad Hall and William Fraker, two of the finest cinematographers of their time. I've not seen 'The Andersonville Trail', thanks for the information. Have you seen Paul Stanley's tv movie 'Sole Survivor' (1970)? It's a CBS drama from the same year that also co-stars Shatner and Richard Basehart. It came out on dvd in the U K last year but is still very expensive. It's scripted by Guerdon Trueblood and is billed here as being another fascinating curio drawn from the early stages of Shatner's career.
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Post by petrolino on Apr 22, 2017 22:17:16 GMT
Stunning images. Thanks for sharing.
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Post by wmcclain on Apr 22, 2017 22:48:36 GMT
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Post by camimac on Apr 22, 2017 22:50:23 GMT
I don't know if its my favorite WS moment, but it is my most sadly surprising WS moment. I remember visiting WS's board, back when the IMDB boards were up. There was this thread where the posters seemed to be generally bashing WS. There was this one post about how WS laughed at DeForest Kelley when his dog died. It seems that back during ST-TOS run, DK had a little dog that he brought with him to work everyday. One day when WS came in, DK was crying and WS asked him what was wrong. DK told him that he had brought his dog to work that day and took him for a walk that morning. The dog apparently hit a sprinkler head and was killed and that's why DK was crying. Instead of showing sympathy for his costar's grief, WS laughed in DK's face and told him, his dog had not been a real dog anyway. When I read this in the post on the WS site I thought this could not possibly have happened. This was just someone WS bashing. But, then I found out there was an actual clip of WS on you tube telling this very story. I found the clip. So, I was surprised and saddened to find out that WS had treated DK that way. I could see how one might find the story amusing, but I know I wouldn't laugh in someone's face who was crying and told me they just lost a beloved pet. I would have respect for their feelings. This is not the original clip that I found some time ago, but WS tells the story here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKGj3CmYjGIMaybe DK got a little revenge on WS for laughing at him before: ( See: Deforest's habits- the English muffin story): startrek.ehabich.info/shatner2.htm
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Post by petrolino on Apr 22, 2017 23:04:16 GMT
Nice, thanks for the review! I think my favourite time for American tv movies would be the 1970s, the scripts and production values were often of reasonably high quality and I feel the best directors were able to transcend the format's limitations.
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