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Post by london777 on May 15, 2017 15:20:07 GMT
Donat was a bit before my time, but I remember at school some of us smart-ass teenagers were debating with our English teacher whether film had replaced live theater (this was in the 'fifties when the idea of cinema as a major art-form had not percolated through to the general populace). He did not agree, but remarked that Donat had the finest speaking voice in either medium.
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Post by teleadm on May 15, 2017 17:32:40 GMT
Well I would like to add The Winslow Boy 1948 and The Magic Box 1951, I don't think anyone mentioned them yet (I can be wrong).
In Winslow, he has one of these roles that takes some time to understand that has many layers and in the end wins over the viewer, at least me.
In Magic Box, he has the difficult task to hold the movie together, since there is the distraction of 50 or so well known british actors passing by in small roles, but he succeeds, and there is a very funny scene with Laurence Oliver as the first man who has ever seen moving pictures.
About his MGM years that produced very few movies, according to The MGM Story he had somehow managed to get into his contract that he had story approval, and as it turned out, he hardly approved to anything MGM offered him.
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Post by Doghouse6 on May 15, 2017 18:00:06 GMT
Well I would like to add The Winslow Boy 1948 and The Magic Box 1951, I don't think anyone mentioned them yet (I can be wrong). In Winslow, he has one of these roles that takes some time to understand that has many layers and in the end wins over the viewer, at least me. In Magic Box, he has the difficult task to hold the movie together, since there is the distraction of 50 or so well known british actors passing by in small roles, but he succeeds, and there is a very funny scene with Laurence Oliver as the first man who has ever seen moving pictures. About his MGM years that produced very few movies, according to The MGM Story he had somehow managed to get into his contract that he had story approval, and as it turned out, he hardly approved to anything MGM offered him. I'm very glad you mentioned The Magic Box; I kept intending to but never got around to it. Although I'd witnessed many great Donat performances by the time I saw it, it convinced me he was one of the most profoundly gifted actors of his generation, much of that assessment having to do with the Olivier sequence you've cited. While there's undeniable humor in bobby Olivier's uncomprehending misinterpretation of Donat's near-hysteria, I find the bracketing scenes - the childlike exhilaration of Donat's Friese-Greene at the success of his experiments, and his pride and satisfaction as another human being experiences the wonder of it for the first time - to be among the most deeply moving moments I've ever seen any actor convey.
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rctina
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Post by rctina on May 17, 2017 19:09:05 GMT
Well I would like to add The Winslow Boy 1948 and The Magic Box 1951, I don't think anyone mentioned them yet (I can be wrong). In Winslow, he has one of these roles that takes some time to understand that has many layers and in the end wins over the viewer, at least me. In Magic Box, he has the difficult task to hold the movie together, since there is the distraction of 50 or so well known british actors passing by in small roles, but he succeeds, and there is a very funny scene with Laurence Oliver as the first man who has ever seen moving pictures. About his MGM years that produced very few movies, according to The MGM Story he had somehow managed to get into his contract that he had story approval, and as it turned out, he hardly approved to anything MGM offered him. I'm very glad you mentioned The Magic Box; I kept intending to but never got around to it. Although I'd witnessed many great Donat performances by the time I saw it, it convinced me he was one of the most profoundly gifted actors of his generation, much of that assessment having to do with the Olivier sequence you've cited. While there's undeniable humor in bobby Olivier's uncomprehending misinterpretation of Donat's near-hysteria, I find the bracketing scenes - the childlike exhilaration of Donat's Friese-Greene at the success of his experiments, and his pride and satisfaction as another human being experiences the wonder of it for the first time - to be among the most deeply moving moments I've ever seen any actor convey. I love "The Winslow Boy!" I own both versions. I like the remake better as a film, but I prefer Robert Donat and Margaret Leighton as the lead characters.
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