WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939)

HOLLYWOOD'S GOLDEN AGE

(Post 26 of 50)

Yes, you should see a version of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, the doomed old world romance between Heathcliff and Cathy. But should you see the 1939 William Wyler version with Laurence Olivier? It does have a young Olivier and loads of atmosphere. But it also leaves a lot of the story out, a necessity if you're condense Wuthering Heights into a two-hour movie. But if you want a longer and more faithful version, there's plenty to choose from...But I think you should maybe see this one at least once.

Or maybe you should just read the book. 

And the Elisha Cook Jr. supporting player award goes to..Donald Meek. Englishman Donald Meek was one of the most prolific actors in movies between the mid-30's and mid-40's. He was quite versatile playing all classes and types, with his most famous role being the working class father in How Green Was My Valley. But he could play aristocrats and professionals, like Dr. Kenneth in Wuthering Heights. He also gets bonus points here for being the most likable character in the movie.

MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN (1936)

HOLLYWOOD'S GOLDEN AGE

(Post 25 of 50)

It was kind of funny seeing Mr. Deeds Goes to Town after so many years. The plot of a local yokel being taken advantage of by big wigs that end up underestimating him and having the local yokel getting Jean Arthur to fall in love with him could also describe Frank Capra's follow up film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. But both movies are fun to watch with lots of laughs, snappy dialogue, the lovely Ms. Arthur, lots of inspirational scenes and certainly both have their share of "Caprcorn." But I'm not complaining. I like Gary Cooper as the everyman Deeds, but I'm glad Capra had to "settle" for Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith. I could picture Stewart doing Mr. Deeds, but can't picture Cooper as Mr. Smith.

And the Elisha Cook Jr. supporting player award goes to..Lionel Stander is probably best remembered by some as Max on the show Hart to Hart. But the gravelly-voiced character actor had a career that began in the early 30's and continued through the early 90's, shortly before his death. Some of the movie roles I remember his in include Cul-de-Sac and Once Upon a Time in the West. He is a standout in this early role of Cornelius Cobb in Mr. Deeds. Cobb plays a guy who is trying to help use Deeds at first, but quickly becomes a friend and supporter. I thought almost every line Stander said in this movie was funny. It's also interesting to see him so young, but his comic timing was clearly already solid.

Lionel Stander (sitting), with Gary Cooper and H. B. Warner

SILVER LODE (1954)

HOLLYWOOD'S GOLDEN AGE

(Post 24 of 50)

When I saw this 1001 listing for an eighty-one minute, Allan Dwan directed, RKO Western featuring John Payne (Payne, not Wayne), I thought it was an interesting choice for inclusion in the 1001 book. The plot revolves around a man who has become well respected in his community only to have a U. S. Marshall come to town to arrest him for murder on his wedding day. Certainly one of the interesting aspects of Silver Lode is figuring out who is going to stand beside him and who is going to turn on him. The plot is simple, but it is a pretty good drama and has some interesting insights into human nature and how easy it is to develop a mob mentality. McCarthyism anyone?

And the Elisha Cook Jr. supporting player award goes to..Dan Duryea. Winchester '73, Scarlett Street, Silver Lode...Dan Duryea really was gifted at playing a slimeball. When he comes to town posing as a U. S. Marshall, we know he's up to no good, but he somehow manages to snooker the town-at least for a little while. His is easily my favorite performance in the movie. 

I'd also like to give credit to two supporting character legacies playing Duryea's "deputies": Alan Hale Jr.(Later the Skipper on Gilligan's Island) and Harry Carey Jr. (whose movie career lasted over a half century). 

THE APARTMENT (1960)

HOLLYWOOD'S GOLDEN AGE

(Post 23 of 50)

After all these years and several viewings, The Apartment remains one of my favorite films. C. C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) works in a giant New York office where he sits at one of the endless rows of desk which would seem to be a good recipe for making any worker an anonymous drone. The only way to move up for C. C. is to lend out his apartment for the lecherous executives to have a place to take their girlfriends to. Women are pretty much playthings to these guys. The one guy who seems to really respect women and falls for the elevator operator played by Shirley MacLaine is C. C. himself. But C. C. does get a promotion, when he loans out his apartment to the big boss played by Fred MacMurray. But this ends up causing more problems than solving them.

I'm a big Billy Wilder fan and The Apartment has the winning dialogue I associate with his movies. Lemmon is also a very good everyman and I love when he tells a floozy that he is single and she says it must be sad to go home to an empty apartment every night. He wryly responds that he may be single, but that doesn't mean he has an empty apartment. 

And the Elisha Cook Jr. supporting player award goes to..Ray Walston. I could give this to Fred MacMurray as Lemmon's unsympathetic boss, but I'm going with Walston who plays one of the execs who borrows C.C.'s apartment.Walston is brash and he and the other execs schedule their rendezvous at the apartment like they are scheduling business meetings. 

It's certainly not the most memorable role in the film, but Walston is so unflappable in his arrogance, that he comes across as funny and likable despite himself. I grew up watching Walston in the 60's as Uncle Martin in the more that likely dated show My Favorite Martian. But I certainly loved the show when I was four! I was surprised to see that Walston was never nominated for an Academy Award. I would think that his movie stealing 1958 roles in Damn Yankees! and South Pacific would have been good for at least one nod! Walston's later roles included Mr. Hand in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Mr. Boothy the caretaker in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Picket Fences and some pretty funny AT & T commercials.