** That's a great story, Rich. I'm 100% w/you that people are better off being
honest about their motivations and not apologize for them, e.g., your great
story about John Ford -- and I'm also with you about the genius of William
Wyler. But I think Wyler and Ford are only appreciated by film nuts. To me,
Wyler has become "more forgotten" than even Victor Fleming, who was the subject
of that recent New Yorker article about "Oz" and "GWTW."
** As I think I wrote earlier, many people mix Wyler up with the similar
sounding Billy Wilder, who most film buffs consider the greater genius because
he was a writer and director of dark comedies and dramas. But when you look at
the list of classics directed by Wyler, including his Bette Davis pictures --
culminating w/the chain that began with "The Best Years of Our Lives" and
continuing on through "Roman Holiday" and "Ben Hur" -- he had a Midas touch.
At least until he hit a wall during the 1960s (though "Funny Girl" was a
cinematically stylish musical, a new genre for him). He wasn't articulate but
he was tough, funny and instinctively great. I think Wyler gets the shaft from
many scholars in love with auteurs -- because his films don't have a visual
signature. And he wasn't a "message-preacher" producer-director like Stanley
Kramer either.
** But you look at the performances Wyler extracted from the actors in his
films and you recognize his gifts. He certainly was a "in the moment" type of
guy. The content of most of his better films is smart and undated. I turn
into a sobbing wimp no matter how many times I watch "Best Years." It gets me
every time. And you're right -- Wyler never cared about a "legacy." Yet I
also understand if you're a Selznick or a Welles -- and you keep wondering if
you're ever going to be able to top yourself. I think Coppola went through
something similar when he did "Apocalypse Now," which is finally considered to
be a fractured classic, because I remember the initial disappointment people
had when that film was first released. But compared to the film that won the
Best Picture of 1979 (Kramer vs. Kramer), "Apocalypse" looks fine indeed.
** Dustin Hoffman used to make fun of his friend, the late Sydney Pollack,
saying Sydney suffered from "Oscar-itis." After Pollack won an Oscar for "Out
of Africa" in 1985, Hoffman said Sydney didn't know what to do; he was frozen
solid about his next project. He said Sydney couldn't decide whether he should
deliver some picture even bigger than the one before or just get back into
acting.
** Meanwhile, a director who I think is very underrated -- and deserves acclaim
for lifetime achievement is Ridley Scott. Just look at his filmography and you
just shake your head. Scorcese finally got his for a lesser film ("The
Departed") -- while Scott keeps churning out these mini-masterpieces. Best,
-d.
-----Original Message-----
Date: Thu, 2 Jul 2009 16:18:18 -0700
To: [email protected]; [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [MOPO] Karl Malden, RIP at 97 (+ Sage Words from Orson Welles)
Dave
I think Selznik just felt that way because in Hollywood - it's all about ego in
that job (Producer) if instead of trying to feed his ego, he looked at himself
as being in lifelong a career.. he may have been able to make that better movie
than GWTW.
Look, I keep saying that William Wyler is one of my top directors.. every film
he made was a masterpiece on it's own. He made great films because he was
focused on what he was doing now.. not what he hoped to accomplish in the
future, and that by doing his job well is how he cemented his legacy and he
made some of the most highly revered films of all time.
Selznik was always looking past what he was doing and his focus suffered from
it. He wasn't trying to make money - he was trying to make the blockbuster of
all time. that's a hard task.
John Ford was once asked on a 1950s tv show by a British interviewer "when you
made a movie, what were you trying to accomplish?"
Ford thought for a second and then slowly lifted the cigar from his mouth and
said (slowly raising his cigar as he spoke in a slow deliberate manner) "I was
trying to accomplish... a check!" (and he stabbed the air with his cigar) it
was the funniest thing I'd ever seen with Ford.. If Selznik had applied that
kind of focus to his ideas.. he made yet have done what he was trying to
accomplish
Rich
At 03:22 PM 7/2/2009, David Kusumoto wrote:
** Joe -- Your story about Selznick forever trying to top GWTW reminds me of
Orson Welles, who could never top "Citizen Kane."
** Many years ago, writer-director Peter Bogdanovich was reminiscing with
Welles about Greta Garbo -- lamenting how sad it was that someone so legendary
-- only did 2 films that were great.
** Orson responded with a sage grin, "Well, Peter. You only need one."
** That's a great attitude to have about life's accomplishments. If more
people could look back and say they did at least one thing that was near
perfect -- whether it was raising their kids, finding the right soulmate,
finishing that titanic project, whatever it was -- that's good enough. Then
everything after would be a bonus. I think the root of unhappiness is the
constant benchmarking of what we hope to accomplish -- with our careers,
relationships, sex, money, material things, whatever -- against a manufactured
snapshot in time. Riding with goal-oriented friends shouldn't stop us from
sometimes going our own way. We just have to tune the negative shit out,
otherwise we'll never stop beating ourselves up for not reaching goal "x" by
age "y." I give people -- and myself -- pep talks about this all the time.
** So while Selznick was sad that he never topped GWTW -- most would take that
in a heartbeat. Thus when people say, "Gee, poor Mark Hamill, he never did
anything important after "Star Wars." I say, "so what? If his legacy is only
about being Luke Skywalker, that's better than nothing. He'll never be
forgotten." I think that's why Carroll Baker feels the way she does about
"Baby Doll." Big things were expected of Baker after that fabulous picture --
but they didn't happen. That's OK. Because she'll always be "Baby Doll." -d.
-----Original Message-----
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 22:46:48 -0700
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Karl Malden, RIP at 97
To: [email protected]
Thanks right back, David.
It's sadly amusing that Malden himself chuckled that when he passed, all the
obits would say that he would be "most famous for" the American Express
commercials and the "Don't leave home without it" line.
Like David O.Selznick, who always cried that his obits would lead, "David O.
Selznick, the man who made 'Gone With the Wind," Malden was right. The
difference is, Malden had already excelled in many different roles and types of
characters.
Selznick, argueably the greatest of Hollywood producers, strived (strove?) the
rest of his life to top GWTW. He didn't succeed. I expect Selznick's Revenge
will occur when Michael Bay remakes GWTW --- and the entire 4-hour spectacle is
the explosive destruction by fire and brimstone of the 1864 city of Atlanta.
Selznick will smile upwards and say, "Frankly, my......"
Joe
-----Original Message-----
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 21:22:59 -0700
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Karl Malden, RIP at 97
To: [email protected]
** Thanks Joe! That's a great story about Malden; I never knew about that
tidbit you wrote below, e.g., how he slipped in references to his birth name in
his own pictures. I saw the picture you mentioned, Baby Doll, again last year
and man oh man, that's still a HOT one. Made zero money because it was
"condemned," but what stands out is its timelessness. That horny Eli Wallach.
That repressed Karl Malden. And geez, that jail bait Carroll Baker; I like the
fact that Baker acknowledges she now LOVES IT when people call her "Baby Doll."
(Apparently she didn't like it when she was younger.)
** And thanks to everyone who wrote me publicly or mostly privately about
crossing paths with that ultra-gentleman, Karl Malden. I appreciate it very
much! It's not often a person like myself can come even close to matching the
stories told by other members at MoPo who've crossed paths with bigger stars in
New York or Hollywood. The only upside to San Diego is its climate (it's
better than L.A.'s because we're on a harbor, not a basin) -- and the fact that
many glitterati choose to retire here because its quiet. But we still have to
drive three hours to L.A. to see stars in person -- that is, when they're
still, as they say, "ambulatory" and in their prime.
** I was obviously impressed with Malden. Oh, I know he'll never be considered
a "legend," but he was so total class off-screen -- and made many movies better
-- by just being on-screen. As I wrote to a fellow MoPoer, he had a stature
about him, almost regal in his old age -- that one would never think of when
you saw him playing the "everyman" in his pictures. He was just a consistently
great character actor. That he lived large -- and lived to be 97 -- I'm sure
his family is satisifed with that. He outlived them all. Best, -d.
-----Original Message-----
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 19:52:44 -0700
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [MOPO] Karl Malden, RIP at 97
To: [email protected]
CC: MOPO ListServ ( [email protected])
Wonderful story, David! I'm totally envious. The great Karl Malden is one of
the actors I would have loved to meet.
Just yesterday I remarked to a friend that there was only one film of a
Tennessee Williams play (first filming) that still was represented by the three
surviving leads--- "Baby Doll." Now that statistic is gone forever!
Caroll Baker is still with us at about 78 and the indestructable Eli Wallach--
95-- is still giving readings with his wife of about 60 years, Anne Jackson.
He also still does films and tv occasionally. The last two things I remember
were a cameo in "Mystic River" at the request of director Clint Eastwood and a
wonderful turn on that excellent but short-lived tv series that was a backstage
view of a "SNL"-type show a couple of seasons back.
When the term, "They don't make 'em like that anymore," is heard, the reference
is to actors like these.
Jeremy Piven--- eat your heart out!!!!!
Joe B in NOLA
PS-- Malden always regreted having to change his real name (Mladen Sekulovich)
for a sho-biz career. As he became more known he enjoyed inserting his name
into scripts. The next time you watch "Patton," note when "General Bradley"
turns to an officer and orders, "Sekulovich, take this ......" But my favorite
one is: Malden is the prison warden in "Birdman of Alkatraz." He takes a
reporter on to see Stroud (Lancaster) and, passing each cell, indicates the
prisoner within...."Jones....Smith...Sekulovich."
Joe
-----Original Message-----
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 16:43:48 -0700
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Karl Malden, RIP at 97
To: [email protected]
** In April 1998, when Karl Malden was 86, my wife and I got a chance to meet
him and his daughter Carla at a screening of "On the Waterfront" at a theater
in La Jolla, north of San Diego. He was also there to promote his fabulous and
somewhat dishy memoir, "When Do I Start?" -- which had been released the year
before in hardcover -- (and as of this writing, is still gloriously in print in
paperback because it's that fantastic, esp. his impressions of the stars he
worked with -- which he felt OK writing about -- given the fact that even in
1998, he had already outlived most of 'em).
** In conjunction with his appearance, I loaned my LB one-sheet to "On the
Waterfront" to the film society group hosting his visit. It was displayed on
stage after the screening -- and also at an adjacent bookstore where he signed
copies of his books with his daughter, who wrote the text. He answered a ton
of questions from the huge audience that turned out -- esp. what it was like
working with Brando, Elia Kazan and Vivien Leigh. He said Kazan was a genius,
that Leigh was closer to Blanche DuBois in real life than Blanche herself, and
that Brando was the greatest actor he'd ever worked with. He spoke of Brando
with great sadness, calling him a man who had everything -- drop-dead looks,
talent and money -- but who became a corpulent, tragic figure who lost it all,
squandering his money and becoming increasingly eccentric, working in bad
projects after the Godfather, desperate to make money just to pay his bills.
** The entire night, Malden was sharp as a tack -- and had the command and
respect you'd expect as a president of AMPAS -- but who also had that
self-deprecating persona that made him endearing, esp. jokes about his lack of
matinee idol looks, his Broadway stage experience vs. his work on film -- and
his conviction that his years as a spokesman for American Express ("don't leave
home without it") made him more famous than all of his other work combined. In
fact, he joked that his obituaries would all mention his Oscar -- and predicted
ALL would also mention his work for American Express -- saying it would be the
"signature role for which he was better known to most of the public."
** The man we met that evening was gracious and accommodating to every fan
present. He represented the "old Hollywood," the type like the late Gregory
Peck and Charlton Heston -- and the still-with-us Tony Curtis out here in
California -- who have good manners and love to mix with fans. Malden loved
the attention -- and I got the impression he was ultra-surprised and ecstatic
that a "supporting actor" could generate such a large turnout. He and his
daughter signed our book thus: "To Koose and Yoe, best always from Carla
Malden and Karl Malden." I took my "On the Waterfront" poster off its easel
and asked him to sign it. He did, just above his name credit. I've mentioned
this poster several times to the MoPo group -- in the context of certain
signatures which add sentimental value -- but don't add $$ value to vintage
movie memorabilia. That poster is no longer in my collection -- but I recall
it fetched an OK price. But I kept his book, personalized as it is. I view it
similarly as my "Psycho" poster, whereby Janet Leigh, during a visit in 2000,
personalized her signature, "To David -- Psycho-tically yours, Janet Leigh."
-d.
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