02.10.10 Movies… when the movie actors are not really the stars
Jerry Frebowitz | Talkin The Oldies
Some old movies had great casts, where they were headliners of their day but in many cases, they weren't the real stars of the film.
What happens when three big stars appear together in a cat-and-mouse murder mystery? Back in 1949, you would have expected a lot from The Man On The Eiffel Tower, considering we're talking about Charles Laughton, Franchot Tone and Burgess Meredith, the latter also directed. It is unfortunate this film isn't as top notch as expected, especially when it was made at a time when movie theatres were competing with that new-fangled interloper called television.
Three big stars, a favorite literary character (Inspector Maigret), a new color process called Ansco Color (which hasn't held up very well through the years), a famous actor-turned-director and from all of that, audiences were disappointed with the results. Meredith supposedly replaced original director Irving Allen at the insistence of Charles Laughton, who helped with directing efforts as well. However, nothing seemed to help box office receipts although the film has quite a following today ... but wait, do the screen credits actually say that this movie also stars "The City of Paris?"
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In 1940, times were different from today, in many ways. For one, people who got caught shoplifting, male or female, did jail time -- plain and simple. Remember The Night is a movie about such simpler times and is such a good film, it ranks right up there at the top with the best of the non-Dickens Christmas movies. Miracle on 34th Street, Christmas in Connecticut and It Happened on 5th Avenue are all great for holiday viewing, however this movie, for some reason is not as well-known, but should be.
Having seen a lot of movies throughout the years, I've enjoyed more than my fair share of great performances. If I had to pick a leading lady who entertained me time after time and for more years than even I can remember, I would not hesitate to choose Claudette Colbert (
Do you know what the following names had in common? Eddie Albert, Mary Astor, Ralph Bellamy, Ernest Borgnine, Beaulah Bondi, Walter Brennan, Lloyd Bridges, Rory Calhoun, Lee J. Cobb, Wendell Corey, Robert Culp, John Derek, Bobby Driscoll, Jack Elam, John Forsythe, Beverly Garland, James Garner, Sterling Hayden, Celeste Holm, John Ireland, David Janssen, Carolyn Jones, DeForest Kelley, Cloris Leachman, Jack Lemmon, Julie London, Ida Lupino, Strother Martin, Ralph Meeker, David Niven, Jack Palance, Robert Ryan, Robert Vaughn, Stuart Whitman, and James Whitmore?