tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18814440.post1206927456895624510..comments2024-02-16T10:27:42.320-08:00Comments on Krell Laboratories: A Short ConVulnavia Morbiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04722740955194993451noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18814440.post-14584025235857410642012-05-04T06:34:16.477-07:002012-05-04T06:34:16.477-07:00I like Waterloo Bridge a lot, but I won't say ...I like Waterloo Bridge a lot, but I won't say that I'm sorry that Whale recast Elizabeth with Valerie Hobson in The Bride of Frankenstein.Vulnavia Morbiushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04722740955194993451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18814440.post-64389881640883800752012-05-03T23:42:06.564-07:002012-05-03T23:42:06.564-07:00In regard to your comments about Mae Clarke, you m...In regard to your comments about Mae Clarke, you might like to see part of a post I made on Nitrateville about this actress:<br /><br />I just finally got around to watching some preCodes that I had taped from TCM last month.. <br /><br />They had a "Mae Clarke" night- showing The Good Bad Girl, and Three Wise Girls. <br /><br />Mae Clarke will always be most known as the girl who gets a face full of grapefruit delivered from an unhappy James Cagney. It's a very violent moment, and -should- make us very sympathetic for Mae... <br /><br />But it doesn't, and watching these films, I understand why. <br /><br />Viewing these films one after another, a few things are clear: <br />Mae was not an especially gifted actress. She had her moments, and good directors could find and bring something interesting out of her, but the Good Bad Girl was her film to shine in, and instead of a Barbara Stanwyck break-through role--at the climax, when her baby is being threatened with a gun--she has the expression of someone who is at the supermarket and has forgotten her shopping list...almost an annoyed look. You want to slap her and say "Hey--pay attention! That's a gun, and that's your baby!" <br /><br />So her acting skills were never great--whether her persistent underplaying was deliberate, or just all she could do, is not clear to me. But in any case, there's a certain vacant, uncaring look in her eyes that makes you want to shake her--and wake her up, or at least want something bad to happen to her--or be not sympathetic to her when something bad does happen. The German word is Backpfeifengesicht, which means 'a face you want to hit,' and for Mae, that's often what happened to her. Part of it is her lack of acting ability, and another part, (obviously beyond her control) is that her eyes are rather small, which for an actor is a huge detriment. So even when she DOES try to emote--instead, it just look like she's squinting. <br /><br />I think producers back then saw what I was seeing, and the smart ones cast her perfectly for some parts. These attributes make her a good second lead--there's just no way she's going to outshine the star. And the other good thing about her strange 'ability' is that you don't feel so bad when she gets it. In fact, part of you is kind of glad it happened, and that's the Backpfeifengesicht part of it. Those smart producers, who saw in her what I see, cast her in roles where she's the girl who 'got it.' <br /><br />Look at the parts she played to see how bad things almost always seemed to happen to her-- <br /><br />Frankenstein (1931) .... Elizabeth...On his wedding night, Victor abandons her and lets the monster enter the bridal suite, and well, you can figure that one out. <br /><br />Waterloo Bridge (1931) .... Myra Deauville. It's been many years since I've seen this, and I remember that she did a good job. But was it her, or did the foxy stage pro, James Whale, understand what she could do, and coax the best out of her? In any case, I'll give her credit for a good job. But we know how she ends up in this film. <br /><br />Three Wise Girls (1932) .... Gladys Kane --second bananna to Jean Harlow--In terms of acting skills, she makes Harlow look like Maggie Smith, and then bows out gracefully from the story by taking poison. <br /><br />Still, when one checks the IMDB, she was in more than 100 films! <br /><br />So here's a toast to you, Mae Clarke--a real trooper--you had a longer and more successful career than many other "bigger" names...even if your biggest talent was that you made us want to push a gratefruit in your kisser.Pordenonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16810290410080668476noreply@blogger.com