Rants on Anna Karenina (1948)

I've never read Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. I realize it's a classic and all that jazz, but who the Christ has the time to wade through 800 pages of a critique on 19th century Russian society and mores? I certainly don't. I tried to be intelligent in high school and checked it out from the library once; I got exactly three pages in before I, not understanding a damn word of what was going on, returned it a few weeks later. Instead, I relied on the two Greta Garbo versions of the story (1927's Love and 1935's Anna Karenina). While neither of them particularly blew me away, they were fine melodramas that cut right through Tolstoy's apparent social commentary and focused on the tragic love affair (and who's going to deny that Garbo was absolutely fantastic in both of them).

Now, this brings us to the 1948 version of Anna Karenina (Julien Duvivier, 1948) starring Vivien Leigh as the tragic Anna. The story remains the same- Anna breaks society's "rules of the game" by leaving her husband and son to live in sin, unmarried, with a dashing young count- but Duvivier sticks closer to the book, I presume, by focusing more on the societal impact of Anna's decision than on the physical attraction between her and Vronsky. This is all well and good, and I'm sure that in the book it makes for deep, thought provoking material, but when done this coldly and impassionately, it doesn't exactly make for the most fascinating film, you know? Countless scenes go by in which some character (usually either Anna or Ralph Richardson's Alexander) lament about how cruel society is and that they really want to act in one way but can't because it isn't "proper"; instead of feeling for these characters, all I kept thinking was, "Get on with it, damnit!"

Even the romantic scenes between Anna and Count Vronsky- which positively smoldered in the Garbo versions- feel flat and detached. I suppose you can blame that on the fact that this is a British production- they have always been more of a "stiff upper lip" sort of people- but it shouldn't have felt this off. There's really no chemistry between Leigh and Kieron Moore to speak of. So, if the social commentary is boring and the romance is a dud, what is there to even be excited about in this version of Anna Karenina? To be honest, nothing. Julien Duvivier's direction is so plain Jane and passionless that it's honestly quite to hard to even get invested into the story. For the most part, the film looks like it was shot in the manner of a stage play with it's poor script and shoddy camerawork. Perhaps the most disappointing thing about Anna Karenina is, however, Vivien Leigh's performance. I know it's unfair to place the expectation on an actress that every performance has to be her greatest ever, but I honestly never foresaw a time when Leigh would ever be less than perfect. She's not bad here by any means; she's just very underwhelming. A lot of the time, it felt like she was recycling leftover bits of Scarlett O'Hara, only minus the charm, sophistication and wit of that epic performance. Leigh was good at the very the end when she's wandering around the train station, driven mad by her lover's betrayal, but it doesn't make up for the last 110 minutes of mediocrity. If only Duvivier had gotten this level of risk and bravura from Leigh earlier, he just may have saved her performance and this dreary film. C

20 Favorite Actresses Meme

When I saw this over at The Film Experience a couple of days ago, I immediately decided that I was going to do it whether or not I was actually tagged by someone. I have been super busy the past couple of days and couldn't take the amount of time necessary to give this the attention it deserves. Well, now I do have the time and it just so happens that I was tagged not only once, but twice! Thanks guys and without further ado, here are my 20 favorite actresses, in no particular order.

Katherine, Greta, Bette, Meryl, Marie
Glenn, Marilyn, Thelma, Joan, Greer
Mary, Babs, Elizabeth, Dame Judi, Vivien
Norma, Judy, Nicole, Olivia, Faye

My apologies to the also-rans: Anne Hathaway, Diane Lane, Joan Allen, Susan Hayward, Eleanor Parker, Jean Harlow, Diane Keaton

My tastes actually skew more toward the older, but that's mostly because I lived and breathed TCM during high school and fell in love with many of the lovely, beautiful and talented ladies. If anything, I'm actually much weaker when it comes to the 80's, 90's and early 2000's. But, of course, that just means there's always great actresses to discover and possibly change this list in the future.

EDIT: I just realized that I forgot to tag some people so I choose Marcy @ Because I Saw the Film, Kayleigh @ Shiny Happy Blog, Michael @ My Stuff and Cr*p and Vera @ Vera's Big Gay Blog.

Who Knew, Vivien Leigh?

A couple of days ago, while I was looking for a certain Bette Davis quote that went with my thought about Amy Ryan, I ran across this quote from Vivien Leigh that made me fall in love with her all over again. You already know I think she gave one of the greatest performances in the history of cinema in Gone With the Wind and that her work in A Streetcar Named Desire was dynamic, to say the least. Well, besides from being an accomplished actress, you can now add "diva extraordinaire" to her impressive resume. After Joan Crawford dropped out of Hush...Hush Sweet Charlotte, her re-teaming with Bette Davis after the mega success of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, the director was looking around frantically for some older actress to fill in for Crawford. Eventually Olivia de Havilland took over, but apparently Leigh was offered the role at one point and had this to say:

"No, thank you. I can just about stand looking at Joan Crawford's face at six o'clock in the morning, but not Bette Davis'."

Oh snap! Isn't this juicy? I had no idea that Leigh could deliver a perfectly bitchy bon mot just as well as Davis, Crawford and Tallullah Bankhead. I'm so impressed with this one quote that I'm moving Vivien Leigh onto the "My Divas" section on the right hand side of the page.

How Can You Have a "100 Greatest Performances" List Without the Greatest of Them All, Premiere Magazine?

I was surfing the Internet yesterday morning and I ran across this list from Premiere Magazine a couple of years ago: The 100 Greatest Performances of All Time. I'm a sucker for lists like these, so I quickly devoured it, hoping to find all of my favorites on it. Immediately, I find some of the old stand-by's that you would expect to see on a list like this because of their sheer amazingness: Brando in On the Waterfront, Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice, Bette Davis in All About Eve. But, there was one performance in particular I was looking for that I just didn't see in the Top 10. "Hmmmm," I thought, "That's strange. They can't have put Gene Wilder in Young Frankenstein above her. Those silly editors, she must be just outside the Top 10. No? Top 50, then. Still, no? Well, she has to be on here somewhere. I must have missed her; I'll do a quick search of the page. WHAT?! THESE DUMBASS EDITORS LEFT OFF THE GREATEST PERFORMANCE OF ALL TIME?!" And what performance am I referring to, you ask?

The incomparable Miss Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind, of course. How is it that Vivien Leigh, who had to carry an entire four hour epic all on her shoulders (if she didn't work, the film definitely wouldn't) and did it better than anyone in Hollywood could have done at that time, was passed over in favor of such middling performances like Tom Hanks in Big, Robert Duvall in Tender Mercies (really?) or Jamie fucking Foxx in Ray? I simply don't understand it. Who did she piss off to not even get mentioned on this list?

Oscar Bitch Fight: 1939

Welcome to my first installment of Oscar Bitch Fight! For this fight, I will be discussing the Best Actress nominees for what is considered the best year in filmmaking- 1939. I would like to thank StinkyLulu for his support and for allowing me to do this series since it is kind of a knock-off of his wonderful "Supporting Actress Smackdown" series. Please visit his blog here and read his wonderful thoughts about "actressing at the edges." And without further ado, here are the nominees…

Bette Davis, Dark Victory

Easily Bette’s greatest performance of the 1930’s and one of her best overall (there are still a couple I would rank higher). Her early scenes as socialite bitch Judith Traherne are classic Bette- she chews up scenery with as much velocity as in her underrated performance in Dangerous- and she plays them with all the energy and zest she has. But, Bette’s true test as an actress comes when Judith is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. She believably transforms into a softer woman, falling in love with her doctor and basically living life before she dies- which makes the beautifully done ending that much more effective and tear-jerking.

Irene Dunne, Love Affair

Normally, I love my Irene Dunne in screwball comedies (especially The Awful Truth- my favorite performance of hers), but there is something endearing about her work in Love Affair. Her natural chemistry with an also swell Charles Boyer is hardly expected but proves essential to the film (well, it is called Love Affair for God’s sake- you hope there would be something between them). Not exactly a rave-worthy performance, but Dunne more than holds her own and that final scene with her and Boyer is underplayed to perfection.

Greta Garbo, Ninotchka

Arguably, the finest performance the divine Greta Garbo ever gave. With so many fantastic chances to poke fun at her stiff Scandinavian self, a great director (Ernst Lubitsch) who believed in her untapped comedic talents and that iconic tagline (“Garbo Laughs!”), Ninotchka was the one time Garbo didn’t have to play the tragic heroine and actually got to have fun with a role. Her comedic timing is unbeatable- case in point, the scene where she asks Melvyn Douglas “Must you flirt?” to which he replies, “Well, I don’t have to, but I find it natural” and she responds with “Suppress it”- and up there with the great screwball comediennes of the era. It’s a shame that her next film (and comedy) Two-Faced Woman bombed so horribly and that Garbo never worked again in any film.

Greer Garson, Goodbye, Mr. Chips

A fine performance by one of the best actresses of the era who has, unfortunately, been quietly forgotten. Garson is a nice breath of fresh air in this stodgy film as the woman who finally lightens Mr. Chips up and her scenes prepare us for her fantastic work in the 40’s. With that said, her role really is too small to be seriously considered against these other giants (I’m not sure on an exact time, but she seems to come and go pretty quickly) and should have been downgraded to Best Supporting Actress.

Vivien Leigh, Gone With the Wind

Leigh is so perfect in this role that it’s almost frightening how fantastic she is. In the hands of Leigh, Scarlett becomes, at once, both a realistic and gritty Southern belle turned hard by the war and a grandiose, larger than life figure. It almost makes me shudder when I think about who David O. Selznick might have cast instead of her: Bette Davis (a goddess but would have dominated every scene she was in and would have torn her cast mates into shreds) or Paulette Goddard (a great comedienne but I can’t imagine her carrying this whole film) or Jean Arthur (another great comedienne but I can’t imagine her doing any sort of the physical labor that Scarlett and not slipping in a wisecrack or two). Even if you are not a fan of the film, you have to recognize the brilliance of Leigh’s performance.

Along with my own opinion, I asked my best friend and fellow Gone With the Wind fanatic Christi Brinker to weigh in on Ms. Leigh’s performance:

After watching Gone With the Wind for the first time, I was surprised to learn that Vivien Leigh was from England. Her Southern accent is so realistic as well as sweet and endearing. My favorite part of her performance is her facial expressions. I love the scene where she is getting ready for the barbeque at Twelve Oaks and she is arguing with Mammy. Mammy puts her in her place by saying, “I don’t see Ashley Wilkes asking to marry you!” Vivien responds by giving her an evil glare and throwing her umbrella across the room. Yet, a few minutes later she is smiling ear to ear and trying to catch the attention of all of the men at the barbeque. Like Clark Gable, Vivien was extremely good at hiding her issues with him and making Gone With the Wind a great love story.

My Rants: Overall, 1939 was a fantastic year for actresses and Oscar, surprisingly, picked five great ones. With that being said, here is what my line up for 1939 looks like:

Jean Arthur, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Bette Davis, Dark Victory
Greta Garbo, Ninotchka
Judy Garland, The Wizard of Oz
Vivien Leigh, Gone With the Wind

(Honorable mentions go the fabulous Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford as the biggest bitches in an ensemble jam-packed full of them in The Women and Irene Dunne in Love Affair who, in a weaker year, would have made it on the list.)

I’ve already talked about Davis, Garbo and Leigh, so let’s start with Jean Arthur. Playing almost the exact role as her Babe Bennett in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (another fabulous performance), Arthur could have just coasted through Mr. Smith and been swallowed whole by James Stewart and Claude Rains’ intense performances. Instead, she miraculously holds her own, trading wisecracks with jaded reporter Thomas Mitchell and making fun of, before eventually falling in love with, James Stewart’s idealist senator. It’s the type of performance that Oscar then and now loves to avoid (i.e. Joan Allen in The Upside of Anger) but really should start embracing. Judy Garland also made an enormous Technicolor splash into the hearts of Americans all over with her transcendent performance in The Wizard of Oz. The role is so iconic that it easy to take Garland for granted. Her Dorothy is one of the most identifiable characters in movie history and it is all due to Garland (Can you imagine MGM’s first choice Shirley Temple in the role?). Thanks to the success of this film, Garland became the leading musical comedy star of the 40’s and was able to give phenomenal performances in Meet Me in St. Louis, The Clock, The Harvey Girls, The Pirate and A Star is Born.

Who won: Vivien Leigh, Gone With the Wind

Best of Oscar's Nominees: Leigh. Whoever played Scarlett would have won the Oscar, but Leigh's Scarlett is the performance of a lifetime and one of the best ever recorded on film.

Best of My Nominees: Leigh again. Utterly perfect.

I hope you enjoyed this and stay tuned for my first edition of Oscar Cock Fights in the upcoming future.