This may raise quite a few eyebrows.
I was thinking about dream couples (see my previous post by that title), and I came up with one that may seem ridiculous, but it works for me:
Lillian Gish and Buster Keaton.
Yes, I know Lillian was noted for tragedy, and Buster for comedy. Some of you may be shrieking, "No! Dorothy was the comedy player, not Lillian!" I know Dorothy was the comedienne of the family, and a good one, but as far as I'm concerned, there wasn't a single thing Lillian couldn't do, on screen or stage. The same is true for Buster.
They both had an amazing ability to do whatever it took to make the scene - and the film - as effective as possible. They both took enormous risks. They were both completely dedicated to their craft. Lillian subjected herself to hypothermia (Way Down East), intense heat and wind (The Wind), and starvation (La Boheme). Buster came within a hair's breadth of drowning (Our Hospitality), stood still while the front of a house fell around him (Steamboat Bill, Jr.), and ran a wild ride on the handlebars of a riderless motorcycle (Sherlock, Jr.).
Buster has an edge here, having suffered a serious injury on the set of Sherlock, Jr. without realizing it, and only discovering more than a decade later that he had broken his neck (the scene where he is dangling from the chain of a water tower, and the flood of water throws him onto the railroad tracks).
Both were perfectionists; both gave it their all.
So, you may ask, in what sort of film could they have costarred?
Answer: I don't know. Light comedy, perhaps; Lillian was noted for her deeply tragic roles, and it would be nice to see a change of pace. One of Buster's misfortunes on film was that his leading ladies - with the exception of Sybil Seely - simply didn't register much; they were there, and they went through the motions. Lillian would never have been one of the bland, faceless crowd; she'd have given as good as she got, and I think they'd have been marvelous together.
Showing posts with label comedy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label comedy. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Lloyd's romances
I'll say it right out: I am not a fan of Chaplin.
Go ahead and scream, then turn on your favorite of his movies; I can watch his work, but I don't view him as a genius. Keaton, yes. Chaplin, no.
However, this post is about Harold Lloyd. I just had to get the Chaplin talk out of the way.
I do like Lloyd, very much; he is second to the great Buster in silent comedy. I like his romantic comedies the best, since he is rather abrasive in some of his earlier films. The movies with Jobyna Ralston are my favorites, not only because of their perfect screen chemistry, but also because of the sweet-natured storylines. Girl Shy is, in my opinion, the best film Lloyd ever made, and it was a wonder to me to discover that it influenced The Graduate, more than forty years later.
When Lloyd isn't being the brash young man, he is very effective and believable in a romantic film. Girl Shy works in large part because the character of Harold Meadows is very shy, withdrawn, and due to a stutter, largely unable to communicate with women - not that he would know what to say to most women anyway, as we see in the film. His meeting with Mary on the train, at first stuttering madly, then talking to such an extent that they don't notice their train has arrived and that they are the only passengers still on it, is one of the best scenes in the film. Lloyd also has Ralston making the first move; as Harold stands outside her taxi, trying to look reserved and studly, Mary leans out and kisses him on the mouth.
Girl Shy and The Freshman have a similar scene concerning the character of Harold and his beloved. In Girl Shy, Harold views Mary's reflection in the water and sighs longingly; in The Freshman, he wipes the soap off the mirror in his room only to see, not himself, but Peggy, standing in the doorway behind him. It works, both times.
In the earlier films I've seen, with Bebe Daniels, there is more of a sexual element to the proceedings; that image of Lloyd and Daniels eating ice-cream cones and eyeing each other, is a prime example. In his films with his soon-to-be-wife, Mildred Davis, this element is toned down somewhat, though Lloyd's characters still tend to grate on the nerves. It's with Jobyna Ralston that he shows a softer, vulnerable side, as when Harold breaks down and cries in Peggy's lap in The Freshman. In The Kid Brother, he is so eager to keep Mary in sight that he climbs ever higher in a tree, then falls out of it. In For Heaven's Sake, after Mary tells him off in public, he smiles in wonderment and gladly tours the mission with her, remarking "Very pretty," as he looks at her, not at the surroundings.
Lloyd could, in my opinion, have been a leading man in dramatic roles, too; he had the talent, and he certainly had the looks! He was very effective at glamming down for his films, hiding his beautiful face under makeup and behind glasses (and when the glasses were removed, people didn't recognize him). On the other hand, had he done so, we might not have this wonderful set of films to view.
Go ahead and scream, then turn on your favorite of his movies; I can watch his work, but I don't view him as a genius. Keaton, yes. Chaplin, no.
However, this post is about Harold Lloyd. I just had to get the Chaplin talk out of the way.
I do like Lloyd, very much; he is second to the great Buster in silent comedy. I like his romantic comedies the best, since he is rather abrasive in some of his earlier films. The movies with Jobyna Ralston are my favorites, not only because of their perfect screen chemistry, but also because of the sweet-natured storylines. Girl Shy is, in my opinion, the best film Lloyd ever made, and it was a wonder to me to discover that it influenced The Graduate, more than forty years later.
When Lloyd isn't being the brash young man, he is very effective and believable in a romantic film. Girl Shy works in large part because the character of Harold Meadows is very shy, withdrawn, and due to a stutter, largely unable to communicate with women - not that he would know what to say to most women anyway, as we see in the film. His meeting with Mary on the train, at first stuttering madly, then talking to such an extent that they don't notice their train has arrived and that they are the only passengers still on it, is one of the best scenes in the film. Lloyd also has Ralston making the first move; as Harold stands outside her taxi, trying to look reserved and studly, Mary leans out and kisses him on the mouth.
Girl Shy and The Freshman have a similar scene concerning the character of Harold and his beloved. In Girl Shy, Harold views Mary's reflection in the water and sighs longingly; in The Freshman, he wipes the soap off the mirror in his room only to see, not himself, but Peggy, standing in the doorway behind him. It works, both times.
In the earlier films I've seen, with Bebe Daniels, there is more of a sexual element to the proceedings; that image of Lloyd and Daniels eating ice-cream cones and eyeing each other, is a prime example. In his films with his soon-to-be-wife, Mildred Davis, this element is toned down somewhat, though Lloyd's characters still tend to grate on the nerves. It's with Jobyna Ralston that he shows a softer, vulnerable side, as when Harold breaks down and cries in Peggy's lap in The Freshman. In The Kid Brother, he is so eager to keep Mary in sight that he climbs ever higher in a tree, then falls out of it. In For Heaven's Sake, after Mary tells him off in public, he smiles in wonderment and gladly tours the mission with her, remarking "Very pretty," as he looks at her, not at the surroundings.
Lloyd could, in my opinion, have been a leading man in dramatic roles, too; he had the talent, and he certainly had the looks! He was very effective at glamming down for his films, hiding his beautiful face under makeup and behind glasses (and when the glasses were removed, people didn't recognize him). On the other hand, had he done so, we might not have this wonderful set of films to view.
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