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When Ladies Meet (1941)
Not bad but not great either.
One of Crawford's lesser films, though enjoyable in a very mild way. While she has some good support from Spring Byington (who steals the film out from under everyone), Crawford is saddled with the oh-so-boring Greer Garson, who barely lasted 10 years as a film actress. Garson is neither fish nor fowl here. She walks through the role as though she is anxious to finish in order to keep an engagement at McDonalds! Garson's legion of fans (10 I am sure) may wish to say she could out act Crawford, but Garson is hardly remembered at all today outside of Mrs. Miniver, Random Harvest and Sunrise at Campobello. Garson was a good actress - not a great one.
The lines are mostly trite and it is amazing that that Rachel Crothers penned this light weight nonsense.
A sense that LB Mayer's days were numbered sets in during MGM's golden years. Dumping Crawford for people like Garson and Garland was, in the end, not the wisest move and one that his bosses did not agree with. By the time LB Mayer was fired by MGM in 1951, both Garson and Garland were gone and never worked much in films again (I am a big Garland fan, but these are facts). Crawford, on the other hand, went on to out work all of her contemporary actors and had a fairly diverse film career lasting from 1925's silent days well into the mid 1970s.
Had Mayer given Crawford Mrs. Miniver and Random Harvest as he should have done, MGM would have seen Crawford win the Oscar as opposed to WB.
In 1946, when Mildred Pierce premiered, Mayer tried hard to get JC back to MGM ("Why aren't WE making films like this with actresses like you??"). Thankfully, she was savvy enough to stay with WB.
Marple: The Body in the Library (2004)
Absolute rubbish
What a waste of time and money.
I could understand wanting to remake the books as I was not 100% pleased with Joan Hickson (a bit too dark in her portrayal). But this production is more like "Lucia Moves to St Mary Mead" than anything else.
GM is woefully miscast as are most of the players. British actors used to be so good at playing characters from times past but lately this and other programs have made me wonder what the acting teachers are telling the younger generations.
A great shame. This was a worse choice than David Suchet as Poirot. I enjoyed Finney's Poirot despite what other fans have said. Suchet has made the role far too effeminate for my liking, but at the very least the shows were enjoyable up until the last two sets of episodes which have changed things more than they needed to be.
But this latest incarnation of Miss Marple is just too much to handle. Please, someone resurrect Margaret Rutherford!
Next of Kin (1995)
Underrated and extremely funny
After To the Manor Born, this is Penelope Keith's best series. The balance between comedy, pathos and relationships between the grandparents and the grandchildren is excellent.
In particular, the growth of the relationships as the series progresses is very natural and at times achingly funny.
Some people cannot grasp the humor stemming from a serious subject, but the characters here are real. Most families are NOT like The Waltons!
Give it a shot if comes on PBS again. If only it had run longer and there were more episodes.
Signs (2002)
ABSOLUTE RUBBISH
It is hard to comprehend how anyone could find more than slight merit in this garbage. Never quite a drama, nor a comedy, nor sci-fi, nor ever well acted (except for Pat Kalember), here is another fine example of star power putting one over on the public. Gibson makes rubbish for the masses - and they eat it up.
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
Brilliant Joan; Over-the-top Bette (as always)
A flawed but disturbing and entertaining Hollywood classic for many reasons despite the lack of acting skills on Miss Davis' part. What this film really shows (to those who know of such things, that is) is that while Joan Crawford was a fine actress, Bette Davis was a one-note purveyor of bravura (if you want to see Davis 'acting', watch Jezebel). What was needed in this film was director Alfred Hitchcock (whom Joan originally wanted when she first discovered the project) to bring Bette's histrionics down to Earth. I have always thought this would have been a truly remarkable film it this had been the case. And, when Bette was nominated for an AA, one can understand why Oscar Levant cracked the line "I now know for sure that these awards are rigged!".
Most people realized that this was a sympathy nod to an actress who was sadly past it when it came to talent. Sadly, Davis would continue for years giving the same type of performance she started giving in the mid 1940s (Beyond the Forest, Stolen Life, The Star, etc.) and also continue to treat people so badly that, unlike Crawford, she ended her life without friends or family.
Nevertheless, this film is a must see for the pairing of the two stars, for the film noir type of lighting, for a great supporting cast (Maidie Norman, Victor Buono and Anna Lee) and for one of many remarkable acting jobs from Miss Crawford.