Re: Nitrateville Correction Dept: Noah Beery Sr.
Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2013 1:13 am
Johnson, You ain't seen enough Noah Beery, he was one of the great scene stealing villains of all time, whether he was winking at the audience as in ISLE OF LOST SHIPS (1929), or playing it deadly like he does in the silent BEAU GESTE. Then he could turn around and be heartbreaking in a sympathetic role like he is in the underrated LINDA (1929) with Warner Baxter and Helen Foster. I think my favorite role of Beery's is Laughing Red Slavens in CORNERED, a 1932 Tim McCoy Columbia western where he'S completely b.f. psycho and has this great showdown scene with McCoy. He's one of those guys who shows up to act and it's every man for himself when the cameras roll. I find him way more fascinating than Wallace, though both Beery Brothers were no slouchs in scene stealing, but Noah was way better liked in the Hollywood Community.
Maybe Frank McHugh just got tired of doing that damn laugh for over a decade. He and Allan Jenkins were part of Cagney and O'Brien's irish Mafia and only you think GOING MY WAY was a millstone, to McHugh and et all it was one of the biggest hits of the 1940's, topped only by THE BELLS OF ST MARY'S, and if his later work doesn't jibe with your commie-pinko values today Johnson, I doubt he'd lose sleep over it. There is some good television work in the 50's and 60's, and was just one of those familiar faces viewers remembered and were glad to see. He'd done enough great work to justify everyone remembering him now, more than anyone wanting to be critical around here. He wasn't underused or undervalued, he was damn busy.
Come to think of it, Bing Crosby got pretty sleepy-eyed after GOING MY WAY too, boy, that sure hurt his career and pocketbook.
See, after a couple of World Wars, Prohibition, and a Depression, folks in America kinda wanted to relax, and film and television of the late 40's and 50's kinda reflects that attitude. If it doesn't appeal to the tragically hip wannabe's and looks uncool these days, too damn bad. Funny, the older I get, the more I like entertainment without edge. By the time we got to the 60's and got the edge back, a lot of the talent and craft was gone. Now we just got edge........
RICHARD M ROBERTS
Maybe Frank McHugh just got tired of doing that damn laugh for over a decade. He and Allan Jenkins were part of Cagney and O'Brien's irish Mafia and only you think GOING MY WAY was a millstone, to McHugh and et all it was one of the biggest hits of the 1940's, topped only by THE BELLS OF ST MARY'S, and if his later work doesn't jibe with your commie-pinko values today Johnson, I doubt he'd lose sleep over it. There is some good television work in the 50's and 60's, and was just one of those familiar faces viewers remembered and were glad to see. He'd done enough great work to justify everyone remembering him now, more than anyone wanting to be critical around here. He wasn't underused or undervalued, he was damn busy.
Come to think of it, Bing Crosby got pretty sleepy-eyed after GOING MY WAY too, boy, that sure hurt his career and pocketbook.
See, after a couple of World Wars, Prohibition, and a Depression, folks in America kinda wanted to relax, and film and television of the late 40's and 50's kinda reflects that attitude. If it doesn't appeal to the tragically hip wannabe's and looks uncool these days, too damn bad. Funny, the older I get, the more I like entertainment without edge. By the time we got to the 60's and got the edge back, a lot of the talent and craft was gone. Now we just got edge........
RICHARD M ROBERTS