Well, I find I don’t have much to say about Scaramouche other than I enjoyed it. It was pretty, it had lovely costumes, it had fantastic sword fights, I’m growing to like Stewart Granger, I love Eleanor Parker, and, oh, did I mention it had fantastic sword fights? It won’t become a favorite, but I’d definitely watch it again.
One of the highlights of watching it is that it was filmed partly in the French Village backlot at MGM that was used heavily in the television series, Combat!. It was great fun to see the oh-so-very-familiar locations all colorful and shiny. Particularly as Stewart Granger always reminds me a bit of a British version of one of the Combat! stars, Rick Jason. Both are tall, dark-haired, very handsome men, with similar face shapes. I also enjoyed a short retrospective extra on the DVD, with Mel Ferrer talking about the film. I love that he said he and Stewart Granger really jumped up on the precarious balcony railing for the final fight, without really giving it a second thought. They just did it, no safety nets or anything. Whoa. Well it sure does look great!
I also find I don’t have much to say about The Lady From Shanghai. I neither liked nor disliked it, expressly, though I lean towards the dislike category. There just wasn’t much for me to hold onto or care about. It appears I am turning out not to be much of a fan of Orson Welles as director. Rita Hayworth was gorgeous, as usual, though. I like her with the short blond hair. Orson Welles as actor is always fun to watch, so I enjoyed their interplay, but, oddly, I couldn’t understand some of his dialogue. I find this amusing because I have no trouble understanding Antonio Banderas at his most accented mumbling, but I couldn’t understand Orson Welles with an Irish accent. Go figure. I like the scenes on the yacht and in Mexico best. I disliked the courtroom scenes the most, mostly because it’s a rare film that makes me like anything set in a courtroom. And the rest of the film just sort of fumbled along, neither here nor there for me.
4 comments:
Hi Deb!
I've never seen either movie...I just wanted to say Hi to you. ;)
I hope you're well, and having a good year so far.
Ginger!! So glad to see you back! I've been catching up on your new posts. (That Jimmy Stewart doll is creepy!) Same to you, hope the new year is treating you kindly.
Okay, it's not just me! I love Welles' radio work (he was the original Shadow, didja know?), but on film, I sometimes have trouble understanding him, accent or no accent. Huh.
I just caught "Scaramouche" tonight. I liked it alot, but it did not displace "The Prisoner of Zenda" as my favorite (so far) Granger movie and "Moonfleet" as my second fave.
He was drop-dead gorgeous in "Scaramouche"...maybe the most gorgeous he has ever been. I couldn't take my eyes off him.
And, I loved the swordfight!!
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