Eyes

In my opinion, eyes are what makes people pretty or not. If you haven't got decent eyes, nothing else particularly matters, and if you do, they can save a face. In a couple days, I am putting up a poll about the prettiest eyes in Hollywood, so here they are in pictorial view--here are the people with the most commonly praised eyes.
Starting it off with Ol' Blue Eyes here...it'll be stiff competition.
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This is Vivien Leigh. No comment necessary.
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Please Millie...don't say anything. At least not anything like what your thinking. The exact opposite, would, in fact, be very welcome, but yeah, you are, um, you, and that says it all right there. The rest of the world can appreciate Montgomery Clift's gorgeous eyes.
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Believe me, oh yes, believe me, someday you will all pay for having different opinions than me and making me dedicate a post about eyes to more than one person! It's ridiculous, absolutely. As payback I shall post a complete pic spam of Natalie Wood pictures very soon for no visible reason whatsoever. Maybe that will heal my damaged psyche. If it doesn't, I'll just have to do it again. I sure hope it doesn't.
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Nobody seems to appreciate Marilyn's eyes. They were huge! They were bigger than Audrey Hepburn's and such a gorgeous blue!
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Undeniably, Liz Taylor's eyes are as beautiful as they have been given credit for. (They may not be violet, but whatever.) Every now and then, however, I think she should have parked her eyeliner.
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Ava Gardner's eyes were underappreciated, methinks, perhaps because she fell out of favor when heavy eye makeup fell into it. I highly doubt Audrey Hepburn would be famous today if it weren't for the sixties.
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These are maybe some of the most famous eyes ever. If I have to tell you whose they are, get out from under your rock immediately. Look in the nearest shop window! That outta tell you. And no, it isn't a good thing. Pray that other great performers don't get de-humanized the same way.
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So, Paul Newman's face doesn't need saving...like at all...but we are going to try not (repeat: not) to resent certain people who stayed married to this perfect face for fifty years. We will not, we will not, we will not, we will not...

Natalie Wood

Natalie Wood's death has never brought her the cult followings of Marilyn Monroe or James Dean, but she still has her legion of devoted fans. Relatively, it may be small, but it is very loyal. You would think, then, that more people would be inspired to clear some of the fog surrounding her death--and her life. It doesn't explain why there has yet to be a reliable book published about her or why her remaining family members don't all get along. You could say that the former explains the latter, but it's all beside the point. The point is, there has been too much speculation for too long. People are beginning to solve the many mysteries of Natalie Wood's life with their own theories and opinions and then conveniently forget they could be wrong. And I'm not just talking about Natalie's death. Oh no-- it is like that about nearly every major event in her life. You can ask endless questions about everything.

A) Was Natalie really raped by Kirk Douglas when she was fifteen? Most people have figured out that's who Suzanne Finstad means, and it is fairly obvious, but Natalie never spoke publicly about it and all her friends have different stories. Why would you believe one and not the other?

B) Why did her first marriage to Robert Wagner really break up? Is it true he had an affair with another man? How much of Natasha are you willing to believe? And why would Natalie remarry someone who was unfaithful to her, considering the way she kicked Richard Gregson out of her house when she found out about him?

C) How much of her death was an accident? Do you believe it was just drunken negligence or really intended? And if it was murder, why would anyone want to kill Natalie Wood??

D) Considering what is known for sure about the night Natalie died, do you think she really loved Robert Wagner? People make excuse for her about being jaded on love, etc. etc. But the facts remain: Natalie married a man of dubious integrity twice and had been married to him ten years when she died. I go with the "love is blind" argument--I say you have to deeply love someone to be willing to look over such fundamental flaws in their character--why else would you? But others say she could not have really loved someone like that, and maybe they've got a point. I'm no better judge than anyone else.

This has gone on a long time, and it's all getting out of hand and frankly disgusting. Someone either needs to stop lying or charge Suzanne Finstad with a libel suit. Because both of them can't be telling the truth. Natalie left behind an unfinished autobiography and journals--someone ought to publish them. Why haven't they? Someone should also write an honest full-length biography without bias or gossip, but it seems nobody loves Natalie enough for that. At least, a new memoir called Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour is coming out in September and it may prove to solve part of The Natalie Wood Problem, but there would still be a lot left to do.

It is actually a good thing Natalie hasn't become commercialized enough to generate more biographies. In spite of all this controversy and--between her family--rancor, everyone is united in remembering her human qualities, which have not been taken away by the media. She was a warm, friendly human being--very thoughtful, kind, generous, and intelligent. she was beautiful, she could act, and she was decoted to her children and family. She admirably overcame her unhappy childhood even after she attempted suicide a few times and was left with severe phobias and other psychological scars. Frank Sinatra called being with Natalie like sitting front of a warm fire, and all her friends remember her as sweet, loyal, fun-loving, and high-spirited. Nobody disagrees about that. So until her family gets their heads on straight, we can at least be content that the only things to be sure of concerning Natalie Wood happen to be what's nicest to remember her by.

1938-1981

This Property is Condemned

This is one of those rare, brilliant, stinkers that would probably be on more people's favorites lists if the ending was different. Consider this: it was based on a play by Tennessee Williams. That, paired with the title, should give you a pretty good idea of what sort of ending it has. If it doesn't, I'm not going to spoil it for you (too much).

The beginning/middle of the movie is a superb piece of film making. it concerns a romance between the prostitute Alva Starr (Natalie Wood) and the man who closes down the house where she works (Robert Redford) who is named Owen Legate. Redford and Wood play a die-hard pragmatist and a sensitive, almost self-deluding dreamer, respectively. Their acting is completely convincing. As much as I like Natalie Wood, I must say that her acting tends to be inconsistent. Her technique was highly instinctual, yet while Alva Starr does seem too raw at times, Natalie Wood is Alva, rather than playing her. That takes great skill. What ever surface faults her performance may have--such as slight overacting in spots--her characterization is fully developed, sympathetic, and convincing. And although I've only seen two Robert Redford movies, it's enough to prove that he isn't playing himself here. It would be quite easy to believe that Redford is doing absolutely no acting and simply existing on the screen, so flawless is his portrayal. Actually I wish he was just like his character in the movie because I happen to have a crush on Owen Legate. Believe me, it's easy to. His chemistry with Natalie Wood is amazing--captivating!--probably raised movie house temperatures by twenty or thirty degrees! And it's a testament to the lead players' acting and the storyline. In Inside Daisy Clover, a really, really, bad movie, their chemistry is lacking, due in no small part to the crummy script and the incompatibility between their characters. The whole thing is so bland and convoluted, it's enough to make one fall out of love with Robert Redford, no small thing. This makes you wonder about the mechanics of screen chemistry--is it the characters, the actors, or the script? Or a magical combination of those factors?

Back to the point. Perhaps the virtuosity of Wood's and Redford's performances is the downfall of the film. They are done so well you want everything to work out for the characters. Because they are so believably in love with each other, you love them and want them to live happily ever after in the end. And you know how bad the ending is. Even Bud and Deanie of Splendor in the Grass are not as lovable as Alva and her man. You can't make your movie audience want desperately for the best to happen to the characters and disappoint them. (Besides being disappointing, the ending is just plain ridiculous.) This is essentially what happens and it ruins what could have been a beautiful, uplifting story. It's heart-wrenching and consequently unpleasant.

Aside from that pretty big issue, the only other fault I can think of is a lack of motivation in the drunk scene. If you want to see This Property is Condemned, it's available on YouTube, with the title spelled backward.

Rating: 7 1/2 out of 10

(If it had had the ending it was bloody well supposed to have had, it would have gotten an unqualified 10/10.)

180 Tag and a Short Update

Yes, I'm still here. No kidding. I've just been busy lately so blogging has temporarily become less of a priority.

Anyway, in regards to the 180 tag, I can get around to answering it now since my Algebra II exam is over and "180" is no longer a very dirty word. There is not really anyone I have 180-ed on, but there are a few that could somewhat qualify. Ava Gardner I used to think was rather unattractive, as well as somehow grape-like, but then I went through a strange phase where I wanted to be just like her, etc. etc. Then I started reading her autobiography online. I never finished it, though I started it twice, because I would get rather sick of her about the time her marriage to Frank Sinatra broke up. After watching a couple of her movies, I'm back to not caring one way or the other about her. Only now I'm not sure if it's an olive or a grape she reminds me of.

Esther Williams is a true 180, except the positive side didn't last more than a couple days back when I was in eighth grade. How many people like Esther Williams after they read her autobiography? Or just the reviews of it? I'm not one of them.

That's about it, although there are a few more mentionable changes of opinion. I used to think Natalie Wood was rather unattractive (tsk, tsk) and I also used to be in love with James Dean, but for some reason I don't think he's very good looking anymore, aside from his jaw (especially from profile! it's dreamy). And I also used to think Montgomery Clift was just horrible looking. Well, I certainly don't anymore. Maybe someday I'll 180 on Clark Gable and finally figure out what people see in him. But it doesn't seem at all likely.

Thanks for tagging me Millie!

Rebel Without a Cause

Starring James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, and Jim Backus

Recently I watched this movie with my mother for the third or fourth time--her first time. This is one of my favorite movies. Mother, however, did not like it. Anyway, I will come to that later.

The premise of this movie is the character Jim Stark's (James Dean) struggle to find friendship, understanding, and himself. His home life is described as a "zoo" and his father is made into "mush" by Jim's mother and grandmother. This makes Jim determined that he will not be a coward like his father...thus, he is very easy to provoke. All someone has to do to make him fight is call him "chicken", so he frequently gets in trouble and his mother has them move whenever he does so. The movie begins with Jim having moved into a new town and having just gotten drunk and hauled into a police station. At the police station, he sees Judy, a young girl deprived of her father's love, and Plato, a virtually abandoned child of divorced parents. At school the next day (technically, the same day), these three become friends and through their friendship, solve some of their problems, but not without experiencing pain and getting into very deep trouble.

The great thing about Rebel is the way it has so many moments where great acting and great lines come together. At the beginning, in the police station, Jim tells the policeman there to "get lost". This part illustrates how Jim appears to the grown-ups who just don't understand why he can't keep out of trouble. It's one of the only times, too, because after we get to know Jim, we see how he is trying to do the right thing as well as he can. The unsympathetic adults, however, don't see or understand this part of him, and can't figure out why he "shuts the door" in their faces. For less than a minute, before we know what is going on in his head, we see Jim as the belligerent rebel his outward appearance suggests. Of course, this is somewhat ruined because James Dean has our sympathy from the beginning; who could possibly not sympathize with someone so cute?

Like I said earlier, my mother probably did not sympathize with Mr. Dean, cute or not. For two days after watching Rebel, she was pointing out faults in it. First of all, the gang members looked far too old. And if that wasn't bad enough, the entire thing was beyond melodramatic. It was unrealistic for all that stuff to happen in one day. Jim Stark hardly ever ate, for Pete's sake. And everyone was messed up. Even when I pointed out snootily that having a tragedy take place in one day is an ancient Greek tradition, she failed to be impressed with the whole thing, saying it was not bad but she would not watch it again. This all comes from someone whose favorite movie is The Sound of Music, so it was obviously not something she would have enjoyed, but I thought she should see it anyway. I guess it's just part of my morbid personality.

A great part of this film is Natalie Wood. She's my favorite actress, so I'm biased, but this movie is one of the reasons she's said favorite. The fact that we see a Hollywood teenager onscreen as a teenager and not done up like an ice cream cone is a fabulous inspirition to teenage vintage fans like myself. Her hair is perfectly done but not elaborate, her make-up doesn't even look like it's there (excluding the opening scene), and her clothes are simple and young. Sometimes you can forget yourself and dress too old for your age if you use vintage actresses as style icons--the fact that Judy doesn't even have painted nails is a great reminder that teenagers existed back then too, even if Hollywood tended to age them or stick them in child parts. Check out Stage Door to see the results of the makeup men on thirteen or fourteen year-old Ann Miller.

There is so little to dislike about Rebel--I have managed to put aside my distress over Jim Stark's dietary habits and enjoy it anyway. Shocking, I know. The only bad part is that it makes it "cool" to be lonely and misunderstood. If you actually are lonely and misunderstood, it would probably cheer up, but otherwise it encourages rebellion a little. That's only a minor point. Another point is that in the Chickie Run scene, there is almost no way both people could have jumped from their cars. The person on the right would have been run over by the other's car. My mother also pointed this out. And whoever plays Jim's mother is a poor actress.

But things like the soundtrack, the lead players, and the themes more than make up for such minor faults. I give it 9/10.

And by the way, did anyone think Corey Allen (Buzz) looked like Marlon Brando? And was talking like him for some reason?

Noses and Profiles

I have been thinking about beautiful noses a lot lately because of my own not so beautiful nose. Honestly, I know very few people who like their noses. I also know very few people whose noses I like. Movie stars, however, being blessed creatures, have generally perfect noses and even better profiles. Observe the following pictures (of actresses mostly--men have more leeway with what could be considered an attractive nose). Then, with a hand mirror and a hanging one, take a look at your own profile. That is the only way you can really see it (besides a camera) and if you haven't done so before, chances are you will be alarmed. I was.

Grace Kelly

Not fair, is it? Peter Lamas once remarked that Grace looked just as beautiful from the side as she did from the front. He was right.

Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra

The fact that Ava's dinner partner (and husband) is Frank Sinatra immediately excludes this one from the "fair" category.

Natalie Wood

Too bad the things I would do for that face aren't legal.

Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly

Perfect, perfect, perfect! Darn them.

Audrey Hepburn

Apparently, Audrey Hepburn was insecure about her nose, but it was pretty good relatively. A bump shows up in some pictures, but it never detracted from the way she looked.

Vivien Leigh

Too bad the only thing that wasn't perfect about this lady was her life.

Sarah of Cinema Splendor did a post about profiles once too so you might want to check that out as well.

Last of all, not a profile, but is this beautiful or what?