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Judy Holliday
I went to the library last night and brought a stack of things home, including:
* Candlewick's The Wand in the Word Candlewick's book of interviews with fantasy writers, (I've already read it, it would make a good gift for a young person who likes fantasy and is interested in becoming a writer)
* a cupcake cookbook (did you know they now have individual silicon muffin cups to use in place of paper?)
* another book by William Boyd
* a thick s/f tome (not saying which one until I know whether or not I can stomach it. I like the premise, but the sheer size of these books is discouraging. So much of s/f is based around world-building, the idea that the reader just wants to hang out in the imaginary world regardless of what's going on there, is one of the things I dislike about the genre. I like these details tucked into a streamlined plot or character study. There are exceptions of course, but I'm always the person in the room who complains about the endless poetry and speechifying in LoTR and the impossible to pronounce names.)
* one of those teen poem-novels (not sold on this format, but continue reading them anyway,)
* Pete Hautman's latest Rash. (He suddenly has a lot of books out, probably due to the success of Godless about a boy who starts a religion worshipping the towns water tower and what happens as a result. Some of you would really like Godless, some of you would be really disturbed by it. I'll leave it to you to sort it out.)
I also got two movies, including Born Yesterday with Judy Holliday. Judy Holliday is probaby best remembered as the dumb blond defended by Katherine Hepburn in Adam's Rib. Dumb blond was sort of her schtick, but not in the same sex-pot way as Monroe or Mansfield. She's more of a tough broad who's only dumb because she's not interested in anything outside of what will get her what she wants.
The movie wasn't wonderful, but it made me cry. The basic premise is that this kingpin junk dealer hires a jounalist to give his moll finishing lessons to help him make Washington connections. She starts out totally uninterested in being educated, but goes along with the act becase she thinks the journalist is cute. (William Holden doing a Gregory Peck thing, complete with high ideals and thick glasses, but his performance predates Roman Holiday or To Kill a Mockingbird.) In the process she runs smack up against the humanist philosophy of the founding fathers and realizes she isn't being treated well by her kingpin boyfriend.
The movie totally depends on Judy Holliday's performance. If the journalist is somewhat condescending towards his subject, it's her absorbtion of the ideas and their application to her own life that save it from being total schlock. One of the best scenes in the movie is when she refuses to sign papers for the lawyers (half the business being in her name, probably for tax purposes) and then declines the kingpins desperate marriage proposal offered in this hopes to control her. He knocks her around a little, she goes for a walk and flees to the Jefferson Memorial where the inscription, "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man," inspires her to leave her boyfriend, taking her controlling interest with her, only promising to sign over one company a year, if the kingpin behaves.
This being 1950, she ends up married to the journalist, who's kind of a condescending prig, but at least isn't ashamed of her or beating her, which is a big step up for a girl like Billie. But the best part is the dawning realization for Billie that the Rights of Man are also the Rights of Woman. It really moved me. Particularly as Judy Holliday is best known for her role in Adam's Rib which centers not only on the battle of the sexes, but derives a great deal of its humor from domestic violence. The idea of domestic partners beating on each other (regardless of who's the victim) is something that I have never been able to find funny. The fact that Born Yesterday takes a strong stance against domestic violence and encourages women to realize there might be something better in life for them than getting knocked around by a rich boyfriend is something that seems revolutionary for its time. I still find it slightly shocking now, particularly as I know so many woman stuck in manipulative relationships more than 50 years later.
Of course, the director George Cukor has a filmography that shows many of the major female stars of the golden age. He did ten of Hepburn's most notable films, including Adam's Rib, Little Women, and Philadelphia Story. He also had a hand in several of Hollywood's legendary films including Wizard of Oz and was he original director of Gone with the Wind. Notable films include Gaslight, (another film about domestic violence and psychological intimidation) The Women, the 1954 Judy Garland A Star is Born, (if you've never seen the original 1937 version of A Star is Born with Fredric March, it is on of my favorite films,), My Fair Lady, and Travels with My Aunt. One of his failed projects was a work on the life of Virginia Woolf collaborating with Maggie Smith. Now that I would've liked to see.
Anyway, the film alone isn't anything great, but Holliday's performance is definitely worth seeing. She did most of her work on stage and its a shame we don't have more of her performances on film. Her attention to the detailed nuance of character, something beyond the stereotype of dumb blond (there's a card game in the middle of the film that is brilliant) is really amazing.
It also reminded me of how much I love classic film. Last night at the library I kept picking up films and thinking, "I love this film!" Our library's collection is small, but growing.
And since this is the second film featuring women and humanism I've seen in a week, I'm starting to think about film being the ideal vehicle for humanist philosophy.
* Candlewick's The Wand in the Word Candlewick's book of interviews with fantasy writers, (I've already read it, it would make a good gift for a young person who likes fantasy and is interested in becoming a writer)
* a cupcake cookbook (did you know they now have individual silicon muffin cups to use in place of paper?)
* another book by William Boyd
* a thick s/f tome (not saying which one until I know whether or not I can stomach it. I like the premise, but the sheer size of these books is discouraging. So much of s/f is based around world-building, the idea that the reader just wants to hang out in the imaginary world regardless of what's going on there, is one of the things I dislike about the genre. I like these details tucked into a streamlined plot or character study. There are exceptions of course, but I'm always the person in the room who complains about the endless poetry and speechifying in LoTR and the impossible to pronounce names.)
* one of those teen poem-novels (not sold on this format, but continue reading them anyway,)
* Pete Hautman's latest Rash. (He suddenly has a lot of books out, probably due to the success of Godless about a boy who starts a religion worshipping the towns water tower and what happens as a result. Some of you would really like Godless, some of you would be really disturbed by it. I'll leave it to you to sort it out.)
I also got two movies, including Born Yesterday with Judy Holliday. Judy Holliday is probaby best remembered as the dumb blond defended by Katherine Hepburn in Adam's Rib. Dumb blond was sort of her schtick, but not in the same sex-pot way as Monroe or Mansfield. She's more of a tough broad who's only dumb because she's not interested in anything outside of what will get her what she wants.
The movie wasn't wonderful, but it made me cry. The basic premise is that this kingpin junk dealer hires a jounalist to give his moll finishing lessons to help him make Washington connections. She starts out totally uninterested in being educated, but goes along with the act becase she thinks the journalist is cute. (William Holden doing a Gregory Peck thing, complete with high ideals and thick glasses, but his performance predates Roman Holiday or To Kill a Mockingbird.) In the process she runs smack up against the humanist philosophy of the founding fathers and realizes she isn't being treated well by her kingpin boyfriend.
The movie totally depends on Judy Holliday's performance. If the journalist is somewhat condescending towards his subject, it's her absorbtion of the ideas and their application to her own life that save it from being total schlock. One of the best scenes in the movie is when she refuses to sign papers for the lawyers (half the business being in her name, probably for tax purposes) and then declines the kingpins desperate marriage proposal offered in this hopes to control her. He knocks her around a little, she goes for a walk and flees to the Jefferson Memorial where the inscription, "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man," inspires her to leave her boyfriend, taking her controlling interest with her, only promising to sign over one company a year, if the kingpin behaves.
This being 1950, she ends up married to the journalist, who's kind of a condescending prig, but at least isn't ashamed of her or beating her, which is a big step up for a girl like Billie. But the best part is the dawning realization for Billie that the Rights of Man are also the Rights of Woman. It really moved me. Particularly as Judy Holliday is best known for her role in Adam's Rib which centers not only on the battle of the sexes, but derives a great deal of its humor from domestic violence. The idea of domestic partners beating on each other (regardless of who's the victim) is something that I have never been able to find funny. The fact that Born Yesterday takes a strong stance against domestic violence and encourages women to realize there might be something better in life for them than getting knocked around by a rich boyfriend is something that seems revolutionary for its time. I still find it slightly shocking now, particularly as I know so many woman stuck in manipulative relationships more than 50 years later.
Of course, the director George Cukor has a filmography that shows many of the major female stars of the golden age. He did ten of Hepburn's most notable films, including Adam's Rib, Little Women, and Philadelphia Story. He also had a hand in several of Hollywood's legendary films including Wizard of Oz and was he original director of Gone with the Wind. Notable films include Gaslight, (another film about domestic violence and psychological intimidation) The Women, the 1954 Judy Garland A Star is Born, (if you've never seen the original 1937 version of A Star is Born with Fredric March, it is on of my favorite films,), My Fair Lady, and Travels with My Aunt. One of his failed projects was a work on the life of Virginia Woolf collaborating with Maggie Smith. Now that I would've liked to see.
Anyway, the film alone isn't anything great, but Holliday's performance is definitely worth seeing. She did most of her work on stage and its a shame we don't have more of her performances on film. Her attention to the detailed nuance of character, something beyond the stereotype of dumb blond (there's a card game in the middle of the film that is brilliant) is really amazing.
It also reminded me of how much I love classic film. Last night at the library I kept picking up films and thinking, "I love this film!" Our library's collection is small, but growing.
And since this is the second film featuring women and humanism I've seen in a week, I'm starting to think about film being the ideal vehicle for humanist philosophy.
no subject
I am totally with you on Tolkein. I can get into world-building, but it has to be something seriously new and different, not just a remix of the same old stuff.
Which is not to say I dislike Tolkien...
For the record: I'm one of those who sides with Lancaster. Richard III got a bum deal from history.
Still, I will never forgive someone for getting me started on Wheel of Time. I stopped reading it at about Book 5 when someone (erroneously) told me the author had died. If it ever ends, I will read the final book and have my brother fill me in on the details.
Re: Which is not to say I dislike Tolkien...