HOLLYWOOD’S GOLDEN AGE: MORE “BAD” ACTORS
In my previous post dealing with “bad” actors, we looked to the stars before turning to the character actors….but Hollywood’s Golden Age produced so many great bad character actors that only ONE such showing would be an injustice. So, before making my getaway from these characters, I’ll need to do more than one more post.
Let’s begin this post with a name mentioned in my last post, PETER LORRE. Here he is, along with two accomplices, committing an act so unconstrained, it’s almost unbelievable:
OK, that wasn’t exactly the typical Lorre performance you expected. But if you’ve seen CASABLANCA and THE MALTESE FALCON (and what classic movie fan hasn’t?), you’ve seen the classic Peter Lorre. So let’s put a wrap on that bird with this:
Next, we turn to Lorre’s frequent “partner in crime” movies, SYDNEY GREENSTREET:
We close this segment with a name you may not remember, but who could forget that character:
TO BE CONTINUED….
moorezart 2:23 pm on November 4, 2019 Permalink |
Reblogged this on From 1 Blogger 2 Another.
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mistermuse 3:17 pm on November 4, 2019 Permalink |
Thank you, moorezart. Your continued support is “the stuff that dreams are made of.”
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moorezart 11:09 am on November 5, 2019 Permalink
You are the man!
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Rivergirl 3:33 pm on November 4, 2019 Permalink |
Love it!
Casablanca is one of my all time favorites. Did you know Ronald Reagan was originally slated to play Rick? I can’t even wrap my mind around that.
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mistermuse 4:47 pm on November 4, 2019 Permalink |
I vaguely recall that about Ronald Reagan. The only worse casting I can imagine would be Donald Trump to play Abraham Lincoln.
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Elizabeth 5:13 pm on November 4, 2019 Permalink |
Can’t remember if I have already shared this. Every exam period the movie theater in Cambridge had a Bogart film festival. So I saw all of those films several times over. I loved Greenstreet and Lorre too. Of course I always imagined it was me that Bogie was looking at.
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mistermuse 6:25 pm on November 4, 2019 Permalink |
Elizabeth, it WAS you as Ingrid Bergman in CASABLANCA: “Here’s looking at you, kid.”
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Elizabeth 4:24 pm on November 6, 2019 Permalink
Thank you for affirming my secret belief.
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calmkate 5:44 pm on November 4, 2019 Permalink |
With all these men their expressive eyes are the winners!
Thanks for expanding my knowledge 🙂
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mistermuse 6:41 pm on November 4, 2019 Permalink |
Kate, you might say “The eyes have it with these guys? (as opposed to Trump, who tries to pull the wool over our eyes).
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calmkate 6:43 pm on November 4, 2019 Permalink
he can only do that with absolute morons, any one with brains can see the psychopath for what he is …
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Carmen 7:38 pm on November 4, 2019 Permalink |
Well, that was a great blast from the past!
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mistermuse 8:10 pm on November 4, 2019 Permalink |
Thanks, Carmen. On that note of tribute, I’ll share with you a bit of trivia which I’m not sharing with anyone else: the first clip’s “Sweet Siberia” song (and entire score of SILK STOCKINGS) was composed by none other than Cole Porter. I’m only telling you that because I GET A KICK OUT OF YOU.
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Carmen 8:59 pm on November 4, 2019 Permalink
I’ll consider that my birthday present. . . And yes, it’s sweet 62! 🙂
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mistermuse 9:21 pm on November 4, 2019 Permalink |
Been there, done that. But Happy Birthday anyway, Carmen, despite the envy you make me feel!
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davidbruceblog 9:28 pm on November 4, 2019 Permalink |
Reblogged this on davidbruceblog #2.
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masercot 6:58 am on November 5, 2019 Permalink |
I loved Lorre in the Mr. Moto movies. I’m interested in “yellow-face” in old movies. There are bad cases of it, such as the Charlie Chan series; however, Lorre and Karloff portrayed Asian detectives in a very straightforward way. Lorre’s Moto was a nice mix of ethics and ruthlessness. He was essentially Raymond Reddington on The Blacklist…
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mistermuse 4:08 pm on November 5, 2019 Permalink |
I didn’t see much of Mr.Moto when I was young, probably because the Charlie Chan series was on TV frequently and I became a big Chan fan (as I got older, not so much). My favorite in the “sleuth” genre was Sherlock Holmes, played so well by Basil Rathbone. I think some of the Homes films still hold up fairly well today.
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smbabbitt 1:18 pm on November 6, 2019 Permalink |
Cook appeared in some marvelous films, and outlived most of the actors whose roles required them to insult or torment him. And deserves to be especially remembered for the memorable drumming scene in PHANTOM LADY.
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mistermuse 5:03 pm on November 6, 2019 Permalink |
Some actors’ character portrayals are so one-of-a-kind that you never forget them. Cook was certainly one such actor. Here’s the scene you mentioned (actual drumming dubbed by jazz drummer Dave Coleman):
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