It’s a Wonderful . . . Scene
In an era of film actors such as Daniel Day-Lewis and Gary Oldman, whose priestlike devotion to their art makes them nearly unrecognizable from one role to the next, it is temping to say about the stars of Holywood’s golden age that they weren’t really actors at all — that they merely played themselves, or, at best, performed variations on a single box-office-driven persona. But before we say that, let’s look at what the following stars did in the following roles, with just their faces:
John Wayne in The Searchers. Say what you will (and there’s a lot to say) about what The Duke stood for as a person and a persona: the man could act. In an early scene in this classic Western, his character goes with others in search of women-folk who have been abducted by “Indians,” and he is separated for a time from the rest of the party. Watch his face when he joins them again; it says everything his character doesn’t want to about what he found.
Lee Marvin in The Professionals. No Hollywood actor had a deeper, stronger, more commanding voice than Lee Marvin’s, a voice that was the same in a score of one-dimensional tough-guy roles. But he was capable of subtlety. In The Professionals, set early in the 20th century, a wealthy white businessman hires four men — led by Marvin — to retrieve his wife, who has supposedly been kidnapped by a Mexican bandit. One of the four is played by the black actor Woody Strode, and the businessman asks Marvin at one point if he minds working with a “Negro.” Marvin’s reaction is worth the price of the rental, and he does it all with his eyes, conveying more in a fraction of a second than a speech on civl rights could have gotten across.
And, because it’s the holidays . . .
Jimmy Stewart in It’s a Wonderful Life. What is there that’s new to say about this movie? Maybe nothing, but possibly this: As poor George Bailey, who is stuck in Bedford Falls while his dreams of seeing the world and building great structures go the way of last year’s snowfall, Stewart goes to the train station to meet his brother, Harry — who he hopes will take over the Building & Loan so George can be free. Trouble is, Harry arrives with his new fiancee, who blurts out that her father has offered Harry a job. What follows is a perfect marriage of cinematography and acting. The camera follows George as he walks alone for about five seconds before joining the others. Check out Stewart’s face in those seconds, as he goes from processing this news, and all it means for him, to showing the requisite happiness for his brother. If there is a better, more succinct wordless portrayal of a decent man wrestling with a lifetime’s frustration, I’ve never seen it.
And with that, I wish you and yours happy holidays.
Lee Marvin could play against type. Check out POCKET MONEY where he’s a down-and-out alcoholic middle-man in the cattle industry. He’s quite funny in the role. Also see “Steel”, an episode of the Twilight Zone, in which he is both pathetic and heroic and can actually be seen pleading for a break instead of trying to impose his will on others as is generally the case.
Hey Noel, I will check out Pocket Money. I also realized that the three actors I mentioned were all in “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.” I remember watching that with my wife, who commented that it was interesting to see three different male styles.