Find buy links to this and all my other books here on my Books We Love Author page |
I watched a movie recently that brought
back a load of memories. Its title is, ‘Film
Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool’ and came as a complete surprise to me. I had
no idea what it was about, or who starred in it until I began to watch it.
Annette Bening portrayed Gloria Grahame in the final stages of her life. Her lover Peter Turner was 26 when she met
him and she was already in her 50s, had four children and four husbands behind
her. This movie was adapted from Peter’s memoirs and despite its gloominess and
sadness at the end, I found it an enchanting story. Their love was so poignant
and convincing, and apparently caused quite a stir. Jamie Bell, who stole many
hearts as Billy Elliot, plays Peter. Coincidentally Julie Walters who played
his dance teacher in that movie plays his mother in this one and for me stole
every scene she appeared in.
This movie took me off on another
jaunt down memory lane. Oklahoma was
my favourite that Gloria appeared in. I recall her as the blonde with the
unusual pout. My whole family were avid movie goers as well as avid readers and
one or the other of them was always off to the ‘pictures’ as we called the
cinema. I recall my two oldest sisters going off to see Fanny by Gaslight. I also recall they considered me too young and
innocent to see what they thought a ‘scandalous’ film. During my teens one
sister, who was still at home after the others had married, and I often went to
the cinema two or three times a week, paying one shilling and nine pence for a
seat.
Some of the movies we saw stand out in my mind forever, and some were
considered Greats. Strangers on a Train
springs to mind, simply because it starred Farley Granger, who I had a crush on
at the time. Many younger people reading this have likely never heard of him.
But I guarantee you know of greats like James Dean, John Wayne, Marlon Brando,
James Stewart, Clark Gable, Doris Day, Janet Leigh, Elizabeth Taylor, to
mention a few—my list could go on and on. One of my favourite actresses was
Susan Hayward. We never hear much of her now, but I will never forget With a Song in my Heart.
Do a search for 1950s movies and
you will see the list is endless and full of greats. I remember my sister and I
queuing in the rain to see Bing Crosby in The
Bells of St. Mary’s which coincidentally I watched only recently on TV
masterpieces. And let’s not forget Disney’s early greats like Bambi and Dumbo. Often there would be ‘standing room only’ at the cinema,
which meant we would stand along the sidewall until somebody vacated a seat.
Oft times my sister and I would not end up sitting side by side. In those days,
there would be no long breaks between programmes and some folk would stay to
see a movie through again, which often meant a long stand on the side aisle. Musicals
were always my favourite. Movies like Seven
Brides for Seven Brothers, High Society, Guys and Dolls, The King and I.
Getting back to my original question,
have movies changed. Of course they have. We’ve gone from love scenes that
invariably ended with a fade-out after the first kiss, to show it all sex scenes
that in my honest opinion have gone too far. I much prefer to use my
imagination. There is so much technology used nowadays that it is often mind-boggling.
Don’t get me wrong, I love it and if I was born just 20 years ago that’s the
industry I would choose. I am full of admiration for the creators of movies
like Guardians of the Galaxy and its
successor Guardians Vol 2, both
currently my favourites. Not only is the technical stuff amazing, but I just
love the little critters who make the movie so amusing and likeable.
Being a Sci-Fi
fan, I am in awe of the sheer splendour at how the producers make it all come
to life on the screen. What doesn’t please me about modern movies are the car
crashes and/or shoot ups that often use up the first 30 minutes or so of the
movie, and then often 80 per cent of the entire film.
That’s me and my opinion. I know
that many of my friends are of the same mind. You can’t understand what half
the actors are saying and they should take a lesson from actors like Richard
Burton who had perfect diction and made your toes curl with his magnificent
voice. And likewise, Sir Laurence Olivier. And don’t get me started on the
sound tracks—why are they so loud, half the time drowning out the voices of the
actors?
Ah well, as they say, “To Each
His Own”. Come to think on it, wasn’t that an old black and white movie
with Olivia de Havilland and John Lund?
To find more info on all my books visit my web page. |