Showing posts with label Deborah Kerr. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Deborah Kerr. Show all posts
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| Deborah Kerr and Richard Burton |
"Don't make me take steps, Dr. Shannon ..." -- Judith Fellowes.
The former minister T. Lawrence Shannon (Richard Burton), who was locked out of his church, is now guiding ladies on a tour bus through Mexico. Young Charlotte Goodall (Sue Lyon) can't keep her hands off Shannon, inspiring the ire of her formidable guardian Judith Fellowes (Grayson Hall). Shannon takes the gals to a small hotel run by an old friend, Maxine Faulk (Ava Gardner), whose husband died a short while ago. While some of the tourist ladies put up a fuss, Maxine reluctantly admits the impoverished artist Hannah Jelkes (Deborah Kerr) and her aged poet father, Nonno (Cyril Delevanti) to her hostel. As these characters interact and Shannon faces dismissal from the tour business, will the man finally find himself "at the end of his rope," like one of the iguanas tied to the stairs? Like many Williams' adaptations The Night of the Iguana is a mix of the poetic and the pretentious, but it does have some very tender moments. Burton, Lyon and Delevanti walk off with the acting honors. Grayson hall [House of Dark Shadows] is a bit overwrought, almost ridiculous at times, as Judith, but the whole idea of the fire-breathing repressed lesbian is terribly dated. Deborah Kerr [Edward, My Son] is good, but she doesn't quite get across the weary defeatedness of someone who is a caregiver to a man in his nineties [walking him around Mexico in the heat with little money could almost be considered elder abuse], and is apparently homeless besides -- where is the sheer desperation she would be feeling? Gardner [Seven Days in May] is not bad at all and suitably earthy; Bette Davis played the role on the stage. The poem that Nonno completes, written by Williams, of course, is beautiful. Despite its flaws, the movie casts a certain exotic and haunting spell.
Verdict: Imperfect but entertaining and well-acted, with some interesting characters. ***.
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| Marital discord: Deborah Kerr and Spencer Tracy |
"The trouble with drink is it makes it just a little bit uncouth."
Arnold Boult (Spencer Tracy) is determined to make sure that his son, Edward [who is never seen] has the greatest life possible, and commits all manner of crimes to insure this, his ruthlessness even driving people to suicide. His wife Evelyn (Deborah Kerr) watches in horror, tries to interfere, and turns to drink, only inspiring more contempt from her husband. Boult has an affair with his secretary, Miss Perrin (Leueen MacGrath), but finds her as disposable as most of the people in his life, including his partner Harry (Mervyn Johns). This absorbing, adult portrait of a supreme narcissist and his spoiled son packs a wallop, due to an excellent script by Donald Ogden Stewart [Keeper of the Flame] and superb playing by Tracy [State of the Union] and Kerr [The End of the Affair]. MacGrath, Johns, Ian Hunter [Tower of London] as a doctor who is sympathetic to Evelyn, and Tilsa Page as Miss Foxley, are also excellent.
Verdict: Powerful marital drama. ***1/2.