Showing posts with label Walter Pidgeon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Walter Pidgeon. Show all posts
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| Stuart Damon and Lesley Ann Warren |
This is an entertaining color version of the musical, written for television, which first appeared in 1957 with Julie Andrews in the lead. While Lesley Ann Warren [The Happiest Millionaire] may not be in Andrews' league as a singer, she is still quite effective and charming as our heroine, and Stuart Damon makes a convincing Prince Charming. Pat Carroll makes an impression as one of the wicked step-sisters, with Jo Van Fleet [Wild River] suitably nasty and ugly as her mother and Barbara Ruick just fine as her sister. Celeste Holm [Everybody Does It] makes an excellent fairy godmother, but Ginger Rogers is fairly ho hum as the queen and Walter Pidgeon looks like he's about to nod off any moment as the king; they can't compare to Dorothy Stickney and Howard Lindsay in the original. The memorable songs include "A Lovely Night;" "Ten Minutes Ago;" "Whats the Matter with the Man?"; "The Loneliness of Evening;" and "Do I Love You (Because You're Beautiful)."
Verdict: Not bad, but the original has the edge. ***.
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| Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart |
At the start of WW 1 Daisy Heath (Margaret Sullavan) is a sophisticated, world-weary Broadway star who is engaged to Sam Bailey (Walter Pidgeon of Forbidden Planet). Both Daisy and Sam are rather cynical about the war and soldiers, until Daisy meets a young Army man named Bill (Jimmy Stewart). Having no girlfriend, Bill has told his pals that Daisy is his gal, and she goes along with it out of compassion. Daisy begins to see Bill on a regular basis, telling herself and Sam that she's just being kind, but real feelings between both begin to develop. And then Daisy learns that Bill's unit is going overseas ... The Shopworn Angel is a lovely movie that features a superb performance from Sullavan [Only Yesterday] and excellent work from her two leading men; Hattie McDonald [Everybody's Baby] also scores, as usual, as Martha. If the film has any flaw it's that some may consider the ending more ridiculous than moving.
Verdict: Another luminescent Sullavan performance. ***.
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| Claudette Colbert |
On shipboard, Lee (Claudette Colbert) is romanced by Chris (Walter Pidgeon), who urges her to marry him instead of his "friend," Larry Addams (Richard Derr), to whom she is engaged. But Lee does marry Larry and finds herself trapped in a relationship with a neurotic, paranoid composer -- basically an asshole -- who takes a long time to finally dispose of himself. Chris comes back into Lee's life, but she resists him out of guilt. Another complication is that her step-daughter, Penny (June Allyson), thinks she's fallen in love with the much older Chris -- when she learns the truth of whom he really loves will she go the way of her father? The Secret Heart is an absorbing enough romantic melodrama, bolstered by some very good performances, especially from Colbert, Derr [Terror is a Man], Robert Sterling [Bunco Squad] as Lee's stepson and Patricia Medina as his fiancee. Lionel Barrymore is in Wise Old Owl mode as Penny's shrink, and Marshall Thompson is charming as a young man who is attracted to a dismissive Penny. June Allyson is not bad as Penny, although, as usual, she's a trifle cloying, and Pidgeon manages to hold his own with Colbert without being on her level. Elizabeth Patterson and Dwayne Hickman are also in the cast. Leonard also directed the far superior In the Good Old Summertime.
Verdict: Some people you can live without. **1/2.