MovieChat Forums > The Palm Beach Story (1943) Discussion > Mary Astor could do ANYTHING (and everyt...

Mary Astor could do ANYTHING (and everything)

posted 17 years ago by Doghouse-6
26 replies | jump to latest

This fabulous actress deserves to be remembered and appreciated in the way that contemporaries such as Hepburn, Davis, Crawford, are: as a legend!

If The Palm Beach Story is your first exposure to her, check out her duplicitous femme fatale in The Maltese Falcon; the straight-laced Victorian wife and mother in Meet Me In St. Louis; the tough-as-nails casino owner in Desert Fury; the temperamental and selfish concert pianist in The Great Lie (yet another example of how Bette "the play's the thing" Davis was willing to take a back seat and let another performer shine); the quietly passionate Edith Cortwright in Dodsworth; the bitter and vengeful Jewell Mayhew in Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte; the acerbic Alberta Marlowe in Across the Pacific (a favorite) and so many others, such as Red Dust, Midnight (a gem), Any Number Can Play; one could go on and on.

Point being, anytime you see Mary Astor's name listed among the credits, you're in for a treat. Perhaps she isn't remembered in the same way as the three "legendary" examples I mentioned simply because she was such the consummate actress; she was so successful at submerging her own personality in a role. Great as they were, when you saw Hepburn or Davis, no matter what the part, you knew you were seeing HEPBURN and DAVIS.

Miss Astor spanned so many eras and mastered so many genres, and although I've nowhere near seen all of her films, she has never been less than stellar in the ones I have. All classic movie fans should make a point of seeking out the work of this most versatile of actresses, and spreading the word. She deserves to be remembered as one of "the greats," and with all the veneration we can give her.

Poe! You are...avenged!

[–] csu16387 17 years ago

Great comments. I like Mary Astor as well, especially in The Maltese Falcon, Dodsworth, and The Palm Beach Story.

She was just as great to watch as Hepburn or Crawford (and I prefer Mary to Bette).

"Dry your eyes baby, it's out of character."

[–] aahronheim 13 years ago

"...she was so successful at submerging her own personality in a role."

Well said. When I saw "Act of Violence" recently, I remember thinking how one actress looked a little like Mary Astor. Apparently I hadn't paid much attention to the opening credits.

[–] Doghouse-6 13 years ago

That's one of hers I still haven't seen, so thanks for the reminder! I just put it on my Netflix queue.

Cheers.

Poe! You are...avenged!

[–] Hhtl 12 years ago

See also as Robert Wagner's pathetic mother in A Kiss Before Dying -

[–] Jason_Radley 13 years ago

I didn't recognise her. I knew it wasn't but she reminded me of Celeste Holm.

[–] Doghouse-6 13 years ago

Yeah, I can see that. And she looked pretty spiffy as a blonde.

Poe! You are...avenged!

[–] Jason_Radley 13 years ago

I would've been up her like a rat up a drainpipe.

[–] poetcomic1 12 years ago

I fell in love with her in Red Dust when Clark Gable carries her to his bed in a raging thunderstorm. She looked like an exquisite doll in his big arms. No one was more sophisticated than Mary - look at her in 'Midnight' with the great Rex O'Malley playing the 'gay best friend' role over a half century before the 'role' was even invented! She was even top rate when older on some Alfred Hitchcock presents.

[–] Doghouse-6 12 years ago

So glad to meet another fan who appreciates the wonderful Astor, and I agree with your assessment of her in "Midnight," a role she nuanced quite deftly. As the wife whose attentions have strayed - and is at first suspicious of Colbert - she's called upon to embody subtle undercurrents of villainy, yet she never sacrifices either charm or sympathy in doing so.

As that moment in "Red Dust" is likely seared in your memory, I hope it won't diminish its magic to reveal Astor's recollection of shooting it, wherein she described the awkwardness of having to perch upon a stool for the closeup - so Gable could appear to be still supporting her without having to actually do so - and the discomfort of being "re-drenched" before each successive take under the hot lights. I was just re-watching "Mogambo" recently, and as well-cast as 50's-era Astor/Harlow counterparts Kelly and Gardner were, it simply never generates the heat of the original.

Poe! You are...avenged!

[–] poetcomic1 12 years ago

Mogambo was like a technicolor AARP version of R.D. Also, pre-code Red Dust had Harlow who was so adorable as a 'working girl' in love with Gable. The reason I avoid those 'making of specials' in collector DVD's is it always takes away some of the magic. Elegant Mary Astor had to see her intimate diaries in 'Confidential' including her comments about how BIG George Kaufman was.

[–] Doghouse-6 12 years ago

In that case, I apologize for bringing it up. I think it was in Astor's autobiography that I read it.

I've always been fascinated by the machinery behind the magic, which, for me, is actually enhanced by learning about the nuts and bolts. But of course, that's not true for everyone, and I respect and appreciate that.

Indeed, when I was working in the business decades ago, my boss - who was the V.P. of post-production - told me of how working in the industry had diminished his enjoyment of films, in the same way that discovering how an illusionist performs a trick can destroy the amazement of witnessing it. One Friday, he was all excited about a trip he was making to Disneyland that weekend with his wife, telling me that it represented the last of his "intact illusions." "I just want to wear a hat with funny ears and be a kid again, free to enjoy everything I see without knowing how any of it works," he said.

I've always been a voracious consumer of "making of" documentaries, biographies and other books on the industry and those working in and around it. In fact, I just finished reading a biography of Kaufman himself, which told of how the diary scandal affected him. But I guess I'm kind of an oddball in that regard, since my old boss' view seems to be shared by more people than mine is. So I hope I can be forgiven, and I'll try to remember not to do it to you again.

Poe! You are...avenged!

[–] poetcomic1 12 years ago

I was just speaking in jest, actually I'm amused. I'm an old old movie fanatic and so knowing how they made the movie is usually fun too. Like Hitchcock said, it is what is up on the screen that counts. At the end of his movie 'The Birds the hero opens a door and the outdoor light floods in - except there IS no door at all! Just the door opening gesture and the illusion created by the light. Veronica Cartwright was always asking Hitch questions. When they go past dozens of stuffed crows on a jungle gym with just a few trained live crows mixed in she asked him "Won't that look phony?" And he explained that the few live ones moving will make all the others come to life. And its true!

[–] Doghouse-6 12 years ago

Oh, gee, now I have to apologize for taking you too seriously!

I'm impressed that you have the discerning eye for spotting things like that "door trick" in "The Birds." Just the sort of thing that flies - no pun intended - right past most viewers, I daresay.

Smart girl, that Cartwright. I remember one day when "Dallas" was still in production, and Morgan Brittany - who appeared in "The Birds" when she was still little Suzanne Cupito - was telling us at lunch about some mechanical birds they'd attempted to use in the birthday party scene, which were affixed to some of the children's costumes and would "peck" and "flap." Or so it was intended, anyway. It didn't take Hitch long to realize that was one illusion that just wasn't going to work.

But her imitation of those birds was a hoot.

Poe! You are...avenged!

[–] poetcomic1 12 years ago

Am I the only one who really dug grown up Veronica (Invasion of the Body Snatchers) she is not 'pretty' but SO appealing.

[–] Doghouse-6 12 years ago

Well, there are at least two of us. I appreciated the casting of both she and Brooke Adams in that film: neither classic beauties, but each with her own unique appeal, not the least of which was an intelligent gutsiness, complimented by a slightly offbeat funkiness that suited the characters, making them very believable as San Francisco women of the late-70's (and in Veronica's case in particular, the kind of person who seems like she'd always be fun and interesting to be around).

Poe! You are...avenged!

[–] poetcomic1 12 years ago

Spot on. And This film's opening music ties with The Shining for scariest opening music of all time.

[–] Doghouse-6 12 years ago

Yes, I really enjoy the "IOTBS" opening, both music and visuals. I confess I don't remember "The Shining" all that well.

But your thoughts on scary opening music reminds me of something I read about Brian DePalma, for whom Bernard Herrmann was scoring "Sisters." The composer argued that the music over the titles needed to signal to audiences that they were in for something frightening, since the shocking murder doesn't occur until about a half-hour into the film. When DePalma protested that Hitchcock didn't have his first murder in "Psycho" until well into the film, Herrmann thundered, "YOU are not HITCHCOCK!!!"

What strikes me as especially noteworthy about Herrmann's loyalty is that this took place some years after the professional estrangement that occurred between he and Hitch over the score for "Torn Curtain."

Movie people are so interesting.

Poe! You are...avenged!

[–] poetcomic1 12 years ago

Director J. Lee Thompson adored Hitchcock and for Cape Fear got Tomasini to edit, Hermann for a great score (with shades of Psycho in it) and even Martin Balsam. Then he tried to get a Hitchcock feel to it and I believe he did. The opening score of Shining has the operatic intensity of Les Diaboliques and even borrowed some motifs from that famous opening score. That's a funny anecdote about Hermann and De Palma. And true.

Check out opening titles and music of The Shining are on youtube

[–] Doghouse-6 12 years ago

Ah, yes, it all comes back to me now. At first, it recalled "A Clockwork Orange," and I remembered, of course, that Wendy/Walter Carlos had a hand in both. But you're right: definite echoes of "Les Diaboliques."

Poe! You are...avenged!

[–] schwapj 12 years ago

Just saw "The Palm Beach Story"on TCM. Your comment is right on the money.

[–] Doghouse-6 12 years ago

Thanks, schwapj. Nice of you to say. I'm glad imdb provides these email alerts of replies, even to comments that are years old. Was this your first viewing of "PBS?" It's certainly one of Sturges' very best.

Love that cryptic and clever opening title sequence, and how they never really explain it, beyond telling you what you can already figure out on your own. And that dress-unzipping bit, with Gerry nestled snugly between Tom's knees, is one of the most realistically sexy things ever put on film (with or without clothes!).

Poe! You are...avenged!

[–] kenny-164 10 years ago

Just saw this for the first time on TCM. It was hilarious, and Mary Astor nearly stole the film! Great range seeing here, having only seen her before in her two roles with Bogey.

Great comedienne!

[–] Doghouse-6 10 years ago

I'm pleased that, nearly seven years after my original post, people are still discovering and discussing work of Astor's they hadn't yet seen. TPBS may well be her most scintillating performance.

As much to the writing, credit goes to her sparkling interpretation that we can tell everything there is to know about Maud and what she's about from her first two minutes onscreen.

Poe! You are...avenged!

[–] schwapj 10 years ago

You must like "The Great Lie" where Ms. Astor goes punch for punch with Bette Davis. It was almost like the camera was being physically jerked to focus on the one with the line at any given time.

Oddly, I didn't like The Maltese Falcon that much. I never though Bogie worked as a hard boiled detective, and his Philip Marlowe was even less satisfying than his Sam Spade. But I guess that's not Mary Astor's fault.

[–] Doghouse-6 10 years ago

Love "The Great Lie." And as I suggested in my original post back in '07, one of the things I most admire about it is the way in which Davis restrains her performance, graciously relinquishing the spotlight to Astor and allowing her to dominate in their highly-charged scenes together. Her steady "anchoring" enhances Astor's work which, in turn, benefits Davis' portrayal of quiet forbearance.

I always like to call attention to the credit due Davis for this trait - which she also exhibits in other films like "The Man Who Came To Dinner" or "June Bride" - that goes a long way towards maintaining the overall dramatic balance of scripts containing showy, scene-stealing roles for other players.

It took me some years to warm to "The Maltese Falcon;" the last time I viewed it some months back, I found I enjoyed it more than I ever had before, although I'm really not sure why that was the case.

Poe! You are...avenged!

[–] myvarinka 8 years ago

And check out her work in silent films,such as Don Juan with John Barrymore. She was barely 20 years old and gorgeous with her waist length, wavy, flowing hair.