I thought he was far sexier than debonair Monte or glum Bert, I loved the way he filled out his suits.
Plus he'd be more fun to hang around with.
Wally was a pretty OK kind of guy, but sexy???? He was overweight and not particularly good-looking. And I hate the way he wore his hat with the brim pushed up. Made him look like a moron.
shareI agree. I've always had a crush on Jack Carson.
The first night after Bert left and Wally dropped by, if I'd been Mildred, the movie would have gone in a totally different direction.
I didn't understand why Mildred hooked up with Monte and dissed Wally romantically since he was so obviously crazy about her. She probably thought Wally was a womanizer and a bit of a con man and would only break her heart but didn't Monte end up doing the same exact thing to her. At least Wally didn't pretend that he was something/someone he wasn't, unlike Monte. Monte was a freeloader but he acted like he was a suave businessman with ties to important people but he was full of hot air and I don't think he was all that handsome as he thought he was.
shareBecause Wally was a sleazeball, and Mildred knew it.
shareWally wanted Mildred for a booty call and nothing more. Not once did he ever confess feelings or love for her, but made it clear he wanted to get bussssyyy.
shareOh, he made it clear he was fond of her. I see a big difference between a booty call and a friendship with benefits. I could imagine his offering her a long term FWB set-up, where they could each have their separate lives and homes and a nice hookup when desired.
shareWally had been a business partner with Mildred's husband, Bert. They never say why the partnership ended but I always felt it was because Wally had sleazy business practices. Mildred probably knew Wally wasn't totally on the up-and-up, but she took his business advice because she had no one else to turn to, would be my guess.
shareCrawford was always a fan of Jack Carson though and appreciated the tremendous zest he brought to her Academy Award film. In another film 'It's A Great Feeling' which was a forgettable showcase for Warner's stars, Joan demonstrates her slapping skills on Jack who says to Dennis Morgan, "I get that in all my pictures". Funny. Carson was a serious actor - check him out in 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'.
shareI just saw this film on PBS and I absolutely agree. He had so much energy. If I had been in Mildred's position, I would have gone with him right away and stayed with him. But, that was the point of the movie, wasn't it, making the wrong choices.
"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne
Jack Carson is one of my favorite actors! He is always funny and has comic timing that is downright precise.
It sounded to me that Mildred had known Wally all her life, he was always hitting on her. And then it was Wally who fought with her husband and won the business. You could see why she would not have fallen for his pitching woo at her.
Wally always seemed to do things with strings attached - he did a lot to help Mildred, but it was always to further his own agenda and if he made some money on the side, so much the better.
Wally betrayed Mildred big-time by going along with Monte and euchring Mildred out of the business she'd worked so hard to build, just so those two jerks could legally swindle her so that they wouldn't have to work.
Also, Wally owned the seedy dive where Veda did her showgirl number to wolf whistles from sailors, which clearly horrified Mildred and was just the sort of thing she worked so hard to protect her daughter from. Wally, though likable, really brought a lot of negatives to Mildred's life. But he did (even if it was a strings-attached conditional act) help to get started in business. Of course, he took a 1/3 ownership, too. I didn't see him putting in the sweat equity that Mildred did.
I can see why she had a pretty good motive to let Wally take the fall for her daughter. And he happened to be at the right place at the wrong time and set himself up for it.
/Wally betrayed Mildred big-time by going along with Monte and euchring Mildred out of the business she'd worked so hard to build, just so those two jerks could legally swindle her so that they wouldn't have to work./
Thanks for reminding me.
"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne
Carson was a gem and all three guy's were primo character actors. Which was probably what Crawford wanted: great complementary players to her star power.
Wally also helped Veda behind Mildred's back, to arrange for the million dollar damage award for being irrep....irrep...UNDULY damaged. ;-)
So, while he was a fun-loving charmer, and I *might* have given him the time of day, he was definitely "beneath" Mildred!
Wasn't it a $10, 000 settlement?
shareIt was $10K ... a check on which Mildred got her hands, and promptly tore up.
- - -
"...and that, my liege, is how we know the Earth to be banana shaped."share
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I understand all the reasons Mildred wasn't overly attracted to him. And on top it, why'd she go for a skinny gigolo with class and upper class sheen - plus in the book he was quite hot in the sack. BTW, Mildred did go to bed with Wally early in the book - one of her first post separation lays. It was one of those things though she regretted. But Jack Carson in bed with me - no no worries babes.
I'm still searching for anything with Jack with his shirt off. Kudos to anyone who can send me a link. There was one '40's era movie in which he was with some buddy in a steambath, but the steam covered him too well, alas.
I did see the trailer for "Two Guys from Milwaukee," in which Jack is shirtless taking a shower or something. I don't know if that's the same one you're referring to. I would love to see him shirtless, too... or at least in something other than a business suit, which he seemed to live in! He was a hottie!
There is no God. Free yourself from the oppression of religion.share
Thanks for the tip. You have good taste. ; )
shareLadyLion ~ I'm still searching for anything with Jack with his shirt off. Kudos to anyone who can send me a link. There was one '40's era movie in which he was with some buddy in a steambath, but the steam covered him too well, alas.
You must be thinking of Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033922/, the (one and only) screwball comedy by Alfred Hitchcock starring Robert Montgomery and Carole Lombard and, which is one of my favorite films!
Robert Montgomery gets thrown out of his home by his wife, played by Carole Lombard, and ends up spending the night at his club. In the steam room he meets Chuck Benson, played to perfection by Jack Carson. I thought that you got a pretty good look at Carson shirtless in the steam room? There is more than one steam room scene with him in this film, too.
Anyway, the movie doesn't get a lot of respect because it's not one of Hitchcock's great thrillers, but it's still, in my opinion, a delightful and very well-made film and a favorite of mine. Montgomery and Lombard are both wonderful. Jack Carson is fantastic in his scenes.
Jack Carson was good at playing the likable rat, or sleezeball, if you will. He was good in The Strawberry Blonde, playing another rat...
shareI think Carson was handsome and talented - just look at all his credits, which is very full for a relatively short career (25 years). He worked his way up from uncredited parts to supporting and the occasional leading role. His build (6'2, 220lbs) was probably what put him the character actor mold, but he was not overweight. He was a big, beefy guy. He just didn't have the body type of a conventional leading man. But he could play comedic or straight, a very reliable type in films.
Wally wasn't really a good guy, but this is film noir. If I had to choose, Wally would be my pick.
I really felt for his character in 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'.
"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne
So did I, which is interesting considering that Gooper isn't a particularly sympathetic character as written. Carson gave the character depth, as he did Wally and in so many of his other films.
shareI'm still searching for anything with Jack with his shirt off. Kudos to anyone who can send me a link. There was one '40's era movie in which he was with some buddy in a steambath, but the steam covered him too well, alas.
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I know! I've always had a thing for Jack Carson, and I sorta wished they included the scene from the book where he and Mildred 'hook up'. It's too bad that Jack Carson was usually the smartass with an angle all the time. He was great in 'Tarnished Angels'.
"What do you want me to do, draw a picture? Spell it out!"
I always thought Big, Beefy, Baby-Faced Jack Carson was, a Cutie.
shareCarson/Wally was six times sexier than Monte or Burt. In the novel, Mildred does him a few times, and she realizes--as does he--that it is strictly sex. Too bold for a '45 movie though. If you want to see a great sympathetic Carson performance check out The Hard Way directed by Vincent Sherman and starring Ida Lupino. He is also charming and sexy in Doris Day's first two movies, Romance on the High Seas and My Dream is Yours. Don't think he is shirtless in either though unfortunately.
shareBy Hollywood casting standards, Jack Carson was one of those actors that was good looking, but, not good looking enough to get the girl.
shareJack was also wonderful in A Star is Born, another unsympathetic character who you just loved to hate. He should have won a clutch of Best Supporting Actor Oscars. Like so many other stars who were ignored by the Acadamy, he made it look all so easy.
shareHe must of have been in the 1954 version of "A Star Is Born", with Judy Garland and James Mason, I only saw the 1937 version with Fredric March and Janet Gaynor.
shareJack was also wonderful in A Star is Born, another unsympathetic character who you just loved to hate. He should have won a clutch of Best Supporting Actor Oscars. Like so many other stars who were ignored by the Acadamy, he made it look all so easy.
shareI honestly think that, in those days, Jack Carson was too "sexy" to be the guy who gets the girl. They were biased towards guys who looked more "clean-cut", albeit in a masculine way. Jack Carson represented a more raw form of sex appeal that I think was too much for the time.