Over the top acting
Usually I don't mind strong, theatrical performances but most of the cast was just plain bad acting in this. Novak was never a good actress but I expected more from Holden and Russell. Did the director want this?
shareI don't know the answer, but Holy Mackerel! was Rosalind Russell's character obnoxious, or what?
First, she practically date rapes William Holden after cutting in on Kim Novak and then has the gall to call him a loser.
Second, she assumes Howard arrived the next morning to marry her when he had, in fact, changed his mind and for good reason. The way she breaks loose with the way over the top hysterics makes me think she's still drunk.
Wow.
Joshua Logan was primarily a stage director. I've never been impressed by most of his film work.
"May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?"
Russell's character "Rosemary" is living a life of quiet desperation, watching "Hal" and "Madge" she's brought face to face with the reality that she's getting older, and life is passing her by. Alcohol has released the fears and tensions within her, hence her "lashing" out at "Hal" remember she replies in answer to "Howard's" 'you're not yourself' Í'm more myself than I've ever been' one is also left with the impression that "Rosemary'and 'Howard' were intimate when they went for a drive, and that if he doesn't marry her, the rest of her life will just be one man after the other with nothing to look forward to but loneliness. I don't know how old you guys are, or how many times you have seen this movie. personally, I myself had to watch this movie a few times before I could fully appreciate the acting and the characters. It's really quite fascinating to watch how each character is affected by "Hal" Over the top acting, no way! Ms Russell was great as "Rosemary' the school teacher
shareWell, I'm old enough to remember a time when women in public (as well as men) acted with decorum. Like the scene where Howard hides the whiskey he brought inside his jacket while taking a nip.
I understand the fear and loneliness of Russel's character. I also get that the director wanted this out of her and he got it. That does not diminish the fact that it is still over the top acting and it is very obnoxious. Howard had to be one milquetoast guy to have still gone through with the wedding after having witnessed that display.
Hi rj-27, point taken, though I still think "Rosmary's character was probably meant to be as you say obnoxious. As for "Howard" I think deep down he really wanted to marry her, the way she completely overwhelmed him, just made it easier for him to give in. I agree with you that probably in a real life situation her behaviour would be off putting, but this is a movie after all, anything goes. Still.. I enjoyed her performance.
shareITA with IloveKoba.
"Joey, have you ever been in a Turkish prison?"
ITA with IloveKoba.
"Joey, have you ever been in a Turkish prison?"
/Well, I'm old enough to remember a time when women in public (as well as men) acted with decorum. Like the scene where Howard hides the whiskey he brought inside his jacket while taking a nip./
People in the 1950's, certainly schoolteachers, knew to have decorum and may have wanted to have decorum if they didn't have it but this character could take no more. She wanted OUT of her current life and did not want to continue teaching or remain single.
I think the point of the film was that these townfolk were "good" but leading lives of quiet desperation. They may not have realized it themselves. Hal ignited these people. Plus, not everyone in any society experiences the same life. This fact exploded in the 1960's.
1950'S=SOCIAL ORDER
1960'S=SOCIAL EQUALITY
"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne
You know, I get it. That is, about Russel's character having "quiet desperation". So she explodes.
It is just damned uncomfortable watching this kind of display in what is supposed to be a realistic portrayal of such folks in this time.
Truly, I would have considered her near insane and avoided her like the black death. For Howard to go along with her assumptions and marry her, he must not have cared a whole lot about the future. Which I did not glean from his character prior to that scene.
I must be really out of touch with a time period I grew up in.
I think a lot of people were unnverved by the performance.
"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne
Sounds like you have more of an issue with the character than the performance. It's not Russell's fault the character was written like that. I thought she did excellent bringing out the vulnerabilities and insecurities of Rosemary. It's especially great since up until then, she made a career out of playing cool, confident professional women.
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