MovieChat Forums > The L-Shaped Room (1962) Discussion > If you want to see some extraordinary ac...

If you want to see some extraordinary acting


There was scarcely an actor in this movie who didn't perform superbly. And each one gets at least one scene where they really show what they can do. It's not surprising in the case of famous stage actors like Cicely Courtneidge (as Mavis) or Emlyn Williams (as the first doctor), not to mention Brock Peters (Johnny), a brilliant American actor who didn't get as many great parts over here as he should have. But really, everybody was terrific. You don't see acting like that much in the movies anymore -- long scenes that let an actor really develop a character have gone out of style...

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OMG you are SOOOOOO right.

the 'long scenes' you mention are, sadly, a thing of the past...

today it's all about 'jump cutting' and jumping/cutting every 3 seconds!!!

ONce I was watching something and started counting the number of seconds between cuts...forget which movie it was, but I SWEAR the longest cut was about 5 seconds!!!! imagine the manic-ness of such editing....of course it was not a serious movie, but nevertheless, what an over-the-top way of doing things!!

I feel so sorry for this new generation.....will they ever learn to actually SIT AND READ something besides their computers and cell phones???

Will they ever have the joy of watching something where a scene lasts more than 40 seconds?

Oh well, time will tell.....................

WOW do I digress or what? back to the acting here; truly SUPERB and very very unusual to see a movie where everyone has a chance to 'do their thing' and do it WELL.........

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Right with you regarding your cut-n-jump comments. New film makers need to study Hitchcock films and see how he handled such cuts. Especially "Rope".

"There are 10 shots within the film overall, running 9:34, 7:51, 7:18, 7:09, 9:59, 8:35, 7:50, 10:06, 4:37 and 5:40 minutes:seconds each." - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040746/trivia

Can't imagine a director today accomplishing this even though the technology is better than 1948 when AH did it.

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I'm 27 years old and I accept your pity for my generation.lol. I ofeten say that I wish I could have been this age in at the earliest in the 70's. I just feel that there was a simplicity to entertainment where as now,there is so many friggin options that you don't even appreciate anything anymore. For example,take youtube,I remember growing up when if there was a movie that randomly came on telivision how excited I would get. Now,you can just youtube anything you want. And as far as the films go, I like a lot of old school movies because they just had a lot more substance than the films of today.

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You are so right!!! I wanna hug you for saying that!! LOL

I'm always thrilled when I hear about younger people like yourself who appreciate the older movies...

And you are SOOOO right about YouTube, etc.....just think of what it was like whan I was growing up, in the late 1940' and early 1950's!!! prehistoric, right? LOL

But all we had then was movies and the radio.....then TV came along....I can still remember the first time I saw it!!...OMG........then the movies started to suffer as people wanted to stay home and see it 'free'.......of course that 'free' included tons of commercials, just like today!!!

So now, with stuff avaiable at literally the press of a button, what will the next generation experience? nothing but 'i can get what I want when I want it'........which is nice, but still not very fulfilling!!!

That's when the movie industry cranked up their technology; 3D, CinemaScope, & so forth and so on..........these were all really thrilling things; I LOVED 3D movies and never missed a one!!!

and Cinerama????? OMG if you ever get a chance to see it, it has been revived recently in the bigger cities......it's INCREDIBLE to say the least.......

a HUGE CURVED screen that really did, literally, put you into the movie..and the first time,I think, where we hear sound in STEREO..along the sides of the theater, etc.....one sequence in THIS IS CINERAMA was at the Vatican, I believe, and there was this famous boys' choir..well.....you heard them singing from the BACK OF THE THEATER, & then as they walked along, you heard them on each side of the theater, then finally saw them when they came in front of the camera....and the now famous roller coaster ride was also incredible.

Gee, how I do go on!! LOL.........but your comment brought back so many memories of things I truly loved and that I am sorry future generations will never experience.........

anyway, glad you like the 'older stuff' & I hope you keep watching different genres, etc., and find more stuff to love!!!!

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Yes, this was a super showcase for some wonderful actors to give their all. In particular, I thought Cicely Courtneidge was marvellous and should have recieved some awards recognition that year, along with Caron.

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You are so right about Cecily........BUT when this was on TCM recently, I noticed a tiny bit of 'censorship', which blew me away.

You recall the scene where CC is showing the photo to Caron? well, in the movie itelf, Caron picks up the photo, and they cut to what she's looking at; which is a photo of CC's deceased lover.......a woman in the same type of uniform they used in their act together..........

On TCM, Caron picks up the photo, and immediately they cut to CC saying 'takes all kinds, dear"..........so what in the HELL was that all about??

Someone seeing this movie for the first time surely would have to wonder what was the photo of?????

and talk about STUPID....I don't know if the original print has been excised this way, and I certainly don't think TCM would tamper with a film!!

oh well!!!!!

Let me know what you think!!!!

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Oh, I think it's great the picture wasn't shown - the scene is more powerful because of it. And I don't think Mavis' remark is open to interpretation, first time you hear it or otherwise.

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