20 thoughts on “Jessica Tandy Movies”

1. Indeed I feel that Willis’ box office status in his heyday; his charisma; and his solid acting abilities are a perfect illustration of how in terms of ranking lists a great star can still fall between the cracks in even a well-formulated and comprehensive statistical set of criterion such as the ones WH applies.

   That the findings of any statistical exercise should conclude [as WH’s 50 Great Legends 1950-2010 in effect does] that the likes of Peter O’Toole/Gene Hackman/Charlize Theron/Susan Sarandon/Anne Bancroft [highly talented individuals though they be]are great stars and that box office Giant Willis is not in their league suggests to me that [although WH’s rankings on the WHOLE are credible] he does in the case of Willis prove the wisdom of the old adage that “There are lies damn lies and statistics.”

   “In my day to be regarded as a true STAR you had to show that you could pull your weight at the box office over a sustained run of commercial successes. There are many fine young actresses about today but sadly they cannot carry many movies at the box office in the way that their male counterparts can and in my era those actresses would have acquired a status similar to that of a starlet [ie talented young actresses who were still ‘wannabe’ stars and who would normally be in support albeit in plumb roles to of the likes of Davis/Crawford/Bergman/ Katie Hepburn]

   Reply

   1. The quote at the endof my Part 2 Willis post today is from Bette Davis – sorry I omitted to mention that first time round.

      Joan Crawford is also on record as agreeing with Davis [though Joan would never expreess it like that!].

      Our own Work Horse also in effect agrees with Davis/Crawford because in his highly valuable and painstakingly comprehensive book the 50 Greatest Stars he includes just one modern actress [Meryl Streep] against 9 from the classic era and 40 males overall.

      On page 16 of that book WH lists 25 male ‘also rans’ for an honourable mention and Willis is among them; so that in effect Bruce Cogerson is recognising his ole pal Bruce Willis as being at least among the 65 greatest male stars of all time [40 on the main list and 26 hon mentions]. That’s as it should be [as a very minimum] because throwing Willis a bone like Split which he never really appeared in never did cut it in my view in terms of giving Brucie proper recognition as a mega star.

      The Work Horse has also of course listed on page 16 of the book 25 female ‘also rans’ and included in that total are just 5 actresses whose careers began in the times that Bette Davis was compalining about. In short of the 100 stars honoured one way or another in Bruce’s book only 6 all told could be said to be modern actresses. That’s a pretty damning conclusion but Bruce’s lists [whilst unfair to Willis in my opinion] are neverthelesscompiled on the basis of comporehensive statistical data and overall his lists make sense to me..

      Reply

2. I saw 9 of top 12. 10s and favorites: valley of decision, driving miss daisy. 10s not favorites: fried green tomatoes, nobodys fool. nine not favorite cocoon. hope to see the green years soon.

   Reply

   1. Hey bob cox…thanks for sharing your thoughts on Jessica Tandy. We disagree on Nobody’s Fool…I love that movie. Newman is great in the movie. It was Tandy’s swan song…and I love her role in the movie. It was a Newman/Tandy reunion…they had made another movie together years before. Good luck finding The Green Years….and hope you enjoy it. Good stuff as always.

      Reply

      1. cogerson, I saw the green years. found it at library and it showed on tcm at same time. a delightful dated slice of life. a tour de force by Charles Coburn. an 8 and a favorite. I rarely make 8s favorites this is an exception.
         I gave nobodys fool a 10, I probably did not make it a favorite because willis was not very likeable and the unnecessary nudity and general lack of a moral compass. melanie Griffiths breast shot was integral but the girl at the poker game not so much. call me a prude, call me old fashioned but I like what I like.

         Reply

         1. HI BOB COX:

            I like your 4.16 pm post as it contains the refreshing frankness that I respect in you. However I wonder what The Work Horse’s reaction will be when he sees what you have said about his own ‘blue eyed boy’ Bruce Willis.

            The Work Horse casually set Joel Hirschhorn loose on me and a few of my idols with some horrible stuff and I was expected to “take my slaps and like them” to paraphrase Bogie in The Maltese Falcon.

            I am reminded of another Bogie film [his final one] The Harder they Fall in which Rod Steiger wants Bogie’s boxer to throw a fight by allowing himself to be beaten by an opponent. Steiger says “If your boy is in the fight game he should be able to take punishment.” This angers Bogart and he savagely grabs Steiger and raising his fists says “Let’s see how much YOU can take!”

            Reply

            1. Hey Bob. I can easily forgive bob cox…..he is normally spot on in comments and thoughts of the movie stars. As for Joel….you know you have used his book more than you want to admit. It is after all a great source of information. Did you know Joel put Marlon on his book not once but twice? Good stuff.

         2. Thanks for the mini review of The Green Years. Glad you enjoyed it. As Nobody’s Fool….I agree Bruce was not too likeable…..but I liked his performance. Seeing Willis and Newman working together is a blast. Well….great minds can’t always agree…lol.

            Reply

            1. I agree with the suggestion that Willis gave a good performance in Nobody’s Fool. Indeed I have long argued that he is underrated as an ACTOR; and why I like watching him in even action movies is that for my money he has a broader range than almost any other “action” stars.

               I will always contend that his delicious tongue-in-cheek turn as Tom Mix in Sunset [which Willis co-produced]; his sympathetic performance in 6th Sense; and his ageing boxer in Pulp Fiction prove my point.

               His Butch Coolidge in Pulp Fiction was a completely believable portrayal of someone who at his peak has been a great boxer [certainly in contrast to the ludicrous Sylvester Stallone’s efforts in the Rocky series to convince us that Sly could EVER be believable as a champion boxer. If Tennessee Williams had been a fight promoter he would have thrown in the towel even before the somnolent Stallone got into the ring!] and here’s what Wikipedia has to say about Willis’ Pulp Fiction performance.

               “Willis participating in the modestly budgeted film meant lowering his salary and risking his star status, but the strategy … paid off royally: Pulp Fiction not only brought Willis new respect as an actor, but also earned him several million dollars.” Willis’ appearance and physical presence were crucial to Tarantino: “Bruce has the look of a 50s actor. I can’t think of any other star that has that look,” Quentin said.

               For me Tarantino has completely understood that Willis like all the Great stars has his own uniqueness.

3. HI BRUCE: Thanks for the feedback- “You complete me,” as I think Cruise said to current red-hot Oscar girl Rene in 1996’s Joely Maguire. Congratulations by the way: if I recall correctly you well-predicted the final Bankers’ Awards winners last night. Your tip that particularly sticks out in my mind is Laura Dern. {Clad too to see Pitt getting Oscar Love – I admired him in Once Upon….]

   I have made no secret of the fact that for the most part I have little time for modern films, the main exception being human interest ones like Sir Maurice’s Youth, and political ones such as Gorgeous George’s Good Night and Good Luck and The Ides of March.

   Accordingly I have seen the only two of 2020 Oscar winning/nominated films [in ALL categories] that on the face of it would appeal to me: Once Upon….and Bombshell, which I thoroughly enjoyed; and I see that your sources give it a better than good 65% rating. We’re getting closer you and I and I might give Laura’s flick a look in as SHE is always worth watching and I think you recommended it to me.

   I agree with you about The Chase. When they were both young Jocelyn in appearance was like her brother in drag and they kept very close; I mean, who wouldn’t want to stay close to HIM – Joel excepted?

   However she was a perceived ‘leftie’ who was unimportant enough to be easily picked upon, so I understand that the Senator from Wisconsin made it difficult for her to get WORTHWHILE work at times, and although IMDB lists 57 credits for her Wikipedia lists just 16 screen appearances that it deemed important enough over 30 years from 1953-1983 and 3 of them were on TV.

   I enjoyed her though In Charlie’s Bill’s 1953 The Big Heat, as his wife; Randy’s 1955 western Ten Wanted Men; and her brother’s 1963 The Ugly Virginian – sorry I mean ‘American’. Anyway take care

   Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.