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A short digression on Charles Boyer… |
But Charles, Charles Boyer; it’s almost embarrassing to say it, but he was a revelation to me in this movie. You don’t need me to tell you that Boyer was one of the Golden Age’s great lovers, equal to or perhaps surpassing a Cary Grant, with the whole sexy, gallant Frenchman thing going for him. (This is funny, having done some reading up: in reality he was bald, short, called a “stick in the mud” by his closest friends and nursed just one love affair for over forty years; but give the man a toupee and some lifts and yowza, what a stud!) Yet somehow, some five years since I first acquired a love for 30s & 40s cinema, I’m only just now becoming properly acquainted with Charles Boyer. Oh, I had seen him in a few things, though shockingly few: first Love Affair with Irene Dunne, many years ago; then Casino Royale and Stavisky, and I can’t for the life of me remember him in either; Madame de…, and you may not fault me if I was too distracted by Vittorio De Sica’s charms to give props to Charles’; then When Tomorrow Comes and a few rewatches of Love Affair during the recent Dunne preoccupation (Together Again really should be in my mailbox any day now) and that’s, believe it or not, that. Well, the only quintessential Boyer-as-Love-God roles I have seen were the Dunne romances, and that might not be quite enough to support this theory but I’ll postulate it anyhow. I think a great male actor has in mind the same thing great male dancers are supposed to: their role is to create a situation in which their partner shines. That requires some mastery and some restraint, but I think if your leading lady has any kind of strong personality at all one’s eye is drawn to her first, leaving a sort of man of mystery a step behind to discover on a second look.
Well, scanning his filmography, I see I could very well have gone on this way for ages, incidentally watching Charles Boyer films without ever really noticing him on account of his attention-grabbing love interests: Hepburn, Bacall, Garbo, Davis, Stanwyck, and yes, Dunne three times. Such a cinematic presence himself, and yet I can easily imagine overlooking him for five years more. Thankfully, Cluny Brown and Jennifer Jones interceded early in our acquaintance to correct this. This is to say nothing against Jones, who makes Cluny her own, and at that an unknowingly sexy, brashly tomboyish, adorably innocent oddball. But (surprisingly again, perhaps) this was my first Jones film; I had no pre-existing affection to necessarily distract my eye from Boyer. And, Cluny Brown is a particularly fine film to highlight his talents. I would not have guessed Boyer, for all his costume dramas and beleaguered lovers, is a more than capable comedian. (Does Lubitsch bring it out in these men? Cooper, too, excels under his guidance.) In fact, Boyer gets most of the laughs, handling his role with a gentleness and playfulness that is unbelievably endearing. Yes, I am endeared. I am, in fact, ensorceled. His inhumanly arched eyebrows, his little winks and half-smiles, and that ability to at once maintain full control of his material while shining the spotlight on his costar: yes, that is talent; yes, this is love. And no, Cluny Brown, it’s not just the cocktails giving you that persian cat feeling… I think we both know too well it has a bit to do with Mr Charles Boyer. Rawr.
Um, uh huh. Yeah. Soooo… I might just be on to the next one with this guy, who certainly made some interesting films in his career. Whilst being adorable. Win-win.
Anyway, I’ve skipped over a couple reviews:
Shopworn 1932, NICK GRINDE Hey, I’ll really never get enough of Stany in her tough & scrappy roles, but as for the film I’ve seen the same old story one too many times. Lives up to its title? Yeah.
Cluny Brown 1946, ERNST LUBITSCH
— Rose Hobart 1936, JOSEPH CORNELL Fascinating surrealist/collage short film, don’t know how to rate it exactly, but it’s pretty damn cool.
Gespenster 2005, CHRISTIAN PETZOLD
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Ugh, am I the only Lubitsch fan without access to Cluny Brown? That really bugs me.
Rose Hobart is awesome. Are you really going to watch East of Borneo?
Comment by Mango — 19 January 2008 @ 19 January 2008I feel like I have to watch Borneo now, then rewatch Rose Hobart, although I am positive it’s going to be the worst movie ever. I hope there’s some compensating hilarity in it, ’cause man.
Any recommendations on places to look following Hobart? I’m such a ridiculous noob to experimental shorts & the like.
Do you have a good internet connection for torrents? I’ll put Cluny Brown up on thepiratebay for you if you like. It’s really top-notch Lubitsch, you must see it!
Comment by Lauren — 19 January 2008 @ 19 January 2008No recommendations for experimental–you just have to search around and see what you can find. Read some books; you’ll find something like an experimental “canon” reading them. When it comes to experimental/underground/avant-garde, you are virtually on your own.
Please put Cluny Brown on thepiratebay. That would be awesome!
Comment by Mango — 19 January 2008 @ 19 January 2008Your wish is most definitely my command:
http://thepiratebay.org/tor/3985365
Enjoy, though that goes without saying.
(Warning, unless some coseeds from KG hop on, it’s going to be slow as pants.)
Comment by Lauren — 19 January 2008 @ 19 January 2008Thank you, Lubitsch princess. *praise* Any other exclusive Lubitsch I am missing out on?
Comment by Mango — 19 January 2008 @ 19 January 2008Hmm… I’ve got a bad print of One Hour With You, haven’t watched it myself since it’s getting that eclipse upgrade… You seen Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife? A Royal Scandal?
Comment by Lauren — 19 January 2008 @ 19 January 2008Nope, I’ve not seen any of those. I’ve been holding off getting Bluebeard’s Eight Wife through ILL until I finish off P+P, but I’m not sure how I would get A Royal Scandal.
Comment by Mango — 19 January 2008 @ 19 January 2008Bluebeard’s really great. Scandal is probably the most disappointing one I’ve seen, but it has its moments, and I’d be happy to throw up a torrent for it after Cluny/when you’re ready for it.
Comment by Lauren — 20 January 2008 @ 20 January 2008I’d appreciate a torrent for both, once Cluny is done… which, at this pace, should be sometime in April.
Comment by Mango — 20 January 2008 @ 20 January 2008