Newman's Own: Harper (1966)

Harper’s a down and out private detective who’s addicted to his job despite not really liking any of his clients. He’s sacrificed his marriage to his passion for solving crime but doesn’t quite get why his wife (Janet Leigh) wants to divorce him. Harper is hired, on recommendation by his good friend Albert Graves (Arthur Hill) to find one of his missing clients, a Mr. Sampson, a millionaire who likes to womanize, drink heavily and then give away small fortunes. Harper’s encounter with Sampson’s indifferent wife, Elaine (Lauren Bacall) is the first indication that he has signed himself up for more than he bargained for. He is suddenly surrounded by neurotic characters like Miranda Sampson (Pamela Tiffin), Sampson’s spoiled and man-hungry daughter, Alan Taggert (Robert Wagner) the family pilot given to narcissism, Fay Estabrook (Shelley Winters) an aging and gluttonous starlet, Betty Fraley (Julie Harris) a seemingly lonely and drug addicted jazz singer, and Claude (Strother Martin), the crazy man living on top of a mountain that Mr. Sampson gave him. All are somehow connected and it will take Harper being beat up, chased by vehicles, and shot at to solve this crime that goes way beyond Mr. Sampson’s disappearance.

Harper is full of funny dialogue, intrigue and action. Obviously comfortable with his past successes, Harper is the type of film I enjoy seeing Newman in. He isn’t taking himself too seriously and the result is an actor who’s comfortable playing the anti-hero who pokes fun at himself and more hilariously, at others. This film is the continuous result of Newman becoming an icon of what can essentially be summed up in one word- cool.





Sidenote:
The character in Ross MacDonald’s book is actually name is Lew Archer however, Newman was considered box office gold with movies like Hud and The Hustler under his belt so, probably due to studio superstition, they changed Archer to Harper to keep the H streak going. A year later there was also Hombre.


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Lee Remick!

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Newman's Own: Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)

Somebody Up There Likes Me is based off the life of Thomas Barbella the middleweight champion known as Rocky Graziano (played by Paul Newman) who grew up in the tough streets of New York to an overindulgent mother (Eileen Heckart) and an abusive father (Harold J. Stone) whose own dreams of becoming a boxer never came to fruition. To escape his father’s drunken bouts of abuse Rocky would commit petty crimes with his friend Romolo (Sal Mineo) that led him to reform school, then to prison, then eventually to a short stint in the Army where he was dishonorably discharged for knocking out an officer. While AWOL Rocky figures he should make some quick dough to maybe pay off the officer but needs to keep it legit as his mother promises to disown him if he lands back in prison. So, taking the name Rocky Graziano he enters the ring to fight for money but is eventually caught by the military police and sentenced to Leavenworth prison. Once there, Rocky is approached by Johnny Hyland (Judson Pratt), the physical instructor at the prison. He sees Rocky's potential and encourages him to use his hatred to box professionally.

When he leaves Leavenworth, he hooks up again with his manager Irving Cohen (Everett Sloane) and begins a successful climb to the middleweight championship. Along the way he meets his future wife Norma (Pier Angeli) who must overcome the fact that boxing is what Rocky does best and to encourage him in other pursuits would lead him back into a life of crime. She manages to make Rocky want to be a better person, to strive for some sort of self respect and eventually serious success.
However, Rocky’s past catches up to him with the arrival of a former prison mate Frankie Peppo (Frank Loggia) who threatens to expose Rocky’s dishonorable discharge if he doesn’t throw his upcoming fight with Tony Zale. Rocky instead calls off the fight and comes under the heat of the district attorney. When he doesn’t give the name of the person bribing him, his boxing license is revoked. Despite his actions his past is revealed, leaving him crushed and hopeless. He does eventually get the chance to fight Zale since the fight is in Chicago and not New York. Fearing the crowds reaction to him and wary of past events, Norma must take charge to get Rocky to fight. In a lengthy and brutal match to the finish, Rocky wins.

Paul Newman definitely took advantage of the time he spent with the real Graziano to perfect his mannerisms and speech. His portrayal of a rough neck from the streets of New York is spot on. This is, hands down, one of Newman’s best performances in my opinion. Better yet, the director Robert Wise didn’t take advantage of Newman’s beautiful profile with long moments concentrated on his face and pout (a staple in most of Newman’s earlier films). Instead, he has Newman become increasingly uglier as the movie progresses.






It must have been a great relief to both Newman and Angeli to have such a wonderful film together after the complete disaster of The Silver Chalice (1954).

Trivia!

Wise discovered Steve McQueen while in New York and cast him as Fidel, one of the boys in Graziano’s street gang. McQueen received no credit for this role.

Former middleweight champion Tony Zale almost played himself in the movie. He was still in great shape, so Wise signed him up. But when Zale and Newman were rehearsing the fight, Wise noticed that the inexperienced Newman "was a little gun-shy of this guy, Zale. He didn't quite know what to do. Paul was afraid that if he accidentally clipped Tony, Tony in just a fighter's reflex reaction, would cold-cock him....I've never forgotten the experience of seeing Paul pulling back from him." So Zale was replaced, much to his disappointment.

James Dean was originally slated to play the part of Rocky Graziano. However, due to his unexpected death he was replaced by Newman.


Tonight on TCM!
Walter Mathau!!

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Newman's Own:The Silver Chalice (1955)

Quite possibly the worst classic film I have seen to date. Films like The Silver Chalice would have once defined how I summed up cinema from the fifties and early sixties which is why I have avoided that era until I started this blog. I have obviously changed my mind and I'd like to thank Fredric March and Geraldine Page for that. Without my loving and needing to see everything they are in, I never would have ventured past 1949.

Newman once said, "It's kind of a distinction to say that I was in the worst film to be made in the entirety of the 1950's." I wouldn't completely agree, I mean one does need to consider anything that involved Elvis Presley or Sandra Dee, yes?
Another reason I avoided the era and that I have stated before is that I am not a fan of Technicolor. I find it garish and at times distracting. However, worse than Technicolor is the monochrome theme that also dominated this era of filmmaking. The Silver Chalice is no exception with its stark and expressionless setting, an unsuccessful mixture of über neomodernism and old world religious artifacts closely resembling chotchkies you'd find in a seaside tourist shop.

Basil (Paul Newman), a great artisan is commissioned to cast the cup of Christ in silver and sculpt around its rim the faces of the disciples and Jesus himself. He is broken out of the slavery he was put in his uncle Linus (Herbert Rudley) who refused to acknowledge Basil as his brother’s adopted son and taken to Jerusalem and eventually Rome to complete his task. Though he has a hard time sculpting Jesus’ face despite the descriptions he is given, he has a vision while in Rome searching for the disciple Peter and decides to convert to Christianity. A simple story and one that could have been pulled off if this was the only storyline that needed attention. Unfortunately, the film has a parallel plot that instead of flowing congruently to sum up the whole of the film, clutters it while some key aspects fall to the wayside.
The parallel plot involves Helena (Virginia Mayo) the slave girl whom Basil helps to escape from his father Ignatius’ household when they are young. Promising to love one another always, Helena eventually becomes a great courtesan and partner to Simon the Magician (Jack Palace). Having traveled all over, she comes back to Greece, learns of Basil’s enslavement and his uncle's plans to have him killed. She finds Basil, warns him and then moves on. Basil is rescued instead by Luke, a physician and disciple of Christ, who takes him to the house of Joseph of Arimathea (Walter Hampden) who will commission Basil to make the chalice for the cup of Christ. Meanwhile, Helena and Simon the Magician also travel to Jerusalem for a far greedier task. Simon is commissioned by Mijamin (Joseph Wiseman), the leader of a group of Sicarii assassins who wants to use Simon’s magic to lure the Christians away from their religion and into his army. However, Simon has bigger plans, he wants to create his own religion. In order to have people believe in him he must destroy the one material thing that means the most to the Christians- the cup of Christ. After only one failed attempt at getting said cup, Simon who, with Helena, has followed Basil to Rome, comes into favor with Caesar Nero and claims he can fly. He finds his own demise in his daring, prompting Nero, who supported Simon’s claim and doesn’t want to cheat his audience out of their entertainment, to sacrifice Helena.Back to the main plot, there is Deborra (Pier Angeli), Joseph of Arimethea’s granddaughter who has loved Basil from the start. Mistaking his attentions for love, she boldly asks to be tied to him through marriage so that she can inherit her dying grandfather’s fortune and further Christianity with it. Basil, though he loves Helena but would never marry her, agrees and they are wed but not affectionate towards one another much to Deborra’s dismay. When Basil finally has his vision of Christ and decides to become Christian, he also decides he truly loves Deborra. Though the cup of Christ is lost in the ensuing mob after Simon’s death, the disciple Peter blesses them both and predicts the cup will reappear when mankind needs it most. (Like maybe when having to sit through this film.)

This was Newman’s first stab at Hollywood and it certainly didn’t make a great impression upon him. The Silver Chalice is full of wooden acting and ridiculous dialogue as if everyone but Jack Palance (the real treat of the film) knew they were making a bad picture. Newman knew it; he had several arguments with director Victor Saville at the risk of being labeled "an uncooperative smart-ass" over some aspects of the film. This combined with the unrealistic back drop has The Silver Chalice bordering camp proportions but ulitmately fails in that main simply because it isn't entertaining enough. Had Jack Palance been the entire focus of the film with his distinct, silky speaking voice continuously touting while donning outfits that looked like Adrian on a PCP kick designed them, this film would have been awe-inspiring. Awe. Inspiring.


Tonight on TCM!
TCM honors Honest Abe. Check it out!

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Newman's own: The Prize (1963)

Andrew Craig (Paul Newman), a drunken, jaded American has arrived in Stockholm to collect his Nobel Prize and maybe seduce a few women. Though he finds much to be attracted to in his guide Inger Andersson (Elke Sommer), he finds wooing her somewhat difficult when he becomes embroiled in a Communist plot he has a hard time convincing others of. After witnessing murder, being chased by spies, thrown off a building and required to strip at a nudist meeting, Craig barely finds time to avoid the designs of a plotting married woman and the deceptive niece of Dr. Stratman (Edward G. Robinson) whom he thinks has been kidnapped and replaced by a look alike. With edge of your seat action, the viewer will wonder if Craig manages to make it out alive or at least out of that towel...

I really enjoyed this film mainly because despite the action and suspense, Newman turned it into something comical. His facial expressions and dry delivery of lines works well within the plot. It's refreshing to see him in films that don't require him to angrily sulk or be overcome with emotion.

Tonight on TCM!
Celebrating some Toshiro Mifune!!

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Newman's Own: Lady L (1965)

The respectable and well-known Lady Lendale (Sophia Loren) is celebrating her 80th birthday. Sir Percy (Cecil Parker), a man enchanted by her, wishes to write her biography. Lady Lendale invites him into her summer home and reveals the secrets of her past. Nothing much really- just that she was never really married to Lord Lendale (David Niven), and that she sired all her children by the anarchist Armand Denis (Paul Newman) whom she met in a whorehouse.
Though there were some spots in Lady Lendale’s lovely rags to riches tale that could use a little more polish, one should keep in mind that this is a comedy and meant to be more fun than accurate.

TCM has provided me an opportunity to check out a bit of Paul Newman’s earlier work. What I have found thus far from watching movies such as Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956), Rally ‘Round the Flag, Boys (1958), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), Sweet Bird of Youth (1962), The Prize (1963), The Outrage (1964), and Lady L (1965) is an actor really coming into his own. I grew up in the eighties and was familiar with the Newman from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)- a personal favorite of my parents, and The Color of Money (1986)- because who the heck wasn’t watching Tom Cruise in something in the eighties? I never gave Newman much thought, on the surface he was a very attractive man but it never really penetrated. I considered his salad dressing more of treat. It wasn’t until I was doing blogs on Hollywood marriages that I looked deeper into Newman’s personal life and career. What I saw from earlier pictures with him and Joanne Woodward enchanted me. Then I saw him in Sweet Bird of Youth (I didn’t watch it for him, but for Geraldine Page) and I was hooked. “Wow! He really is quite a gorgeous creature, isn’t he?” I thought to myself. His portrayal of Chance Wayne was so endearing, he displayed equal amounts of sensitivity, masculinity, charm, wit, and humor (Woodward said she didn’t fall in love with him for his looks but because he could make her laugh). It’s the sensitivity and humor that draw me to him most. He had this look, this pout, this certain squint to his right eye that he used much to his advantage. He never seemed to tire at poking fun at himself via his characters. No matter how serious a role he played in all the movies I have seen him in, this humor humanized him, brought him down to my level, despite his having the face of an angel.
I admit that I take guilty pleasure in seeing a younger version of Newman though he played in some pretty mediocre vehicles-I chalk it up to hazards of the trade. I like him from the fifties before smoking too many cigarettes gave him a deeper, raspier tone. It’s been noted that he really didn’t approach his pinnacle until the late sixties.

You can now see that my title makes a little more sense since this blog entry is more about Newman than Lady L- which he's good in, not great but good. He certainly could have been on the screen more, in my opinion.

Tonight on TCM! Ooooh! Exciting!
The Uninvited(1944)
A brother and sister buy a house with a ghostly secret. Cast: Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey, Donald Crisp, Cornelia Otis Skinner Dir: Lewis Allen

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