Natalie Wood in This Property Is Condemned Posted by Susan Doll on June 14, 2010
Expanded from a short one-act play by Tennessee Williams, This Property Is Condemned is a melodrama about love and survival in a small Mississippi town during the Great Depression. Wood plays Alva Starr, a young beauty who attracts the men who work for the railroad to her mother’s boarding house. Mama Hazel Starr exploits her daughter’s beauty as a financial asset, arranging “dates” for her with well-to-do but married men. Mama is positioning Alva to land a man with money, so that the whole Starr family can live in style. The constant party atmosphere at the Starr Boarding House seems to suit Alva, though she dreams of a life away from the confines of her mother. Her opportunity comes in the form of Owen Legate, played by Robert Redford, who arrives in town from New Orleans to lay off a dozen or so men on behalf of the railroad. Legate is attracted to Alva, and vice versa, but her flirtatious manner and willingness to prostitute herself at her mother’s behest angers him. Despite his resistance, they fall in love, making life doubly difficult for Legate. First, he fires several of the men who live at the Starr Boarding House, arousing the ire of the railroad workers, and then he wins Alva, inciting their jealousy. After being severely beaten by the fired men and manipulated by Mama Starr, Owen returns to New Orleans. An infuriated Alva seeks revenge by turning her mother’s lover against her, marrying him, and then stealing his money to get to New Orleans, where she finds Owen. Given that the story is derived from a piece by Tennessee Williams, viewers can guess that this steamy Southern melodrama won’t end happily.
However, neither Redford nor Pollack were passionate about the material, which the studio treated as merely a star vehicle for Wood. And, John Houseman, who was near the end of his career as a studio producer, approached it like a big-budget melodrama from the Golden Age. Houseman and Paramount disliked the tawdry, gritty aspects of the material, and they kept hiring writers to rework the storyline and characters. When Pollack stepped in to direct, he was handed eleven versions of the script by the studio, with Wood hoping he could improve on them. The director checked into a motel with the different scripts and set to work. He literally cut out the best parts of each version, taped them together into a final script, and then found someone to help him tinker with it.  REDFORD IS DROP-DEAD HANDSOME IN THIS FILM, BUT HIS CHARACTER WAS NEVER FULLY CONSTRUCTED IN THE FINAL SCREENPLAY. The film is credited to Fred Coe, Edith Sommer, and Francis Coppola, who had just left Roger Corman’s tutelage for bigger studios. But, Houseman didn’t like Coppola’s version and had hired James Bridges, later the director of such films as The Paper Chase and The China Syndrome, to rewrite. Pollack in turn hired David Rayfiel, who had worked with Pollack on A Slender Thread, to help him smooth out the storyline. One of the main problems with the material was the character Owen Legate. The character was never fleshed out enough to make him interesting, and Redford’s performance is too guarded to stir up much passion or to suggest that Owen harbors any inner pain. Redford’s best scene occurs inside the decrepit, abandoned train car that Alva has adopted as a place to let her vivid and dreamy imagination run wild. As she shows off her sanctuary to Owen, she spins an imaginative tale about the elegance of the train and how the dust on the seats is really talcum powder that the conductor has spread for the benefit of the passengers. Angered at her fanciful yarn, Owen admonishes her, “Why do you make everything special?” as though it were a bad trait, then proceeds to remind her that it’s just a broken-down train car, and there is only dust on the seats. Alva’s dreamy nature, fanciful imagination, hopes for a beautiful future, and eternal optimism are in sharp contrast to Owen’s insistence on staying grounded in the real world of the Depression, lay-offs, and hard times. He sadly remarks, “I have no dream.” It is the only scene that reveals any depth to the character.  ALVA POINTS TO THE ABANDONED TRAIN CAR PAINTED BY HER LONG-GONE FATHER. IT'S ALVA'S SPECIAL PLACE. Another compromise to the material involved the studio and Houseman’s insistence on softening Alva’s association with prostitution. One version of the script makes Mama Starr’s past occupation as a former prostitute very clear, making it more believable that she would push her daughter into being an old man’s mistress as a means to the good life. Another version included a scene in which Alva is alone in New Orleans and survives by prostitution. A young salesman approaches her, and as they talk, Alva begins to spin her fanciful tales about her past, romanticizing her wicked mother and the tragic events in her life. However, both scenes were discarded. Instead, little is made of Alva’s reliance on her sexuality to get what she wants, and the film’s story suffers for it. The great James Wong Howe did the cinematography for This Property Is Condemned, but his choice of a bright, high-key style to make the vibrant Technicolor pop off the screen did not service the material. Wood’s costumes, particularly a bright red dress, look rich and bold, but the high-key style kills any sense of mood or telling atmosphere. No shadows are used to hint at any of the characters’ predatory or unsympathetic natures, or to show the Starr Boarding House as a den of inequity. Even during the night scenes, the downstairs house is clean, bright, and airy—like the sets of big-budget A-movies of the studio era. It doesn’t “read” like the Depression, and the atmosphere lacks any sense of foreboding or melancholy. Despite the flaws, I am fond of this film, mostly because of Wood’s performance as Alva Starr. As her little sister Willie says repeatedly in the film, “Alva is the main attraction around here,” and that holds true for Wood’s feverish interpretation of this character. It’s hard to take your eyes off Alva, who owns whatever room she waltzes into with her air of calculated spontaneity and vivacity. Alva represents the last of Wood’s roles as a lost young woman too vulnerable for the emotional baggage that comes with a passionate love affair. Splendor in the Grass is the highpoint of this phase of her career, which also includes films like Inside Daisy Clover and All the Fine Young Cannibals. Going through an emotionally difficult time in the mid-1960s, as she jockeyed between failed relationships and difficult shoots, Wood may have channeled her own vulnerability and disappointments into the role.  THOUGH THIS STILL DOESN'T DO THE SCENE JUSTICE, THE LIGHTING IN THE BIRTHDAY CAKE SCENE IS A HIGHLIGHT. Though I disliked the bright high-key photography throughout most of the film, the legendary Howe did offer a nifty feat of cinematography that underscores Alva’s identity as “the main attraction.” At Mama Starr’s raucous birthday party near the beginning of the film, Alva blows out the candles on the cake when her mother can’t do it. The lights are dimmed as the cake comes in, and Pollack cuts to a close up of a smiling Alva surrounded by the warm glow and flicker of the cake’s candles. It’s a dreamy image that accentuates the character’s fanciful nature—her magic. The scene consists of only a couple of close-ups that are briefly onscreen, but it predates Stanley Kubrick’s feat with candle light in Barry Lyndon by several years. Redford aside, This Property is Condemned features a highly entertaining supporting cast. Kate Reid is downright diabolical as Mama Hazel Starr, who is proud of her daughter’s beauty but uses it for her personal gain. She imposes her own agenda on Alva by sheer force of will, which reminded me of the mother in Splendor in the Grass. Given Wood’s experience with her own mother—who once destroyed a butterfly in front of her very young daughter to make her cry on camera—it’s easy to see how the actress might be attracted to such roles. Charles Bronson plays Hazel’s younger lover, J.J., a railroad ironworker who has eyes for Alva. Though Bronson has very few lines, his deliberate moves and controlled facial expressions exude menace and physical strength. The scene in which an angry Alva, who is all jacked up after Mama Starr has manipulated Owen into leaving, persuades J.J. to marry her right in front of Hazel crackles with tension and electricity. Actually, the scene is too good; it is so strong that it acts like a premature climax, rendering the last sequence in New Orleans anticlimactic.  ALVA EXPLODES AFTER MAMA STARR BETRAYS HER. WOOD WAS LIKE A TIGHTLY WOUND SPRING THAT CUTS LOOSE DURING THE SCENE.  MARY BADHAM PLAYS WILLIE, WHO TELLS ALVA'S STORY TO A STRANGER, PLAYED BY JON PROVOST. Mary Badham, who starred as Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, plays Willie Starr. The story unfolds in flashback from Willie’s perspective as she tells Alva’s ill-fated tale to a stranger she meets as she’s walking idly along the railroad tracks. Badham is the only actor with a true Southern accent, and it seems appropriate for her to be the storyteller of a Southern-style melodrama. Robert Blake is memorable in a small role as Sidney, a young railroad worker with a crush on Alva who falls apart when he is the first to be laid off. Tennessee Williams’ original one-act play included only two characters—Willie and the boy who listens to her story. Reportedly, he hated This Property Is Condemned and tried to have his name removed from any promotion or publicity. The final version may have been far removed from Williams’s play, but it certainly echoes his themes and imagery, including the Depression-era Southern setting (with New Orleans holding a special significance), the cruelty of brutal male characters, the sexualized innocence of a child-woman, the tawdry side of passion, and ill-fated love. Alva’s doomed fate is foregrounded by her off-hand references to death and by her love of the movie One Way Passage, in which Myrna Loy’s character dies at the end. Even though she knows the ending, Alva hopes that if she sees the movie again, Loy’s character will live—a signifier of Alva’s own impending doom and a nice touch by Williams. The film opens with Willie dressed in Alva’s torn evening dress walking along the rail of the now-empty railroad tracks, trying not to fall off. As she comes into view, she yells to the young stranger, “I don’t think I can hang on much longer,” the perfect Williams line to signify the plight of all of the characters in the story.  PRETTY NATALIE AS ALVA. WHICH WOOD FILM WOULD YOU INCLUDE ON THE PROGRAM? Part of the problem with This Property Is Condemned may have been that it was conceived at the tail end of one era and on the cusp of another. The studio era was in its death throes and Golden Age producers like Houseman were a dying breed. A glamorous approach to a high-budget production as a vehicle for a high-profile star was simply old-fashioned in the face of the Film School Generation, in which young guns like Coppola would transform the popular movie into gritty, complex art—at least for a while. The year that This Property Is Condemned came out—1966—saw the release of such Film School Generation classics as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Blowup, and Seconds. As the cliché goes, the writing was on the wall for old-school Hollywood. Wood took off some time after This Property Is Condemned failed at the box office. Her next film, released three years later, was a product of the Film School Generation. The content of Paul Mazursky’s Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice seems a bit dated now, but its frankness toward sex, hand-held camerawork, improvisation, and ensemble acting were characteristics of the Film School Generation. That Natalie Wood’s career could bridge two such divergent eras of film history is a measure of her talent and professionalism. 34 Responses Natalie Wood in This Property Is Condemned
Posted By medusamorlock : June 14, 2010 4:04 pm A few weeks ago I recorded this off one of the HD movie networks — it looks beautiful and it’s been a while since I’ve seen the film so I’m really looking forward to watching it. I definitely recall seeing it for the first time on one of the network movie showcases many years ago. And I’m with you. I *love* “Splendor in the Grass” and have seen it countless times. Great performances and atmosphere, and yowza — Phyllis Diller as Tex Guinan! Love the amazing end moments of the film. I’ll be watching tonight! And “Inside Daisy Clover”, another intriguing movie that comes so close to being completely brilliant. Thanks for spotlighting this great movie and Natalie Wood’s stunning presence. (Speaking of NW, just a few days ago I saw one of the supermarket tabloids with her name splashed on the front page, calling for a re-investigation of her drowning death. Imagine that — she’s been gone almost thirty years and still we are fascinated by her in that way!) Posted By medusamorlock : June 14, 2010 4:23 pm I forgot to mention how much I liked the “Wish Me a Rainbow” song, sung by Mary Badham herself, evidently. Lovely tune! Posted By Chris : June 14, 2010 5:26 pm Great post. Personally, I thought The Green Promise was the highlight of the Woodfest, but this one seems interesting. Posted By moirafinnie : June 14, 2010 5:59 pm Thanks for writing such a thoroughly detailed account of This Property Is Condemned, Suzi. The beautifully acted scene in the abandoned train is actually the only one I still remember vividly–that, and the dazzling chemistry between Redford and Wood, as well as Mary Badham’s character of the (seemingly) tough little sister. I haven’t seen this in years, but think I will have to set aside some time to look at this movie from an adult viewpoint. Posted By saraeg : June 15, 2010 2:37 am loved your post. but i am sure after this showing of all the natalie wood movies we love and enjoy so much, TCM will put them on a shelf and not show them again for a very long time. also, if any one is in the COMCAST area in New York, Showtime is showing ‘This Property is Condemned” again this saturday at 9 AM. Posted By Al Lowe : June 15, 2010 10:18 am Hi Suzi. I feel like Groucho Marx when he sang that tune “Hello I must be going.” I don’t have much time but I will check in later to expand on my comments. I guess you heard I was in the hospital recently. I mentioned it in a recent post to Morlock Jeff. The best description I heard of my stint there came from a co-worker who said, “Al was in the hospital. He is doing OK.” Nice and to the point. It wasn’t Myrna Loy in One Way Passage. I don’t know if that is Williams’ mistake or yours because I unfortunately am not very familiar with CONDEMNED. Kay Francis starred in what is considered the classic 1932 version. Merle Oberon did a 1940 remake. I would agree that I SHOULD see this Natalie Wood movie. I am greatly disappointed in Redford after all the favors Natalie did him. He gave the lead in ORDINARY PEOPLE to Mary Tyler Moore instead of Natalie who wanted it badly. Talk to you later. Posted By suzidoll : June 15, 2010 11:22 am Al: I wondered where you’ve been lately. I hope you are on the mend and I will send you positive energy to speed up your recovery. No other reader knows the back stories to these classic movies like you do, so I miss your filling in the blanks. I am sure it was my mistake on ONE WAY PASSAGE. I was watching the film, made some quick notes, and then had to return the DVD. My notes said “Powell,” “Loy” and “ONE WAY PASSAGE.” I thought the name “Loy” was on the marquee in the background when Alva and Owen are leaving the theater, but I could have been guessing at the poster image in the background when I made the note. I don’t remember. I don’t have a copy of the play, but it is only 15 minutes long or so, and any reference to the film would be much slighter. Posted By Lisa Wright : June 16, 2010 1:59 pm Love Natalie Wood and find it interesting how much we seem to know about her real life i.e. your comment about her off-screen failed romances, difficult shoots, Al’s comment about Ordinary People. It’s no wonder that people still talk about her death. A quick glance at that bottom photo makes me think it’s Diane Lane! I never would have thought! I will be looking for this film soon, thanks! Posted By Al Lowe : June 16, 2010 2:46 pm Natalie Wood thought her performance in THIS PROPERTY IS CONDEMNED was some of her best work. This bit of obscure information is from a fairly good book called “Natasha” written by Suzanne Finstad. The book has some intriguing photos including one I mentioned in a previous post in response to the MORLOCK blog on Raymond Burr and Natalie. There is another mind blowing photo. It shows a half dozen young girls in a ballet class. One is Natalie. One is Stefanie Powers, who played Robert Wagner’s TV wife on “Hart to Hart.” And another is Jill St. John, who became Wagner’s third wife. (Of course, he was once married to Natalie.) From what I read about her Natalie seems like a genuinely good person. Caring, sweet, generous, decent. You know not all the Hollywood stars were good people. Betty Grable was supposedly a stinker. Spencer Tracy is my all-time favorite actor, bar none, but I doubt if I would have ever wanted to meet him or that I could stand him if I did. He seemed often guilty of boorish behavior, particularly when drinking. That is why the tragedy of Natalie’s death makes us all feel so badly. Anyway, I said I would elaborate on my previous remarks. According to Finstad, Robert Redford felt an emotional debt to Natalie for her having picked him for INSIDE DAISY CLOVER. However, he still didn’t consider her for the mother part in the movie he directed, ORDINARY PEOPLE, because he was totally convinced Mary Tyler Moore was the right person for the role. Natalie starred in some of the greatest classics. You know, the people make decision about which films are the classics. Not the critics. Posted By Kimberly Lindbergs : June 18, 2010 4:01 pm Interesting write-up. I have an unnatural love for this film even with its minor flaws. I fell in love with it when I was a kid and connected to it a lot. I think Wood’s performance in it is absolutely terrific but critics haven’t been very kind to the movie since its release, which is a shame. Posted By Jeff L. Shannon : June 19, 2010 2:28 am TO SUZIE, 1st & foremost THANK YOU BIG TIME FOR ONCE-AGAIN GIVING THIS UNDRRATED LADY (aka: “America’s Little Va;entine”) & 2ndly, HAVE ANOTHER COMP. & WOULD VERY MUCH APPRECIATE IT AGAIN IF YOU’D ALSO DROP YOUR OL’ BUDDY A LINE, AS YOU LIKELY KNOW I COULD GO ON FOREVER ABOUT NATALIA, BUT SOMETHING I’M NOT CERTAIN YOU HIT UPON, MAYBE YOU DID *Liz Taylor first turned down this role, so she really wanted it then of course & despite it not exatly being “Splendor….” It’s still worth seeing (**1/2) Especially Plus, to his sudden & dying day *Sydney Pollack-(l934-2008) always said he virtually owed his career to her, because by then she had director approval & kudo’s to Al, for including my A #1 Idol in *”The Great: Spencer Tracy”-(l900-67)-(if you ever want to join in our & that club buudy also drop me a line sometime) & on drinking & celebs. NATALIE was a wee-bit hurt when *Pollack actually wanted her to be a bit fried during 1 scene in this flick. Because he thought maybe her acting wouldn’t be up to the mark,etc Though she liked her wine, she kinda’ was offended by this particular moment.-(the sequence with her drunk in a restaurant & Bronson is on hand,etc) Again to Al, I have the book you cited, but the 1 by THANK YOU Posted By Jeff L. Shannon : June 19, 2010 2:32 am & TO FELLOW “DAISY” FANS-(suzie, please help) WHO DID HER SINGING VOCALS IN ’65′s “Daisy Clover” & ’62′s WILL SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ON THIS TRIVIA BIT, PLEASE I know about M, Nixon & her almost legendary *”West Side…” dubbing. (NOTE: & she of course also dubbed *A. Hepburn” in *”My Faur Lady” Though her dubbing of “Maria” really hurt this grand lttle gal folks! Plus, many made fun of her dancing-(of course all behind her back) Posted By Jeff L. Shannon : June 19, 2010 2:47 am Suzie, I saw that ypou covered all the bases on this 1 again and for us fans of this tiny 5’0 dynamite lil’ lady, THANX! & to all watch for *Redord’s-(yet another of whom he says’ he pretty-much owes his career to her) homage to her-(it’s a couple of yrs old though) & the terrific bit he adds about It backing something of her little trademark-(NOTE: D0n’t know if I should be sharing this one though. So for us that know & for those that now do, she stayed very, very, self conscience about it until that night on November 29th, 1981. A FACT BASED STORY Posted By Jeff L. Shannon : June 19, 2010 2:49 am SUZIE, I KNOW YOU DON’T CONTROLIT, BUT “SPORT SFANS” WE ALSO NEED AN “EDIT/CORRECTION BUTTON” PLEESE! Posted By Jeff L. Shannon : June 19, 2010 3:03 am Really split with you & any others though on “This Property Is Condemned” (**1/2) & the comparison between it “Inside Daisy Clover” Among the major reasons is the latter, though has some problems itself, is the superior of the 2 pictures & she was almost positive from watching it’s dailies she’d at least earn what woulda’ & shoulda’ been her 4th *ACADEMY AWARD npomination for it for 1965. Though it didn’t of course happen??? You be the judge, below are the official nominees for Best Actress that yr (*-always denotes OSCAR wsinner)> *Julie Christie in “Darling” Welp, thars that AGAIN TO SUZIE, 4 STARS & PLEASE DROP ME A LINE MY FRIEND Posted By Jeff L. Shannon : June 20, 2010 9:25 am I had truly hoped you fellow fans of hers’ would respond! PLEASE DO THOUGH & ALSO TO SUSIE??? THANX J.S. (P.S. Not on this topic, though a marvelous pal of hers’ ever since her terrific (***1/2) 1963 “Love With the Proper Stranger”-(her 3rd & final shot at Hollywoods *”GOLDEN STATUTTE”) It’s now also finally-(despite only 28 pictures’ Though: Garbo made (26), Abbott & Costello-(33), Marx Brothers-(13), Valentino even far less. Harlow-(only about 22) Lombard, not too-many as well. James Dean-(he appeard in 6 actually, most don’t know this trivia item), Fairbanks, Sr., *Pickford-(not too-many feature pix), W.C., & Mae West, plus cinema’s ultimate all-around genius: Charles (Spencer) Chaplin, did not do many feature picture’s either! I suggested this sev. years ago about (Steve McQueen) & several actually made light of him only doing twenty -eight? THANX J.S. Posted By Jeff L. Shannon : June 20, 2010 9:51 am Also, has seen what is arguably-(though in own opinion anyway) (P.S. My personal fav. is her shot though of “Deanie” w/white hat in “Splendor”-(even had it enlarged for own “Walls-of-Fame”) & really split with our own SUZIE on those above enlarged shots. A couple are exceptional, again Sorry pal & THANX AS USUAL! Posted By Al Lowe : June 21, 2010 1:42 pm Jeff, the TCM data base says that Natalie did most of her singing in GYPSY. Finstad says the same thing. Natalie apparently was paranoid that she would be dubbed again because of what happened with WEST SIDE STORY, for which she wasn’t even Oscar nominated. Mervyn LeRoy reassured her by telling her that Gypsy, whom she played, did not have to sing very well. As I freely admit, I never watched PROPERTY. So I can’t say whether Natalie should have got an Oscar nomination. I was satisfied with Julie Christie winning for DARLING. Although, and I could be wrong, I don’t think she had the brains and common sense that Natalie did. I don’t mind corresponding by email. I like to write. However, I would rather have us limit the exchange of emails to once a week. My address is: allowe@netscape.com I can understand your being a fanatic about Spencer Tracy. I just don’t know why. You never explained it. Posted By Stephanie : June 21, 2010 4:26 pm Thank you so much for blogging about my favorite film that Natalie made. Seeing her with Robert Redford convinced me that they should have been a couple. Posted By Philip : June 22, 2010 4:50 pm This is the first serious article I’ve read about “This Property is Condemned” and it is certainly appreciated. Wood is one of most interest actors in Hollywood history mainly because several of her most important pictures are problematic, both in story and performance: (1) her insistence on playing Daisy Clover as a tom-boy (big mistake); (2) poor judgment of story (“Sex and the Single Girl”); (3) production mistakes (as highlighted in this article of “Property.” Still, she left so many superior films including “Splendor” “Brainstorm” (great bookmarkers of her career). She possessed that ‘something special’ that marked her a star and I found the TCM programming of her great. Many thanks! Posted By Jeff L. Shannon : June 25, 2010 2:03 am To Al, a big THANX PAL! I shoulda’ thought of that arena as well to check it out myself. Was never as fond of “Gypsy” though well made (***-out of four) in my own opinion, mainly due to it being more about her mom, as opposed to her. Anything though on “Daisy?” I know she had someone dubbing her quite a bit there & about 4 huge musical/singing numbers. As for *”The Great: Tracy” it’s a long story that dates back to when I was a kid. & he became my A #1 Idol around l979/80 My incoming mail is cool & am able to reply ok, but to write from another link until 2 days or so, is not cool. (P.S. I’ve also known the family of *Spence going on about 9yrs now. THANX & PLEASE REPLY AGAIN Posted By Jeff L. Shannon : June 25, 2010 2:16 am To Stephanie, they (NATASHA & *Redford) also attended the same High School “Van Nuys” Though it was the recently also gone>Dennis Hopper(l936-2000) Margaret 0′Brien tells the story of her going out her bedroom window with her & on a motorcyle was Dennis (FRANK BOOTH) Hopper himself!!! To quote another “There’s trouble with a capitol “T” Though he quickly thought 0′Brien was just too boring & a square Prior to that of course the ultra-bizarro>Nicholas Ray-(l9ll-79) Really split with above person about her taking on the tomboy image in “Daisy”-(especially after her look in “Property Stranger” & others) HUGE BROWN EYES!!!-(though she apparently had them blue in a couple.) & I CANNOT RESIST IN REPEATING THE SAME THING, ESPECIALLY UNTIL “THIS FINALLY COMES TO LIGHT”-(see above) Someone was angry TCM did this though for June & not July, her birthday month (July 20th) THANK YOU Posted By Jeff L. Shannon : June 25, 2010 2:31 am To Al, welp, just tried to write you & had a dilemma as I said, it’s ok to write me though & ofcourse safe-(SUZIE, can also attest to that one) Ever see 1946′s “Tomorrow Is Forever?” A fine film (***) & have you seen many *Tracy pix? “Inherit the Wind” “Bad Day at Black Rock” “C. Courageous”-(his fav. as well as his daughter (Susie Tracy) Got a tremendous 1987 docu on dvd “The Spencer Tracy: Legacy” That “His Kate” as he called her narrates & hosts’ Watch for it on TCM. Have some superb stories I can tell, though of course somewhat limited on the family aspect. ANYWAY, HOPE YOU & SUZIEDOLL WRITE ME, OR ANYONE ELSE & AGAIN I THANK YOU Posted By Jeff L. Shannon : June 25, 2010 2:32 am Not certain my e-mail is displayed (spencer64@ij.net) Posted By Jeff L. Shannon : June 25, 2010 2:39 am Again to Al, you really did some homework buddy! May have mentioned this here in in the forums-(myidolspencer) isthe handle.0(NOTE: By the way your on the $$$in regard to *Tracy & meeting him. Though he did have good days’ *Beatty a couple yrs before “Bonnie and Clyde” also virtually nagged NATASHA to think about playing Bonnie, but around then gangster flix were not doing so good & obviously she declined. & she desperately wanted him to portay Tony in *”West Side…” Posted By Al Lowe : June 29, 2010 10:18 am Jeff, there are a couple things that I want to say about Natalie Wood and Spencer Tracy. Natalie died in 1981 in a mysterious incident involving drowning after she fell from a yacht. No one who has written into the Morlocks has wanted to discuss this and neither do I. As for Spencer, I was 18 and a big fan when he died in 1967. A theater in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, the college town in the area, responded to the news by playing two of his movies – CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS and BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK. Even at the time I realized that this was unusual. Anyway, I’ll talk to you next week. Posted By Jane : July 19, 2010 10:19 am I loved “This Property is Condemned,” and I thought Natalie acted her — off. This movie reached deep into the heart of small railroad towns all over the country, and the desperation of the youth to get out. It also portrayed the hardened “mama” very well–just trying to survive a dismal existence. A VERY UNDERRATED MOVIE AND MOVIE STAR IN THE PERSON OF NATALIE WOOD. Posted By Jeff L. Shannon : August 8, 2010 1:06 am Found-out whom did most of her singing in “DAISY” Someone named (Jackie Warren) Who else has heard of this 1??? Posted By Jeff L. Shannon : August 8, 2010 1:08 am By this time she had pretty-uch “perfected the dubbing” Warren also did “The Great Race” & the nommed song “Sweetheart It’s stunning to me she was snubbed for “AMERICA’S SWEETHEART” in “DAISY” But none iof the number’s were also snubbed??? Posted By Jeff L. Shannon : August 8, 2010 1:24 am AGAIN TO AL, PLEASE DROP ME A LINE, GIVEN WE ARE MRE THAN JUST FANSOF BOTH!!! (spencer64@ij.net & spencer1964@LIVE.com) YOUR LUCKY TO HAVE SEEN NOT ONLY HISFAV IN (“C. Courageous” according to his diary) BUT THE SUPERB (“Black Rock”) IN A THEATRE!!! OSBORNE JUST TOUCHED ON THIS ON “THE ESSENTIALS” A TRUE STORY TOO. *SPENCE WOULD ALWAYS SAY HE REFUSED TO DO A PICTURE, THEN CHANGED HIS MIND-(back-and-4th) SO MGM TOLD HIM ALAN LADD WAS SET TO PLAY MacCREEDY INSTEAD. AS FOR NATALIA, SHE ALWAYS SPOKE OF HER STUNNING FEAR OF “DARK WATER” NAME OF “THE DINGY” WAS “THE VALIANT” & THOUGH I DISLIKE R.J. AS A PERSON-(sev. reasons) AGAIN BUDDY, PLEASE CONTACT ME MANY HAVE NOT ONLY FROM TCM, BUT MANY OTHER SITES-(even family of *”The Great: Tracy”) THANX (P.S. Unfortunately, sole pic. I’ve been able to see on the big screeen of his was “GUESS WHO,SCOMING TO DINNER”-(though at a genuine movie-palace “Tampa Theatre” est: l926-) Posted By Jeff L. Shannon : August 8, 2010 1:47 am TO AL, AGAIN, the main reason *Tracy never had a cult-audience ala: *Bogie,etc is that he made it look to easy. He also new NATALIE due to friendship with Wagner & I have photos at her 20th birthday Posted By Jeff L. Shannon : August 8, 2010 2:00 am ALMOST 4-GOT! Are you also a fan of *”THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD: SINATRA?” He was among pallbearer’s at his June l967 funeral, at the other & about %75 per cent of most we see on a daily basis here on TCM as well “Forest Lawn” in GLENDALE, CALIF. NOT THE ONE IN THE HOLLYWOOD HILLS, were more modern stars’ chose. All the way at the top of 318 acress. So much so, on 2nd visit I took a cab & my ears actually popped as if in an Airplane! AN EXAMPLE: *Gable, *Tracy, *Bogie, *Jimmy Stewart, *Walt Disney-(though I never found his!), Harlow, Lombard, Chaney, Sr., *Dressler, *Beery, *McLaglen, Red Skelton, *Thalberg, *Selznick, Sid Grauman, *Goldwyn, W.C., *J. Hersholt-(has an amazing grave outside”Great Maus.” on horseback,etc) Michael Jackson-(though a likely falsehood!?), H. Lloyd-(also had 1 of Tinsel-Town’s largest mansions!), *Pickford, Tom Mix, J. Gilbert, R. Taylor, Alan “Shane” Ladd, *Burns & Allen, Chico & Harpo Marx, *Curtiz, Mamoulian, *Wyler, *Cukor & many more as an example of just about every night on TCM!!! THANK YOU AGAIN Leave a Reply |
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im with you. i like this property is condemned and inside daisy clover…. they are just bad good movies.. or good bad movies… but natalie wood is compelling and redford is interesting eye candy.. and the story strains for more… but somehow it is satisfying… i liked this blog alot. i could have kept reading more to tell you the truth.. excellent.