dirac

I forgot to mention that. I add my thanks to Quiggin's.

I appreciate your clarification and am glad to know that you intended no such implication. Regarding "shrugged off," kfw just made the point I wanted to make much better than I did and I'll leave it at that.

So glad you enjoyed the movie, puppytreats. It's a great, great favorite of mine. If you are interested in more background information about the making of the film and the selection of Shearer to play the role, you might want to read the relevant chapters of the director Michael Powell's autobiography "A Life in Movies." Shearer was fearful that she would forfeit her position in the company by decamping to make a movie (still not a wholly respectable art form back then) while de Valois wasn't happy because Powell was open about not wanting Fonteyn. The notes in the Criterion DVD edition are also helpful if you decide to buy a copy. The role of Ivan Boleslawsky was played by Robert Helpmann of the Royal. When I was a kid seeing the film for the first time I was taken aback - I had no idea who he was and he was not my idea of a premier danseur. I would say that Lermontov is based more on the popular idea of Diaghilev, but the story is based on the relationship between Nijinsky and Diaghilev - which ended no less tragically, in a sense, than the story of Vicky and Lermontov.

If this proves to be nothing but company politics and the beefing of a few disaffected people, then well and good. But as pointed out earlier in the thread, endemic use of a drug like cocaine within an organization is bad news and not to be shrugged off. (I would also disagree respectfully with the apparent suggestion that employees of Wal-Mart are somehow not worthy of the same protections afforded to dancers.)

I agree with the points Quiggin made and I don't see any evidence of media overreach related to "celebrities" here, unless I'm missing something. No doubt company politics are part of the story, they usually are. I quite agree about drawing too many conclusions from statements taken out of context. Nevertheless, "Nobody lives in New York for 15 years without trying cocaine," sounds suspiciously excuse-making. All the more reason to look into these allegations. Dancers are often very young and under great pressure - a vulnerable population, I should think.

If Nicole Kidman would consider going back to her original hair the role of Brooks is one she could knock out of the park.

A new study alleges heavy snowfall and leadership issues at the Royal Danish Ballet. Two articles posted in the Links, one in the July 9 thread and another in the July 7 thread.

Nice article, Quiggin, thank you.

She's a more relaxed presence these days. Maybe all the fluffy light comedies she's been playing in have helped. I liked "It's Complicated" much better than I thought I would. I would still like to see her in something more substantial and it would be nice if this biopic is it.

Their personal histories were certainly in mind at the time. Both of them are excellent, especially Clift.

I like Red River. It's a tad overrated, like a lot of classic Westerns in my experience, but it's very good until the notorious washout ending. A Place in the Sun is badly dated for this viewer, and I found myself getting annoyed with Stevens' obvious, if understandable, infatuation with his beautiful stars. (It screws up Dreiser's point, too.) Clift may well be better in the later movie, but I like his cowboy because the role shows his wiry, sexy, edgy side, although I read that Wayne kept breaking up during their big fight scene. Anthony_ NYC writes: His eyes, and those incredible cheekbones. He is superb in Judgment at Nuremburg, but I disliked the way he and Judy Garland were in effect being exploited for their offscreen sufferings, and their stardom took you right out of the movie. Special Guest Victims, as Gavin Lambert said.

Thanks for reminding us that the movie is an adaptation of an adaptation, AnthonyNYC. I’m not sure if I would call the novella great, either, but it’s one of my favorite James. You are right that Catherine is stronger in the dramatized version, much as the title “The Heiress,” is more theater-minded than the original, but I’m not sure that James’ vision of the character, and the subtlety of his ending, would be right for stage or screen. That said, I think de Havilland’s Catherine is pretty darned dull and unattractive, especially for a movie heroine, and it’s hard not to feel that Clift is going to be working for the money. De Havilland even does a good job of making herself plain – okay, almost. Dr. Sloper is right about a lot of things. He’s right that his daughter is unattractive and slow and he’s also right to forbid her to marry Townsend. But there’s no love for Catherine behind his opposition to the marriage. IMO Quiggin, The Heiress is excellent, and still one of the best film adaptations of James. Richardson, de Havilland, Clift, and Hopkins are all at their best or close to it and Wyler’s direction is skilled and unstagey. The Osmond-Madame Merle connection hadn't occurred to me but I think you're right.

Thanks, Mashinka. I quite enjoyed some of those posts in the comments section. "Bulldog chewing a wasp."

I’ve got nothing against Hopkins, miliosr. I was really thinking more of Catherine being cooped up permanently with Aunt Lavinia. I always thought Clift threw “The Heiress” off balance a bit, because he is way too appealing. Henry James makes it clear that Morris is bad trouble and Catherine is better off alone than with him, but in the film, not so much. Clift is also very attractive in one of his lesser known early films, “The Big Lift.” Really, he’s drop dead gorgeous in everything up to and including “From Here to Eternity.” (The shocking thing for me when I first saw “Raintree County” was not so much how bad he looked after his accident, which I expected, but what had happened to him in the years between Eternity and Raintree.)

True for the most part, but Karen doesn’t always show up so well. Having totally misjudged her best friend as well as her new friend, she engineers a rather sneaky plot by which Margo winds up missing a performance and giving Eve her big break at Margo’s expense. Not a very nice thing to do no matter how good your intentions allegedly are, and Karen does it not just to help Eve but to get back at Margo.

Lol, indeed. Having always liked Celeste Holm a great deal in the few movies I've seen her in, I now have to investigate Gentleman's Agreement. Thoughts from those of you who know it? It doesn’t hold up very well, like many Message Movies of the period, but it’s watchable enough. Holm is a plus, of course, but John Garfield is really the only other performer with a pulse. The director was Elia Kazan but it was still early days and the movie doesn’t have the zippy performances and high emotions you might associate with him and he had little control over the finished product.

I find the husband's behavior in that article to be very creepy. Such marriages can be as satisfactory as any other kind. Usually the younger person is a woman because traditionally it's men with the money, fame, and/or power. But then when I first saw "The Heiress" I thought Olivia de Havilland should let Montgomery Clift back in the house. He would have been chastened and she would have shown him where the power was. Sure he's a hustler, but money spent on the upkeep of the youthful Monty would be money well spent in my view, and the two of them could have been perfectly happy. Just don't sign anything over to him and make sure he doesn't get the dough should you die a suspicious death. Beats a lonely middle age with Miriam Hopkins.

That was how I read the article as well. It's hard to know what she intended when she handed over those powers to her son and the son in question seems to harbor a great deal of resentment towards his mother. Since Holm now seems pretty well out of it the issue is moot - she and her husband had no shot in court. Hardly destitution but on the other hand, it seems to be all money made largely by the sweat of her brow and the sons have no automatic entitlement to it. In addition her health care costs are probably quite high, even assuming she has private insurance and Medicare. In such circumstances $300,000 isn't as much as one would think.

Happy to assist, leonid. Thank you, Quiggin, I was hoping you would post. I myself know little about Twombly beyond some generalities.

Thanks for posting the news, leonid. An era draws to a close. Another Guardian piece:

It does look like Morris. You're very welcome, bart, I like the picture, too, and so nice to have it in color. Too bad you can't see anything of Farrell except her hands, she's standing right next to Balanchine. I could look at pictures of Kelly all day. Thanks for the information about Gilpin's book, Mashinka. Charlene is indeed very striking in her broad shouldered athletic way, although in another odd twist in this story she's said to have had work done to make her more Grace-like. Her new hubby has a sort of ghostly resemblance to his mother, in a chubby pasty-faced balding sort of way.

Oh yes, Kate and Wills. They're coming to L.A. next. Photo of Princess Grace visiting backstage with Balanchine and dancers. I remember reading about the Gilpin marriage in her obit - she died not long ago. I wonder what the backstory is to that.

Joffrey dancers are facing a lockout and cancellation of part of the season. Story in the Sun-Times:

I'll bet Charlene loved the "even if." It was a beautiful dress. I also liked the little bridesmaids in their straw hats. Photo gallery here.

Awesome link, lmspear. Thank you!