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<blockquote data-quote="Crimson" data-source="post: 268480" data-attributes="member: 5079">I find it hard to have much of an opinion on Tallulah Bankhead; there&#039;s not enough of her work to really judge her.&nbsp; Her legendary theatrical reputation is ephemeral, because nothing remains except reviews.&nbsp; Her films of the early 30s, in which Paramount tried to fashion her into an American Dietrich, are poor.&nbsp; (Although THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP is interesting at least; she also has Gary Cooper, Charles Laughton and&nbsp; Cary Grant as leading men!)&nbsp; Bette Davis snagged her famous stage roles when they made it to the screen and then, to rub salt in the wound, impersonated her in ALL ABOUT EVE.&nbsp; The other great missed opportunities of her career was not starring in any of Tennessee Williams&#039; work, even though they were friends and he allegedly wrote both THE GLASS MENAGERIE and A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE with her in mind.&nbsp; By the time she got around to playing Blanche on stage in the mid-50s, her reviews were poor.&nbsp; I think heavy drinking and years of playing essentially a parody of herself -- much like John Barrymore -- had dulled her talents.&nbsp; So, really, at that&#039;s left to judge is Hitchcock&#039;s LIFEBOAT.&nbsp; She&#039;s good in the film, but really just playing &#039;Tallulah&#039;.&nbsp; Likewise some of her TV appearances are fun, but she was just playing -- or spoofing -- her own persona.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Crimson, post: 268480, member: 5079"] I find it hard to have much of an opinion on Tallulah Bankhead; there's not enough of her work to really judge her. Her legendary theatrical reputation is ephemeral, because nothing remains except reviews. Her films of the early 30s, in which Paramount tried to fashion her into an American Dietrich, are poor. (Although THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP is interesting at least; she also has Gary Cooper, Charles Laughton[I] and[/I] Cary Grant as leading men!) Bette Davis snagged her famous stage roles when they made it to the screen and then, to rub salt in the wound, impersonated her in ALL ABOUT EVE. The other great missed opportunities of her career was not starring in any of Tennessee Williams' work, even though they were friends and he allegedly wrote both THE GLASS MENAGERIE and A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE with her in mind. By the time she got around to playing Blanche on stage in the mid-50s, her reviews were poor. I think heavy drinking and years of playing essentially a parody of herself -- much like John Barrymore -- had dulled her talents. So, really, at that's left to judge is Hitchcock's LIFEBOAT. She's good in the film, but really just playing 'Tallulah'. Likewise some of her TV appearances are fun, but she was just playing -- or spoofing -- her own persona. [/QUOTE]

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Who played JR Ewing?