Joan Crawford: Not the Girl-Next-Door

[Snarky Oracle!]

Maybe AUTUMN LEAVES should have been overtly autumn (as we've discussed before, a much underused cinematic thing) and shot in color (Joan in fact did very few color pictures, and indeed, its use in TROG failed to obscure her burping).

It might have made the movie better, or worse.

Robert Aldrich directed, didn't he, a few years before BABY JANE?

 

[ClassyCo]

Maybe AUTUMN LEAVES should have been overtly autumn (as we've discussed before, a much underused cinematic thing)

AUTUMN LEAVES should've been more distinctly autumn in appearance and tone. I mean, heck, the seasonal name is in the title.

and shot in color (Joan in fact did very few color pictures,

Joan almost seems out of place in color. I always think of her movies as B&W. During her youth, I believe her only color film was ICE FOLLIES, but it was a dud.

and indeed, its use in TROG failed to obscure her burping).

TROG is hilariously bad, and a sad end to a long and quite accomplished film career.

It might have made the movie better, or worse.

It's hard to tell. I might be interested in a colorized version of the movie if it employed more autumn-themed visuals.

Robert Aldrich directed, didn't he, a few years before BABY JANE

Yes, Aldrich was the director. He and Joan worked well together, and it was she who wanted him to direct BABY JANE.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Joan almost seems out of place in color. I always think of her movies as B&W. During her youth, I believe her only color film was ICE FOLLIES, but it was a dud.

She was also in IT'S A GREAT FEELING a little bit. That was in color. So was JOHNNY GUITAR. And BERSERK!.

As you know, I have this 1966/1967 Hammer-esque movie-that-doesn't-exist in lurid Halloweenish colour inside my head, in which Joan plays twins -- one evil (wealthy, living in a gothic mansion on a hill, donned in her cruelly rococo mid-'60s beehive coif and giant choker necklace) and the other, good (long, cascading hair and profoundly clairvoyant). I think it's called HORNET'S NEST.

It would be intensely autumnal.

Maybe with A.I. it can be realized!

TROG is hilariously bad, and a sad end to a long and quite accomplished film career.

Funnily enough, if they'd dressed the missing link in a complete monkey suit (instead of one with the knees and elbows cut out, so you can see his "human" joints) TROG's reputation might not be so dire. Otherwise, its crapola quotient is not all that high for a '60s B-movie.

That, too, could be corrected with today's technology, by a kid on his computer.

 

[Crimson]

I'd probably like it less now because of the domestic violence aspect of the story

The typewriter scene was a bit much -- outright physical abuse, with Joan literally crawling back to him. Warners-era Joan would have shot the bastard, while wearing a mink stole.

Maybe AUTUMN LEAVES should have been overtly autumn (as we've discussed before, a much underused cinematic thing)

Few things establish mood like seasonal specificity, and it's one of Old Hollywood's big misses. Nearly everything was film in Southern California, so autumn or winter were rarely convincingly portrayed (if at all). For years, I thought IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE was filmed on location in New England or something, so it's impressive how well Capra replicated winter on a studio backlot.

shot in color (Joan in fact did very few color pictures

Crawford, like Dietrich, was better suited to B&W; not the least due to hitting her peak during the noir years.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Few things establish mood like seasonal specificity, and it's one of Old Hollywood's big misses. Nearly everything was film in Southern California, so autumn or winter were rarely convincingly portrayed (if at all). For years, I thought IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE was filmed on location in New England or something, so it's impressive how well Capra replicated winter on a studio backlot.

And, see, that's the thing -- Old Hollywood (or New Hollywood for that matter) never even seemed to try. They could fake snow in the studio and sometimes did, but despite Los Angeles relative lack of fall or winter, there was almost no real attempt to cinematically conjure up an autumn.

There are lots of ways to fake it, even if the geographic location in which you're shooting is lacking in fall leaves.

Whenever I imagine a movie in my head, I tend to envision an intensively autumnal atmosphere. I've yet to see a definitive Hollywood movie to really tap into that.

 

[Crimson]

there was almost no real attempt to cinematically conjure up an autumn

It's true, autumn has been evoked, either as a season or a vibe, very rarely in movies. That's how I ended up watching the Crawford film -- I wanted something that would feel fall-ish, since I'm not ready to start with October Halloween films. About the only movies that tap into an autumnal atmosphere are horror movies, and even then not too often.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

It's true, autumn has been evoked, either as a season or a vibe, very rarely in movies. That's how I ended up watching the Crawford film -- I wanted something that would feel fall-ish, since I'm not ready to start with October Halloween films. About the only movies that tap into an autumnal atmosphere are horror movies, and even then not too often.

I understand that Carpenter's original HALLOWEEN was filmed in April 1978, in a Los Angeles suburb, for about 25 cents. But why wasn't the sequel, or sequels, filmed with a much greater sense of autumnal bravura?

Nobody thought about it. As long as you saw a jack-o-lantern and a butcher knife, they've done their job.

Not that I'm a big fan of HALLOWEEN, much less the B-movie film series, but that's where some CGI sweetening could really make a difference.

 

[ClassyCo]

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Heh. The bitchy women are bitchy to each other because of men.

It's never her fault.

 

[ginnyfan]

Have you guys seen Hitchcock's The Trouble with Harry (1955)? That's the definitive autumn movie. It doesn't get more autumnal that this so you should check it out. Filmed on location in Vermont, it's breathtakingly beautiful, capturing the golden, yellow and browns of the season like no other movie. It's a lesser known Hitchcock because it's more of a comedy, but still a black one, perfect for Halloween, since it's all about murder and dead bodies.



As for Autumn Leaves (1956), I actually like it and think it's one of Joan's better 50s works. It's a bit more low key and real, at least when it comes to her character who is a regular working woman, more relatable than her usual glam divas. Plus it deals with themes of loneliness, abuse and fears, at a certain age, which is where the title comes I guess....

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Have you guys seen Hitchcock's The Trouble with Harry (1955)? That's the definitive autumn movie. It doesn't get more autumnal that this so you should check it out. Filmed on location in Vermont, it's breathtakingly beautiful, capturing the golden, yellow and browns of the season like no other movie. It's a lesser known Hitchcock because it's more of a comedy, but still a black one, perfect for Halloween, since it's all about murder and dead bodies.

Yes, it's a good, rare example. Haven't seen it in years!

 

[Crimson]

THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY crossed my mind as an autumn film, although it's been so many years since I've seen it I couldn't recall if it was even in color. Oh, well. It's October 1st now. I'm sliding into Halloween mode.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

One of the few effective cinematic examples of autumn is a cartoon, the forlornly melancholy vibe of IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN (1966). The music and the "graphic blandishments" set the mood, and make it the most memorable Peanuts special this side of the first Christmas installment a year earlier.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Just because...

 

[Crimson]

One of the few effective cinematic examples of autumn is a cartoon, the forlornly melancholy vibe of IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN (1966).

A good point. Although technically a Halloween special and one built around trick-or-treating, it's not particularly Halloween-esque in tone. It's not eerie or spooky, not even in that Abbott & Costello in a haunted house, kid-friendly kind of way. It does, however, have a nice cozy vibe that feels perfectly autumnal.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

A good point. Although technically a Halloween special and one built around trick-or-treating, it's not particularly Halloween-esque in tone. It's not eerie or spooky, not even in that Abbott & Costello in a haunted house, kid-friendly kind of way. It does, however, have a nice cozy vibe that feels perfectly autumnal.

But what is particularly Halloween-esque?

 

[Crimson]

But what is particularly Halloween-esque?

The suffocating smell of your face inside a plastic mask, after the brutal sting of a rubber band slapping against the back of your head.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

It's just after 6a.m. here and I'm watching Joan's last theatrical film (decidedly not from her Warners' era) and it's so very, very TROGS IN THE BAND (1970). I'd forgotten how fey it all is.

Crawford lisps throughout the whole thing, the effects of her vodka and brandy on display. Sure, it's all utterly stupid, but today you forgive it for being so old -- y'know, like DYNASTY.


"Now, finish your carrots..."

"Give Christina back to me, Trog...."

 

[ClassyCo]

It's just after 6a.m. here and I'm watching Joan's last theatrical film (decidedly not from her Warners' era) and it's so very, very TROGS IN THE BAND (1970). I'd forgotten how fey it all is.

Crawford lisps throughout the whole thing, the effects of her vodka and brandy on display. Sure, it's all utterly stupid, but today you forgive it for being so old -- y'know, like DYNASTY.


"Now, finish your carrots..."

"Give Christina back to me, Trog...."

I watched TROG some years ago, and I personally found it to be schlocky fun, even if it is a sad swan song to the long and accomplished career of Joan Crawford.

My biggest draw back (as it is common for detractors of this movie) is the costume used for Trog. He literally is "the missing link" (which was the film's original title) and his appearance is every but the head-scratcher.

I have TROG in a trio box set along with CAGED with Eleanor Parker and THE BIG CUBE with Lana Turner.

Might watch it again one of these days.

 

[Crimson]

There have been so many films through the years who have developed reputations for being high-camp, knee-slapping, so-bad-they're-good. Usually when I watch these movies my reaction is, "that was dull". TROG is such a film. It's a passably competent movie -- to the extent that it's at least not ploddingly inept -- undone by cruddy production values. But mostly it's very, very boring. If not for being Joan's last film, it would be rightfully forgotten.

Crawford's career was never highbrow, but she didn't deserve to go out on such a shoddy production. There's very differing accounts of what Joan was like during filming; FEUD, at least, went with the version of her being a befuddled dunk giving a hapless performance. Whatever her drinking was or wasn't at the time, I don't see any evidence of it in her acting. She's fine in the role, considering she's was required to perform utter nonsense. The old command and star power was still there, if a bit dimmed. She was still a fine looking lady -- even if I think she should have kept the silverish coif rather than going auburn.