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<blockquote data-quote="Crimson" data-source="post: 437697" data-attributes="member: 5079">I don&#039;t think &quot;against type&quot; resonates much with me; I think actors generally have their lanes and work best when they stay in them.&nbsp; Call it the Olivia in CHARLOTTE conundrum&nbsp; - yes, the revelation that Olivia was the villainess was a bigger surprise than if Crawford had played the role but, once past that shock, it&#039;s just Olivia giving an Olivia performance and being slightly miscast. Joan might have been more obvious but, I think, more effective.I&#039;ll admit, MILDRED PIERCE isn&#039;t one of my favorites.&nbsp; I appreciate that it earned Joan her Oscar and, more importantly, put her on her Warners-noir path that led to topnotch trash like FLAMINGO ROAD.&nbsp; I mean, it&#039;s a nifty film of course, but even with Crawford&#039;s steeliness it&#039;s still just long suffering mother to a brat soap and I think Stanwyck&#039;s sympathy would have been just as effective.But Joan never playing a slutty, scheming noir vamp is a massive miss. Stanwyck, of course, went full throttled sleezy seductress in DOUBLE INDEMNTY; I think Joan would have skirted between phoney-baloney victim and scheming monster.&nbsp;&nbsp; If not INDEMNTIY, I&#039;d be just as fine with her in THE MALTESE FALCON.&nbsp; Mary Astor was a delight overall, but she has never really worked for me in that role.&nbsp;&nbsp; Joan was immensely alluring in the 40s and, as good as some of her films here, I don&#039;t think any of them fully tapped her flinty sexuality.&nbsp; She needed one femme fatale to her credit.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Crimson, post: 437697, member: 5079"] I don't think "against type" resonates much with me; I think actors generally have their lanes and work best when they stay in them. Call it the Olivia in CHARLOTTE conundrum - yes, the revelation that Olivia was the villainess was a bigger surprise than if Crawford had played the role but, once past that shock, it's just Olivia giving an Olivia performance and being slightly miscast. Joan might have been more obvious but, I think, more effective. I'll admit, MILDRED PIERCE isn't one of my favorites. I appreciate that it earned Joan her Oscar and, more importantly, put her on her Warners-noir path that led to topnotch trash like FLAMINGO ROAD. I mean, it's a nifty film of course, but even with Crawford's steeliness it's still just long suffering mother to a brat soap and I think Stanwyck's sympathy would have been just as effective. But Joan never playing a slutty, scheming noir vamp is a massive miss. Stanwyck, of course, went full throttled sleezy seductress in DOUBLE INDEMNTY; I think Joan would have skirted between phoney-baloney victim and scheming monster. If not INDEMNTIY, I'd be just as fine with her in THE MALTESE FALCON. Mary Astor was a delight overall, but she has never really worked for me in that role. Joan was immensely alluring in the 40s and, as good as some of her films here, I don't think any of them fully tapped her flinty sexuality. She needed one femme fatale to her credit. [/QUOTE]

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Who played JR Ewing?