5.31.2007

Supporting Actress Sundays for June '07: 1978

The results are in from the voting for June's Supporting Actress Sundays. With nearly two thirds of the 100+ votes cast for this June, StinkyLulu and The Smackdowners will take on...

Supporting Actresses Smackdown for 1978:
Sunday, June 24.
Featuring veteran Smackdowners Ken & Tim,
welcoming newbies Goatdog & AdamW,
hostessed by yours truly, StinkyLulu.
Save the date!




Whoo-whee, off we go!!!!!

5.30.2007

Hope Emerson in Caged (1950) - Supporting Actress Sundays

StinkyLulu does love them prison stories. Men's prisons. (Oz!) Women's prisons. (Prisoner Cell Block H!) Real prisons. (Scared Straight!) Metaphorical prisons. (Gilligan's Island!) Prison stories just have all of StinkyLulu's most favorite narrative elements all mixed up in one crazy cocktail: vast idiosyncratic ensembles; life and death dramas of corrupted innocence; vivid villainy; race/sex/class/power dynamics writ large; insinuations of queerness floating as a haze in the air; stylized slang talk; and -- of course -- all those shower scenes. Yes, oh yes, StinkyLulu just loves them prison stories. All of which meant that -- when getting ready for StinkyLulu's very first encounter with the film that (arguably) invented the "women in prison" genre -- StinkyLulu got, well, just a little excited, especially for that film's most legendary performance: the malevolent prison matron played by...


...Hope Emerson in Caged (1950).
approximately 23 minutes and 47 seconds
22 scenes
roughly 25% of film's total running time

Hope Emerson plays Evelyn Harper, the viciously corrupt, bullying guard at the women's prison into which the "innocent" Marie Allen (Eleanor Parker in a nifty, high-style performance) is tossed.

The most gratifying prison stories build along two complementary, cathartic arcs: escape and vengeance. The "getting out" part of the story typically frames the whole narrative -- beginning with a central character arriving to the prison and culminating with their il/legitmate release -- but, in between this arrival and departure, it's the "getting back" part of the story that typically focuses the action. And to that end, every prison movie has to have at least one supervillain, who -- in a typically exultant redemptive climax -- eats it. Sometimes the warden's the villain, sometimes it's another prisoner, sometimes -- as in Caged -- it's a guard. And Emerson's Harper more than delivers the prison movie's necessary full-throttle villainy for Caged. She's plain mean. Indeed, by the end of the film, it's clear that Emerson's Harper has no redeeming features whatsoever, with even the film's other baddies (like Lee Patrick's delightfully dykey mistress of vice, Elvira Powell) starting to steer clear. But the prison movie supervillain's task is to provide enough spectacles of villainy to keep the audience on the side of the "good" prisoners, and, here, Emerson's Harper definitely delivers.

It's worth noting how, in Caged, Hope Emerson joins the ranks of a special category of actresses at the edges. Thick limbed, 6 feet 2 inches tall, with a nasal bark of a voice, Hope Emerson was quite a human specimen. (In the 1950 Smackdown, Ken aptly likened Emerson's figure to that of Foghorn Leghorn. And Caged's costume and camera work do Emerson no favors either -- there are times when it seems that Emerson might just have the biggest ass in all of cinema.) But Emerson ultimately emerges as one of those fascinating performers that come along from time to time -- like Zelda Rubinstein or Darlene Cates -- who get cast expressly (sometimes jokingly) for their physical extraordinariness but who nonetheless are capable of delivering vivid, effective, enduring performances. Which is what Emerson does in Caged.

For, in order to make Evelyn Harper an effective prison movie supervillain, Hope Emerson didn't need to do all that much but simply be real big, real ugly and real mean. And it's true that Emerson's barking, bullying behemoth of a performance is marked by little shading, nuance or idiosyncrasy. But with forthright clarity, Emerson’s Evelyn Harper emerges as both monster and person, both the malevolent embodiment of pure cruelty and a petty, greedy woman working the few angles available to her. Emerson’s Harper is real big, real mean, real dumb, but – somehow – eerily real.

And that’s what StinkyLulu so loves about this performance: Emerson's Harper is clumsy, grasping, dumb as a post, giddily cruel -- all without some idiotic, redeeming "human glimpse" into the character's private pain. It sure ain't the most sophisticated, actorly performance in the bunch; indeed, rarely has such cinematic villainy been so so crass, so plain, so unenigmatic, so unremarkable. And perhaps precisely because neither Emerson nor Caged make it clear whether Harper was born so mean, achieved such meanness, or had such meanness thrust upon her, Hope Emerson's performance in Caged stands out as an early, post-WWII portrait of what came to be called "the banality of evil" ...as remarkable for what it is (vivid, uncomplicated, genuinely scary) as what it is not (arch, theatrical, amplified). Emerson's Harper just is what she is: simply, profoundly, brutally, vividly mean. Starkly evil and glaringly human.

And, as a result, Emerson's Harper endures as iconic prison supervillain - often imitated, rarely matched, never surpassed - just crazy good.

5.29.2007

To Dos Day

___ Item 1: WEAR an ascot...
...in memory of the one, the only - Charles Nelson Reilly. One of the beloved SuperQueers of StinkyLulu's tv-obsessed childhood. And then get ready to wear that ascot again when CNR's concert documentary (The Life of Reilly) hits theatres this fall.

___ Item 2: WON'T you be...
...my neighbor? This excellent Mental Floss post got StinkyLulu all misty. Over Mister Rogers. And then the lead of this week's PostSecret hit the flipside. But, hey, I'd take Fred Rogers as a spiritual mentor...any day. Take a listen to Act One of the "Neighbors" episode of This American Life for a vivid reminder...
!!!EDITED TO ADD: In comments, Jakey pointed me to Fred Rogers' acceptance of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1997 Daytime Emmys. Wow. Check it out.


___ Item 3: ASK anything...
...with Beth & Val as they share their distinctly bold insights about "Punching Kittens". They're NSFW and freakin'ilarious; "Poop" is purty funny too. (Via BitchPhD).

___ Item 4: IMAGINE the possibility...
...of Michelle Obama living in The White House. Whatever Ms. Dickerson says, StinkyLulu's fascinated by what it'd be like to have a woman with this kind of clarity in national public life.

___ Item 5: VISIT Nathaniel...
...at his new gig: Zoom-In Online.

___ Item 6: FINISH out...
...Supporting Actress - 1950 with tomorrow's post on Smackdown winner, Hope Emerson. (While you're at it, be sure to check out the profile of Celeste Holm, which StinkyLulu sneakily backposted early Monday.) Because a new month of Supporting Actress Sundays is just around the corner...

Have at it, lovelies...

5.27.2007

Supporting Actress Smackdown - 1950



The Year is...



And the Smackdowners for the 23rd Annual Academy Awards are...
VERTIGO'S PSYCHO of And Your Little Blog Too
KEN of Canadian Ken On...
SAMURAI FROG of Electronic Cerebrectomy
JAMES HENRY of Rants of a Diva
and
Yours Truly,
STINKYLULU.

1950's Supporting Actresses are...
(Each Smackdowner's comments are arranged according to ascending levels of love. Click on the nominee's name/film to see StinkyLulu's Supporting Actress Sunday review.)
Hope Emerson in Caged
James Henry - From her slovenly entrance lying on a bed, eating chocolates and reading a romance magazine, Emerson is fully committed to her sadistic matron and making her as deliciously campy as possible...
Ken -
Built like Foghorn Leghorn, she’s six foot two of slow swagger, prowling around looking for the next can of worms to pry open. Torturing her victims with that slow motion chuckle from Hell. Line up you tramps - and salute one of the great screen heavies....
Vertigo's Psycho - Diabolical? Evil to the core? Let’s just say if Hannibal Lecter found himself under Emerson’s matronly watch, her Evelyn Harper would have no trouble keeping him and his fava beans in line. Emerson’s vivid, take-no-prisoners malevolence is a big reason why Caged still shocks....
SamuraiFrog - A flamboyant B-movie villain, but a delicious one. Her evil is so second nature that she casually eats chocolates while practicing it. Emerson never overplays it, never stops to bask in scene-chewing. She simply acts. And she’s marvelous...
StinkyLulu - Little shading, nuance or idiosyncrasy marks this barking, bullying behemoth of a performance. But with forthright clarity, Emerson’s Evelyn Harper emerges as both monster and person, both the malevolent embodiment of pure cruelty and a petty, greedy woman working the few angles available to her. Emerson’s Harper is real big, real mean, real dumb, and – somehow – vividly real. And that’s pretty f’n scary...
TOTAL: (24)

Celeste Holm in All About Eve
Vertigo's Psycho - One of my favorite films, but Holm is off her (normally A-one) game, coming across as over-rehearsed and even a bit strident in many of her key scenes. Her polished professionalism is in evidence, but where is the light, spontaneous touch found in other signature Holm performances?...
James Henry - It’s not entirely Holm’s fault that Karen is rather a bore (her lack of juicy dialogue is one reason) but she doesn’t help matters with her incessantly quiet and controlled voice, tiny gestures and overall unimaginative performance...
SamuraiFrog - Holm’s role is pretty thankless. And while she certainly gets her good scenes, as an actress she never really rises above adequate for me. So until they start handing out awards for adequac...
StinkyLulu - Holm provides an accumulation of winning glimpses into this good hearted woman but her characterization skirts the edges of Karen’s power-brokering, influence-peddling complexity. A charismatic but glib performance...
Ken - During Margo’s “bumpy night”, she accuses Karen of “unyielding good taste”. Those words – hardly an insult – fit Holm’s screen persona snugly. Add warmth, wit and a certain sly twinkle. Had Claudette Colbert played Margo, as planned, Celeste might’ve seemed redundant. After all, Colbert radiates those same qualities. But as a soothing counterpoint to the prickly Davis, Holm works just fine....
TOTAL: (12)

Josephine Hull in Harvey
Ken - A squat little person with a high, piping voice. Genteel, but without the specificity of the great ditherers. A background biddy suddenly handed the lead ‘cause Marion Lorne phoned in sick. Yes, she’s better than the material – but the material’s piffle....
StinkyLulu - With utter seriousness, Hull takes Veta Louise's thoughtless conventionality and layers it with farcical idiosyncrasy – using a full arsenal of character actress tricks/tics – to create a seriously dingbatty character. A dear (& often truly funny) showcase of Hull’s especial gifts....
SamuraiFrog - This is a very easy movie to like; it’s pleasant and mannered and whimsical, but not particularly challenging. It’s broad and simplistic, and Hull’s performance is the same. It matches the tone perfectly. That’s also the problem...
James Henry - Nervous, twitchy and full of energy, Hull is the perfect foil to the laid back, charismatic Stewart. It’s obvious that she’s been trained in the theater and her acting is a touch overblown, but she gives an immensely likeable performance...
Vertigo's Psycho - Hull’s overly cutesy here and there, but more often she’s very funny displaying Veta’s constant apprehensiveness over Elwood’s peculiarities. Also, towards the end of the film Hull makes Veta’s concern for her brother’s fate both sweet and touching, bringing as much heart to the film as star Stewart does...
TOTAL: (14)

Nancy Olson in Sunset Boulevard
James Henry - Olson is a limited actress and it’s easy to dismiss her next to her domineering co-stars, but, at least in her first few scenes, she’s full of fire and grabs on to the role as if she realizes that this was her big chance...
Vertigo's Psycho - Olson perfectly fits her young ingenue role, giving a charming, no-nonsense performance as Betty that serves as a nice femme counterpoint to Swanson’s grand theatrics; however, of the four principal actors, Olson’s work is the least original and memorable...
SamuraiFrog - She anchors the film, giving William Holden’s Joe a goal to work towards as he gets himself out of a deep hole. Olson is subtle and appealing, a three-dimensional, honest person in a world of liars and pretend...
StinkyLulu - With formidable wit and appealing confidence, Olson invests her ingénue with a simple but textured humanity. Her Betty is every bit the Hollywood creature and Olson’s performance amplifies the character’s significance within the film’s cryptic puzzle. Subtle, surprising work...
Ken -
The role could’ve been plain vanilla. But Olson’s startlingly fresh. Unspoiled yet quick and canny. Holding her own in high-powered company. “It’s fun writing with you,” says Joe – and Olson’s out of the blue performance convinces you that doing almost anything with her WOULD be...
TOTAL: (18)

Thelma Ritter in All About Eve
StinkyLulu - Ritter’s performance as the crabby, cynical and crass Birdie dodges caricature to create a woman who easily balances goodhearted sweetness and worldly tartness. It’s pitch perfect casting amplified by artful execution...
Ken - Ritter’s as tart and tasty as rhubarb. She can sock home an “I told you so” with just a look. And ‘cause she sniffs out Eve in no time flat, we get opportunities galore to savor that look. The gilt-edged wisecracks – superbly delivered – are sheer bonus...
SamuraiFrog - Such a wonderful actress, always cynical but human; here her part is frustratingly small (and she’s unceremoniously dropped halfway through). The fact that she makes so much out of a mere plot device is her magic...
Vertigo's Psycho - Birdie and her killer retorts serve as a blueprint for the wisecracking mothers and maids Ritter would build her screen career on, but it’s those sage, caustic glances Birdie throws Margo’s way when Eve starts getting nasty that linger in the viewer’s memory...
James Henry - It may seem like a small and inconsequential performance in the grand scheme of things, but I’ll be damned if Ritter doesn’t brilliantly transform this clichéd housekeeper into a wise-to-the-world woman who knows Eve’s game...
TOTAL: (22)

Oscar chose...
Josephine Hull in Harvey!
But the SMACKDOWN gives it to:
Hope Emerson in Caged!


So, lovely reader, tell the Smackdowners what YOU think!