Mike, did you ever read Stephen King's novel? I did and I read it before I saw the movie and didn't feel the latter even came close to the original source material. Yet I liked Duvall in it, and it just so happens it's her most famous movie, posing a bit of a dilemma for me. This jokey post is my answer to that dilemma.
She always gave me the willies in and out of the movies. And in the Shining, I never wanted someone to get it as bad as her. Between her screaming and hysterics, I couldn't take any more.
Hello Kirk, There are many actors who seem so dependably there...until they're not. Perhaps it's my fault for not keeping up with movies, but it seems that the talent pool is shrinking. --Jim
Jim, I doubt that the talent pool is shrinking. After all, there's more people, and theoretically some of them must be talented. I think that it has more to do with filmmakers (or maybe their studio overlords) not wanting characterization to get in the way of action or special-effects, thus requiring actors who are good-looking but not particularly unique. I don't see why one necessarily has to cancel out the other. The Lord of the Rings trilogy had both good acting and good special effects, but that's the exception and not the rule.
You have a good point, Kirk. I remember Peter Jackson's movie The Frighteners, which emphasized computerized special effects. They hired the great John Astin, but left most of his scenes on the cutting room floor, just to show more liquefying surfaces and things bursting into flames. The Director's Cut showed at least some of those scenes, and at any rate whenever Astin appeared the screen just lit up. --Jim
Jackson must have a soft spot for that Astin family, as John's stepson Sean (via the elder Astin's marriage to Patty Duke) played Samwise Gamgee in the Rings trilogy.
I admired actor Shelley Duvall and feel sad that The Reaper decided to set his sights on her. I enjoyed her work in Nashville, 3 Women, Annie Hall, The Shining and Popeye. I have read several conflicting remarks attributed to Shelley about what she went through in the making of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. They range from having been thankful for the challenging role and regarding it as a great learning experience to complaints that she was overworked, abused and terrorized on the set by Kubrick and members of the crew. Thanks for remembering this fine actress who left us too soon, a victim of diabetes, just after observing her 75th birthday.
I will make a triumphant return to blogging four days from now, on Tuesday, and hope you can swing by Shady's Place for a visit. Until then, have a safe and happy weekend, good buddy Kirk!
Shady, as I told Mike I'm not a fan of The Shining but did very much like Duvall in it, always a bit of a problem when I do these obits. Usually, I can just ignore the movie and look at some other film the actor did, but how to do that in this particular case when the headlines read THE SHINING STAR DIES AT 75? Anyway, Kubrick was known to be a control freak, so it doesn't surprise me that he tried to control Duvall. But, hey, it was said that John Ford once made John Wayne cry. And I don't think he was being chased around with an ax at the time!
I can only hope her death due to diabetic related complications wasn't painful and that she had a good life. Thanks for sharing these images. That smile in the third is contagious. :) Be well!
In order to keep the hucksters, humbugs, scoundrels, psychos, morons, and last but not least, artificial intelligentsia at bay, I have decided to turn on comment moderation. On the plus side, I've gotten rid of the word verification.
I just saw "the shining" for the first time this year.
ReplyDeleteMike, did you ever read Stephen King's novel? I did and I read it before I saw the movie and didn't feel the latter even came close to the original source material. Yet I liked Duvall in it, and it just so happens it's her most famous movie, posing a bit of a dilemma for me. This jokey post is my answer to that dilemma.
DeleteShe always gave me the willies in and out of the movies. And in the Shining, I never wanted someone to get it as bad as her. Between her screaming and hysterics, I couldn't take any more.
ReplyDeleteJudging by your comment, Maddie, maybe she should have chased Jack Nicholson instead of the other way around.
DeleteRIP Shelly
ReplyDeleteI hope she does, Ananka.
DeleteShe had an interesting, if quirky, career. RIP
ReplyDeleteDebra, quirkiness is a plus here at Shadow of a Doubt. It's a major reason I do this blog.
DeleteHello Kirk, There are many actors who seem so dependably there...until they're not. Perhaps it's my fault for not keeping up with movies, but it seems that the talent pool is shrinking.
ReplyDelete--Jim
Jim, I doubt that the talent pool is shrinking. After all, there's more people, and theoretically some of them must be talented. I think that it has more to do with filmmakers (or maybe their studio overlords) not wanting characterization to get in the way of action or special-effects, thus requiring actors who are good-looking but not particularly unique. I don't see why one necessarily has to cancel out the other. The Lord of the Rings trilogy had both good acting and good special effects, but that's the exception and not the rule.
DeleteYou have a good point, Kirk. I remember Peter Jackson's movie The Frighteners, which emphasized computerized special effects. They hired the great John Astin, but left most of his scenes on the cutting room floor, just to show more liquefying surfaces and things bursting into flames. The Director's Cut showed at least some of those scenes, and at any rate whenever Astin appeared the screen just lit up.
Delete--Jim
Jackson must have a soft spot for that Astin family, as John's stepson Sean (via the elder Astin's marriage to Patty Duke) played Samwise Gamgee in the Rings trilogy.
DeleteShe was one of a kind.
ReplyDeleteMitchell, one-of-a-kindness is a plus here at Shadow of a Doubt. It's a major reason I do this blog.
DeleteDid I just write something like that? Seems like I did. Not too one-of-a-kind, huh?
Hi, Kirk!
ReplyDeleteI admired actor Shelley Duvall and feel sad that The Reaper decided to set his sights on her. I enjoyed her work in Nashville, 3 Women, Annie Hall, The Shining and Popeye. I have read several conflicting remarks attributed to Shelley about what she went through in the making of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. They range from having been thankful for the challenging role and regarding it as a great learning experience to complaints that she was overworked, abused and terrorized on the set by Kubrick and members of the crew. Thanks for remembering this fine actress who left us too soon, a victim of diabetes, just after observing her 75th birthday.
I will make a triumphant return to blogging four days from now, on Tuesday, and hope you can swing by Shady's Place for a visit. Until then, have a safe and happy weekend, good buddy Kirk!
Shady, as I told Mike I'm not a fan of The Shining but did very much like Duvall in it, always a bit of a problem when I do these obits. Usually, I can just ignore the movie and look at some other film the actor did, but how to do that in this particular case when the headlines read THE SHINING STAR DIES AT 75? Anyway, Kubrick was known to be a control freak, so it doesn't surprise me that he tried to control Duvall. But, hey, it was said that John Ford once made John Wayne cry. And I don't think he was being chased around with an ax at the time!
DeleteI can only hope her death due to diabetic related complications wasn't painful and that she had a good life. Thanks for sharing these images. That smile in the third is contagious. :) Be well!
ReplyDeleteYour comment made me smile, Darla.
DeleteA troubled soul xx
ReplyDelete