Joseph Mankiewicz wrote and directed All About Eve. Joseph Mankiewicz wrote and directed A Letter to 3 Wives. No wrong at all done there. Nigh perfect, or as perfect as any film could get within and without those genres. (Both won best directing and best screenplays, 2 consecutive years.) This production of his was only half bad or maybe 3/4's bad. Dark and dreary and lacking in any vitality, any spirit, in any form, with a dull script and dull acting. Gene Tierney in Laura was perfect, and her work with Dana Andrews in a couple of other movies, and a few other films she fared well - none of which come to mind. (Never did see Leave Her to Heaven, her AA nominated role.) Her exotic beauty got her over the finish line, but she always maintained a rather remote personality, aloof whatever the part. She was never quite there. Just like Laura...but she's only a dream. Walter Huston and Anne Revere, he tyranical and she stolid and all knowing (as per usual) as her parents; Jessica Tandy as an outspoken helper to Tierney, particularly interesting in a part unusual for her; Spring Byington, a vaguely mad housekeeper, had some nice spooky moments; Glenn Langan, quite a looker and always amiable and earnest in the movies I've seen him in; and Vincent Price. What can one say about Vincent Price that speaks the truth? So often, most of the time, he's pretty much the same. He had 2 excellent roles, one at pretty much the beginning of his movie career and the other at its tail end. Laura, as Tierney's whiny paramour and in The Whales of August, with hammy old Bette Davis (subdued for her old age but still pitching pitchforks) and the more subtle Lillian Gish and perfectly cast; Ann Sothern, outshining everyone; and with Vincent Price in the most nuanced character he ever played. But in between, a lot of trashy horror stuff. (That was a bit of a digression, but you get the point. Not a fan, but not not a fan.) All in all, I wouldn't want to spend any more than 10 minutes in anyone's company. Except maybe another 10 minutes just simply looking at Gene Tierney and Glenn Langan, a couple of tasty delights.
Review of Dragonwyck
