Casting Coup Month: The Night of the Iguana

NOMINATIONS

Best Supporting Actress - Grayson Hall

Best Cinematography, Black-and-White - Gabriel Figeuroa

Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White - Stephen B. Grimes

Best Costume Design - Dorothy Jeakins (WON)

 

It has all led to this.

Back in Time

It's August 2nd, folks, so I figure now is as good a time as any to let you in one the plan.

Remember about a year ago, when I did back-to-back trips through the Wayback Machine? It was 1974, and I thought Lenny was better than The Godfather: Part II....then it was 1964, and I supported the Academy's backing of Rex Harrison for Best Actor....

The 1964 Hollmann Awards: The Majors

Wow, what a long delay. I certainly hope that built the suspense some. The screenplays, the actors, song, director...and of course: BEST PICTURE. Let's delay this no longer:

The 1964 Hollmann Awards, Part One: The Technicals!

We've made it to the first part of my 1964 Hollmann Awards! First up are the technical awards, but let's ease our way into it with some familiar faces:

This Silver is Gold: Cinematography, 1964 - Part Two

Some movies refuse to be seen. I caught the last fifteen minutes of Fate is the Hunter months and months ago on Turner Classic Movies, and since then I've searched for it in vain. I don't order from Amazon, I get my movies from the library, Netflix or YouTube -- money and all that. But sometimes you just got to admit defeat, and Fate is the Hunter has bested me in this regard. I won't judge an entire film's cinematography based on the fifteen minutes I saw, but the show must go on. Because of this, you'll find only four of the nominees rated here, and one abstention.

But, hey -- look how gorgeous the rest of these films are! This is, after all, the Black-and-White Cinematography category. Let the beauty wash over you...

THE AMERICANIZATION OF EMILY

 Philip H. Lathrop, director of photography

**

Really, except for these stills from the film's climax, I didn't find the work all that remarkable or challenging. Still, what's done is done well, and the film is great, besides.

FATE IS THE HUNTER

ABSTAIN

Milton R. Krasner, director of photography

 HUSH...HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE

 Joseph F. Biroc, director of photography

****

Those shadows and candles and silhouettes provide much of the creep factor of Charlotte. Biroc works real magic with this horror piece. God, I love that shot above with Charlotte in light and her cousin (that "vile, sorry little bitch") in shadow. Even when we cut to her coverage, Miriam is still a little...shady? Shall we say?

THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA

Gabriel Figueroa, director of photography

*****

By day, it is so bright that you feel the heat, the sun and the sand. By night, the moon provides the only illumination as Burton and Kerr engage in some serious soul-searching...and Gardner in some serious sex-dancing. It's so so so so gorgeous.

ZORBA THE GREEK

Walter Lassally, director of photography

****

Goddam I love the technicals of this film. Look at that. It's moody, it's beautiful, it's its own story. The conspirators in shadow, the heroes in light. It's cinematography with meaning, man.

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Lassally won the Oscar. Of course he won the Oscar. Not only was his a Best Pic nominee but..I mean..look at that. Still, you know that my heart belongs to another.

GABRIEL FIGUEROA

for

THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA

 so sensual

All the Single Ladies: Supporting Actress, 1964

Ah, Supporting Actress! I can't believe there was once a time when other categories seemed to matter. When Stinky Lulu devoted himself to those Actresses at the Edges, it was as though the clouds had lifted and all was revealed. "Of course!" I realized. "This is the greatest category ever!" Truth: the first time I made a conscious decision to sit down and watch the Oscars, it was because of Best Supporting Actress (Smith/Mirren/Connelly/Tomei/Winslet). My five favorite actresses are Maggie Smith, Meryl Streep, Patricia Clarkson, Judi Dench and Drew Barrymore; four have been nominated for Best Supporting Actress, three of them winning. When I think back to my favorite performances of a given year, it's usually a supporting actress: Meryl Streep in 2006, Amy Adams in 2008, Mo'Nique in 2009, Valerie Perrine in 1974. Can 1964 also offer a Year's Best from this category? Is the Supporting Actress crop an improvement on Supporting Actor, or is it more of the same? Read on...

Gladys Cooper in My Fair Lady

**

Oh, she's amusing, certainly, and her unconcealed annoyance at her son, Henry Higgins, does its job well. Cooper's his equal, and you can see where he gets that witty snobbery from, though she's much warmer than he is. Still, there's not much there, is there? Does she even change expression?

Dame Edith Evans in The Chalk Garden

*

It's not her fault she's saddled with a dull character in a dull film, but she could liven it up a little. Bonus point: she and Gladys Cooper are making the exact same face -- Grande Dame Haughtiness.

Grayson Hall in The Night of the Iguana

*****

As chaperone to a lusty Sue Lyon, Hall is the chief antagonist of Richard Burton's shamed Father Shannon, a minister given to drink and the ways of the flesh. She is also the best thing about this movie. Give her a secretly "butch" spinster to play and Hall will deliver a lonely woman fighting herself with her faith. As written, she's a harpy, but as played by Hall...I mean, my God! Her tears at the beach as she begs the beautiful nymphet to get away from Shannon. Her maternal cooing as she tries to win the girl back to her side. Her fear and confusion when Ava Gardner's Maxine calls her out on being a lonely butch. Aw, hell, just watch her in the background, look at her ever-watchful eyes as they follow Shannon and Sue Lyon (I forget her name in this, obviously) simultaneously, even if they're on opposite sides of the room. She's incredible, and the film is rarely as exciting as when she's on screen.

Lila Kedrova in Zorba the Greek

***

I shudder to think what others might have done with such a role, since it's a character that is so tempting to overplay: bawdy stories, silly foreigner, incurable illness, etc. Kedrova underplays so much of it while giving her character a great zest for life. She plays it with both sadness and a glimmer of hope, and breaks your heart in the meantime.

Agnes Moorehead in Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte

****

Moorehead surprises via the deglam approach, as the po' white trash housekeeper who mutters under her breath in her Louisiana patois, shuffling slowly, her big ass hanging in the air. Well, don't just stand there: applaud the woman, for she uses all the tricks of a broad comic without compromising the believability of the characters of the tone of the film. Her almost feral approach to the role makes Elvira a devoted dog, baring its teeth at the intruder who threatens her mistress. This truly is one of Moorehead's most accomplished performances.

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Kedrova won the Academy Award for her role -- a role for which she learned and quickly mastered English. Awesome feat, great performance, but I give the Oscar to...

GRAYSON HALL

for

THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA

if only it was The Night of the Chaperone!

Silver Screen, Slick Sets: Art Direction, 1964 - Part One

As color was becoming more prominent, the Academy found it necessary to separate the colorful from the monochromatic in the craft categories. After all, a black-and-white film cannot emphasize reds and blues the same way a color film can, and a color film cannot emphasize its shadows and light-play the same way a black-and-white film can. The nominees for B&W Art Direction were for subtle approaches, whether single-set, minimalist work, or dressing up what was already there.

THE AMERICANIZATION OF EMILY

George W. Davis, Hans Peters & Elliot Scott, art directors

Robert R. Benton & Henry Grace, set decorators

**

From the offices of high-ranking naval officials to supply rooms, every detail is seen to. It's organized clutter, as only the military can do.

HUSH...HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE

William Glasgow, art director

Raphael Bretton, set decorator

***

From the wealth of the father to the chaos of the daughter. Good ol' Southern Gothic.

THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA

Stephen Grimes, art director

****

Looks like the kind of small getaway my parents would love. It may not look like much, but it'll do.

SEVEN DAYS IN MAY

Cary Odell, production designer

Edward Boyle, set decorator

****

From the honorable Oval Office to the sinister Joint Chiefs Conference Room. The not-too-distant future is eerily close.

ZORBA THE GREEK

Vassilis Photopoulos, art director

*****

From the wealthy Frenchwoman to the poor Greek. Every item is deeply personal, giving us a sense of the residents.

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Photopoulos' art direction for Zorba the Greek won, and for good reason! Indeed, I'm inclined to agree...

PHOTOPOULOS

for

ZORBA THE GREEK

someone built that