Glenn Ford
I sometimes give tributes to the recently departed, but Glenn Ford just died and I have to admit I'm perplexed. I didn't hate him, but this guy was one of Hollywood's biggest stars in the 50s and I just don't get it. He was a competent actor, but where's the charisma, where are the acting chops?
He made almost 90 films, I've seen about 20. I recently saw Texas (1941) that starred a very young Ford and William Holden. You can glimpse what Holden will become, but Ford doesn't seem much of a presence. His first major movie is Gilda (1946), and it made him a box office attraction, but the film really belongs to Rita Hayworth's.
Probably his best work is in The Big Heat (1953). While Glenn Ford is not the first name you think of when you think film noir, this Fritz Lang film is still one of the best of the genre. Its violence is still pretty shocking.
He's also well-known for The Blackboard Jungle (1955), and it's actually a pretty rough film, with Ford trying to teach all those teenage hoodlums. Still, it's mostly remembered as the film that introduced "Rock Around The Clock."
He did Ransom! in 1956 (later remade starring Mel Gibson), which isn't bad. He also made some decent Westerns. I like The Fastest Gun Alive (1956) (he reportedly had the fastest draw in Hollywood) and the generically-named Cowboy (1958), which is most memorable for Jack Lemmon's peformance.
The Teahouse Of The August Moon (1956), a not-completely-successful adaptation of the hit Broadway comedy, is charming, and Ford more than holds his own with Marlon Brando. Not so successful is Frank Capra's last film, a remake of his much better Lady For A Day (1933), Pocketful Of Miracles (1961), co-starring Bette Davis. (Capra writes in his autobiography--not that it should be taken at face value--that one of the reasons he left directing was the stars seemed to be running the show.) Better, but no classic, is The Courtship Of Eddie's Father (1963), with a young Ron Howard and Jerry Van Dyke as comic relief.
As he got older, he didn't get as many lead roles, and started working in television. The most notable film of his later years is Superman (1978) where he played Pa Kent.
Ford may not be remembered like Gary Cooper or Humphrey Bogart or Cary Grant, but he'll be remembered.
posted by LAGuy @ 12:02 AM
4 Comments:
I have many fond memories of Glenn Ford. Probably my favorite movie of his was The Sheepman, with Shirley Maclaine and Leslie Nielsen.
But perhaps the most interesting story about him comes from William Goldman's Adventures in the Screen Trade. Goldman was in Hollywood for the first time, meeting with Paul Newman's reps about the scheduling of Harper. He voiced his concern that Newman would be ready when Warner Bros. was ready to shoot and one of Newman's reps answered:
"Someday Paul will be Glenn Ford, but right now they'll wait for him."
It reminds me of the old Hollywood timeline speech, where a producer first says "Get me Glenn Ford!" A few years later, he'll say "Get me a young Glenn Ford!" And finally, he'll say "Who the hell was Glenn Ford?"
Speaking of which, I'd be interested to know your take on the recent Paramount/Tom Cruise breakup. Is Cruise damaged goods or did Paramount screw up?
I had heard that Jerry Lewis had the fastest gun draw in Hollywood.
When I think of the prototypical guy from the 50s, I picture Glenn Ford and his projection of what stood for "simple decency" (some might say conformo-fascism) - also kinda looked like a squarer-jawed Ronald Reagan
Favourite film- "Advance to the Rear"- a Civil War/Cowboy & Indian laugh riot (or at least I thought so when I was 10)
It's hard to say anything about the Tom Cruise/Paramount story because I'm not really sure what's going on underneath. The public comments only let us know what they want us to think.
Cruise, for all his PR blunders, is still a big star and will have no trouble getting films made (for a while, anyway). I think he's hurt himself a lot more in America than the rest of the world.
Anonymous #1, you are correct, Lewis is credited as the fastest gun in Hollywood. But at least on one particular test, Glenn Ford was faster than a lot of other Hollywood "cowboys" (unless that was just studio publicity).
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