July 1, 2009

"It's dark in here... I've never seen you in the light. That's a fact... I've never had a real good look at you, Blanche...."



9:30: "Marry me, Mitch!"

Karl Malden, who won an Oscar playing Mitch in "A Streetcar Named Desire," lived to be 97. RIP.

35 comments:

Hoosier Daddy said...

Hard week for the boys from Gary, Indiana.

Useless bit of trivia I heard is that he would somehow work in the name Sekulovich, which was his real last name in the movies he was in.

Fred4Pres said...

I knew Karl Madden was old, but not that old. Well, RIP, he was a very fine actor.

The Dude said...

So young!

Ok, I was channelling Lloyd Bridges' character on Seinfeld...

Ron said...

I think Malden was the 'arts' person who advised the Post Office who should go on stamps...

TitusHelloIsThereSomethingYouWant said...

Love, love, love that movie.

Vivian Leigh was so amazing and so beautiful.

RIP Karl Malden.

Vivian Leigh went insane in real life, so sad.

Driving through Gary Indiana on a late summer night once on my way to Chicago from Indy. One of the most depressing cityscapes I have ever seen.

TitusHelloIsThereSomethingYouWant said...

I so love Blanche Dubois.

Only a gay man could of written that type of character.

Same with Maggie the Cat.

One of my all time favorite lines is, "Maggie is the cat is alive"-brillant.

Tennessee Williams was incredible.

Where are the authors like that today?

TitusHelloIsThereSomethingYouWant said...

When I go out in Ptown I always go to a bar and sit in the same chair where Tennesse sat many summers.

I feel one with Tennessee.

Speaking of summer the entire month of June has rained out here. Today, rain, tomorrow rain, although the weekend is supposed to be ok.

TitusHelloIsThereSomethingYouWant said...

I am watching The Barefoot Contessa with Ava Gardner and Humphrey Bogart.

Ava Gardner was a major sexpot. Wow, beautiful.

rhhardin said...

Three minutes and I'm definitely out in the lobby looking for refreshments. I assume there's some action later.

ricpic said...

Old potato nose more than held his own against Brando, as the priest in On The Waterfront.

Methadras said...

Malden is one of the last greats.

TitusHelloIsThereSomethingYouWant said...

rhardin she gets raped by Marlon Brando but they didn't show it in movies back then. That kind of action?

It was inferred.

It is really all about the dialog. Something sorely lacking in movies today.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

He was old when I first saw him in Las Calles de San Francisco.

He had a terrific Spanish accent ;)

ricpic said...

Based on that scene Tennessee missed his calling as a writer for the Soaps.

bagoh20 said...

"I thought you were straight... you're not clean enough to be in the house." -- Sweet talker.

Is it my imagination or are dialog scenes that long just not around anymore. That's acting I can respect, cause I know I could never do it, even badly. Seems like an actual craft rather than just a product of repeated takes and edits.

She's hot too.

Richard Fagin said...

It was really great to see "On the Waterfront" the other day, with Karl Malden playing Father Barry. Father Barry smoked cigarettes and drank beer. Think if it: a movie that actually treated a Catholic priest as a stand up guy, but who smoked and drank like everyone else.

We have indeed become a nation of pussies. Indeed. RIP.

Penny said...

Richard Fagen, you need to watch "Saving Grace", with Holly Hunter.

You will meet just such a priest, and many other characters, equally as human. Well, except for the reprobate ghost.

This show is rather raw. So be prepared.

Jason (the commenter) said...

He was a great actor and I loved A Streetcar Named Desire because my favorite movie (All About My Mother) was based on it. I want to see the play someday.

kentuckyliz said...

The Power and the Glory - the ultimate in the whiskey priest who is personally such a schlub but cannot resist his duties even at risk of death. A hero but certainly not admirable. Excellent story. Very O'Connor in its sense of grace not being pretty.

RIP Karl. At least he had a good long run.

Chip Ahoy said...

And now I am sad.

*sads*

For another great American thespian has wandered off to that great stage in the sky. To express my grief and to show my respect I am compelled to design a casket specifically for Karl Malden.

chuck b. said...

Marlon Brando also died on July 1 (2004).

blake said...

So, wait, is this two sets of three, or a super-set of six?

Carradine, McMahon, Jackson, Fawcett, Mays, Malden...

Penny said...

By gosh, Chip, I think you are on to something here!

Have you thought about a career in packaging? Big bucks in that. It makes no sense to ignore even the deadly possibilities.

So what might you create for Farrah? Something tasteful, maybe even a bit understated. Wooden boobs? No, too gauche. Finely carved nipples? Well, maybe? This one has promise.

Anonymous said...

so is a gal getting drunk and a guy suggesting sex different than someone slipping something in her drink and taking her? or what about slipping something in between her lips.

guess we are back to comparing the 1930s. that's ann's objective here to get responses from the guys on the difference of date rape then and now.

Wince said...

One last time.

Don't leave this life without it.

RIP

Even though Malden wasn't in this scene, does anyone remember the controversial (for the time) episode of Street of San Francisco, Mask of Death (1974), in which John Davidson played the split personality transvestite killer?

Anonymous said...

salt and starch, don't leave the ancient world behind them.

ricpic said...

All the big pines have gone down. But I'm still standing! Makes a body feel good.

Revenant said...

Married for 71 years! And those are Hollywood years. That's like 355 normal people years.

john said...

Chip,

I looked at that for 5 minutes but it didn't move.

Ralph L said...

Titus, my late great aunt's brother was one of Ava's hometown drinking buddies. They'd go on benders in Smithfield, NC, long after she was famous.
My father once dated a woman with Ava's cheekbones but Blanche's blonde hair and southern belle style. Alas, my step-monster managed to reel him in, instead.

Ann Althouse said...

"rhardin she gets raped by Marlon Brando but they didn't show it in movies back then. That kind of action? It was inferred."

The scene was cut originally but it's restored in the version that you should get on DVD (and can watch on YouTube). My clip is in Part 10. Watch Part 11 for the restored scene.

rcocean said...

Loved Karl in "One-Eyed jacks" - he could play the Villain too.

Ralph L said...

The rape was inferred in the play, IIRC.
Is it still required reading in high school, or have they moved on to something more transgressive?

Beth said...

As a teenager, I saw Tennessee at the Municipal Auditorium. He was drunk, and maudlin, and read bad poetry written by his younger boyfriend of the time. But I'm glad I went. I wasn't smart enough to have done it on my own initiative, but I had a good high school English teacher, and a good drama teacher as well.

If you have a few vacation days in March, you might enjoy The Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival.

The festival ends with a "Stella" contest in Jackson Square - that's a lot of fun.

Roger J. said...

I knew Malden was a great actor--but married 70 years to the same lady--sounds like he was a real mensch. A Great Run. RIP.