Thursday musings

by chuckofish

It is finally cooling off in flyover country–thank goodness. Fall is officially here by the way, so I am ready to switch to turtlenecks anytime soon.

Meanwhile I am immersed in bible study–both my daily reading and my weekly study of Hebrews. Phew. It is a lot. Currently in Ezekiel, The Lord is saying things like:

“Because you have spoken nonsense and envisioned lies, therefore I am indeed against you.”

–13:8

Things never change. Isn’t that oddly comforting? I think so too.

Also, in case you were interested, I am now a person who uses “Bible Safe Gel Highlighters”.

In other news, since Tuesday was Sophia Loren’s birthday, I watched Legend of the Lost (1956) starring John Wayne, Rossano Brazzi and Sophia. Even though it was beautifully filmed on location in Libya by Jack Cardiff, directed by Henry Hathaway and boasted big international stars, it was not a box office hit.

It has always been a favorite of mine. Sophia, who looks sensational even when hot and sweaty, and John Wayne make an appealing and believable pair. The duke is a match for Sophia any day and she seems to appreciate that.

Last week I watched Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)–another re-telling of the real-life mutiny of the HMS Bounty in 1789 by Fletcher Christian–when it was on TCM. Shot in widescreen Ultra Panavision on location at enormous cost, it nevertheless flopped at the box office and I can understand why. Most critics blamed its star Marlon Brando, who was mocked for his English accent and foppish airs. I was prepared to laugh as well, but I have to say I thought Marlon was pretty good. Sure, he was a pain on set and terrible to work with, but his acting was fine and he is really, really handsome.

He tried to play Fletcher Christian as a man who was changed by his experience aboard the ship and he does that rather well. He is not a hero at the beginning, but he is by the end. (Contrast this with Clark Gable’s 1935 portrayal in which he is a hero from the get-go.)

However, I found the movie to be slow, and despite all the sturm and drang of fighting the weather and the elements, boring. Also, Trevor Howard as Bligh left a lot to be desired. Anyway, I did watch the whole thing, so that says something–probably that Marlon Brando held my interest.

Truman Capote wrote an interesting profile of Marlon Brando for The New Yorker in 1957 called “The Duke in His Domain,” which I re-read after seeing this movie. He seems to prove the point he made another time when he said, “The better the actor, the more stupid he is.” Whatever. Brando was a good actor.