By RM
sunday, september 7, 2025 at 11:41:00 p.m. edt
Notes on Mervyn LeRoy, one of Golden Hollywood's most underrated figures
I should have clarified-I was comparing Compulsion (1959) to I Want to Live! as a high-quality propaganda piece. Two Seconds is in a class by itself. Director Mervyn LeRoy should have a better reputation, considering his efforts include Little Caesar, I am a Fugitive, Waterloo Bridge, Quo Vadis, Mr. Roberts (after John Ford got the boot), et al.
-RM
By RM
sunday, september 7, 2025 at 11:54:00 p.m. edt
Forgot to tack this on, if anyone cares to read it-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mervyn_LeRoy
Saw one of Jay Ward's Fractured Fairy Tales cartoons recently, where a wizard character was named "Merlin LeRoy"!
-RM
By Grand Rapids Anonymous
monday, september 8, 2025 at 9:41:00 a.m. edt
That's REALLY inside humor. I wonder if anyone today--besides RM and a few other afficionados--would get the reference.
I'VE never heard of him, but LeRoy had quite the resume.
--GRA
N.S.: In addition to rescuing what he made into a top 100 masterpiece (Mr. Roberts, 1955), LeRoy produced #3, The Wizard of Oz (1939). He really was a wizard!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Besides LeRoy (and FIVE STAR FINAL is another great one I should have mentioned, again with Big Eddie), most of Warners' best pics of the 30s into the mid-40s were from Wellman (PUBLIC ENEMY, WILD BOYS OF THE ROAD) or the king of WB, Michael Curtiz (CASABLANCA, ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES, the Errol Flynn epics, DOCTOR X and WAX MUSEUM, YANKEE DOODLE DANDY, KENNEL MURDER CASE, MILDRED PIERCE... Amazing!
-RM
I'm familiar with William Wellman,but NOT Curtiz. Back in those days,the stars of the movies received 90% of the fanfare--and credit--the directors,the remainder(if that),imho. Part of the studio system was designed to promote the actors and actresses,but not the directors it seemed-- and crank out a lot of top notch,entertaining movies. Mission accomplished.
--GRA
One of David Niven's two autobiogs was titled, "Bring On The Empty Horses!"- a quote attributed to Curtiz during the filming of LIGHT BRIGADE. Niven said Curtiz seemed to have "no command of any language, not even Hungarian, which he supposedly was!" That's hard to believe, considering the list of films he made! Another director, Byron Haskin, then at WB as second unit and special effects man, spoke of him more favorably, as a director who said he liked to "visualize." THAT'S definitely evident in his movies! Errol Flynn got mad at him during BRIGADE for his callous treatment of the horses (many were injured and bit the dust) but the resulting scene of the charge is really astonishing.
KENNEL MURDER CASE has an amazing scene where, as the detective explains how the murder was committed, we see it enacted via first-person camera viewpoint, and in DOCTOR X, when the killer turns himself into a monster via the application of "synthetic flesh," the scene is shot from a number of bizarre camera angles (and it's in 2-color technicolor, besides!).
-RM
Is this knowledge off the top of your head,RM? If so--amazing. If close to that--still amazing. Your interest in movies--if nothing else applies--is amazing.
--GRA
If I learn I only have six months to live, I'll bequeath N.S. not only my file of newspaper clippings, but my enormous collection of books about film, as well as magazines, and I'll throw in my video tapes, DVDs, 8mm and 16mm films as well- and Mrs. Stix will probably toss him out of the house rather than have all this stuff come in!
-RM
I got a BFA in film-making from NYU- the diploma is very useful for covering up a crack in the wall! I was there somewhat after Scorcese (I actually had his teacher!) and somewhat before Spike Lee. A void that just processed people like sausages- none of the people I went to film school with, some of whom were very talented, ever did anything in the field to my knowledge.
-RM
Post a Comment