Dana Andrews
Simply put, Dana Andrews was in some of the most popular and critically acclaimed movies in several genres. You like Westerns? He had a memorable role in, "The Oxbow Incident." He played the naive newcomer who along with two others are hung by lynch mob for supposedly murdering a popular rancher and stealing his herd. The film is as good an indictment you can get about vigilante justice. The film, and his role, have not lost any of it's visceral and emotional impact. Are war movies your cup of tea? Check him out in,"A Wing and A Prayer,"(based on the Battle of Midway) "The Purple Heart,"(a tale of airmen captured during the Doolittle raid on Tokyo. "A Walk In The Sun,"(one of my favorites it's a simple tale of a Army platoon that after landing in Anzio has a simple mission of capturing a farm house), and, "The Best Years of Our Lives, where he plays a returning Army Air Force Captain who finds it difficult to adapt to a civilian life after the war. He was a bombadier on a B-17 but when he comes home he finds his wife has been two-timing him, and with few jobs works as a a soda-jerk. The film won seven academy awards(out of eight nominations including best picture) in 1947. He starred in film-noir gems"Fallen Angel," "Where the Sidewalk Ends," and the classic, "Laura." All three were directed by Otto Preminger He was one of the most bankable stars in the 1940's with classic leading man looks and enough acting ability to cross over in numerous genres. Andrews battled alcoholism for most of his movie career which prevented him from attaining the the status as a superstar. Later in his life he 2as able to overcome that and later became a outspoken activist in making the public aware of the dangers in alcoholism. Born in 1909 died in 1992. Near the end he suffered from Alzheimers, especially distressing for a man who had a photographic memory could recite every line from every movie he was in, and said he needed to read a script once to remember it. I had wanted to choose as a clip the ending of "The Ox-Bow Incident," but that will come later. Instead I have a scene from, "The Best Years of Our Lives." |
Ray Milland A quick shout to Ray Milland. He won an Oscar for his performance in, "The Lost Weekend," about a journalist striving to kick alcoholism. The movie follows him through a four day bender. By today's standards it is farirly tame, but for that time it was ground breaking. It addressed alcoholism as starkly and realistically as the time would allow. His break through came in "Beau Geste." He was in, "Dial M for Murder." Other films include, "Ministry of Fear," "Reap the Wild Wind." A under appreciated film of his is and one you should check out is, "The Man With the X-Ray Eyes," one of Roger Corman's best. It seems to have been inspired by those ads for x-ray glasses that graced comic books. For Charlie Chan fans, that's me and maybe you?, he appeared in Charlie Chan in London, and if you look quickly you can see him as a sniper in, "The Informer," and for those whose taste runs to schmalztz: he was Oliver's poppa in, 'Love Story.' Born 1909 in Wales, he died in 1986. The clip is from, 'The Lost Weekend.' |