tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193750673421600279.post8760615151241097763..comments2023-12-30T01:44:58.368-08:00Comments on The Girl with the White Parasol: Movie Review: China DollAubynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00446079492480611898noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193750673421600279.post-88526627808228419622013-12-12T15:27:56.679-08:002013-12-12T15:27:56.679-08:00You're the second person to recommend Demetriu...You're the second person to recommend <i>Demetrius and the Gladiatosr</i> so that one will definitely go on my list. I don't know if I see Mature as naturally tough (even in <i>My Darling Clementine</i>, he seems more bitter and self-loathing), but the Western genre has a way of bringing out qualities in leading men that they never got to display elsewhere. And thanks for the tip, I didn't know you were participating in this blogathon. Cheers!Aubynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00446079492480611898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193750673421600279.post-22971540970180050032013-12-12T15:23:52.697-08:002013-12-12T15:23:52.697-08:00I'm glad to see you and others mounting a Vict...I'm glad to see you and others mounting a Victor Mature defense here. While I haven't really found enough great Mature performances to turn my mind around on him, I do see enough evidence that the man wasn't nearly as talentless or as lazy as he himself liked to joke. And you make a good point that Borzage, as sublime as he can get at his best, is not always so consistent. Although I would blame the script on this one more than anything; it really does force him into a very limited and stereotypical scenario.<br /><br />I'm happy that you brought up the reader request reviews since I had the nasty feeling that everyone had given up on ever getting the rest of those. Don't worry, they'll be up this month. Thanks to you (and everyone else that reads the blog) for your patience. I appreciate it a lot.Aubynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00446079492480611898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193750673421600279.post-60006939158008614322013-12-09T11:43:52.766-08:002013-12-09T11:43:52.766-08:00It's a coincidence, because I'll watch a w...It's a coincidence, because I'll watch a western with Mature tonight. I think he fits better in this genre, where his only role was to be tought. As much as I like him in Demetrius and the Gladiators, I can't deny that the character that grows there is Debra Paget's.<br />As for Borzage, I'm familiar only with his silents and some early talkies but, even having flaws, China Doll is a film I'd like to see.<br />Don't forget to read my contribution to the blogathon! :)<br />Kisses!Lêhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02419693749682458647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193750673421600279.post-76897946182425227772013-12-08T14:44:05.578-08:002013-12-08T14:44:05.578-08:00I haven't seen this one so only skimmed the re...I haven't seen this one so only skimmed the review so as not to be completely aware of the entire plot if I happen upon it but enjoyed the parts I did read. <br /><br />I'm fonder of Victor Mature than you, he's never great but often more than adequate. I think he's fine in Kiss of Death, I Wake Up Screaming, Demetrius and the Gladiators plus his musicals with Betty Grable and Rita Hayworth and adds just the right amount of corn to Samson & Delilah. <br /><br />Borzage could certainly make lyrical films like Moonrise, Strange Cargo and The Mortal Storm but he had his share of clunkers, or maybe it was just bad luck for him to put the word doll in the title of his films. What with this and the truly awful Magnificent Doll, that travesty with a completely miscast Ginger Rogers as Dolley Madison!<br /><br />By the by, I've been keeping an eye out for the reviews of the other two movies that you picked from reader suggestions beside Blues in the Night. Will they be up soon hopefully? joel65913https://www.blogger.com/profile/14526657073681774683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193750673421600279.post-5402411677163991802013-12-08T10:42:34.611-08:002013-12-08T10:42:34.611-08:00Thanks for the comments, David. Yes, Victor Mature...Thanks for the comments, David. Yes, Victor Mature could be good at times, but it's quite hard to predict which times those will be. He's kind of like Robert Taylor in that regard. I think I'd like to see him with Anne Bancroft. She's not the type to put up with any slacking.Aubynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00446079492480611898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193750673421600279.post-63400842230896911482013-12-07T14:43:03.667-08:002013-12-07T14:43:03.667-08:00Beautiful! I do have a soft spot for Victor Mature...Beautiful! I do have a soft spot for Victor Mature in The Last Frontier, where he rouses himself to be genuinely heartfelt. It helps that he has Ann Bancroft to provoke him to it.D Cairnshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10011972431535816835noreply@blogger.com