tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141014462966058399.post5842786353798890161..comments2023-06-14T05:36:15.460-04:00Comments on The Skeins: The Christmas Album: Alan LaddUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141014462966058399.post-439581406383557512018-12-16T14:05:49.866-05:002018-12-16T14:05:49.866-05:00Tess, I share your frustration with the dearth of ...Tess, I share your frustration with the dearth of Alan Ladd films on TCM, but in recent years I have seen such gems as This Gun for Hire, The Glass Key, The Blue Dahlia, Whispering Smith, and The Iron Mistress on the network--though not recently. Based on what I know of the devoted staff at TCM they would love to feature Ladd as a Star of the Month, but this may not be possible due to the apparent lack of interest in sharing the Paramount library more often by the Sony Corporation that controls the studio era films when Alan Ladd was in his heyday. They have begun allowing more of their movies to be shown but I would hope more become available regularly in the future. In the meantime, Ladd films can be seen DVDs, and online in several video sharing sites. TCM also has a few Ladd films coming up, as can be seen here: <br />http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/1122096%7C8828/Alan-Ladd/<br /><br />Thank you for taking the time to express your appreciation for this underrated actor. Cheers! --MoiraMoira Finniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12626493736940699514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141014462966058399.post-16051874307694199352018-12-16T13:19:19.346-05:002018-12-16T13:19:19.346-05:00Tess left a comment today that read as follows:
T...Tess left a comment today that read as follows: <br />Tess Unsubscribe<br />Dec 15, 2018, 6:41 PM (18 hours ago)<br />to me<br /><br />Tess has left a new comment on your post "The Christmas Album: Alan Ladd": <br /><br />I have given up on TCM to see any of Alan's films. Very discouraging.Alan was a superb actor.If he had not been talked out of'GIANT' I believe he would have won an Oscar or at least have been nominated and things would have turned out differently. Alas... Moira Finniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12626493736940699514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141014462966058399.post-91316928673302278982018-12-15T18:42:53.526-05:002018-12-15T18:42:53.526-05:00I have given up on TCM to see any of Alan's fi...I have given up on TCM to see any of Alan's films. Very discouraging.Alan was a superb actor.If he had not been talked out of'GIANT' I believe he would have won an Oscar or at least have been nominated and things would have turned out differently. Alas... Tesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11380146321774187118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141014462966058399.post-13949929936740471642008-12-05T11:53:00.000-05:002008-12-05T11:53:00.000-05:00True, he is very under-represented in the DVD mark...True, he is very under-represented in the DVD market due to the lackluster classic output from Universal and Paramount's vault.<BR/><BR/>I've always likened his style to Gary Cooper -- very subdued, but he knew how to get his point across. And while he didn't have Coops stature or versatility, he certainly had a loyal following. <BR/><BR/>But other than Shane, his films don't have the broad appeal that studios and TV networks need to distribute and run his films. Whereas, for mass audiences, Coop has Mr. Deeds, Meet John Doe, Sergeant York and Ball of Fire to name a few.<BR/><BR/>I'll be coming back every day to check your posts! <BR/><BR/>Thanks again,<BR/><BR/>DavidDavid K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01027726332582812488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141014462966058399.post-11176489800879737102008-12-05T11:22:00.000-05:002008-12-05T11:22:00.000-05:00Thanks very much for visiting and for the kind wor...Thanks very much for visiting and for the kind word, ClassicFlix. I hope that you'll stop by again to enjoy our Christmas pics. <BR/><BR/>I think that <B>Alan Ladd</B> is an unknown actor to many in part due to the unavailability of his films for broadcast and even on dvd. (His Paramount films, too many of which are mouldering in a vault somewhere, do seem to be leaking out on dvd. I'm hoping that this may--cross your fingers--be changing for more of that studios classic work). In addition to access issues, <B>Ladd</B>'s calm, restrained manner of acting also fell out of fashion once the movies began to become a bit coarser as well, starting in the late '40s, early '50s. In <B>Shane</B>, his last great film, <B>Ladd</B> said he "learned more about acting [from director George Stevens]...in a few months than [he] had in [his] entire life up until then." What a shame that the exploration of his remarkable ability to convey a depth of feeling within a moment of stillness failed to find much further good expression thanks to a series of circumstances. He seemed to be an actor swimming against the cultural tide of much of American life during his stardom, which, in many ways came to glorify gigantism, and larger than life qualities, physically and psychologically.(In these days of short attention spans and CGI explosions of action every few minutes, I doubt if that will be likely either, (though I should add that Peter Fonda came close to this quality in his performance in "Ulee's Gold" (1997).<BR/><BR/>I'd like to think that Mr. <B>Ladd</B> had a self-deprecating sense of humor too. God knows he needed one. Some of his reflections, particularly in interviews given near the end of his life, seem to indicate that there was also a self-lacerating edge to his insights into himself. <BR/><BR/>There was an interesting sadness in him, as well as a capacity for expressing bemused resignation to the way of the world and his own limitations, commenting that he may not know much about acting, but he'd learned a few tricks over time that worked for him. He tried to explain his reticence to an interviewer once, as much as to himself, commenting that "I wish I were the type who could walk into a place and have everybody love me. But I'm not, and there's no use wishing." Asked once if there was anything that he wished he could change about himself, he replied: "Everything."Moira Finniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12626493736940699514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141014462966058399.post-74708045458050802452008-12-04T20:48:00.000-05:002008-12-04T20:48:00.000-05:00Thanks for the post Moria. Alan Ladd is certainly ...Thanks for the post Moria. Alan Ladd is certainly underrated. Love his self-deprecating comment too. <BR/><BR/>Keep up the great work. We appreciate it!David K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01027726332582812488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141014462966058399.post-12777709708792815102008-12-03T13:30:00.000-05:002008-12-03T13:30:00.000-05:00I'm glad that you're getting a kick out of these p...I'm glad that you're getting a kick out of these peeks at Christmas Past, Hollywood-style, Laura. <BR/><BR/>I can't figure out if that sort of early leisure suit that <B>Ladd</B> is wearing is truly pink in tone, (like the rest of the room), or if that's just the way that the film has aged. Photo sessions such as this one were a daily part of life in Chez Ladd, according to Beverly Linet's biography of the actor. Coordinated by <B>Alan Ladd</B>'s wife, the agent Sue Carol, about once a month, family members would be groomed to a fare thee well and photographed in their home, looking oh, so happy to have their privacy invaded. Hmmm...<BR/><BR/>I like <B>The Blue Dahlia</B> very much too. I haven't seen it in years, so I'm glad to see that it is scheduled on TCM on Jan 10th at 10:00AM ET.Moira Finniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12626493736940699514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141014462966058399.post-48597207890509827982008-12-03T12:57:00.000-05:002008-12-03T12:57:00.000-05:00Love how the colors in the painting behind Ladd ma...Love how the colors in the painting behind Ladd match the packages. :)<BR/><BR/>These are great photos and bios -- keep 'em coming! (I'm very partial to THE BLUE DAHLIA...)<BR/><BR/>Best wishes,<BR/>LauraLaurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09626109831176745957noreply@blogger.com