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February 5, 2013 By iluvcinema 4 Comments

Tuesdays Overlooked Film: Apartment for Peggy (1948)

Apartment for Peggy is a 1948 film directed by George Seaton (“Miracle on 34th Street”) and starring Edmund Gwenn (also of “Miracle”), William Holden and Jeanne Crain. It was based on the novelette An Apartment for Jenny written by Faith Baldwin.

william-holden-jeanne-crain-edmund-gwenn-apartment-for-peggy

Gwenn plays Professor Henry Barnes, whose spirits are lifted when he rents part of his home to a couple. The husband Jason Taylor (Holden) is a returning soldier, studying at the university, courtesy of the G.I. Bill. His wife, Peggy (Crain) is youthful and vibrant and ultimately the catalyst for pulling Professor Barnes from the path of depression, renewing his lease on the joys of life.

What I like most about this film is the cast. While Gwenn is largely known for being St. Nick, he was quite the accomplished and varied actor. Jeanne Crain is always a screen presence that for me at least projected a kind of warmth and feeling of comfort. And then there is William Holden – dreamy William Holden. While this film does not fall into category of his “breakthrough” years (all started in 1950 with his performance in Sunset Boulevard on through to performances in Stalag 17 and Bridge On the River Kwai), here his performance is solid enough turn as a G.I. (which he was in real life) returning to the home front and adjusting to life.

Granted this film is sorta lightweight (in spite of the fact that the subject of suicide DOES come up), I think that it is worth a look-see at the very least. Check out other forgotten/overlooked films at Todd Mason’s blog – Sweet Freedom.

afp lobby

Filed Under: Overlooked Films Tagged With: apartment for peggy, edmund gwenn, jeanne crain, william holden

August 6, 2011 By iluvcinema Leave a Comment

Happy 100th Lucille Ball!

Primarily known for her television work, Lucille Ball cut her teeth in the Hollywood studio system as a contract player. One of her early films that prevails in my mind is Miss Grant Takes Richmond a 1948 film which co-starred William Holden.

While there was nothing overly remarkable about the film itself, it answered a bit of trivia for me.

The following clip is from one of my favorite episodes from I Love Lucy.

From what I know about Lucy’s biography, she was a rather popular and influential figure in Hollywood. So when she had episodes such as the one above which featured Hollywood heavyweights, it was not a big deal. However, after watching Miss Grant Takes Richmond, I now have a starting point for where the relationship may have began:

So with that Happy Birthday Lucy!

Filed Under: Fun Stuff Tagged With: 100th Birthday, I Love Lucy, Lucille Ball, william holden

April 19, 2009 By idawson Leave a Comment

Happy Belated Birthday Bill Holden!

holden-as-sefton1
William Holden as Sefton in "Stalag 17" (1953)

April 17th (Friday) marked William Holden’s 91st birthday.  As someone who is admittedly a fan but also admitting to not seeing films such as The Wild Bunch (1969) and Network (1976) to their completion, here in no particular order are a list of what I feel are some notable Holden performances:

Picnic (1955) – the Cinemascope/Technicolor combination makes this film feel like a big sweeping epic.  Which is strange since is hails from a stage show, which  in general tend to be more confined. It just looks like a “big” picture. While I do not think that this is the best of Holden’s performances, I still enjoyed the picture.  A great part of my reservation stems from the fact that while Holden’s Hal Carter is a bit world-weary (much list the actor in real life) there is an immaturity in Hal that Holden does not seem to be able to capture.  It truly is a compliment to the fact that by this time in his life Holden himself appeared to be a man who “got it” and would not live under such delusions.

Sunset Boulevard (1950) – one of his finer performances.  As much as we are taken in by the bravura performance of Gloria Swanson’s Norma Desmond, Holden performance is a perfect foil with its nonchalant indifference to the glare of Hollywood.  No wonder he received his first Oscar nomination!

Apartment for Peggy (1947) – this such a cute movie especially for slow afternoon.  Truly diverting and pleasure to watch.

Our Town (1940) – I watched this movie again the other night on late-night public television.  I think this film is especially noted for a fine turn from pre-WWII Holden.  When referencing his performance, the New York Times’ Bosley Crowther in his June 14, 1940 review stated, “William Holden plays the boy with a clean and refreshing youthfulness.”  Among the awards bestowed upon this film: “10 Best Films” – 1940 New York Times; “10 Best Films” – 1940 Film Daily; Best Acting – 1940 National Board of Review (Martha Scott and William Holden).  In addition it was nominated in the following categories:  1940 Oscars – Best Actress (Martha Scott); Best Black and White Art Direction (Lewis Rachmil); Best Score and Original Score (Aaron Copland); Best Picture; Best Sound (Thomas T. Moulton); 1940 National Board of Review for Best Picture.

Stalag 17 (1953) – my personal fave and by sheer coincidence Holden’s Award-winning performance as Sefton, a cynical, self-serving POW who ends up being our hero by film’s end.

For those who are interested in learning about the life of William Holden the actor and the man, I recommend Bob Thomas’ Golden Boy:  the Untold Story of William Holden is a very good biography.  It tells the story straight without too many salacious details.

Filed Under: Lists, Superlatives Tagged With: birthday, stalag 17, sunset boulevard, william holden

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