tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post7261791385524532884..comments2024-03-16T10:03:59.180-07:00Comments on The Movie Projector: Bright Victory (1951)R. D. Finchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05045080274131718843noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-22149592536980329052012-10-29T10:46:06.697-07:002012-10-29T10:46:06.697-07:00Great review as always, and a terrific comparison ...Great review as always, and a terrific comparison with "The Men" which I agree is the better film. Still, you deservedly give praise to Arthur Kennedy, a great actor who is unknown to most people today. I haven't seen this movie in more than 20 years but remember it solely for his performance. Classicfilmboyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01278928051994100842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-82461960670651716642012-10-22T21:49:07.355-07:002012-10-22T21:49:07.355-07:00Ken, thanks. It's getting harder and harder to...Ken, thanks. It's getting harder and harder to find classic films to write on that haven't already been thoroughly covered elsewhere and about which I have something new to say, so I find inspiration in writing on obscurities like this one. Often, as in the case of "Bright Victory," they were fairly well known in their day, but for a combination of reasons--being overshadowed by more famous films of the time, no home video release by a major company, seldom being shown on TCM--aren't well remembered today. R. D. Finchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05045080274131718843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-86603614026646280502012-10-22T18:03:53.055-07:002012-10-22T18:03:53.055-07:00Hi R.D.
I haven't seen this film, but after se...Hi R.D.<br />I haven't seen this film, but after seeing Arthur Kennedy on TCM in the overheated "Claudelle Inglish", your post caught my eye.<br />You often write about film of which I'm unfamiliar or that reflect a difference in taste, but like a lot of my favorite film critics, you make me enjoy reading about films outside of my sphere. <br />Can't say I'll ever give this one a look-see, but I do know I thoroughly enjoyed reading your observations and analysis of its merits and shortcomings.Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-26021959771179079592012-10-21T22:19:08.895-07:002012-10-21T22:19:08.895-07:00I agree that Arthur Kennedy was a reliable actor r...I agree that Arthur Kennedy was a reliable actor rather than an exciting one. He had a sort of everyman persona that seemed quite natural but without the star quality that actors like Henry Fonda and James Stewart injected into the kind of everyman characters they so often played. One of his later performances I found embarrassing was in "Some Came Running," where he seemed to be straining in a way that made his acting seemed untypically overstated.R. D. Finchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05045080274131718843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-1881125692898971562012-10-21T20:14:18.384-07:002012-10-21T20:14:18.384-07:00R.D., I haven't seen BRIGHT VICTORY in a long ...R.D., I haven't seen BRIGHT VICTORY in a long time, but remember liking it. I agree that the subplots somewhat dilute its impact and the ending comes across as overly optimistic. Arthur Kennedy was a very capable actor, but--as you pointed out--he rarely got lead roles. When he did, as in this movie and RANCHO NOTORIOUS, he proved he could be very good. Later, though, he also gave some very bad performances (e.g., A SUMMER PLACE--and I'm a fan of that movie).Classic Film and TV Cafehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09548537117263337339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-27870665479989913372012-10-21T12:02:21.075-07:002012-10-21T12:02:21.075-07:00Judy, this film would make a good companion piece ...Judy, this film would make a good companion piece to the ones you mention. I'm glad you mentioned "Pride of the Marines." I thought it was quite good--with an amazing dream sequence--with one of Garfield's best performances. He really hit his stride in the mid-40's, didn't he? "Bright Victory" and "The Men" were made by two of the socially conscious directors of the late 40's-early 50s. The Korean War, which was just beginning, probably revived interest in the subject of disabilities received in combat. It seems like every war revives interest in the subject. Of course, today we recognize that war injuries can be psychological too, and that has opened up a new area for this type of film.R. D. Finchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05045080274131718843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-15292035847623450942012-10-21T06:22:18.264-07:002012-10-21T06:22:18.264-07:00I've just checked and this film is currently a...I've just checked and this film is currently available at Youtube (posted by a Rock Hudson fan), so will hope to see it soon and return to say more - I enjoyed your excellent review very much, R.D., and am interested in seeing more films on this theme after 'The Best Years of Our Lives' and 'The Pride of the Marines' with John Garfield as a blinded veteran, also giving a powerful performance. I haven't seen 'The Men' as yet. I'm also another one who is interested in Arthur Kennedy's work, after being impressed by him in Wyler's 'Detective Story' which I saw recently. He's also good as Cagney's younger brother in 'City for Conquest', which you mention here - that one is a film I love though I have only seen it on VHS to date and I know there is a better version with some deleted footage restored. Judyhttp://movieclassics.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-4492622452243774102012-10-20T21:38:32.101-07:002012-10-20T21:38:32.101-07:00I have seen just about every adaptation of Death o...I have seen just about every adaptation of Death of a Salesman available, and I wish so much I could have seen Kennedy as Biff. He would have been great. I was so lucky to get to see the play here in Indianapolis when I was a teenager, with George C. Scott as Willie. He gave a marvelous performance, with his own unique stamp. <br /><br />It is interesting that Kennedy was so good as cynical character types. I always think particularly of the hard-edged newspaper man in Elmer Gantry, and a similar character in Lawrence of Arabia. He was just a high-quality actor!ClassicBeckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03591715859057540467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-54668455092315174992012-10-20T21:20:11.899-07:002012-10-20T21:20:11.899-07:00Becky, thank you. Arthur Kennedy was a wonderful a...Becky, thank you. Arthur Kennedy was a wonderful actor. He seemed to project sincerity so effortlessly--and this was the kind of role he got for the first decade of his career--that it was a surprise when later in his career he began playing less sympathetic parts equally convincingly, like the ones in "Peyton Place" and "The Man from Laramie." He was indeed a trained stage actor and got a Tony for playing Biff in the Broadway version of "Death of a Salesman."R. D. Finchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05045080274131718843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-59796372445815031652012-10-19T11:42:56.042-07:002012-10-19T11:42:56.042-07:00I saw this a long time ago, liked it, and do agree...I saw this a long time ago, liked it, and do agree with your analysis of it as compared to the The Men. I always thought Arthur Kennedy was a marvelous actor, very handsome, and never really understood why he never moved higher. He is much like a stage actor, shows real depth, and adds so much to movies he is in. Very nice post.ClassicBeckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03591715859057540467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-2235601526887566472012-10-15T21:57:21.265-07:002012-10-15T21:57:21.265-07:00GOM, I think you're right in your assessment o...GOM, I think you're right in your assessment of Kennedy as a reliable actor but no star. He must have realized this because he found a comfortable niche lending support to others who did have star power. A couple of years back when I wrote about the greatest character actors and actresses of the studio days, Kennedy was one of the first actors who came to mind, right after Robert Ryan, whose career was similar--mostly supporting roles with an occasional lead in a small picture, a character actor even when young. <br /><br />I thought Kennedy was good for this role because his character really is an ordinary man, which was maybe the one thing Brando was incapable of playing! As I said in the post, I happened to catch this on TCM, and I don't recall them playing it any other time recently. I know it hasn't had a DVD release from a major company, another of those obscurities from the early 50s that has been pretty much forgotten.R. D. Finchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05045080274131718843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-73407924601452135622012-10-15T17:32:10.627-07:002012-10-15T17:32:10.627-07:00I haven't seen this film, though it sounds, fr...I haven't seen this film, though it sounds, from your description, a more upbeat, conventionalized portrayal of men adjusting to the post-war world, without actually challenging the world that the soldiers come home to (as happens in the Best Years of our Lives). I've always found Arthur Kennedy a solid, respectable actor, though to me he lacks star power. I wonder how his character and the film would have played if someone with the screen impact, and psychological complexity, of a Brando or a Clift had been cast.Grand Old Movieshttp://grandoldmovies.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com