#gig young

[houseoflicht]

[peggy-elise]

Eleanor Parker in The Woman In White 1948 🌬

[citizenscreen]

Bette Davis and Gig Young for Vincent Sherman’s OLD ACQUAINTANCE (1943)

[haveyouseenthismovie-poll]

[letterboxd-loggd]

They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) Sydney Pollack

August 14th 2024

[oldshowbiz]

Norman Lloyd's Companions in Nightmare (1968) starring Gig Young and Anne Baxter

[nitrateglow]

Thoughts on Five Miles to Midnight (1962)

Movies like this are why I don't take critics seriously. I really enjoyed this one so much more than I expected. It's not a perfect movie-- I found myself wishing Hitchcock had directed it instead-- but it's a deliciously dark psychological thriller.

Sophia Loren and Anthony Perkins are Lisa and Bob, a married couple living in Paris. Bob is a possessive, emotionally unstable jerk. Lisa can't handle the abuse anymore and wants a divorce, but Bob refuses. When Bob takes a flight to Casablanca, the plane crashes midway, reportedly leaving no survivors.

Before Lisa can feel liberated, Bob returns to their apartment days later, bloodied and bruised. Turns out he survived, but he doesn't want her to tell anyone because his life insurance policy will make the two of them rich beyond their wildest dreams. Lisa just wants Bob out of her life, so the two make a deal: Lisa will hide Bob in her apartment while going through the process of collecting the money and then Bob will start a new life elsewhere, never darkening her doorstep again.

Several factors complicate this simple plan: a nosy kid peeking into the apartment from across the street, a sleazy neighbor hoping to put the moves on the now available Lisa, Bob's aggressive sexual jealousy towards his repulsed wife, and Lisa being at her wits' end as her husband tries to convince her to stay with him despite everything.

I was fascinated by the two main characters in this movie. Bob is a narcissist of the highest order and Lisa is vulnerable but manipulative in her own way (we learn she mainly married Bob to escape a bad situation, a truth which makes Bob bitter). Their messy marital drama blended well with the crime element, giving the film the grim vibe of noir.

My only issue is that some of the suspense scenes could have used a surer hand and more tension. I really think Hitchcock would have done a great job with this story. However, as it is, the performances are good and the story kept my interest. I don't get why it's considered such a dud. Maybe it's because none of the characters are super sympathetic? I don't care-- they were INTERESTING and Lisa was sympathetic enough for all her faults, so I was invested.

Also, I love Perkins' sunglasses and leather gloves look. What an aesthetic!

[howardhawkshollywood]

John Garfield and Gig Young in Air Force (1943). Gig was born Byron Barr and changed his name to the character he played, Gig Young, in The Gay Sisters (1942). He had already appeared in a dozen films under his own name.

[lobbycards]

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, Spanish lobby card, 1974

[nerds-yearbook]

In 1959, Martin Sloan stopped at a service station to have his car looked at. Realizing he was in walking distance of the town he grew up in, he decided to take a stroll and visit. For reasons unknown, other than entering the mythic twilight zone, Sloan found himself in 1934 where his boyhood self existed. ("Walking Distance", Twilight Zone, TV)

[kwebtv]

TV Guide  -  October 10 - 16, 1964

Gig Young (born Byron Elsworth Barr; November 4, 1913 – October 19, 1978) Film and television actor.

During the 1950′s he appeared on shows like The Silver Theater,  Pulitzer Prize Playhouse, The Bigelow Theatre, Robert Montgomery Presents, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Producers' Showcase, Lux Video Theatre, Warner Brothers Presents, The United States Steel Hour, Climax!, Studio One, Goodyear Theatre, The Twilight Zone (Episode: "Walking Distance") and  Shirley Temple's Storybook.  

 On the 1964–65 NBC series The Rogues, he shared appearances on a rotating basis with David Niven and Charles Boyer. It was one of Young's favorite roles.  He later said, "I loved it, the public loved it, only NBC didn't love it."  (Wikipedia)

Charles Boyer (French: [bwaje]; August 28, 1899 – August 26, 1978) Film, stage and television actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976.  

Boyer moved into television as one of the pioneering producers and stars of the anthology show Four Star Playhouse (1952–56). It was made by Four Star Productions which would make Boyer and partners David Niven and Dick Powell rich.

In 1956, Boyer was a guest star on I Love Lucy.   On March 17, 1957, Boyer starred in an adaptation for TV of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, There Shall Be No Night, by Robert E. Sherwood. The performance starred Katharine Cornell, and was broadcast on NBC as part of the Hallmark Hall of Fame.

Boyer was reunited with David Niven in The Rogues (1964–65), a television series also starring Gig Young. Niven, Boyer and Young revolved from week to week as the episode's leading man, sometimes appearing together, although most episodes wound up being helmed by Young since both Niven and Boyer had flourishing movie careers.  (Wikipedia)

Lieutenant Colonel James David Graham Niven (/ˈnɪvən/; March 1, 1910 – July 29, 1983) Film and television actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist.   He appeared in many shows for television and nearly 100 films.

He appeared several times on various short-drama shows and was one of the "four stars" of the dramatic anthology series Four Star Playhouse, appearing in 33 episodes. The show was produced by Four Star Television, which was co-owned and founded by Niven, Ida Lupino, Dick Powell and Charles Boyer. The show ended in 1955, but Four Star TV became a highly successful TV production company.

In 1959, he became the host of his own TV drama series, The David Niven Show, which ran for 13 episodes that summer.

In 1964, Charles Boyer, Gig Young and top-billed Niven appeared in the Four Star series The Rogues. Niven played Alexander 'Alec' Fleming, one of a family of retired con-artists who now fleece villains in the interests of justice. This was his only recurring role on television, and the series was originally set up to more or less revolve between the three leads in various combinations (one-lead, two-lead and three-lead episodes), although the least otherwise busy Gig Young wound up carrying most of the series. The Rogues ran for only one season, but won a Golden Globe award and currently remains a cult favourite.  (Wikipedia)

[gatutor]

Gig Young-Lee Aaker-Jean Hagen "Arena" 1953, de Richard Fleischer.

[citizenscreen]

For George Sidney’s THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1948), Van Heflin, Gig Young, Lana Turner, and Gene Kelly

[frankenpagie]

4.29.24

[eternal--returned]

Rod Serling ֍ Gig Young in The Twilight Zone Season 1 Episode 5: Walking Distance (1959)

Martin Sloan, age thirty-six, vice-president in charge of media. Successful in most things, but not in the one effort that all men try at some time in their lives—trying to go home again. And also like all men, perhaps there'll be an occasion—maybe a summer night sometime—when he'll look up from what he's doing and listen to the distant music of a calliope, and hear the voices and the laughter of the people and the places of his past. And perhaps across his mind, there'll flit a little errant wish, that a man might not have to become old, never outgrow the parks and the merry-go-rounds of his youth. And he'll smile then, too, because he'll know that it is just an errant wish, some wisp of memory, not too important really, some laughing ghosts that would cross a man's mind—that are a part of The Twilight Zone.