April 12, 2005
The Eternal Shyster
Don't know why I'm excited about this, but I am -- on Thursday morning,
Turner Classic Movies is showing a bunch of films starring Lee Tracy. Mr. Tracy is now somewhat forgotten, but his stock in trade back in the '30s was playing the unsophisticated schemer, usually in the form of a pushy newspaperman or salesperson. He appeared as actor's agents in two of his most memorable roles -- John Barrymore's in
Dinner at Eight and Jean Harlow's in
Bombshell. Despite his average looks and abrasive demeanor, he was actually quite likeable onscreen. That probably explains why he graduated from character actor to leading man, before increasing alcoholism cemented his reputation as unreliable. Oh well. For a brief shining moment, he was the very image of smarmy appeal and for that he remains one of my faves of that era.
Posted by mhinrichs at April 12, 2005 12:17 PM
A few years ago, the Nuart theater in L.A. hosted a couple of weeks of "Forbidden Hollywood" films, which were mostly pre-code Warner Bros. films. The movie "Blessed Event", starring Lee Tracy, was one of the standouts because of Tracy's performance. A monologue he delivers to a hit man actually earned a spontaneous burst of applause from the entire (full) house.
That is also where I learned to love Warren William, another mostly forgotten old star.
Neat! I've never seen "Blessed Event" -- I'm gonna be recording that one and "Turn Back the Clock" (which also supposedly has a great Tracy performance).
Have to differ about Warren William. Blech! Talk about "old school" ham acting. We have seen him in far too many movies and I just cannot fathom how he ever became a leading man.
I love Lee Tracy! I can't wait to see Blessed Event - you might want to check out the next movie, The Strange Love of Molly Louvain - it's a fairly racy mother-love drama starring the also-unjustly-forgotten Ann Dvorak.
