tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post2748003936065168635..comments2024-03-23T21:46:50.843-04:00Comments on the passionate moviegoer: voicesjoe baltakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11467420961490314339noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-64426130012633283072020-01-18T03:06:42.328-05:002020-01-18T03:06:42.328-05:00Another voice in the Jean Arthur region: Julie Som...Another voice in the Jean Arthur region: Julie Sommars, who might have been <i>too</i> close to Arthur to get a fair shake at a bigger career.<br /><br />Here's an impossibly rare one that I stumbled across thanks to a long-time foray into the lost world of French film noir (the films "underneath" the so-called classics that have been hidden away for more than half a century). Her name is Andrée Clément, who had a meteoric career in the 1940s and early 1950s (she died young, just 35, of tuberculosis). Her breakout role was as a cunning juvenile delinquent in a venal little French town who idolizes a famous criminal in a film called FILLE DU DIABLE (DEVIL's DAUGHTER). Even though her character is prone to shrill outbursts, she has the voice of a dark angel, and it's used perfectly to convey the anguished inner life of a shunned, discarded girl. We were able to do a 100th birthday "rediscovery" show featuring her in SF a couple of years ago, and our "ahead of the curve" French noir fans were captivated by her acting and her voice. Truly one of a kind...<br /><br />Best, Don MalcolmNear-Genius Nephewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00473949710603037043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-31550013434435194602019-04-15T10:41:14.705-04:002019-04-15T10:41:14.705-04:00Yes! Wendie Malick. Great, great choice. Another i...Yes! Wendie Malick. Great, great choice. Another is Susan Sartandon who I somehow overlooked and just added to the essay. Thanks, Bill! -Jjoe baltakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11467420961490314339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-65748743521116648152019-04-15T00:59:29.053-04:002019-04-15T00:59:29.053-04:00This is tardy, but I had to add one more voice I t...This is tardy, but I had to add one more voice I thought of after my earlier post: Wendie Malick. From HBO's "Dream On" to her current series on Hallmark, her voice has always offered an invitation into a world of intriguing, sophisticated experience.William Wolfenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-5698702884867717502019-04-14T13:43:46.802-04:002019-04-14T13:43:46.802-04:00Oh, I loved your essay on voices! Ever since I rea...Oh, I loved your essay on voices! Ever since I read it, I keep hearing voices in my head that I love/hate, trying to figure out what makes certain voices so attractive to me (like the ones YOU mentioned) and others so repellent -- Barbra Striesand and Alan Alda come to mind immediately. Simone Signoret would have been in it for me! Another Simonenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-77987648063480873422019-04-14T13:12:04.055-04:002019-04-14T13:12:04.055-04:00I'm with Mike Schlesinger. I also remember bac...I'm with Mike Schlesinger. I also remember back to a time of early TV when there were "impersonators" doing voices like James Cagney, Cary Grant, Jimmy Durante, etc.? Boy, talk about lost (and rightly so) arts! <br /><br />Oddly enough, I remember people's voices more than I do faces. Yes, Herbert Marshall was grand . . . then there were guys like William Conrad and Lee Marvin . . .<br /><br />I have fallen madly in love with guys by the sound of their voice (he could be 2 bag ugly but if he sounds like Donald Sutherland, I'm his) or desperately handsome but if it's a David Beckham voice -- forget it! The Brit guy I was married to in London was from Belfast -- he got me with that Liam Neesom "hello." k.o.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-19939804690796946552019-04-14T13:01:48.615-04:002019-04-14T13:01:48.615-04:00Great quote, Steve. -JGreat quote, Steve. -Jjoe baltakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11467420961490314339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-58470745592781965542019-04-05T05:07:35.563-04:002019-04-05T05:07:35.563-04:00“Her voice was exquisite and far away, almost like...“Her voice was exquisite and far away, almost like an echo. She was an excellent actress, completely unique. That wonderful voice of hers — strange, fey, mysterious — like a voice singing in the snow.”<br />Louise Brooks on Margaret SullavanSteveHLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05008476410810953952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-20220391518812423552019-04-05T00:32:59.753-04:002019-04-05T00:32:59.753-04:00How could you forget Jean Arthur?
How could you forget Jean Arthur?<br />Nick Pattersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09555378788567081907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-58216121930033005382019-04-03T21:07:28.509-04:002019-04-03T21:07:28.509-04:00Yes, Steve! Grimes and Provine - great voices and ...Yes, Steve! Grimes and Provine - great voices and too often overlooked as actresses. -Jjoe baltakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11467420961490314339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-56672075713521147772019-04-03T21:00:54.614-04:002019-04-03T21:00:54.614-04:00Excellent choices. May I add Tammy Grimes and Dor...Excellent choices. May I add Tammy Grimes and Dorothy Provine? SteveHLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05008476410810953952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-59685041358694928562019-04-02T09:47:25.465-04:002019-04-02T09:47:25.465-04:00Jim & Bill- Wonderful picks. Jen Arthur and Ma...Jim & Bill- Wonderful picks. Jen Arthur and Margaret Sullavan are certainly excellent examples of Mike Schlesinger's theory on the actors of the 1930s & '40s: They are both members of "an entire generation of actors with immediately recognizable voices." Of the relative "newcomers," Pfeiffer has and Hackett had seductive voices. God, I miss Joan Hackett! The mentiion of her name makes me want to watch "One-Trick Pony" again. -Jjoe baltakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11467420961490314339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-43756126567657272652019-04-01T17:39:08.519-04:002019-04-01T17:39:08.519-04:00Jean Arthur and Margaret Sullavan, for sure. Amon...Jean Arthur and Margaret Sullavan, for sure. Among the less well-known, I always enjoyed Joan Hackett's voice, which found a nice balancing point between cultured and pixilated.William Wolfenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-38759611560793948622019-03-31T22:35:38.550-04:002019-03-31T22:35:38.550-04:00I would add Michelle Pfeiffer, especially in THE F...I would add Michelle Pfeiffer, especially in THE FABULOUS BAKER BROTHERS, where her insolence in both dialog and song equals Lauren Bacall. A highly underrated actress.bufffilmbuffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15454063008795323255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-28747177452473439262019-03-30T22:05:22.759-04:002019-03-30T22:05:22.759-04:00Suzanne Pleshette will always be my favorite. Suzanne Pleshette will always be my favorite. Jeremynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-21109426268079433852019-03-30T21:35:12.226-04:002019-03-30T21:35:12.226-04:00Alex- Good choice. MacDowell's voice is certai...Alex- Good choice. MacDowell's voice is certainly distinctive. I'm still a bit surprised that Hugh Hudson replaced her familiar twang with Glenn Close's generic patrician tones. -Jjoe baltakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11467420961490314339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-25885236297516851312019-03-30T21:31:18.549-04:002019-03-30T21:31:18.549-04:00Andie MacDowell!Andie MacDowell!Alexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-59269670590955145682019-03-30T20:39:48.739-04:002019-03-30T20:39:48.739-04:00Wonderful and moving? Thanks, Elise!Wonderful and moving? Thanks, Elise!joe baltakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11467420961490314339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-9024577069811492972019-03-30T20:28:31.488-04:002019-03-30T20:28:31.488-04:00I can hear all of these voices in my head now. Tha...I can hear all of these voices in my head now. Thank you for a wonderful and moving piece. Elisenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-58384595461821072062019-03-30T19:23:35.555-04:002019-03-30T19:23:35.555-04:00Love Lizbeth Scott. Unique. Thanks, Burt. -JLove Lizbeth Scott. Unique. Thanks, Burt. -Jjoe baltakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11467420961490314339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-44014712918604078902019-03-30T19:16:43.340-04:002019-03-30T19:16:43.340-04:00Lizabeth Scott had a sultry voice perfect for noir...Lizabeth Scott had a sultry voice perfect for noir. For men, can anyone equal Claude Rains? just burtnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-51755420922553678442019-03-30T19:12:28.200-04:002019-03-30T19:12:28.200-04:00Thanks for the nod to Herbert Marshall. I HATED th...Thanks for the nod to Herbert Marshall. I HATED that plummy voice Ronald Colman cultivated. I don't even think he was British! (or had a wooden leg like Marshall). Loved it - your post, that is!Paulinenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-13836799504582444172019-03-30T18:00:01.605-04:002019-03-30T18:00:01.605-04:00Yes, Mike, as Billy says - Thanks! The stars of th...Yes, Mike, as Billy says - Thanks! The stars of the 1930s & '40s had spectaculr voices. They kept impressionists busy for decades. I can't even imagine what Rich Little could to with Pitt or Pratt or Gyllenhall. The thing for us to do is to come up with someone - <i>anyone</i> - in movies these days who has a distinctive voice. I'm talking actors. I've already come up with a handful of actresses here. -Jjoe baltakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11467420961490314339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-60293424792335631652019-03-30T17:13:47.770-04:002019-03-30T17:13:47.770-04:00I was ready to ask why Joe or anyone else hadn'...I was ready to ask why Joe or anyone else hadn't mentioned Garbo. Thanks, Mike!Billy from Phillynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-25849903481834959272019-03-30T16:54:02.244-04:002019-03-30T16:54:02.244-04:00When the talkies came in, we got an entire generat...When the talkies came in, we got an entire generation of actors with immediately recognizable voices: Cagney, Robinson, Davis, Gable, Bogart, Cooper, Jolson, Garbo, Dietrich, Lionel and John Barrymore, et al, as well as the comedians: Fields, Groucho, Laurel & Hardy, Mae Weat, etc. That's all gone. Can anyone do an impression of Damon, Affleck, DiCaprio, Pratt, Cruise, Clooney, Pitt, Efron, Gyllenhall, ad infinitum?mike schlesingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15824197221204862706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-73169432461086095822015-02-07T10:41:19.185-05:002015-02-07T10:41:19.185-05:00I know her voice isn't smokey and sultry, but ...I know her voice isn't smokey and sultry, but I always like listening to Mary Boland!Brian Lucasnoreply@blogger.com