If you want to see silent film star Lillian Gish in the performance that won her a Katie, tune in Wednesday, October 14, 2009 at 12:45 p.m. EDT for Turner Classic Movies' presentation of The Wind. And if you show up early (say, 7 a.m. early), you can watch Lillian Gish all day long. I also recommend The Scarlet Letter, one of Gish's best silent movies. The White Sister also has a stellar reputation and it co-stars Ronald Colman in his breakthrough performance.Finally, you might want to see Duel in the Sun at 5:30 p.m. You can watch legendary producer David O. Selznick's career come unglued before your very eyes with this trash-tastic potboiler designed to show off the talents of his future wife, Jennifer Jones, who despite an Oscar, didn't have any. Critics dubbed this crapfest "Lust in the Dust," but audiences ate it up and Gish received her only Oscar nomination for her supporting performance. It's a pity, really.
Check it out.
From the TCM website:7:00am [Silent] White Sister, The (1923)
Thinking her lover was killed in the war, a young woman becomes a nun.
Cast: Lillian Gish, Ronald Colman, Gail Kane, J. Barney Sherry Dir: Henry King BW-135 mins
9:15am [Epic] La Boheme (1926)
In this silent film, a starving artist falls in love with a sickly seamstress in 19th-century Paris.
Cast: Lillian Gish, John Gilbert, Renee Adoree. Dir: King Vidor. BW-94 mins
11:00am [Silent] Scarlet Letter, The (1926)
In this silent film version of the classic tale, a single mother in Puritan New England bears her shame alone rather than expose the child's father.
Cast: Lillian Gish, Lars Hanson, Henry B. Walthall, Karl Dane Dir: Victor Seastrom BW-98 mins
12:45pm [Silent] Wind, The (1928)
In this silent film, a sheltered southern girl fights to adapt to the rough-and-tumble life of the wild West.
Cast: Lillian Gish, Lars Hanson, Montagu Love, Dorothy Cumming Dir: Victor Seastrom BW-82 mins
2:15pm [Comedy] One Romantic Night (1930)
A princess engaged to a prince falls for her brother's tutor.
Cast: Lillian Gish, Rod La Rocque, Conrad Nagel, Marie Dressler Dir: Paul L. Stein BW-108 mins
3:45pm [War] Commandos Strike At Dawn, The (1942)
A Norwegian refugee leads the British in an attack against his country's Nazi invaders.
Cast: Paul Muni, Anna Lee, Lillian Gish. Dir: John Farrow. BW-100 mins
5:30pm [Western] Duel In The Sun (1946)
A fiery half-breed comes between a rancher's good and evil sons.
Cast: Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Gregory Peck, Lionel Barrymore Dir: King Vidor C-144 mins
That was her only Oscar nod? Surely you jest. What was/is wrong with those people??
ReplyDeleteYeah, seriously, her only nomination. She did receive an honorary Oscar in 1971 "For superlative artistry and for distinguished contribution to the progress of motion pictures." But considering she could have been nominated for The Wind,, The Night Of The Hunter and The Whales of August, that seems more like an afterthought.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, her co-star in Duel in the Sun, Jennifer Jones, was nominated five times, and won for The Song of Bernadette. Go figure.