Mary Astor as Norma Desmond
Mary Astor as Norma Desmond
#1Mary Astor as Norma Desmond
Posted: 1/21/13 at 1:09am
I knew a teleplay version of SUNSET BLVD had been made, but never thought I'd see any of it.. Thankfully someone posted a clip.
Enjoy..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqqGiyMcNVs
#2Mary Astor as Norma Desmond
Posted: 1/21/13 at 6:26am
Fascinating ... and not very good. I don't mind at all that she's different than Gloria Swanson. I mind that she doesn't seem to give a crap about anything she's saying.
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#2Mary Astor as Norma Desmond
Posted: 1/21/13 at 11:02am
I don't know that I'd agree she doesn't give a crap. I just think she's wrong for the part.
Maybe my love for Mary Astor blinds me, but I think she just doesn't have the theatricality for Norma. But I've always thought she was underrated as an actor.
Either way, yes, fascinating! Thanks for posting.
#3Mary Astor as Norma Desmond
Posted: 1/21/13 at 11:31am
You're welcome.
Have you ever heard any of those abbreviated radio plays of then current films? They usually featured a star not in the actual film, but one just as notable.
I find in those radio plays the actors aren't as invested as I'm accustomed to seeing them. They seem to do just dash off a performance. I put Astor's Norma Desmond in that category. There are glimmers of what might be a commanding yet nuanced performance, but you figure she needed Billy Wilder guiding her.
You figure too that at the time television was still considered a second rate medium. She probably had a little fun, cashed the check, went home, and forgot about it.
Of course the real fun is watching a great actor take on a great role associated with someone else. We get a lot of that in the theatre, but oh so rarely in film.
#4Mary Astor as Norma Desmond
Posted: 1/21/13 at 11:36amYes, I love those! Tallulah as Margo Channing is something else.
#5Mary Astor as Norma Desmond
Posted: 1/21/13 at 11:38am
Exactly!
Rosalind Russell in NINOTCHKA.
So much fun.
#6Mary Astor as Norma Desmond
Posted: 1/21/13 at 11:41amAnd by "something else," I mean it's Tallulah.
#7Mary Astor as Norma Desmond
Posted: 1/21/13 at 12:12pmI still get chills from Agnes Moorehead's 'Sorry Wrong Number'
#8Mary Astor as Norma Desmond
Posted: 1/21/13 at 1:05pmAnd if you listen to Judy Garland's Lady in the Dark, you get to hear her sing "My Ship" but not "The Saga of Jenny."
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