All the while Gloria Grahame and Lyle Bettger are emoting together, a bull hook, held by someone just off camera and who is obviously guiding the elephant, is in plain view. |
Thursday, June 03, 2010
From Eric Beheim #2
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3 comments:
I had noticed that every time I rewatch the show.
My vote for the unseen bullman is Arky. In the four years I knew him, he told me great stories of the picture. As Elephant Boss, he was DeMille's go-to man for bull work, and got 6 months of paydays on the film.
There is another shot that has bugged me to this day. Brad commands the bullmen to hurry, "You've got four-and-a-half minutes!", Holly runs up to warn him that Angel is headed for trouble. As the bulls run past, Brad grabs a bullhook from a man. Question is, how does this man work his assigned bulls without his hook? Would a seasoned circus manager take the guy's hook??
Our Angel went on to win a Best Supporting Oscar the next year for THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, and by all accounts was considered among the screen's finest actresses. When my friend Tommy Napoli retired as First Trumpet on the late 60s Beatty show, he married and became a letter carrier in LA. On his route was Gloria Grahame, who often opened the door for her mail. Tommy said seeing her was like someone turned on the sunshine. She always made his day when she greeted him by name.
Her personal life gave the Hollywood press the sensation they craved when she married Anthony Ray. He was the son of her previous husband, Director Nicholas Ray. Thus, her former son-in-law became her husband, and her former husband became her father-in-law. Louella and Hedda could not believe their good fortune with copy like that.
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