Beauty vs Beast: The Maniac From Uncle
Monday, May 15, 2017 at 3:11PM Jason from MNPP here using this week's "Beauty vs Beast" to wish one of my favorite actors of Classic Hollywood a happy birthday today - the great Joseph Cotten was born on this day in the year 1905. Cotten got his start on Broadway, where he caught the eye of some fella called Orson Welles - I suppose you can do worse for yourself than have your very first movie in theaters end up being Citizen Kane.
Just two years later Cotten took the job I always identify him with, as "Uncle Charlie" opposite Teresa Wright as his niece (also named Charlie, cuz doubling) in Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt. Hitch considered this his greatest film and I'd rank it up there (although "greatest" is a bit much when everything he made between 1954 and 1963 is sitting there) and mainly due to Cotten's subtly deranged work. Wright is also wonderful though - her best work, I think, by far. So where oh where does the Merry Widow's Waltz stop...
PREVIOUSLY Speaking of waltzes we danced the week away with Fred & Ginger for last week's hoe-down, and y'all decided that backwards in heels was your winner, giving Miss Rogers an eight point toe up over her competition. Said Claran (and I'm surprised there wasn't more of this):
"This is CRUEL!!! I propose a tie, since Top Hat wld not hav been so successful w/o their magical chemistry together. As indv performers, they r not so memorable, but as a team, they are certainly on TOP. "
Reader Comments (6)
I was so impressed with this movie when i finally watched it. what took me so long? Cotten is always amazing but i'm voting for Wright since this is BY FAR my favorite of her performances
Before anybody yells at me let me add I feel GHASTLY that I didn't mention Patricia Collinge's heart-rending work as Uncle Charlie's sister / Young Charlie's mother -- I don't know what I was smoking when I forgot to point out that she's technically the best thing in the whole film. I guess I just didn't want to distract from the thrust of the contest.
Agreed on Wright though, Nat -- I usually think she's kind of terrible and I don't especially get how she got to be such a big star. I suppose it's timing and image - her sweetness really fits the age well. But she's wonderful in this movie.
This is impossible, pitting one of my favorite Hitchcock heroines against one of my favorite Hitchcock villains. But I'm going to give an EVER SO SLIGHT edge to Young Charlie, for the sole reason that, as much amazing work as Cotten does in the role, Hitch helps him with Uncle Charlie's creepiness much more than he helps Wright (never better) in building Young Charlie's character.
I'm voting for Teresa Wright. Aside from being great in this film and her nearly impossible accomplishment of getting nominated for her first three films she is mostly forgotten now. She deserves more recognition.
Agree with all the praises given to Teresa Wright. And a recommendation from her filmography: a charming, antiquated(in a not so bad way) and crazy comedy with the great Gary Cooper - her leading man in The Pride of the Yankees: Casanova Brown. Again Patricia Collinge plays Teresa's mother. Notorious womanizer(Grace Kelly, Ingrid Bergman, Patricia Neal, Marlene Dietrich, Clara Bow, etc, etc, etc, etc...), she was one of the few co-stars not to fall for Cooper's calm charm.
Hitchcok's personal favorite and a great film about evil hiding in plain sight in a perfect town