The Dimming of the Stars
By
Henry P. Raleigh
ART
TIMES December, 2005
BY
COINCIDENCE I was watching “Bend in the River” on AMC one morning, at
the same time thumbing through Peter Bogdanovich’s recent book Who
the Hell’s In It and came across his piece on Jimmy Stewart. This
work, essays on Hollywood stars of the Golden Age, is a sequel to his
Who the Devil Made It – both are well worth reading, especially
for the old time, Golden Age film viewers. Mr. Bogdanovich very much mourns
the demise of the big studio days and the consequent loss of what was
once known as “Star Quality”. This last is that magical and unique screen
presence that marked the actors that are included in Mr. Bodanovich’s
book.
What
struck me in particular was Mr. Bogdanovich’s imitation (in print) of
Jimmy Stewart’s distinct manner of speech, something he called a Mid-Western
“…nasal, stuff-jawed voice.” Even the reading sounded like Stewart. He
did much the same in an essay on Cary Grant, noting Grant’s emphasis on
random words and syllables in sentences, all in an unidentifiable British
accent. The most widely imitates was his “Ju-dy, Ju-dy, Ju-dy’ from “Only
Angels Have Wings”. While not in fact a line from the film it was popular
with impressionists. Now, ageing relics can easily recall the early days
of television variety shows and the almost inevitable impressionist act
and the impersonations of film stars. Frank Gorshin was one of the best;
he could not only sound like Kirk Douglas but screw up his face to look
like him. Rich Little, the comedian, was good as well and one of the last
impressionists I can remember seeing. Gorshin wound up as the Riddler
on the Batman TV series, Little went on to small parts in film.
A
contemporary impressionist, if one or two are still in business, would
have a hard time finding material among film actors currently on screen
– Jack Nicholoson, maybe Clint Eastwood, the one-liner of Arnold
Schwartzenegger, ‘I’ll be back’ – there are few among the younger
actors who are like the highly individualistic stars of former times.
And as the Cagneys, Gables, Stewarts, Fondas and all have faded out so
has an audience that is old enough to recognize the singular qualities
that had made them stars. Consider the difficulty, if not impossibility,
of working up a credible impersonation of Brad Pitt or Ben Affleck, Jude
Law, Nicole Kidman. You might try grinning furiously to conjure up a Tom
Cruise but that’s as far as you’ll get. Those memorable distinctions of
voice, speech and gesture that marked the old stars are seldom present
in the new ones. Nor, in truth, can the new ones afford to cultivate such.
Once
actors were held in contract to the major studios, their individuality
cultivated and exploited in scripts written for them, parts selected that
best suited their screen images, screen plays and roles advanced to accommodate
their advance in years. You could age right along with John Wayne, you
and he winding up in your twilight years with “Rooster Cogburn”. Gone
also are the studio ‘B’ films where a young unknown might be tested to
gauge any potential star quality – there is little difference now
between an A or a B film. To keep on working today actors take what comes
along. So Nicole Kidman goes from “Cold Mountain” to an embarrassingly
inferior film as “Stepford Wives”; Michael Caine, one of the last of the
old breed, accepts a part in a low humor Austin Powers film; Albert Finney
in the maudlin “Big Fish”. If there is no one writing screen plays just
for you then it becomes necessary to avoid being type cast – after
all, look what happened to Tony Perkins following “Psycho”.
‘Star
Quality’, a term seldom heard anymore, was real enough in the Golden Age.
It referred to that indefinable electric presence on the screen, larger
than life yet still believable and permeating all roles. How many young
males in the 40’s yearned to be a Cary Grant, style themselves along the
lines of Bogart (didn’t we become quinty-eyed smokers, cupping the butt
in the palm of the hand – you bet we did)? How many today see themselves
as Jude Law, hope to appear as Leonardo Di Caprio? What is there to copy?
I’m
with Mr. Bogdanovich on this. There is a sadness at the loss of these
nearly mythic figures. A bit of this appears now and then to remind us
what it was once like. For me it’s when I catch a glimpse of Steve Buscemi.
However briefly his moments in a film I immediately fix on him, hangdog
face, gravelly manner of speech. I experience the same with Hope Davis;
ever confounded by knowing she is not a beauty by the female film standards
that prevail yet she seems beautiful. There is something of the old star
quality there, though, by-and-large, it’s gone forever. We have celebrities
now – not stars.