HOLLYWOOD'S SILVERSCREEN: a long distant perspective

A semi-autobiographical article put togther one afternoon

 

 

 

 

HOLLYWOOD’s SILVER SCREEN:

A long distant perspective

 

 

 

Do you want to discuss Marx?

As in, the Marx Brothers or Fatty R Buckle,  Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Lou-lou Brooks or indeed any such actor who starred in legendary black and white,  silent films and talkies from the silver screen of Hollywood’s remarkable hey day?  Mostly melodramas, Yankee film noir satires, musicals and romances, these films contained both sinister and vibrant escapist plots with glamorous casts, musical fanfare, slapstick comedies with feisty, bullish dialogues which have depicted tales of nationalism, patriotism, status, prestige, propaganda, toil and struggle of White America. Projections of America’s integral, in-depth self belief, rife with traditional gender ideals, gunfire and yankee doodle pride. No? Then how about the advent of techni - colour?

 

 

I ask,  because I am referring to a specific convoluted aspect of my life as a troubled pre-pubescent, growing up in London during the 1980s, by which time, my  intensive, film enduring psyche consumed virtually, every 2 to 3  hour length Hollywood film, shown on British television and without exaggerating I can say there were hundreds. My upbringing was quite frugal, my family were strict and my ageing parents were both besieged by ill health.  I the youngest of four, undertook some care responsiblitilites. I was  sneaky, introverted, determined to become increasingly independent, unable to communicate very openly with my family; thus  a significant time was  spent consuming the USAs unapologetic media dominance, spanning from the 1920s onwards. 

 

I guess this article attempts to address my, until recently long forgotten and in a variety of ways, favourable, ambivalent and dismissive, engagement with White American film culture from those specific periods and beyond. As I continue, I should mention that  this article  is  both deliberately and sincerely ‘unresearched’, given how my life ceased engagement with  the Silver Screens of  both Britain and America  by my mid teens. Now in my forties, to offer you an example of the impact of my engagement or rather how my brain can retain the most useless information when jolted, yet tends to forget the more important facts; I can recall from the top of my head, the following actresses names (ignoring most of those mentioned in the pop star Madonna’s lyrics from Vogue); starting with platinum blonde, moving onto the darker tones of brunette and brown haired screen actresses;

 

Platinum, Honey Blondes: Gene Harlow, Lana Turner, May West, Veronica Lake, Joan Fontaine, Barbara Stanwick, Ginger Rogers  Browns and Brunettes: Deana Durbin, Joan Crawford, Roseland Russell, Katherine Hepburn, Merle Oberon, Betty Davis, Greer Garson, Heddy Lammar, And why do I remember that Debbie Reynolds  the mother of Carrie Fisher  was married to the actor Eddie Fisher?, but  oops, I  seem to  have forgotten the name of Liza’s Minnelli’s  less famous sister… tut tut flagging and this nonsensical banter could go on.    And if possessing such pointless knowledge is not enough, I also read a selective barrage of the widely available library books of both non- and authorised biographies, about the subjects.

 

Hair colour and features aside, these women were highly successful, revered, film stars, in a male dominated world,  playing debutants, wives, femme fatals, etc.  Actresses of Hollywood’s cut throat, ruthless golden age who were not only favoured for possessing their prerequisite assets of unblemished aesthetics, but for their smart presence, flawed gusto personalities, professional disciplines, that  required a plethora of intellectual and artistic skills, while earning themselves,  certain level of financial autonomy. Then there are the men; John Wayne, Gary Cooper, Stuart Granger, Carry Grant, Charlton Heston, Gene Kelly, Bing Crosby, James Stewart, James Cagney, Kirk Douglas and yes I could easily go on….why for example does Earnest Borgnoine’s name still loom in my mind?  As for the cavalier, swash buckling Charlton Heston, was he not the man not  known for his austerity, who inspired multi-cultural romance in the film Omega Man during the post-civil rights, social consciousness movement of early 1970s, and is now known for his association with the gun ownership appreciation society?  Charlie Chaplin’s memoirs reveal how in 1908, Manhattan was completely flat when he first visited America, and that John Wayne was christened the name Marian. 

 

Interestingly, I am not able to remember many of the MGM or Universal Studio film titles or the Directors and Producers, and I don’t mind at all, but many Composers, songs and lyrics still occupy an area of my mind, somewhere, (which have been utilised in my former care occupation with English elderly people). What I can recall from my disgusting revelation, of this excessive consumption of American film history, is the amount of scandalous, vulgar, gossipy facts which my head has chosen to retain. I can recall that Bing Crosby’s eldest son, lived in his Dad’s shadow and having failed to obtain the same level of success, disclosed in a book, examples of Crosby’s inadequate parenting. Joan Crawford’s daughter claimed that her mother disciplined her two adopted daughters with wire coat hangers, Marlene Dietrich was known to be bisexual, her alcoholism and controversial parenting were all well documented.  The private life of Marilyn Monroe, perhaps disturbingly epitomises, the extremes of Hollywood sexual exploitation. She was reputed to have had 12 Hollywood funded abortions, and suffered with depression and body odour. These are clear memories from my comprehensive readings  from 2 decades  ago , about Hollywood Society  and I could continue with reminiscing, quite unnecessarily, so I won’t. 

 

If you are not a film buff, and have  not seen nor heard of the above, then forgive me for this lewd name dropping experiment, which perhaps demonstrates how obese my consumption of American Movies  has been. Yet my innate compulsion for films did not stop there. Fast forward, from between 2006 and 2009, for instance,  I was watching an average of 2 to 6 films a week (depending on my work-life commitments). I watched both national  and International films which comprised mainly of guess what? = North American Films; including some contemporary Hollywood, where the world of stardom, remains, financially lucrative, and elitist, though far less mystifying.

 

America, is a country I have never visited, although from what I can gather, the Hollywood institution has spawned some of the most extraordinary representations of cultural wealth and indeed of cultural poverty. During my visits to Europe, thoughts and comparisons of lifestyles culture have surfaced.  If I accept that during my formative years, I was partly bought up by a TV set and Spiderman comics, then I must say that with aspects of N. American media culture, that I still have a bizarrely familiar connection.

 

A revivalist vintage scene is fashionable again and I do not consciously follow fashion, though I realise that I seem to possess a huge amount of knowledge about the US Silver Screen era, a specific sphere of American culture, considered by the some critics or anyone with an independent mind  as, at times crass, overtly falmboyant,  predicatble endings, reserved acting styles, sexist indulgences, all of   which I had completely forgotten about until now.

 

As for my subliminal consumption of Black American Culture, during another, former life….well don’t get me started there, this is perhaps worthy of another article in itself.

 

 

 

July 2012 sh

Author's Note

a brief memoir and article about the American Silver Screen, quite haistily drafted entirely from memory.

Reviews

[roarke]

Lots of material here done with lexical felicity. A bright essay. It seems as you have eluded to, a much larger topic for you. You are taking huge bites, slow down. Maybe take one or two films, or actresses/actors, a era, and then weave more of yourself into them. You have given brief overviews of when you watched these films, but relate something specific- time, place, mood, association, etc.
I'm interested in your heritage, living in the U.K. and watching American films... that in it's self is worth an introspective look beyond an essay format.
I think I would have to go back on coffee to have a chat with you. lol.
Brilliant writing.

[SHEEMA HUQ]

thanks for all the tips and guidance....yes there are indeed more socio-political, angles I can explore regarding this topic and era. such as the one dimentional characterisations by the 1950s and the establishment of audience immunity on the screen to of gun use, and male violence ( a fascinating area) greatly appreciate your encouragment, i was quite unsure how readers would respond to this essay so this is a good start. cheers.

[michael.c.m]

A very good dissertation here. Filmmakers, for the most part, take snippets from life (or fantasy) and present them, not for our intelligent review, rather as icons of acting and emotion defining the viewer into the future. All-in-all this piece is presented well and does not lack the balance required to define a subject. A good read here, Sheema.