I love how she is still working. I love how she is crotchety and doesn’t care what people think. Or at least she doesn’t seem to. She just comes right out and speaks her mind. That comment she made, right at a press conference – “I adore Nicole Kidman, but to call her a legend? That is absurd.” One of the perks of being 80, I suppose. You just don’t give a shite anymore. I love that about her.
Dan – lucky dog – just went and saw To Have and Have Not in a movie theatre. I’m with Dan – To Have and Have Not may be my favorite Bogart movie. It’s a toss-up between that and The Big Sleep.
I have written a couple of long posts about Bacall – and here’s one about how she got her start.
Anyway. Let’s just revel in Bacall’s startling and original beauty, shall we?
Yes. She is one of those memorable faces – she goes beyond mere “pretty.” And her voice! I always loved her voice as well.
and I totally agree with her on the “legend” thing. I think Hollywood-speak has gotten far too hyperbolic of late, calling things “legends” that haven’t been around nearly long enough to be proven.
(My own personal gripe? Some new movie or television special that comes out where the voice-over voice says “destined to become a classic.” Um, no. You can’t predict “classic” or not ahead of time. [and generally the “destined to become a classic” things are pretty shlocky anyway])
(And at 80? She looks damn good. I wish I looked half as well-put-together, at 36.)
Hmmm, tough choice for that era, better face:
Laurin Bacall
Ingrid Bergman
or
Grace Kelly
I, personally, can’t rank ’em
JFH – yeah. Great faces. All so original.
And that sultry voice of hers…Bacall is just awesome.
Just…wow. Words fail.
Dan – lucky dog – just went and saw To Have and Have Not in a movie theatre.
Luckier than you think. I went to the web site of the theater and found that To Have and Have Not was part of their week-long series of Bogart films.
she’s is so good in the Babs movie…i love Babs..not a great movie..but Bacall is fantastic…so funny and real..scene at the kitchen table…heartbreaking..an senior woman dealing with the idea of her former beauty…i love that she has allowd us to see her age…like Hepburn..its a gift.
That’s a great scene at the table. Just GREAT. So courageous.
And Bacall never saw the movie – never watched it – because she hates to see her now older face. (She said this when she came to our school – she said it in a beautiful way, something like: “I hate looking at myself. All i see when I look at my face now is … regrets … paths not taken in my life … what ifs … I hate looking at myself.” So honest!)
But – in the moment – in the moment of acting that scene – she was able to show us the sadness of losing your beauty, of aging –
Beautiful work.