I’ve always been a fan of Dean Stockwell. Think the first time I really encountered him was in Married to the Mob<\/i> (I mean, besides when I was a kid, and I saw all those movies – Secret Garden<\/i>, Kim, Boy With Green Hair, Achors Aweigh<\/i>, staples on Channel 56 in New England when I was little). <\/p>\n
He reminds me a bit of someone<\/a>. Recently I saw Long Day’s Journey into Night<\/i> again – and had forgotten how good he was. I mean, then you see him when he’s a little kid – in something like Gentleman’s Agreement<\/i> and as far as I’m concerned he steals that movie. And he’s, what, 8?? He’s got a gift. Long Day’s Journey<\/i> is a four-way tour de force, exhausting to watch (which is appropriate – no other way to do that play) … but he … as Edmund – the consumptive alcoholic son … What really struck me this last time watching it was Dean Stockwell’s LISTENING. My God – he sits there, and sometimes it seems like he doesn’t have a lot to do – but that’s totally wrong. Acting isn’t about the number of lines you have. It never is. So his work in this movie is a master class for actors. Watch him – watch him react. He is so ALIVE. At all times. Acting is all about listening. But it’s a rare gift (in acting, and in life – how many truly good listeners do you know? Not many, I’ll bet). John Wayne always said that he didn’t consider his job to be an “actor” – he said the better job description was “REactor”. And here is Dean Stockwell, surrounded by towering giants … but all I could look at was him. Watching him listening, thinking. I mean, he is also just so damn photogenic. His face is made for the camera. But the thing about it is: some faces are just beautiful, beautiful to look at. His certainly is. But there’s more to it than that. It’s that the camera picks up his every thought, we see inside<\/i>. This, as we all know, rarely happens – even with very good actors. If he thinks it, we get it. It’s riveting. I mean, all the actors are riveting in the movie – but this last time was all about him.<\/p>\n LISTENING<\/p>\n I’ve always been a fan of Dean Stockwell. Think the first time I really encountered him was in Married to the Mob (I mean, besides when I was a kid, and I saw all those movies – Secret Garden, Kim, … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/06\/long6.jpg\")
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