Ladd's Last For Warner Release
Guns Of The Timberland (1960) Is Action Against Piney Backdrop
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posted by John McElwee at 7:30 AM
Friday, August 24, 2018
Guns Of The Timberland (1960) Is Action Against Piney Backdrop
8 Comments:
Although only 8 years old at the time, I remember Ladd's death because I was aware that he had some connection to Hollywood's golden era -- even then, my favorite time for movies. But as I watched promos of "The Carpetbaggers" on TV, and looked at his close-ups, all I could think of was, "Boy, 50 sure is old." Dissipated is the only word to describe Ladd in his final years.
Stinky is a big Ladd fan, so he finds it too painful to watch those late Ladd movies. No major star aged so terribly; possibly Errol Flynn.
But Stinky, it does have Frankie Avalon.
I recall my first watch of ONE FOOT IN HELL(1960), decades ago, and it was shocking to see him looking so dissipated and underweight appearing like a wet rag doll and giving an embarrassing performance. Always a big fan of ALAN LADD; I just watched THE CARPETBAGGERS(1964), again-- and thought he looked pretty GOOD here in his final film in comparison to ONE FOOT IN HELL & those last 2 Warner Westerns. BTW-- has anyone ever seen DUEL OF CHAMPIONS(1961-ITALIAN)??? Somehow I missed this one at the 3-feature theaters as well as any TV showing of it. ....
Dan Mercer reflects on Alan Ladd:
Alan Ladd in his prime moved with the “grace of a panther,” but how big a cat was he?
When Ladd was making a personal appearance in Chicago for “Chicago Deadline,” which had been filmed on location in that city during the summer of 1948, his biggest fan in the world, my mother, couldn’t get off work but dispatched one of her friends to get his personally autographed picture. The friend succeeded, but came back with the report that Ladd was “such a little guy.”
Most sources give his height as 5 feet 6 inches, while his U.S. Army induction papers list him at a more flattering 5 feet 8 inches tall. Other sources have him at anywhere from 5 feet 3 inches or 5 feet 5 inches tall. In “Shane,” he was paired against Ben Johnson in a fistfight. Johnson stood in at 6 feet 2 inches and was half a head taller than Ladd. Considering the lifts that the star wore, 5 feet 6 inches tall seems about right.
Ladd had the compact build of a gymnast or springboard diver, both of which he’d been in high school, and he moved with the ease of an athlete. His first break in show business was in radio, however, where his rich, well-modulated voice was used to advantage. Height isn’t a matter of concern in the theater of the imagination. His role in “Citizen Kane” was also in the nature of a radio role, with his distinctive voice heard in the exchanges of dialog among the ensemble, but his image only that of a shadowy figure with a fedora and pipe.
James Cagney was no taller than Ladd, but there never seemed a need to compensate for his height, when a well-timed right-hand punch could bring anyone down to size. It seemed at first that Paramount, Ladd’s new home in the studio world, was going to take the same route. In “This Gun for Hire,” he was obviously shorter than nearly everyone else, and certainly shorter than the ostensible lead, Robert Preston, at 6 feet 2 inches tall. Only Veronica Lake, at 4 feet 11 inches, was shorter. Ladd’s athletic ability was on display in a scene where he was pursued on foot by the police across a railroad yard, deftly running over or past obstacles as police bullets spattered the ground just behind him. His confrontation with Laird Cregar, at 6 feet 3 inches tall and 300 pounds plus in weight, was in the nature of a shark savaging a whale.
In “The Glass Key,” a follow-up film for the newly emerging star, there was also no attempt to make him seem taller than he was. His role was another character part, teaming him this time with Brian Donlevy. His short height and slender build were contrasted with those of the stocky William Bendix, at 5 feet 10 inches tall, to make Bendix seem a hulking monster when his character administers a sadistic beating to Ladd’s.
About this time, however, Paramount apparently decided that Ladd’s good looks were better suited for more conventional leading man roles, and that meant playing opposite actresses taller than the diminutive Veronica Lake. Hence the need for the usual subterfuges to disguise his height, with lifts for his shoes, boxes to stand on, ramps to walk along, and supporting players whose height was not so challenging to his own. Given Ladd’s insecurities, this could only have been another source of anxiety.
Also, few of these aids could be employed on personal appearances, though this would not have mattered to my mother, who was in the Veronica Lake class.
Ladd's co-star in "Boy on a Dolphin" was 5'8" Sophia Loren, and a trench had to be dug for her to walk in for a beachside scene with Ladd.
His son David was starting his own career as an actor, in such films as "A Dog of Flanders" (there was a comic book detailing "David Ladd's Life Story"). David seemed to give up film acting as he grew up - his wife Cheryl became one of Charlie's Angels.
Obvious of note this month: you haven't changed your INTRO card/scene!! What gives?
Problems with the index site, and unable to change the banner until I get them fixed. Am working on it.
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