Monday, December 29, 2008

A "Method" To Behold

In my opinion, folks, a lot of Montgomery Clift's finer screen moments have also been his quieter ones; his muted Taps in "From Here to Eternity", the angst on his face just prior to Shelly Winters's "mishap" in "A Place in the Sun", his flicking of a cigarette butt from the back of a pick-up (this while he scans the overall situation) in "The Misfits", etc..................................................Of course, being the romantic that I am, I was particularly blown away by that kiss in the rain between him and Olivia de Havilland in "The Heiress". And, yes, folks, believing that Monty was a homosexual, too! I mean, seriously, I think it was in fact THAT scene that made me almost reflectively spout at times, "Wow, now that guy is kick-ass actor!".....................................................Fast forward a little bit from those times, folks. I've since learned that Clift was actually a bisexual and that he literally had sex (most of it indiscriminate and, yes, a lot of it drunken) with scores and scores of women. BUT, if you think that that makes the de Havilland kiss any less amazing, think again. I've also since learned that he literally couldn't stand the sight of Miss de Havilland. He was jealous of her and, worse still, couldn't stand her approach to acting (want to get on Monty's shit-list, disagree with him on the "craft" - even worse, do it on the set). Talk about a skilled practitioner, huh?

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