Got a book off the shelf today, it's going to tell me what I should say

[sovay]

This cold has now officially progressed to the lying-on-the-couch-coughing-staring-at-movies stage. I don't know whether to forecast reviews or radio silence. Might depend on the movies. Angel Face (1953) by Otto Preminger was noir by the numbers to me until it opened into the perspective of its main female character, at which point the story of a spoilt seductress, the patsy who wants no part of her, and a murder gone wrong becomes much less familiarly nasty, much more unavoidably tragic—it has a killer ending and a performance that I hope Jean Simmons is remembered for, even if so much of it only becomes exemplary in hindsight. I had no idea the original live TV version of Twelve Angry Men (1954) had even been recorded, but the smutchy, irreplaceable kinescope runs exactly an hour, is very effectively less personal than the later stage and film versions, and proves that when I thought Robert Cummings was underpowered as a leading man in The Black Book (1949), he was probably just underwritten. I had the company of a very good movie cat and later my husband (who points out that Twelve Angry Men directly prefigures 1776 in its exploration of important civic issues through a male ensemble yelling at each other in a very hot room—it even uses the same device of counting down each vote toward consensus or catastrophe). Also the cold, but it is an unwelcome guest.

Comments

[asakiyume]

What you need is to have someone phone the cold and gaslight it into believing it had forgotten about a prior engagement elsewhere. "Sorry; I'm afraid I have to leave," it then says, and excuses itself, leaving you with husband, cat, and movie--a much better arrangement.

I didn't know there was a live TV version of Twelve Angry Men

[sovay]

"Sorry; I'm afraid I have to leave," it then says, and excuses itself, leaving you with husband, cat, and movie--a much better arrangement.

I like the way you think.

I didn't know there was a live TV version of Twelve Angry Men

I'd known there was a teleplay that predated both the stage play and the film; I hadn't known it had survived in any watchable form because so much early television did not. Apparently it was considered lost until 2003, when this kinescope turned up in the family of a lawyer who had requested a copy from CBS shortly after broadcast (and they'd just sent him one! and his kids hadn't thrown it out! I love these happenstances of preservation). Joseph Sweeney and George Voskovec reprised their roles as Jurors #9 and #11 in the 1957 film and the rest of the cast is otherwise different: Cummings plays Juror #8, the Henry Fonda role, opposite Franchot Tone as Juror #3, the Lee J. Cobb. Lee Phillips plays Juror #5, Jack Klugman in the film. I didn't recognize anyone else except Norman Feld as the Foreman, but spatch had to tell me his name. I kind of want to rewatch the film now, because comparing its memory to the version I just watched, I liked several aspects of the TV version better. Partly as a function of the shorter runtime, there's much less delving into anyone's personal lives, their likes or their dislikes or their occupations; all you have to judge these men by are surface markers like clothes or accent and everything else is the way they conduct themselves during the deliberation, their prejudices, their anxieties, the chances they take, what counts with them to change their minds. A jitterier, edgier air, #8 knowing what he believes but not necessarily knowing how to communicate it in a way that will persuade anyone who isn't already inclined to his point of view. Definitely no names exchanged at the end. I really enjoyed it.

[asakiyume]

Wow, I had no idea that people were able to request copies of shows from the network!

I'd be very interested in reading a side-to-side comparison if you do rewatch the film, though I think what you've given here is a great look at what have to be key elements.

[sovay]

Wow, I had no idea that people were able to request copies of shows from the network!

I've been told it could be done as recently as the '90's. I hope it's still possible.

I'd be very interested in reading a side-to-side comparison if you do rewatch the film, though I think what you've given here is a great look at what have to be key elements.

Thank you! I will keep it in mind. At the moment I seem to be watching a lot of noir and planning on Kiki's Delivery Service.

[asakiyume]

yay Kiki's Delivery Service!