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+--- Thread: The Black Swan (1942) by Henry King (/showthread.php?tid=2911)
The Black Swan (1942) by Henry King - cranefly - 09-07-2013
Tyrone Power slaps Maureen O'Hara silly and keeps losing his shirt in this decent swashbuckler, which was playing on TCM while I was visiting my mom in Indiana. I'd meant to watch all of it -- to gain further insight into this odd little DOOM obsession called fencing -- but other small duties intervened, so it mostly played in the background. Still, I saw enough of it to gain a new respect for Tyrone.
Physically he's not that chiseled, but the moment he picks up a foil, you see the awakening of martial abilities, his sense of balance and how he protects his center, and oh how refreshing it is to see two swordsmen aiming at each other rather than wailing away at each other's sword as if to create the biggest spark.
Afterwards I read up on Tyrone Power, and then Basil Rathbone. It seems both were highly regarded as fencers in Hollywood. Basil said he'd never seen anyone so flexible as Tyrone with foil in hand, and I guess there's a famous fight between the two of them in some movie.
Here's the puzzler for me. Later in life (not that late, because he died at 44) Tyrone abandoned movies for the stage, wanting to be known for that. Basil did the same thing. Both, I believe, were highly touted for their stage performances. But those stage performances are largely forgotten, and it just seems a shame they didn't continue in movies. Movies are forever; stage performances are for a night. If they did it for themselves, that's fine. But if they wanted to be "remembered" for their stage work, I think it was a wrong move.
This reminds me of the career of Marc Chagall. Later in life he did endless paintings of the Jewish Holocaust. While one cannot question the importance and sincerity of that work, artistically it just isn't as noteworthy. There's a saying among writers: "If you want to send a message, use Western Union." What is most memorable about Chagall's work is his mysterious and dreamlike depictions of love, with people floating about.
I'm rambling a bit here, but the point is that some artists, actors, what have you, have changed direction later in life in ways that perhaps have diminished their body of work.
--cranefly
P.S. I wasn't certain where to post it. It isn't a DVD or a download, but at the same time it isn't typical TV fare for the Media section. So I put it here.
Re: The Black Swan (1942) by Henry King - Dr. Ivor Yeti - 09-08-2013
if they were both successful on stage, i don't see that as "diminishing" their careers. Theatre work is ephemeral, but not "less" than the movies.
They have a great fight in Zorro, btw.