Escape (1940) - the initial vs. the final version

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ConnieVeidt

13 жыл бұрын

conradveidt.wordpress.com/

Пікірлер: 13

@dvlaries 13 жыл бұрын

Fans of both actors can treasure "Escape." Two flat-champagne comedies lay ahead for Norma before she quietly retired, so this is her very last drama, and how blessedly fortuitous that she got to play this final tense scene with an actor so talented himself, and also gone much, much too soon. In our way, the audience watches this scene's ticking clocking with our own foreboding, knowing we're never getting 'this Norma' again.

@susannebass 13 жыл бұрын

He was indeed a true artist, and a wonderful man.

@larkascending66 13 жыл бұрын

The restraint shown by Shearer in the second version and the focus of the camera on Veidt's expressive face makes this scene much stronger than when Norma Shearer was pulling out the stops. As his character's realization of his failure as a man and an officer is manifested in the actor's eyes, his faltering as he becomes more ill throughout the scene gives him a vulnerability and a welcome touch of poignancy. Thank you for posting this video.

@edwardjames50 6 жыл бұрын

The second version is superior because it was directed by George Cukor, who came in and reshot a number of scenes that needed improvement (the credited director was Mervyn LeRoy ).

@jimrick6632 5 жыл бұрын

I WAS BLOWN AWAY YESTERDAY SEEING THIS FILM ON TCM AND WONDERING WHY I HAD NEVER HEARD OF IT BEFORE...THE ACTING OF BOTH NORMA SHEARER AND CONRAD VEIDT WAS FANTASTIC...NEVER FOUND SHEARER A GOOD ACTRESS BEFORE,..... THE ABOVE SCENE CHANGED MY MIND...TOO BAD SHE RETIRED SO EARLY...BUT ALL OF THOSE WOMEN OF THAT AGE AT MGM WERE EITHER FIRED OF "RETIRED"...CRAWFORD AND GARBO COME TO MIND...OF COURSE CRAWFORD WENT ON TO GET THE ACADEMY AWARD FOR "MILDRED PIERCE" AT WARNER BROTHERS AND OTHER FINE PERFORMANCES...BUT GARBO AND SHEARER QUIT FOR GOOD...SAD THAT CONRAD VEIDT DIED SO YOUNG AT 50...TWO YEARS LATER....

@corriepitt7630 6 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this fascinating comparison. Thankfully, they let Conny Veidt do what he probably knew should be done in this scene. He is the aging, weakening, betrayed lover, left in a bitterly difficult situation by the unfaithful woman he still loves. (As to the countess: helping the poor condemned mother is one thing. Carrying on with the son, in front of your lover’s friends, is quite another.) Conny used to say there‘s a reason the antagonist does what he does, and he always tried to convey that. He pierces to the heart of it in the final version of this scene. RIP Conny Veidt.

@MargitNagy09-28 13 жыл бұрын

Fascinating, indeed. Of course, such death scenes did not do any good his fragile health (of what he and Lili were aware for the very moment of their marriage) yet he undertook and performed them deliberately. True artist.

@twolionss 13 жыл бұрын

"You're crazy; keep still!" Aptly said, Herr Veidt.

@darkseaofempathy 13 жыл бұрын

Norma was just an amazing actress. I'd love to see this movie.

@simonkane 3 жыл бұрын

Astonishing

@ConnieVeidt 13 жыл бұрын

@MinorKeyDancing Isn't it strange that Connie had the same heart problems like his characters from Escape and The Men in Her Life? I wonder what did the producers from Hollywood think about his sudden death, from a massive heart attack...

@ConnieVeidt 13 жыл бұрын

@MinorKeyDancing Yes. He dies from a heart attack. I haven't seen the film, yet, but someone told me about it.