The Valley of Decision (1945)
Like Tante Emilie's obsession with her son and nephew's status as jonkheers (and her pointed refusal to see Serena as worthy of them), the wealthy steel mill owners of Pittsburgh see Greer Garson as a maid and nothing more. The son of the household (a very young and RDD-looking Gregory Peck), however, falls in love. Class struggles follow, Garson runs off to England (sound familiar?), Peck marries another (another what? Exactly.), and happiness is found (at last) in the end.
A Small Slice of Summer has a famous incident regarding a bull. So, obviously, I had to choose a film with some bull fighting and the one that made the strongest impression on me was:
Blood and Sand (1941)
This is sure to end well...
I'll be honest, this one is the teensiest bit of a downer. Tyrone Power is an impoverished boy who runs off to Madrid, becomes rich and famous as a bull fighter, marries Linda Darnell (his childhood sweetheart) and becomes ensnared by Rita Hayworth (what's good enough for Orson Wells is good enough for Tyrone Power). He returns to his wife after losing everything (honey, don't they all?) and vows to give up fighting after one last match. But it isn't called Blood and Sand for nothing. If only he'd had Tishy in the wings ready to distract this charging bull...
Betty Barbara here--
ReplyDeleteAh yes, Valley of Decision--staple of the late night (Saturday edition) of TV movie broadcasts in the early 1960's. Oh the angst in this one!! yet another movie watched by my mother and me--my dad was asleep (too tired) and so was my sister (didn't care). Mom and I watched them all!! Who could have envisioned Mother/Daughter bonding over old movies. Sigh.
Thank you, thank you Bettys for Gregory Peck! (Next time, could we have a more gratuitously cheesecake one?) I want to be Greer Garson when I grow up.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first saw "Blood and Sand" as a youngster with my mom (we also bond over old movies), I couldn't believe he could throw over the stunning Linda Darnell for Rita Hayworth. Watching it as an adult, I of course pick up on... hmmm... Rita-vibes that a little girl doesn't get. I still think Linda Darnell was the most beautiful woman in Hollywood, vibes or no.