Movies Til Dawn

anom·a·ly Pronunciation: \ə-ˈnä-mə-lē\ Function: noun Inflected Form(s): plural anom·a·lies Date: 1603 1 : the angular distance of a planet from its perihelion as seen from the sun 2 : deviation from the common rule : irregularity 3 : something anomalous : something different, abnormal, peculiar, or not easily classified "Hollywood Party" , a 1934 MGM all-star anomaly, features a large number of MGM's comedic roster of the period--most prominently Lupe Velez, Laurel and Hardy, Jack Pearl (radio's "Baron Munchausen"--and if that doesn't ring any bells for you sorry, you'll have to look into it on your own as Pearl and his at one time insanely famous creation are as dead as Latin and I can't begin to explain their distant popularity to myself much less to you) and even the Three Stooges--still yoked to Ted Healy (who was soon to be murdered by Wallace Beery...but we'll save that for another post). Mickey Mouse som...

Was five-time Oscar nominated (and one-time Oscar winning) actress  Susan Hayward  a great actress? Or was she a studio starlet who mysteriously evolved into a dark and expressive force that came to represent the dark side of the post war feminine cliche? If the definition of great screen acting is, to quote A.O Scott, an ability to indicate emotional states without overtly displaying them, then Hayward's work is perhaps too over-the-top to rate as first class; she shows you just about everything and more. But this may be missing the point (and the guy missing it, remember, is A.O Scott and not me, for Chrissakes) of what great screen acting is; movie actors who are blunt instruments tend to be the ones that live most precisely in our memories. Thus, Cagney is the ultimate gangster (and even remains a gangster in comedies where he doesn't play one--like "One Two Three"), Wayne the ultimate Westerner, Cary Grant is the ultimate "most urbane man in the worl...