Fancy a romance movie based on real events?
And you would like to have some Asian history in it, too?
Try
LOVE IS A MANY-SPLENDORED THING (1955)
Honkong, 1949: Suyin (Jennifer Jones) - a widowed doctor of English and Chinese decent - and Mark (William Holden) - an American war correspondent who is estranged of his wife - fall for each other. But not everyone is happy about this cross-cultural relationship.. And besides: There are "troubles" in Korea - and Mark has to go there..
"I will make no mistakes in the name of loneliness. I have my work and an uncomplicated life. I don't want to feel anything again... ever."
This film is based on the novel A MANY-SPLENDORED THING by Han Suyin which is quite autobiographical.
The title song became a #1 hit.
Jennifer Jones is none of my favourite actresses - most of the time I find her ridiculous and very much overacting.. Her performance here I think is okay. At least I find her less enervating..
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| ~ For the famous beach scene William Holden shaved his chest. ~ |
It is said that during the filming of LOVE IS A MANY-SPLENDORED THING she complained to her husband David O. Selznick about William Holden. (She complained apparently very often and was known to thread people with "I am going to tell David about that!" ...) They barely spoke after that to each other. When William Holden tried to remove the stress from the set and presented her a spray of white roses - Miss Jones is said to have thrown them into his face.. I do not know what William Holden did to her - but I hope it was horrible enough to deserve such bad manners..
That Miss Jones reportedly chewed garlic before her love scenes with Mr. Holden (who was known to bed most of his female co-stars) to put him off I find rather funny.
Frankly: the more I learn about Jennifer Jones the more I am fascinated - still I won't forgive her for abandoning Robert Walker - who I adore.
I love this movie foremost for it's story - and the historical background and setting. I guess you might find movies which are much more kitschy than this film - another plus in my book.
Thank you very much for listening!
I hope you're enjoying the show!
Yours
Irene
Irene, we are SO on the same page! I cannot stand Jennifer Jones...and mostly because of the Robert Walker/David Selznick thing.
AntwortenLöschenBecause of her, this movie was ruined for me. I wanted to LOVE this movie. After all, it stars my #1 guy, and he was at his most gorgeous in the mid 50's. Plus, it's a tearjerker romance...my favorite kind of film. But, because of Miss Jones, this movie didn't cut it for me. Oh, it was a solid 3, but had it been another actress, it could have been a 5!! Can you imagine how great the film/chemistry would have been if Audrey Hepburn had Jennifer's role. (Of course, since the character was part Asian, Audrey might not have fit the bill...then again, Jennifer Jones wasn't Asian either, so why not Audrey?)
Yeah, Bill Holden's chest was definitely shaved for this film...and for Picnic too. It's funny, I watched Picnic and Stalag 17 back to back a couple months ago. In Stalag, he is VERY hairy, and then in Picnic, his chest is as bare as a baby's butt. Kind of funny.
Thanks for the fascinating inside scoop on this movie.
As I read the "chest-shave" was done to please the lady-viewers.. ;")
AntwortenLöschenThank you for commenting, Patti - and: I am glad that we agree on Miss Jones..