He Married The Wrong Woman

[Fading Fast]

If it doesn't have to be a Golden Era film, then Michael Douglas has played more than one character who has gotten involved with the wrong woman when he had something better already. In Fatal Attraction he gets involved with Glenn Close (really????) when he's married to Anne Archer, whose character if I recall aright is quite pleasant. You can't say he was escaping a bitter, nasty wife.

Then in Basic Instinct he's involved with the brunette police psychologist who loves him, played by the gorgeous Jeanne Tripplehorn . . . and he has to get himself tangled up with the arrogant and dangerous Sharon Stone. Puh-leeze.

Great examples. "Fatal Attraction" probably kept some meaningful percentage of the male population from cheating, ever. I was single at the time it came out and didn't even want to date for awhile.

 

[Fading Fast]

As I was closing out the week of work (not counting the several hours a day I'll put in on Saturday and Sunday - in our brave new world of work always being on), I had "The Philadelphia Story" on in the background and, to cut to the chase, the only woman to marry in that one is Ruth Hussey.

Sure, maybe Hepburn has a transition at the end, but my guess is she reverts back to her, what's the best description, superior bitchiness, but Hussey's the one to marry / the one who gets the joke / the one who is a good person / the one who'll be your partner through thick and thin.

 

[LizzieMaine]

We're screening a package of restored Laurel and Hardy shorts next month in conjunction with our run of "Stan and Ollie," and in previewing "His First Mistake" this morning it's very obvious to me that poor Oliver N. Hardy made that mistake in marrying the ineffable Mae Busch. I love Miss Busch as an actress, and I consider her characterizations a personal role model, but as the film makes abundantly clear, Ollie's real and only true soul mate is Stanley.

 

[Harp]

The romantic in me agrees, but the "bigger" point they were trying to make is that sacrificing love to defend freedom against the nazis was the nobler thing to do. That was what Rick's entire, "I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill a beans in this crazy world..." speech was about.

Your way, definitely, would have made a more pleasing ending, but they wanted us to feel that everyone was being noble for the cause...

Casablanca captures the man and his moment, a rebirth of soul towards redemption. That having been said...
Me, myself, and I: the hell with it all, grab Elsa and head for neutral Ireland and stay the course in Dublin.
Red meat, hard liquor, and soft beautiful Elsa.

 

[Fading Fast]

Casablanca captures the man and his moment, a rebirth of soul towards redemption. That having been said...
Me, myself, and I: the hell with it all, grab Elsa and head for neutral Ireland and stay the course in Dublin.
Red meat, hard liquor, and soft beautiful Elsa.

There's something to be said for your argument; after all, we are only on this earth for a short time.

 

[Fading Fast]

Proving in today's very-focused-on-this-stuff world, that it works both ways, I saw the second half of 1938's "Spring Madness" yesterday - a silly college-kids-in-love movie elevated by the acting of Ruth Hussey and Maureen O'Sullivan (not in her Jane costume, but looking just as good) - where O'Sullivan's character moves heaven and earth to get Lew Ayres' character to marry her.

O'Sullivan's character is smart, regular and fun / Ayres' is dense, pseudo intellectual and boring - while there wasn't a good choice for O'Sullivan to marry, the right answer, in that case, is to not marry any of them.

 

[scottyrocks]

In the "Bogart's best role" thread below, a number of people seem to agree that Marlowe in The Big Sleep would have been better off with Dorothy Malone!

This!^

 

[Fading Fast]

Denton said: ↑
In the "Bogart's best role" thread below, a number of people seem to agree that Marlowe in The Big Sleep would have been better off with Dorothy Malone!
This!^

I don't know that the girl who, in the middle of the day, seduces and bangs a stranger who walks into her bookstore would be my first choice for a wife, but kudos to her and her joie de vivre. Plus wealthy heiress Bacall wasn't a bad way to go.

Staying with Bogie, he should have married his secretary, Effie, in "The Maltese Falcon" as that is a woman you want as your wife - smart, gets the joke, puts it all on the line for the home team and is darn cute.

 

[Edward]

If it doesn't have to be a Golden Era film, then Michael Douglas has played more than one character who has gotten involved with the wrong woman when he had something better already. In Fatal Attraction he gets involved with Glenn Close (really????) when he's married to Anne Archer, whose character if I recall aright is quite pleasant. You can't say he was escaping a bitter, nasty wife.

That's the least of what's wrong with that film: Douglas in that is a man who lies about his martial status, sleeps with another woman, and then when she turns out to be... somewhat unforgiving, we're meant to sympthise with him? He's the rat.

Then in Basic Instinct he's involved with the brunette police psychologist who loves him, played by the gorgeous Jeanne Tripplehorn . . . and he has to get himself tangled up with the arrogant and dangerous Sharon Stone. Puh-leeze.

As I recall, he also basically rapes Jeanne Tripplehoprn before or while he's going off with Sharon Stone. I was only disappointed we didn't get to see him get thed well-deserved ice-pick in the head that he assuredly has coming at the end.

 

[scottyrocks]

I don't know that the girl who, in the middle of the day, seduces and bangs a stranger who walks into her bookstore would be my first choice for a wife, but kudos to her and her joie de vivre. Plus wealthy heiress Bacall wasn't a bad way to go.

I guess there are those of us who, in observing situations such as this, where the main character (whom of course we personally identify with) is the first man that the woman in question (in this case in the bookstore) has reacted to in this most positive way, and is therefore worthy of our attention forever.

 

[Fading Fast]

I guess there are those of us who, in observing situations such as this, where the main character (whom of course we personally identify with) is the first man that the woman in question (in this case in the bookstore) has reacted to in this most positive way, and is therefore worthy of our attention forever.

My limited experience with such situations argues that one is not the first as that is not what that girl is about - and good for her - but I understand the fantasy.

 

[scottyrocks]

My limited experience with such situations argues that one is not the first as that is not what that girl is about - and good for her - but I understand the fantasy.

That's the nice thing about fantasies - they can be anything we want them to be.

 

[Harp]

There's something to be said for your argument; after all, we are only on this earth for a short time.

Rick, of course, made the only correct call. But damn, he had to struggle with it.

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

High Noon - How Coop's character could leave beautiful, passionate Katy Jurado for icy Grace Kelly escapes me.

 

[2jakes]

^^^^
Katy Jurado's character, passionate and beautiful but
also comes across as domineering.
Having been there.
This can wear thin in a very short time.
I'll go with Ms. Grace.

 

[Fading Fast]

And let's not forget, push comes to shove, "pacifist" Kelly was gunning down the bad guys with Coop.

 

[David Conwill]

The one that jumps out at me is Scotty ignoring Midge all through Vertigo. Barbara Bel Geddes was a real looker in the mid-'50s and I've always had a soft spot for quirky artist types like Midge.

I'll also agree on The Big Sleep. Dorothy Malone in 1945...

 

[Fading Fast]

The one that jumps out at me is Scotty ignoring Midge all through Vertigo. Barbara Bel Geddes was a real looker in the mid-'50s and I've always had a soft spot for quirky artist types like Midge....

That's a great one. I'm embarrassed that I didn't think of it myself. He should have run not walked away from Kim Novak and right into the waiting arms of Bel Geddes.

Staying with Hitchcock, Sean Connery should have chosen any random female name from the phone book over Tippi Hedren in "Marnie."