tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post5394288271210508841..comments2024-03-27T21:42:56.131-05:00Comments on 1001plus: American MiniverSJHoneywellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-40801875833317144182016-02-02T18:43:13.067-06:002016-02-02T18:43:13.067-06:00Jennifer Jones always seems to rub me the wrong wa...Jennifer Jones always seems to rub me the wrong way. She obviously had the glamor for the time and she was beautiful on screen, but the moment she opens her mouth, that spell is broken. <br /><br />There's some good stuff here. There's just far too much of it. Put Shirley Temple in the Jennifer Jones role, dump the Shirley Temple part completely and cut 30-60 minutes, and I'd like it a lot more.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-13842017675864323042016-02-02T16:04:46.085-06:002016-02-02T16:04:46.085-06:00The length is excessive though it never really bot...The length is excessive though it never really bothered me because most of the cast worked hard to make their characters appealing and affecting. Selznick had envisioned this as a wartime answer to Gone With the Wind, which at least partially explains the length, you can't have a short epic. It does have some beautiful visuals, the long shot of the dance in the hangar is particularly striking.<br /><br />The film does a good job of blending in humor along with the heavy duty dramatics giving it more of a natural flow. Joseph Cotton is a big part of that, playing Tony with a light touch but not so much that when things turn serious his reactions seem out of character. <br /><br />I agree that Shirley Temple could have been cut from the movie but she does well by Brig and it was a good transitional role for her from child star to her short adult career and it was a way for Selznick to add another big name to the credit list. Colbert anchors the film well, a nice mix of gravity and snap. I think the greatest deficit, as I usually do in her films, is Selznick's blind spot Jennifer Jones. She's especially terrible in her early scenes, she's too old to be believable as a teen and by trying to compensate for that with preciousness she is extremely irritating. She improves in the second half but she never matches any of the other performers work. Thank God Selznick didn't discover until after GWTW, the idea what she would have done to Scarlett O'Hara is sick making.<br /><br />I chuckled at your reference to it's predictability and immediately thought of poor Johnny Mahoney, the pilot son of their family friend. The guy was as good as wearing a sign that said DOOMED the instance he walked on screen. Even with all it's faults I do love the film and if I have time watch it whenever I come across it.joel65913https://www.blogger.com/profile/14526657073681774683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-74452716857205796702014-06-22T18:09:21.342-05:002014-06-22T18:09:21.342-05:00Cut an hour out of it and we can talk. It would st...Cut an hour out of it and we can talk. It would still be too predictable, but at least then it wouldn't be too long and too predictable.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-3236085083501479242014-06-22T15:21:35.249-05:002014-06-22T15:21:35.249-05:00I agree that this was way too long for the kind of...I agree that this was way too long for the kind of film it is. And yes, it was quite predictable.Chip Laryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00787403805554027107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-7574309469282122542014-06-20T11:36:27.002-05:002014-06-20T11:36:27.002-05:00Jennifer Jones is good, and there are some shots a...Jennifer Jones <i>is</i> good, and there are some shots and moments I really appreciate. My issues with it come entirely from the fact that I picked every single character's fate without a miss.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-89869834235164020182014-06-20T11:26:11.286-05:002014-06-20T11:26:11.286-05:00I like Since You Went Away, but not as much as Mrs...I like Since You Went Away, but not as much as Mrs. Miniver, because it is, as you said, rather predictable. Still, Jennifer Jones performance as Jane is enough to make sit through this.Kimberly J.M. Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09078951928157843937noreply@blogger.com