Thursday, June 20, 2013

George Brent - Stud or Dud?

George Brent confuses me.  He seems to have led a very interesting life, having been chased out of Ireland in the 1920’s after apparent service with the IRA, had a career on Broadway, signed with Warner Brothers in 1930 and then starred in over 80 movies with the cream of the leading ladies of the 1930’s and 1940’s, was a licensed pilot,  married two high-profile actresses and apparently carried on an affair with 13 time co-star Bette Davis as well as many others, but on screen, I find him either extremely wooden, or sort of just mildly amusing.  There is no doubt that he was a dapper gent, and as a Warner Brothers star, he certainly had opportunities in leading roles, with exceptional actresses, but why do I find myself alternatingly sort of enjoying him and then wanting to scream in frustration at his performances?


I’m no expert, but of the 19 or so films I’ve seen featuring Brent, I’ve gotten the impression that he wasn’t much of an actor, but he certainly seemed to be promoted as one.  I read somewhere that Warner Brothers thought they had a rival for Clark Gable in George Brent.  They must have been joking.  Clark and the word "stud" seem to be made for each other, but the only time Clark and the word dud have ever come into contact is when Rhett told Scarlett to pack Bonnie Blue’s “little duds”. 




I decided I had better re-watch the 18 or so movies of his which I have in my possession.  I might add that most of them are not amongst his more well-known films: they include quite a few pre-codes, one comedy with Jean Arthur, several “women’s” films with Kay Francis, one lesser film with Better Davis and one from the 1940’s.   



I sometimes believe that being under contract to a studio must have been something of a curse, because they could force you into a lot of horrible films, with ridiculous scripts and dialogue.  Case in point: Miss Pinkerton, with Joan Blondell.  I found that in this horrible isn’t-it-over-yet? flick, George can make a whole speech without anything but his lips moving - it was bizarre, I felt like I was watching a robot.  Difficult to sit through, it’s almost as if George says his lines, then remembers, “the director told me to smile here”. Material for Miss Pinkerton was abysmal, and he got lots of opportunities to put down the lovely and very blonde Blondell, who could act circles around him.  



Next came Weekend Marriage with George in a small supporting role, all he had to do was chase after Loretta Young, he was quite tolerable, and sort of attractive. Then, in the opening credits of Lily Turner, he already exhibits more personality in the quick shot of him in which he’s smiling, actually smiling and it’s a genuine smile.  Ah, this might be a movie I enjoy him in! (And I did, and it had nothing to do with the fact that he appeared in a singlet, while lifting weights).


As I plowed onward, through the predictable They Call It Sin and onto the enjoyable Desirable, the remarkable Baby Face, and then on to Stranded and The Goose and the Gander, both with Kay Francis and then 42nd Street, I found myself slowly warming to George’s dubious charms.  He hasn’t really been given much to do in any of these films, to prove himself capable of carrying a film, if he had to.  But I have to admit, there’s something about his two facial expressions, his monotonous, but refined voice, the bland delivery of his lines and his shiny hair.  He’s still dorky, and dud-ish, but in a genial way.  TCM puts it plainly in their bio of Brent, stating that he was there in “deferential support” of his leading ladies, and I will add that in this he does quite well, if only to showcase their superior acting talents and their abilities with facial expressions.  I also realized while watching these films that I chose to view them originally because of their female stars, not for George. It was just secondary that I became intrigued by this man who was so stiff. 



There have always been two films of his which I have enjoyed from first viewing, even finding some value in Brent’s own performance.  In Person, with Ginger Rogers, and More Than a Secretary, with Jean Arthur, find George with some wit, able to play for laughs even.  He seems less formal, more at ease in these films.
 Although he’s anything but a normal guy in More Than a Secretary, his interactions with and reactions to co-star Dorothea Kent are so natural and appropriate, they do add nicely to the film. 


In Person allows him to call Ginger an “ouch-face”, and something about the way Brent nods his head unmusically while Ginger sings to him is endearing.  He’s just a poor Pinnochio, who’s found himself in the movies.  Despite my enthusiasm for these two movies, he hasn’t won me over yet.  At one point in More Than a Secretary, Jean Arthur pretty much sums up my feelings for George, when in a moment of anger, she says to him “you’re nothing but an animated carrot”, and I must say, she’s got something there.  I was thinking pole, or board, but carrot will do nicely as a metaphor for George.  An attractive carrot, with scant animation. 


On to Purchase Price.  Stanwyck is her usual self, and Brent, as her mail-order husband looks good on the farm.  But it is his acting in this one...especially his attempts at acting as though he has a cold by sniffing repeatedly...that exasperates me.  Here’s why I don’t get George Brent.  His voice can sound angry, his clenched fists or stiffly hunched shoulders can marginally back his words, but his facial expressions are one-dimensional.  I often find myself wondering if they couldn’t have found another handsome leading man who could really emote for his roles? 




But once I settled down to watch Female, in which he starred again with wife Ruth Chatterton, I found that George comes alive (well, alive for him anyway) in his role as the engineer who won’t submit to Ruth’s advances.  He seems much more comfortable in his part, his facial expressions seem genuine and he’s not so stiff.  I also noticed this while watching Lily Turner, also with Chatterton.  Was he a better actor when he was in love?   


Housewife, in which he appears with Bette Davis is a silly little movie, but when George is with Bette, his acting improves slightly.   Just as I started to get my hopes up that perhaps he has some talent, while watching The Crash, again with wife Chatterton and Living on Velvet, where he seems genuinely happy playing his role as a pilot, they showed him in a montage sequence, while Kay Francis is sleeping, and we see Brent in various close-ups, saying his lines, his face completely blank.  Argghh.  In The Spiral Staircase, I found him difficult to watch.  He had not aged well, and while he plays a crazy in the film, the lack of any inflection in his voice almost made me crazy too.  The lesser known male co-stars all seemed to be able to put some emotion into their faces and voices...not George.   And in God’s Country and the Woman, I was so distracted by that hideous pencil-thin mustache he grew in the mid-30’s and for some reason was allowed to keep, I had to really concentrate to keep my focus on his acting.  The scenery was stunning in this film, and I wanted to like George, who is sort of sweet when he smiles, but no, I’m thinking it’s all hopeless. 



Am I over-analyzing here?  Maybe, but I’m still confused. What it comes down to is this:  George Brent did the same thing in his movies:  stand straight, deliver his lines, hair mostly neat, sometimes with a mustache and never with much enthusiasm.  Why would a man who could grace the screen quite nicely, but without much vocal inflection, facial expression or body stance to convey any kind of emotion, have such success?  Maybe that was a style of acting popular back then, that I’m not aware of, just as Ruby Keeler’s buck dancing differs from regular tap, and is I think, not as effective.  Or maybe the women in the audience just loved the way he looked.  Either that, or he’s the master of under-stated acting.  I certainly hope he was more animated in his private life, while wooing countless Hollywood lovelies.  He seemed to fare better when he had a larger role.  Was he petulant when not the lead, or did the larger part give him the opportunity to grow into the character?  Or was it that he was better with certain actresses and/or directors?  Or does my affection for certain actresses cloud my perception of his abilities in a film? 




Anyway, I’m still baffled, and I’m hoping that when I see Jezebel and Dark Victory over the next few months, I will be rewarded with better performances from my man.  Until then, I welcome any instructive comments to help me understand the popularity of this studly-dud.


Written by Georgia Garrett ( originally posted at the TCM Classic Film Union ) 

22 comments:

  1. "Miss Pinkerton" is the only George Brent film we've seen of the ones that you refer to, but we have seen him in about 12 other films where he generally plays the same type of character. I'm baffled by him too but I think the only conclusion to come to is - he's a studdy dud! He got darn good looks and great charisma, but is very wooden when it comes to his acting abilities. ( "Pinocchio" is right ) It seems like every studio was plugging the "next Clark Gable"...Brent was given so many different roles where he could of exercised different characters but he just wasn't very versatile in his expressions. Too bad really, he would of made a great B-film series detective ( think "The Falcon" ) if he had a bit more snap. Thanks for this great post Georgia!

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  2. I remember reading somewhere that George Brent said... that all the leading man needed was a good hair cut, as the back of his head was the only part of him that an audience was ever likely to see.

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  3. Ha! That's especially true for Brent since he was always teamed with Bette Davis. The spotlight was on those Bette Davis eyes. Poor guy.

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  4. Good analysis. But I just like him ! - he's good in Dark Victory and The Great Lie. Obviously he never was a threat to actresses like Bette Davis or Barbara Stanwyck but he was never overwhelmed by Warners' big female stars.
    He does get a chance to star in The Spiral Staircase and is suitably mysterious and dangerous.
    He made over 100 films and second tier stardom did alright by him.

    Vienna's Classic Hollywood

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    1. Brent is very likeable ( and handsome too! ). He did a great performance in "Experiment Perilous" as well. Maybe it's like Georgia said, he just didn't give it his all onscreen unless he had a larger, starring role. He certainly pulled off the killer-characters good!

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    2. I absolutely loved George Brent with Merle Oberon in the movie, "till we meet again, the best love story movie ever, I will see if I can buy it on Amazon since Netflix does not offer older movies.

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  5. Interesting article. I first remember seeing him in the movie "Spiral Staircase" and thought he was great in that character. I've become quite a huge George Brent fan watching him in many movies from the early 30's to the late 40's.
    I think he had the movie star looks and a style for that era. He definitely had an impressive list of leading ladies. There were so many great actors from that era that maybe he just doesn't stack up that well against many of them to some people. The William Powell, Cary Grant, Robert Montgomery etc types were very charismatic but I find great comfort in many of his movies. I just saw "Til We Meet Again" 1940 with Merle Oberon and really enjoyed his performance.
    I watch TCM as much as possible and always make it a point to watch a film if he's starring in it.
    One thing is sure to me, Hollywood today doesn't have a tenth of the actors or talent as it did in that era.

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  6. I appreciate the perceptive analysis. But I prefer George Brent to Clark Gable. George Brent was so powerful in My Reputation with Barbara Stanwyck. I find him rugged, refined, cultured, with a controlled machismo. Thanks to TCM George Brent will never leave us.

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  7. He was understated most of the time, but I prefer his style to that of Cary Grant.
    George had a way of making his ladies "more" in a way that I still can't quite define.
    He didn't seem to get any parts where he could truly shine and that is a shame.

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  8. At the end of The Golden Arrow with Bette Davis he becomes quite animated as he grabs her and kisses her. I can’t help but hope that this is a glimpse into the charm he had in “real” life as he had such a track record with women but also have read that he was given to dark moods as well. He may have been an actor who was under order by the studio bosses to stand by and let the actresses shine. He did that in spades. He was the perfect co-star for the leading ladies. Always a dream to watch.

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  9. There is an interesting article about George Brent that appears on the Ann Sheridan website and discusses her experience in marrying him. It appeared in Screenland magazine back in the 1940s http://www.ann-sheridan.com/Ann_Sheridan_Articles/Why_the_Ann_Sheridan_George_Brent_marriage_failed.html.

    In this article it states that George Brent was in person shy, quiet, controlling, morose and it sounds like he had been there and done that, so he was bored. I like him, in spite of his place as a so-so actor in Hollywood's heyday, because there is a warmth to him that reminds me of the men of that era. I realize the complaint about him is that he isn't warm or emotive in his acting style. I suppose it is an innate feeling I get from him.

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  10. Love him. As Better Davis herself said, "he was decorative". I think he seemed more like an actor when he was interested. I like his wooden quality most of the time It gives him that untouchable, gentlemanly quality that makes him unique

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  11. Machine made movies like When the Rains Came with Tyrone Power are good examples of how they churned these movies out with mediocre screen writers in assembly line fashion with little character development. I am also baffled with Natalie Portman, Jennifer Gardner, and some of the female actresses that are churned out as great but I think do not hit the bill and annoy the hell out of me.

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  12. On my goodness and they crucify poor Alan Ladd for being wooden! I find Mr. Brent to be much like Alan in the acting department,that is,less is best.

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  13. You know, I have always liked Brent. Looking for Bette Davis movies the past couple of days to dive in to & just finished watching 'Front Page Woman.' Brent plays a hot reporter for a competing newspaper in town & Davis is establishing her self as good as he. Some rather funny stuff between Brent & his side kick (whose name escapes me) & classic wise cracks from supporting cast (city desk editors & cops) sprinkled throughout, which I like.
    Plenty of energy from everyone here. Brent, too.
    I have always greatly preferred understatement in my actors, like Alec Guinness or even Bogart. For me, Brent conveys heart felt emotion but does not emote, which is the bane of so many fine theater-trained actors when making the transition to camera work. More than unpleasant voices sank careers.
    In the last analysis, Brent's characters are best described, perhaps, as reserved men. Deep feeling but controlled. Not a Brando or Garfield but Brent.

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  14. So what does Ann Sheridan's comment that "Brent Bent" actually mean? I cannot find any reference to it.

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  15. All I want to say is George Brent was so handsome. I believe his on screen qualities were his natural qualities off screen. A gentle quiet Sweetheart. Wish I could have known him.

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  16. I will never understand why people are so critical of George Brent. I enjoy his style. He is always so debonair and genteel.

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  17. Loved your article. I personally think George Brent spoiled every film was in. He was a boring wimp, not handsome, not charismatic, not worthy of starring roles. I suspect the
    female stars liked him because there wasn't a chance in the world he could steal the full like Clark Gable or Cary Grant could.

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  18. He made his leading ladies look good.


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  19. I have a HUGE crush on George Brent. Delighted that he’s featured on TCM today. I guess everyone has different tastes! ( I like his acting!)

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  20. He a total puppet. Looks like a silent Era paste face with strings moving his mouth. Totally agree. It's a bizarre phenomenon that he was a star. I literally think an actual hand puppet might work better

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