You obviously missed this one -
The Shawshank Redemption
I know it's blockbusters fav rental but as a movie it's actually rather bad..but then again any film written by S.King is rubbish so it's not M.F's fault per se.
Cheers
Richard
movie star's
- Thread starter billyo
- Start date
You obviously missed this one -
The Shawshank Redemption
I know it's blockbusters fav rental but as a movie it's actually rather bad..but then again any film written by S.King is rubbish so it's not M.F's fault per se.
Cheers
Richard
It is considered one of the greatest films ever made.
JohnD wrote
John Wayne, draft dodger? Oh, what delicious (if cheap) irony! But that judgment is a little harsh. As Garry Wills tells the story in his book John Wayne's America: The Politics of Celebrity (1997), the Duke faced a tough choice at the outset of World War II. If he wimped out, don't be so sure a lot of us wouldn't have done the same.
At the time of Pearl Harbor, Wayne was 34 years old. His marriage was on the rocks but he still had four kids to support. His career was taking off, in large part on the strength of his work in the classic western Stagecoach (1939). But he wasn't rich. Should he chuck it all and enlist? Many of Hollywood's big names, such as Henry Fonda, Jimmy Stewart, and Clark Gable, did just that. (Fonda, Wills points out, was 37 at the time and had a wife and three kids.) But these were established stars. Wayne knew that if he took a few years off for military service, there was a good chance that by the time he got back he'd be over the hill.
Besides, he specialized in the kind of movies a nation at war wanted to see, in which a rugged American hero overcame great odds. Recognizing that Hollywood was an important part of the war effort, Washington had told California draft boards to go easy on actors. Perhaps rationalizing that he could do more good at home, Wayne obtained 3-A status, "deferred for [family] dependency reasons." He told friends he'd enlist after he made just one or two more movies.
The real question is why he never did so. Wayne cranked out thirteen movies during the war, many with war-related themes. Most of the films were enormously successful and within a short time the Duke was one of America's most popular stars. His bankability now firmly established, he could have joined the military, secure in the knowledge that Hollywood would welcome him back later. He even made a half-hearted effort to sign up, sending in the paperwork to enlist in the naval photography unit commanded by a good friend, director John Ford.
But he didn't follow through. Nobody really knows why; Wayne didn't like to talk about it. A guy who prided himself on doing his own stunts, he doesn't seem to have lacked physical courage. One suspects he just found it was a lot more fun being a Hollywood hero than the real kind. Many movie star-soldiers had enlisted in the first flush of patriotism after Pearl Harbor. As the war ground on, slogging it out in the trenches seemed a lot less exciting. The movies, on the other hand, had put Wayne well on the way to becoming a legend. "Wayne increasingly came to embody the American fighting man," Wills writes. In late 1943 and early 1944 he entertained the troops in the Pacific theater as part of a USO tour. An intelligence bigshot asked him to give his impression of Douglas MacArthur. He was fawned over by the press when he got back. Meanwhile, he was having a torrid affair with a beautiful Mexican woman. How could military service compare with that?
In 1944, Wayne received a 2-A classification, "deferred in support of [the] national . . . interest." A month later the Selective Service decided to revoke many previous deferments and reclassified him 1-A. But Wayne's studio appealed and got his 2-A status reinstated until after the war ended.
People who knew Wayne say he felt bad about not having served. (During the war he'd gotten into a few fights with servicemen who wondered why he wasn't in uniform.) Some think his guilty conscience was one reason he became such a superpatriot later. The fact remains that the man who came to symbolize American patriotism and pride had a chance to do more than just act the part, and he let it pass
Call him a "draft dodger" if you like but when it comes down to the crunch who wouldn't dodge the draft of WW2.
Better than dodging bullets me thinks. It doesn't mean you are a coward.
It just means you are human. (And an intelligent one.
)
John Wayne, draft dodger? Oh, what delicious (if cheap) irony! But that judgment is a little harsh. As Garry Wills tells the story in his book John Wayne's America: The Politics of Celebrity (1997), the Duke faced a tough choice at the outset of World War II. If he wimped out, don't be so sure a lot of us wouldn't have done the same.
At the time of Pearl Harbor, Wayne was 34 years old. His marriage was on the rocks but he still had four kids to support. His career was taking off, in large part on the strength of his work in the classic western Stagecoach (1939). But he wasn't rich. Should he chuck it all and enlist? Many of Hollywood's big names, such as Henry Fonda, Jimmy Stewart, and Clark Gable, did just that. (Fonda, Wills points out, was 37 at the time and had a wife and three kids.) But these were established stars. Wayne knew that if he took a few years off for military service, there was a good chance that by the time he got back he'd be over the hill.
Besides, he specialized in the kind of movies a nation at war wanted to see, in which a rugged American hero overcame great odds. Recognizing that Hollywood was an important part of the war effort, Washington had told California draft boards to go easy on actors. Perhaps rationalizing that he could do more good at home, Wayne obtained 3-A status, "deferred for [family] dependency reasons." He told friends he'd enlist after he made just one or two more movies.
The real question is why he never did so. Wayne cranked out thirteen movies during the war, many with war-related themes. Most of the films were enormously successful and within a short time the Duke was one of America's most popular stars. His bankability now firmly established, he could have joined the military, secure in the knowledge that Hollywood would welcome him back later. He even made a half-hearted effort to sign up, sending in the paperwork to enlist in the naval photography unit commanded by a good friend, director John Ford.
But he didn't follow through. Nobody really knows why; Wayne didn't like to talk about it. A guy who prided himself on doing his own stunts, he doesn't seem to have lacked physical courage. One suspects he just found it was a lot more fun being a Hollywood hero than the real kind. Many movie star-soldiers had enlisted in the first flush of patriotism after Pearl Harbor. As the war ground on, slogging it out in the trenches seemed a lot less exciting. The movies, on the other hand, had put Wayne well on the way to becoming a legend. "Wayne increasingly came to embody the American fighting man," Wills writes. In late 1943 and early 1944 he entertained the troops in the Pacific theater as part of a USO tour. An intelligence bigshot asked him to give his impression of Douglas MacArthur. He was fawned over by the press when he got back. Meanwhile, he was having a torrid affair with a beautiful Mexican woman. How could military service compare with that?
In 1944, Wayne received a 2-A classification, "deferred in support of [the] national . . . interest." A month later the Selective Service decided to revoke many previous deferments and reclassified him 1-A. But Wayne's studio appealed and got his 2-A status reinstated until after the war ended.
People who knew Wayne say he felt bad about not having served. (During the war he'd gotten into a few fights with servicemen who wondered why he wasn't in uniform.) Some think his guilty conscience was one reason he became such a superpatriot later. The fact remains that the man who came to symbolize American patriotism and pride had a chance to do more than just act the part, and he let it pass
Call him a "draft dodger" if you like but when it comes down to the crunch who wouldn't dodge the draft of WW2.
Better than dodging bullets me thinks. It doesn't mean you are a coward.
It just means you are human. (And an intelligent one.
)
it is by far one fo the finest films ever made. and just because you make it big and say it loud dont make it so
Balenza wrote:
Using that logic ... It's a good job that there weren't too many intelligent humans around at the time or we'd all be wearing jack boots and speaking German nowIt just means you are human. (And an intelligent one
Balenza wrote:Using that logic ... It's a good job that there weren't too many intelligent humans around at the time or we'd all be wearing jack boots and speaking German nowIt just means you are human. (And an intelligent one
You forgot the little moustaches.
A very sympathetic gloss by Wayne's biographer. No doubt George W's buddies will put a favourable spin on him bravely protecting his country by serving in Texas (mostly part-time) with a bunch of other rich men's sons during the Vietnam war when many of his compatriots were losing their lives their limbs or their minds.
S
Shutpa
Oh ... Yes, thanks ... And we'd all have little moustaches
Well said mate. We must not forget Charlie Chaplin.
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Oh ... Yes, thanks ... And we'd all have little moustaches
Well said mate. We must not forget Charlie Chaplin.
or slug balancers
Travolta in Pulp Fiction.
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Here's a few more.
1) At age 41 when World War II started I was exempt from the draft. Still I left a $30,000 a month job, enlisted in the Army as a private and worked my way up through the ranks. After graduating Officers' Candidate School in 1942 I attended aerial gunnery school, then served with the 8th Air Force in England. Though I flew combat bombing missions, my primary job was photographing other airmen in action for a movie to recruit airmen for the war effort. I completed my service as a major.
Clark Gable.
2) At the start of WWII I left a Hollywood career to work in a circus in Mexico, gathering intelligence for US Naval Intelligence. After enlistment in the Navy, I served at Tarawa on an amphibious attack transport, where I was conspicuous for transporting dozens of wounded Marines under fire. Decades later my WWII actions were recognized with a belated award of the Bronze Star with combat "V".
Eddie Albert
3) My celebrity status didn't help my efforts to join the Navy when WWII began; the Navy found me underweight? After "plumping up" I joined the Army Air Force and flew 20 combat missions during which I earned the Distinguished Service Medal, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, and four Air Medals. After retiring as a Brigadier General in the Air Force Reserves, I was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Jimmy Stewart
4) I left my successful movie career in 1942 to become a Marine Corps pilot, logging more than 1,000 hours flight time before the war ended. I am remembered by many of the Marines who served at Iwo Jima, where I flew supplies in and ferried wounded men out.
Tyrone Power
5) The tail gunner on a bomber was forced to defend his aircraft from within a tiny, cramped cubical from a virtually prone position. I flew 21 combat missions in World War II, most as a tail gunner. I also flew five weather observation missions.
Charles Bronson
1) At age 41 when World War II started I was exempt from the draft. Still I left a $30,000 a month job, enlisted in the Army as a private and worked my way up through the ranks. After graduating Officers' Candidate School in 1942 I attended aerial gunnery school, then served with the 8th Air Force in England. Though I flew combat bombing missions, my primary job was photographing other airmen in action for a movie to recruit airmen for the war effort. I completed my service as a major.
Clark Gable.
2) At the start of WWII I left a Hollywood career to work in a circus in Mexico, gathering intelligence for US Naval Intelligence. After enlistment in the Navy, I served at Tarawa on an amphibious attack transport, where I was conspicuous for transporting dozens of wounded Marines under fire. Decades later my WWII actions were recognized with a belated award of the Bronze Star with combat "V".
Eddie Albert
3) My celebrity status didn't help my efforts to join the Navy when WWII began; the Navy found me underweight? After "plumping up" I joined the Army Air Force and flew 20 combat missions during which I earned the Distinguished Service Medal, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, and four Air Medals. After retiring as a Brigadier General in the Air Force Reserves, I was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Jimmy Stewart
4) I left my successful movie career in 1942 to become a Marine Corps pilot, logging more than 1,000 hours flight time before the war ended. I am remembered by many of the Marines who served at Iwo Jima, where I flew supplies in and ferried wounded men out.
Tyrone Power
5) The tail gunner on a bomber was forced to defend his aircraft from within a tiny, cramped cubical from a virtually prone position. I flew 21 combat missions in World War II, most as a tail gunner. I also flew five weather observation missions.
Charles Bronson
thank you for that jefoss & joe 90 nice readi never new that what a load of hero's its good to see men of substance do well
ahem!
