tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331373971294623620.post8646807291990694963..comments2024-03-23T03:57:15.055-07:00Comments on Caftan Woman: George Marshall and Tom DestryCaftan Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05936895555808823221noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331373971294623620.post-14963827178764005882011-07-12T07:15:44.291-07:002011-07-12T07:15:44.291-07:00Wow! Audie Murphy was as tall as Gary Burghoff is!...Wow! Audie Murphy was as tall as Gary Burghoff is!<br /><br />You are right about Murphy getting caught up in "medium budgeted" westerns. A lot of Universal's '50s westerns were this; the FEEL of them fit them right between "A" and "B" westerns. (Fred MacMurray did some of these, too, but he was lucky to get out of the rut.)R.A.M.'67https://www.blogger.com/profile/12817535165296807817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331373971294623620.post-71703710578449322252011-07-11T12:17:14.020-07:002011-07-11T12:17:14.020-07:001954s "Destry" used to play a lot on tel...1954s "Destry" used to play a lot on television when I was a kid. Lost in the mire of movie memories is which one I actually saw first. <br /><br />If the IMDb is accurate Stewart was 6'3" to Murphy at 5'5". Ladd was 5'6-1/4".<br /><br />I think the biggest hindrance to Murphy's movie career was that he was indelible associated with the medium budgeted western that fell out of favour.Caftan Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05936895555808823221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331373971294623620.post-70728437819225421402011-07-11T10:27:56.892-07:002011-07-11T10:27:56.892-07:00I think I'm among the few who saw the remake o...I think I'm among the few who saw the remake of <i>Destry Rides Again</i> BEFORE the original! That said, I've come to like the original a touch more than the color version.<br /><br />Audie Murphy was no slouch as an actor (when he got a plum role), but part of the reason he wasn't getting steady work might be attributed to his height. (Just recall him alongside Jimmy Stewart in <i>Night Passage</i>, for example.) How tall was he? I don't think he was as short as Alan Ladd.R.A.M.'67https://www.blogger.com/profile/12817535165296807817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331373971294623620.post-61422731138629768192011-07-11T06:49:24.174-07:002011-07-11T06:49:24.174-07:00Howdy, Rick. Thanks for the compliment.
Fellas...Howdy, Rick. Thanks for the compliment. <br /><br />Fellas like Marshall don't get the praise from the big guns, but his name says "entertaining movie" to me.<br /><br />I get quite a kick out of "Murder, He Says". Fred MacMurray really committed himself to his goofy side.Caftan Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05936895555808823221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331373971294623620.post-56576067392686503182011-07-10T19:30:29.810-07:002011-07-10T19:30:29.810-07:00Sorry it's taken me awhile to get to this exce...Sorry it's taken me awhile to get to this excellent post! I especially enjoyed your comparison of the original and remake (I haven't seen the latter in years, but thought the always likable Audie did a respectable job in the lead). What I admire most about Marshall is what you highlighted so well--his versatility. Like Robert Wise, he could make any kind of movie and make it well. Of those you listed, MURDER, HE SAYS is a funny little gem, very atypical for all involved.Rick29https://www.blogger.com/profile/08358116647815569722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331373971294623620.post-91511090680075564562011-07-10T13:19:32.808-07:002011-07-10T13:19:32.808-07:00Thanks, Dawn. So many people made the movies we l...Thanks, Dawn. So many people made the movies we love, and it's fun to learn about them.Caftan Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05936895555808823221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331373971294623620.post-62030109400567957072011-07-09T15:58:12.688-07:002011-07-09T15:58:12.688-07:00Wonderful info. on George Marshall. I have to admi...Wonderful info. on George Marshall. I have to admit.. I did not know very much about him.. "Destry Rides Again", is a great movie.Dawnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03476174860119487509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331373971294623620.post-88189952712161906352011-07-03T08:15:52.457-07:002011-07-03T08:15:52.457-07:00LOLOLOL!! I blush to admit that a shadow in the n...LOLOLOL!! I blush to admit that a shadow in the night sounds awfully good!ClassicBeckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03591715859057540467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331373971294623620.post-33291376001798334672011-07-03T08:14:06.965-07:002011-07-03T08:14:06.965-07:00Becky, I'll always think of you as a noirish c...Becky, I'll always think of you as a noirish combination of Agnes Moorehead and Barbara Stanwyck, longing for a shadow in the night.Caftan Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05936895555808823221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331373971294623620.post-17558734302054288272011-07-03T07:36:30.026-07:002011-07-03T07:36:30.026-07:00Love your audition story - next time just tell the...Love your audition story - next time just tell them you never do your full-on performance until opening night - then move to England for a few days and just listen a lot!<br /><br />Mine isn't exactly an audition story, but close. As a senior in high school, I got to play the part of the bedridden invalid in Sorry, Wrong Number. It was a one-woman show, of course, except for the very end -- then you just saw a menacing looking shadow with a fedora hat, just shadow. I was madly in love with "the shadow", and hated that I was always made up as an older lady with some wrinkles, grey-sprinkled wig and a bed shawl! AND, he never did ask me out. Ah, the sacrifices for art!ClassicBeckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03591715859057540467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331373971294623620.post-47014043139694451822011-07-03T07:27:24.079-07:002011-07-03T07:27:24.079-07:00ClassicBecky, George Marshall left us a lot of old...ClassicBecky, George Marshall left us a lot of old favourites. The movies you mentioned are pure gold.<br /><br />My best audition story: I had the director rolling in the aisles when I auditioned for Miss Prism in "The Importance of Being Earnest", then he asked me to do the monologue again only this time with an English accent. Oops! That was my English accent!Caftan Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05936895555808823221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331373971294623620.post-50190690678577856762011-07-03T07:24:42.558-07:002011-07-03T07:24:42.558-07:00Dorian, that number is a hoot! Can't understa...Dorian, that number is a hoot! Can't understand why I haven't seen it until now. Thanks.Caftan Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05936895555808823221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331373971294623620.post-59513941425381673052011-07-02T17:08:59.828-07:002011-07-02T17:08:59.828-07:00I was really interested to learn about George Mars...I was really interested to learn about George Marshall, someone I didn't know much about and who was so important in movie history. I would like him if only for The Ghost Breakers, my very favorite Bob Hope movie and one of the funnest ever, to me. Also, the Blue Dahlia. <br /><br />P.S. I was a techie for a little theatre group here some years ago for the play version of "The Women." Lots of fun. I had auditioned, and made it to the last cut, just losing out to someone at the end! But it is fun to work behind the scenes!ClassicBeckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03591715859057540467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331373971294623620.post-19436357353149386302011-07-02T16:26:47.612-07:002011-07-02T16:26:47.612-07:00Just saw that "Frenchy" jailhouse number...Just saw that "Frenchy" jailhouse number on YouTube, thanks to you, Caftan Woman! If you like that number, I think you'd get a big laugh out of this one from "CANNIBAL! THE MUSICAL" by the loveable madmen who brought us SOUTH PARK. Here's the link:<br /><br />http://youtu.be/H7Q9ZEdOLSEDorianTBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01357778472575080022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331373971294623620.post-37752917915592627512011-07-02T16:16:50.019-07:002011-07-02T16:16:50.019-07:00The soundtrack from the DESTRY RIDES AGAIN musical...The soundtrack from the DESTRY RIDES AGAIN musical is available on Amazon.com, in addition to Dolores Gray on YouTube! Cool! Thanks for the tip, Caftan Woman!DorianTBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01357778472575080022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331373971294623620.post-27508607066495882772011-07-02T13:39:55.557-07:002011-07-02T13:39:55.557-07:00Yet another refugee from community theatre!
Doria...Yet another refugee from community theatre!<br /><br />Dorian, I am with you that a kinescope of Broadway's Destry or a time machine would be great. Howevre, within our reach we have the original cast album on Amazon, and a clip of Dolores Gray as "Frenchy" on YouTube.Caftan Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05936895555808823221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331373971294623620.post-85473908343695106082011-07-02T12:29:31.614-07:002011-07-02T12:29:31.614-07:00Caftan Woman, I very much enjoyed your post about ...Caftan Woman, I very much enjoyed your post about the two movie versions of DESTRY RIDES AGAIN! Poor Audie Murphy sure had a rollercoaster life (and more acting talent than he got credit for); to echo Jacqueline's sentiments, "equal parts tragedy and triumph."<br /><br />So many community theater folk here! I had a small role in a community theater farce -- adapted from a British play that I must confess I don't remember the title. It was interesting, but I decided I preferred to write, and let others do the acting! :-)<br /><br />That brings me to the Broadway musical version of DESTRY RIDES AGAIN, starring one of Vinnie's and my household favorites, Andy Griffith. Wow, I wish we could go back in time (but only temporarily! I've gotten used to modern medicines and technology :-)) to see Griffith playing Tom Destry! Anybody know if there's a kinescope of it or something?DorianTBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01357778472575080022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331373971294623620.post-45421010052757010822011-07-02T10:06:22.515-07:002011-07-02T10:06:22.515-07:00We'll know each other by our black T-shirts an...We'll know each other by our black T-shirts and the expert way we use the "shush" motion to keep those chatty actors quiet back stage.Caftan Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05936895555808823221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331373971294623620.post-61618932213257102772011-07-02T05:24:14.006-07:002011-07-02T05:24:14.006-07:00Another community theatre veteran? I wish we tech...Another community theatre veteran? I wish we techies had a secret handshake or something. Or wore a "ruptured duck" pin on our lapels so we could identify each other. <br /><br />Sometime we'll have to meet at the bar and swap war stories.Jacqueline T. Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047941886908178350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331373971294623620.post-64373011359704320262011-07-01T08:56:33.835-07:002011-07-01T08:56:33.835-07:00Thanks, Yvette.
Years ago I read Murphy's aut...Thanks, Yvette.<br /><br />Years ago I read Murphy's autobiography "To Hell and Back". It would have been enlightening for us, and perhaps cathartic for him to have written about his life in those post-war years.<br /><br />I hope you catch up with at least "Destry Rides Again". It is a lot of fun.Caftan Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05936895555808823221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331373971294623620.post-86720037607129705982011-07-01T08:29:12.896-07:002011-07-01T08:29:12.896-07:00A terrific background piece. I never knew much abo...A terrific background piece. I never knew much about George Marshall though his name, of course, was vaguely familiar. I haven't seen either Destry movie in years and years. Mayeb it's time to re-up. <br /><br />I like your line re: Jimmy Stewart - America's 'best image of itself'. Yup.<br /><br />But sad to say, though I 'got' that about him, I was never a major fan, except for maybe, REAR WINDOW in which I was finally won over. :)<br /><br />Audie Murphy. I always feel so sad when I think of him. I always wondered what demons must have been driving him. As Jacqueline says: "...equal parts tragedy and triumph."<br /><br />Thanks for a great post.Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331373971294623620.post-37638879310994903762011-07-01T08:28:22.781-07:002011-07-01T08:28:22.781-07:00I think of George Marshall as one of those guys th...I think of George Marshall as one of those guys that kept Hollywood ticking.<br /><br />Twenty-some years ago "my" community theatre group did "Destry Rides Again". My future hubby was in the cast and I worked stage crew. It was part of my stalking plan. To his everlasting annoyance, my plan worked.<br /><br />Audie Murphy is an intriguing man. When it comes to his acting career, I feel he is unjustly undervalued.Caftan Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05936895555808823221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331373971294623620.post-21811442734886265192011-06-30T19:00:45.430-07:002011-06-30T19:00:45.430-07:00Thanks for this excellent background on George Mar...Thanks for this excellent background on George Marshall. I didn't know about the Destry musical. Audie Murphy an interesting case, equal parts tragedy and triumph.Jacqueline T. Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047941886908178350noreply@blogger.com