PHANTOM EMPIRES
  • MOVIES
  • OLD TIME RADIO
  • US TV
  • UK-TV
  • MOUNTIE PULP!
  • BOOKS
  • ARTISTS
  • ALMANAC
  • My Fiction
  • contact

Edith Hunter of THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP

6/7/2016

12 Comments

 
Picture
Every once in a while some film fan will regale me with some tale o' love and obsession with some film star or character,  insisting upon their true feeelings for them;  they collect all their photos,  they watch that one special film over and over, etc..  Well,  being a diehard pragmatist and, quite possibly, a harmless type of sociopath,  I've never been able to share that exact feeling.  Oh,  I can be obsessed with an actor,  a film,  even posters well enough,  but to fall in love with an imaginary film character has always been a bit beyond the pale for Clayton Percival Somerset Walter.

Then,  I met...HER.  THE woman, Watson,  THE woman.  Played so very skillfully by the awesome Deborah Kerr in my new ultimate film,  THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP,  I have found a cinema woman, though imaginary, who embodies all that I've ever sought in a lady-type creature of the opposite sex.   Now, although she has all the appropriate gentleman-approved dimensions and accoutrements in pleasant proportion, quite ship-shape and in Bristol fashion (Kerr was 21 when she transformed herself thus),  it is the addition of the traditionally lady-preferred qualities that sends her into my internal stratosphere so  dramatically and dreamily.  The words from this beloved woman's mouth!  So articulate,  so intelligent!  One could give credit to the writers of the script, the dynamic duo of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger,  but it really is the young Deborah Kerr who gives the erudition and staccato diction to these lines.  Her delivery is so mature, so developed,  and there's an honesty and command of situation here that few (if any) actresses can pull off...but perhaps my love has me biased?  Possibly,  but probably not.

Edith Hunter is what certain kinds of women like to call "strong".  She's untra-confident,  doesn't back down when faced with a conflict,  she observes and reflects,  and she has an understanding of life and her environment that is enviable.  I appreciate all of these thing,  and I also appreciate that she can be thus without also being overbearing, rude,  pushy, and insulting,  qualities which have become so common in female characters when they want to compete with men...dear Edith manifests all of the ideal qualities of strength and eschews all of the negatives.  She's sharp, witty, dignified, in control of herself,  and OH, SO LUVERLY.  The fact that she's fluent in German (which, for perhaps the first time in human history, sounds incredibly sexy),  is familiar with Burschenschaften culture (with the accompanying Mensur fencing tradition,  an interest of mine),  is involved in the issues of the poorly handled Boer war enough to write to our stalwart Lieutenant Clive Candy VC, really makes her the sort of  lady for which a true gentleman ought to possess a great admiration!

Ahem.

When I get my time machine, with it's cinema-universe attachment,  I'm going to go back into time and cross over into Colonel Blimp land; I swear that I'll go to Germany and meet with her,  and quite possibly on bended knee.  That damnably handsome Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorff will simply have to bow to a superior affection!



[Added note:  The other people in the film are GREAT too, and the non-Edith Hunter bits are nice as well, so if you're tempted to only watch her portion (like I do sometimes),  you might like to watch the rest...at least once.]

Picture
This paean to my lady of loveliness is occaisioned by the  REEL INFATUATION blogathon,  hosted by FONT & FROCK and the inimitabl SILVER SCREENINGS.  Please click on there names here to visit their sites,  and to see who is is love with whom,  and though none of their secret dears  could possibly be anywhere near my one true love,  it's good to see why others might choose someone who is so non-Edith Hunter.

For curiosity's sake,  if nothing else.  :)

Addendum:  Much of the basic premise of COLONEL BLIMP speaks to the effect that a woman can have on a man;  how even a casual connection may linger for a lifetime.  I've had many conversations with men in which they've recounted encounters, seemingly trivial to the outsider (such as a brush-up against the shoulder of a crush in passing during a break between 7th grade classes), which are recalled from time to time as a treasured experience.  Men are more emotional than society often allows,  and once written upon,  a man's heart carries a feeling to the end of his days...to one degree or another.

I've even had my own Edith Hunter,  which I bungled,  much as Clive Candy did,  and her intoxicating anima haunts me to this very moment,  nearly fifteen years after the fact.  I can only imagine how devastated I would be if I were Mr. Candy,  dazedly watching   as  a woman as amazing as Edith Hunter drifted away right in front of my eyes,  never to be seen again.

From Men in Black:

Jay: You know what they say. It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

Kay: Try it.
12 Comments
TZA
6/8/2016 08:07:17 am

How can you write about this film & NOT mention Powell & Pressburger? Black Narcissus, too is also a beauty with all of them. Check out The Sundowners with Mitchum (never given much credit but a great film). I guess she has no shortage of great films.

Reply
Clayton Walter
6/8/2016 11:13:35 am

Hahaha...nice! Well, I did mention them, but this really wasn't about COL. BLIMP, or, for that matter, Deborah Kerr. It's a short ode to a being that has captured a bit of myself; one who is a great deal more than the sum, if you catch my meaning. Sometimes, even greats like these generate a world or a character who lives well beyond the pen and the camera, beyond the range of mere scripts and rehersals...Edith Hunter, for me, at least, is one of those. Lots have been written about Mssrs. P & P, so thus my attatchment to Miss Hunter is the only bit of my own that I can relate with any freshness. :)

Thankls for the fun comment!

Reply
Silver Screenings link
6/13/2016 11:40:21 am

This is a beautiful tribute to a beautiful woman. I love that you praised her character and her intelligence as well as her looks. She truly is all the things you said she is. (How she can speak German so convincingly, and charmingly!, is beyond me.)

Edith Hunt is a superb choice for the blogathon. I'm so glad you came to the party and brought her along! ;)

Reply
Clayton
6/14/2016 11:50:48 am

But of course! This is a post about true love, not something as crass and fleeting simple lust...love is not possible without respect, wot?

Always love to join a Blogathon connested to SS. Thanks to you and your pal for hosting it.

Reply
Dan B
6/14/2016 11:53:49 am

Those are crazy hats, but kind of cool too. I just recently watched this movie and I thought it was entertaining, but a little cheesy. I like WWII movies in general, but this one could have been better.

Reply
Clayton
6/14/2016 11:56:28 am

I do agree that her hats are unusual, but on Miss Hunter they're angelic, don't you think?

As far as the other comments, I'll choose to think that you are perhaps in high school...it is my firm belief that, when you grow up, you'll feel quite differently about this amazing film! :)

Thanks for your comment!

Reply
Maedez link
6/15/2016 10:13:53 am

Thanks so much for participating in the blogathon. Deborah Kerr is just so wonderful in this film. Great piece.

Reply
Clayton
6/15/2016 11:05:13 am

Thanks so much for hosting the blogathon!

Edith Hunter is quite a lady. :)

Reply
Patricia Nolan-Hall (@CaftanWoman) link
6/18/2016 10:03:23 am

A delight from beginning to end. Ms. Hunter, I have no doubt, would spurn all other suitors after your impassioned plea.

Reply
Clayton
6/21/2016 11:54:16 am

Oh, when I get my time machine...sigh.

Great fun to write, as well; I find myself watching her portion of the thing with (perhaps) a pathological regularity!

Thanks for your comment!

Reply
Deanna
6/29/2016 01:56:20 pm

That was lovely, and quite frank. Do you read a lot of Victorian novels? Your writing has that sort of beat, with a hint of Germanic sentence structure. Appropriate for this post, sir!

Reply
Clayton
6/29/2016 02:00:57 pm

Why, thank you very much; what an unexpected and welcome social delectation. I do, in fact, read quite a bit, particularly Victorian and Edwardian novels. Elisabetth Von Arnim, George Meredith, John Buchan, et al. have "poisoned" my general approach to writing, for better, and sometimes, worse. I revert to British spellings more often than I should, if a bit inconsistently, quite as a matter of habit.

Thank you for your comment!

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Latest Reviews
    (click to visit)

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Classic Movie Blog Hub Member

    MOUNTIE FILMS.pdf
    File Size: 73 kb
    File Type: pdf
    Download File

    Here is my (ever-growing) list of Mountie movies and serials!  Enjoy!

    Upcoming Events


    Cool Blogs
    STALKING MOON
    Classic Film & TV Cafe'
    MOVIES SILENTLY

    CAFTAN WOMAN
    RIDING THE HIGH COUNTRY

    SILVER SCREENINGS
    SHADOWS & SATIN
    SPEAKEASY
    LAURA'S MISC. MUSINGS
    LADY EVE'S REEL LIFE
    They Don't Make 'em Like they Used to
    SILENTOLOGY
    Pre-Code  Film
    SILVER SCENES

    Thrilling Days of Yesteryear

    Mike's Take on Movies

    THE LIST

    All
    13 Assassins
    15 Post 1979 Films
    5 Films
    9 Hours To Rama
    Adventures Of Tartu
    A Heidi 2-Fer
    Alan Ladd
    Al Pachino
    A Man Called Horse
    Anthony Hopkins
    A Patch Of Blue
    Audie Murphy
    A Yank In Libya
    Barrymore
    Barry Sullivan
    Basil Rathbone
    BIRTHDAYS
    BLOGATHON
    Bogdan Stupka
    Breezy
    British Empire
    Buck Jones
    Buffalo Rider
    Caesar The Conqueror
    Cameron Mitchell
    Caryl Of The Mountains
    Chambara
    Chinatown
    Cisco Kid
    Claudette Colbert
    Cliff Edwards
    Clint Eastwood
    Colossus: The Forbin Project
    Come Next Spring
    Cowboy Motorcycles
    Dana Andrews
    Dan Haggerty
    Deborah Kerr
    Dick Powell
    Django
    Duncan Reynaldo
    Dustin Hoffman
    Eleanor Hunt
    Errol Flynn
    Faye Dunaway
    FILM BLOGGERY - Notes
    Foreign Legion Films
    Fort Vengeance
    Francis Sullivan
    Francis X. Bushman Jr.
    Franco Nero
    Fred Williamson
    Gary Cooper
    Gene Hackman
    George Hilton
    Giants Of Rome
    GLADIATORS SEVEN
    Go-Get-em Haines
    Gregory Peck
    Guy Rolfe
    Haldane Of The Secret Sevice
    HAMMER FILMS
    Harry Carey Jr.
    Harry Houdini
    HEART OF THE NORTH
    Hollywood Chess
    Horst Buchholz
    Humphrey Bogart
    Jack Nicholson
    James Craig
    James Oliver Curwood
    Jim Brown
    Jim Kelly
    Jimmy Stewart
    John Carradine
    John Huston
    Johnny Mack Brown
    John Wayne
    Jose Ferrer
    J. S. Casshyap
    Kay Lenz
    Ken Maynard
    King Of The Khyber Rifles
    KITOSCH
    Lee Van Cleef
    Leslie Howard
    Little Big Man
    Lon Chaney
    Love Affair
    MASSACRE TIME
    Mountain Man Movies
    Mountie Films
    MRS. MIKE
    My Man Godfrey 1957
    Nicholas & Alexandra
    NO!
    Nomads Of The North
    NORTHERN PURSUIT
    North West Mounted Police
    Northwest Rangers
    Oliver Reed
    Orientalism In Film
    Overland Red
    Peplums
    Pimpernel Smith
    QUO VADIS
    Rasputin & The Empress
    Reginald Denny
    Richard Harris
    Richard Harrison
    Rin-Tin-Tin
    Robert Donat
    Robert Morley
    Robert Ryan
    Ronald Colman
    Roy Rogers
    Sabotage Agent
    Serpico
    Shirley Temple
    Sidney Poitier
    SILENT FILMS
    Spaghetti Western
    Stranglers Of Bombay
    Take A Hard Ride
    Talbot Mundy
    Taras Bulba
    The Black Watch
    THE CANADIANS
    The Cossacks
    The Hunting Party
    The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp
    The Mad Doctor
    The Prisoner Of Shark Island
    The Scarlet Pimpernel
    The Trap
    The Two Jakes
    Tim McCoy
    Tom Baker
    Tom Mix
    Top Ten Cowboys
    Tyrone Power
    Ukulele Ike
    Under Two Flags
    Victor McLaglen
    Warner Baxter
    We're In The Legion Now!
    Western Films List
    Westerns Through Time
    When Eight Bells Toll
    William Boyd
    Worst Film Accents
    Yankee Clipper
    ZARDOZ
    Казаки

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.