[QUOTE=ArchiveGuy]
But this impression is almost exclusively based on his performance as Cohan, who Cagney was attempting to emulate in his dancing style. All you have to do is watch the “Shanghai Lil” number from Footlight Parade to see that Cagney can be loose and limber and, in his sailor suit, wouldn’t look at all out of place next to Gene Kelly in On the Town. It’s still a bit of an acquired taste (it does evoke a marionette at times), but I’d take it any day over Kaye’s artless tomfoolery (he may hit his marks, but I never thought him much of a dancer).
[/QUOTE]
Right, which is why I wasn’t comparing Cagney’s overall skills of dancing to Kaye’s, only the posture. And the style I’m referring to, Cagney’s unwatchable (to me) stiffness, is always present, and is not peculiar to YDD. I’ve seen a great number of Cagney’s movies–including Footlight Parade–and the stiffness is always there. Just watched *Taxi! *the other day. In one scene Cagney’s character does a quick little step to show off to his girlfriend, and the marionette affect is present. This was 10 years before YDD.
To acknowledge Bridget’s thought about Irish step dancing, this seems highly likely: you can’t get much more Irish than James Cagney. (Although he speaks Yiddish like a native* in Taxi!.)
[QUOTE=Bridget Burke]
"Robin Hood, Robin Hood, riding through the glen.
Robin, Hood, Robin Hood, with his band of men.
Feared by the Bad
Loved by the Good
Robin Hood, Robin Hood, Robin Hood!.
[/QUOTE]
I believe the Disney version being referred to by JThunder is the great animated version from the early 1970s, voiced by a dreamy Brian Bedford as Robin. On whom I still have a crush, animated fox or no. (Also starred Phil Harris as Little John, Peter Ustinov as Prince John/King Richard, Roger Miller as Allan-a-Dale, and Terry Thomas as Sir Hiss.)
My favorite song was The Phony King of England, which went in part:
*Oh, the world will sing of an English king a thousand years from now,
And not because he passed some laws or had that lofty brow.
While bonny good King Richard leads the great crusade he’s on,
We’ll all have to slave away for that good-for-nothin’ John.
Incredible as he is inept …
Whenever the history books are kept,
They’ll call him the phony king of England.
A pox on that phony king of England!
He sits alone on the giant throne pretendin’ he’s the king.
A little tyke who’s rather like a puppet on a string.
And he throws an angry tantrum if he cannot have his way.
And then he calls for Mom while he’s suckin’ his thumb.
You see, he doesn’t wanna play.
Too late to be known as John the First,
He’s sure to be known as John the Worst!
A pox on that phony king of England!"*
But it was Brian Bedford’s speaking voice that made this movie for me. Ohhhhh yeah.
Of course, Errol Flynn was a bit of all right, too!
[QUOTE=burundi] The Adventures of Robin Hood is one of my all-time favorite movies. It’s a great adventure, and I love how earnest and fun it is. And I’ll watch Errol Flynn in tights any day.
Barn Owl, you should also check out Captain Blood, a fantastic swashbuckler featuring Errol Flynn and pirates. It just came out on DVD and it rawks.
[/QUOTE]
This is exactly what I was going to post. Two of my favorite movies, both starring Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone, and Olivia de Havilland. It doesn’t get any better than that. Basil Rathbone was such a great bad guy. And Errol Flynn was one of the hottest of hotties around.
[QUOTE=Ceejaytee]
This is exactly what I was going to post. Two of my favorite movies, both starring Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone, and Olivia de Havilland. It doesn’t get any better than that. Basil Rathbone was such a great bad guy. And Errol Flynn was one of the hottest of hotties around.
[/QUOTE]
Maybe I will buy Captain Blood. It’s only $13.99 at amazon. Thank you very much for the suggestion.
Now how about the current Robin Hood series on BBC? Any comments? I’m rather enjoying it. Maid Marian isn’t a raving beauty in this version, but she does have an ineffable charm.
FYI (on the bare chance that you don’t know) the man who plays Gisbourne (or however it’s spelled) also stars in the PBS 3-part series, The Impressionists. He is Monet (as a young man), and does a wonderful job. I don’t know who has the part of Monet as an older man, but he is equally superb. Hell, the whole cast is great.
[QUOTE=Ceejaytee]
This is exactly what I was going to post. Two of my favorite movies, both starring Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone, and Olivia de Havilland. It doesn’t get any better than that. Basil Rathbone was such a great bad guy. And Errol Flynn was one of the hottest of hotties around.
[/QUOTE]
Both of these films also contain the superb music of Erich Korngold, one of the best film-music composers ever.
