Author:
Susan (amused)
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Date Posted: 18:43:51 08/21/06 Mon
OK, I know it's silly, but I *love* this movie ... I watched it again on TCM today (in full consciousness!), and I'm still not tired of it. The main reason is, of course, the genius comedy stylings of Robert Newton and Cyril Cusack. They make such a cute team--wish somebody had picked up on that and enlisted them to work together again! Maybe I should add that to the choices in the poll about what role you most wish RN could have played ... would anybody vote for another comedy with Cyril Cusack? (Stewart Granger and David Niven are pretty funny in their own rights too, but Cyril and Bob really seem to have a real comaraderie going!)
So if you've watched it, I'm wondering what you think: In the tent scene, where Archibald demands his third of the cards and starts arguing with Dennis, do you think that the part where Stewart Granger throws the cards in Cyril's face was scripted? Watch the expressions on their faces carefully--Cyril looks completely taken by surprise and Granger has such a diabolical grin on his face, it makes me think either he or the director secretly threw that in at the last moment just to get a genuine rise out of Cyril. (And it works, though he doesn't miss a beat.)
In fact, a lot of the movie seems unscripted to me. For example, the conversation where the three of them are walking along, while the cavalry men are taunting them, trying to goad them into a fight, the dialog sounds so insipid, I swear they had to be improvising. Also, have you noticed that Bob and Cyril take turns pulling each other's hair? If you watch closely, there's the scene in the tent just before Pindenny reprimands them for fighting, and then the scene in the water when Cyril rescues Bob ... It's too subtle to have been scripted; more like the actors were having a little practical joke.
I know, I know ... I've obviously watched this movie *way* too many times! Anybody else have any comments, general or otherwise?
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