tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355227236397241799.post5469441296827703266..comments2024-01-05T13:11:48.050+00:00Comments on ...and what will be left of them?: Gumshoe (1971)carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17886258675618058752noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355227236397241799.post-9104657977935613442010-11-04T10:38:57.936+00:002010-11-04T10:38:57.936+00:00Ah yes "Wolfen". I remember "Looke...Ah yes "Wolfen". I remember "Looker" being very good as well. That said, I think Finney was bloody awful in "Erin Brockovich".Phil Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16214245608032305452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355227236397241799.post-38601796385951576312010-11-04T09:41:29.972+00:002010-11-04T09:41:29.972+00:00Well, Caine seems fairly popular with the public (...Well, Caine seems fairly popular with the public (and his shameless networking got him a LOT of opportunities in Hollywood - 2 blaahdy oscahhs?!?). His 'non-acting' kinda makes his roles inseperable from his insufferable public persona. He's also been in some of the worst films ever - like Richard Burton.<br /><br />Compare Finney's interesting, underrated 'Wolfen' to the excruciatingly bad 'The Hand' (both early 80s b-horrors) and it's clear how little Caine has to offer, except chutzpah and relentless self-promotion. Even in fairly good films, like the Quiet American, I can't help but run through a list of actors who could have done it sooo much better.David K Waynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10756535951359716522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355227236397241799.post-74877302806563398862010-11-02T17:13:42.861+00:002010-11-02T17:13:42.861+00:00Well, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree ...Well, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on this. My own sense is that your opinion is nearer to the critical consensus, in that I don't think his reputation as an actor has ever been that great.<br /><br />On the other hand, the films that he appeared in still seem to resonate in the present day in a way that other films of the era don't. I recently saw "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold", and Richard Burton's performance seemed really quite old-fashioned in its overwroughtness. Caine would have given a much smoother performance, and I would have found it much more watchable.<br /><br />That said, I can understand how Caine-the-person would irritate the hell out of anyone.Phil Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16214245608032305452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355227236397241799.post-26626576021602621662010-11-02T17:02:50.591+00:002010-11-02T17:02:50.591+00:00Personally, I can't stand Caine (except Get Ca...Personally, I can't stand Caine (except Get Carter). He has to be the most overrated British actor ever (even Jeremy Irons is forgotten nowadays - there's no escape from Caine!). <br /><br />Even 'Alfie' just seems like a 'swinging' mid-Atlantic remake of 'Saturday Night Sunday Morning' to me.David K Waynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10756535951359716522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355227236397241799.post-81610107779134078032010-11-02T16:43:25.998+00:002010-11-02T16:43:25.998+00:00I dunno, I've always quite liked Caine as an a...I dunno, I've always quite liked Caine as an actor - his expressions are certainly limited, but there's always a glimmer in his eyes that expresses his intentions. He gives me the impression of a real person who has wandered into the film by mistake.<br /><br />But the Harry Palmer films, "The Magus", Carter, "Pulp", "Play Dirty", "The Black Windmill", even "Alfie" he's groping in the dark most of the time. Actually "Pulp" has much the same premise as "Gumshoe".<br /><br />Perhaps Noir/Neo-Noir needs a reasonably astute everyman "hero" in order to lead ourselves the audience into the web of deceit. Almost as though we're invited to think "ah this guy seems like he knows what he's doing, there's no way he's going to allow us to be fooled alongside him."Phil Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16214245608032305452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355227236397241799.post-34483291680799571882010-11-02T16:20:13.998+00:002010-11-02T16:20:13.998+00:00Maybe his limited facial expressions make him suit...Maybe his limited facial expressions make him suitable for blank, bewildered characters? To me, he always seemed too dozy to convince as a spy.<br /><br />But then, 70s/80s neo-noir has a lot of 'streetwise' heroes who are pretty chumpish - Long Goodbye, Chinatown, Night Moves, Taxi Driver, Cutter's Way etc. etc.David K Waynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10756535951359716522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355227236397241799.post-57287613511963909392010-11-02T16:10:31.415+00:002010-11-02T16:10:31.415+00:00I often pair this with "Get Carter" in m...I often pair this with "Get Carter" in my mind. I think Liverpool and Newcastle look quite similar in the two films. They both seem quite deserted, which I suppose is due to filming being restricted to early mornings or Sundays.<br /><br />In a way, both films are shaggy dog stories (although GC's violence tends to belie this), with Ginley and Carter both being basically chumps who stumble on unravelling events through a series of accidents/coincidences.<br /><br />It's interesting that most of Caine's late-sixties/early-seventies films feature him as a dupe - streetwise and calculated, sure, but still always the last to figure out what's going on.Phil Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16214245608032305452noreply@blogger.com