90th Anniversary of
Montgomery Clift's birth


90º Aniversario del nacimiento de Montgomery Clift (1920-2010)

aaaaa TODA LA INFORMACIÓN SOBRE EL ACTOR MONTGOMERY CLIFT EN ESPAÑOL aaaaa

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31.12.09

Dedicatoria (posible firma)

Se ha conservado esta dedicatoria, pero no sé si es auténtica porque no acompaña a ninguna foto y la firma no acaba dee parecerme oiriginal en el trazo de la M (las t, la y y el apellido sí parecen reales).

Tampoco sé a quién va dirigida, parece que pone "Reg" o algo así.

30.12.09

Wild River

En este blog se comenta Wild River:

(English text)

“We’ve got to get those Garths off that island — with no dispossessing, no marshals, no shotguns, and no incidents that might get into the papers…”


Wild River Poster

Synopsis:
In the 1930s, a representative of the Tennessee Valley Authority (Montgomery Clift) arrives at a small island with the task of convincing its owner (Jo Van Fleet) to sell her property. He immediately encounters resistance, yet finds himself falling in love with Van Fleet’s widowed granddaughter (Lee Remick).


Genres:

Review:
This powerful historical drama about the clash between public necessity and private autonomy remains one of Elia Kazan’s finest films. The story opens with a real-life newscast depicting the devastation wrought on poor Tennessee farmers after the Mississippi River has once again flooded the area, thus establishing Clift’s TVA-sponsored presence as a necessary evil — yet it’s impossible not to side at least partially with crotchety Ella Garth (Van Fleet), whose entire identity is wrapped up in the island her family has owned for years. While it’s clear that Garth will somehow — eventually — be “convinced” to move, the story of how this happens remains compelling until the end.

Wild River is most memorable, however, for its remarkable performances — primarily by 46-year-old Van Fleet (her make-up artist deserves ample praise as well) and 25-year-old Lee Remick, who has never looked more stunning or been more affecting. This was purportedly Remick’s personal favorite of all the films she made, and it’s easy to see why: she invests her character with a lifetime of loss and hope, turning what is clearly a convenient “plot device” romance into a believable dimension of the story. Other supporting actors — and Clift himself — are fine as well, but it’s Van Fleet and Remick who really make this powerful film must-see viewing.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Jo Van Fleet as Ella Garth
    Wild River Van Fleet
  • Lee Remick as Carol
    Wild River Remick
  • Montgomery Clift as Chuck Glover
    Wild River Clift
  • Barbara Loden (Kazan’s wife) in a tiny but effective supporting role as Clift’s secretary
    Wild River Loden
  • An honest, sensitive depiction of race relations in a bigoted southern town
    Wild River Race Relations
  • A heartfelt story of greater good versus individual choice
    Wild River Porch
  • Van Fleet’s provocative explanation of why it’s impossible to force someone to sell something they love
    Wild River Selling
  • Fine location cinematography by Ellsworth Fredericks
    Wild River Rain

Must See?
Yes, as one of Kazan’s finest films, and for Fleet and Remick’s performances.

Categories

Links:

* Comentario:

writer93_99:

  1. A must.

    Would the average ff realize how few movies Elia Kazan actually made? (Of course, he also worked in theater, wrote novels, and there was that bizarre, mind-boggling mess over ‘naming names’ - though that didn’t seem to prevent him from getting movies made.)

    The films he’s mostly known for are shown on tv with considerable frequency and, of course, are on DVD (also available, inexplicably, is his mind-numbing ‘turkey-shoot’ ‘The Arrangement’).

    Then there are films like ‘Viva Zapata!’, for example, and ‘Wild River’ - and it is odd that they have to be hunted down.

    While it’s true that Remick (agreed; looking lovely) and Van Fleet give two of the strongest performances, Clift does one of those ‘less is more’ turns, and his subtlety pays off. (I particularly like the ways he applies amusement and humor.)

    Kazan is at his best here when handling the meatier sequences: (as noted), Van Fleet attempting to ‘buy the dog’; Clift being pressed to pay black laborers less than whites; the “You owe me four dollars.” scene between Clift and (remarkable in this scene) Albert Salmi. The sidebar love story is invested with the kind of microscopic detail that would reach plentiful fruition in Kazan’s ‘Splendor in the Grass’ the following year.

    The opening documentary footage segues to what has a documentary feel throughout. Like John Huston in this sense, Kazan appears less interested in ‘performances’ than in creating something that feels like it’s happening now. (One reason, I think, why the work of both men has generally aged well.) Overall, ‘Wild River’ is a powerful film, and the final sequences are particularly moving.

29.12.09

3 fotos

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No son fotos muy conocidas. La primera corresponde a una foto de estudio para The Heiress (La heredera, 1949), pero aparece con una vestimenta inusual, la segunda es publicidad de Red River (Río Rojo, 1948) y la tercera se tomó durante ese rodaje. Hay fotos similares tomadas con esa camisa blanca remangada y fumando pero esta no la conocía. Pues eso, a primera vista parecen fotos ya vistas pero son completamente inéditas.

27.12.09

Card

Un cromo francés de 1959, para la colección de "jeune fille" (jóvenes muchachas).

25.12.09

Monty Christmas

Esta foto me ha parecido muy navideña por ese fondo rojo (que no está retocado) y ese look casual y hogareño. Es una foto desconocida de un joven Monty con la que os felicito por la Navidad y por el Año Nuevo.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

24.12.09

Fotos personales.- esquiando de niño con sus hermanos

Esta foto la he tomado del documental "The Hidden Star". Aparecen los tres hermanos Clift esquiando en Europa. Monty es el que está a la derecha mirando al suelo.

23.12.09

Firma poco auténtica (2)

Se ha vendido en Internet este autógrafo de Montgomery Clift que a mí me parece completamente falso. En primer lugar los trazos (la m y c mayúscula y esa ele tan doblada) y en segundo lugar porque es una firma a lápiz en un papel cualquiera. El papel sí parece viejo pero a menos que sea una servilleta no se ve que pertenezca a una foto o a una revista, sino cualquier papel donde se han inventado la firma.

22.12.09

Movie Teen.- dic 1949


Entre 1949 y 1950, Monty fue portada y protagonista de multitud de reportajes de revistas de cine. De hecho, me ha llamado la atención, la cantidad de revistas juveniles y de cine que proliferaban en esta época. No todas eran de calidad, muchas enfocadas a un público juvenil como he comentado y más cercanas al fenómeno fan que a la crítica cinematográfica.

Ésta que nos ocupa es un buen ejemplo de ello dado el nombre de la revista, Movie Teen, y el reportaje de portada The boys you should not date!. De todas maneras, Monty Clift sale irresistiblemente atractivo y prometedor.

Este número salió en diciembre de 1949. Monty acababa de estrenar The Heiress y se encontraba rodando A place in the sun.

Éstos son los datos de la revista:

(English text):

This is a December 1949 issue of MOVIE TEEN magazine with a cover of Montgomery Clift on it. Also has a 4 page article and a photo of him sitting in a movie theater with several adoring teen girls around him. Has a one page short article and photo of Kirk Douglas, Glen Ford, Ann Blyth, and John Derek with 1 page articles written each by Frank Sinatra and Susan Hayworth, both with a photo. Has other articles on pimples, dating, etc, the usual teen stuff but in a simpler time. Lots of ads.

A Vintage Magazine titled "MOVIE TEEN"(dec 1949). In this magazine you will find the folowwing Montgomery Clift (cover +).

Harry Crampton Collection. Harry was a graphic artist, with a keen ey for beauty, who became a movie press agent in the early years of film. In 2006he passed away in Torornto, Canada. He was in his late 8's
in his late 80's although nobody really knew how old he actually was. harry was an avid collector of vintage Hollywood magazines. He loved the 1920's and 1930's era and always dressed to the "hilt" adorned in attre from that era. Including appropiate hats, canes and colorful multi piece suits complete with suspenders and shoes to match, though he lived in Canada's most pretentious art district "Yorkville" harry would turn heads wherever he went in part because of his excesive cologne use. Harry Crampton was extremely friendly to all who knew him and passionate about both his collection and Hollywood stars. His unique specialness is missed by his friends and neighbors. He would be happy to know that his collection is being shared with other Hollywood collectors. Where the items can bring new life and beauty to their coleections.

These magazines were acqui
red thru a close friend of harry Crampton who was his next door neighnor. He was given the entire collection of almost 1,200 magazines and books 70% of the collection is from the 1920's-1940's.

21.12.09

Old Monty

20.12.09

Calendario del estreno de las obras de teatro y de las películas

ENERO (3)
- 10 en 1938 : Your obedient husband (3ª obra de teatro)
- 10 en 1944: Our town (11ª obra de teatro)
- 15 en 1935: Fly away home (1ª obra de teatro, Broadway)

FEBRERO (1)
- 1 feb 1961: The misfits (14ª película)

MARZO (4)
- 4 mar 1959: Lonelyhearts (11ª película)
- 22 mar 1953: I confess (6ª película)
- 24 mar 1948: The search (2ª película)
- 30 mar 1933: As Husband Go (1ª obra de teatro, amateur)

ABRIL (6)
- 2 abr 1958: The young lions (10ª película)
- 12 abr 1944: The searching wind (12ª obra de teatro)
- 25 abr 1939: The mother (7ª obra de teatro)
- 26 abr 1942: Mexican Mural (9ª obra de teatro)
- 26 abr 1950: The big lift (4ª película)
- 29 abr 1940: There shall be no night (8ª obra de teatro)

MAYO (4)
- 3 may 1938: Eye on the sparrow (4ª obra de teatro)
- 11 may 1954: The seagull (15ª obra de teatro)
- 23 may 1945: Foxhole in the parlor (13ª obra de teatro)
- 26 may 1960: Wild river (13ª película)

JUNIO (1)
- 25 jun 1954: Stazione Termini (8ª película)

JULIO (1)
- 25 jul 1938: The wind and the rain (5ª obra de teatro)

AGOSTO
- 5 ag 1953: From here to eternity (7ª película)
- 28 ag 1951: A place in the sun (5ª película)

SEPTIEMBRE (3)
- 25 sept 1945: You touched me! (14ª obra de teatro)
- 26 sept 1938: Dame Nature (6ª obra de teatro)
- 30 sept 1948: Red river (2ª película)

OCTUBRE (2)
- 6 oct 1949: The heiress (3ª película)
- 12 oct 1935: Jubilee (2ª)

NOVIEMBRE (2)
- 16 nov 1966: The defector (17ª película)
- 18 nov 1942: The skin of our teeth (10ª obra de teatro)

DICIEMBRE (4)
- 12 dic 1962: Freud (16ª película)
- 19 dic 1961: Judgment at Nuremberg (15ª película)
- 20 dic 1957: Raintree County (9ª película)
- 22 dic 1959: Suddenly last summer (12ª película)

En todos los meses del año hay un estreno de teatro o cine.

Febrero, Junio y Julio sólo tienen 1 estreno.
Abril con 6, es el mes con más estrenos

19.12.09

18.12.09

Pouilly-Fuissé

En el prólogo al libro de Judith M. Kass "Todas las películas de Montgomery Clift", Brooks, Clift, el hermano mayor del actor, recuerda con humor:
"Monty se reiría del hecho de que esté furioso contra él porque ya no me envía ninguna caja de Poully-Fuissé por mi cumpleaños".

Pouilly-Fuissé hace referencia a un tipo de vino, en concreto a un vino blanco de Burdeos, muy solicitado que se cultiva entre las localidades francesas de Solutré- Pouilly y Fuissé. La preciada uva Chardonnay es la única que forma parte de su elaboración. Louis latour fue uno de los primeros de comercializar ese vino en 1934. La gran demanda y las inciertas condiciones climáticas lo convierten en un vino muy apreciado y de precio muy elevado.

Siguiendo con la anécdota, vemos que se trataba de un muy buen regalo. Montgomery Clift se caracterizaba por hacer grandes estipendios en regalos y también era él muy sibarita en sus gustos. Y el cumpleaños de Brooks era el 4 de febrero.

La información la he extraído de esta web. También s epuede consultar la wikipedia.

Retrato (24)

El artista Mike Shaw, que cuenta con su propia web, retrata a las figuras más icónicas del pop en un estilo intermedio entre el pop art de Warhol y ciertas reminiscencias cubistas y de aguafuerte en tinta.

High Class Loser

Tiene un retrato de Montgomery Clift que sí me parece interesante frente al resto de coloridas y repetitivas imágenes. Está basado en esta escena de The young Lions.

Datos de la obra:

Titled: High Class LoserMontgomery Clift

Water Based Gouache on Fashion Plate Board

Large 20 x 30 inches Completed in October 1988. £1750

16.12.09

Artículo en inglés de la Wikipedia

Edward Montgomery Clift (October 17, 1920 – July 23, 1966) was an American film and stage actor. The New York Times’ obituary noted his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men".[1] Clift received four Academy Award nominations during his career, three for Best Actor and one for Best Supporting Actor.[2]

Contents

Montgomery Clift was born in Omaha, Nebraska, a son of William Brooks Clift,[3] a vice-president of Omaha National Bank, and his wife, the former Ethel Fogg. Clift had a fraternal twin sister, Roberta (aka Ethel), and a brother, William Brooks Clift Jr (born 1918), who had an illegitimate son with actress Kim Stanley.

The future actor's mother, who was reportedly adopted at the age of one year, nicknamed "Sunny", spent part of her life and her husband's money seeking to establish the Southern lineage that reportedly had been revealed to her at age 18 by the physician who delivered her, Dr. Edward Montgomery, after whom she named her younger son. According to Clift biographer Patricia Bosworth, Ethel was the illegitimate daughter of Woodbury Blair and Maria Anderson, whose marriage had been annulled before her birth and subsequent adoption. This would make her a granddaughter of Montgomery Blair, Postmaster General under President Abraham Lincoln, and a great-granddaughter of Francis Preston Blair, a journalist and adviser to President Andrew Jackson, and Levi Woodbury, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. None of these relationships, however, has been proven and remain speculative in the absence of documentation.

As part of Sunny Clift's lifelong preparation for acceptance by her reported biological family (a goal never fully achieved), she raised Clift and his siblings as if they were aristocrats. Home-schooled by their mother as well as by private tutors in the United States and Europe, in spite of their father's fluctuating finances, they did not attend a regular school until they were in their teens. The adjustment was difficult, particularly for Montgomery. His performance as a student lagged behind that of his sister and brother.

Clift was educated in French, German, and Italian.

Film career


Clift at the premiere of A Place in the Sun (1951)

Appearing on Broadway at the age of 13, Clift achieved success on the stage and starred there for 10 years before moving to Hollywood, debuting in 1948's Red River opposite John Wayne.

Clift was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor that same year for The Search. His sensitive and intense quality gave him an image as the kind of person to be taken care of.

His love scenes with Elizabeth Taylor in A Place in the Sun (1951) represented a new standard for romance in cinema. His roles in A Place in the Sun, the 1953 classic From Here to Eternity, and The Young Lions (1958) were career milestones.

Clift and Marlon Brando, who was also born in Omaha, had reputations as Hollywood rivals because of their rapid rise to stardom and similar acting styles. Clift was one of James Dean's idols and he would sometimes call Clift "just to hear his voice".[4]

Clift reportedly turned down the starring roles in Sunset Boulevard and East of Eden.[citation needed] At one point he was receiving so many offers of roles that friends had to squeeze past stacks of them in order to walk up the stairs.[citation needed]

Car accident

On May 12, 1956, while filming Raintree County, he smashed his car into a telephone pole after leaving a party at the Beverly Hills home of his Raintree County co-star and close friend Elizabeth Taylor and her then-husband Michael Wilding. Alerted by friend Kevin McCarthy, who witnessed the accident, Taylor raced to Clift's side, manually pulling a tooth out of his throat, as he'd begun to choke on it. He suffered a broken jaw and nose, a fractured sinus, and several facial lacerations which required plastic surgery.[5] In a filmed interview, he later described how his nose could be snapped back into place.

After a long recovery, he returned to the set to finish the film. Against the movie studio's worries over profits, Clift rightly predicted the film would do well, if only because moviegoers would flock to see the difference in his facial appearance before and after the accident. The pain of the accident led him to rely on alcohol and pills for relief, as he had done after an earlier bout with dysentery left him with chronic intestinal problems. As a result, Clift's health and looks deteriorated considerably.

Post-accident career


Clift in trailer from The Young Lions (1958).

His post-accident career has been referred to as the "longest suicide in Hollywood history" because of his alleged substance abuse.[6] Clift continued to work over the next 10 years. His next three films were Lonelyhearts (1958), The Young Lions (1958) and Suddenly, Last Summer (1959). Clift starred with Lee Remick in Elia Kazan's Wild River in 1960. In 1958, he turned down what became Dean Martin's role in Rio Bravo, which would have reunited him with John Wayne.

He then costarred in John Huston's The Misfits (1961), which turned out to be Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable's last film. Monroe, who was also having emotional problems at the time, famously described Clift as "The only person I know who is in worse shape than I am." By the time Clift was making John Huston's Freud: The Secret Passion (1962) his destructive lifestyle was affecting his health. Universal sued him for his frequent absences that caused the film to go over budget. The case was later settled out of court; the film's success at the box office brought numerous awards for screenwriting and directing, but none for Clift himself. Some time after the initial release of the film Clift appeared on the The Hy Gardner Show where he spoke at length about the accident and its effects, his film career, and treatment by the press. During the interview Gardner mentions that it is the "first and last appearance on a television interview program for Montgomery Clift".

Clift's last Oscar nomination was for best supporting actor for his role in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), a 12-minute part. The film's director, Stanley Kramer, later wrote in his memoirs about how Clift—by this stage a wreck of a man—struggled to remember his lines even for this one scene:

Finally I said to him, "Just forget the damn lines Monty. Let's say you're on the witness stand. The prosecutor says something to you, then the defence attorney bitterly attacks you, and you have to reach for a word in the script. That's all right. Go ahead and reach for it. Whatever the word may be, it doesn't really matter. Just turn to (Spencer) Tracy on the bench whenever you feel the need, and ad lib something. It will be all right because it will convey the confusion in your character's mind." He seemed to calm down after this. He wasn't always close to the script, but whatever he said fitted in perfectly, and he came through with as good a performance as I had hoped.[7]

Death

On July 22, 1966, Clift spent most of the day in his bedroom in his New York City townhouse, 217 East 61st Street. He and his live-in personal secretary, Lorenzo James, had not spoken much all day. At 1 a.m., Lorenzo went up to say goodnight. The Misfits was on TV that night, and Lorenzo asked Clift if he wanted to watch it. "Absolutely NOT!" was the reply. This turned out to be the last time Montgomery Clift spoke to anyone. At 6 a.m. the next day, Lorenzo went to wake him but found the bedroom door locked. Unable to break it down, he ran down to the garden and climbed a ladder to the bedroom window. When he got inside, he found Clift dead. He was undressed, lying on his back in bed, with glasses on and fists clenched.[8]

Clift's body was taken to the city morgue at 520 First Avenue and autopsied. The autopsy report cited the cause of death as a heart attack brought on by "occlusive coronary artery disease". No evidence was found that suggested foul play or suicide. It is commonly believed that addiction was responsible for Clift's many health problems and his death. In addition to lingering effects of dysentery and chronic colitis, an underactive thyroid was later revealed. A condition that (among other things) lowers blood pressure, it may have caused Clift to appear drunk or drugged when he was sober. (A further health issue, though unrelated, was that Clift underwent cataract surgery in his later years; afterward he had to wear glasses.)

Following a 15-minute ceremony at St. James Church attended by 150 guests including actresses Lauren Bacall and Nancy Walker, Clift was buried in the Quaker Cemetery, Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York City. Elizabeth Taylor, who was in Paris, sent flowers, as did Roddy McDowall, Myrna Loy, and Lew Wasserman.

Relationships

Patricia Bosworth, who had access to Clift's family and many people who knew and worked with him, writes in her book, "Before the accident Monty had drifted into countless affairs with men and women. It suited his personality to have sex with a variety of partners. After the accident and his drug addiction became more serious, Monty was often impotent, and sex became less important to him anyway. His deepest commitments were emotional rather than sexual, and reserved for old friends; he was unflinchingly loyal to men like William "Bill" LeMassena and women like Elizabeth Taylor, Libby Holman, Nancy Walker and Ann Lincoln."

When he bought his Manhattan townhouse in 1960 at 217 East 61st Street[9] and became involved in renovations, he reported to a close friend that he envisioned living there someday with a wife and children.[10] According to another biography, Clift's last known lover was Claude Perrin, a Frenchman who eventually became the actor's personal assistant before their relationship ended in the mid 1960s..[citation needed]

Portrayals

Awards and honors


Clift in a trailer screenshot of the 1948 film The Search, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor.

Clift has been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6104 Hollywood Boulevard and received four nominations for Academy Awards:

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
1948 The Search Ralph 'Steve' Stevenson Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor
Red River Matthew 'Matt' Garth
1949 The Heiress Morris Townsend
1950 The Big Lift Sgt. 1st Class Danny MacCullough
1951 A Place in the Sun George Eastman Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor
1953 I Confess Fr. Michael William Logan Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Terminal Station Giovanni Doria aka Indiscretion of an American Wife
From Here to Eternity Pvt. Robert E. Lee 'Prew' Prewitt Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor
1957 Raintree County John Wickliff Shawnessy
"Operation Raintree" Himself Short subject
1958 Lonelyhearts Adam White
The Young Lions Noah Ackerman
1959 Suddenly, Last Summer Dr. Cuckrowicz
1960 Wild River Chuck Glover Directed by Elia Kazan
1961 The Misfits Perce Howland
1961 Judgment at Nuremberg Rudolph Petersen Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
1962 Freud Sigmund Freud
1966 The Defector Prof. James Bower

Stage appearances

  • Fly Away Home (1935)
  • Jubilee (1935)
  • Yr. Obedient Husband (1938)
  • Eye On the Sparrow (1938)
  • Dame Nature (1938)
  • The Mother (1939)
  • There Shall Be No Night (1940)
  • The Skin of Our Teeth (1942)
  • The Searching Wind (1944)
  • Foxhole in the Parlor (1945)
  • You Touched Me (1945)
  • The Seagull (1954)

References

  1. ^ Montgomery Clift Dead at 45; Nominated 3 Times for Oscar; Completed Last Movie, 'The Defector,' in June Actor Began Career at Age 13 July 24, 1966, Sunday Page 61
  2. ^ "Montgomery Clift". Oscars.com. http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/DisplayMain.jsp;jsessionid=9B962145FA7D4F1CD88528D4248E2DFD?curTime=1265031101666. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
  3. ^ http://www.wargs.com/family/ancestry.html
  4. ^ Montgomery Clift: A Biography, by Patricia Bosworth
  5. ^ Montgomery Clift Official Site
  6. ^ Clarke, Gerald. "Books: Sunny Boy". Time Magazine 20 Feb 1978.
  7. ^ Kramer, Stanley; Thomas H. Coffey and Thomas M. Coffey (1997). A mad, mad, mad, mad world: a life in Hollywood. Harcourt Brace. p. 193. ISBN 0151549583. http://books.google.com/books?id=WgWXG1WyEh8C.
  8. ^ Patricia Bosworth, Montgomery Clift: a Biography. James had been hired to help Clift restore his health while he waited out a lawsuit with a movie studio.
  9. ^ "A Place in the Sun, on East 61st Street: Montgomery Clift's house goes on the market," New York Magazine, June 12, 2006
  10. ^ Biography channel: Montgomery Clift

External links

Montgomery Clift at the Internet Movie Database

* Para ver el artículo en español ver post.

14.12.09

James Dean

A finales de 1953, Monty empezó a oír hablar mucho de un actor de 21 años llamado James Dean.

"Es un novato de mucho talento -decía Elia Kazan-. Le gustan los coches de carreras, las camareras y los camareros. Dice que tú eres su ídolo."
"Estaba influido por Brando, pero se sentía más atraído por Monty -dice Bill Gunn, amigo de Monty y también buen amigo de Dean-. Jimmy descubría la fraccionada personalidad de Monty, su calidad dislocada. Brando era demasiado evidente, Monty tenía más clase."
Según Gunn, se menospreciaba a Dean por imitar a Clift y Brando, pero según él, aquello era necesario en los años 50.

"Monty y Brando apadrinaron a toda una generación de actores: Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, Robert de Niro. Monty era la primera estrella cinematográfica que parecía obsesionada, algo demencial. Se manifestaba una tremenda resistencia a la locura de los 50's , y Monty era inquietante."
Tras un periplo autoestopista, el joven Dean llegó a Nueva York y después de meses de audición en audición, logró un trabajo regular en la televisión. Consiguió el teléfono de Montgomery Clift, que no figuraba en la guía, y le llamaba repetidamente.

"Principalmente para escuchar el sonido de mi voz -dijo Monty, que trataba de evitar tales llamadas-. Se limitaba a decirme:
"Hola... aquí James Dean... ¿cómo estás?"
"¿Qué diablos esperaba que le dijese? ¡Hola, hombre! ¿Y tú, cómo estás?"
Luego supo que hacía lo mismo con Marlon Brando y que firmaba algunas de sus cartas como James Brando-Clift Dean (ver post). Cómo comprendo al bueno de Jimmy Dean; yo hubiera hecho lo mismo.

Montgomery Clift vio a James Dean por la televisión en un papel de adolescente con un caso psicológico reminiscencia del suyo en Dame Nature. Su único comentario al respecto fue:

"Dean es extraño"
No lo vio en cambio actuar en Broadway en El Inmoralista pero seguía su carrera y preguntaba por él a amigos mutuos. Los papeles de gemelos de Al este del edén, ofrecidos a Brando y Clift, recayeron en Dean y Dick Davalos. Durante su rodaje, Monty oyó hablar mucho de la producción, sobre todo de James Dean. Un amigo le dijo que no importaba su comportamiento brusco y misántropo, que se estaba entregando a su papel y que estaba realizando una interpretación increíblemente intensa de Cal (el papel que ofrecieron originariamente a Brando; a Clift le ofrecieron el de Aron, el hermano bueno).

Aún más intrigantes para Monty fueron las habladurías sobre la prueba cinematográfica de Dean y Dick Davalos (que hacía de hermano bueno, el papel que originariamente ofrecieron a Clift). La escena en el dormitorio de Cal tenía alusiones homosexuales que en la película se suprimieron.

En la biografía de Patricia Bosworth se dice que Montgomery Clift se negó a conocer a James Dean siempre que tuvo oportunidad de hacerlo. Pero no dice nada más. Sin duda, James Dean haría todo lo posible para conocer al que era su ídolo y aunque al principio se acercó a él como un fan con las llamadas telefónicas, a medida que ascendía su carrera tuvieron amigos comunes (se ha nombrado antes a Bill Gunn, estaría Brando y la propia Liz Taylor). No sé si Montgomery Clift saludó en alguna ocasión a James Dean. Yo he buscado una fotografía de ambos que sería la prueba de ese encuentro pero creo que no existe.

En el verano de 1955, Montgomery Clift y Libby Holman viajaron por toda Italia durante casi 3 meses y cuando regresaron a Nueva York, él se instaló en la casa de piedra de ella. Libby solía despertarle llevándole el desayuno y la prensa. Una mañana había una noticia fatal: la muerte en accidente de coche de James Dean a los 24 años. A Libby le impresionó la noticia:

-¿No es terrible lo sucedido a Jimmy Dean? Ha muerto en un accidente de automóvil en la 66 conduciendo su Porsche plateado. Se ha roto la nuca y se ha clavado el volante en el pecho.
Monty se sentó en la cama echando a un lado las sábanas blancas de satén.

- La muerte de James Dean me causó una profunda impresión - le dijo Monty Clift a Bill Gunn-. En el momento de enterarme de ello vomité y aún no sé por qué.
A los seis meses, él sufrió su aparatoso accidente de coche del que se salvó pero no se recuperó.


En la biografía de Patricia Bosworth se dice que Monty y Libby volvieron a Nueva York en octubre. La muerte de Dean ocurrió el 30 de septiembre. Sería el 1 o el 2 de octubre como muy tarde.

13.12.09

Suddenly, last summer.- comentario de Judith M. Kass

Cuando Montgomery Clift buscó un asegurador en Nueva York para poder hacer Suddenly, last summer (De repente el último verano, 1959), estaba tan nervioso e incoherente que los doctores no dieron un dictamen favorable. Lo intentó de nuevo en Londres, donde se rodó la película, pero estaba tan consumido por los fármacos que tomaba que tampoco encontró ningún doctor que lo avalara. la producción de la película empezó sin que Clift estuviera asegurado.

Mercedes McCambridge, que interpretaba el papel de la madre de Elizabeth Taylor en la película, declaró:

"Todos los implicados en la película estaban pasando por algún tipo de angustia personal, y eso se nota. Monty sufría un verdadero tormento. Aún lo recuerdo, con su espalda encorvada... siembre bajo esa terible tensión."

El ambiente atormentado de la película tenía su réplica en las vidas reales de sus actores: Katharine Hepburn estaba preocupada por Spencer Tracy, Elizabeth taylor, que se acababa de casar con Eddie Fisher, todavía lloraba la muerte de Mike Todd. Albert Dekker murió poco después de finalizar la película, y el director, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, llevaba guantes para ocultar una enfermedad de la piel.

La película en la que estos actores estaban implicados era una vaporosa mezcla de venalidad y locura,

12.12.09

Young Monty (11)

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11.12.09

Clift Family Papers.- biblioteca y archivo estatal de Tennesse

Los Clift, la familia paterna de Montgomery Clift, eran una familia sureña proveniente de Tennessee. He contactado con la Biblioteca de Nashville, capital de ese estado y me han proporcionado la siguiente documentación. Es una información acerca de William Clift y su hijo Moses Clift, bisabuelo y abuelo respectivo de Montgomery Clift quienes lucharon en bandos diferentes (de la Unión y Confederado) en la Guerra de Secesión. La documentación que se conserva de esta familia es desde 1820 aproximadamente hasta 1968 (tan sólo 2 años despuñes de la muerte del actor).

(English text)


State of Tennessee
Department of State
Tennessee State Library and Archives
403 Seventh Avenue North
Nashville, Tennessee 37243-0312

CLIFT FAMILY PAPERS
ca. 1820-1968


Processed by:
Jean B. Waggener
Archival Technical Services

Accession Number: 1968.383
Date Completed: December 3, 1968
Location: VI-F-4

INTRODUCTION

The Clift Papers, ca. 1820-1968, are photocopies of originals owned by William Clift, Rowland, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. The materials in this finding aid measure .42 linear feet. There are no restrictions on the materials. Single photocopies of unpublished writings in the Clift Family Papers may be made for purposes of scholarly research.

SCOPE AND CONTENT

The Clift Family Papers containing approximately 150 items (269 photocopies), span the years from ca. 1820 to 1968 and are composed of Civil War letters, Bible records, a deed, wills, genealogical data and correspondence, historical and biographical sketches, D.A.R. and Daughters of 1812 applications, and other papers.

Of special interest to the historian are the letters (August 20, 1863 to October 27, 1864) of Colonel William Clift, 7th Tennessee Regiment, U.S.A., his second wife, Elizabeth, and other members of the family in Kentucky. Clift’s letters, written largely from Knoxville, Knox County, Chattanooga (Hamilton County), and Soddy (Hamilton County), Tennessee, reflect his movement and conditions in Kentucky, his imprisonment in Atlanta, and his activities in east Tennessee, where he carried messages for the Federals through Confederate lines. There are two letters reassuring Mrs. Clift of her husband’s safety, one (March 20, 1864) written by Major General George H. Thomas, and another (September 24, 1864) written by a member of his staff. One letter (undated) from Clift’s brother-in-law tells of the excitement in Kentucky regarding the Negro question, mentioning that Colonel Frank L. Wolford has denounced the President as a traitor and that Kentucky Governor Thomas E. Bramlett did not reply to the charge. During March and April 1864, Colonel Clift wrote to his wife from Soddy, Tennessee, about the possibility of her joining him, but cautioned her that there were robbers everywhere. Clift’s views toward slavery are revealed in his statements that he favored the proposal to emancipate the slaves and to leave them in the states where they “respectively belong and let them do the labor in freedom that they have done in slavery.”

The Clift family papers, including a sketch concerning how the Civil War in east Tennessee affected the Clift family, center around Hamilton County, Tennessee, while the McDonald and some of the other families followed the familiar migration pattern from southwest Virginia through east Tennessee, and on to Texas. Other family lines settled in Maryland, North Carolina, and Kentucky. Since the families in this collection are so closely related, the researcher should consult folders for any families into which their lines married.
Included is genealogical information for the Brooks, Brothers, Clift, Doughty, Fowler, Hutcheson, Kearley, McDonald, Rawlings, and Rowland families.


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH


Colonel William Clift

- 1794? December 5, born in Greene County, Territory of the United States South of the River Ohio (now Tennessee) In childhood Went to Knox County, Tennessee, with his father.
- 1823 April 25, married Nancy Brooks (1795-1847), daughter of General Moses Brooks of Knox County; children by this marriage: James Warren, Mary Ann, Joseph, Robert Brooks, America W., Elizabeth Agnes and Moses H.
- 1824-1825 Settled in Hamilton County, Tennessee, and became the first millionaire and one of the largest land owners who ever lived there
- 1828 Helped organize and became a charter member of the Soddy Presbyterian Church, which was first called Mount Bethel Church; was a ruling elder and clerk of the session for 40 years
- 1848-1855 Served as Commissioner of Improvement for the U.S. Government prior to 1861 Commanded the Hamilton County militia for many years; was a magistrate.
- 1861 Although he was far past the age for military service, he declared himself for the Union and organized the Seventh Tennessee Federal Regiment, of which he was elected Colonel. This regiment had no Federal authority atfirst and was considered by some to be a guerrilla regiment. On November14, 1861, Governor Isham G. Harris issued an order to capture Clift and his men, dead or alive. Two of Clift’s sons served with him in the 7th Regiment, while two sons and the husbands of his three daughters were in the Confederate Army.
1861, Nov. Clift’s regiment disbanded, with Clift and three of his men voting to stay in the area, 100 of the men seeking to join Federal forces in Kentucky and 200 of the men voting to disperse
- 1862, June Clift recruited men in Morgan, Scott and Anderson counties, Tennessee, for a regiment to be called the 7th Tennessee Volunteer Regiment.
- 1863 Married Elizabeth
1863 October 24, was captured by Confederate troops commanded by his son, Moses H. Clift, while he was attempting to carry dispatches from the Federal commanders in Chattanooga – then in a state of siege – to General Burnside in Knoxville
- 1864 early February, escaped from from prison in Atlanta, Georgia
- 1866 February 27, died in Hamilton County, Tennessee; buried in the Soddy Presbyterian Church Cemetery.

References:
1. Armstrong, Zella. The History of Hamilton County and Chattanooga, Tennessee, Vol. I. Chattanooga, Tennessee, The Lookout Publishing Company, 1931.
2. Tennesseans in the Civil War, Part I. Nashville, Tennessee, Civil War Centennial Commission, 1964.
3. Data in the manuscript papers.

CONTAINER LIST
Box 1
1. Aids to the researcher – Notes re the collection, its compiler, and genealogical
research
2. Civil War letters – Clift, William, Col., 7th Tenn. Regt., U.S.A., 1863-1864, containing letters from family and from Major General George H. Thomas
3. Genealogical Data – Brooks family
4. Genealogical Data – Brothers family
5. Genealogical Data – Clift family
6. Genealogical Data – Doughty family
7. Genealogical Data – Fowler family
8. Genealogical Data – Hutcheson family
9. Genealogical Data – Kearley family
10. Genealogical Data – McDonald family
11. Genealogical Data – Rawlings family
12. Genealogical Data – Rowland family
13. Genealogical Data – Rowland family
14. Sketches—Biographical – Rowland, Martha Cheatham (Fowler), 1852-1935
15. Sketches – General – The Civil War in Eastern Tennessee and How It Affected the Clift Family of Hamilton County.
Su carrera comprende 17 títulos entre 1948 y 1966. Trabajó con los grandes directores (Hawks, Hitchcock, Stevens, Zinnemann, Kazan, Huston, Wyler) y las grandes estrellas (Lancaster, Marilyn Monroe, Katherine Hepburn, Brando, Wayne, Elizabeth Taylor especialmente) de entonces.
Su carrera comprende 17 títulos entre 1948 y 1966. Trabajó con los grandes directores (Hawks, Hitchcock, Stevens, Zinnemann, Kazan, Huston, Wyler) y las grandes estrellas (Lancaster, Marilyn Monroe, Katherine Hepburn, Brando, Wayne, Elizabeth Taylor especialmente) de entonces.
Su carrera comprende 17 títulos entre 1948 y 1966. Trabajó con los grandes directores (Hawks, Hitchcock, Stevens, Zinnemann, Kazan, Huston, Wyler) y las grandes estrellas (Lancaster, Marilyn Monroe, Katherine Hepburn, Brando, Wayne, Elizabeth Taylor especialmente) de entonces.
The Right Profile
Lyric
Say, where did I see this guy?
In red river?
Or a place in the sun?
Maybe the misfits?
Or from here to eternity?

Everybody say, is he all right?
And everybody say, whats he like?
Everybody say, he sure looks funny.
Thats...Montgomery Clift, honey!

New York, New York, New York, 42nd street
Hustlers rustle and pimps pimp the beat
Monty Clift is recognized at dawn
He aint got no shoes and his clothes are torn

I see a car smashed at night
Cut the applause and dim the light
Monty's face is broken on a wheel
Is he alive? can he still feel?

Everybody say, is he all right?
And everybody say, whats he like?
Everybody say, he sure looks funny.
Thats...Montgomery Clift, honey!

Nembutol numbs it all
But I prefer alcohol

He said go out and get me my old movie stills
Go out and get me another roll of pills
There I go again shaking, but I aint got the chills