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<blockquote data-quote="Crimson" data-source="post: 393049" data-attributes="member: 5079">In order to have Grande Dame Guignol, one needs a grand dame -- actresses who would qualify as such in the &#039;60s either already appeared in the genre (Davis, Crawford, Stanwyck, Bankhead) or would have scrupulously avoided it.&nbsp; Colbert and Loy were contemporaneously quoted as saying they&#039;d rather retire than play demented old bags, although neither of them would have been well suited to the genre anyway.&nbsp; The great lost opportunity with the genre is that the actresses who did make the films didn&#039;t have better material or more chances.&nbsp; The entire genre is two great films, a couple that are semi-interesting, and a few dull, inept duds.&nbsp; Crawford, in particular, should have better material.&nbsp; Along with Stanwyck, she&#039;s the actress of her generation who knew how to elevate lurid trash, but even she couldn&#039;t overcome incompetence. But how about all four (Davis, Crawford, Stanwyck, Bankhead) in one movie?&nbsp; Old friends who haven&#039;t seen each other in decades gather in the small town of their youth for the funeral of another friend; dark secrets and old resentments abound.&nbsp; And, umm, there&#039;s a haunted house in the background that holds the answers.Personally, I&#039;d rather have seen her paired with Roger Corman&#039;s AIP films.&nbsp; They did such a great job giving Vincent Price florid, melodramatic horror films and Joan could have fit right in.&nbsp; Hammer would be a strong second choice.&nbsp; I&#039;m not wild Hammer to be honest, but even still it would have been a great step up from the dreck Crawford actually made.SUNSET BOULEVARD isn&#039;t really Grande Dame Guignol of course, but I think of it was the classy forefather of the genre in much the same way PSYCHO presaged the slasher films of the 70s.Not even in my wildest imaginings can I picture Hepburn slumming in the way some of her peers did.&nbsp; She would have packed up to Connecticut before appearing in horror or sitcom guest shots.&nbsp; Maybe she&#039;d have deigned to appear in a tony ghost story, ala THE INNOCENTS being based on a literacy classic, but even then I think her snobbery would have gotten in the way.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Crimson, post: 393049, member: 5079"] In order to have Grande Dame Guignol, one needs a grand dame -- actresses who would qualify as such in the '60s either already appeared in the genre (Davis, Crawford, Stanwyck, Bankhead) or would have scrupulously avoided it. Colbert and Loy were contemporaneously quoted as saying they'd rather retire than play demented old bags, although neither of them would have been well suited to the genre anyway. The great lost opportunity with the genre is that the actresses who did make the films didn't have better material or more chances. The entire genre is two great films, a couple that are semi-interesting, and a few dull, inept duds. Crawford, in particular, should have better material. Along with Stanwyck, she's the actress of her generation who knew how to elevate lurid trash, but even she couldn't overcome incompetence. But how about all[I] four[/I] (Davis, Crawford, Stanwyck, Bankhead) in one movie? Old friends who haven't seen each other in decades gather in the small town of their youth for the funeral of another friend; dark secrets and old resentments abound. And, umm, there's a haunted house in the background that holds the answers. Personally, I'd rather have seen her paired with Roger Corman's AIP films. They did such a great job giving Vincent Price florid, melodramatic horror films and Joan could have fit right in. Hammer would be a strong second choice. I'm not wild Hammer to be honest, but even still it would have been a great step up from the dreck Crawford actually made. SUNSET BOULEVARD isn't really Grande Dame Guignol of course, but I think of it was the classy forefather of the genre in much the same way PSYCHO presaged the slasher films of the 70s. Not even in my wildest imaginings can I picture Hepburn slumming in the way some of her peers did. She would have packed up to Connecticut before appearing in horror or sitcom guest shots. Maybe she'd have deigned to appear in a tony ghost story, ala THE INNOCENTS being based on a literacy classic, but even then I think her snobbery would have gotten in the way. [/QUOTE]

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