tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002492.post115972507782482850..comments2023-03-28T10:49:10.386+02:00Comments on Rooting for Laughton: An online organum for Laughtonian agit-prop: Heaven and Hell to Play With: The Filming of Night of the HunterGloriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00895285900033034259noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002492.post-83946554434999478482008-02-24T18:30:00.000+01:002008-02-24T18:30:00.000+01:00Hi Jim, Glad to learn you enjoyed it!I've been loo...Hi Jim, Glad to learn you enjoyed it!<BR/><BR/>I've been looking through the book again to get the actual mention but I couldn't find the page where it was... Still, it was something in the lines that Chapin wasn't interviewed for health reasons, although a written report was supplied to the author of the book by Chapin's family.<BR/><BR/>(I'm quoting from memory, so don't take this as the exact remark)Gloriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00895285900033034259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002492.post-56948243415848204242008-02-19T16:59:00.000+01:002008-02-19T16:59:00.000+01:00Finished this book lastnight, great book full of i...Finished this book lastnight, great book full of information. Does anyone know why Billy Chapin did not participate in interviewa? Jimjimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06025958476468270789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002492.post-1160248767713668562006-10-07T21:19:00.000+02:002006-10-07T21:19:00.000+02:00Thanks for your 2 cents ;)I agree that, good as th...Thanks for your 2 cents ;)<BR/><BR/>I agree that, good as the book is, it would have been good to have the testimonials of the younger members of the cast who were old enough to have sound recollections (you mention Billy Chapin, and I'm thinking of Gloria Castillo. Sally Jane was maybe too young at the time to give some adult insights now).<BR/><BR/>Which were the drawings you didn't like? I found them all interesting: If you were referring to Hylliard Brown's sketches, these I thought to be very illustrative about the mechanics of set design (and then I must admit I really love sketches and pencil drawings). The illustrations by writer Davis Grubb, if not professional (but then he was not an illustrator) are a fascinating insight about his transmission/exchange of ideas to/with Laughton (not the usual type of collaboration between a writer and a film director, and all the most interesting for that)... Some of these sketches were translated into film shots. As for myself, I would have liked to see the -finally not used- graphic work that Saul Bass did for the film.<BR/><BR/>I admit that I would have loved to see even more graphic items (whether photo or illustrations) and I'm sure the author would have loved to include them too... But in order to reproduce images in a book, permission from copyright owners must be obtained, etc... and maybe this wasn't possible in all the cases. Also, more images would have meant more pages, which would mean more plates, more paper and extra printing costs (with the subsequen rise in the price of the book).<BR/><BR/>Anyway, a Special DVD edition would be an excellent occasion to fill these small gaps... don't you think?Gloriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00895285900033034259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002492.post-1160248492709889612006-10-07T21:14:00.000+02:002006-10-07T21:14:00.000+02:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Gloriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00895285900033034259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002492.post-1160178515486346572006-10-07T01:48:00.000+02:002006-10-07T01:48:00.000+02:00Heaven and Hell to Play With: The Filming of Night...<I>Heaven and Hell to Play With: The Filming of Night of the Hunter</I> is a marvelously realized book. I saw this volume for the first time a few days ago. It is printed on quality paper and is attractively designed.<BR/><BR/>On first (mistaken) look I did not like the fragmentary presentation of the interviews -- until realizing that the breaking up of each interview was done to relate in linear sequence the whole story of the movie's creation as told by the personnel involved, starting (as I recall) with the planning to the pre-production to actual filming to post-production, etc. <BR/><BR/>Two micro-criticisms of this fine volume: I would have liked to have seen an interview with former child actor Billy Chapin who seems unfortunately to have remained fully away from the public stage since the 1950's. Billy was certainly old enough at the time of filming to have provided us lots of interesting experiences with Mitchum, Laughton, etc. The other minor point is that there are some photographs in the book that work well but very few are behind-the-scenes shots. As a substitute, there are a good number of amateurish run-of-the-mill line drawings that don't add much to the marvelous text. <BR/><BR/>All of this is what makes getting a double-DVD Special Edition produced even more important: permitting us a special look at the large amount of rushes that exist from the filming of the movie.<BR/><BR/>In the end, it's the text of this lengthy and entertaining volume that you will want to consult. If you love the film, you will love this book. It is the best and most entertaining volume that likely will ever be produced on <I>The Night of the Hunter.</I>dontdrinkthetaqiyyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13159233683053832438noreply@blogger.com