Montgomery Clift
Today is Montgomery Clift's birthday and he would've turned 98 years old this year, had he still been alive. I couldn't find a photograph of him with a birthday cake, so I did a lousy job of photoshopping hehe.
Actually I did find one from a scene in A Place In The Sun, 1951, but Shelley Winters took up most of the picture...
Clift is one of my favourite actors and certainly one of the best looking men I've ever seen! He could act a whole scene with no lines and you'd still understand exactly what his character is feeling at that moment.
In the past, when I first learned about Clift, I read many people saying that he was only cast in films for his looks and that was what the critics at the time thought so too. While I believe that may be one reason, I think his acting commanded more attention than his looks. Anyway, I don't believe people who say things without evidence. Most of these people's source is probably Wikipedia, which is the last source I'd look into because it has been edited so many times, I don't even know if they're talking about the same person anymore. Besides, everyone and their cat can edit their page.
Clift's Biography:
Edward Montgomery Clift was born on 17th October, 1920 in Omaha, Nebraska to parents of English decent with part Scottish, German, Dutch and French ancestry. He has a twin sister and an older brother. His father was a banker but lost most of his fortune during the depression, yet Clift still had an aristocratic upbringing and was fluent in French, Italian and German.
At the age of 13, Clift joined the theatre and pursued acting there for ten years. He had become an accomplished actor by then and gained much attention for his looks.
Actually I did find one from a scene in A Place In The Sun, 1951, but Shelley Winters took up most of the picture...
Clift is one of my favourite actors and certainly one of the best looking men I've ever seen! He could act a whole scene with no lines and you'd still understand exactly what his character is feeling at that moment.
In the past, when I first learned about Clift, I read many people saying that he was only cast in films for his looks and that was what the critics at the time thought so too. While I believe that may be one reason, I think his acting commanded more attention than his looks. Anyway, I don't believe people who say things without evidence. Most of these people's source is probably Wikipedia, which is the last source I'd look into because it has been edited so many times, I don't even know if they're talking about the same person anymore. Besides, everyone and their cat can edit their page.
Clift's Biography:
Edward Montgomery Clift was born on 17th October, 1920 in Omaha, Nebraska to parents of English decent with part Scottish, German, Dutch and French ancestry. He has a twin sister and an older brother. His father was a banker but lost most of his fortune during the depression, yet Clift still had an aristocratic upbringing and was fluent in French, Italian and German. At the age of 13, Clift joined the theatre and pursued acting there for ten years. He had become an accomplished actor by then and gained much attention for his looks.
In 1948, he decided to take on Hollywood and was quickly cast in his first film, Red River along side John Wayne and received great critical acclaim.
He received many Oscar nominations for his roles in most of his films throughout the 1950s, but unfortunately never won. He also turned down many award-winning roles that could have added to his success.
In 1957, while still in the filming process of Raintree County, he had a near fatal car accident that altered his face, but he was still able to continue filming. The film gained a lot of attention after it's release because everyone was curious to see his new face.
Although he continued acting and kept receiving praises, he didn't act in as many films as he did prior the accident. Some say it was due to alcoholism and depression.
In 1966, he was found dead in his house as a result of a coronary occlusion.
What Are Your Favourite Clift Films?
I had only watched ten out of his eighteen films, so I'll list my favourite from them:
- The Heiress, 1949
- A Place In The Sun, 1951
He was fluent in French? Then why did he sing in that weird accent in ‘The Heiress’ hahah. Maybe he’s like Gene Tierney...fluent in French but with a strange accent.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to hear him speaking those languages, It’s a shame they didn’t take advantage of that...they could’ve done that in ‘The big Lift’.
I love the photoshop!!! It’s anything but lousy!
My favourite films are:
- A Place in the Sun
- The Heiress
...just like you I also love the others you added but not as much.
Yes true, I think most stars in those days spoke at least two or three languages, so maybe it wasn't as important for him to show it off in films. It was silly of them not to use it though.
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