ASK MICK LASALLE
Dear Mick: What do you think of Joan Crawford as an actress? I just saw “Strange Cargo,” and in it she is so beautiful with minimal makeup, and I think her acting is so natural and responsive and unaffected.
Chris Hammond, San Rafael Dear Chris: Crawford can be really good, and she can overdo it, but at her best, she has a certain velocity about her — she just comes right at you. And there’s no denying that during her MGM years, especially throughout the 1930s and early 1940s, she was very beautiful, and beautiful in an interesting way that had a lot to do with her personality, with who she was and what she communicated in her distinct and individual way. It’s a shame (though I think this is changing) that Crawford is still best known for the movies she made in her later career, because her MGM films are the ones most worth seeing and the ones that best make clear why she became such an enormous star. I just re-watched “A Woman’s Face,” made the year after she made “Strange Cargo,” and I thought she was utterly magnetic. I have always had a love-hate relationship with Crawford, because she was so nasty to other MGM actresses that I like much more. But I wrote the introduction to Peter Cowie’s book, “Joan Crawford: The Enduring Star,” and I didn’t have to hold my nose to do it. The “love” part of the love-hate is real. Dear Mick LaSalle: Do you know of any remakes that are as good or even better than the original film?
Ethel Ruymaker, Oakland Dear Ethel Ruymaker: Well, I do like “Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens” better than the original “Star Wars” from 1977, but “Star Wars VII” is more a copy than a remake. As for real remakes, the classic example is “The Maltese Falcon” (1941), which is so much better than the first two adaptations of Dashiell Hammett’s novel that most people think it’s the original. I also think the 1954 “A Star Is Born,” with Judy Garland and James Mason, is as good as the 1937 original starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March. Dear Mick LaSalle: Whenever I encounter “My Cousin Vinny,” I can’t resist watching no matter what part of the movie is showing. I don’t understand why this is. It’s not a great film, nor is it one that I’d go out of my way to watch from start to finish. Are there any films that hook you in the same way?
Ken Kirste, Sunnyvale Dear Ken Kirste: I know what you’re talking about, and I know how it happens and why. Some movies become for us like locations in the mind, places we like to visit, and it’s not usually the best movie we have ever seen, but ones that we really like and that are easy to take. Most often, they contain at least one or two exceptionally good scenes. I’ve gone through phases over the years. When I was in my 30s, I could have watched “Flashdance” once a month, probably because I missed being in my 20s. Each time I’ve worked on a book, I’ve become obsessed with a handful of movies I’m writing about and would look for any excuse to show them to people. I would name them, but each time I go through one of these phases, I find ways to talk about them in print. This kind of thing can also happen with movie stars. I’ve gone through phases where I just want to watch the same actor or actress (usually actress) in everything they’ve ever done. Ultimately, I think the effect of this is soothing, like a psychological return home, an entering into a mental groove that never changes and always offers rewards and comfort. It almost, in the moment, feels like some kind of assurance of a better world, even though it’s not a world, but an illusion. But I do know the feeling and get the appeal.
Have a question? Ask Mick LaSalle at mlasalle@sfchronicle.com. Include your name and city for publication, and a phone number for verification. Letters may be edited for clarity and length.