tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5288732393699331930.post7986497805640205558..comments2024-03-28T03:27:52.615-07:00Comments on My Love Of Old Hollywood: Luise Rainer (b.1910)Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15063277863578004836noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5288732393699331930.post-47992218372525834012013-03-24T05:14:23.322-07:002013-03-24T05:14:23.322-07:00Well, Luise is 103 now, and still kicking it. Her...Well, Luise is 103 now, and still kicking it. Her interview with Robert Osborn in 2010 at the TCM Festival is out on DVD. Awesome to watch! I've written her a couple of fan letters, and keep asking her to make another appearance on the Oscars...could you imagine the film intro? Followed by Luise waving and smiling as always. Such a classy lady. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5288732393699331930.post-76681248711357599142012-01-11T17:40:30.283-08:002012-01-11T17:40:30.283-08:00Christian,
I'm glad you enjoyed my Rainier bio...Christian,<br />I'm glad you enjoyed my Rainier bio! Please come back often and join in on our conversations, check out the archives. Always glad to have other Classic Film lovers around.<br />PagePagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15063277863578004836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5288732393699331930.post-46226780995138423422012-01-11T17:25:30.393-08:002012-01-11T17:25:30.393-08:00Thanks for this great write up. It's all that ...Thanks for this great write up. It's all that I need to get to know Rainer better.HeritageCapiz.orghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07708432304015867395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5288732393699331930.post-64409905160075366192011-03-31T17:31:32.356-07:002011-03-31T17:31:32.356-07:00Brian,
The kind words mean a lot coming from you! ...Brian,<br />The kind words mean a lot coming from you! Luise was perfect and somehow I just can't blame her for exiting Hollywood when she did! I am sorry I missed her interview on TCM. I'm going to search around and see if I can find it.Pagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15063277863578004836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5288732393699331930.post-13231533347876093042011-03-31T11:29:42.079-07:002011-03-31T11:29:42.079-07:00What a nice tribute to Luise Rainer. I've only...What a nice tribute to Luise Rainer. I've only seen her two Oscar-winning performances, but I am still blown away by her performance in "The Good Earth." Here she is, a Viennese beauty, playing a plain Chinese peasant, and yet she does it so movingly. Her style is much more subtle when compared to Paul Muni, who tended to overact. I was watching her interview with Robert Osborne on TCM recently (she flew to Hollywood at age 100 for the TCM showing of "The Good Earth") and she had hilarious things to say about Muni. I also remember a story of Luise sitting next to Robert Taylor at some function. she wanted to discuss the craft of acting and she was shocked that all he wanted to discuss were the expensive suits he was buying. That illustrated Hollywood to her and another reason she became disillusioned with moviemaking.Classicfilmboyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01278928051994100842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5288732393699331930.post-892254634775913492011-03-29T06:48:43.505-07:002011-03-29T06:48:43.505-07:00Hi Anita,
I'm glad you enjoyed this one! Luis...Hi Anita,<br />I'm glad you enjoyed this one! Luise actually just turned 101 in January. She certainly deserved a nice little write up. What would be fabulous is getting her or someone who knows her to do an interview. : )<br />PagePagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15063277863578004836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5288732393699331930.post-39301671750913396222011-03-28T23:05:04.692-07:002011-03-28T23:05:04.692-07:00Thank you for a very interesting post!!she looks b...Thank you for a very interesting post!!she looks beautiful!!And the story about her is interesting to..thank you for sharing this Page..))Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5288732393699331930.post-66952220590872610112011-03-28T12:47:43.284-07:002011-03-28T12:47:43.284-07:00Lobosco,
Luise looked like a tiny porcelain doll a...Lobosco,<br />Luise looked like a tiny porcelain doll and she reminds me a lot of Meryl Streep in her facial features during her 30's.Pagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15063277863578004836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5288732393699331930.post-53843407643538281962011-03-28T11:50:43.648-07:002011-03-28T11:50:43.648-07:00Caroline,
Shame on me for forgetting to add Joanne...Caroline,<br />Shame on me for forgetting to add Joanne Woodward and especially when addressing you. : )<br />My favorite actress is Joan Fontaine so it looks like we're both lucky that these two beautiful ladies are alive and well.Pagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15063277863578004836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5288732393699331930.post-42958126543294835432011-03-28T11:27:45.850-07:002011-03-28T11:27:45.850-07:00It frustrates me that everybody is calling Liz the...It frustrates me that everybody is calling Liz the last star, too! Especially because my favorite actress, Joanne Woodward, is very much still alive, as are Debbie Reynolds and all the wonderful ladies you mentioned. In fact I have a friend who just met Olivia de Havilland about a week ago, who's 94 but still kickin'! I don't want to diminish Liz's star power and talent -- she was certainly one of the last MEGA stars -- but calling her "the last" diminishes so many other people.<br /><br />-CarolineAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5288732393699331930.post-20915765633920683402011-03-28T10:54:00.444-07:002011-03-28T10:54:00.444-07:00Looking at those beautiful pictures in your post, ...Looking at those beautiful pictures in your post, makes me really appreciate what a classic beauty Luise Rainer is.David Loboscohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01870831249761911028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5288732393699331930.post-89188625000739500382011-03-28T08:05:45.402-07:002011-03-28T08:05:45.402-07:00Caroline,
Thank you!
I started thinking about her...Caroline, <br />Thank you!<br />I started thinking about her when everyone was tweeting and talking about Elizabeth Taylor being the LAST star etc etc. <br /><br />In actuality there is Luise, Bacall, Sophia Loren, Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine to name just a few. (certainly no slacks themselves). Although I understand what they were talking about I wanted to do a little write up on Luise.Pagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15063277863578004836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5288732393699331930.post-75050096443051643522011-03-27T22:38:09.852-07:002011-03-27T22:38:09.852-07:00Great profile, Page! It's so bizarre that Luis...Great profile, Page! It's so bizarre that Luise won back-to-back Oscars and yet is so little-known today.<br /><br />-CarolineAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5288732393699331930.post-91213977138260913742011-03-27T16:42:51.501-07:002011-03-27T16:42:51.501-07:00Audrey,
I'm so glad you enjoyed this write up...Audrey, <br />I'm so glad you enjoyed this write up on Luise! <br /><br />Becky, <br />Thanks again for the nice comments. You know it's funny because as much as I love Luise in "The Good Earth" I always want to compare her character to Helen Hayes in "The Son-Daughter"! I LOVE that movie so much it's not even funny. Even though both Hayes and Ramon Novarro were ripped apart by critics for their portrayals of love lorn Asian Americans I think it's wonderful and oh, so romantic. I feel the same way about Rainer wearing a mask instead of the makeup. I can't imagine what the studio was thinking with that stupid idea. At times though I felt like her makeup was way too dark, making her look of Indian decent.<br /><br />I haven't had the pleasure of reading The Good Earth (So sorry Pearl Buck) so I went into the film without expectations, enjoying Muni and Rainer equally then the cinematography blew me away. <br /><br />Of course I need to scrub my brain because I can't stop thinking of Muni in Scarface now instead of his other GREAT roles. Ha Ha.. Please go away Scarfalfa.<br /><br />Thats interesting gossip about Frances Farmer and Odet. What a cad he was even though Farmer must have been very hard to resist in the day and it appears that he and Luise were married in name only. I think there must have been dozens of couples in that situation during that time in Hollywood.Pagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15063277863578004836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5288732393699331930.post-71274404867076430062011-03-27T16:12:30.728-07:002011-03-27T16:12:30.728-07:00Very well-done post, Page, full of fascinating fac...Very well-done post, Page, full of fascinating facts and great insight into Luise's personal life and career. I have always thought she was the most delicate beauty on film (even her signature is delicate). I think The Good Earth is one of the best books ever written, and have to admit I was a bit disappointed in the movie. Paul Muni is a great actor, but they had him play Wang Lung in a caricature way, typical Hollywood smiling, kind of dumb Chinese, at least in the first part of the film. It did improve later when things got serious, and his real acting ability and the depth of the character got through. The only fault I could see with casting Luise was the fact that O-Lan's plain, homely looks played a big part in her life and marriage. But, Luise pulled it off beautifully -- she was too pretty to really look ugly, but her body language, facial expressions and fabulous acting brought O-Lan to life in a heartbreaking performance. I'm so glad she refused a mask! It would have ruined the whole reason she was so good.<br /><br />It was interesting to see that marriage to Odets was never a good one for her. Odets was a great playwright, but he was a real stinker. The whole time Luise was struggling in Hollywood, he was full of himself with his Broadway plays, and having plenty of extramarital affairs, including one with Frances Farmer. Just not a nice guy in general.<br /><br />Beautiful pictures, good bio of Luise -- Kudos, Page!ClassicBeckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03591715859057540467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5288732393699331930.post-53617090002186936832011-03-27T15:02:39.008-07:002011-03-27T15:02:39.008-07:00This was very interesting to read, as I knew next ...This was very interesting to read, as I knew next to nothing about Luise Rainer. It's sad that she didn't have greater success but it sounds like ultimately she was able to build a happy life. And she must be doing something right if she's still going strong at 101!!!Audreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06729516870952658426noreply@blogger.com