Herrand comes in and out of the film as Pierre Francois Lacenaire an outlaw who passes his time around the theater world acting as a writer, or at least claiming to be but his true calling is that of crime. Lacenaire is a most strange sort of outlaw in that it does not seem to be that he needs to be an outlaw for monetary needs necessarily, but he rather finds that it is his true calling is to eventually be executed for his life of crime. Herrand's performance is quite remarkable in that he makes this very strange thief oddly believable even though he is basically an criminal who seems as though he eventually wants to be caught for his crimes as if it is some sort of destiny for himself.
Herrand's portrayal is an odd yet very compelling combination of things for his performance. He has a very low key yet substantial charm in the role as he is always a suave presence in every scene that he is in. There is even more to it then just that though as in most scenes he comes across as an amiable sort of man who is very easy to like, and he makes it extremely easy to see through Herrand's performance how so many of the character's would allow him to keep company with him even though Lacenaire is not exactly tight lipped about his activities. Herrand keeps this terrific magnetism in his work and he turns Lacenaire's particular method of living always something completely captivating to watch.
Herrand though does far more than simply act as a charmer though and what makes this performance particularly striking is that he always keeps the criminal well in sight. Herrand even when Lacenaire is being charming carries himself with a very natural menace in every one of his scenes. When he appears in a room it is always a question on whether Lacenaire will treat who is calling upon with an assault or a friendly greeting because Herrand eyes creates a perfect mix of charming glance and a chilling glare. Herrand keeps one guessing at Lacenaire's motives for any moment making him one fascinating figure in the film who you always remember even though the character often takes long absences throughout the long story.
- James Dunn in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
- Boris Karloff in The Body Snatcher
- Mercel Herrand in Children of Paradise
- Michael Redgrave in Dead of Night
- James Mason in The Wicked Lady
- Michael Chekhov in Spellbound
- Barry Fitzgerald in And Then There Were None
- Robert Mitchum in The Story of G.I. Joe
- Frank Faylen in The Lost Weekend
- Ryūnosuke Tsukigata in Sanshiro Sugata Part II
- Charles Bickford in Fallen Angel
- Walter Huston in And Then There Were None
- Sydney Greenstreet in Conflict
- George Macready in My Name is Julia Ross
- Mervyn Johns in Dead of Night
- Dan Duryea in Scarlet Street
- George Sanders in The Picture of Dorian Gray
- Sydney Greenstreet in Christmas in Connecticut
- Richard Haydn in And Then There Were Not
- Freddie Steele in The Story of G.I. Joe
- S.Z. Sakall in Christmas in Connecticut
- James Gleason in The Clock
- Susumu Fujita in The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail
- Pierre Renoir in Children of Paradise
- Frederick Valk in Dead of NIght
- John Mills in Johnny in The Clouds
- William Demarest in Salty O'Rourke
- Dane Clark in Pride of the Marines
- Howard Da Silva in The Lost Weekend
- Louis Salou in Children of Paradise
- J. Carrol Naish in The Southerner
- Aubrey Mather in The House of Fear
- Allan Jeayes in Dead of Night
- Herbert Marshall in The Enchanted Cottage
- Cecil Parker in Caesar and Cleopatra
- Leo G. Carroll in Spellbound
- Ralph Michael in Dead of Night
- Gene Lockhart in The House on 92nd Street
- Roland Young in And Then There Were None
- Basil Radford in Dead of Night
- Naughton Wayne in Dead of Night
- Trevor Howard in Johnny in the Clouds
- Masayuki Mori in The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail
- Bela Lugosi in The Bodysnatcher
- Miles Malleson in Dead of Night
- Ted Donaldson in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
- Dennis Hoey in The House of Fear
- Charles Kemper in The Southerner
- Stanley Holloway in Johnny in the Clouds
- J. Carrol Naish in A Medal For Benny
- Frank McHugh in State Fair
- Butch Jenkins in Our Vines Have Tender Grapes
- Lloyd Nolan in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
- Edmund Lowe in Dillinger
- S.Z. Sakall in Wonder Man
- Cecil Kellaway in Love Letters
- Dana Andrews in State Fair
- Roland Culver in Dead of Night
- George Sanders in Hangover Square
- Keenan Wynn in What's Next, Corporal Hargrove?
- Ernest Thesiger in Caesar and Cleopatra
- Herbert Lom in The Seventh Veil
- James Gleason in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
- James Craig in Our Vines Have Tender Grapes
- Vito Annicchiarico in Rome, Open City
- C. Aubrey Smith in And Then There Were None
- Takash Shimura in The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail
- Vincent Price in Leave Her to Heaven
- Stanley Holloway in Brief Encounter
- Mischa Auer in And Then There Were None
- Kenichi Enomoto in The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail
- Cyril Raymond in Brief Encounter
- Ray Collins in Leave Her to Heaven
- Otto Kruger in Wonder Man
- Hugh McDermott in The Seventh Veil
- Ward Bond in They Were Expendable
- Henry Travers in Bells of Saint Mary's
- Stephen Bekassy in A Song to Remember
- Felix Aylmer in The Wicked Lady
- Frank Sinatra in Anchors Aweigh
- Stanley Holloway in Caesar and Cleopatra
- Jack Holt in They Were Expendable
- Stewart Granger in Caesar and Cleopatra
- Eduardo Passarelli in Rome, Open City
- Frank McHugh in A Medal for Benny
- Porter Hall in Blood on the Sun
- Charles Drake in Conflict
- Reginald Gardiner in Christmas in Connecticut
- Michael Rennie in The Wicked Lady
- Dean Stockwell in Anchors Aweigh
- William Gargan in Bells of Saint Mary's
- Donald Woods in Wonder Man
- John Emery in Spellbound
- Ivan Triesault in A Song to Remember
- Phillip Terry in The Lost Weekend
- John Dall in The Corn is Green
- Edmund MacDonald in Detour
- Griffith Jones in The Wicked Lady
- Basil Sydney in Caesar and Cleopatra
- Robert Armstrong in Blood on the Sun
- John Emery in Blood on the Sun
27 comments:
Claude Rains - The Clairvoyant
John Barrymore - Twentieth Century
Stan Laurel - Babes In Toyland
Oliver Hardy - Babes In Toyland
Henry Brandon - Babes In Toyland
What ratings would you give Haydn and Greenstreet in both of his?
Glad you really liked Herrand even if he wasn't your favorite.
What did you make to the fourth lover in the film, The Count?
Also, for 1934 Lead:
John Barrymore in Twentieth Century
Henry Brandon in Babes in Toyland
W.C. Fields in It's a Gift
Oliver Hardy in Babes in Toyland
Leslie Howard in The Scarlet Pimpernel
Boris Karloff in The Black Cat
Stan Laurel in Babes in Toyland
Béla Lugosi in The Black Cat
Victor McLaglen in The Lost Patrol
Michael:
Greenstreet in Conflict - 4
Greenstreet in Christmas in Connecticut - 3.5
Haydn - 3.5
Anonymous: He was fine, but he was very much overshadowed by the other men.
Louis, what's your best pic choice for 1945?
I don't have a firm choice at the moment but it would be between The Lost Weekend, Brief Encounter, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Children of Paradise.
What'd you think of Rome, Open City, including Rossellini's work and Magnani's performance (rating for her, too)
I thought it was a solid film although I did feel the story telling was slightly muddled. It had plenty of great moments though particularly the ending.
Magnani - 4.5(A very tender performance that makes her abrupt exit very disconcerting and quite powerful)
For me:
1. Children of Paradise
2. Rome, Open City
3. The Lost Weekend
4. Brief Encounter
5. Mildred Pierce
Louis: what are your thoughts on all 5 nominees for best picture in 2008.
And which movies would you have nominated instead?
Luke:
Frost/Nixon (I'm a sucker for this type of film without a doubt and it is my preferred film of the five which is not saying a lot. Howard is workmanlike as usual but on the better side of it I suppose. The story is interesting enough that it held my attention but I do believe it would have been just as interesting without the numerous sometimes ridiculous inaccuracies. Also I definitely would have preferred if they had gotten Philip Baker Hall to play Nixon again since he's the only actor who did not turn him into an overly mannered caricature)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (I suppose it is an interesting experiment to have David Fincher direct a film like this with a particularly uncreative screenplay from the screenwriter of Forrest Gump, but it is not an experiment that worked for me. Fincher definitely does not go for the feel good route, but in a story like this maybe that is the better way to go as I found the whole affair one long sit to get through as the tone stayed so muted the whole time. The film to me seemed more like the just the death of a man in terms of its style, rather than the life and the death of the man.)
Milk (Fairly by the books biography film actually, and I think critics were more forgiving towards some of its schmaltz because of its subject matter. Nothing about it is exemplary and plenty of it is the opposite particularly most of the performances that are not Josh Brolin. The screenplay particularly goes for the most obvious points, and frankly I would have been more interested in a more detailed account as Milk as man and politician rather than the film which is almost completely a glorification.)
Slumdog Millionaire (A thin story with thin characters, and thin performances for the most part. Boyle tries everything he can to jazz it up with his over direction where he seemed to try to employ every trick he had in his director's playbook. That did not make up for anything that was lacking in the story, in fact I just found all the trick got very tiresome very quickly)
The Reader (Daldry being dour as ever here. The story has plenty of problems to begin with as the whole illiteracy and the holocaust does unfortunately come off as something out of an Oscar bait parody rather than an actual film. It is not help by Daldry's dull direction that leaves everything much too stately, the performances are decent enough but not good enough to make up for the film's shortcomings)
Kevin:
1. In Bruges
2. The Dark Knight
3. JCVD
4. Gran Torino
5. Iron Man
Louis: ratings & thoughts on Dev Patel & Jean-Claude Van Damme in their respective films.
Patel - 1.5(He just needed to give the role some heart and be a bit endearing unfortunately he is neither)
Van Damme - 4.5(Apparently Van Damme can act although perhaps it helps he is performing in his native language, nevertheless he very much surprised me here. Van Damme has some fun playing off his image, but finds real poignancy in portraying this damaged soul of at least this version of himself)
Is there a possiblity that one of the three great performers from Children Of Paradise will make another appearance, cause I have heard some fairly positive reviews of one of the cast =), but from a different film.
I agree with you on Slumdog Millionaire, Louis, except I wouldn't say Boyle over-directs since his direction was the only part of the film I found interesting.
Louis, have you seen Barrault/Brasseur/Herrand in anything else, and would you be interested in seeing them again?
No I don't think I have, but I certainly would be interested.
Louis: your ratings & thoughts on:
Celia Johnson in Brief Encounter
Kate Winslet in The Reader
Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie in Changeling
& Supporting Actress Nominees for 2008 ( Amy Adams Excluded).
Can I just say I thought Hathaway was amazing and I'm positive Louis will disagree?
How close was Marcel to recieving a 5 from you Louis, cause the review makes Herrand look like a 5 lol.
How soon would you be able to list Actress and Supporting Actress nominees since 2000, Louis?
Anonymous: He was very close.
Luke:
Johnson - 5(Lovely, lovely work. She is captivating every minute in the film giving such a lively portrayal as she gives such an original take on a well worn type of character. Her work plays flawlessly with Lean's vision particularly in some of those marvelous close up moments)
Winslet - 3.5(She's alluring enough at the beginning then haunted enough later on but she never really excels in the part. I will say I'm glad she won for this rather than her other work from 08)
Hathaway - 2(The writing of the film is quite poor to begin with as I never though there was any authentic going on in terms of the families they decided to create which I did not believe for a second. Hathaway is not able to overcome the material in fact her usual self-aware style of performance only amplifies the falseness of it all)
Jolie - 3.5(I hesitate a bit in that I have not watched it since it came out but I do recall her making her character easy enough to feel her plight. I really don't remember too much of the film other than Harner though)
Cruz - 2(A performance that seemed to insist it was great from the first moment she was onscreen unfortunately I never thought she really made her character come to life, rather her performance was always overly evident)
Henson - 3(She's warm enough and fulfills her role but she did not really much of an impression on me though.)
Tomei - 3.5(Something seemed very missing in this part for me as it just felt like half of a character. The notes of desperation and slight affection were played well by her)
Davis - 3.5(One scene of an intense desperation that is played well enough I think, although I do think she could done more with the scene actually and I would not put her up there with the great one scene wonders)
Michael: Not sure, but I'll be working on it.
Louis, what are your thoughts on Ewan McGregor in The Impossible and Scoot McNairy in Killing Them Softly?
Matt: McGregor (Somewhat limited role but he is very moving in bringing the intensity of his character's grief right up front with no repression at all. That phone call scene is heartbreaking as turns it into such a natural breakdown)
McNairy (I was rather surprised when he stole the picture for me, and gave a rather unusual performance for me. In the start of the film he's good in being a little too enthusiastic and loud of criminal emphasizing the greed on the man's mind, but I found he slowly made his character surprisingly sympathetic by so honestly showing how this man acts as he sees that in all likelihood he's going to be killed)
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