tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2504494626360061155.post5329775546769296111..comments2023-10-30T08:21:13.006-07:00Comments on The Morehead The Merrier: Moby's DickTallulah Moreheadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07416330735326405496noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2504494626360061155.post-67221715948674595992012-12-12T03:30:10.487-08:002012-12-12T03:30:10.487-08:00I never noticed that Auntie Mame needed any liveni...I never noticed that <i>Auntie Mame</i> needed any livening up.<br /><br />The genius of Yul Oooloo will one day be recognized.<br /><br />I love Ustinov's movie of <i>Billy Budd</i>. Just rewatched it about three months ago. However, I've never read the book, whereas I have read <i>Moby Dick</i>, so I have no opinion on how appropriate Ustinov's Captain Vere is to Melville's, but at least Pete resisted his unfortunate tendency to ham and pander for the camera shamelessly. It's a highly restrained performance, for Ustinov, that is. I saw him play the ghost of Beethoven on stage once. He was irrisistable, but somehow I doubt that Ludwig Von Beethoven was a loveable old Englishman given to mugging and scenery chewing. I wonder; did he lose his German accent when he died or when he lost his hearing?<br /><br />I guess Melville's captains always had trouble with <i>Typee</i> casting. (Now there's a joke only American Lit majors will get.)Tallulah Moreheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07416330735326405496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2504494626360061155.post-78292257719122748432012-12-09T17:11:00.349-08:002012-12-09T17:11:00.349-08:00I always loved the line about Ishmael's strugg...I always loved the line about Ishmael's struggle not to knock strangers hats off of their heads. It makes up for the fact that in the next chapter it takes him many pages to walk about two blocks--mind you, there is soul-searching going on, but still . . .<br /><br />Moby Dick would certainly liven up any production of <i>Auntie Mame</i>, although I suspect that the Upsons would probably disappear rather quickly, which would probably eliminate the whole scene featuring the couches courtesy of Yul Ooloo, which my sister has always loved.<br /><br />The movies have always stumbled over Melville's sea captains. Peter Ustinov miscast himself as Captain Vere in his film of <i>Billy Budd</i>. Fortunately, Terrence Stamp and Robert Ryan were so dead-on as Budd and Claggart that it almost made up for that.Matt Pattonnoreply@blogger.com