tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post4478006267952833043..comments2024-02-05T21:23:49.249-08:00Comments on Lady Eve's Reel Life: From Saint to Sinner: Jean SebergThe Lady Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11963115499930520653noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-23986119036366892322014-01-27T22:21:03.712-08:002014-01-27T22:21:03.712-08:00Well, I just saw Saint Joan for the first time, an...Well, I just saw Saint Joan for the first time, and I thought Jean Seberg was great. The whole movie was excellent.Jurgennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-38735804891588462232011-03-15T21:50:46.717-07:002011-03-15T21:50:46.717-07:00The most interesting resource I discovered when re...The most interesting resource I discovered when researching for this post was a Sept. '79 L.A. Times's "Calendar" section...one contributor went to Seberg's hometown, Marshalltown, Iowa, and interviewed residents who had known her before Hollywood...and they remembered her as an incredibly kind, remarkably pretty young girl enamoured of acting - an achiever...another piece covered Joyce Haber's deadly 1970 "blind item" supplied, Haber said, by a "reliable" resource - that smeared Seberg and devastated her...possible source of the untrue smear: the FBI...The Lady Evehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11963115499930520653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-20426459621388080022011-03-14T15:32:34.946-07:002011-03-14T15:32:34.946-07:00Eve, I read your excellent tribute to Jean Seberg ...Eve, I read your excellent tribute to Jean Seberg yesterday morning, but I wanted to wait until I had seen SAINT JOAN before commenting. The first thing that came to mind when reading your post was just how young actresses such as Danielle Darrieux and Jean Seberg were when beginning their careers. However, unlike Danielle who began in juvenile roles, Jean began with (perhaps) one of the most challenging roles ever written for an actress. I found that despite her youth and inexperience, Jean’s portrait of Joan of Arc was an admirable and intriguing one. You mentioned Saul Bass’s evocative title sequence, which first drew me into the film, and the performances of Gielgud, Walbrook and Widmark complimented Shaw’s take on this absorbing life story. I’m looking forward to seeing Jean in BONJOUR TRISTESSE, which I haven’t seen in years (the image of her at the top of the page is lovely). I knew Preminger had a reputation as a bully and a thug, but I didn't realize he directed this at his most inexperienced cast members. Your background information on the film and Deborah Kerr’s empathy for Jean on set, confirms Ms. Kerr was a lady of grace and integrity (good for her!).whistlingypsyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06126688373252306609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-39505292728100838052011-03-14T07:52:07.932-07:002011-03-14T07:52:07.932-07:00Seberg was perfect in "Breathless" which...Seberg was perfect in "Breathless" which was a very important, trailblazing film. Goddard, unlike Preminger, was not a control freak - he was looking for the spontaneous moment and was able to discover within Seberg the qualities of sensitivity and sensuality that probably attracted Preminger in the first place. Its the Jean Seberg of "Breathless" that will live on in people's memories - that's where she made her mark.Motorcycle Boynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-87468011225007284792011-03-14T04:18:47.564-07:002011-03-14T04:18:47.564-07:00Terrific article Eve on Seberg. Thought she was mo...Terrific article Eve on Seberg. Thought she was most impressive in "Breathless" obviously her best film. Have not seen her two films with Preminger, and saw "The Mouse That Roared" too many years ago to comment, but most of her output that I have seen was pretty mediocre at best, "Paint Your Wagon," "Birds in Peru," "Macho Callahan" and "Moment to Moment" to name a few. A couple of interesting failures like "A Fine Madness" and "Lilith." She was a beautiful but troubled, sensitive soul.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01808503055317962289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-76067545099303528702011-03-13T23:10:03.971-07:002011-03-13T23:10:03.971-07:00DDX - glad you followed the link to the Wallace in...DDX - glad you followed the link to the Wallace interview...amazing that it still exists...<br />And Kim - completely agree with your comments on Preminger. Seems he could only browbeat those without clout, which I find cowardly. Btw, Olivier also stood up to him on "Bunny Lake" for Keir Dullea and Carol Lynley.<br />I made the same point about Seberg's French in "Breathless" in a comment above - she had been an xlnt student and, in the end, spoke 4 languages...The Lady Evehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11963115499930520653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-37216111052046796922011-03-13T22:37:11.382-07:002011-03-13T22:37:11.382-07:00Eve, great article. Preminger could be a total jer...Eve, great article. Preminger could be a total jerk when he wanted to be. It always strikes me how often he would look for a "discovery" and then treat them like dirt, but when he was dealing with the likes of Jimmy Stewart or Robert Mitchum he would treat them like they were his best buds. Why would he expect an unexperienced actor/actress to perform like a seasoned pro? Nonsense! Thank goodness Deb Kerr had some backbone and stood up for poor Seberg, or she might have killed herself 20 years earlier than she did. <br /><br />Also, it's always refreshing to hear how well Godard worked with actors. He might be crazy and EXTREMELY bad with money, but he was never looking for perfection. And, a note on what Doc said about her French in Breathless...I'm pretty sure she was playing an American in France, so it makes sense her French wasn't pristine. Not picking a fight...just pointing out a reason why it makes sense her French was a bit weak.Kimberly J.M. Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09078951928157843937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-27756842327434228212011-03-13T22:24:53.203-07:002011-03-13T22:24:53.203-07:00Wow, great article on one of my favorite film icon...Wow, great article on one of my favorite film icons. Thanks for linking to that interview, it was fascinating to watch. I wish they still grilled stars like this today.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00597866901901238462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-32947309329931623512011-03-13T21:54:18.000-07:002011-03-13T21:54:18.000-07:00Dorian - Preminger's treatment of Jean Seberg ...Dorian - Preminger's treatment of Jean Seberg seems to have been par-for-the-course for him in terms of how he treated actors who were not yet top-billed. What Keir Dullea and Seberg and others went through seems to have been public humiliation. On the other hand, it seems he had been more benevolent on "Anatomy of a Murder," not particularly harassing the newer talent (Geo. C. Scott, Remick and Gazzara).<br />Unsettling marginalia from Preminger's bio ("The Man Who Would be King")...three of his leading ladies committed suicide: Dorothy Dandridge ("Carmen Jones" and "Porgy & Bess" - with whom he was involved), Maggie McNamara ("The Moon is Blue") and Seberg.The Lady Evehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11963115499930520653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-48476760527231894192011-03-13T14:59:13.335-07:002011-03-13T14:59:13.335-07:00Eve, your excellent and absorbing article about Je...Eve, your excellent and absorbing article about Jean Seberg made my heart go out to her. I find myself wishing I could go back in time and knee Otto Preminger in the groin for the way he treated her! I wonder if her fate in movies and in life would have been better if she'd gotten her start under the wing of a kinder, gentler director. Oh, and by the way, I'm on (as hubby Vinnie playfully calls it) The Electric-Type Twitter, too, as DorianTB. :-)DorianTBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01357778472575080022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-33604173297592014482011-03-13T12:22:13.046-07:002011-03-13T12:22:13.046-07:00Becky - One of my sources was "Otto Preminger...Becky - One of my sources was "Otto Preminger: The Man Who Would be King" and included was an interview with Keir Dullea who talked about what he endured from Preminger while making "Bunny Lake is Missing." Apparently Preminger also gave Carol Lynley a rough time - but not Olivier (who tried to intervene). Bio included other such stories. <br /><br />My own view of Seberg is more positive than negative. As for the quality of her French in "Breathless," she was, after all, playing an American girl. Jean Seberg eventually spoke four languages fluently...<br /><br />Other sources - Godard bio: "A Portrait of the Artist at 70," the NY Times and a 1979 LA Times "Calendar" spread on Seberg just after her death.The Lady Evehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11963115499930520653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-43164868159401249922011-03-12T10:53:46.622-08:002011-03-12T10:53:46.622-08:00I have always tried to like JEAN SEBERG, but she h...I have always tried to like JEAN SEBERG, but she has ruined basically every movie she has been in...including BREATHLESS, with her high school french...maybe she was OK in PAINT YOUR WAGON...but that is not saying much...p.s. I have had this opinion for years...if you do not believe me , se BIRDS INPERU!!!!!!!doctor sabelotodohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17753057330165133638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-88303247178648405972011-03-12T09:35:10.588-08:002011-03-12T09:35:10.588-08:00Preminger may have turned out great movies, but he...Preminger may have turned out great movies, but he was certainly a cruel bully. To encourage and build up hopes for an inexperienced teenager in taking on the part of Shaw's St. Joan was ridiculous in the first place. To treat her the way he did was unconscionable. I guess I feel strongly about that since Jean was psychogically fragile and her life was difficult and tragic. <br /><br />St. Joan of Arc has always been my patron saint, and I have read many books and seen many movies about her. I didn't think Sebring was horrible, just young and untrained. I wish one of those powerful actors had taken up for her the way Deborah Kerr did -- good for her! The best movies about Joan I think are Ingrid Bergman's version, and the silent Passion of Joan of Arc.<br /><br />I saw a re-release of Breathless when I was about 17, and had already seen one of Bonjour Tristesse. I was just the right age and frame of mind to love these movies, Breathless in particular.<br /><br />Wonderful review of an actress who had more impact on movies than she probably ever realized.ClassicBeckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03591715859057540467noreply@blogger.com