Be My Guest - Sarah (from And...Scene) Part 1

My friend Sarah from And...Scene has graciously accepted my invitation to Be My Guest this month on my blog. I will be posting her responses to the questions I sent her all throughout this month. Here is part one.

http://2009and-scene.blogspot.com/

Monty: Who are your Top 5 favorite actors/actresses?

Sarah:  Fredric March 

 William Powell  James Cagney
 Joan Crawford  Bette Davis 
Monty: Great choices Sarah. And once again Bette has made the favorite list of all my friends who have guested here on my blog. You make 5 in a row I believe.

Monty: Describe in detail why your number 1 favorite actor/actress is your favorite.

 

Sarah: Fredric March has captured my attention ever since I saw him in Ernst Lubitsch’s, Design for Living. I’m finding it hard to put into words why I enjoy him as an actor so very much. Sadly, there isn’t very much information out there on March (and I haven’t yet taken the plunge by buying Deborah Peterson’s rather expensive biography, Fredric March: Craftsman First, Star Second). Much of what I know about him comes from my observation of his films, what I have read on the interwebs and Quirk's, The Films of Fredric March. 

Besides being an attractive man, which is not the sole reason for liking him, I mean, Clark Gable was an attractive man, but I don’t feel I must watch every movie he’s ever been in, March has something that simply draws me in. He was a versatile actor, didn’t always need to play the hero, or the lead, was sometimes hammy, sometimes eloquently sentimental, sometimes hilarious, but always, in my opinion, human, touchable, and somewhat humble. Again, this is just what I have gleaned from my observations, and I hope to find no information to the contrary- even so, it won’t keep him from being my favorite actor.

Monty: Interesting choice Sarah. I've seen a few films of Fredric and I really do think he is an impressive actor.  

Monty: Describe your first classic movie experience.

 

Sarah: Sitting with my dad watching his favorite John Wayne movies on a fuzzy TV screen. It's funny, my dad always likes to give me bits of trivia about Wayne's films when we watch them, but with this past year of watching classic film and reading up on the actor's and actresses of that time, I'm the one giving him the behind the scenes dirt or biographical trivia.
We never tire of all the banter between Maureen O’Hara and John Wayne in McClintock and The Quiet Man. Donovan's Reef  is a favorite as well. 

Monty: Great story Sarah. Always nice to hear everyone's favorite first classic movie experience. 

That wraps up part one of my discussion with Sarah. I will post the second part within the next few days if time permits.