This post may seem slightly OT, but it still respects the topic heading.
I've seen The Music Man (1962) at least a dozen times, and over the years I've bought both a VHS version of it, and now a DVD. It is still my favorite film, out of the thousands out there.
But do you know who is the most underrated performer in that movie? None other than Harry Hickox, who plays anvil salesman Charlie Cowell.
Watch the indispensable scene where Marian (Shirley Jones) spots Cowell, who's looking for Mayor Shinn to let him know that Harold Hill is no music professor, but a con man. By this time, Marian knows the truth, but she has also fallen in love with Hill. So she tries to distract Cowell, first by trying to convince him that Harold is indeed what he says he is, a fine music director; and, when that doesn't work, she tries using her sexual wiles to distract the anvil salesman. Next time you watch the film, take note of Ms. Jones' and Hickox's delivery of their lines. Their timing, and their body language together, are bloody perfect. I'm not kidding when I say that scene should be screened -- and studied -- for every actors' class.
Cheers,
Dan
God Bless America!
reply
share
Ray_BLOODY_Purchase
10 years ago
It's a fantastic scene, I agree.
Again, as an aside: when I was a kid, I thought he was Emory Parnell, the actor who played Billy Reed in the Ma and Pa Kettle film series. Even though I know it's two separate actors now, I still feel that urge to think of him as Billy Reed. Haha.
::Stupid search engine...who'd even want to watch therapist porn?::
reply
share