Charles Boyer

In writing primarily about Hollywood's Golden Age I have attempted to include all the notables of that decades-long period.  It's taken me 11 years to do a piece on Charles Boyer and he certainly deserves inclusion here.  I admit, year by year, I have put it off.  With the exception of Fanny (1961), I have also never written about any of his films.  

From the 1950s: Mogambo

1953 Romance Adventure 

From MGM

Directed by John Ford

Starring

Clark Gable

Ava Gardner

Grace Kelly

Donald Sinden

Philip Stainton

Eric Pohlmann

Laurence Naismith

Denis O'Dea

A Glittering Cast: Ship of Fools

1965 Drama 

From Columbia Pictures

Directed by Stanley Kramer

Starring 

Vivien Leigh

Simone Signoret

José Ferrer

Lee Marvin

Oskar Werner

Elizabeth Ashley

George Segal

Michael Dunn

José Greco

Charles Korvin

Heinz Rühmann

Christiane Schmidtmer

Alf Kjellin

Barbara Luna

Gila Golan

Lilia Skala

Werner Klemperer

Dan Dailey

It's fair to say that his star didn't shine bright enough or long enough.  Of course, for any dancer, there is a shelf life.  There comes a time, too early I suspect, that the body simply does not cooperate as it used to.   But even when the body was young and supple... and we touched on this in pieces on Gene Nelson and Donald O'Connor-- if one's last name was not Astaire or Kelly, there was a need to have something else to fall back on.

Visiting Film Noir: The Damned Don't Cry

1950 Film Noir

From Warner Bros.

Directed by Vincent Sherman

Starring

Joan Crawford

David Brian

Steve Cochran

Kent Smith

Selena Royle

Hugh Sanders

Jacqueline deWit

Richard Egan

Movie Biography: Million Dollar Mermaid

1952 Biography

From Metro Goldwyn Mayer

Directed by Mervyn LeRoy

Starring

Esther Williams

Victor Mature

Walter Pidgeon

David Brian

Jesse White

Donna Corcoran

Maria Tallchief