Althouse: I can wait here forever...

January 31, 2016

I can wait here forever...

Via Jaltcoh.

72 comments:

Wince said...: Meant to symbolize her sifting thoughts?

Grace Kelly is the kind of woman you could watch doing that all day.; 1/31/16, 9:18 AM
MadisonMan said...: The image didn't load for me for a couple seconds, leaving me wondering what it would be.

I figured it was going to be a picture of Zeus the Dog!

But what EDH said: Grace Kelly was above all things: watchable.; 1/31/16, 9:32 AM
Michael K said...: Wendell Corey was perfect in that role. The cynical cop.; 1/31/16, 9:37 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: Made me think of this previous Althouse post.

Because January Jones / Grace Kelly, obviously.

My question is: would Grace Kelly agree with that statement from Jones?

I can see her feeling that she had to deal with men "acting like little bitches with vaginas."

Just cross-pollinating Althouse posts.

I am a busy bee.

I am Laslo.; 1/31/16, 9:40 AM
Jimmy said...: Grace Kelly could read the building code regulations for NYC in Urdu, and still be more interesting than many of the current, and past, group of starlets.; 1/31/16, 9:52 AM
David Begley said...: What movie is that from?; 1/31/16, 9:54 AM
marsh said...: The movie is "Rear Window" I believe.; 1/31/16, 10:37 AM
Saint Croix said...: From my book...

Rear Window (1954)

Grace Kelly is almost like a sexual predator in this movie. If she was scary and ugly, we’d all be freaking out. But since she’s Grace Kelly, we like her. Of course, Jimmy Stewart’s freaking out. “She keeps coming and coming and I’m trapped with this broken leg and I can’t get away, normally I run away to Africa, but I got this damn broken leg, and she keeps coming and coming and what am I going to do?” And the masseuse is like, “Marry her, you big ape. Knock out some babies.”

Why doesn’t Jimmy Stewart want Grace Kelly? This is one of the all-time great MacGuffins. Drives all the film critics crazy. Cause he’s impotent. Cause he’s gay. Cause he’s got a secret. You can tell it bothers the crap out of Grace Kelly. “Why doesn’t he want me? I’m so beautiful!” And Jimmy Stewart’s spying on all the people across the street. He’s got Miss Torso, who’s juggling wolves. Is that what Grace Kelly is doing, juggling wolves? And then Miss Lonelyhearts, who doesn’t have anybody. Maybe Grace Kelly doesn’t have anybody. Is that possible? And then the married couple on their honeymoon. Maybe Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly will be happy together. (By the end of the movie, the honeymooners are fighting. So Hitchcock is like, no way. No happiness for you!) We see all of these people through the prism of Stewart’s issues with Grace Kelly. And then, across the street, there’s the really unhappy couple. And Jimmy Stewart hears a scream. Murder!

Jimmy Stewart’s still got Grace Kelly on the brain. So this killer is like his doppelganger, his bad side come to life. This guy is trapped in a loveless marriage and he kills his wife. And Jimmy Stewart’s watching. And we’re watching him watching. Why does he like murder? Why do we like it? Could that be my life? Could I hate Grace Kelly? Could I kill Grace Kelly? And Jimmy Stewart’s like, no! Now he’s like, I love you, I love you so much! And Grace Kelly starts stalking the murderer. And then she’s wearing the wedding ring of the dead woman. And he’s like, don’t die! Don’t die like that dead woman! Cause I don’t want to be a killer. I want to be a hero. And then he’s got two broken legs. And Grace Kelly is like a cat who just found the cream. “I got him now. He’s mine.”; 1/31/16, 10:53 AM
Saint Croix said...: I wrote my thesis on Rear Window. Love that movie!; 1/31/16, 10:54 AM
Michael K said...: He didn't have two broken legs until the end when he fell.

Grace Kelly was the moviegoer's dream and we, the teenaged boys, were asking "why aren't you grabbing her ?"; 1/31/16, 10:59 AM
MisterBuddwing said...: "Rear Window"? Then who's that sitting on the left? Certainly not James Stewart, who was in pajamas the whole time.

(My initial guess was "Dial M for Murder."); 1/31/16, 11:11 AM
Paul Snively said...: Anyone who doesn't see the threat in that scowl is blind. But then, that's the point of film noir and the femme fatale, isn't it? We in the audience can see the threat, but we can also see how the enthralled schmuck is enthralled. I learned in drama in high school that "catharsis" is overused as dramatic motivation. Film noir didn't get that memo.; 1/31/16, 11:19 AM
Curious George said...: Miss Torso was also worth the wait.; 1/31/16, 11:21 AM
David said...: The Jimmy Stewart character wanted her, but he knew to play hard to get with a woman like her. Drives her crazy. But she keeps coming back and risks her life to participate in his little obsession. Get the woman interested in something. Women like to be interested, not bored.; 1/31/16, 11:28 AM
Fabi said...: I believe I scrolled through all the photos from the SAG link and there wasn't an actress in that bunch who could match Grace Kelly. Sic transit glamor. I'm too young to have seen her on the big screen, but when a person can be alluring in a .gif, I'm not sure I could have handled her in a larger-than-life setting.; 1/31/16, 11:29 AM
CarolMR said...: The man is Wendell Corey, who played Stewart's friend, a police detective.; 1/31/16, 11:32 AM
Michael K said...: I have a DVD of the movie and watch it from time to time.; 1/31/16, 11:45 AM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: Stewart wanted her but knew she'd tie him down. He was born a wrangler and a rambler, and he guessed he'd always be.; 1/31/16, 12:07 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "Why doesn’t Jimmy Stewart want Grace Kelly? This is one of the all-time great MacGuffins. Drives all the film critics crazy. Cause he’s impotent. Cause he’s gay..."

For some crazy reason we were watching "The Lawrence Welk Show" on PBS last night. A ridiculous couple were singing "On Top Of Old Smoky" and for the first time -- something about them -- I understood the song lyrics. The man was gay!

"For courtin' too slow..."

He had no sexual interest in her!

Here.; 1/31/16, 12:20 PM
Quaestor said...: "Why doesn’t Jimmy Stewart want Grace Kelly? This is one of the all-time great MacGuffins. Drives all the film critics crazy. Cause he’s impotent. Cause he’s gay..."

A more plausible reason: That leg cast goes higher up than we think.

For some crazy reason we were watching "The Lawrence Welk Show" on PBS last night.

For some "crazy reason"... Harumpf!, I say. Harumpf! You've grown foggified, Althouse. Admit it!

"On Top of Old Smoky," does that song even exist? It sounds even less plausible than the campfire song, "On Top of Spaghetti".; 1/31/16, 12:38 PM
J. Farmer said...: My father is a Hitchcock fanatic, and Rear Window was always one of his favorites. I must've watched the movie two dozen times growing up. Between my parents' love for Old Hollywood studio and Nick-at-Nite programming following Nickelodeon's daytime children's programming, I had somewhat unusual tastes for a kid.

I was digging through some old boxes with my mother the other day and came across an old composition notebook from when I was in the 3rd grade (circa 1989). Apparently one of the entries was to talk about our favorite TV show. My choice? Get Smart.; 1/31/16, 12:43 PM
Quaestor said...: Actually, Rear Window wasn't the only time Hitchcock did the sexual deviant number on Jimmy Stewart. Consider his roles in Rope and Vertigo. Why? I think it has to do with basic jealousy. James Stewart was the quintessential slow-talkin' fast-drawin' Western gunslinger on the silver screen -- a dangerous version of Gary Cooper -- and a real-life heroic bomber pilot, whereas Hitch was just a boiled pud, a champagne appetite on a beer budget. Messing with Stewart was Hitchcock's means of compensation.; 1/31/16, 12:53 PM
traditionalguy said...: Grace is pondering the question. Jimmy Stewart is pondering Grace's grace.; 1/31/16, 1:04 PM
Chuck said...: The guy in the left foreground (for whoever asked the question) is the NYC police detective who is the personal non-professional friend of Jimmy Stewart's photographer-character.

All of the homoerotic talk in this thread makes me laugh; I didn't think about any such thing at the time I first saw Rear Window and I am sort of sorry that I read any of this; I hope it doesn't distract from my future viewings of that wonderful film.

Of course Raymond Burr -- a real-life homosexual -- played the role of the sociopathic wife-murderer in Rear Window. And he did it well. He was a real, malignant character. A 1950's prequel to the deeply frightening character Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) in No Country for Old Men.; 1/31/16, 1:07 PM
Saint Croix said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/31/16, 1:13 PM
pm317 said...: Saint Croix, good job, made me chuckle in the end.; 1/31/16, 1:18 PM
pm317 said...: Grace Kelly pursues a disinterested man in "To catch a thief" too.; 1/31/16, 1:19 PM
William said...: Perceptive comments from St.Croix. I haven't seen the movie in a while but I remember Grace's sinister use of crinoline. She used it to occupy all the space in the room. She kept overflowing into Jmmy Stewart's boundaries. You can see why he was wary of her.....That woman who plays Mary Crawley on Downnton Abbey has some of Grace Kelly's serene, somewhat haughty beauty........I've read that Grace Kelly didn't handle the aging process very well. It must really suck to look like that and one day you don't.; 1/31/16, 1:36 PM
Chuck said...: pm317: Uh, I don't think so.

Fireworks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le-X36HfBGI

Of course, there were the persistent rumors about Cary Grant's sexuality in real life. Always denied by Grant, in an unusually forceful way. Chevy Chase made a joke about it in an interview on the Tom Snyder tv show. Grant sued him that week, for $10 million, and Chevy Chase paid about $1m according to rumor. And he apologized to Grant. And later, two of Grant's ex-wives both said the gay rumors were ridiculous. So too did Grant's daughter born with Dyan Cannon, right?; 1/31/16, 1:37 PM
Chuck said...: William: Actually, Grace Kelly aged beautifully, consistent with the rest of her gorgeous life.

But she had a particularly difficult menopause, by lots and lots of credible sources.; 1/31/16, 1:39 PM
Michael K said...: "All of the homoerotic talk in this thread makes me laugh"

Me too. I once accidentally read a biography of Stewart that made him and Henry Fonda gay. I posted a review on Amazon and discovered I was one of many that thought it ridiculous.

Grace should not have let her underage daughter drive on the Corniche and Monaco should have had a CT scanner.; 1/31/16, 1:47 PM
pm317 said...: @Chcuk, lol, yeah, but he is looking at her jewellery. And the fireworks may be one sided from Grace Kelly side.. because he is running away from her until the very end when she tracks him down and traps him. Well, at least that is my memory and I am no film critic. :); 1/31/16, 1:47 PM
pm317 said...: I drove on the same route from Nice to Monaco and it was a little surreal..me, the little me from nowhere, doing it..; 1/31/16, 1:49 PM
pm317 said...: OK, are we talking about the plot line in the movie or some other intrinsic thing inadvertently peeking out of the characters despite their acting?; 1/31/16, 1:51 PM
Michael K said...: "I drove on the same route from Nice to Monaco "

If you watch "To Catch a Thief" they drive the same road and, I think, go past the spot where her car went over.; 1/31/16, 2:18 PM
Saint Croix said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/31/16, 2:31 PM
wildswan said...: HE was interested in her but thought she would make him give up his exciting job for a safer one with more money. And SHE was in love and tried to prove that she was more than a pretty face that would take a lot of money to support her in the style she approved of although in some ways that WAS who she was. And so THEY tried to solve the question of what happened across the way instead of just going on with their own lives. And that got them into A LOT OF TROUBLE and then, in facing danger, they found out they were BOTH in love and BOTH wanted MORE THAN MONEY That's how I saw it.; 1/31/16, 2:34 PM
dustbunny said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/31/16, 2:42 PM
pm317 said...: @Michael K, yep..; 1/31/16, 2:44 PM
dustbunny said...: Nice interpretation by St Croix. It's well known Hitchcock enjoyed playing with his audience's expectations. He must have been amused by turning the unattainably gorgeous Kelley, a famous ice-queen, into the pursuer instead of the pursued. A McGuffin!; 1/31/16, 2:51 PM
Michael K said...: Actually, my later comment was not saved, I guess. It was not the same road but in in the same area.; 1/31/16, 2:56 PM
Michael K said...: I guess it was;t the same road.

At 9:30 in the morning, with Stephanie in the passenger seat and Princess Grace behind the wheel, the car would set out down a narrow, treacherous and windy road, CD37 (Route de La Tourbie). Contrary to popular belief, this was not the same road on which she drove in her 1955 movie, TO CATCH A THIEF. How ironic would that have been? Anyway, ten minutes into the drive things would go horribly awry.

Oh, here it is.; 1/31/16, 2:57 PM
William said...: I don't mean to be unduly harsh. She lived in an era when there were no elliptical machines nor trainers who made their clients do squats. But the fact remains that Grace Kelly had a flat ass. No woman can claim to be a flawless beauty with such an ass. I give the advantage to Catherine Deneuve in this regard........Catherine went on to lead the kind of life that Grace should have lead. Grace lead the severely restricted life of royalty. Not much fun there. Movie stars get to travel the world in luxury accommodations and sleep with their leading men. It's a much better deal than being minor nobility. If your daughter has the choice between being a Princess or being a movie star, counsel her to choose being a movie star.; 1/31/16, 3:03 PM
William said...: I know about he circumscribed life of royalty because I saw Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. Ironically that movie was rotten by the Commie scumbag Dalton Trumbo. Trumbo would have been the first one to pull the trigger on Princess Anastasia in that cellar, but he did write a sensitive treatment of the problems facd by royalty.; 1/31/16, 3:08 PM
Chuck said...: William; you may know this already but Grace Kelly was offered a bunch of roles -- including some lavish offers -- after she became Her Serene Highness.

Michael K; it would have been very-Grace if she and Stephanie had been in a Corniche. Not sure if it would have saved her if they had been in a big Rolls convert. But the car was in fact a Rover 3500. And if you have ever seen the photos of the car and place of the crash, it is an absolute miracle that Stephanie ever survived. An absolutely horrendous, terrifying crash. A 100-foot cliff is how the scene is routinely described. It has been my impression that it was an open question about who was driving, but I thought that all the evidence pointed to Grace having been behind the wheel, and possibly having a cerebrovascular event that precipitated it. I'm not aware of any solid evidence -- apart from persistent rumors that people seem to want to believe -- that Stephanie was driving.; 1/31/16, 3:22 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: "If your daughter has the choice between being a Princess or being a movie star, counsel her to choose being a movie star."

Oh, my. No.; 1/31/16, 3:34 PM
FullMoon said...: Yawn! Not bad, but nothin' compared to early Annie Althouse Not a s smart, neither.; 1/31/16, 3:36 PM
Fernandinande said...: "The unconscious Grace was removed by smashing the vehicle’s

rear window."; 1/31/16, 4:12 PM
Dagwood said...: One of the better Carson/Karnak routines:

"On Top of Old Smoky"

"Where did Yogi Bear catch his unfaithful wife?"; 1/31/16, 4:23 PM
eddie willers said...: It almost destresses me that Vertigo is now considered the best movie of all time.

I wouldn't even put it in Hitchcock's top five.

possibly having a cerebrovascular event

That's the way I heard it. In fact there was a black humor joke going around after that:

Q.What did Grace Kelly have that Natalie Wood could have used?
A. A good stroke.; 1/31/16, 4:39 PM
Etienne said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/31/16, 4:57 PM
averagejoe said...: eddie willers said...
It almost destresses me that Vertigo is now considered the best movie of all time. I wouldn't even put it in Hitchcock's top five.
1/31/16, 4:39 PM

I agree. I like Vertigo much more now then I did the first time I saw it, but there are other Hitchcock flicks I prefer: To Catch a Thief, North By Northwest, Notorious, The Lady Vanishes, Psycho... I'd rate Vertigo on a par with the second Man Who Knew Too Much- Jimmy Stewart's tortured personality elevates both movies.; 1/31/16, 5:11 PM
pm317 said...: Spellbound and Gregory Peck.. my all time favorite.; 1/31/16, 5:23 PM
Laslo Spatula said...: So I am the only person to Google Grace Kelly sucking Cock?.

Grace Kelly
She was elegance personified. And she was famous for giving the best blow-jobs in cine-world. Stars memoirs such as Gary Cooper, Gregory Peck, David Niven, Roger Moore, Sean Connery and many others all tell how really good in the "art of fellatio" Princess Grace was. At the same time she was a real 'Ice Queen' - very cold and distant. The stunning lady and the rampant sexual predator: just what every man wants - a super-glamourous @#%$. Either Gary Cooper or Spencer Tracy had a quote to that effect: "She's another one who seemed so icey you'd never imagine she'd even THINK about guys that way !" ...But ended it with: "...until she dropped her pants..." She @#%$ and she sucked but kept the fact so secret that Rainier thought he was getting a young Roman Catholic Virgin. I am sure she put him right on their honeymoon night. I once read, that when she slept with Oleg Cassini, she would get out of bed realy early because she had to go to Sunday morning mass at church. Then she's rush back to his place, get naked and come back to bed. 'The American Princess' literally slept with every hollywood celebrity she came in contact with. Quite a few serious historians of cinema have mentioned that she basically "screwed anything that moved". Alfred Hitchcock's remark is legendary: "You've heard the story of the starlet so dumb she had sex with the screenwriter to advance her career ? Well, Grace Kelly was so stupid she had sex even with MY screenwriter."

I am Laslo.; 1/31/16, 5:40 PM
The Godfather said...: I was 11 years old when Rear Window came out; it may have been a year or two later that I first saw it. Any pubescent boy of that era can understand why Jimmy Stuart would have resisted Grace Kelly's charms. In that era, you couldn't just bag a babe and move on. If you wanted a class act like Grace you had to marry her (perhaps before, perhaps after, the event, but you had to marry her). For the Stuart character that meant giving up his adventurous life. She persuades him that she's OK with his keeping that life, but that last image of the movie shows otherwise. Pubescent boys do grow up, but we learn stuff when we do.; 1/31/16, 5:45 PM
Etienne said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/31/16, 5:53 PM
Michael K said...: "And she was famous for giving the best blow-jobs in cine-world. "

The best David Niven biography, "Niv", has the story of Niven drinking with Prince Rainer on time when Ranier asked him who gave the best blowjob in Hollywood. Niven started to say "Grace" then remembered who he was talking to and changed to "Gracie Fields."; 1/31/16, 5:56 PM
Laslo Spatula said...: For the record: I did not Google 'Grace Kelly Anal Sex.'

Actually, I just lied.

I Google that about everything.

I am Laslo.; 1/31/16, 6:00 PM
Saint Croix said...: I like Vertigo much more now then I did the first time I saw it, but there are other Hitchcock flicks I prefer: To Catch a Thief, North By Northwest, Notorious, The Lady Vanishes, Psycho...

Ditto! Vertigo is an acquired taste. It is the least "fun" of the Hitchcock movies, and the least suspenseful. There is a follow-the-car sequence that goes on and on and on! Vertigo is mind-blowing and cool, but not exactly a joy to watch.

I would add Rear Window, Saboteur, The Birds, The 39 Steps, Foreign Correspondent, Dial M for Murder and Shadow of a Doubt as superior films.

I think many critics dig Vertigo for the pretentious reason that it is "deep." These are the same critics who thought Hitchcock was a low brow filmmaker, until Truffaut embarrassed them.

I think Hitchcock's art is pure joy and fun. That's why the critical establishment ignored him for so long. When they were forced to acknowledge his genius, they decided to heap acclaim on Vertigo, a film that has almost no humor in it.; 1/31/16, 6:29 PM
pm317 said...: I guess Spellbound is not deep enough, but Gregory Peck melts my heart everytime.; 1/31/16, 6:40 PM
Saint Croix said...: HE was interested in her but thought she would make him give up his exciting job for a safer one with more money. And SHE was in love and tried to prove that she was more than a pretty face that would take a lot of money to support her in the style she approved of although in some ways that WAS who she was. And so THEY tried to solve the question of what happened across the way instead of just going on with their own lives. And that got them into A LOT OF TROUBLE and then, in facing danger, they found out they were BOTH in love and BOTH wanted MORE THAN MONEY That's how I saw it.

I think that's right!

There are, of course, dark subtexts to the film. And a lot of repression. That's why Grace Kelly suspects that something is wrong with him. On some level, he's afraid of her.

I actually think the psychological intrigue is way more subtle and interesting here than in Vertigo, which is a bit too on the nose.; 1/31/16, 6:42 PM
Saint Croix said...: I guess Spellbound is not deep enough, but Gregory Peck melts my heart everytime.

When I watch Spellbound, I'm like, "More murder! Less psychoanalysis!"; 1/31/16, 6:48 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Some of this Grace Kelly stuff reads like wishful thinking.; 1/31/16, 6:48 PM
pm317 said...: Oh, was there psychoanalysis? All I saw was Gregory Peck, ;); 1/31/16, 6:54 PM
pm317 said...: Hmmm.. for all the shameless drooling over Gregory Peck, I have not watched any of his other movies, (except Roman holiday and he does not evoke the mood of Spellbound in that movie). Must have been his youthful vulnerable demeanor and something about that voice and of course, Hitchcock.; 1/31/16, 7:12 PM
Roughcoat said...: Some of this Grace Kelly stuff reads like wishful thinking.

The "stuff" to which you are referring, I presume, is the speculation concerning the ability of a pretty Irish-Catholic girl and daughter of a Philadelphia blue collar construction worker-cum-billionaire to perform industrial grade, porn-movie quality oral sex?

Many young men who grew up around and with Irish-Catholic schoolgirls have had this fantasy. Some of us never outgrow it.; 1/31/16, 7:50 PM
Paco Wové said...: pm317 – I think Spellbound has one of the silliest movie plots ever, but I will gladly sit through the inanity simply to watch Ingrid Bergman. Don't even need the sound on, really.; 1/31/16, 9:31 PM
Etienne said...: Freeman Hunt said...Some of this Grace Kelly stuff reads like wishful thinking.

If it's on the Internet, it must be true!

This kind of stuff is harder to do in Europe, where it is easy to sue for defamation or loss of dignity. Even hate speech is a cash register over there.; 1/31/16, 10:40 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: "Once upon a time there was a glamorous and extraordinarily beautiful woman. She was especially fantastic at sex, and if a man so much as met her, she would go to bed with him. Boy! Just think if you could have met her!"

-- excerpted from "A Wistful Fellow's Collection of Crisp Fairy Stories"; 1/31/16, 11:24 PM
William said...: Grace Kelly was not the kind of girl to marry down, but she was willing to enjoy what life had to offer. Those are the facts of her life. Girls have adventures before they get married. Some of the men with whom they have adventures realize that they're there for their entertainment value and not for the sustainable growth potential of the relationship. It happens. A certain amount of wariness is appropriate when in a relationship with such a woman........I don't think Kim Novak could pull off the Grace Kelly part in Rear Window. Grace Kelly's aloofness was partially a function of her (unconscious and unadmiited) shrewdness.; 2/1/16, 1:01 AM
MarkW said...: I'm surprised that nobody mentioned that Hitchcock's inspiration for 'Rear Window' was Ingrid Bergman's affair with photographer Robert Capa -- which he observed firsthand while directing her in 'Notorious' and which may or may not get its own film treatment:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/james-mangold-will-be-seducing-ingrid-bergman-20150622

In real life, the glamorous actress tried and ultimately failed to get the famous photographer to settle down in Hollywood.; 2/1/16, 6:52 AM
eddie willers said...: Ingrid Bergman's affair with photographer Robert Capa

Every time I see the name Ingrid Bergman, my mind thinks Ingmar Bergman.

For a minute I thought, he's gay too?!; 2/1/16, 9:55 AM

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