Patricia Neal 1926-2010

[brownie]

A sublime actress who endured tragedies is gone

The New York Times obituary.

She was one of the very rare actresses who brought tears to this dry-eyed moviegoer in Arthur Penn's 'The Miracle Worker'!

[Quincy]

Oooo that's eerie. Just last night I was reading an excerpt from a new biography about Roald Dahl that covers a dark period in his life. Part of it touches on her stroke and recovery.

Link to article.

[BruceH]

Sad news indeed. I always liked her. RIP

[Neal Pomea]

A Face in the Crowd, Hud, The Subject was Roses -- all great films!

[Dave James]

Neal starred in my favorite sci-fi film ever, The Day The Earth Stood Still. She was also in one of my top 10 guilty pleasure films, Otto Preminger's In Harm's Way with John Wayne and Kirk Douglas. A class act in every respect.

Edited August 9, 2010 by Dave James

[king ubu]

Not sure I've seen her besides "A Face in the Crowd" but she sure is fantastic there!

[BruceH]

The Day the Earth Stood Still is also one of my favorite Hollywood SF films, but then there are so few that hold up at anything more than a camp level. She's so good in it. To me there's something so appealing about her character, a young, sensible single mother (war widow, of course---this was 1951) who was about to marry a dull lunkhead who was utterly beneath her in every way (played by Mr. Thankless-character actor Hugh Marlowe.) There's this subplot within the film (not overplayed at all) about how bumping into an ET who might represent huge danger to the Earth saves her from wedding an unsuitable suitor. When Tom Stevens tells her, "I don't care about the rest of the world!" that shows her what an idiot he is.

[Stereojack]

She was one of the very rare actresses who brought tears to this dry-eyed moviegoer in Arthur Penn's 'The Miracle Worker'!

Neal was one of the greats, no argument, but it was Anne Bancroft in "The Miracle Worker"

[Dave James]

The Day The Earth Stood Still

"Patricia Neal has admitted in interviews that she was completely unaware during the filming that the film would turn out so well and become one of the great science-fiction classics of all time. She assumed it would be just another one of the then-current and rather trashy flying saucer films that were popular at the time, and she found it difficult to keep a straight face while saying her lines."

My link

Sort of ironic considering that this film is the one that many will most closely associate with her career.

Edited August 9, 2010 by Dave James

[brownie]

She was one of the very rare actresses who brought tears to this dry-eyed moviegoer in Arthur Penn's 'The Miracle Worker'!

Neal was one of the greats, no argument, but it was Anne Bancroft in "The Miracle Worker"

You're absolutely right!

Brain failure here

Patricia Neal was in the stage version but not in the movie!

[BruceH]

Yes, I heard how little she thought of Day the Earth Stood Still while she was filming it, and it certainly is ironic that quite a few people now think of it as her best-remembered role. But I think it's a testament to her skill and professionalism as an actor that she comes off so well in the role even though she didn't take it seriously.

Edited August 12, 2010 by BruceH