Deborah Kerr

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

You neigh t find this thread of interest, etc., etc.,

That's Deborah CAR to you, OP.

R2 It did not show up in the search!

Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison

OP,? When you speak of this—and you will—be kind.

Is it car or cur?

Her best film is I See a Dark Stranger.

She was always an interesting actress who had the highest talent for her craft. I love her in almost film but especially the ones with Robert Mitchum - they had excellent chemistry.

Versatile actress with child bearing hips.

I think she was a brilliant actress, and damn sexy too. She was my wife in The Grass Is Greener. We made out. Grat kisser after Randy

Love her sexy hair-washing scene in King Solomon's Mines.

I've always loved her. Classy and elegant. No one else looked or sounded like her, she was one-of-a-kind.

My favorite actress, whom I saw onstage at the Kennedy Center twice in the early Seventies. One play was a costume drama, and one was an Edward Albee play which co-starred the repugnant Frank Langella (from when he picked up the mean gossip in his book).

Her films from that decade are mostly trash, since that was the era when older actresses were least likely to be cast in a movie.

She was great in Separate Tables. I still can't believe David Niven won Best Actor for that film. He was very good, but he was in it for , what, ten minutes?

I always found her devoid of any sex appeal. She was pretty but there was no sexual energy emanating frim her.

She and Paul Scofield in Noel Coward's play....title escapes me...both are effortless grand. Paul plays a fag

Amazing actress (perhaps the best of her age group) and lovely seeming woman. My favorites performances from her are The Innocents, Black Narcissus, Heaven Knows Mister Allison, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Bonjour Tristesse, The Sundowners, The Grass is Greener and The Night of the Iguana.

R18, Night of the Iguana will always be known for the performance of Grayson Hall, aka Dr. Julia Hoffman!

Night of the Iguana is a such a fine film, with Kerr’s performance a standout, along with the amazing Grayson Hall. Kerry’s character is so tender and human. I loved her acting in that film. Also Ava Gardner (“I know you’re a deadbeat! Dragging’ that dying’ old man around like a Chinese beggar!”. Shit that was amazing.

I really admired her performance in "The Chalk Garden." I thought the whole cast -which included Hayley Mills, John Mills, Dame Edith Evans and Felix Aylmer- was great, but her part was especially riveting.

Paul Scofield played a cigarette? R7? Crikey. I didn't know Noel wrote roles for fags.

The Chalk Garden

No one played frigid better than her.

Here's the companion piece. Paul Scofield and his wife in the play have the world's worst American accents. Very surprised Paul couldn't get around it and make it real. Shows he came from that generation of English actors that struggled with trying to sound like a native son of the red white, and blue. Larry had the same problem. So glad Johnny G and Ralphy never even tried. But wait. I now see this was performed on West End in 1966, starring Noel Coward! Noel Coward? With an American accent? No way Jose.

[quote] So glad Johnny G and Ralphy never even tried.

Didn't Gielgud play a Texan in some movie or play, unconvincingly?

I saw Noel Coward in Two Keys with Tandy, Cronyn, and yer Miss Anne Baxter.

Oh, oh...and...I got them to sign my stagebill and I walked to the parking lot and Anne Baxter walked behind me with two friends that she was staying with during the tour stop.

[quote] Anne Baxter walked behind me with two friends

Everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at your rear end.

I remember reading that DK had the best collection of dirty jokes.

Bitch pushed me off that cliff in Black Narcissus. Don't believe her story.

Spoiler alert, Kathleen!

Yes, but she deserves it.

Relatively obscure former A-lister these days I would say. But, arguably, she OWNS cinema's greatest onscreen kiss.

And her climactic dance in The King and I is magnificent.

R27.....You are thinking of The Loved One. He didn't play a Texan, but had scenes with an actor playing a cowboy.

Was Miss AnnE Baxter insufferable as she walked behind you?

Always got her confused with Greer Garson.

Didn't Kerr hold the record for number of Oscar noms without ever winning? (But she got an honorary one.

I love her and think she is one of the greatest, somehow underrated for such an exceptional film catalog and roles. Her speech in The Night of The Iguana (“Nothing human disgusts me, Mr Shannon) and Black Narcissus are favorites.

Another favorite is the above mentioned A Song at Twilight, where she, again, lands the exact righ tone for a part that can become stuck on merely bitchy. She gives it strength and an ironic vulnerability. I saw Vanessa Redgrave doing it live and it only showed her limits as an actress.

I think Deborah Kerr holds the record for most nominations for Best Actress without a win (6), and they gave her an honorary Oscar in 1994. Glenn Close, who I think holds the most nominations without a win, presented it to her. Close's nominations are split - 4 Best Actress and 4 Best Supporting Actress.

Her mother-in-law, Salka Viertel, was one of Greta Garbo's lovers.

The Innocents is my favorite horror film. Sacred me to death and also very stylish and wonderful. She was great in it.

I was surprised to read that she was quite tall 5'7" . Almost as tall as Audrey Hepburn. She looks petite on film.

I can't imagine living so many years in Klosters, Switzerland listening to/speaking Swiss German. that language grates. She and her husband lived there because his mother German born Salka Viertel left Hollywood to retire in Klosters.

r40: Vanessa Redgrave has "limits" as an actress? Please explain.

She was quite charming, r37.

The YouTube channel Be Kind Rewind did a video examining Kerr's career.

Deb with Julie's voice...

Love her in BONJOUR TRISTESSE and AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER, and of course, IGUANA. My mother is a great lover of oldies (she's from the silent generation) so we watched BLACK NARCISSUS. I thought she would be impressed, but her reaction was : "Deborah Kerr must have needed the money badly ". LOL

R45, she can’t do comedy. In A Song at Twilight, her performance as Carlotta was hammy and without nuance. She played it like a vengeful, blackmailing diva, as if she was the villain of the piece. I only saw Kerr’s version many years after and made me like the play and reconsider it.

Having said this, I like Redgrave a lot. She takes (or used to take) risks, most of them pay off. But versatile she is not.

Imagine her in Lettice & Lovage, r50.

and she could cure homosex

R50 I saw Redrave in THE TEMPEST (as prospero) at the Globe in London. I had anticipated it so much, I was feverish. She was soooo bad. I left the theatre halfway through, in tears. Mary, I know, but I had this idea that she was the greatest in the world. I knew a few of the stars of the company during Mark Rylance 's tenure as artistic director, and I told them how disappointed I was. They said that she had been abominable with the cast, treating them as far too low beneath her to even address them onstage, and such. They said she was very hit or miss, and that it made her human. But I lost respect for her. Now when I see her onscreen, all I see is that stupid, ecstatic smile, her go-to schtick, and yes, she 's statuesque, but what a cunt !

the cure

Why wasn't she on Dynasty in the '80s? 🤔

R32 well m try father Raymond and I caused her so much grief that she drove herself off a cliff on the French Riviera in Bonjour tristesse

R44 oh please, she was no doubt surrounded by other expats I doubt she ever even learned Swiss German despite living there.

Audrey's gift for Deb on her wedding was a GIVENCHY ensemble. When Audrey's husband found the bill he couldn't believe she was actually PAYING for the shit. She replied, you help a friend or you don't. She was even paying for the perfume. What a fool

Any relation to (hot and gay) actor John Kerr? 🤔

r59 Did John Kerr's wives and children know he was gay?

She was mostly known for this

Marni Nixon had lovely things to say about her during King and I.

If you want to find out more about her later life, read the Michael Shnayerson biography of writer Irwin Shaw, who was the BFF of Peter Viertel and also lived in Klosters. There isn't a huge amount of detail about Deborah herself, but it is about her environment. It probably didn't require a whole lot of language knowledge to function in the entertainment expat community of Switzerland, most of whom spoke English. It was a big group: David Niven, Audrey Hepburn, Richard Burton, etc.

r47 Thank you for the link to the YouTube video, it was excellent.

[Quote]oh please, she was no doubt surrounded by other expats I doubt she ever even learned Swiss German despite living there.

Reread the post disgruntled dyke. "Listening to/speaking Swiss German". Yes, she heard it alright. All the bloody time.

Plus Klosters was very small. Expats only came around for holidays. Gstaad was where the in-crowd gathered and owned chalets.

Deborah telling Viv about that time she was riding Stewart Granger's monstercock, and how she had to hold on tight for dear life

She was very funny in Casino Royale (Woody's version). Outside of acting she was a fine person.

[quote]Is it car or cur?

Deborah Kerr—it rhymes with "star"!

She was like the third De Havilland sister. they were pretty much interchangeable, especially with Joan

[quote] Outside of acting she was a fine person

Opinion based on your extensive acquaintance, no doubt ?

Did she never work with Dirk Bogarde? She worked with nearly everybody else.

Miss Deborah Kerr hit r69 in the head with a fondue pot.

r69 Personal correspondence with one fan. Very little else.

[quote]I really admired her performance in "The Chalk Garden." I thought the whole cast -which included Hayley Mills, John Mills, Dame Edith Evans and Felix Aylmer- was great, but her part was especially riveting.

R21 Also riveting when Hayley Mills and her father share some dramatic scenes. Malcom Arnold's score is so oddly similar to Bernard Herrmann's score for "Marnie" and both films were made the same year. In fact, both were made at Universal with similar storylines down to the 'French twist' hairstyles. I kept expecting Tippi Hedren to emerge from the bushes in Mrs. St. Maugham's garden.

R72 that never happened -to you at least. The only famous person you've ever been in contact with is your local weather anchor when she was handling cheese samples at the mall, and she refused to pose with you for a selfie, and you know it as well as I do. Take your meds and stop fanfictioning please.

^^ Fail.

Weak^

A little too starchy for my taste. It got worse as she aged. She’s very unspontaneous .

R24, tks for the link, i just saw it again. I think that is one of her better performances and she has many. There are quotable parts but she manages an almost impossible role. The wife has also a marvelous ten minutes at the end. Surprisingly, the male, Maugham part, is the flashy for an actor, though Paul does it fine.

^not that flashy

What a cur

Her appearance was a bit of a shock when she received her honorary Oscar.

It’s nice to see Glenn holding an Oscar for a second, at least.

I'm imagining Deborah Kerr on her knees in her crumpled gown blowing Stewart Granger in the back of his limo.

Did he tell you about that, R83? What a gallant man he is.

I love this scene.

What else did Stewart Granger write about Miss Deborah Kerr? All perversions appreciated.

"The Sundowners," with Kerr and Robert Mitchum, was on TCM today.

Thanks, watched The Black Narcissus last night.

David Farrar in Black Narcissus was HOT AF!

We watched the documentary, the Z Channel (highly recommended)- on Amazon Prime last night and not one of Miss Kerr's films was featured.

Unless I missed something no one has mentioned Turn of the Screw.

Maybe she wasn't as prim as she seemed, she allegedly had an affair with Burt Lancaster during the making of "From Here to Eternity".

I mean, who wouldn't have fucked him in his prime. Good for her!

She’s not a star who’s movies I ever sought out. Granted, I therefore haven’t seen Athena all. But she’s a little dull - too restrained. I don’t really enjoy “An Affair to Remember” or “Tea and Sympathy.”

“From Here to Eternity” is remarkable for Montgomery Clift. Kerr is her usual even-keeled self. I liked “Black Narcissus” but curiously don’t remember her performance. She’s just boring to me.

^^ WHOSE… not who’s [bold]: (

Oh jebus? ATHENA?? I meant THEM!

I don’t like my spellcheck.

I loved her "Tea and Sympathy". She added such honest depth and sensitivity to her character. It's my favorite of all her films.

[quote]I loved her "Tea and Sympathy". She added such honest depth and sensitivity to her character.

In one of the most dishonest movies ever made, based on a dishonest Broadway play. It's such dated drivel now.

Agreed. Just awful.

This movie was a total embarrassment.

If you want to see her versatility, watch "The Sundowners." She plays an earthy sexual Aussie and she's brilliant. The woman had range!