Happy Birthday, Gena Rowlands

The fabulous Gena...

Still got it!

Dreadful totally OVER-RATED ham of an actress.

As were her late husband's draggy "art house" movies.

Gena is ALIVE!

A special talent with unfathomable depth and intelligence, bravery and beauty. This description from Kent Jones of the Criterion Collection struck me like a thunderbolt when I first read it a few years ago, it rings so true:

"Rowlands' appearances in Faces, Woman, Opening Night, and Love Streams are riveting experiences in and of themselves, because Cassavetes makes the most of her incongruity within any given setting. As a presence, she is innately glamorous yet earthy (the earthiness has a lot to do with that twangy Midwestern voice, always on the verge of cracking with emotion), a little broad in her gestures yet exquisitely detailed in her choices, ethereally beautiful (high-school French teacher type) yet always ready for action, and finally a little too weird for superstardom. It would be one of the cinema's greatest and most complex onscreen love affairs, if not for the simple fact that it plumbs so much deeper than mere infatuation."

Rowlands was great in the movies 'Gloria' and 'A Women Under the Influence..'

Great lady.

And yes, the video above which claims she's dead is incorrect. She's very much alive.

Agreed, both incredible films

a true classic

I sent her a bottle of Jean Nate and a nice blouse.

Opening Night is an amazing film if you give it the patience it requires. It has my favorite Gena Rowlands performance, with Gloria running a close second.

Is she the new Olivia de H.?

No, she's the original Gena R.

I Met her once, in Paris of all places, she was incredibly lovely and nice

I just watched her on an episode of Columbo with her Kraut husband killing her mom.

R3 is a doofus.

She is one of the world's most underrated actresses.

And she was absoutely stunning well into her 60's.

The golden age of Hollywood was over well before her career started.

Not at all. She was in the original production of THE 7 YEAR ITCH.

One of the last of the good ol' broads.

[quote]John Cassavetes wrote A Woman Under the Influence as a play. He said, "Hey, I wrote you a play." And I said, "Great, let's read it." I read it and I said, "John, I couldn't do this every night and twice on Wednesday and Saturday".

[quote]Gena Rowlands

*

Her and Mia Farrow in ANOTHER WOMAN = the 2 best actresses of independant cinema ever

I liked her over the top performance in The Skeleton Key, that movie failed to build any real suspense, you knew from the start the ol'strange southern lady was badddd news. Kate Hudson's character was suspicious from the start. She's always been an excellent actress.

R21 a contract player at the end of MGM’s relevance is not the same as working in the golden age…that golden era ended in the mid 50s. Studio contracts lasted for a few more years.

R3 has it right.

I just watched 'Gloria' a few nights ago. She was fantastic in it. That movie, along with 'Author Author', 'Arthur', and "the Dresser', is one of the movies I can watch over and over and never get tired of it.

It's your loss, R3. Her performance in "Opening Night" is one of the great film performances.

[quote] As were her late husband's draggy "art house" movies.

r3 r25 Only trailer queens who worship Adam Sandler and Sly Stallone would use the term "art house" to diss a film. Grow some class.

R28, you're making me giggle into my Fritos and Velveeta! My agreement with R3 was based mainly on the comments about hammy and overrated.

And you do know, hun, that only trashy people use the word "class," right?

Another day on the subway...

On Broadway with Edward G. Robinson in "Middle of the Night" by Paddy Chayefsky. The play ran for over a year in 1956-57, The lead roles were played by Kim Novak and Fredric March in the movie adaptation.

Happy Birthday!

So pretty...

[quote] And you do know, hun, that only trashy people use the word "class," right?

r29 You think so?

Nah, it has a standard definition in the Oxford English Dictionary:

[quote]class showing stylish excellence. "he's a class player"

A real *girl on the go*...

She’s such a fabulously talented actress. She’s a classy dame and ferociously beautiful.

Fly, baby, fly...

No other actress I can think of uses the muscles in her face so subtly to convey emotion.

Child, will you do me a blessing?

-lilol'southernlady

Her performance in " Woman Under the Influence" is the best female performance on film!

Her mother was divine as well.

She would have been the ideal Hitchcock Blonde and I always wondered why Hitch didn't hire her instead of clueless Tippi Hedren. Maybe Cassavetes didn't want her working with other directors.

r41 Oh damn, you're right. I do love Tippi but Gena would have been excellent in Hitchcock.

I love Tippi, too, and also think GR would’ve made a fantastic Hitchcock blonde, especially one who offered a hint of danger or duplicity.

R40- Lady Rowlands?

I love that name!!!!

Who wouldn't? It's perfect.

Next cat = Lady Rowlands

Jesus Christ- Watching Gloria again- She is better than I remembered.

This should be required viewing for ALL WOMEN.

The balls on this bitch.

I WANT THE SISSY OUT HERE, RIGHT UP AGAINST THE WALL!!!!!

I need to start using this line.