Thursday, January 06, 2011

Nobody Speaks Of Sandy Dennis

.

Why do you s'pose that is?
.
Who? When?
Labels:

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Who's Afraid to Speak of Sandy Dennis?"

I am. She peals labels.

6:37 PM
breedaniels said...

I love her. Especially in "That Cold Day In the Park".

7:13 PM
Anonymous said...

I just bought 'The Fox'. Hopefully she does lesbian as good as she does flighty.

7:33 PM
Anonymous said...

She's Superman's mother.

8:44 PM
Anonymous said...

"Oh, my God...I think we're being kidnapped!"
So wonderful in The Out of Towners.

10:26 PM
Rob K. said...

Speak of her, and speak of her often.

7:17 AM
Joseph said...

I talk about her all the time. Absolutely my favourite actress of all time. But she is completely underrated and almost forgotten.

Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean? Anyone? It's not even on DVD.

11:06 AM
Jason Adams said...

This is why I love y'all! The love for Sandy Dennis is positively stifling. I always love her whenever I see her in anything, but I have to admit I haven't seen enough of her stuff. Woolf of course I've seen and adored, and The Out-of-Towners (wonderful), and I saw both God Told Me To and Parents (which I've got to do a Ways Not To Die for her death scene for sometime) recently. I've wanted to see Jimmy Dean for ages but it's tough to get a hold of. She's one of a kind awesome.

11:16 AM
Owen said...

These are my recommendations for more Sandy Dennis in your life..

COME BACK TO THE FIVE AND DIME - Probably her best performance.. or at least my favourite. The material is flawed but the direction and performances are excellent. (Also note: Cher and Karen Black's best work)

THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH - What could have been just a mundane drama is turned into an interesting character study thanks to Dennis' fantastic performance. Available on youtube. (And hey look, there's a young Ian McKellen!)

THAT COLD DAY IN THE PARK - Another forgotten Robert Altman film. Some find it a bit strange but it's definitely engaging. This one also might be available on youtube but I'm not completely sure.

SWEET NOVEMBER - Was remade to terrible results with Charlize Theron and Keanu Reeves. However, the original is fun and charming, a bit silly, but overall enjoyable. Available on DVD.

ANOTHER WOMAN - An underrated Woody Allen film. Think of it as a woman's Wild Strawberries. It features a great cast with a strong lead performance from Gena Rowlands. Sandy Dennis is only in the film for maybe two scenes but she sure leaves an impact. Available on DVD.

There's also another film she's in called PERFECT GENTLEMEN. Now I haven't watched it (hard to find) but Sandy Dennis stars along side Lauren Bacall and Ruth Gordon as bank robbers. Yeah, that's right. How could one go wrong?

11:56 AM
Jason Adams said...

You rock, Owen! Thanks for that!

5:56 PM
Donny Triller said...

Sandy Dennis was a beautiful, special, brilliant, talented lady. I recently saw Sweet November, and cried a lot. I won't ruin the ending, but I was devastated. I think it was a mistake. I was honored to meet her, twice. Once, when I was 16 (after seeing her in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), and again after seeing her in Two for the Seesaw, when I was 18. I was speechless the first time. She broke my silence, by asking me if I was a Taurus. Yes,I replied. I knew it, so am I, she said. How she knew that about me, I will never know. When I was 18, I saw her again. I asked if I could see her. Sandy remembers you, yes, you can talk with her, backstage. (I still remember her enchanting giggle in that play). Going backstage, I showed her my Sandy Dennis scrapbook. Plays, movies, pictures. She was delighted! Ok, I had a crush. She must have known that, but was very sweet about that. She was a rare, special soul, left too soon.

10:26 AM
Donny Triller said...

By the way: Sandy Dennis got many accolades during her career. Two Tony awards, one Academy Award, but many more nominations and awards. Check out IMDB for information on all of this.

10:39 AM
Donny Triller said...

One other thing, here: she is my favorite actress. Humphrey Bogart is my favorite actor. Why mention them both? I think the same thing applies to Sandy Dennis, as said about Bogie: all she has to do to dominate a scene, is to enter it.If you don't believe me, watch her in: ...Virgina Woolf, ...Out of Towners, 976-EVIL, or even her appearances in the classic TV Show, Naked City. Even among pros like Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Jack Lemmon, or Jason Robards (Mr. Sycamore), all eyes are on Sandy. She is mesmerizing and incredible. When Anthony Newley speaks of her character, in Sweet November: "Four letter word for wonderful, Sara, etc.", so true of Sandy, also. She was just too good for this Earth, and left too soon. When A friend told me she had died (in 1992), I said that can't be true, you must be confusing her with somebody else. No, he said, she used to be with Gerry Mulligan. I was devastated and crushed.

11:12 AM
Donny Triller said...

Even more mind boggling: and this I found out about, by sheer chance: watch Sandy Dennis' screen test for...Virgina Woolf. I guarantee, you will be dazzled and amazed! Even with a screen test, Sandy shines, triumphant !

11:50 AM
Donny Triller said...

I have to amend something: her autograph to me, when I was 16 reads: "Good luck on your acting, Love, Sandy Dennis". Any young, 16 year old boy (which I was), was sure to be smitten with beautiful Sandy after that. I sure was. She was a rare person.

5:28 AM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)