Thursday, July 30, 2009

The Oil of His Dreams



Obsessed by her portrait, he stares
He's caught in love's post-mortem snares
Because they've interred her
his love for her's murder
She's only a dream, but who cares?!



Dana Andrews in Otto Preminger's Laura (1944)

4 comments:

Kevin Nowlan said...

I used to think Dana Andrews was a wooden, almost emotionless actor. Then I saw The Oxbow Incident and had to eat my words. He's amazing!

surly hack said...

I guess one man's wooden is another man's understated or subtle. I love Andrews, though he drank too much, and some of his later performances show the ill effects.

There are few other actors who were the favorites of so many great directors: Laura's Otto Preminger, Jacques Tourneur, Fritz Lang...

Kevin Nowlan said...

And he had a great face! Seriously, I've found myself studying his mouth and chin, trying to figure out how to get those shadows right.

Oh, and who could forget The Best Years of Our Lives? Another heart-breaking performance in a great movie.

surly hack said...

Andrews is fine in so many great films: Where The Sidewalk Ends, Angel Face, Curse of the Demon...far too many to list here.