Emmett Evan "Van" Heflin, Jr. (December 13, 1910 – July 23, 1971) Heflin's sister was Daytime Emmy-nominated actress Frances Heflin. He made his film debut in the film, A Woman Rebels (1936), with Katharine Hepburn.
He was soon signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and was cast in supporting roles in films: Santa Fe Trail (1940), and Johnny Eager (1942), winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the latter performance.
Heflin continued to improve his acting skills and performed a compelling characterization of the President Andrew Johnson in the film, Tennessee Johnson (1942), playing opposite Lionel Barrymore who, in the role of Congressman Thaddeus Stevens.
According to the IMDB (Internet Movie Database), Heflin served during World War II as a combat cameraman in the Ninth Air Force in Europe and with the First Motion Picture Unit.
His best-known film was the classic western, Shane(1953), in which he co-starred with Alan Ladd. His other well know films: Presenting Lily Mars (1943), The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946), Possessed (1947), Green Dolphin Street (1947), Act of Violence (1948), The Three Musketeers (1948), The Prowler (1951) and 3:10 to Yuma (1957).
Heflin's last major role was in Airport (1970). He played "D. O. Guerrero", a failure who schemes to blow himself up on an airliner so that his wife (played by Maureen Stapleton) can collect on a life insurance policy.
5. Frank Morgan in Tortilla Flat- Morgan is by far the best part of a bad film bringing a lot of heart to his role of the dog lover.
4. Henry Travers in Mrs. Miniver- Travers portrays his usual nice old man role in his usual nice old man fashion. It is not a stretch for him, the part is very limited, but Travers does it well.
3. William Bendix in Wake Island- Bendix whole point in the film is to be funny, he is funny enough, and he is perfectly fine.
2. Walter Huston in Yankee Doodle Dandy- Huston gives a good performance as the warm and wise father. He is convincing in the vaudeville scenes, but his role is a little too limited for Huston to really to anything truly special in the role.
1. Van Heflin in Johnny Eager- Good prediction RatedRStar. Heflin very very easily wins this year. Heflin simply gives an outstanding performance. He absolutely steals the entire film, he brings genuine emotions, and an original character to a film that certainly needs it.
Deserving Performances: Claude Rains in Now Voyager Roddy McDowall in The Pied Piper
Van Heflin won his Oscar from his only Oscar nomination for portraying Jeff Hartnett in Johnny Eager.
Johnny Eager is a crime melodrama about a gangster Johnny Eager (Robert Taylor) who tries to use everyone including a prosecutor's daughter (Lana Turner) to run his illegal operations.
Although the academy certainly deserves a great deal of the criticism it receives one must give them credit sometimes when they make a great decision. Johnny Eager is actually a finely made, but in many ways a standard crime melodrama. One facet of the film it is not at all standard, and it is the only aspect of the film that the academy rewarded or even nominated. This facet is that of he character of Jeff Hartnett, and Van Heflin's portrayal of him. Jeff is the closest confidant of Johnny Eager, he is not really is right hand man because although he helps Johnny out he really is not one of his men. Jeff instead stands as the only real friend that Johnny has, and the only one he can truly trust.
Heflin is terrific in his realization of the philosophical alcoholic Jeff who is a constant observer and commentator on Johnny. Heflin in just the way he sits, the way he holds his cigarette, the way he is constantly gripping his alcohol as if it is one of the few thing he can grasp onto creates a portrait of a very unique character in Jeff. Heflin creates a sort of history in Jeff that we certainly never hear of where he came from exactly, and the film never tells us. Heflin's performance though so vividly realizes this man that undeniably shows us something of Jeff history. Jeff has been in this role of confidant for sometime, and Heflin shows that it has slowly brought him to this place.
To say that Van Heflin steals every scene that he is in as Jeff is quite an understatement, he owns every single one of his scenes from beginning to end. There is not one moment that is not his, he even takes away a scene from the rest of the actors even when he has only a single reaction shot that is how effective Heflin is in the role. Heflin's portrayal is simply consistently fascinating in the way he realizes the character of Jeff's constant observations and reactions to the various dealings in Johnny life. His brief statement he makes or a small glance always conveys so much in what is so little. Heflin brings a far greater power to every scene simply through his presence.
The central part of his performance is of course Jeff's relationship with Johnny. Heflin makes Jeff as always the moral judge to Johnny, even though Van Heflin never acts as some sort of pompous individual looking down upon Johnny's action, rather he is merely the man constantly soaking up everything Johnny does. Heflin shows that really everything Johnny does only bares down on his soul when it really should be bearing down on Johnny. Heflin makes Jeff the soul of Johnny, he is the way who feels the pain over what Johnny does to get his ways in the criminal underworld. Heflin realizes this pain perfectly as something slowly wearing Jeff down, and only making his depression only worse.
Heflin brings this pain to life brilliantly and brings to life the conflict of the film wholly in his performance. His scene when Jeff finally does confront Johnny over his immoral actions is an incredible scene for Heflin. When he finally tells Johnny that he was going to turn him in only to do the right there where Johnny has consistently failed to do so, Heflin intensely shows us the full toll of Johnny's actions on Jeff's conscious. It is a great scene made by Heflin absolutely honest portrayal. He never shows that Jeff is at all disappointed in his own stance really, but rather he cannot believe the way his friend has allowed himself to continue his selfish streak no matter how many lives it ruins.
The riskiest aspect of Heflin's portrayal is probably showing the fact that Jeff loves Johnny. How exactly Jeff loves him, or in what way Van Heflin appropriately keeps a mystery, yet he still shows that in some way he does care for his friend very deeply. What is outstanding about this is that Heflin never has a forced moment in his portrayal of this. He makes it clear that Jeff can never bring himself to become detached to Johnny even if common sense says he probably should. Heflin honestly makes this a moving portrait of Jeff genuine love for Johnny, and his disappointment knowing what Johnny could have been in another life. Heflin's final scene, which could have meant very little without him there, is absolutely heartbreaking. He is entirely devastating in his depiction of just how crushed Jeff is to see that Johnny never will be able to live to the potential that Jeff was always assured he could have been. He made me actually care more for Johnny in his heartfelt portrayal than Robert Taylor ever made me feel for him in his actually portrayal of Johnny. This is an excellent performance by Heflin, this could not be a better supporting performance, that not only is the best part of the film, but his presence only makes the film far greater than it would have been otherwise.
East Side, West Side(1949). Melodramatic/crime film. Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Ava Gardner in one of her earliest roles, James Mason and Van Heflin. Based on a novel by Marcia Davenport and a screenplay by Isobel Lennart, the film was directed by Mervyn Leroy.
Late one night, Jessie Bourne, is homealone, while, her philandering husband Brandon, is out drinking at the Del Rio night club, with model Rosa Senta. Rosa, later asks Brandon, why he cheats on his wife. Brandon says, "just because a man has one perfect rose at home, doesn't mean he can't enjoy the flowers of the field."
It is not long before Brandon's, former mistress Isabel Lorrison, just back from Paris, shows up forcing Rosa to leave. Isabel, is hoping to pick up where they left off, but Brandon, is ready to move on, telling her that.. "he is now faithful to his wife".
Later, as Brandon is leaving the club, Alec Dawning, who knows Brandon's reputation, knocks him unconscious. Rosa, takes Brandon to her home, where he spends the night.
When Brandon, arrives home he tells Jessie that he was attacked by a bum, which she does not believe.
Soon after, Helen Lee reminds Jessie about her party for ex-police officer Mark Dwyer, whose book Helen's husband Owen is trying to get syndicated in his newspaper. Jessie, then confides to Helen, that she is afraid of what will happen to her marriage now that Isabel is back in town.
After, seeing a picture newspaper picture of Rosa and her husband, Jessie finds Rosa and speaks with her about the picture. Rosa, explains what really happened and the two become fast friends. Jessie, offers to take Rosa to the airport to pick up her boyfriend.
By coincidence, Rosa's sweetheart is th ex-police officer Mark Dwyer, who seems more interested in Jessie.
On the day of Helen's party, Isabel, manages to keep Brandon, from attending the party. Jessie goes to the party alone and is taken home by Mark, who stays with her until Brandon returns home.
The next day, Isabel tells Jessie that she is going to steal husband from her.
Later, Mark while giving Jessie, a tour of his West Side neighborhood, he confesses his love for her. When Jessie returns home, she finds out that Isabel has been murdered.
She and Mark, rush over to Isabel's apartment, where police Lt. Jacobi is interrogating Brandon. Mark, finds a clue that leads him to the Del Rio club, where he finds Isabel's killer, who turns out to be..
Both Stanwyck and Gardner are well matched in this film. Mason, is such a creep that you, hope that everyone, will kick him to the curb by the end of the movie. Loved, the New York scenes and Costumes, were beautiful. I would watch this film again..
Gale Sondergaard (February 15, 1899 – August 14, 1985), studied acting at the Minneapolis School of Dramatic Arts before joining the John Keller Shakespeare Company.
She later toured North America in productions of Hamlet, Julius Caesar, The Merchant of Venice, and Macbeth. Her younger sister Hester Sondergaard was also an actress.
Sondergaard made her first film appearance in, Anthony Adverse (1936) as "Faith Paleologue" and became the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.
Her career as an actress flourished during the 1930s, and included a role opposite Paul Muni in The Life of Emile Zola (1937). During pre-production of MGM's classic The Wizard of Oz (1939), an early idea was to have the Wicked Witch of the West portrayed as a glamorous villainess in a black sequined costume, inspired by the Wicked Queen in, Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). Sondergaard was originally cast as the witch in "Oz" and was photographed for two wardrobe test. One was as a glamorous wicked witch, and another as a conventionally ugly wicked witch. After the decision was made to have an ugly wicked witch, Sondergaard, believed it could damage her career, withdrew from the role, and it went to character actress, Margaret Hamilton. Sondergaard was, later cast as the sultry Tylette (a magically humanized, but devious, cat) in 1940s The Blue Bird.
In 1940, she played the role of the exotic and sinister wife in, The Letter, with Bette Davis. She received a second Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress for her role as the King's principal wife in, Anna and the King of Siam(1946).
Sondergaard was first married in 1922 to actor Neill O'Malley; they divorced in 1930. On 15 May 1930, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she married her second husband, Herbert Biberman, a theater director then associated with the Theatre Guild Acting Company; he became a film director and died in 1971. They had two children, Daniel Hans Biberman and Mrs. Joan Campos.
Sondergaard's career was damaged during the Red Scare of the early 1950s, when her husband was accused of being a communist and named as one of the Hollywood Ten. (In the 2000 movie One of the Hollywood Ten, Sondergaard was portrayed by actress Greta Scacchi while Jeff Goldblum was cast as Biberman.) She supported her husband during the production of Salt of the Earth (1954). Highly controversial when it was made, and not a commercial success, its artistic and cultural merit was recognized in 1992 when the National Film Preservation Board selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.
One of the Hollywood Ten (2000) chronicled Sondergaard's relationship with Biberman and her role in the making of, Salt of the Earth. The Bibermans sold their home in Hollywood shortly after they completed Salt of the Earth and moved to New York, where Sondergaard was able to work in theatre.
Ever so slightly better than Antarctic Crossing from a decade later, this Documentary Feature nominee more competently demonstrates the hardship of Antarctic exploration. There's more intrigue seeing ships plow through thick ice and the preparation process, like raising and training dogs to pull sleds. Most of this is instantly forgettable, but it's unique subject matter brought to life in narration by Hollywood stars who were also military veterans like Van Heflin.
Claude Chabrol's Madame Bovary seemed too tame, but it's delightful watching Vincente Minnelli try to sneak in as much scandal as possible into his version. It requires that he literally put Gustave Flaubert on trial in a subplot, but it permits him to make Bovary a full-fledged, arresting trollop. When Emma and Rodolphe go riding for instance, he simply hints that they're more than riding by showing her hat on the ground. It's a simple insinuation that's just smutty enough that the censors couldn't find it too objectionable.
Jennifer Jones's transformation from a wide-eyed innocent to a petulant misanthrope is occasionally delightful. Whenever she's being the slightest bit miserable, she gives the film a weight it would lack without her coldness. It's irresistible hearing her remark, "Do you know why that clock strikes, Charles? To announce the death of another hour."
Unfortunately, she's not so good at conveying other emotions. When she's showing her ruthless ambition, she feels insincere or loony. I've seen Jones try to stretch her limitations before in Duel in the Sun. There's melodramatic territory here she simply shouldn't tread into and she does, on more than one occasion, embarrass herself.
She does come off well by being at the center of the film's clear highlight. It's a marvelous scene where Madame Bovary steals the show in a ballroom. She spectacularly waltzes despite insisting she doesn't know how; Minnelli captures the lightheaded wonder of the moment by spinning the camera in a dizzying fashion. How the numerous enormous gowns missed a Costume Design nomination is inexplicable. The Art Direction, at least, is spectacular in this and almost every other scene and deservedly got a nod.
Chabrol's version is decidedly tighter and more entertaining. Minnelli's film may be stylish and sometimes effective, but the overall film he makes is neutered and episodic. He does what he can to create an accomplished adaptation, but this was plainly the wrong era for a Madame Bovary.
473. (21 Nov) The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946, Lewis Milestone) 58
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers has an amazing prologue where an entitled young woman murders Judith Anderson, her wicked aunt, after she canes her kitten to death. The film then moves forward twenty years into the future and the only thing that's working in the film's favor at that point is the young woman is now Barbara Stanwyck. Kirk Douglas is totally miscast as her alcoholic husband and Van Heflin doesn't hold a candle to her either as her childhood sweetheart. There are some fun noir elements, particularly in the melodramatic finale, but a rushed romance between Heflin and Lizabeth Scott is a hindrance.
