Tag Archives: Claude Jarman Jr.

Musical Monday: The Sun Comes Up (1949)

Posted on by
Reply

It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
The Sun Comes Up (1949) – Musical #810

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Richard Thorpe

Starring:
Jeanette MacDonald, Pal the Dog, Claude Jarman Jr., Lloyd Nolan, Percy Kilbride, Margaret Hamilton, Lewis Stone, Nicholas Joy, Dwayne Hickman (uncredited)

Plot:
After experiencing tragedy in her household, singer Helen Winter (MacDonald) takes a trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to be alone. She begrudgingly takes the family dog Lassie (Pal), though she blames the dog for the accident. While she spends time like a recluse, she is softened by a young boy Jerry (Jarman), who helps her around the rented house.

Continue reading →

Clarence Brown Film Festival in Knoxville, Tenn.: Aug. 16-20

Posted on by

A film festival celebrating the career of director Clarence Brown begins this evening, Wednesday, Aug. 16, and runs through Sunday, Aug. 20, in Knoxville, Tenn.

clarence brown

Director Clarence Brown

Hosted by the Knox County Public Library, the Clarence Brown Film Festival will feature film screenings and presentations from speakers including Brown’s biographer Gwenda Young, film critic and historian Farran Nehme, actor Claude Jarman, Jr., and more. Information on the festival, including a full list of screenings and speakers, can be found here.

With a career spanning from 1920 to 1952, Brown is sometimes not as recognized as his contemporaries.

“In an interview with (historian) Kevin Brownlow, (director) Jean Renoir observed ‘I think more of Brown than Brown thinks of himself,’” Young said in an email with Comet Over Hollywood. “Renoir’s comment reveals, I think, just how highly regarded Brown was by his peers but also alludes to Brown’s reticence in seeking out acclaim. There’s no doubt Brown was viewed as an important and innovative filmmaker during his long career, but it’s also true to say that he has been overlooked in many film histories…”

Brown worked with some of Hollywood’s top stars, such as Rudolph Valentino, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, and Mickey Rooney. Free film screenings during the Clarence Brown Film Festival include Anna Karenina (1935), National Velvet (1944), The Yearling (1946), The Eagle (1925), Intruder in the Dust (1949), and a rare screening of The Signal Tower (1924).

Continue reading →