Thanks for this Jonathan! I have had a long love affair with Ms. Lake since I was a teenager. In high school I was obsessed with the Coen Bros., and was watching any movie that was said to have influenced them. Thus I came across "The Glass Key" and the absolutely brilliant (as you point out) deadpan sarcasm of Veronica Lake.
Just a year or so later "L.A. Confidential" came out. In the advance press, the connection between Veronica Lake and the character played by Kim Basinger was hinted at. My teenage heart--lovesick as I was over a movie star dead for thirty years--became enraged. "Basinger is nothing like Veronica Lake!" I ranted. "She's a good foot taller for one thing! And Basinger couldn't do sarcastic if her like depended on it!" Etc.
But my grandmother said that she had always thought that Kim Basinger looked just like Veronica Lake. And in matters of classic Hollywood, one should always defer to older generations.
Thanks again for the wonderful write-up, Jonathan!
Ed Hardy, Jr. | | Email | Homepage | 08.31.07 - 1:38 pm | #
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Ed, thanks for confirming I'm not crazy! I'm with you 100 percent on the whole Kim Basinger / Veronica Lake comparison. There is none. I'm so glad I'm not alone in my fondness for Ms. Lake. With her expert deadpan delivery and modern looks I am puzzled at her lack of recognition with today's generation of classic film lovers. Well, at least there's now two movie lovers I can think of who don't have that problem.
Jonathan Lapper | | Email | Homepage | 08.31.07 - 2:25 pm | #
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Wonderful write-up about one my favorite '40s era stars! I first saw her in I Married A Witch on TV when I was just a kid and I thought she was wonderful in it. She was terrific in Sullivan's Travels (such a good movie) too and I also really like her in This Gun for Hire, The Glass Key and Hold that Blond, which oddly enough are the only Veronica Lake films I've managed to see.
She was really lovely and I agree that she does have an unconventional look that seems somewhat modern. I love her sense of humor, quirky smile and quick wit.
I actually like Basinger when she's given a good role (which is rare), but she's no Veronica Lake and they're very different actresses in my mind.
Cinebeats | | Email | Homepage | 08.31.07 - 3:44 pm | #
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Cinebeats: Not to turn this into a Basinger bash-a-thon, but when has she been given a good role?
"Blind Date" maybe?
Ed Hardy, Jr. | | Email | Homepage | 08.31.07 - 4:28 pm | #
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Kimberly,
Glad to have another Lake lover here. I was a little apprehensive when I first did this piece that I'd get more "Are you crazy? Veronica Lake?" responses. I love her in I Married a Witch and This Gun for Hire and The Glass Key as well. I've never seen Hold That Blond but hopefully soon.
As for Ed's comment about Basinger, well Kimberly did say her good roles were rare. I suppose one could say L.A. Confidential but I was a little puzzled by the Oscar. I didn't think she was bad I just didn't see what she did that was Oscar worthy. I thought her best performance was in Nadine, not a popular movie like some of her others but she was definitely good (well, I thought so at least). But in agreement with both of you, she's no Veronica Lake.
Oh yeah, and I actually thought she was kind of amusing in Ready to Wear although again, nothing spectacular and the movie is easily among Altman's worst so I won't be revisiting it to double check myself with that last assessment.
Jonathan Lapper | | Email | Homepage | 08.31.07 - 4:52 pm | #
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I think Basinger's most interesting roles have been in Altman's Fool for Love, Adrian Lyne's Nine 1/2 Weeks, L.A. Confidential and I Dreamed of Africa which I caught playing on TV one night.
As I mentioned above, she is no Veronica Lake and just because I liked her performance doesn't mean I'm all that fond of the films I mentioned. It just seems like she might have had something to offer early in her career, but she's always got crappy roles. Now she just seems rather nutty.
After looking over the other Oscar nominees in 1998 she was up against when she won, I actually think the Academy made the right choice which I don't think often. Of course, there were probably plenty of better performances to be found in movies that were not even nominated that year.
Cinebeats | | Email | Homepage | 08.31.07 - 6:47 pm | #
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I completely forgot about Fool for Love! She's very good in that and the movie's good too.
Thanks for reminding me.
Jonathan Lapper | | Email | Homepage | 08.31.07 - 6:55 pm | #
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I love Lake even though I've really barely seen any of her films. She is instantly appealing, and has a timeless quality in her look and demeanor. I think though what drew me to her was that I actually went to the same high school she was kicked out of, and held her in high regard as a rebellious icon. It's a shame her career was cut short.
Justine | | Email | Homepage | 08.31.07 - 7:04 pm | #
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Is that the high school in Miami? What did she get kicked out for?
I really like her self deprecating wit. I always find it a plus when people poke fun at themselves. Everything I read mentioned how so many actors and directors found her "difficult" to work with. I have a strong feeling it came from her wry cynicism and what "difficult" really meant was that she didn't kowtow to their whims when they were expecting the Mr. Smearkase treatment.
Jonathan Lapper | | Email | Homepage | 08.31.07 - 10:14 pm | #
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No actually, Montreal. It was a Catholic boarding school (it isn't anymore). She was apparently kicked out for repeated bad behavior. I don't know specifics.
Justine | | Email | Homepage | 08.31.07 - 10:27 pm | #
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Thanks. Getting kicked out of a Catholic boarding school - ticking off the nuns. She's a baaaaad girl. I like her even more now.
Jonathan Lapper | | Email | Homepage | 08.31.07 - 10:34 pm | #
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I read a bit of Veronica Lake's autobiography when I had to do some research on one of her costars and it was heady stuff. She should have written porn. Or at least pulp fiction.
I'm also with the grudging Bassinger admirerers. I've been seeing KB in stuff since DOG AND CAT in the mid-70s and have seen her mature into an interesting older actress. I liked her in the oddball People I Know with Al Pacino. And on The Simpsons. Actually, I liked her in the sex scene in The Getaway remake, too. You don't often see a man suck on a woman's nipples as foreplay to balls-out rumpo in mainstream movies, though it happens all the time in my house.
Arbogast | | Email | Homepage | 11.14.07 - 1:19 pm | #
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We should all write porn, maybe we could pay more bills. I'd love to read that autobiography. Maybe I shall.
I don't think Basinger's bad and as I said in some of the earlier comments she's done some good stuff. I just don't find her that interesting. Although on The Simpsons her little trio with Alec and Ron was pretty funny. Especially Ron Howard's, "Where's the shuttlecock? WHERE'S THE SHUTTLECOCK??!!?!?"
Jonathan Lapper | | Email | Homepage | 11.14.07 - 2:05 pm | #
