Written by James M. Tate / 6/29/2017 / No comments / angela scoular , carol cleveland , charles chaplin , geraldine chaplin , marlon brando , patrick cargill , romantic comedy , sixties , sophia loren , sydney chaplin , tippi hendren
CHARLES CHAPLIN ENDS WITH 'A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG'
![]() |
Sophia Loren plays A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG Year: 1967 |
So when Brando tries for slapstick comedy in Chaplin's final directorial effort, A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG, it's one of the most dramatically awkward and totally ill-suited performances ever... by anyone, perhaps. But it's mostly Chaplin's fault. Having once told Orson Welles that he needn't move the camera using creative angles because his antics made up for it, he should have realized that wasn't the case with Brando and/or Sophia Loren; the latter our titular stowaway on a ship holding the multi-millionaire oilman/ambassador "captive" in his cabin while on the verge of gaining importance in politics, or something like that...
![]() |
Sophia Loren with Marlon Brando COUNTESS Rates: ***1/2 |
Whenever their cabin bell buzzes, Sophia leaps up and races into the bathroom with Brando scooting behind her...
Then Brando doubles-back at the last minute... but without the suspenseful timing for that last minute to matter... heading anxiously for the door while adjusting either his robe or tie, or sometimes both at the same time: meeting with important people he's hiding Loren's Countess from, eventually with the aid of his faithful sidekick, Charlie's son, Sydney Chaplin, a genuinely good character-actor in his own right, playing Brando's assistant/cohort who helps him cover things up...
![]() |
Marlon BRAndo Poster |
![]() |
Comedy Romance!? |
Speaking of, Charlie Chaplin himself appears as an old purser; his daughter Geraldine a philosophical girl in the ship's dance hall countered by two time "Bond Girl" Angela Scoular representing the filthy-stupid rich; and THE BIRDS starlet Tippi Hedren, as Brando's classy wife, shows up at the 11th hour...
Which... after all the tedious running around, including a drunken British dolt desperately trying to hook up with Sophia followed by a surprisingly randy (and actually somewhat humorous) suitor (Patrick Cargill) who started out initially uninterested in women... seems like the millionth hour. And yet, still somehow, it's a letdown that the characters had to leave that room — the repetitive comfort of its limited space, with our miscast yet breezy duo, was the best thing going: not fully realized till it's gone. Oh and at one point an old rich woman, having nothing to do with anything before and after (with a nurse played by Monty Python regular Carol Cleveland), is lying in her bed, and orders the Captain to throw away her Russian Teddy Bear because "the tongue's too Red." Get it?
![]() |
Sophia Loren as A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG |
![]() |
Marlon Brando with director Charlie Chaplin in A Countess with Hong Kong |
![]() |
Marlon Brando and co-star/director's son Sydney Chaplin in A Countess from Hong Kong |
![]() |
Angela Scoular as Society Girl in A Countess from Hong Kong |
![]() |
Tippi Hedren as the anticipated wife in A Countess from Hong Kong |
![]() |
Angela Scoular in A Countess From Hong Kong with Marlon Brando |
![]() |
Unnamed starlet is girl-next-door adorable and one Countess from Hong Kong |
![]() |
Sophia suitor Patrick Cargill with Angela Pringle as a baroness in A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG |
![]() |
Leading back to THE Countess from Hong Kong Sophia Loren |
![]() |
Monty Python's CAROL CLEVELAND in THE COUNTESS OF HONG KONG |
![]() |
Monty Python's CAROL CLEVELAND in THE COUNTESS OF HONG KONG |
![]() |
Marlon Brando and Tippi Hedren in A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG |
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Featured Post
CHRISTOPHER LEE IN HAMMER FILMS 'THE TERROR OF THE TONGS'
Poster for Hammer's TERROR OF THE TONGS with Christopher Lee Year: 1961 Geoffrey Toone, as the hero in Hammer's THE TERROR OF THE TO...


Most Popular Last Year
-
Robyn Hilton enters into an eclectic exploitation comedy career in Wonder Women circa 1973 As mentioned a few posts ago, ROBYN HILTON, b...
-
Kari Michaelsen in Saturday the 14th year: 1982 In LOVE AT FIRST BITE, a popular comedy that took the vampire genre by satire, Richard ...
-
Cornelia Sharpe in court to avoid BUSTING Year: 1974 Starring Elliott Gould and Robert Blake as determined vice cops BUSTING hookers, ...
-
year: 1960 cast: Sonya Wilde, James Franciscus, Patricia Michon rating: ***1/2 I PASSED FOR WHITE, one of those title-says-it-all kind...
-
year: 1976 starring: Linda Lavin, Alfred Lutter rating: ***1/2 The iconic sitcom ALICE, about a trio of waitresses working in a greasy s...
-
Unusually hatless, Eric Kilpatrick's Jackson lies beside his signature shades and a broken bottle with blood red white... Growing up...
-
Interview with actress Greta Blackburn Greta Blackburn is tall, blond, gorgeous, and most important of all, a terrific actress. The pro...
-
Tom Signorelli presents Robyn Hilton on set YEAR: 1974 Robyn Hilton, the BLAZING SADDLES redhead, co-starred in THE LAST PORNO FLICK (ak...
-
Interview with Urban Cowboy's Jessie La Rive Mapes "Hold my beer, Jessie," Debra Winger's character, Sissy, tells real...
-
Mary-Louise Weller in NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE ANIMAL HOUSE, directed by John Landis and produced by Ivan Reitman, stars John...

No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.