Monday Movies: Changing

 Monday Movies hosted by Molly at the Bumbles

Today's Topic is  . . . all about transformed characters


Celebrating the New Year is a time when people naturally resolve to make changes in our lives.  Molly asks us to think of movies where the characters have undergone some sort of change during the story's arc.

It may not be exactly what Molly had in mind but the first movie I thought of was "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" starring Jack Palance. (1968).  This made-for-television adaptation doesn't waste time with preliminaries. Within 15 minutes of its opening, Dr. Henry Jekyll has already experimented on himself with a concoction that he'd hoped would neutralize his baser instincts but which releases without inhibition his long-repressed animal inclinations.  It was a creepy movie that scared me to death as I watched the main character "change" from man to monster and back.  But if you ask me Jack Palance is kind of creepy without playing a creepy role.

The second movie I thought of was "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" starring Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, and Katharine Houghton with the lead role going to Sidney Poitier. (1967)  This film was released during the Black Rights movement and tackled the explosive topic of racial discrimination.  Matt and Christina Drayton (Tracy and Hepburn) are a couple whose attitudes about racial acceptance are challenged when their daughter brings home a fiancé who is black.  By the end of the movie the viewer has witnessed a dramatic change in their attitudes.  I think this movie along with Sidney Poitier's magnificent performance was significant in changing a lot of attitudes during this tense time in American history.

The third movie I thought of was "A Walk to Remember" starring Shane West and Mandy Moore (2002). It is the story of two North Carolina teens, Landon Carter and Jamie Sullivan, who are thrown together after Landon gets into trouble and is made to do community service. The character Of Shane West (Carter) undergoes a profound change as he becomes acquainted with the preachers daughter.

One Character Change that should never have happened . . . . Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn

I am officially protesting the remaking of True Grit.

John Wayne was in more than 250 movies and had a career that spanned more than 4 decades.  True Grit was the only film he ever won an Oscar for.  I think the film industry owed him some respect and should have retired this script.  I must have seen a screening of the film after his death in 1979.  As the film drew to it's end and John Wayne rode his horse away from Mattie Ross's home he turned and jumped a small picket fence.  As the horse lifted it's front legs the film froze and a dedication to John Wayne was placed over the top.  The film is John Wayne.  John Wayne is Rooster Cogburn.  Don't redo what was artfully done.

Marion Mitchell Morrison (born Marion Robert Morrison; May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive voice, walk and height. He was also known for his conservative political views and his support, beginning in the 1950s, for anti-communist positions.


A Harris Poll, released January 2009, placed Wayne third among America's favorite film stars,[1] the only deceased star on the list and the only one who has appeared on the poll every year since it first began in 1994.


In 1999, the American Film Institute named Wayne 13th among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time.


Wayne rose beyond the typical recognition for a famous actor to that of an enduring icon who symbolized and communicated American values and ideals. By the middle of his career, Wayne had developed a larger-than-life image, and as his career progressed, he selected roles that would not compromise his off-screen image. By the time of his last film The Shootist (1976), Wayne refused to allow his character to shoot a man in the back as was originally scripted, saying "I've made over 250 pictures and have never shot a guy in the back. Change it." (Wikipedia)

John Wayne as Rooster Cogburn in True Grit

Click here for a fun True Grit now/ and True Grit then comparison