And Introducing...

[Ascoyne D'Ascoyne]

Watching the rather tiresome Tiara Tahiti (1962) yesterday evening led me to reflect that when I was a boy growing up in the 50s and early 60s, foreigners in films seemed to fall largely in to three categories:
1. Villainous, such as Eric Pohlmann and Anton Diffring.
2. Comic, like Fernandel or Catinflas
3. The "starlet" whose presence in the cast list was usually announced by the phrase "And introducing." As a pre-adolescent boy before the hormones began to rage I never really appreciated the decorative value in the film of these young ladies. Now that those same hormones have gone into retirement I still find the presence of these actresses, either archly kittenishly in comedies or mysterious and aloof in more serious offerings, intensely irritating for, the truth is, most of them posessed the acting talents of your average gatepost. Did Tiara Tahiti's introduction, Rosenda Monteros, ever go on to do anything else, I wonder. Do I really care?
The best thing, apart from some amusing cameo appearances by Libby Morris, about Tiara Tahiti, I felt, was the excellent Herbert Lom ....playing a foreign comic villain!

[steve lyden brown]

Does anyone know where the movie "This Happy Breed" was filmed ? This film is a true British classic and should be shown to all schoolkids as being entirely typical of British familys of 70 or so years ago. As a work of documnetary social history it just cannot be eclipsed !

[orpheum]

Denham Studios

[hankoler]

What gets me about that film is at the end where they move from the house and looked forward to moving into a flat, i dont think they would do it now!!

[christoph404]

Originally Posted by Ascoyne D'Ascoyne Watching the rather tiresome Tiara Tahiti (1962) yesterday evening led me to reflect that when I was a boy growing up in the 50s and early 60s, foreigners in films seemed to fall largely in to three categories: 1. Villainous, such as Eric Pohlmann and Anton Diffring. 2. Comic, like Fernandel or Catinflas 3. The "starlet" whose presence in the cast list was usually announced by the phrase "And introducing." As a pre-adolescent boy before the hormones began to rage I never really appreciated the decorative value in the film of these young ladies. Now that those same hormones have gone into retirement I still find the presence of these actresses, either archly kittenishly in comedies or mysterious and aloof in more serious offerings, intensely irritating for, the truth is, most of them posessed the acting talents of your average gatepost. Did Tiara Tahiti's introduction, Rosenda Monteros, ever go on to do anything else, I wonder. Do I really care? The best thing, apart from some amusing cameo appearances by Libby Morris, about Tiara Tahiti, I felt, was the excellent Herbert Lom ....playing a foreign comic villain!

Do people still use the expression "foreigners" Shouldn't it be "Johnny Foreigner....what ...what" or "Bloody foreigners!" Anyway, I think I know what you mean, in American films of the 30's and 40's we seemed to have a plethora of "comical eyeball rolling darkies" for light relief.....that was a term coined by someone being scathing and ironic, (possibly Michael Caine)not a word I would use in my normal conversation but it comes to the same thing and I think "Johnny Foreigner" got a raw deal in those romantic days when people were clinging onto notions of the great British Empire etc, how times have changed.
As for Rosenda Monteros....beautiful girl, she was Horst Bucholtz's (Chico) love interest in the" Magnificent Seven" He stays behind to marry her at the end, sensible lad. And I fell in love with her as a boy when she appeared in the Hammer film "SHE" playing Andre Morrels (slave leader) daughter. she ends up being reduced to ashes by the jealous Andress because of her love for the John Richardson character, my favourite Hammer film and she was gorgeous in it!!! She is still a very good looking woman today, she is interviewed on the DVD extras of the "Magnificent Seven"Her role in the film was significant and she is one of the few members of the cast still alive and able to tell us about working on this iconic western. I believe she is a very well established and popular actress in South America and especially in her native Mexico having appeared in scores of home grown movies and TV series, still very much a working and succesful actor and a noteworthy celeb in her own continent, so don't be too dismisive of the poor girl, she has a following including me!!

[Steve Crook]

They could also be heroic and even romantic leads, especially the men. Think of Anton Walbrook and Conrad Veidt (in almost every role except Casablanca)

Steve

[hankoler]

there was a blond german actor who starred in many early british films, he was not a he man type more of a romantic foreigner type, any ideas!!

[christoph404]

Originally Posted by hankoler there was a blond german actor who starred in many early british films, he was not a he man type more of a romantic foreigner type, any ideas!!

Hardy Kruger?

[hankoler]

Thanks chris.

[batman]

Originally Posted by Steve Crook They could also be heroic and even romantic leads, especially the men. Think of Anton Walbrook and Conrad Veidt (in almost every role except Casablanca) Steve

Anton wasn't very romantic in Gaslight, he was magnificently horrible!

Bats.

[Steve Crook]

Originally Posted by batman Anton wasn't very romantic in Gaslight, he was magnificently horrible! Bats.

But he was the leading man and not just in a bit part as the "strange foreigner"

Steve

[batman]

Originally Posted by Steve Crook But he was the leading man and not just in a bit part as the "strange foreigner" Steve

... and Mrs Bat still thought he was 'gorgeous' in it!

Bats.