The dark haired beauty Natalie Wood had just turned 28 during the time this movie was in production. She was at the peak of her loveliness as a young actress and the expert camera work of James Wong Howe captures her youth in a vision of glory for cinematic eternity!
What a pity that she was destined not to live a long life (as was the fate of her character Alva, in this movie). She was and remained a beautiful woman in every sense of the word until the very end of her short life in 1981.
This Property is Condemned is a deceptively simple story about desire, jealousy and human emotions. A stunning young woman with big dreams is constrained by fate from breaking out of her sordid past. This is a tragedy because she comes ever so close with the audience cheering her every step along the way. We feel her dreams...
When Alva and Owen are in love, the viewer easily experiences a sense of their joy and the chemistry between them! When circumstances dictate that they are to be split apart, the pain that the audience feels is all too real.
Both on screen and off-screen, an incredible number of talented people worked on this film, from director Sydney Pollack, the aforementioned James Wong Howe, Francis Ford Coppola (co-writer), John Houseman (of Paper Chase and Naked Gun fame!) co-produced, a young Robert Redford, Charles Bronson, Kate Reid, Mary Badham (already famous as Scout from "To Kill a Mockingbird), the basic story from Tennessee Williams, and the list goes on... What was said to be a difficult location shoot with much controversy and rewrites turned out to be a memorable film.
Told in one long flashback, the movie features a great musical score and not just one but two of the spectacular "pull back" shots from James Wong Howe.
If you've ever been in love or lived for big dreams see this movie. You won't regret it.
What a pity that she was destined not to live a long life (as was the fate of her character Alva, in this movie). She was and remained a beautiful woman in every sense of the word until the very end of her short life in 1981.
This Property is Condemned is a deceptively simple story about desire, jealousy and human emotions. A stunning young woman with big dreams is constrained by fate from breaking out of her sordid past. This is a tragedy because she comes ever so close with the audience cheering her every step along the way. We feel her dreams...
When Alva and Owen are in love, the viewer easily experiences a sense of their joy and the chemistry between them! When circumstances dictate that they are to be split apart, the pain that the audience feels is all too real.
Both on screen and off-screen, an incredible number of talented people worked on this film, from director Sydney Pollack, the aforementioned James Wong Howe, Francis Ford Coppola (co-writer), John Houseman (of Paper Chase and Naked Gun fame!) co-produced, a young Robert Redford, Charles Bronson, Kate Reid, Mary Badham (already famous as Scout from "To Kill a Mockingbird), the basic story from Tennessee Williams, and the list goes on... What was said to be a difficult location shoot with much controversy and rewrites turned out to be a memorable film.
Told in one long flashback, the movie features a great musical score and not just one but two of the spectacular "pull back" shots from James Wong Howe.
If you've ever been in love or lived for big dreams see this movie. You won't regret it.