SCFZ poll: Mitchell Leisen

[flip]

Polling the films of director Mitchell Leisen

The rules:

- your list can include no more than half of the Leisen films you've seen, up to a maximum of 5. So if you've seen seven of his films, for example, you can list only a top 3. It's only if you've seen ten or more of his films than you can list the maximum of five.

- i'll assume ballots are ranked unless you tell me otherwise. unranked ballots are fine.

- deadline for ballots: next Friday, in seven days, whatever day that is

- if anyone is watching films for these polls, then i'll extend the deadline up to three days, if someone requests an extension

- next poll: whoever posts the first ballot in this thread is free to nominate the director we poll next, unless you've nominated in this round already (everyone should get a chance). Already nominated this round: no one

umbugbene created an index on letterboxd of all of our previous polls here: letterboxd.com/umbugbene/list/index-of-all-scfz-director-polls/

one rule for nominees: at least 3 scfzers need to have seen 10+ of a nominee's films, or at least 4 scfzers need to have seen at least 8 of the nom's films, so if it isn't clear if that will be the case, we'll confirm that's true before moving forward

if 24 hours pass after a poll opens, and no one eligible to nominate has posted a ballot, then i'll nominate someone, and then we'll start over, and everyone will be able to nominate again

[flip]

i'm assuming, based on discussions here in the past, that leisen will have more than enough views for a poll.

Remember the Night
Hold Back the Dawn
Kitty
Easy Living
The Lady is Willing

seen thirteen

[Lencho of the Apes]

(7)

Remember The Night
Hold Back The Dawn
Hands Across The Table

I guess, though I'd be just as happy voting for No Man Of Her Own or Frenchman's Creek.

[flip]

i'll assume lencho does not want to nominate a director for our next poll, so whoever posts the next ballot, please feel free to choose our next poll!

[...]

No Man of Her Own
Easy Living
Death Takes a Holiday
Remember the Night
Kitty

Don't really know what to think about Leisen other than he didn't much seem to like being confined to genre "rules" very much, for good and maybe not so good. The actors he worked with were likewise mixed in talents and use in ways that sometimes seemed strangely matched. But then I've only seen 12 of his films and haven't seen some of the more interesting sounding ones, so Leisen remains largely undefined for me as yet.

[oscarwerner]

Seen only 6. Difficult to choose. Good genre, but never my favorite. I will choose :
1. No Man of Her Own (1950)
2. Death Takes a Holiday (1934)
3. To Each His Own (1946)

[---]

Seen 7

Midnight
Remember the night
Easy living

[Roscoe]

Seen a couple. Pass.

[nrh]

only seen 5 leisen, but find all of them very interesting...

hands across the table
remember the night

always like the essay on him by the director mark rappaport - http://www.rouge.com.au/12/leisen.html

[mesnalty]

Seen 2:

1. Midnight

[Umbugbene]

Can't believe I've only seen 3, although I've watched Midnight 6 times. I respect it more and more.

1. Midnight

[flip]

yet.

greg you can pick our next director if you want!

[St. Gloede]

Seen 7:

Easy Living
To Each His Own
No Man of Her Own

[rischka]

i've got twelve and i'll second greg

no man of her own (aka i married a dead man!)
remember the night
easy living
hold back the dawn
midnight

[Evelyn Library P.I.]

I've got four Leisen's. Eager to explore more, though might not have time as yet. Thus far I think of him as a quintessentially Lightly Likable director. Strikes me too that built into his brand/persona is the idea that Leisen is a production-designer-as-director. It's telling on that note that he seems to have spent a lot of time making elaborate opening credit sequences. He was also (probably) gay, which adds the fun of watching for potential queer subtext. Lots to enjoy and more to learn!

1. Easy Living (1937)
2. The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938)

[arkheia]

Only seen 4, all of which are quite good. Easy Living has wonderfully constructed and effortless rhythm and Swing High, Swing Low goes through many intriguing tonal and narrative shifts without losing sight of the pathos in Lombard and MacMurray's performances.

1. Easy Living
2. Swing High, Swing Low

[john ryan]

Seen 8

1. Easy Living
2. Swing High, Swing Low
3. Midnight
4. Hold Back the Dawn

[flip]

haven't heard from greg, and oscarwerner is up next, but he already suggested peckinpah last week, so we'll go with sam peckinpah as our next poll

[...]

Oh, I somehow missed seeing the offer, sorry. I've evidently been even more distracted than I realized lately.

[flip]

no problem, you'll have another chance soon enough!

[wba]

Hmm, Mitchell Leisen. Haven't seen anything by him. So many unknown directors...

[flip]

leisen's two films from preston sturges scripts take the two top spots:

results

1. Easy Living (1937) -- 21 pts
2. Remember the Night (1940) -- 17 pts
3. No Man of Her Own (1950) -- 14 pts
4. Hold Back the Dawn (1941) -- 9 pts
5. Midnight (1939) -- 8 pts
6. Death Takes a Holiday (1934) -- 5 pts
7. Kitty (1945) -- 4 pts
7. Swing High, Swing Low (1937) -- 4 pts
9. To Each His Own (1946) -- 3 pts
9. Hands Across the Table (1935) -- 3 pts
11. The Lady is Willing (1942) -- 1 pt
11. The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938) -- 1 pt

[flip]

up at letterboxd:

https://letterboxd.com/fliptrotsky/list ... -poll-171/