BusinessWorld Online Edition: Paul Muni
Arts & Leisure
Posted on 06:02 PM, September 30, 2010
Take ten — Behn Cervantes
I have no filmic recollections of Paul Muni, except for written critical reports that Muni was a serious artist. So serious was he in his craft of acting that he was one of the few Hollywood stars both respected by critics and by his peers. The actor was properly trained in classical acting whose principles he managed to utilize for a simple and realistic approach to acting when style was foremost for most of his contemporaries. The well-respected actor won a coveted Academy Award early in his career. Many put him in the same league as the iconic Spencer Tracy for his artistry and seriousness in his craft. it wasn't until he was retired that I finally had the pleasure of watching Muni at work in one of his last big film, The Last Angry Man. I had read the novel and had a distinct creation of the doctor in my mind. to my great surprise Paul Muni created the same doctor that was in my mind. He was nominated for another Academy Award for the well-defined role. therefore, when I subscribed to TCM (Turner Classic Movies) I would watch every Muni starring vehicle when able. I was glad I finally saw The good Earth, the Academy Award-winning film based on the Nobel Prize-winning novel of Pearl Buck that starred both Paul Muni and Luise Rainier, the first actress to win two Academy Awards two years in a row. I appreciated its sincerity but nowadays the film starring basically Westerners making ala Chinese would be considered an Asian Black Sambo portrayal. no different from Al Jolson painting his face black. I would love for some brave modern producer to remake the film starring someone like Jet Li and Michelle Yeow, a fine actress who more than deserves a stab at an Oscar award. recently, I intently observed Muni's understated manner of acting in The Story of Louise Pasteur. He was indeed ahead of his time choosing to understate rather than overemote in scenes like many of his contemporaries did. I was shocked, for example how James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart, not to mention Mickey Rooney, would stretch emotional scenes to the limit whereas Paul Muni and even the underrated Errol Flynn would opt to downplay a scene. Rooney-Bogart-Cagney would also deliver dialogue in a ratatat manner whereas Muni would use a more natural manner of delivery. Even the legendary Bette Davis would become predictable after watching two or three of her vintage movies. She had a tendency to play with both her voice and her face. The latter I refer to as muecas (making faces) and the former a quiver or the tremble of the voice for supposed deep emotions. Naturally, since Davis was the dramatic queen of her time, many actresses of her generation did likewise. Gee, the local soap opera actresses still employ such techniques for such pretentious dramatic results. I was delighted that the likes of Carol Lombard indeed merited the praise she received in her short but glorious Hollywood career. I think one of my favorite vintage comedies is To Be Or Not to Be. I suspect that comic genius Mel Brooks feels equally enamoured of the film because he remade the film starring himself and his wife Anne Bancroft. However, despite cinematic advancement and Brooks moments, I preferred the Lombard version more. I suspect that if film critics were to choose the greatest of film dramatic actors, Muni would be chosen along with the likes of Spencer Tracy, Jack Nicholson and Tom Hanks, although I would personally include the seemingly laconic but deep Gary Cooper. Cooper knew how to maximize silent moments for grand impact. In fact, the three-time Academy Award-winning Ingrid Bergman confessed that while doing a scene with him, she felt he had done nothing. However, the final effect on the big screen proved that the actor was at work and indeed accomplished a dramatic moment. Paul Muni was such an actor.
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