Norma Desmond Was Right

Have you ever thought about the power of old movies to delight us? Now, I do realize that today’s movies use modern technical advances that make them absolute marvels of dazzling special effects, but how many of the films of today are going to stick in our national conscience? I guess Norma Desmond had it right, “It's the pictures that got small.” (Sunset Boulevard)

And that holds true for the actors and actresses of our day, those who people these little movies, doesn’t it? Can anyone say, with a straight face, that today’s crop of actors/actresses can hold a candle to the icons of the past? While we may be able to point to a few who can command a film (Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington and Sean Connery come to mind), think of the pantheon of cinematic greatness of the past: Jimmy Stewart, Humprey Bogart, Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Gene Kelly, Marlon Brando and Charlton Heston, to name but a few. Each and every one of them towers over today’s cinematic pygmies.

Even the lightweights, the funnymen and comics of our day seem to pale in the face of those who have gone before. After all, think about our “great” funnymen, and who comes to mind? Robin Williams, Billy Crystal and Adam Sandler. Adam Sandler?? How can he or the others hope to compare to Charlie Chaplin, or how can Bill Murray compare with the timeless humor of Laurel and Hardy? The only consistently competent comedian today doing quality work is Steve Martin, whereas even such second-tier comedic talents, such as Hope and Crosby, Martin and Lewis, Abbott and Costello, Jack Benny and Danny Kaye, make any any attempt at comparison the equivalent of running up the score in college football. And that doesn’t even consider such comedic genius like the Marx Brothers and Buster Keaton.

Is it any wonder that American movie-going is dropping? After all, we have come to the point where our most successful stars seems to be animated fish or penguins. Yes, Norma Desmond was right.