Page Fourteen
( and those secondary pages )

Her versatility now beyond question and, in 1991, when receiving an honorary BAFTA award, she joked: " Like Mrs. Thatcher, I'd like to go on and on and on . . . But if not, I don't really mind. I've had a wonderful career. "
In 1994 she was awarded a special Oscar, inscribed " to an artist of impeccable grace and beauty . . . whose motion picture career has always stood for perfection, discipline and elegance. " Deborah was appointed CBE in 1998.
" She is a great patriot, " says her daughter Melanie. " Many people thought it was overdue. "
The onset of Parkinson's disease made it impossible for her to collect it, but she was deeply touched . . . .
" It is a very special award ~ I didn't think I would ever gain it. "
Shortly before his death in 1997, Fred Zinnemann said: " Deborah, a lifelong friend, is not only an eminently talented artist, but has established a standard of personal behaviour that sets an example to a generation of young artists. "
The late Elia Kazan was similarly enthusiastic:
" A great lady; a fine actress, regally handsome . . . If I say any more, it might swell her head. And I wouldn't want that ! "
Today, as Deborah Kerr is in her 82nd birthday year, she is still a star ~ no one can deny that.

deborahkerr

z?    Deborah Kerr's sad, vulnerable adultress - from here to prestige. The acting of Lancaster and Deborah in their scenes together haunts the memory, especially the famous scene at the beach, with the surf breaking over them as they passionately cling to each other. It is a scene of enormous sensuality and sensitivity.
The Gypsy Moths was filmed in Kansas, in and around Wichita, in the summer of 1968 and gives an interesting insight into the life-style of the area. By far the best feature of The Gypsy Moths is the aerial photography. Cameraman Carl Boenisch jumped with the parachutists, shooting their acrobatics on the way down, giving the viewer a breathtaking sense of strange, dreamlike motion. Burt Lancaster afterwards said he thought the film was rather pretentious.
For those who had followed his career, it was curious to see him playing opposite Deborah Kerr, sixteen years after From Here to Eternity. It was a poignant reminder of the passing of time, made sadder by the fact that 'Moths' required them to play a pair of life's losers.
As he has grown older, Mr. Lancaster has developed a capacity, unique in established stars, to 'give away' scenes that his status in the movie pecking order entitles him to dominate. He did it in Castle Keep, he does it in The Gypsy Moths and he deserves full credit for his shrewd selflessness.
Laurence Olivier and his then-wife Vivien Leigh are replaced by David Niven and Deborah Kerr when Delbert Mann is hired to direct Separate Tables. This decision turned out to be inordinately right for the film. David won an Oscar for playing the bogus major, a timid introvert hiding his fears behind bluster, and Deborah was touching as the mother-repressed, drab spinster who is kind to him. It is their picture.!&RRRR

z! Genuine creepiness in glorious black & white

What makes a good chiller ?  Gore, special effects ? No, as director Jack Clayton proves here, it's atmosphere, combined with the sounds of horror, that makes the difference. The " Innocents " proves that what you don't see can scare you the most. Deborah Kerr is in fine form as an English governess who is sent to a remote mansion in the country to look after two young orphans. Their "uncle" in London doesn't have time for them. Deborah slowly begins to realize there's something not quite right with the young boy and his sister. Their thoughts and actions are not consistent with the behavior of pre-teens. There's a dark secret, and Deborah sets out to discover it.  We do see the ghosts, but it's when Deborah searches the house for the sources of strange noises and voices that we really feel a chill. " The Innocents " also makes great use of its black and white photography. Shadows just seem creepier in black and white.
The children are well played by Martin Stephens and Pamela Franklin. Pamela was 11 when she made this film, and as an adult she would go on to star in another excellent haunted house movie, " The Legend of Hell House. " It's a shame that Hollywood has stopped making movies like "The Innocents." If you want genuine chills rather than cheap thrills, you can't do much better than "THE INNOCENTS." !$&RRRR