Life Would Suck Without TCM- Probably the same thing Judy Garland was thinking when she had an affair with, & eventually married, Vincente Minelli, who directed the movie.
- His son looked so much like him.
http://www.space-debris.com/st_walker_rose.jpg
- I liked him with Judy in The Clock - I thought they were good together and it's my favorite Judy Garland movie.
- He was killed by his psychiatrist.
Sad
- I also think he was a fine choice, unconventional for a "leading man" but thought he did a great job and they had great chemistry
- The whole point of casting Walker and Judy is they were supposed to be ordinary and even had a few nonideal edges to their characters... and yet they fall deeply in love within the span of 24 hours.
I love the scene in the middle of the night in Central Park when Judy makes a remark about how quiet the city is and you can hear the sounds underneath the usual daytime activity. Suddenly, they look at each other, the music starts to swell and go crazy, and they have transformed each other into shining, noble lover and beloved. To me, it is one of the most romantic scenes ever put on film.
- This is one of those movies where you understand why a lot of people revere Vincente Minnelli.
- He was Mormon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Walker_%28actor%29
- I love that scene too R6. I also love when they end up delivering milk at an apartment - such a weird turn of events. I love Minelli, he did it all and had such range with his films.
- Walker's heaving drinking caused problems during filming of The Clock. He was distraught that his wife, Jennifer Jones, had left him for David O'Selznick and his drinking was out of control. There were many nights that Judy and whatever friend she could get to go along, usually Betty Asher, would go out to bars all over the LA area in search of Walker to sober him up and get him home so that he would be ready to shoot the following morning. Judy liked him a lot and helped him through that film. She was married by this time, of course, to Vincente or who knows if she and Walker would have ended up together!
- I saw 'The Clock' yesterday.
What a nice warm movie. Robert Walker was very fitting to his role and he was as good as Judy Garland. I read that he was the original choice for the male lead in 'Meet Me in St. Louis'. It eventually went to Tom Drake, despite protests from Judy Garland.
What a pity Robert Walker was a heavy drinker. Maybe that led his first wife Jennifer Jones to leave him for another man, the powerful and persistent David O. Selznick.
http://www.laopride.com/pictures2/judy-garland-publicity-photo-in-the-clock.jpg
- There are conflicting accounts as to when Robert and Jennifer's marriage began to unravel but it was obvious that Selznick's attention to Jennifer was creating problems. Vincent Price claims that it began to happen during the filming of Bernadette. Whatever the case, their relationship grew very tense by the time 'The Song of Bernadette' had wrapped in July of 1943. Jennifer and Robert were both assigned to Since You Went Away where filming their love scenes was most difficult. Jennifer, who was high-strung and highly sensitive, often fled the stage in tears after filming a scene with Walker. By October, the two had separated. 'The Song Of Bernadette' opened in December of 1943 and Jennifer was an overnight star.
Everyone involved in the drama managed to keep what was going on under wraps so that "The Song of Bernadette" would not be affected by adverse publicity. Walker and Jones began divorce proceedings in March of 1944 and Robert Walker did not cope with the situation well. His drinking and his volatile temper got him into trouble with the police on several occasions. Despite his promise of a successful film career (he was well liked by the movie going public) he lost all interest in his work. He remarried in 1948 to Barbara Ford (director John Ford's daughter) but it only lasted six weeks. Later, Walker spent time at Menninger's Clinic for his alcohol problem and he suffered several nervous breakdowns. He made a memorable comeback in Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers On A Train but he died suddenly in 1951 when doctors gave him sedatives following an emotional outburst.
Below there is a photo with Robert Walker and Jennifer Jones...
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-zzOpdcSpTho/TjSAAIEljiI/AAAAAAAAAYs/R3yXYrzJJN0/rwandJJ_playing_hearts.JPG
- It is written about Robert Walker 'He possessed the same special brand of rebel/misfit sensitivity and charm that made superstars out of John Garfield and (later) James Dean and Montgomery Clift.'
How true!
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xI0a4Z0pOro/Tw46LJyWicI/AAAAAAAAG7g/abZs4c-8TD8/s400/robert+walker+strangers+on+a+train+4.jpg
- What a pity Robert Walker died so young. He was only 32 when he passed away.
I believe that he would be excellent in other Minnelli or Hitchcock films. It's amazing when you see great directors to direct capable for the best actors. Robert Walker was capable for the best. His personal misery and booze took him away from this world much too soon.
http://img2.bdbphotos.com/images/orig/5/r/5r8ne6rmd1femr1n.jpg
- Robert Walker has played with great actors and actresses due to his rather short film career:
Judy Garland,Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Deborah Kerr, Ava Gardner,Roddy McDowall, Farley Granger, Van Johnson,Claudette Colbert, Joseph Cotten, Shirley Temple, Robert Taylor,Van Heflin, Burt Lancaster, Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Agnes Moorhead, Lionel Barrymore, Donna Reed, Melvyn Douglas, George Murphy, Helen Hayes June Allyson, Kathryn Grayson, Hume Cronin,
Hattie McDaniel, Leo G.Carroll, Lloyd Nolan, Frank Sinatra, Lena Horne, Cyd Charisse, Hedy Lamarr,Peter Lawford, John Ireland, Desi Arnaz, Tony Martin and of course with his ex-wife Jennifer Jones.
That's incredible for a troubled man who died in his 32.
http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMjI3NDI5NzA5OV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMDU3NTMxOA@@._V1._SY314_CR19%2C0%2C214%2C314_.jpg
- I think this is one of Judy's best movies, and she and Walker are perfectly matched in this. Their performances are so natural and unaffected.
- [quote]There were many nights that Judy and whatever friend she could get to go along, usually Betty Asher, would go out to bars all over the LA area in search of Walker to sober him up and get him home so that he would be ready to shoot the following morning.
Yesh, that's right, we were *hic* looking for goddamn *hic* Robert Walker *hic* in all the bars all over Hollywood... *ice clinking in glass*
Judy%20
- r14, that's actually Robert Walker JR. who looked eerily like him.
I was told I looked a lot like Robert Walker when I was in my twenties.
- Great film. Judy's best acting performance. Much better than her wildly overpraised histrionic turn in "A Star is Born."
- [quote]David O'Selznick
Who knew there were Irish movie moguls?
- After watching movie I realized I was a fool
OP
- OP, that's one of the most refreshing posts I've ever read on here. Good for you.
- I find it amazing that The Clock was the only non-musical film Judy made for MGM.
They could have gotten so much more out of her if she'd been cast in a few dramas in between the musicals.
- It's very interesting that both Walker and Garland died because of drugs...
Robert Walker died from adverse reaction to prescription drugs and Judy as most of you know from
accidental barbiturate overdose.
They were both doomed by drugs and liquor.
http://img2.bdbphotos.com/images/orig/1/7/174w0tpdp0gk71w0.jpg
- In the photo below Robert Walker brings me in mind James Dean. Actually, in some of his photos Robert resembles Dean or should i say Dean resembles Robert?
Robert came first...remember?
http://img2.bdbphotos.com/images/orig/e/u/eu6ams38k5jl3sk6.jpg
- Robert Walker with Judy...
http://img2.bdbphotos.com/images/orig/e/u/eu69zp33bp3cpz3u.jpg
- They made a great pair in 'The Clock'
http://img2.bdbphotos.com/images/orig/e/u/eu5uxdqxpkpjqdp5.jpg
- What a tender movie! Little moments bond us and warm our hearts and minds.
http://img2.bdbphotos.com/images/orig/e/u/eu64veektlio46eo.jpg
- Warm,warm, yes warm and touching!
Beautiful without being affected or a fake. Genuine.
http://img2.bdbphotos.com/images/orig/e/u/eu64q9gte3r23e29.jpg
- The only thing wrong with that movie was its awful title.
"The Clock" is the best they could come u with?? What was the source material?
Since You Went Away, Somewhere I'll Find You and The Best Years of Our Lives are so much more evocotive.
Irene Mayer Selznick
- If the movie had had a beter title, Judy could have sung the title tune over the opening and closing credits.
Something like Alice Faye's You'll Never Know.
- [quote]This is one of those movies where you understand why a lot of people revere Vincente Minnelli.
Yep. Agree entirely.
- Robert Taylor shows Bataan costar Robert Walker how to handle a grenade
http://acertaincinema.pemomo.com/workspace/media/taylor-walker-between-bataan_opt.jpg
- Judy was still pretty child-like in The Clock, and boyish Walker was the perfect match.
