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Stellar: Lee Grant, in Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen


The fine folks at Reelweegiemidget Reviews and Angelman's Place are currently hosting what they've lovingly dubbed The Lovely Lee Grant Blogathon, and I'm more than honored to be participating. Grant is an actress I've long admired, even if I haven't seen as many of her films as I'd like. She left a big impression on me as a kid in films like Damien: Omen II, Airport 77, and In The Heat of the Night, to name a few. This blogathon should go a long way towards proving why some of us think she's one of the best actresses of her generation.


*****

Her fabulousness is almost overwhelming.

Critics and audiences have never thought very highly of Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981)—if they even think of it at all. The plot is a typical whodunnit, featuring a cast of zany characters played by some talented actors like Roddy McDowell, Peter Ustinov, and Angie Dickinson, to name a few. There are completely bonkers car chases and absurdist physical comedy, making for a gonzo-style mishmash of goofy ingredients that never quite cohere into something workable. Yet beyond all of that it remains curiously notable for at least two very important reasons.

One, is that it's only the second film in the career of a young, baby-faced Michelle Pfeiffer. I doubt anyone predicted the impressive heights she would reach soon after this film—her breakout performance in Scarface (1983) came just two years later—but it's still fascinating to watch her, so new, so fresh, literally fumbling and bumbling around with the Charlie Chan's idiot-savant grandson. If not her finest moment, it's at least a charming one.

Even while being swallowed alive by an out of control fur collar, she's still rocking the look.

The second reason to check out the film is that it features the sort of performance Lee Grant is famous for—scorched earth, leave no prisoners behind, astonishingly committed, and absolutely brilliant. Frank Langella's blurb on the back cover of Grant's 2015 memoir, I Said Yes To Everything, sums it up perfectly:

Lee has lived her life and practiced her craft with reckless abandon, bravery, honesty and ultimately brutal clarity. You will want to be her friend, lover, child or student, and you will finish the final pages her ardent admirer. A ferocious and fragile woman who unapologetically states: For better or for worse, I’m right here!

Grant brings that reckless abandon and brutal clarity to her role as the widowed Mrs. Lupowitz, a woman who never met a dramatically raised eyebrow she couldn't match with passionate intensity. Few actors could play a scene where they're required to talk to their dead husband's ashes in an urn quite like Grant does. It's one of the film's high points, an utterly loopy and riotously funny moment, the kind this film could certainly use more of. That it was supplied by Grant should be no surprise: she survived the Hollywood Blacklist; conversing with an urn was a piece of cake.


Baby Pfeiffer, learning a thing or two from the legendary Lee Grant.

Grant does her best to provide these moments every time she gracefully enters the frame, bless her soul. When she appears, you hold your breath, knowing something great is about to happen. It's the little things that Grant brings to the performance that make it so memorable. A sidelong glance here, a haughty laugh there. A bemused smirk seguing masterfully into mock indignation. She's simply marvelous.

That she turns in such a commanding, assured, and delightful performance in a film this forgettable is, frankly, a minor miracle. It's a testament to her greatness, and it's also something she shares with her costar, Michelle Pfeiffer. The young ingénue wasn't quite Michelle Pfeiffer yet, but maybe it's possible she learned a trick or two from watching Grant on the set. Before Pfeiffer was famous for making any film in which she appeared better than it otherwise was, Grant was doing the same.

If you're ever on the fence about watching one of Lee Grant's films—maybe the plot doesn't interest you, or the reviews were mediocre—just know that if Lee Grant is in it, then it's most definitely worth your time.

Comments

  1. What a wonderful and lovely tribute to Lee Grant, she sounds fantastic in this and I'll definitely have to check her out in this role. Thanks for adding this to the blogathon!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Gill! It was my pleasure to join in on the fun.

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  2. Thanks so much for joining the blogathon—can you believe I have never seen this one? Now I must, with a cast including Grant and my favorite Poirot himself Ustinov, plus Roddy McDowall, Rachel Roberts, Michelle Pfeiffer AND my childhood crush Richard Hatch to boot!

    Loved Miss Grant's autobiography as well and recommend it to all. Great book and look at Hollywood, the Communist Witch Hunt, and a life of creative exploration!

    Great post - Now I must see this film!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I was happy to join in on the fun! I'll try to look for future ones you're doing that I might be able to participate in, as well.

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  3. "...just know that if Lee Grant is in it, then it's most definitely worth your time." Truer words were never written. I hope all heed your advice. One of these days I may even check out this Chan spoof.

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  4. You said it! If Lee Grant is in it, it's worth your time – whether it's a masterpiece of a film or not.

    I'd never heard of this film, but if Lee Grant is in it, sign me up!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She makes it entertaining, no matter the quality of the film! She's THAT good.

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  5. I'm glad you could bring Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen to the blogathon. I still haven't watched it. In fact I've built it up so much in my mind over the years I'm a little worried it might not live up to my expectations. Mind you, how can you go wrong with Michelle, Lee Grant and Peter Ustinov in the same movie?

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    Replies
    1. Exactly, Paul, you're sure to be entertained by that cast, so I say take the leap and give it a whirl! It's not a great film by any stretch, and at times it's groan-worthy, but all in all I actually have fun watching it. It's silly, and sometimes we need silly in our lives. Michelle is so gosh-darn adorable in it, too. Lee's wonderfully comic performance is truly delightful, of course.

      Delete

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