Tuesday
Weld
Soldier in the Rain
Director:
Ralph Nelson
1963
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Tuesday Weld . . . What can you say about a performer so unique that there are just no adequate words to express that uniqueness? Do you talk about the sophisticated nymphet quality that set her apart from all the other starlets of the early 1960s? Or do you try to describe her particular screen presence, which was maybe something like Marilyn Monroe on acid? Do you mention her legendary reputation on and off the screen? Do you quote some of the bizarre and hilarious remarks she's given to various dumbfounded members of the press over the years? We would say "no" to all of the above. Over and over in your personal quest for life's higher meanings, you will encounter individuals who don't exactly achieve nirvana at the mere mention of any of her movie titles. You can show people that car wreck scene from Soldier in the Rain, or any number of definitive Weld scenes from Lord Love a Duck, or even a whole evening of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, and they still won't get it. Don't even think of quoting what critics had to say about Weld's performances in Pretty Poison, Play It As It Lays or Who'll Stop the Rain, because, frankly, most people you meet have never even heard of those movies. Oddly, just about everyone has heard of Looking For Mr. Goodbar, and just about everyone has seen it at least a couple of times on cable TV. But hardly anyone remembers that Tuesday Weld was in it and that she received the film's only Oscar nomination. She didn't win, of course. And she didn't even get nominated for Rock, Rock, Rock, Because They're Young, Sex Kittens Go to College or Return to Peyton Place. Go figure. |
