Marisa Pavan, the Italian actress and twin sister of Pier Angeli who received an Oscar nomination for her performance as the daughter of Anna Magnani’s seamstress in the 1955 drama The Rose Tattoo, has died. She was 91.
Pavan died Wednesday in her sleep at her home in Gassin, France, near Saint-Tropez, Margaux Soumoy, who wrote Pavan’s 2021 biography, Drop the Baby; Put a Veil on the Broad!, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Pavan also portrayed the French queen Catherine de’ Medici in Diane (1956), starring Lana Turner; an Italian girl who had an affair years ago with a corporate exec (Gregory Peck) in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956); and the love interest of a former cop (Tony Curtis) investigating the murder of a priest in the film noir The Midnight Story (1957).
In Paramount’s The Rose Tattoo (1955), an adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play that won four Tony Awards, including best play,...
Pavan died Wednesday in her sleep at her home in Gassin, France, near Saint-Tropez, Margaux Soumoy, who wrote Pavan’s 2021 biography, Drop the Baby; Put a Veil on the Broad!, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Pavan also portrayed the French queen Catherine de’ Medici in Diane (1956), starring Lana Turner; an Italian girl who had an affair years ago with a corporate exec (Gregory Peck) in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956); and the love interest of a former cop (Tony Curtis) investigating the murder of a priest in the film noir The Midnight Story (1957).
In Paramount’s The Rose Tattoo (1955), an adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play that won four Tony Awards, including best play,...
- 12/6/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Maverick director Robert Aldrich’s one foray into grand-scale epic filmmaking is returned to crystal clarity in this fine import disc, a restoration from original Italian film elements. Stewart Granger’s Lot allies his Hebrew tribe with the notorious cities of evil, and almost loses his soul to Anouk Aimée’s wicked Queen Bera. Pier Angeli is the slave who becomes Lot’s wife, and Rossana Podestà is the daughter taken by Stanley Baker’s rapacious prince. Second unit director Sergio Leone whips up a terrific battle scene (maybe), Ken Adam provides the spectacular sets and Miklós Rózsa the powerful music score. And yes, the explosive finish involves hellfire, brimstone and the Biblical Pillar of Salt.
Sodom and Gomorrah
Explosive Media
All-region Blu-ray
1962 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 154 and 117 min. / Street Date December 9, 2021 / Available from Amazon.de /
Starring: Stewart Granger, Pier Angeli (Anna Maria Pierangeli), Anouk Aimée, Stanley Baker, Rossana Podestà, Rik Battaglia,...
Sodom and Gomorrah
Explosive Media
All-region Blu-ray
1962 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 154 and 117 min. / Street Date December 9, 2021 / Available from Amazon.de /
Starring: Stewart Granger, Pier Angeli (Anna Maria Pierangeli), Anouk Aimée, Stanley Baker, Rossana Podestà, Rik Battaglia,...
- 1/1/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
John Ericson, a star of Hollywood’s Golden Age who appeared in multiple MGM films and in the 1960s TV show “Honey West,” died in Santa Fe, New Mexico, of pneumonia on Sunday. He was 93.
Born Joseph Meibes in Dusseldorf, Germany, Ericson emigrated with his family to the United States to escape the Nazis as they rose to power. Ericson trained in acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York and soon appeared in the original production of “Stalag 17” in 1951.
Shortly after that, Ericson signed a contract with MGM and made his cinematic debut alongside Pier Angeli in “Teresa,” playing a World War II veteran struggling to cope with post-war life after marrying a woman he met in Italy. He continued to take on supporting roles in MGM films through the ’50s, starring alongside stars like Elizabeth Taylor in “Rhapsody,” Spencer Tracy in “Bad Day at Black Rock,...
Born Joseph Meibes in Dusseldorf, Germany, Ericson emigrated with his family to the United States to escape the Nazis as they rose to power. Ericson trained in acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York and soon appeared in the original production of “Stalag 17” in 1951.
Shortly after that, Ericson signed a contract with MGM and made his cinematic debut alongside Pier Angeli in “Teresa,” playing a World War II veteran struggling to cope with post-war life after marrying a woman he met in Italy. He continued to take on supporting roles in MGM films through the ’50s, starring alongside stars like Elizabeth Taylor in “Rhapsody,” Spencer Tracy in “Bad Day at Black Rock,...
- 5/4/2020
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
Kirk and Anne Douglas’ nearly 70-year love story was built on a foundation of love and understanding.
Their secret to almost seven decades of wedded bliss? “We solve our disagreements with a kiss,” Douglas told People in 2015.
The legendary Hollywood star died Feb. 5 surrounded by his loved ones. His son Michael, 75, shared an emotional statement with People announcing the news and celebrating Kirk’s legacy as “a legend, an actor from the golden age of movies who lived well into his golden years, a humanitarian whose commitment to justice and the causes he believed in set a standard for all of us to aspire to,...
Their secret to almost seven decades of wedded bliss? “We solve our disagreements with a kiss,” Douglas told People in 2015.
The legendary Hollywood star died Feb. 5 surrounded by his loved ones. His son Michael, 75, shared an emotional statement with People announcing the news and celebrating Kirk’s legacy as “a legend, an actor from the golden age of movies who lived well into his golden years, a humanitarian whose commitment to justice and the causes he believed in set a standard for all of us to aspire to,...
- 2/6/2020
- by Kara Warner
- PEOPLE.com
Hosted by Fathom Events, Rifftrax Live: 2019 will feature three classic B-movies for your cinematic viewing pleasure. On the docket this time around is Octaman, Star Raiders, and The Giant Spider Invasion. Continue reading for a breakdown of each movie and showtimes. Also in today's Horror Highlights: The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies - London's African Horror: Shades of Superstition and Ghost Town podcast episode details.
Three Rifftrax Live: 2019 Fathom Events Details: "RiffTrax’s Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett (of Mystery Science Theater 3000 fame) are back in cinemas to celebrate the 10th anniversary of RiffTrax Live with three all-new riffs on what are sure to be fan favorites with “RiffTrax Live: 2019.” Join Mike, Kevin and Bill as they take on B-movie classics: the guy-in-a-rubber-suit creature feature “Octaman,” the Casper Van Dien space odyssey “Star Raiders,” and new HD transfer of the MST3K favorite “Giant Spider Invasion.
Three Rifftrax Live: 2019 Fathom Events Details: "RiffTrax’s Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett (of Mystery Science Theater 3000 fame) are back in cinemas to celebrate the 10th anniversary of RiffTrax Live with three all-new riffs on what are sure to be fan favorites with “RiffTrax Live: 2019.” Join Mike, Kevin and Bill as they take on B-movie classics: the guy-in-a-rubber-suit creature feature “Octaman,” the Casper Van Dien space odyssey “Star Raiders,” and new HD transfer of the MST3K favorite “Giant Spider Invasion.
- 4/2/2019
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
Vic Damone, the silky-voiced baritone who scored hits throughout the ’40s and ’50s, reportedly died on Sunday at the age of 89. His family tells Fox News that the singer died at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Florida, with close relatives by his side.
Damone released over 2,500 records during his seven decades in music, earning praise from the likes of Frank Sinatra, who publicly affirmed that he “had the best pipes in the business.” He came of age in the big band boom just following World War II, alongside Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett and Perry Como.
Damone released over 2,500 records during his seven decades in music, earning praise from the likes of Frank Sinatra, who publicly affirmed that he “had the best pipes in the business.” He came of age in the big band boom just following World War II, alongside Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett and Perry Como.
- 2/12/2018
- by Jordan Runtagh
- PEOPLE.com
He’s fast on his feet, quick with a gun, and faster with the to-die-for beauties that only existed in the swinging ’60s. The superspy exploits of Oss 117 were too big for just one actor, so meet all three iterations of the man they called Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath . . . seriously.
Oss 117 Five Film Collection
Blu-ray
Oss 117 Is Unleashed; Oss 117: Panic in Bangkok; Oss 117: Mission For a Killer; Oss 117: Mission to Tokyo; Oss 117: Double Agent
Kl Studio Classics
1963-1968 / B&W and Color / 1:85 widescreen + 2:35 widescreen / 528 min. / Street Date September 26, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 59.95
Starring: Kerwin Matthews, Nadia Sanders, Irina Demick, Daniel Emilfork; Kerwin Matthews, Pier Angeli, Robert Hossein; Frederick Stafford, Mylène Demongeot, Perrette Pradier, Dominique Wilms, Raymond Pellegrin, Annie Anderson; Frederick Stafford, Marina Vlad, Jitsuko Yoshimura; John Gavin, Margaret Lee, Curd Jurgens, Luciana Paluzzi, Rosalba Neri, Robert Hossein, George Eastman.
Cinematography: Raymond Pierre Lemoigne...
Oss 117 Five Film Collection
Blu-ray
Oss 117 Is Unleashed; Oss 117: Panic in Bangkok; Oss 117: Mission For a Killer; Oss 117: Mission to Tokyo; Oss 117: Double Agent
Kl Studio Classics
1963-1968 / B&W and Color / 1:85 widescreen + 2:35 widescreen / 528 min. / Street Date September 26, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 59.95
Starring: Kerwin Matthews, Nadia Sanders, Irina Demick, Daniel Emilfork; Kerwin Matthews, Pier Angeli, Robert Hossein; Frederick Stafford, Mylène Demongeot, Perrette Pradier, Dominique Wilms, Raymond Pellegrin, Annie Anderson; Frederick Stafford, Marina Vlad, Jitsuko Yoshimura; John Gavin, Margaret Lee, Curd Jurgens, Luciana Paluzzi, Rosalba Neri, Robert Hossein, George Eastman.
Cinematography: Raymond Pierre Lemoigne...
- 9/16/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Legendary actor Kirk Douglas has been candid about his extramarital affairs in the past, and his wife of more than 60 years says she accepted his infidelity — and willfully turned a blind eye to his lovers.
“Kirk never tried to hide his dalliances from me,” Anne Douglas, 98, writes in Kirk and Anne: Letters of Love, Laughter and a Lifetime in Hollywood, a new book out Tuesday that reveals intimate letters between the longtime couple. “As a European, I understood it was unrealistic to expect total fidelity in a marriage.”
This “European” attitude toward love created the space for their unconventional romance to bloom.
“Kirk never tried to hide his dalliances from me,” Anne Douglas, 98, writes in Kirk and Anne: Letters of Love, Laughter and a Lifetime in Hollywood, a new book out Tuesday that reveals intimate letters between the longtime couple. “As a European, I understood it was unrealistic to expect total fidelity in a marriage.”
This “European” attitude toward love created the space for their unconventional romance to bloom.
- 5/2/2017
- by Sam Gillette
- PEOPLE.com
This spring, beware the Octaman, a 1971 creature feature rising from the radioactive depths to come out on Blu-ray and DVD from Kino Lorber.
From Kino Lorber: "Coming April 2017! On DVD and Blu-ray!
Kl Studio Classics in conjunction with MGM!
Octaman (1971) Special Edition
Starring Pier Angeli (Sodom and Gomorrah), Kerwin Matthews (Jack the Giant Killer), Jeff Morrow (This Island Earth) and Buck Kartalian (Planet of the Apes) – Shot by Robert Caramico (Eaten Alive) - Written, Directed and Produced by Harry Essex (Creature from the Black Lagoon, It Came from Outer Space)
Loaded with Extras! Bonus Features to be announced!"
Synopsis (via Blu-ray.com): "A scientific expedition to a remote Mexican fishing community discovers unhealthy amounts of radioactive waters. What they find is a seven foot tall mutant species of octopus with amazing strength and a lust for killing, and soon the expedition realizes that the monster is now on a bloody rampage.
From Kino Lorber: "Coming April 2017! On DVD and Blu-ray!
Kl Studio Classics in conjunction with MGM!
Octaman (1971) Special Edition
Starring Pier Angeli (Sodom and Gomorrah), Kerwin Matthews (Jack the Giant Killer), Jeff Morrow (This Island Earth) and Buck Kartalian (Planet of the Apes) – Shot by Robert Caramico (Eaten Alive) - Written, Directed and Produced by Harry Essex (Creature from the Black Lagoon, It Came from Outer Space)
Loaded with Extras! Bonus Features to be announced!"
Synopsis (via Blu-ray.com): "A scientific expedition to a remote Mexican fishing community discovers unhealthy amounts of radioactive waters. What they find is a seven foot tall mutant species of octopus with amazing strength and a lust for killing, and soon the expedition realizes that the monster is now on a bloody rampage.
- 12/27/2016
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Dean Jones: Actor in Disney movies. Dean Jones dead at 84: Actor in Disney movies 'The Love Bug,' 'That Darn Cat!' Dean Jones, best known for playing befuddled heroes in 1960s Walt Disney movies such as That Darn Cat! and The Love Bug, died of complications from Parkinson's disease on Tue., Sept. 1, '15, in Los Angeles. Jones (born on Jan. 25, 1931, in Decatur, Alabama) was 84. Dean Jones movies Dean Jones began his Hollywood career in the mid-'50s, when he was featured in bit parts – at times uncredited – in a handful of films at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer In 2009 interview for Christianity Today, Jones recalled playing his first scene (in These Wilder Years) with veteran James Cagney, who told him “Walk to your mark and remember your lines” – supposedly a lesson he would take to heart. At MGM, bit player Jones would also be featured in Robert Wise's...
- 9/2/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Robert Pattinson: Actor to play E.T. astronaut. Robert Pattinson to star for Claire Denis If all goes as planned, Robert Pattinson will get to star in French screenwriter-director Claire Denis' recently announced – and as yet untitled – English-language sci-fier, penned by Denis and White Teeth author Zadie Smith and her novelist husband Nick Laird, from an original idea by Denis and writing partner Jean-Pol Fargeau. Among Claire Denis' credits are the interracial love story Chocolat (1988), the sociopolitical drama White Material (2009), and the generally well-regarded Billy Budd reboot Beau Travail (1999), winner of the César Award for Best Cinematography (Agnès Godard). Robert Pattinson, for his part, is best known for playing the veggie vampire in the wildly popular Twilight movies costarring Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner. Robert Pattinson, astronaut In Claire Denis' film, Robert Pattinson is slated to play an E.T. astronaut. But what happens to said astronaut? Does...
- 8/27/2015
- by Zac Gille
- Alt Film Guide
It's a question that will never be answered. Even so, for decades, there have been rumors that James Dean was bisexual and maybe quite possibly gay. Tab Hunter, a former 1950s matinee idol and friend of the Rebel Without a Cause star who publicly came out of the closet in 2006, weighed in on the gossip when I sat down with him at South by Southwest to talk about his new Jeffrey Schwarz-directed documentary, Tab Hunter Confidential. Hunter, now 83, said he knew "Jimmy pretty well" because his friend Dick Clayton was his agent. "People always said that," Hunter said about Dean swinging both ways. "All I know is I saw him with Ursula Andrews a lot and with Pier Angeli."...
- 3/18/2015
- E! Online
Simone Simon: Remembering the 'Cat People' and 'La Bête Humaine' star (photo: Simone Simon 'Cat People' publicity) Pert, pretty, pouty, and fiery-tempered Simone Simon – who died at age 94 ten years ago, on Feb. 22, 2005 – is best known for her starring role in Jacques Tourneur's cult horror movie classic Cat People (1942). Those aware of the existence of film industries outside Hollywood will also remember Simon for her button-nosed femme fatale in Jean Renoir's French film noir La Bête Humaine (1938).[1] In fact, long before Brigitte Bardot, Annette Stroyberg, Mamie Van Doren, Tuesday Weld, Ann-Margret, and Barbarella's Jane Fonda became known as cinema's Sex Kittens, Simone Simon exuded feline charm – with a tad of puppy dog wistfulness – in a film career that spanned two continents and a quarter of a century. From the early '30s to the mid-'50s, she seduced men young and old on both...
- 2/20/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
For Robert Wise's centennial, we're looking back on a random selection of his films beyond the familiar mega-hits (The Sound of Music & West Side Story) which we are far more prone to talk about. Here's Nathaniel on the Paul Newman boxing drama...
The poster art for Robert Wise's 1956 biopic on Rocky Graziano reminds us that the more things change the more they stay the same. We're still getting taglines like "A girl can lift a fella to the skies!" (see: Theory of Everything) but Pier Angeli's role as Rocky's wife Norma in the Paul Newman boxing pic is actually fairly minor. She straightens him out primarily by giving him something consistent to hold on to in a life that's been previously totally adrift in noncommittal boxing matches for money and petty crimes. Not that his crimes were always petty, mind you, but we'll get to that in a minute.
The poster art for Robert Wise's 1956 biopic on Rocky Graziano reminds us that the more things change the more they stay the same. We're still getting taglines like "A girl can lift a fella to the skies!" (see: Theory of Everything) but Pier Angeli's role as Rocky's wife Norma in the Paul Newman boxing pic is actually fairly minor. She straightens him out primarily by giving him something consistent to hold on to in a life that's been previously totally adrift in noncommittal boxing matches for money and petty crimes. Not that his crimes were always petty, mind you, but we'll get to that in a minute.
- 9/8/2014
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Robert Pattinson out of ‘Mission: Blacklist’ movie (photo: Dane DeHaan and Robert Pattinson in ‘Life’) Robert Pattinson and Mission: Blacklist have parted ways. Pattinson, whose name had been attached to the project for two years — since Cannes 2012 — has reportedly dropped out due to scheduling issues. Now, what could those issues be? Well, Robert Pattinson, best known (at least for the time being) as the vampire Edward Cullen in the immensely popular Twilight movie franchise, has no less than two movies opening at Cannes 2014: David Michôd’s thriller The Rover, co-starring Guy Pearce, which will be shown as one of Cannes’ Midnight Screenings, and David Cronenberg’s Maps to the Stars, also featuring Julianne Moore, John Cusack, Mia Wasikowska, and Carrie Fisher, and which is in the running for the Palme d’Or. There’s more: Robert Pattinson has recently completed work on Anton Corbijn’s Life, with Pattinson as photographer Dennis Stock,...
- 4/29/2014
- by Zac Gille
- Alt Film Guide
Rossana Podestà dead at 79: ‘Helen of Troy’ actress later featured in sword-and-sandal spectacles, risqué sex comedies (photo: Jacques Sernas and Rossana Podestà in ‘Helen of Troy’) Rossana Podestà, the sensual star of the 1955 epic Helen of Troy and other sword-and-sandal European productions of the ’50s and ’60s — in addition to a handful of risqué sex comedies of the ’70s — died earlier today, December 10, 2013, in Rome according to several Italian news outlets. Podestà was 79. She was born Carla Dora Podestà on August 20, 1934, in, depending on the source, either Zlitan or Tripoli, in Libya, at the time an Italian colony. According to the IMDb, the renamed Rossana Podestà began her film career in 1950, when she was featured in a small role in Dezsö Ákos Hamza’s Strano appuntamento ("Strange Appointment"). However, according to online reports, she was actually discovered by director Léonide Moguy, who cast her in a small role in...
- 12/10/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Paul Henreid: Actor was ‘dependable’ leading man to Hollywood actresses Paul Henreid, best known as the man who wins Ingrid Bergman’s body but not her heart in Casablanca, is Turner Classic Movies’ Star of the Month of July 2013. TCM will be showing a couple of dozen movies featuring Henreid, who, though never a top star, was a "dependable" — i.e., unexciting but available — leading man to a number of top Hollywood actresses of the ’40s, among them Bette Davis, Ida Lupino, Olivia de Havilland, Eleanor Parker, Joan Bennett, and Katharine Hepburn. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of Paul Henreid movies to be shown on Turner Classic Movies in July consists of Warner Bros. productions that are frequently broadcast all year long, no matter who is TCM’s Star of the Month. Just as unfortunately, TCM will not present any of Henreid’s little-seen supporting performances of the ’30s, e.
- 7/3/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Cinelinx chooses wisely while watching the classic Holy Grail epic The Silver Chalice, Paul Newman's first film!
This Warner Archive release is a Manufacture-On-Demand (Mod) DVD. It is made to be played in "play only" DVD devices, and may not play in some DVD recorders or PC drives. This disc, however, played fine in the Toshiba DVD recorder used for this review. This title is available directly from WBShop.com by clicking here.
The Set-up
A freed slave (Paul Newman) is chosen to cast the Holy Grail in silver, but his efforts are thwarted by enemies out to claim the grail for themselves. In addition, a magician (Jack Palance) uses his magic to convince Rome he is a Christ-like Messiah. Also stars Pier Angeli, Virginia Mayo, and Lorne Greene.
Directed by Victor Saville
The Delivery
The 1954 film The Silver Chalice may not be a classic along the lines of...
This Warner Archive release is a Manufacture-On-Demand (Mod) DVD. It is made to be played in "play only" DVD devices, and may not play in some DVD recorders or PC drives. This disc, however, played fine in the Toshiba DVD recorder used for this review. This title is available directly from WBShop.com by clicking here.
The Set-up
A freed slave (Paul Newman) is chosen to cast the Holy Grail in silver, but his efforts are thwarted by enemies out to claim the grail for themselves. In addition, a magician (Jack Palance) uses his magic to convince Rome he is a Christ-like Messiah. Also stars Pier Angeli, Virginia Mayo, and Lorne Greene.
Directed by Victor Saville
The Delivery
The 1954 film The Silver Chalice may not be a classic along the lines of...
- 6/21/2013
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Victor Medina)
- Cinelinx
(Source)
Life, an upcoming biopic about James Dean‘s friendship with Life photographer Dennis Stock, is set to be directed by Dutch filmmaker Anton Corbijn. The project will chronicle the Dean and Stock’s unlikely connection, their cross-country road trip, and Stock’s career beginnings in photographing the young star.
Perhaps it will also answer a question I sometimes think about: Why the hell do people care so much about James Dean?
East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, and Giant are, no doubt, film classics. Dean earned posthumous Oscar nominations for Eden and Giant, and he was certainly a great-looking 24-year-old whose urgent acting style was new and influential, like Marlon Brando‘s. But it’s bizarre that James Dean’s star still seems to outshine other matinee idols of the time like James Stewart, Gene Kelly, William Holden, or even Brando because James Dean died before he became excellent.
Life, an upcoming biopic about James Dean‘s friendship with Life photographer Dennis Stock, is set to be directed by Dutch filmmaker Anton Corbijn. The project will chronicle the Dean and Stock’s unlikely connection, their cross-country road trip, and Stock’s career beginnings in photographing the young star.
Perhaps it will also answer a question I sometimes think about: Why the hell do people care so much about James Dean?
East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, and Giant are, no doubt, film classics. Dean earned posthumous Oscar nominations for Eden and Giant, and he was certainly a great-looking 24-year-old whose urgent acting style was new and influential, like Marlon Brando‘s. But it’s bizarre that James Dean’s star still seems to outshine other matinee idols of the time like James Stewart, Gene Kelly, William Holden, or even Brando because James Dean died before he became excellent.
- 5/28/2013
- by Louis Virtel
- The Backlot
Italian composer of film scores and musicals
Armando Trovajoli, who has died aged 95, was a prolific composer for Italian films and stage musicals. He worked with many of Italy's leading directors, including Mario Monicelli, Dino Risi, Ettore Scola and Vittorio De Sica, for whom he composed music for La Ciociara (Two Women, 1960) and Matrimonio all'Italiana (Marriage Italian Style, 1964), both of which starred Sophia Loren, who became a friend. When Loren was going to Hollywood for the first time in the mid-1950s, Trovajoli composed and recorded with his orchestra a song in Neapolitan for her, Che M'è Mparato a Ffà (What Did You Teach Me to Do?), which did much to launch her in the Us.
Trovajoli was born into an upper-middle-class family in Rome. He learned to play the violin as a boy and, in the 1930s, studied piano at the Santa Cecilia conservatory. By 1939 he was playing with a leading jazz band.
Armando Trovajoli, who has died aged 95, was a prolific composer for Italian films and stage musicals. He worked with many of Italy's leading directors, including Mario Monicelli, Dino Risi, Ettore Scola and Vittorio De Sica, for whom he composed music for La Ciociara (Two Women, 1960) and Matrimonio all'Italiana (Marriage Italian Style, 1964), both of which starred Sophia Loren, who became a friend. When Loren was going to Hollywood for the first time in the mid-1950s, Trovajoli composed and recorded with his orchestra a song in Neapolitan for her, Che M'è Mparato a Ffà (What Did You Teach Me to Do?), which did much to launch her in the Us.
Trovajoli was born into an upper-middle-class family in Rome. He learned to play the violin as a boy and, in the 1930s, studied piano at the Santa Cecilia conservatory. By 1939 he was playing with a leading jazz band.
- 3/10/2013
- by John Francis Lane
- The Guardian - Film News
Kerr in the 1958 box-office blockbuster musical South Pacific (seen above with love interest France Nuyen) and his (few) other post-Tea and Sympathy efforts [Please check out the previous article: "The Two Kerrs in the stage and film versions of Tea and Sympathy."] Director Curtis Bernhardt's Gaby (1956) was a generally disliked remake of Waterloo Bridge, with Kerr and leading lady Leslie Caron in the old Robert Taylor and Vivien Leigh roles (1940 movie version -- and even older Douglass Montgomery and Mae Clarke roles in the 1931 film version). Jeffrey Hayden's The Vintage (1957), starring Kerr and Mel Ferrer absurdly cast as Italian brothers, also failed to generate much box-office or critical interest. MGM leading lady Pier Angeli played Ferrer's love interest in the film, while the more mature and married French star Michèle Morgan (a plot element similar to that found in Tea and Sympathy) is Kerr's object of desire. (Pictured above: South Pacific cast members John Kerr and France Nuyen embracing.) Also in the mid-'50s, John Kerr...
- 2/9/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Octaman is a pretty terrible movie. I know this better than anyone; yet, I love every single second of it despite its numerous shortcomings. I love the monster, the baby monsters, you name it. Some may think I'm nuts, but I cannot help myself.
Finally, after decades of waiting, the film is getting an official DVD release from Bayview Entertainment/Widowmaker.
Octaman is the sought after (mainly by maniacs like myself) 1972 cult classic from director Harry Essex (Creature from the Black Lagoon) and comes to DVD in a newly remastered from 35mm widescreen edition. It features special effects makeup by future Academy Award winner Rick Baker (An American Werewolf in London) and stars Kerwin Matthews (The 7th Voyage of Sinbad), Jeff Morrow (This Island Earth), and Pier Angeli (Battle of the Bulge). The DVD has original trailers, video interview, and a Retromedia Drive-In wrap-around. The DVD also includes a bonus...
Finally, after decades of waiting, the film is getting an official DVD release from Bayview Entertainment/Widowmaker.
Octaman is the sought after (mainly by maniacs like myself) 1972 cult classic from director Harry Essex (Creature from the Black Lagoon) and comes to DVD in a newly remastered from 35mm widescreen edition. It features special effects makeup by future Academy Award winner Rick Baker (An American Werewolf in London) and stars Kerwin Matthews (The 7th Voyage of Sinbad), Jeff Morrow (This Island Earth), and Pier Angeli (Battle of the Bulge). The DVD has original trailers, video interview, and a Retromedia Drive-In wrap-around. The DVD also includes a bonus...
- 8/21/2012
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Consider your movie sold to me, Nick Offerman. Already a hero around these wild internet frontiers for his work on Parks and Recreation, Offerman has imbued his gruff, authoritarian, no-bullshit onto an adoring web-based audience who seem to be the exact types of people who he is criticising with his down to earth approach to life. So, it’s safe to say, he won’t read this and I can say whatever I like about how he probably thinks I’m a giant stud and is intimidated by my manly arms that type big words on the internet.
Promoting his new film, Somebody Up There Likes Me, Offerman has created one’na them viral internet videos the kids are talking about. And, thankfully, rather than actually talking about what the film is about, it just features Offerman, his Irl partner (and Somebody Up There Likes Me co-star) Megan Mullaly, and Community’s Allison Brie,...
Promoting his new film, Somebody Up There Likes Me, Offerman has created one’na them viral internet videos the kids are talking about. And, thankfully, rather than actually talking about what the film is about, it just features Offerman, his Irl partner (and Somebody Up There Likes Me co-star) Megan Mullaly, and Community’s Allison Brie,...
- 7/27/2012
- by Liam Jose
- Boomtron
This is part of Fred Zinnemann Week, hosted at Shadowplay.
I've found that, for some people, the classic-status ubiquity of certain scenes in From Here to Eternity or High Noon, plus the damned aura of taste and quality which surrounds an AFI-favored filmmaker like Fred Zinnemann, can be intensely off-putting. I've also found that I prefer some of the director's less celebrated works. In other words, I think he deserves his high reputation, but perhaps for reasons and films that aren't so well-trodden.
One of Fred Z.'s undoubted attributes was an eye for acting talent. If he had only introduced Brando, Clift and Steiger to the screen, he would deserve to be remembered, but in fact he directed the first films of Julie Harris, Brandon De Wilde, Tony Franciosa, William Hickey, Don Murray, Claude Akins, Shirley Jones and Meryl Streep. And he directed early film appearances of Jessica Tandy,...
I've found that, for some people, the classic-status ubiquity of certain scenes in From Here to Eternity or High Noon, plus the damned aura of taste and quality which surrounds an AFI-favored filmmaker like Fred Zinnemann, can be intensely off-putting. I've also found that I prefer some of the director's less celebrated works. In other words, I think he deserves his high reputation, but perhaps for reasons and films that aren't so well-trodden.
One of Fred Z.'s undoubted attributes was an eye for acting talent. If he had only introduced Brando, Clift and Steiger to the screen, he would deserve to be remembered, but in fact he directed the first films of Julie Harris, Brandon De Wilde, Tony Franciosa, William Hickey, Don Murray, Claude Akins, Shirley Jones and Meryl Streep. And he directed early film appearances of Jessica Tandy,...
- 10/20/2011
- MUBI
Kirk Douglas on TCM: A Letter To Three Wives, Mourning Becomes Electra Schedule (Et) and synopses from the TCM website: 8:00 Pm The Strange Love Of Martha Ivers (1946). Years after a murder drove them apart heiress tries to win back her lost love. Dir: Lewis Milestone. Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Lizabeth Scott, Kirk Douglas, Judith Anderson. Bw-116 mins. 10:00 Pm Out Of The Past (1947). A private eye becomes the dupe of a homicidal moll. Dir: Jacques Tourneur. Cast: Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas, Rhonda Fleming. Bw-97 mins. 11:45 Pm I Walk Alone (1948). An ex-convict discovers the world of crime has changed drastically since he went up the river. Dir: Byron Haskin. Cast: Burt Lancaster, Lizabeth Scott, Kirk Douglas, Wendell Corey. Bw-97 mins. 1:30 Am A Letter To Three Wives (1949). A small-town seductress notifies her three best friends that she has run off with one of their husbands. Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
- 9/7/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
James Dean's short life is now known perhaps more in legend and lore than solid fact, but even he had a secret no one knew. Except for Elizabeth Taylor.
Kevin Sessums, writing for The Daily Beast, reveals that in a wide ranging interview with the just passed Taylor, the famed actress let him in on a secret about Dean that she had promised she'd keep forever. Sworn to secrecy until Taylor's death, Sessums revealed the hidden past of the Rebel Without a Cause.
"When Jimmy was 11 and his mother passed away, he began to be molested by his minister," Taylor said. "I think that haunted him the rest of his life. In fact, I know it did. We talked about it a lot. During 'Giant' we'd stay up nights and talk and talk, and that was one of the things he confessed to me."
Taylor and Dean co-starred in Giant,...
Kevin Sessums, writing for The Daily Beast, reveals that in a wide ranging interview with the just passed Taylor, the famed actress let him in on a secret about Dean that she had promised she'd keep forever. Sworn to secrecy until Taylor's death, Sessums revealed the hidden past of the Rebel Without a Cause.
"When Jimmy was 11 and his mother passed away, he began to be molested by his minister," Taylor said. "I think that haunted him the rest of his life. In fact, I know it did. We talked about it a lot. During 'Giant' we'd stay up nights and talk and talk, and that was one of the things he confessed to me."
Taylor and Dean co-starred in Giant,...
- 3/26/2011
- by Jordan Zakarin
- Huffington Post
There's something special about saucy European sleaze horror in the 70's.
That unique blend of morally bankrupt, American potboiler pulp noir attitude combined with a distinct haute couture informed Euro-sexuality and sensationally stylized level of graphic, phantasmagorical violence just speaks to me. I worship Dario Argento, swoon over Sergio Martino, bite my lip at the name Leon Klimovsky, click my heels over Antonio Bido, pump my fists at the mere mention of Lucio Fulci…yes, I love these men and the maniacal works of misbehaving, lush, junk-shock cinema they once slung (and in some cases, continue to sling).
I've seen and own so many fantastic Italian, Spanish and French genre films from this period that I consider myself something of a connoisseur, a man who knows and loves his Eurotrash and can differentiate between a really good lurid treat, a middling one and one that couldn't cut the mustard in...
That unique blend of morally bankrupt, American potboiler pulp noir attitude combined with a distinct haute couture informed Euro-sexuality and sensationally stylized level of graphic, phantasmagorical violence just speaks to me. I worship Dario Argento, swoon over Sergio Martino, bite my lip at the name Leon Klimovsky, click my heels over Antonio Bido, pump my fists at the mere mention of Lucio Fulci…yes, I love these men and the maniacal works of misbehaving, lush, junk-shock cinema they once slung (and in some cases, continue to sling).
I've seen and own so many fantastic Italian, Spanish and French genre films from this period that I consider myself something of a connoisseur, a man who knows and loves his Eurotrash and can differentiate between a really good lurid treat, a middling one and one that couldn't cut the mustard in...
- 11/23/2008
- Fangoria
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