Based on the play by Joseph Kesselring, Frank Capra's 1944 film version of "Arsenic and Old Lace" may be the director's darkest movie. Playing like a comedic version of Hitchcock, the film is about a pair of kindly old sisters named Abby and Marth (Josephine Hull and Jean Adair) who occasionally take in lodgers for the night in their remote home. If the lodgers reveal themselves to be sad, lonely, unhappy old men, Abby and Martha take it upon themselves to poison them -- using elderberry wine -- as an act of mercy. They then employ their nephew Teddy (John Alexander) to bury the bodies...
The post Frank Capra's Directing Style Didn't Sit Well With Cary Grant appeared first on /Film.
The post Frank Capra's Directing Style Didn't Sit Well With Cary Grant appeared first on /Film.
- 7/8/2022
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
1. “A Star is Born” (1954)
Why Should I Watch? If the Lady Gaga-starring remake from 2018 did anything, it was to show us the power of the “Star is Born” narrative – and if you’re going to watch any of them why not watch the best? Judy Garland stars in her what-should-have-been Oscar-winning role as Esther Blodgett, a woman whose rise to fame comes at the expense of her husband, Norman Main (played by James Mason). Outside of this being a career best for both Garland and Mason, the movie has an added power if you know anything about Garland’s history. The scene wherein Esther details her feelings about Norman’s alcoholism is a gut punch every time, especially as it’s easy to hear it as Garland talking about herself. Laugh, sing, and cry with “A Star is Born” on March 2.
2. “North By Northwest” (1959)
Why Should I Watch? One...
Why Should I Watch? If the Lady Gaga-starring remake from 2018 did anything, it was to show us the power of the “Star is Born” narrative – and if you’re going to watch any of them why not watch the best? Judy Garland stars in her what-should-have-been Oscar-winning role as Esther Blodgett, a woman whose rise to fame comes at the expense of her husband, Norman Main (played by James Mason). Outside of this being a career best for both Garland and Mason, the movie has an added power if you know anything about Garland’s history. The scene wherein Esther details her feelings about Norman’s alcoholism is a gut punch every time, especially as it’s easy to hear it as Garland talking about herself. Laugh, sing, and cry with “A Star is Born” on March 2.
2. “North By Northwest” (1959)
Why Should I Watch? One...
- 3/2/2021
- by Kristen Lopez
- Indiewire
Presenting the Supporting Actresses of '44. A low class maid, a French baroness, a patriotic nurse, a weary shop-owner and a "Chinese" village woman battled it out for Oscar gold. We're here to re-judge that contest.
The Nominees
from left to right: Barrymore, Jones, Lansbury, MacMahon, Moorehead
Oscar was still besotted with recent nominees Jennifer Jones & Agnes Moorehead (both on their quick second nominations) but joining the party were two veterans who'd never been honored (Ethel Barrymore & Aline MacMahon) and one very fresh face who would go on to an enviably long cross-platform showbiz career, now in its 73rd year (!) -- Angela Lansbury in her film debut!
Notable supporting roles for women that the Academy passed over in 1944 were Mary Astor (Meet Me in St Louis), Shirley Temple (Since You Went Away), Dame May Whitty (Gaslight), and Joseph Hull & Jean Adair (Arsenic & Old Lace). Can you think of any others?...
The Nominees
from left to right: Barrymore, Jones, Lansbury, MacMahon, Moorehead
Oscar was still besotted with recent nominees Jennifer Jones & Agnes Moorehead (both on their quick second nominations) but joining the party were two veterans who'd never been honored (Ethel Barrymore & Aline MacMahon) and one very fresh face who would go on to an enviably long cross-platform showbiz career, now in its 73rd year (!) -- Angela Lansbury in her film debut!
Notable supporting roles for women that the Academy passed over in 1944 were Mary Astor (Meet Me in St Louis), Shirley Temple (Since You Went Away), Dame May Whitty (Gaslight), and Joseph Hull & Jean Adair (Arsenic & Old Lace). Can you think of any others?...
- 11/5/2017
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Raymond Massey ca. 1940. Raymond Massey movies: From Lincoln to Boris Karloff Though hardly remembered today, the Toronto-born Raymond Massey was a top supporting player – and sometime lead – in both British and American movies from the early '30s all the way to the early '60s. During that period, Massey was featured in nearly 50 films. Turner Classic Movies generally selects the same old MGM / Rko / Warner Bros. stars for its annual “Summer Under the Stars” series. For that reason, it's great to see someone like Raymond Massey – who was with Warners in the '40s – be the focus of a whole day: Sat., Aug. 8, '15. (See TCM's Raymond Massey movie schedule further below.) Admittedly, despite his prestige – his stage credits included the title role in the short-lived 1931 Broadway production of Hamlet – the quality of Massey's performances varied wildly. Sometimes he could be quite effective; most of the time, however, he was an unabashed scenery chewer,...
- 8/8/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Every Sunday, Film School Rejects presents a movie that was made before you were born and tells you why you should like it. This week, Old Ass Movies presents the story of two women who kill old men for charity, their nephew who wants to get married without being sent to prison, his brother who thinks he’s Teddy Roosevelt and his other brother who looks like Boris Karloff and has killed plenty of people himself. Insanity might run in the family, but it’s also the story of the bodies buried in the basement and the one still hanging around the living room. Yes. It’s a comedy. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) Directed by: Frank Capra Starring: Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey, Peter Lorre, Josephine Hull, Jean Adair Arsenic and Old Lace proves one thing about classic era Hollywood: that a mainstream studio wasn’t always afraid to go a little off-kilter. There...
- 1/23/2011
- by Cole Abaius
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
The IMDb250. A list of the top 250 films, as ranked by the users of the biggest movie Internet site on the web. It is based upon the ratings provided by the users of The Internet Movie Database, which number into the millions. As such, it’s a perfect representation of the opinions of the movie masses, and arguably the most comprehensive ranking system on the Internet.
It’s because of this that we at HeyUGuys (and in this case, we, is myself and Barry) have decided to set ourselves a project. To watch and review all 250 movies on the list! We’ve frozen the list as of 1st January this year. It’s not as simple as it sounds, as we’ll be watching them in one year, 125 each.
This is our eighteenth update, a rundown of my next five movies watched for the project. Again another week of great...
It’s because of this that we at HeyUGuys (and in this case, we, is myself and Barry) have decided to set ourselves a project. To watch and review all 250 movies on the list! We’ve frozen the list as of 1st January this year. It’s not as simple as it sounds, as we’ll be watching them in one year, 125 each.
This is our eighteenth update, a rundown of my next five movies watched for the project. Again another week of great...
- 5/24/2010
- by Gary Phillips
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
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