The former most popular episode of "The Twilight Zone" had a bumpy road to success. The season 3 outing "Nothing in the Dark" may have left a strong impression on viewers with its passionate take on mortality, but some of its casting choices left those involved worried it wouldn't work at first. Namely: a young Robert Redford, still in his earliest years on screen, apparently didn't make a strong positive impression with his performance.
"He was very new," episode director Lamont Johnson is quoted as saying in Marc Scott Zicree's book "The Twilight Zone Companion." Johnson, who also helmed such famous chapters as "The Shelter" and "Five Characters in Search of an Exit," didn't outright disparage Redford's performance as one of just three characters in the episode, but Zicree notes that he wasn't great in the chapter in which he interviews the filmmaker. While Johnson wasn't outright critical of the actor,...
"He was very new," episode director Lamont Johnson is quoted as saying in Marc Scott Zicree's book "The Twilight Zone Companion." Johnson, who also helmed such famous chapters as "The Shelter" and "Five Characters in Search of an Exit," didn't outright disparage Redford's performance as one of just three characters in the episode, but Zicree notes that he wasn't great in the chapter in which he interviews the filmmaker. While Johnson wasn't outright critical of the actor,...
- 12/31/2023
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
The third-season episode of "The Twilight Zone" called "Nothing in the Dark," which first aired on January 5, 1962, is about an elderly woman living unhappily alone in a grim-looking, brick-walled basement apartment in an empty building. Wanda (Gladys Cooper) has, in recent years, become a recluse, fearing that a sojourn to the outside world will bring her face-to-face with death. By her description, however, this is literal. She once saw a man touch a woman with his finger, killing her instantly, leading her to know with utter certainty that Death is a person. Death, she also knows, can also look like anyone. So she surmises it might be best to stay away from people altogether.
When a handsome young Robert Redford knocks on her door, however, her idyll is smashed. Redford plays a young cop named Harold who was shot in the line of duty and needs immediate medical care. Wanda refuses to let him in,...
When a handsome young Robert Redford knocks on her door, however, her idyll is smashed. Redford plays a young cop named Harold who was shot in the line of duty and needs immediate medical care. Wanda refuses to let him in,...
- 10/14/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
There are a whole lot of things that Robert Redford is famous for: acting, directing, co-founding the Sundance Film Festival, being incredibly handsome, even running Hydra from within the United States government ... the list goes on and on and on. He became a silver screen icon in classic films like "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "The Way We Were," "The Sting," "Three Days of the Condor," "The Natural," "Sneakers," and "Captain America: The Winter Soldier." He even won an Academy Award for directing the acclaimed 1980 drama "Ordinary People."
But in spite of all that there's one thing that Robert Redford is not famous for, and that's his tireless work in the horror genre. That's because, despite an acting career that spanned 60 years, he never really made any horror films. You'd have to go way back to 1962 to find Redford's last real brush with the supernatural, but it's well worth the journey.
But in spite of all that there's one thing that Robert Redford is not famous for, and that's his tireless work in the horror genre. That's because, despite an acting career that spanned 60 years, he never really made any horror films. You'd have to go way back to 1962 to find Redford's last real brush with the supernatural, but it's well worth the journey.
- 9/4/2023
- by William Bibbiani
- Slash Film
The United States had been at war a little over a year when the 15th Academy Awards were presented on March 4, 1943. It was the last year that the awards were celebrated at a lavish banquet; they would be moved to a theater setting in the ensuing years. The impact of World War II can be seen in the films honored, as well as the ceremony itself.
Popular musical star Jeannette MacDonald sang the National Anthem, and newly enlisted military privates Tyrone Power and Alan Ladd unfurled a flag that listed over 25,000 film industry members who had joined the armed forces. Bob Hope hosted the event, which saw one big winner, numerous patriotic choices and the first win for one of the industry’s biggest record-makers. Let’s flashback 80 years to the Oscars ceremony of 1943.
SEEOscar hosts: Performers who have hosted the Academy Awards
Ten movies made the cut for a Best Picture nomination.
Popular musical star Jeannette MacDonald sang the National Anthem, and newly enlisted military privates Tyrone Power and Alan Ladd unfurled a flag that listed over 25,000 film industry members who had joined the armed forces. Bob Hope hosted the event, which saw one big winner, numerous patriotic choices and the first win for one of the industry’s biggest record-makers. Let’s flashback 80 years to the Oscars ceremony of 1943.
SEEOscar hosts: Performers who have hosted the Academy Awards
Ten movies made the cut for a Best Picture nomination.
- 2/6/2023
- by Susan Pennington
- Gold Derby
"My Fair Lady" is a 1964 movie musical based on the 1956 Lerner and Loewe stage musical of the same name, which is in turned based on the 1913 stage play "Pygmalion" which, in its own turn, is based on Greek mythology. Sure, that trail ends with Hollywood, but Broadway is up to exact same shenanigans when it comes to remakes and reboots. Although the story of "My Fair Lady" is significantly altered from the original mythos, the core relationship between creator and creation is unchanged. Well, it's now about British high society and not about a sculptor and a sculpture anymore. Close enough, right?
Anyway, the 1964 film stars the one and only Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle, the titular fair lady. Co-starring as professor Henry Higgins, the titular claimant of possessing a "fair lady," is Rex Harrison, who also played the role opposite Julie Andrews in the original Broadway production. Wilfrid Hyde-White,...
Anyway, the 1964 film stars the one and only Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle, the titular fair lady. Co-starring as professor Henry Higgins, the titular claimant of possessing a "fair lady," is Rex Harrison, who also played the role opposite Julie Andrews in the original Broadway production. Wilfrid Hyde-White,...
- 1/8/2023
- by Cameron Roy Hall
- Slash Film
Grant is a suave stranger who stirs up the strained marriage of Niven and Loretta Young in this fey but beguiling seasonal tale
There’s an unworldly charm and odd, innocent solemnity to this Christmas fantasy comedy from 1947, now on rerelease, directed by Henry Koster and starring Cary Grant, David Niven and Loretta Young. Niven plays the sobersided Bishop Henry Brougham, a decent but now careworn man whose overwork has lately caused him to neglect the happiness of his sweet-natured wife Julia (Young) and infant daughter Debby (Karolyn Grimes). As the Christmas season approaches, the bishop is becoming a veritable Scrooge, a role he effectively shares with the wealthy widow Mrs Hamilton (Gladys Cooper). She was instrumental in getting him the bishop’s job in the first place, and is now exhaustingly stringing him along with a promise to fund the building of a vainglorious new cathedral with which the...
There’s an unworldly charm and odd, innocent solemnity to this Christmas fantasy comedy from 1947, now on rerelease, directed by Henry Koster and starring Cary Grant, David Niven and Loretta Young. Niven plays the sobersided Bishop Henry Brougham, a decent but now careworn man whose overwork has lately caused him to neglect the happiness of his sweet-natured wife Julia (Young) and infant daughter Debby (Karolyn Grimes). As the Christmas season approaches, the bishop is becoming a veritable Scrooge, a role he effectively shares with the wealthy widow Mrs Hamilton (Gladys Cooper). She was instrumental in getting him the bishop’s job in the first place, and is now exhaustingly stringing him along with a promise to fund the building of a vainglorious new cathedral with which the...
- 12/7/2022
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
A post-James Bond Daniel Craig and Oscar-nominee Ruth Negga currently are shaking things up on Broadway in the latest revival of “Macbeth,” Shakespeare’s tragedy of mayhem, power, murder and madness. The “Scottish play” has a reputation for being cursed because the Bard used real witches’ spells.
It certainly has fallen afoul of the Tony Awards over the years. Negga was nominated but Craig was snubbed. Of the 11 previous stagings of “Macbeth” since the start of the Tony Awards, only the 2008 revival merited nominations for both stars (Patrick Stewart and Kate Fleetwood). Glenda Jackson reaped a bid in 1988 while Christopher Plummer was left in the wings.
The first recorded production of the play in New York was way back in 1768 at the John Street Theatre, which had been built the year before. Though the closing date is unknown, the theater was demolished in 1897. Lewis Hallam, who is the only known cast member,...
It certainly has fallen afoul of the Tony Awards over the years. Negga was nominated but Craig was snubbed. Of the 11 previous stagings of “Macbeth” since the start of the Tony Awards, only the 2008 revival merited nominations for both stars (Patrick Stewart and Kate Fleetwood). Glenda Jackson reaped a bid in 1988 while Christopher Plummer was left in the wings.
The first recorded production of the play in New York was way back in 1768 at the John Street Theatre, which had been built the year before. Though the closing date is unknown, the theater was demolished in 1897. Lewis Hallam, who is the only known cast member,...
- 5/10/2022
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Oscar certainly loves mothers. All five of this year’s Best Actress nominees — Jessica Chastain (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”), Olivia Colman (“The Lost Daughter”), Penelope Cruz (“Parallel Mothers”), Nicole Kidman (“Being the Ricardos”) and Kirsten Stewart (“Spencer”) — play mothers. Ditto four out of five supporting nominees: Jessie Buckley (“The Lost Daughter”), Judi Dench (“Belfast”), Kirsten Dunst (“The Power of the Dog”) and Aunjanue Ellis (“King Richard”); the fifth contender is Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”).
Actresses love getting maternal sinking their teeth-and sometimes claws-into mother roles whether they be good, bad, ugly or downright evil. Here’s a look at some early memorable mother performances that made Oscars history.
The mother of all mothers was Ruth Chatterton. Though she is not as well-remembered as other actresses from the Golden Age of Hollywood, she was extremely popular in the late 1920s and early ‘30s. Though no nominations were officially announced for the second annual Oscars,...
Actresses love getting maternal sinking their teeth-and sometimes claws-into mother roles whether they be good, bad, ugly or downright evil. Here’s a look at some early memorable mother performances that made Oscars history.
The mother of all mothers was Ruth Chatterton. Though she is not as well-remembered as other actresses from the Golden Age of Hollywood, she was extremely popular in the late 1920s and early ‘30s. Though no nominations were officially announced for the second annual Oscars,...
- 2/18/2022
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
The best picture prize is what every studio and filmmaker covets, whether they publicly admit it or not. But, of course, it would help if you had the star power to make it happen. Oscar winners Leonardo DiCaprio and Cate Blanchett both have proven that they have said star power with the amount of best picture nominees (and winners) they’ve appeared in over their careers. With DiCaprio starring in “Don’t Look Up” alongside Blanchett, who is co-starring in another awards vehicle, “Nightmare Alley,” both stand a solid chance of getting close to — or possibly breaking — a record.
This year, Blanchett’s double feature outings could have her breaking a significant record for female actors. The two-time Oscar-winning actress currently has had a role in seven former Academy nominees: “Elizabeth” (1998), “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “The Aviator” (2004), “Babel” (2006) and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (2008). She’s currently tied...
This year, Blanchett’s double feature outings could have her breaking a significant record for female actors. The two-time Oscar-winning actress currently has had a role in seven former Academy nominees: “Elizabeth” (1998), “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “The Aviator” (2004), “Babel” (2006) and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (2008). She’s currently tied...
- 1/27/2022
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
A wealthy young woman escapes her tyrannical mother to fall hopelessly in love in this magnificent Hollywood melodrama
The towering 1942 romantic melodrama Now, Voyager, starring Bette Davis and Paul Henreid has been re-released, and its audiences will once again get swept away in the emotional tsunami created by Max Steiner’s orchestral score; the music’s almost outrageous grandiloquence matches the passion and absolute seriousness of the film, and underscores Steiner’s reputation as the Tchaikovsky of the Hollywood golden age. The film was a sensational success and its keynote scene where Henreid suavely lights two cigarettes at once – one for him, one for Davis – was much copied by saucer-eyed fans. Clive James confessed that he attempted it while trying to impress a girl on a date, only for her to say she didn’t smoke, leaving him looking like a walrus.
Charlotte Vale (Davis) is a young woman from...
The towering 1942 romantic melodrama Now, Voyager, starring Bette Davis and Paul Henreid has been re-released, and its audiences will once again get swept away in the emotional tsunami created by Max Steiner’s orchestral score; the music’s almost outrageous grandiloquence matches the passion and absolute seriousness of the film, and underscores Steiner’s reputation as the Tchaikovsky of the Hollywood golden age. The film was a sensational success and its keynote scene where Henreid suavely lights two cigarettes at once – one for him, one for Davis – was much copied by saucer-eyed fans. Clive James confessed that he attempted it while trying to impress a girl on a date, only for her to say she didn’t smoke, leaving him looking like a walrus.
Charlotte Vale (Davis) is a young woman from...
- 8/4/2021
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Now for a real treat for musical fans, a core MGM dazzler with top stars, fully restored and looking incredibly good. Vincente Minnelli’s snappy, funny 1948 show isn’t ranked among producer Arthur Freed’s best but it ought to be. Silly farce gets a high-toned, technically amazing workout as Judy Garland’s demure señorita secretly lusts after the ruthless corsair of the title, Mack the Black! Gene Kelly’s slippery carny womanizer impersonates her piratical fantasy sex object, and it all ends in clowning and killer musical numbers. Cole Porter’s smart songs attest to the great orchestrators and arrangers in MGM’s world-class music department; the new full digital restoration makes the movie look and sound better than I’ve certainly ever seen it.
The Pirate
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1948 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 102 min. / Street Date November 24, 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Walter Slezak,...
The Pirate
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1948 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 102 min. / Street Date November 24, 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Walter Slezak,...
- 11/24/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Although only one of these 1950s B&w thrillers falls within a mile of a hard definition of film noir, all give us glamorous actresses in interesting roles. Claudette Colbert takes her turn at playing a nun, Merle Oberon tries a femme fatale role on for size and Hedy Lamarr does very well for herself as a man-hungry movie star. Kino gives all three excellent transfers, and one comes with an appropriately gossipy audio commentary.
Film Noir the Dark Side of Cinema II
Thunder on the Hill, The Price of Fear, The Female Animal
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1951-58 / B&w / 1:37 Academy, 1:85 widescreen / 84,79,82 min. / Street Date May 12, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 49.95
Starring: Claudette Colbert, Ann Blyth, Robert Douglas, Anne Crawford, Connie Gilchrist, Gladys Cooper, Michael Pate, Phillip Friend; Merle Oberon, Lex Barker, Charles Drake, Gia Scala, Warren Stevens, Phillip Pine, Konstantin Shayne, Stafford Repp; Hedy Lamarr, Jane Powell,...
Film Noir the Dark Side of Cinema II
Thunder on the Hill, The Price of Fear, The Female Animal
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1951-58 / B&w / 1:37 Academy, 1:85 widescreen / 84,79,82 min. / Street Date May 12, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 49.95
Starring: Claudette Colbert, Ann Blyth, Robert Douglas, Anne Crawford, Connie Gilchrist, Gladys Cooper, Michael Pate, Phillip Friend; Merle Oberon, Lex Barker, Charles Drake, Gia Scala, Warren Stevens, Phillip Pine, Konstantin Shayne, Stafford Repp; Hedy Lamarr, Jane Powell,...
- 5/25/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Stars: Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, Gladys Cooper, Claude Rains, Bonita Granville | Written by Casey Robinson | Directed by Irving Rapper
The secret at the heart of the Boston social scene is Charlotte Vale (Bette Davis) – a shy, repressed, mentally unstable young woman, tortured by her overbearing mother (Gladys Cooper). Charlotte’s older sister (Bonita Granville) arranges for a visit from the esteemed Dr Jaquith (Claude Rains), who recommends a stay at his hospital in Vermont. The retreat proves life changing. Charlotte’s adventurous spirit is awoken, and she takes a voyage to Brazil. En route she meets the unhappily married Jerry (Paul Henreid). The pair fall in love. Having said farewell to Jerry – apparently forever – Charlotte returns home, and finds that while she has been transformed, her increasingly ill mother hasn’t changed at all. It’s now a question of whether Charlotte’s increasing self-confidence can continue in the great yawning mansion,...
The secret at the heart of the Boston social scene is Charlotte Vale (Bette Davis) – a shy, repressed, mentally unstable young woman, tortured by her overbearing mother (Gladys Cooper). Charlotte’s older sister (Bonita Granville) arranges for a visit from the esteemed Dr Jaquith (Claude Rains), who recommends a stay at his hospital in Vermont. The retreat proves life changing. Charlotte’s adventurous spirit is awoken, and she takes a voyage to Brazil. En route she meets the unhappily married Jerry (Paul Henreid). The pair fall in love. Having said farewell to Jerry – apparently forever – Charlotte returns home, and finds that while she has been transformed, her increasingly ill mother hasn’t changed at all. It’s now a question of whether Charlotte’s increasing self-confidence can continue in the great yawning mansion,...
- 12/6/2019
- by Rupert Harvey
- Nerdly
This must be an official Bette Davis month… Criterion has two vintage Davis pictures on offer, and TCM is devoted to a roundup of the actress’s work as well. This one qualifies as the all-time champion Women’s Weepie, but one that holds up as a great picture on all levels. Director Irving Rapper guided this best-ever drama, in which a put-upon Ugly Duckling throws off oppressive familial chains and blossoms into a woman of the world. She then makes choices of personal nobility and selflessness, that will challenge anybody’s notions of saint-like deportment. It’s the kind of show normally gets discussed over coffee, not by film critics, so the extras on this one are especially interesting.
Now, Voyager
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 10004
1942 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 117 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date November 26, 2019 / 39.95
Starring: Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Gladys Cooper, Bonita Granville.
Now, Voyager
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 10004
1942 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 117 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date November 26, 2019 / 39.95
Starring: Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Gladys Cooper, Bonita Granville.
- 11/23/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
It’s the formidable Bette Davis once again, in yet another superior William Wyler picture. The Somerset Maugham play is a classy vehicle for a star performance — the nagging legal ‘difficulty’ of plantation wife Leslie Crosbie is intertwined with colonial politics but remains entirely personal. Leslie isn’t exactly a poster girl for the feminist movement. Is she the victim of social pressures or just a petty, selfish monster? Screenwriter Howard Koch had to invent a twisted new ‘yellow peril’ finish to appease the Production Code … you know, the Code that some people say made Hollywood movies better.
The Letter
Blu-ray
The Warner Archive Collection
1940 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 95 min. / Street Date September 24, 2019 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson, Frieda Inescort, Gale Sondergaard.
Cinematography: Tony Gaudio
Art Direction: Carl Jules Weyl
Film Editor: George Amy, Warren Low
Original Music: Max Steiner
Written by Howard...
The Letter
Blu-ray
The Warner Archive Collection
1940 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 95 min. / Street Date September 24, 2019 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson, Frieda Inescort, Gale Sondergaard.
Cinematography: Tony Gaudio
Art Direction: Carl Jules Weyl
Film Editor: George Amy, Warren Low
Original Music: Max Steiner
Written by Howard...
- 10/5/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Ethan Hawke is this awards’ season critical darling earning several best actor nods from critic’s groups including the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. and New York Film Critics Circle for his powerful performance as a troubled clergyman haunted with his past and the future in Paul Schrader’s “First Reformed.”
Hawke, who also won the Gotham Awards honor for best actor, is also nominated for a Critics Choice and a Film Independent Spirit Award but was snubbed in the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.
But Hawke, who has received four previously Oscar nominations including for supporting actor for 2014’s “Boyhood,” shouldn’t give up the faith about a fifth nomination. Over the years, the academy has embraced actors and actresses who played members of the clergy with six wins and upwards of two dozen nominations.
Predict the Oscar nominations now; change them until January 22
Both Spencer Tracy...
Hawke, who also won the Gotham Awards honor for best actor, is also nominated for a Critics Choice and a Film Independent Spirit Award but was snubbed in the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.
But Hawke, who has received four previously Oscar nominations including for supporting actor for 2014’s “Boyhood,” shouldn’t give up the faith about a fifth nomination. Over the years, the academy has embraced actors and actresses who played members of the clergy with six wins and upwards of two dozen nominations.
Predict the Oscar nominations now; change them until January 22
Both Spencer Tracy...
- 1/2/2019
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Presenting Oscar's Chosen Supporting Actresses of the Films of 1943.
A cruel nun, a flirtatious nurse, a gypsy rebel, a harried mother, and a wealthy hostess. It's not the elaborate start of a joke, but the nominated characters from the Best Supporting Actress race of 1943. There was only one returning nominee (Gladys Cooper) but in the 1940s all newbie lists were common since the supporting categories had been around less than a decade! Anne Revere and Cooper would eventually become three time Supporting Actress nominees but for Paulette Goddard, Katina Paxinou, and Lucille Watson this was their one and only time in Oscar's golden embrace.
This Month's Panelists
Here to talk about these five nominated turns and either agree with the Academy or crown a new retrospective winner are, in alpha order: Yaseen Ali (cinephile), Kristen Lopez (critic), Rebecca Pahle (critic), Kieran Scarlett (screenwriter) and Nathaniel R (your host here at...
A cruel nun, a flirtatious nurse, a gypsy rebel, a harried mother, and a wealthy hostess. It's not the elaborate start of a joke, but the nominated characters from the Best Supporting Actress race of 1943. There was only one returning nominee (Gladys Cooper) but in the 1940s all newbie lists were common since the supporting categories had been around less than a decade! Anne Revere and Cooper would eventually become three time Supporting Actress nominees but for Paulette Goddard, Katina Paxinou, and Lucille Watson this was their one and only time in Oscar's golden embrace.
This Month's Panelists
Here to talk about these five nominated turns and either agree with the Academy or crown a new retrospective winner are, in alpha order: Yaseen Ali (cinephile), Kristen Lopez (critic), Rebecca Pahle (critic), Kieran Scarlett (screenwriter) and Nathaniel R (your host here at...
- 7/29/2018
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
by Nathaniel R
Thanks to all the wonderful readers who've commented on or shared or expressed enthusiasm for the Supporting Actress Smackdowns this summer. So far we've looked at 1970 and 1994. Our 'year of the month' for July will be 1943.
On Sunday July 29th "The Supporting Actress Smackdown of 1943"
Gladys Cooper, The Song of Bernadette [Amazon | iTunes] Paulette Goddard, So Proudly We Hail [Amazon] Katina Paxinou, For Whom the Bell Tolls [Amazon | iTunes] Anne Revere, The Song of Bernadette [Amazon | iTunes] Lucille Watson, Watch on the Rhine [Amazon | iTunes | Filmstruck]
Balloting opens July 1st and closes July 26th. Please do not vote before balloting is open as your ballot will likely be lost in the shuffle. How To Vote: E-mail with "1943" in the subject line and each performance that you've seen rated on a scale of 1 (bad) to 5 (stupendous) hearts. You don't have to include the reasons behind your votes but if you do we might quote you at the smackdown.
Thanks to all the wonderful readers who've commented on or shared or expressed enthusiasm for the Supporting Actress Smackdowns this summer. So far we've looked at 1970 and 1994. Our 'year of the month' for July will be 1943.
On Sunday July 29th "The Supporting Actress Smackdown of 1943"
Gladys Cooper, The Song of Bernadette [Amazon | iTunes] Paulette Goddard, So Proudly We Hail [Amazon] Katina Paxinou, For Whom the Bell Tolls [Amazon | iTunes] Anne Revere, The Song of Bernadette [Amazon | iTunes] Lucille Watson, Watch on the Rhine [Amazon | iTunes | Filmstruck]
Balloting opens July 1st and closes July 26th. Please do not vote before balloting is open as your ballot will likely be lost in the shuffle. How To Vote: E-mail with "1943" in the subject line and each performance that you've seen rated on a scale of 1 (bad) to 5 (stupendous) hearts. You don't have to include the reasons behind your votes but if you do we might quote you at the smackdown.
- 6/28/2018
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Out of the all nominees spread across the 26 categories at the 2018 Tony Awards, 18 of them stand out as particularly noteworthy items of trivia.
Three of this year’s acting nominees have now been nominated for every single appearance they’ve made on Broadway to date: Glenda Jackson (“Three Tall Women”) with five; Diana Rigg (“My Fair Lady”) with four; and Andrew Garfield (“Angels in America”) with two.
Three of the four nominees for Best Lead Actress in a Play represent the only recognition for their productions: Condola Rashad (“Saint Joan”); Lauren Ridloff (“Children of a Lesser God”); and Amy Schumer (“Meteor Shower”).
Three of last year’s acting nominees are back in the running this year: Laurie Metcalf, who won Lead Actress in a Play last year for “A Doll’s House, Part 2” is nominated for Featured Actress in a Play this year for “Three Tall Women”. One of Metcalf...
Three of this year’s acting nominees have now been nominated for every single appearance they’ve made on Broadway to date: Glenda Jackson (“Three Tall Women”) with five; Diana Rigg (“My Fair Lady”) with four; and Andrew Garfield (“Angels in America”) with two.
Three of the four nominees for Best Lead Actress in a Play represent the only recognition for their productions: Condola Rashad (“Saint Joan”); Lauren Ridloff (“Children of a Lesser God”); and Amy Schumer (“Meteor Shower”).
Three of last year’s acting nominees are back in the running this year: Laurie Metcalf, who won Lead Actress in a Play last year for “A Doll’s House, Part 2” is nominated for Featured Actress in a Play this year for “Three Tall Women”. One of Metcalf...
- 5/1/2018
- by Jeffrey Kare
- Gold Derby
Among this year’s 20 actors to earn Oscar nominations are Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep and Octavia Spencer, up for their turns in “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”; “The Post”; and “The Shape of Water,” respectively. Washington, Streep and Spencer mark the trio of actors to this year earn consecutive Oscar nominations, having last year been up for “Fences,” “Florence Foster Jenkins,” and “Hidden Figures.” Their achievement marks the 14th occasion in Oscar history in which three or more actors have returned as nominees the following ceremony.
SEEOscars 2018: Nominations in All 24 Categories
In the early days of the Oscars, consecutive acting nominations were commonplace. From 1936 to 1947, there were eight occasions of this nature. Let’s take a look back at those years:
1936 and 1937 (Paul Muni, Spencer Tracy, Luise Rainer, Irene Dunne and Alice Brady)
1939 and 1940 (Laurence Olivier, James Stewart and Bette Davis)
1940 and 1941 (Bette Davis, Joan Fontaine and Walter Brennan)
1941 and 1942 (Gary Cooper,...
SEEOscars 2018: Nominations in All 24 Categories
In the early days of the Oscars, consecutive acting nominations were commonplace. From 1936 to 1947, there were eight occasions of this nature. Let’s take a look back at those years:
1936 and 1937 (Paul Muni, Spencer Tracy, Luise Rainer, Irene Dunne and Alice Brady)
1939 and 1940 (Laurence Olivier, James Stewart and Bette Davis)
1940 and 1941 (Bette Davis, Joan Fontaine and Walter Brennan)
1941 and 1942 (Gary Cooper,...
- 1/29/2018
- by Andrew Carden
- Gold Derby
Please read the Supporting Actress Smackdown of 1944 before listening please!
After voting in the Smackdown Nathaniel and the panel which included Mark Harris, Loren King, Farran Smith Nehme, Molly Pope, and Matthew Rettenmund got together to talk about the five films we watched and that era in Hollywood during World War II. We hope you enjoy the conversation!
Index (62 minutes)
00:01 Introductions of the Panel
03:00 Dragon Seed, yellowface, production trouble, and Oscar theories
11:50 Since You Went Away, war propaganda, and acting styles
24:00 None but the Lonely Heart, Cary Grant, Barrymore and "great lady" acting
38:50 Gaslight and Mrs Parkington
51:30 Our favorites of 1944 including Meet Me in St Louis and Double Indemnity
57:30 The forgotten Wilson, final Oscar notes and goodbyes.
You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you?
Gladys Cooper downing the drinks!
After voting in the Smackdown Nathaniel and the panel which included Mark Harris, Loren King, Farran Smith Nehme, Molly Pope, and Matthew Rettenmund got together to talk about the five films we watched and that era in Hollywood during World War II. We hope you enjoy the conversation!
Index (62 minutes)
00:01 Introductions of the Panel
03:00 Dragon Seed, yellowface, production trouble, and Oscar theories
11:50 Since You Went Away, war propaganda, and acting styles
24:00 None but the Lonely Heart, Cary Grant, Barrymore and "great lady" acting
38:50 Gaslight and Mrs Parkington
51:30 Our favorites of 1944 including Meet Me in St Louis and Double Indemnity
57:30 The forgotten Wilson, final Oscar notes and goodbyes.
You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you?
Gladys Cooper downing the drinks!
- 11/6/2017
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Hal Roach looks on as technicians install Vitaphone equipment in his studio screening room, ca. 1928. (Click on the image to enlarge it.) 'A Century of Sound': Q&A with former UCLA Preservation Officer Robert Gitt about the evolution of film sound technology Long before multi-track Dolby stereo and digital sound technology, there were the Kinetophone and the Vitaphone systems – not to mention organ and piano players at movie houses. Much of that is discussed in A Century of Sound, which chronicles the evolution of film sound from the late 19th century to the mid-1970s. A Century of Sound has been split into two parts, with a third installment currently in the planning stages. They are: Vol. 1, “The Beginning, 1876-1932,” which came out on DVD in 2007. Vol. 2, “The Sound of Movies: 1933-1975,” which came out on Blu-ray in 2015. The third installment will bring the presentation into the 21st century.
- 1/26/2016
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Billy Wilder directed Sunset Blvd. with Gloria Swanson and William Holden. Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett movies Below is a list of movies on which Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder worked together as screenwriters, including efforts for which they did not receive screen credit. The Wilder-Brackett screenwriting partnership lasted from 1938 to 1949. During that time, they shared two Academy Awards for their work on The Lost Weekend (1945) and, with D.M. Marshman Jr., Sunset Blvd. (1950). More detailed information further below. Post-split years Billy Wilder would later join forces with screenwriter I.A.L. Diamond in movies such as the classic comedy Some Like It Hot (1959), the Best Picture Oscar winner The Apartment (1960), and One Two Three (1961), notable as James Cagney's last film (until a brief comeback in Milos Forman's Ragtime two decades later). Although some of these movies were quite well received, Wilder's later efforts – which also included The Seven Year Itch...
- 9/16/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Ron Moody as Fagin in 'Oliver!' based on Charles Dickens' 'Oliver Twist.' Ron Moody as Fagin in Dickens musical 'Oliver!': Box office and critical hit (See previous post: "Ron Moody: 'Oliver!' Actor, Academy Award Nominee Dead at 91.") Although British made, Oliver! turned out to be an elephantine release along the lines of – exclamation point or no – Gypsy, Star!, Hello Dolly!, and other Hollywood mega-musicals from the mid'-50s to the early '70s.[1] But however bloated and conventional the final result, and a cast whose best-known name was that of director Carol Reed's nephew, Oliver Reed, Oliver! found countless fans.[2] The mostly British production became a huge financial and critical success in the U.S. at a time when star-studded mega-musicals had become perilous – at times downright disastrous – ventures.[3] Upon the American release of Oliver! in Dec. 1968, frequently acerbic The...
- 6/19/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
'San Andreas' movie with Dwayne Johnson. 'San Andreas' movie box office: $100 million domestic milestone today As the old saying (sort of) goes: If you build it, they will come. Warner Bros. built a gigantic video game, called it San Andreas, and They have come to check out Dwayne Johnson perform miraculous deeds not seen since ... George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road, released two weeks earlier. Embraced by moviegoers, hungry for quality, original storylines and well-delineated characters – and with the assistance of 3D surcharges – the San Andreas movie debuted with $54.58 million from 3,777 theaters on its first weekend out (May 29-31) in North America. Down a perfectly acceptable 52 percent on its second weekend (June 5-7), the special effects-laden actioner collected an extra $25.83 million, trailing only the Melissa McCarthy-Jason Statham comedy Spy, (with $29.08 million) as found at Box Office Mojo.* And that's how this original movie – it's not officially a remake,...
- 6/9/2015
- by Zac Gille
- Alt Film Guide
Teresa Wright: Later years (See preceding post: "Teresa Wright: From Marlon Brando to Matt Damon.") Teresa Wright and Robert Anderson were divorced in 1978. They would remain friends in the ensuing years.[1] Wright spent most of the last decade of her life in Connecticut, making only sporadic public appearances. In 1998, she could be seen with her grandson, film producer Jonah Smith, at New York's Yankee Stadium, where she threw the ceremonial first pitch.[2] Wright also became involved in the Greater New York chapter of the Als Association. (The Pride of the Yankees subject, Lou Gehrig, died of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in 1941.) The week she turned 82 in October 2000, Wright attended the 20th anniversary celebration of Somewhere in Time, where she posed for pictures with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. In March 2003, she was a guest at the 75th Academy Awards, in the segment showcasing Oscar-winning actors of the past. Two years later,...
- 3/15/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Teresa Wright-Samuel Goldwyn association comes to a nasty end (See preceding post: "Teresa Wright in 'Shadow of a Doubt': Alfred Hitchcock Heroine in His Favorite Film.") Whether or not because she was aware that Enchantment wasn't going to be the hit she needed – or perhaps some other disagreement with Samuel Goldwyn or personal issue with husband Niven Busch – Teresa Wright, claiming illness, refused to go to New York City to promote the film. (Top image: Teresa Wright in a publicity shot for The Men.) Goldwyn had previously announced that Wright, whose contract still had another four and half years to run, was to star in a film version of J.D. Salinger's 1948 short story "Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut." Instead, he unceremoniously – and quite publicly – fired her.[1] The Goldwyn organization issued a statement, explaining that besides refusing the assignment to travel to New York to help generate pre-opening publicity for Enchantment,...
- 3/11/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Oscar 2015 winners (photo: Chris Pratt during Oscar 2015 rehearsals) The complete list of Oscar 2015 winners and nominees can be found below. See also: Oscar 2015 presenters and performers. Now, a little Oscar 2015 trivia. If you know a bit about the history of the Academy Awards, you'll have noticed several little curiosities about this year's nominations. For instance, there are quite a few first-time nominees in the acting and directing categories. In fact, nine of the nominated actors and three of the nominated directors are Oscar newcomers. Here's the list in the acting categories: Eddie Redmayne. Michael Keaton. Steve Carell. Benedict Cumberbatch. Felicity Jones. Rosamund Pike. J.K. Simmons. Emma Stone. Patricia Arquette. The three directors are: Morten Tyldum. Richard Linklater. Wes Anderson. Oscar 2015 comebacks Oscar 2015 also marks the Academy Awards' "comeback" of several performers and directors last nominated years ago. Marion Cotillard and Reese Witherspoon won Best Actress Oscars for, respectively, Olivier Dahan...
- 2/22/2015
- by Steve Montgomery
- Alt Film Guide
Honorary Award: Gloria Swanson, Rita Hayworth among dozens of women bypassed by the Academy (photo: Honorary Award non-winner Gloria Swanson in 'Sunset Blvd.') (See previous post: "Honorary Oscars: Doris Day, Danielle Darrieux Snubbed.") Part three of this four-part article about the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Honorary Award bypassing women basically consists of a long, long — and for the most part quite prestigious — list of deceased women who, some way or other, left their mark on the film world. Some of the names found below are still well known; others were huge in their day, but are now all but forgotten. Yet, just because most people (and the media) suffer from long-term — and even medium-term — memory loss, that doesn't mean these women were any less deserving of an Honorary Oscar. So, among the distinguished female film professionals in Hollywood and elsewhere who have passed away without...
- 9/4/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Playwright and screenwriter Terence Rattigan was an indubitable influence on mid-century British cinema. He authored several of the era’s most notable titles, including The Browning Version (1951), Lean’s The Sound Barrier (1952) Olivier’s troubled The Prince and the Showgirl (1957) and Anatole Litvak’s The Deep Blue Sea (1952), which was recently remade by Terrence Davies in 2011. But it would be a 1958 American adaptation of his play, Separate Tables, from director Delbert Mann that would prove to be his most critically lauded work, nominated for seven Academy Awards, and snagging two (Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress). By today’s standards, it’s a film that feels painstakingly melodramatic. Reconsidered within the framework of Rattigan’s own impressive oeuvre, the material hasn’t aged well, and as time has gone on, its cramped exploration of sexual dysfunction now plays like a euthanized product crippled by censorship of the author’s own...
- 7/29/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
With Sandra Bullock's 50th birthday approaching we'll be looking at a few of her films. Here's Andrew Kendall on a little discussed '98 picture. - Ed.
Is it strange that when asked to celebrate Sandra Bullock’s birthday with a film from her oeuvre I immediately turned to the 1998 (ostensible) romantic drama Hope Floats? Despite the 80 million dollars at the box office the film was not quite a hit and critics were not impressed. Yet, whenever I’m asked to stump for a Bullock performance I tend to turn to Birdee Pruitt not necessarily as the “best” Bullock, or not even quintessential Bullock but my favourite Bullock.
The well-intentioned, sometimes – oftentimes – too treacly Hope Floats from writer Steven Rogers (who did a better job handling domestic dramas that same year with Stepmom) and direct Forrest Whitaker (who helmed his strongest film three years earlier with Waiting to Exhale) is...
Is it strange that when asked to celebrate Sandra Bullock’s birthday with a film from her oeuvre I immediately turned to the 1998 (ostensible) romantic drama Hope Floats? Despite the 80 million dollars at the box office the film was not quite a hit and critics were not impressed. Yet, whenever I’m asked to stump for a Bullock performance I tend to turn to Birdee Pruitt not necessarily as the “best” Bullock, or not even quintessential Bullock but my favourite Bullock.
The well-intentioned, sometimes – oftentimes – too treacly Hope Floats from writer Steven Rogers (who did a better job handling domestic dramas that same year with Stepmom) and direct Forrest Whitaker (who helmed his strongest film three years earlier with Waiting to Exhale) is...
- 7/22/2014
- by Andrew Kendall
- FilmExperience
Presenting... for the first time ever a Smackdown Companion Podcast
A couple of months ago Joe suggested that we add a podcast segment or more conversation somehow to the Smackdown which by necessity has brief capsules from each panelist. And why not? There is always so much more to discuss after you've watched five Oscar-favored films from any given year.
So for this special tryout episode of the podcast (let us know if we should do it again for 1973) Nathaniel welcomes back the actress Melanie Lynskey, the original creator of the Smackdowns Brian Herrera (aka StinkyLulu), and regular podcast voices Joe Reid and Nick Davis. Our conversation ran long so it's in two segments.
Smackdown 1964 - A Companion Conversation Pt. 1
00:01 Introductions
01:00 Melanie on talking acting with other actors and one director's "witchcraft"
05:00 Zorba the Greek and undiagnosed cognitive disorders
11:45 Nick and Nathaniel share personal memories of...
A couple of months ago Joe suggested that we add a podcast segment or more conversation somehow to the Smackdown which by necessity has brief capsules from each panelist. And why not? There is always so much more to discuss after you've watched five Oscar-favored films from any given year.
So for this special tryout episode of the podcast (let us know if we should do it again for 1973) Nathaniel welcomes back the actress Melanie Lynskey, the original creator of the Smackdowns Brian Herrera (aka StinkyLulu), and regular podcast voices Joe Reid and Nick Davis. Our conversation ran long so it's in two segments.
Smackdown 1964 - A Companion Conversation Pt. 1
00:01 Introductions
01:00 Melanie on talking acting with other actors and one director's "witchcraft"
05:00 Zorba the Greek and undiagnosed cognitive disorders
11:45 Nick and Nathaniel share personal memories of...
- 7/2/2014
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
The Supporting Actress Smackdown of '64 is just 8 days away. So it's time to get your votes in on the nominees that year. Readers, collectively, are the sixth panelists, so grade the nominees (only the ones you've seen) from 1 to 5 hearts. Your votes count toward the smackdown win!
Lila Kedrova Zorba the Greek Gladys Cooper for My Fair Lady Dame Edith Evans The Chalk Garden
Agnes Moorhead Hush... Hush Sweet Charlotte
Grayson Hall Night of the Iguana
But before we here at Tfe get to that particular metaphorical musical-horror mishmash of films with one of the most senior lineups the Academy ever offered up in this category, let's meet our panelists for this 50th anniversary retrospective competition.
The Panel
Special Guest
Melanie Lynskey
Melanie Lynskey is an actor from New Zealand. She made her film debut in Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures (1994) and is currently starring in Joe Swanberg's...
Lila Kedrova Zorba the Greek Gladys Cooper for My Fair Lady Dame Edith Evans The Chalk Garden
Agnes Moorhead Hush... Hush Sweet Charlotte
Grayson Hall Night of the Iguana
But before we here at Tfe get to that particular metaphorical musical-horror mishmash of films with one of the most senior lineups the Academy ever offered up in this category, let's meet our panelists for this 50th anniversary retrospective competition.
The Panel
Special Guest
Melanie Lynskey
Melanie Lynskey is an actor from New Zealand. She made her film debut in Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures (1994) and is currently starring in Joe Swanberg's...
- 6/22/2014
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
When I announced that The Film Experience would be the new home of the long departed series Stinky Lulu's Smackdown last summer I figured you would be thrilled. It's our kind of party. I promised Stinky we'd do at least six smackdowns if we brought it back. With four battles already behind us -- pie throwing 1952, shady and sinister 1968, warm and kooky 1980, and troubled histrionic 2003-- let's wrap it up with four more.
Rather than announce at the end of each month, I figured we'd give you all four lineups in case you'd like more time to catch up over the hot months and cast your votes in the reader polling that accompanies each battle. Those votes count toward the final outcome, so more of you should join in.
These annums were chosen after comment reading, dvd searching, handwringing, and also to rope in prospective panelists (to be announced later...
Rather than announce at the end of each month, I figured we'd give you all four lineups in case you'd like more time to catch up over the hot months and cast your votes in the reader polling that accompanies each battle. Those votes count toward the final outcome, so more of you should join in.
These annums were chosen after comment reading, dvd searching, handwringing, and also to rope in prospective panelists (to be announced later...
- 5/5/2014
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Australian actress Wendy Hughes dead at 61 (photo: Wendy Hughes in ‘Newsfront’) Australian film, television, and stage actress Wendy Hughes, best known internationally for the big-screen dramas My Brilliant Career and Careful, He Might Hear You, died of cancer early today, March 8, 2014, in Sydney. Hughes (born on July 29, 1952, in Melbourne) was 61. Wendy Hughes’ film career kicked off in the mid-’70s, with Tim Burstall’s psychological drama ‘Jock’ Petersen / Petersen (1974), in which she plays the wife of a college professor who becomes romantically involved with a married student (Jack Thompson). "I spent a lot of the time naked and doing sex scenes," Hughes would later recall about her work in ‘Jock’ Petersen, "because in the seventies you all had to do that." In 1979, Hughes landed a key supporting role in the international arthouse hit My Brilliant Career, Gillian Armstrong’s late 19th-century-set tale of an independent-minded young woman (a Katharine Hepburn...
- 3/9/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
“The only people who grow old were born old to begin with.”
The Bishop’S Wife (1947) is about an Angel called Dudley, yes, just Dudley played by Cary Grant. This Angel comes to Earth to answer a prayer of guidance for Henry (David Niven). Henry wants to build a large and great edifice for God. Henry is married to Julia (Loretta Young) a woman that places a poor second to the new building in the “mind” of Henry. Oh, how she wishes that things were like it used to be when Henry was just the Reverend of a small Parish. When Henry would take her to the restaurant called “Michelle’s.” But now that Henry has become a Bishop, poor Julia gets more attention from the family dog. It will be a tough job for Dudley. Henry only sees a building but Dudley sees a family in crisis. One problem develops,...
The Bishop’S Wife (1947) is about an Angel called Dudley, yes, just Dudley played by Cary Grant. This Angel comes to Earth to answer a prayer of guidance for Henry (David Niven). Henry wants to build a large and great edifice for God. Henry is married to Julia (Loretta Young) a woman that places a poor second to the new building in the “mind” of Henry. Oh, how she wishes that things were like it used to be when Henry was just the Reverend of a small Parish. When Henry would take her to the restaurant called “Michelle’s.” But now that Henry has become a Bishop, poor Julia gets more attention from the family dog. It will be a tough job for Dudley. Henry only sees a building but Dudley sees a family in crisis. One problem develops,...
- 12/5/2013
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Twilight Zone: The Complete Fifth Season (1964) (DVD Review) Directed By: Joseph M. Newman, Richard Donner Starring: Bill Mumy, George Takei, Gladys Cooper, Rated: Ur/Region: 1/1:33/Number of disc: 5 Available from Image Entertainment Travel To Another Dimension Of Sight And SOUNDwith Rod Serlings classic television series exploring the fantastic and the frightening. This collection includes all 36 episodes from the fifth and final season…...
- 9/2/2013
- Horrorbid
Rex Harrison hat on TCM: ‘My Fair Lady,’ ‘Anna and the King of Siam’ Rex Harrison is Turner Classic Movies’ final "Summer Under the Stars" star today, August 31, 2013. TCM is currently showing George Cukor’s lavish My Fair Lady (1964), an Academy Award-winning musical that has (in my humble opinion) unfairly lost quite a bit of its prestige in the last several decades. Rex Harrison, invariably a major ham whether playing Saladin, the King of Siam, Julius Caesar, the ghost of a dead sea captain, or Richard Burton’s lover, is for once flawlessly cast as Professor Henry Higgins, who on stage transformed Julie Andrews from cockney duckling to diction-master swan and who in the movie version does the same for Audrey Hepburn. Harrison, by the way, was the year’s Best Actor Oscar winner. (See also: "Audrey Hepburn vs. Julie Andrews: Biggest Oscar Snubs.") Following My Fair Lady, Rex Harrison...
- 8/31/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Bette Davis movies: TCM schedule on August 14 (photo: Bette Davis in ‘Dangerous,’ with Franchot Tone) See previous post: “Bette Davis Eyes: They’re Watching You Tonight.” 3:00 Am Parachute Jumper (1933). Director: Alfred E. Green. Cast: Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Bette Davis, Frank McHugh, Claire Dodd, Harold Huber, Leo Carrillo, Thomas E. Jackson, Lyle Talbot, Leon Ames, Stanley Blystone, Reginald Barlow, George Chandler, Walter Brennan, Pat O’Malley, Paul Panzer, Nat Pendleton, Dewey Robinson, Tom Wilson, Sheila Terry. Bw-72 mins. 4:30 Am The Girl From 10th Avenue (1935). Director: Alfred E. Green. Cast: Bette Davis, Ian Hunter, Colin Clive, Alison Skipworth, John Eldredge, Phillip Reed, Katharine Alexander, Helen Jerome Eddy, Bill Elliott, Edward McWade, André Cheron, Wedgwood Nowell, John Quillan, Mary Treen. Bw-69 mins. 6:00 Am Dangerous (1935). Director: Alfred E. Green. Cast: Bette Davis, Franchot Tone, Margaret Lindsay, Alison Skipworth, John Eldredge, Dick Foran, Walter Walker, Richard Carle, George Irving, Pierre Watkin, Douglas Wood,...
- 8/15/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Lana Turner movies: Scandal and more scandal Lana Turner is Turner Classic Movies’ "Summer Under the Stars" star today, Saturday, August 10, 2013. I’m a little — or rather, a lot — late in the game posting this article, but there are still three Lana Turner movies left. You can see Turner get herself embroiled in scandal right now, in Douglas Sirk’s Imitation of Life (1959), both the director and the star’s biggest box-office hit. More scandal follows in Mark Robson’s Peyton Place (1957), the movie that earned Lana Turner her one and only Academy Award nomination. And wrapping things up is George Sidney’s lively The Three Musketeers (1948), with Turner as the ruthless, heartless, remorseless — but quite elegant — Lady de Winter. Based on Fannie Hurst’s novel and a remake of John M. Stahl’s 1934 melodrama about mother love, class disparities, racism, and good cooking, Imitation of Life was shown on...
- 8/11/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Joan Fontaine movies: ‘This Above All,’ ‘Letter from an Unknown Woman’ (photo: Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine in ‘Suspicion’ publicity image) (See previous post: “Joan Fontaine Today.”) Also tonight on Turner Classic Movies, Joan Fontaine can be seen in today’s lone TCM premiere, the flag-waving 20th Century Fox release The Above All (1942), with Fontaine as an aristocratic (but socially conscious) English Rose named Prudence Cathaway (Fontaine was born to British parents in Japan) and Fox’s top male star, Tyrone Power, as her Awol romantic interest. This Above All was directed by Anatole Litvak, who would guide Olivia de Havilland in the major box-office hit The Snake Pit (1948), which earned her a Best Actress Oscar nod. In Max Ophüls’ darkly romantic Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948), Fontaine delivers not only what is probably the greatest performance of her career, but also one of the greatest movie performances ever. Letter from an Unknown Woman...
- 8/6/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Paul Henreid: From lighting two cigarettes and blowing smoke onto Bette Davis’ face to lighting two cigarettes while directing twin Bette Davises Paul Henreid is back as Turner Classic Movies’ Star of the Month of July 2013. TCM will be showing four movies featuring Henreid (Now, Voyager; Deception; The Madwoman of Chaillot; The Spanish Main) and one directed by him (Dead Ringer). (Photo: Paul Henreid lights two cigarettes on the set of Dead Ringer, while Bette Davis remembers the good old days.) (See also: “Paul Henreid Actor.”) Irving Rapper’s Now, Voyager (1942) was one of Bette Davis’ biggest hits, and it remains one of the best-remembered romantic movies of the studio era — a favorite among numerous women and some gay men. But why? Personally, I find Now, Voyager a major bore, made (barely) watchable only by a few of the supporting performances (Claude Rains, Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nominee...
- 7/10/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Eleanor Parker: Palm Springs resident turns 91 today Eleanor Parker turns 91 today. The three-time Oscar nominee (Caged, 1950; Detective Story, 1951; Interrupted Melody, 1955) and Palm Springs resident is Turner Classic Movies’ Star of the Month of June 2013. Earlier this month, TCM showed a few dozen Eleanor Parker movies, from her days at Warner Bros. in the ’40s to her later career as a top Hollywood supporting player. (Photo: Publicity shot of Eleanor Parker in An American Dream.) Missing from TCM’s movie series, however, was not only Eleanor Parker’s biggest box-office it — The Sound of Music, in which she steals the show from both Julie Andrews and the Alps — but also what according to several sources is her very first movie role: a bit part in Raoul Walsh’s They Died with Their Boots On, a 1941 Western starring Errol Flynn as a dashingly handsome and all-around-good-guy-ish General George Armstrong Custer. Olivia de Havilland...
- 6/26/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Hitchcock converts du Maurier's dark, convoluted tale into a slick satire of the upper classes
In Rebecca, Joan Fontaine is heartbreaking and hilarious as a twitchy waste of space with no personality, no self-esteem, no money, no friends and a cracking Electra complex.
Adapted from the Daphne du Maurier novel, Rebecca won the 1940 Oscar for best picture and preserves the novel's famous first line: "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again". Hitchcock lifts the story out of du Maurier's dark, obsessive claustrophobia and presents a riveting satire about the toxicity of the gentility. Fontaine's character has married widower Maxim de Winter and moved to his ancestral home. She stumbles around Manderley like a temp on her first day at an investment bank, mortified, confused, intimidated by the legacy of her predecessor, Maxim's first wife, Rebecca, who's said to have died in a boating accident.
There are vivid female...
In Rebecca, Joan Fontaine is heartbreaking and hilarious as a twitchy waste of space with no personality, no self-esteem, no money, no friends and a cracking Electra complex.
Adapted from the Daphne du Maurier novel, Rebecca won the 1940 Oscar for best picture and preserves the novel's famous first line: "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again". Hitchcock lifts the story out of du Maurier's dark, obsessive claustrophobia and presents a riveting satire about the toxicity of the gentility. Fontaine's character has married widower Maxim de Winter and moved to his ancestral home. She stumbles around Manderley like a temp on her first day at an investment bank, mortified, confused, intimidated by the legacy of her predecessor, Maxim's first wife, Rebecca, who's said to have died in a boating accident.
There are vivid female...
- 6/16/2012
- by Bidisha
- The Guardian - Film News
The Letter (1929) Review Pt.1. [Photo: Jeanne Eagels as jealous murderess Leslie Crosbie.] Low-key, however, is hardly the appropriate manner to describe Jeanne Eagels' bombastic talkie début in a role played in London by Gladys Cooper and on Broadway by Katharine Cornell. Eagels, a sensation on stage as Sadie Thompson in W. Somerset Maugham's Rain and the star of a handful of silent films (e.g., The World and the Woman; The Fires of Youth; Man, Woman and Sin, opposite John Gilbert), acts the part of the adulteress-murderess as if she were playing to the far corners of the gallery. (Rain was unavailable for a film adaptation at the time because Gloria Swanson had produced and starred in Raoul Walsh's Sadie Thompson the year before.) Eagels' performance is all mannerisms — hand to forehead to show distress, trembling voice to show despair — and no emotional core. While Bette Davis' 1940 Leslie looks and acts like a cool, calculating vixen,...
- 1/27/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
With the entire original run of The Twilight Zone available to watch instantly, we’re partnering with Twitch Film to cover all of the show’s 156 episodes. Are you brave enough to watch them all with us? The Twilight Zone (Episode #139): “Night Call” (airdate 2/07/64) The Plot: An old biddy is perturbed by an escalating series of phone calls in the middle of the night. The Goods: A creepy old house, a storm cracking apart the sky outside, and an old woman asleep in her bed. Suddenly the phone rings and Miss Elva Keene (Gladys Cooper) is awakened from a troubled sleep. She answers it and hears only silence at first, but soon an indistinguishable voice begins to arise faintly from the distorted reception. Elva complains to the operator the next day, but nothing comes of it and the following night is once again disturbed with a phone call. Someone’s calling Miss Elva, and...
- 1/16/2012
- by Rob Hunter
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Chicago – One of the clear observations in re-connecting with the 1964 Oscar-winning Best Picture “My Fair Lady,” is that essentially it’s a timeless musical. It lives in a universe of George Bernard Shaw, adapted from his original play “Pygmalion,” and comes to life through the music and lyrics of Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner.
Blu-ray Rating: 4.5/5.0
Audrey Hepburn stars as Eliza Doolittle, a controversial choice at the time, since Eliza was brought to the stage by the legendary Julie Andrews, but she creates a captivating, sprightly character that handles all the complex emotions of the character’s transition. Rex Harrison revives from the stage the role he is best known for, that of Professor Henry Higgins. Hepburn and Harrison have fine chemistry, and carry the glorious rendering of the film by iconic director George Cukor with heart and bearing.
Eliza is a street urchin, barely making ends meet as...
Blu-ray Rating: 4.5/5.0
Audrey Hepburn stars as Eliza Doolittle, a controversial choice at the time, since Eliza was brought to the stage by the legendary Julie Andrews, but she creates a captivating, sprightly character that handles all the complex emotions of the character’s transition. Rex Harrison revives from the stage the role he is best known for, that of Professor Henry Higgins. Hepburn and Harrison have fine chemistry, and carry the glorious rendering of the film by iconic director George Cukor with heart and bearing.
Eliza is a street urchin, barely making ends meet as...
- 12/14/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Gena Rowlands in John Cassavetes' A Woman Under the Influence A Woman Under The Influence Review Pt.1 Eventually, Mabel's eccentricities — her chattiness, her nervous ticks, her habit of talking to herself — are seen as severe mental problems. Nick's mother (Katherine Cassavetes, the filmmaker's real-life mother), fearing for the safety of her son and grandchildren, wants Mabel sent to a mental institution. Nick eventually acquiesces and has his wife committed for several months. When Mabel returns, she's a mere shadow of the woman she used to be. Gone are her chattiness, her eccentricities — and her personality. In his own inarticulate, boorish manner, Nick tries to get his wife to return to the way she used to be. Throughout it all, Gena Rowlands telegraphs her encroaching madness by proportionally increasing her number of ticks, grimaces, and half-smiles. (Rowlands and John Cassavetes should have taken a good look at Ingmar Bergman's Through...
- 12/8/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
This week, Syfy’s Being Human: The Complete First Season takes center stage in New DVD & Blu-ray releases. There are also several hits for nostalgic fans looking to make the upgrade from DVD to Blu-ray. Classics like My Fair Lady, West Side Story and Looney Tunes all get a Blu-ray release. Gaming and Anime fans will want to check out Assassins Creed: Lineage and Bleach the Movie: Fade to Black respectively. What blu-rays and dvds are you watching this week? Being Human: The Complete First Season [Blu-ray] Starring Sam Huntington, Sam Witwer West Side Story: 50th Anniversary Edition [Blu-ray] Starring Natalie Wood, George Chakiris, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno My Fair Lady [Blu-ray] Starring Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Gladys Cooper Evil Dead 2 [Blu-ray] Starring Bruce Campbell, Dan Hicks, Ted Raimi Larry Crowne [Blu-ray] Starring Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Sarah Mahoney, Roxana Ortega, Randall...
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- 11/15/2011
- by Bags H.
- BuzzFocus.com
Release Date: Nov. 15, 2011
Price: Blu-ray $32.99
Studio: Paramount Home Entertainment
The classic musical My Fair Lady, starring the stunning and irrepressible Audrey Hepburn (Breakfast at Tiffany’s), got a restoration so it would be spick and span for its high-definition Blu-ray debut.
Based on George Bernard Shaw‘s play Pygmalion, the movie stars Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle, a cockney flower girl who becomes the subject of a wager of a snobbish phonetics professor (Rex Harrison, The Ghost of Mrs. Muir) that he can transform her into the toast of English high society. Along the way, the free-spirited Eliza starts to rub off on her stuffy teacher.
Directed by George Cukor (A Star Is Born), the romance film won eight Academy Awards when it was released in theaters in 1964, including Best Picture. The other categories it took home a statue for were Best Actor (Harrison), Best Director, art direction, cinematography, costume design,...
Price: Blu-ray $32.99
Studio: Paramount Home Entertainment
The classic musical My Fair Lady, starring the stunning and irrepressible Audrey Hepburn (Breakfast at Tiffany’s), got a restoration so it would be spick and span for its high-definition Blu-ray debut.
Based on George Bernard Shaw‘s play Pygmalion, the movie stars Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle, a cockney flower girl who becomes the subject of a wager of a snobbish phonetics professor (Rex Harrison, The Ghost of Mrs. Muir) that he can transform her into the toast of English high society. Along the way, the free-spirited Eliza starts to rub off on her stuffy teacher.
Directed by George Cukor (A Star Is Born), the romance film won eight Academy Awards when it was released in theaters in 1964, including Best Picture. The other categories it took home a statue for were Best Actor (Harrison), Best Director, art direction, cinematography, costume design,...
- 10/21/2011
- by Sam
- Disc Dish
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