If Hollywood truly suffers from a leadership malaise, as some charge, would the return of Monroe Stahr resuscitate the system? Filmmakers respect his judgment, stars his panache and investors his discipline, so Stahr’s return may ignite a new Irving Thalberg-like era.
Whoops — he’s not available.
The manic and manipulative hero of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Last Tycoon ruled MGM in its ‘30s heyday, but Stahr’s fictional reign was short-lived. So was Fitzgerald’s brilliant but never completed 1939 novel, which modeled Stahr after Thalberg.
Having achieved literary stardom with The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald’s decision to write a Hollywood novel, while simultaneously working as a script doctor, plunged the novelist into alcoholic paralysis. He never managed to finish his book and even his screenplays were unrealized.
The Last Tycoon briefly flickered back to life as a movie thanks to the great Elia Kazan, who cast Robert De Niro,...
Whoops — he’s not available.
The manic and manipulative hero of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Last Tycoon ruled MGM in its ‘30s heyday, but Stahr’s fictional reign was short-lived. So was Fitzgerald’s brilliant but never completed 1939 novel, which modeled Stahr after Thalberg.
Having achieved literary stardom with The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald’s decision to write a Hollywood novel, while simultaneously working as a script doctor, plunged the novelist into alcoholic paralysis. He never managed to finish his book and even his screenplays were unrealized.
The Last Tycoon briefly flickered back to life as a movie thanks to the great Elia Kazan, who cast Robert De Niro,...
- 1/4/2024
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
Bloody Disgusting has learned that the Hollywood Forever Cemetery is returning for its 23rd installment of their Day of the Dead Celebration on Saturday, October 29th with two events – “Día de los Muertos” & “Noche de los Muertos” – that will feature cultural performances, live DJ sets from DJ Que Madre and DJ Hamvre, an exhibition from Artist of the Year, Sabino Guisu’s “Zapotec Death Poems”, delicious food & drinks, and more.
This year’s theme is focused on Mayahuel, the Aztec Goddess of Fertility, the Maguey (Agave), and the ruler of the 8th day and the 8th year. She brings us Love, Magic, and Transformation.
Here’s everything you need to know about the two special events…
Día de los Muertos (9:00am – 3:00pm Pst) – a daytime event featuring a children’s plaza and cultural performances, as well as altars, art exhibitions, Aztecs, folkorico dance, traditional dance, children’s plaza,...
This year’s theme is focused on Mayahuel, the Aztec Goddess of Fertility, the Maguey (Agave), and the ruler of the 8th day and the 8th year. She brings us Love, Magic, and Transformation.
Here’s everything you need to know about the two special events…
Día de los Muertos (9:00am – 3:00pm Pst) – a daytime event featuring a children’s plaza and cultural performances, as well as altars, art exhibitions, Aztecs, folkorico dance, traditional dance, children’s plaza,...
- 10/19/2022
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
The rules of survival in Hollywood have always fascinated me. “Consistency is the key – always present yourself to studios as a total bitch,” Bette Davis once confided. “Never delude yourself into thinking that a star can become a loyal personal friend,” advised Billy Wilder. “Since studios always lie, a producer’s mandate is to come up with bigger lies,” said David O. Selznick.
As a collector of Hollywood war stories, I was pleased this week to discover a new book (741 pages) with the intimidating title Hollywood: The Oral History – one that has greatly expanded my inventory of intrigue.
Over the course of the last 50 years AFI (the American Film Institute) has semi-secretly recorded, and now published, interviews with accomplished stars and filmmakers, thus creating an intimate Hollywood history told in first person (HarperCollins is the publisher).
Approaching a book of this size as summer reading, I decided to focus not on thoughtful analysis,...
As a collector of Hollywood war stories, I was pleased this week to discover a new book (741 pages) with the intimidating title Hollywood: The Oral History – one that has greatly expanded my inventory of intrigue.
Over the course of the last 50 years AFI (the American Film Institute) has semi-secretly recorded, and now published, interviews with accomplished stars and filmmakers, thus creating an intimate Hollywood history told in first person (HarperCollins is the publisher).
Approaching a book of this size as summer reading, I decided to focus not on thoughtful analysis,...
- 9/8/2022
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
7 random things that happened on this day, March 8th, in showbiz history
1935 The Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy musical Naughty Marietta opens in theaters. It will go on the receive two Oscar nominations: Best Picture and Best Sound Recording. This is one of the first really old movies I ever saw in movie theaters as my parents occassionally took us to the local repertory theater (just a five minute drive away). The only memory I have of it is Jeanette MacDonald singing "Sweet Mystery of Life". When I finally saw Young Frankenstein on cable or DVD many years later (I was very late to that movie) I laughed so hard at Madeline Kahn busting that song out while having sex with the Frankenstein monster. The scene is hilarious even without context, of course, but I had loved the song as a child which made the scene twice as funny. Mel Brooks...
1935 The Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy musical Naughty Marietta opens in theaters. It will go on the receive two Oscar nominations: Best Picture and Best Sound Recording. This is one of the first really old movies I ever saw in movie theaters as my parents occassionally took us to the local repertory theater (just a five minute drive away). The only memory I have of it is Jeanette MacDonald singing "Sweet Mystery of Life". When I finally saw Young Frankenstein on cable or DVD many years later (I was very late to that movie) I laughed so hard at Madeline Kahn busting that song out while having sex with the Frankenstein monster. The scene is hilarious even without context, of course, but I had loved the song as a child which made the scene twice as funny. Mel Brooks...
- 3/8/2021
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
One of the best and most melodic of filmic transpositions from Broadway, James Whale’s beautifully directed movie showcases all-time great performances by Irene Dunne, Paul Robeson, Helen Morgan, Hattie McDaniel, and Charles Winninger. If you didn’t grow up with an awareness of this 1936 show, it’s because it was tossed in a vault and kept from view for more than forty years. Criterion’s new disc is a wonderful surprise that does the movie justice.
Show Boat
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1021
1936 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 113 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date March 31, 2020 / 39.95
Starring: Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, Charles Winninger, Paul Robeson, Helen Morgan, Helen Westley, Queenie Smith, Sammy White, Donald Cook, Hattie McDaniel, Arthur Hohl, Charles B. Middleton, J. Farrell MacDonald, Clarence Muse, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson.
Cinematography: John J. Mescall
Original Music: Jerome Kern and Lyrics Oscar Hammerstein II
Written by Oscar Hammerstein II from the...
Show Boat
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1021
1936 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 113 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date March 31, 2020 / 39.95
Starring: Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, Charles Winninger, Paul Robeson, Helen Morgan, Helen Westley, Queenie Smith, Sammy White, Donald Cook, Hattie McDaniel, Arthur Hohl, Charles B. Middleton, J. Farrell MacDonald, Clarence Muse, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson.
Cinematography: John J. Mescall
Original Music: Jerome Kern and Lyrics Oscar Hammerstein II
Written by Oscar Hammerstein II from the...
- 3/21/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
One of the best and most melodic of filmic transpositions from Broadway, James Whale’s beautifully directed movie showcases all-time great performances by Irene Dunne, Paul Robeson, Helen Morgan, Hattie McDaniel, and Charles Winninger. If you didn’t grow up with an awareness of this 1936 show, it’s because it was tossed in a vault and kept from view for more than forty years. Criterion’s new disc is a wonderful surprise that does the movie justice.
Show Boat
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1021
1936 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 113 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date March 31, 2020 / 39.95
Starring: Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, Charles Winninger, Paul Robeson, Helen Morgan, Helen Westley, Queenie Smith, Sammy White, Donald Cook, Hattie McDaniel, Arthur Hohl, Charles B. Middleton, J. Farrell MacDonald, Clarence Muse, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson.
Cinematography: John J. Mescall
Original Music: Jerome Kern and Lyrics Oscar Hammerstein II
Written by Oscar Hammerstein II from the...
Show Boat
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1021
1936 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 113 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date March 31, 2020 / 39.95
Starring: Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, Charles Winninger, Paul Robeson, Helen Morgan, Helen Westley, Queenie Smith, Sammy White, Donald Cook, Hattie McDaniel, Arthur Hohl, Charles B. Middleton, J. Farrell MacDonald, Clarence Muse, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson.
Cinematography: John J. Mescall
Original Music: Jerome Kern and Lyrics Oscar Hammerstein II
Written by Oscar Hammerstein II from the...
- 3/21/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Cinespia announced the list of titles screening at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in September.
First up is the Sunday, Sept. 1 screening of the 1989 rom-com “When Harry Met Sally” starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan. Then director Ridley Scott’s 1982 sci-noir mashup “Blade Runner” will come to the cemetery on Saturday, Sept. 7. The 1950 rising starlet versus established diva drama “All About Eve” will play on Sep. 14. Closing out the season is the 2001 Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman led musical “Moulin Rouge!” with a post viewing fireworks show.
This year’s season, sponsored by Amazon Studios, is the 18th anniversary of the iconic Los Angeles outdoor cinematic experience. Fans often dress up as characters and shout out famous lines as they come on screen.
The 1991 surfer/heist flick “Point Break” will kick off the month of August on Saturday. The late John Singleton’s 1991 “Boyz N The Hood” will screen on Saturday,...
First up is the Sunday, Sept. 1 screening of the 1989 rom-com “When Harry Met Sally” starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan. Then director Ridley Scott’s 1982 sci-noir mashup “Blade Runner” will come to the cemetery on Saturday, Sept. 7. The 1950 rising starlet versus established diva drama “All About Eve” will play on Sep. 14. Closing out the season is the 2001 Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman led musical “Moulin Rouge!” with a post viewing fireworks show.
This year’s season, sponsored by Amazon Studios, is the 18th anniversary of the iconic Los Angeles outdoor cinematic experience. Fans often dress up as characters and shout out famous lines as they come on screen.
The 1991 surfer/heist flick “Point Break” will kick off the month of August on Saturday. The late John Singleton’s 1991 “Boyz N The Hood” will screen on Saturday,...
- 8/1/2019
- by Dano Nissen
- Variety Film + TV
Oscar-nominated English filmmaker Michael Radford has signed on to direct Sweethearts, an indie biopic set 1930s Hollywood about the love affair between movie stars and frequent on-screen co-stars Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. Eve Pomerance is producing the film under her Major Motion Pictures banner, alongside Bill Black of Jaba Films, Attit Shah’s Creation Entertainment, and Amanda Kiely.
MacDonald and Eddy were first paired in the 1935 W. S. Van Dyke-directed film Naughty Marietta, which was under MGM where MacDonald was signed to. The went on to star in eight films together. During the time, there was a struggle for MacDonald’s heart and soul between Eddy and MGM studio boss Louis B. Mayer who controlled her life and career.
Production is scheduled to begin later this year in Spain.
Radford first garnered mass attention with his 1984 film, Nineteen Eighty-Four, based George Orwell’s novel of the same title and...
MacDonald and Eddy were first paired in the 1935 W. S. Van Dyke-directed film Naughty Marietta, which was under MGM where MacDonald was signed to. The went on to star in eight films together. During the time, there was a struggle for MacDonald’s heart and soul between Eddy and MGM studio boss Louis B. Mayer who controlled her life and career.
Production is scheduled to begin later this year in Spain.
Radford first garnered mass attention with his 1984 film, Nineteen Eighty-Four, based George Orwell’s novel of the same title and...
- 5/23/2019
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
Anne Jeffreys, an actress whose career spanned the Nelson Eddy and Janette MacDonald era through a decades-long run into the 2000s as General Hospital‘s snobbiest socialite, has died. She was 94. “God bless the beautiful + talented Anne Jeffreys,” tweeted General Hospital actress Jacklyn Zeman. “We will always remember you with love + appreciation.” Jeffreys’ death was first reported last night by George Pennacchio of Los Angeles’ Kabc. Additional details were not…...
- 9/28/2017
- Deadline TV
“They’ve poisoned your mind against me. That’s why you’re afraid!”
The Phantom Of The Opera (1943) plays on the big screen at St. Louis’ fabulous Hi-Pointe Theater this weekend as part of their Classic Film Series. It’s Saturday, October 8th at 10:30am at the Hi-Pointe located at 1005 McCausland Ave., St. Louis, Mo 63117. Admission is only and the film will be introduced by Kmox Movie Reviewer Harry Hamm
1943’s Phantom Of The Opera is often criticized for straying too much from the original story, and for having too much focus on the opera. Monster kids have always felt that it’s too much Opera and not enough Phantom, but the heart of the story remains true to the classic story. A phantom (Claude Rains) stalks the Paris Opera House, and is attempting to get an opera starlet (Susanna Foster) into the spotlight. He murders and creates destruction to get his way.
The Phantom Of The Opera (1943) plays on the big screen at St. Louis’ fabulous Hi-Pointe Theater this weekend as part of their Classic Film Series. It’s Saturday, October 8th at 10:30am at the Hi-Pointe located at 1005 McCausland Ave., St. Louis, Mo 63117. Admission is only and the film will be introduced by Kmox Movie Reviewer Harry Hamm
1943’s Phantom Of The Opera is often criticized for straying too much from the original story, and for having too much focus on the opera. Monster kids have always felt that it’s too much Opera and not enough Phantom, but the heart of the story remains true to the classic story. A phantom (Claude Rains) stalks the Paris Opera House, and is attempting to get an opera starlet (Susanna Foster) into the spotlight. He murders and creates destruction to get his way.
- 10/4/2016
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Joseph Losey doesn't normally make trendy, lighthearted genre films, and in this SuperSpy epic we find out why -- an impressive production and great music don't compensate for a lack of pace and dynamism, not to mention a narrow sense of humor. Yet it's a lounge classic, and a perverse favorite of spy movie fans. Modesty Blaise Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1966 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 119 min. / Street Date August 23, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Monica Vitti, Terence Stamp, Dirk Bogarde, Harry Andrews, Michael Craig, Clive Revill, Alexander Knox, Rossella Falk, Scilla Gabel, Tina Marquand Cinematography Jack Hildyard Production Designer Richard MacDonald, Jack Shampan Film Editor Reginald Beck Original Music John Dankworth Written by Evan Jones from a novel by Peter O'Donnell and a comic strip by Jim Holdaway Produced by Joseph Janni Directed by Joseph Losey
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
When I first reviewed a DVD of Modesty Blaise fourteen years ago,...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
When I first reviewed a DVD of Modesty Blaise fourteen years ago,...
- 7/29/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Sometimes actors are cast in a movie together and instantly display great onscreen chemistry. You look at them and think, “These two should work together again. They make a good team.” Sometimes they do reunite and it leads to a series of great screen collaborations, but sometimes they don’t and we’re left wishing the pair would have made more films together.
Back in the days of the old ‘Studio System,’ movies studio execs would look for actors who had good on-screen chemistry and repeatedly cast them together in films. This was called “packaging”, and it lead to the frequent teaming of people like Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers; William Powell & Myrna Loy; Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall; Boris Karloff & Bela Lugosi; Bob Hope & Bing Crosby; Errol Flynn & Olivia de Havilland; Nelson Eddy & Jeannette MacDonald; etc., etc.
The ‘Studio System’ is long gone and so is “packaging”. It’s a pity...
Back in the days of the old ‘Studio System,’ movies studio execs would look for actors who had good on-screen chemistry and repeatedly cast them together in films. This was called “packaging”, and it lead to the frequent teaming of people like Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers; William Powell & Myrna Loy; Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall; Boris Karloff & Bela Lugosi; Bob Hope & Bing Crosby; Errol Flynn & Olivia de Havilland; Nelson Eddy & Jeannette MacDonald; etc., etc.
The ‘Studio System’ is long gone and so is “packaging”. It’s a pity...
- 4/10/2016
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Rob Young)
- Cinelinx
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
'Saint Joan': Constance Cummings as the George Bernard Shaw heroine. Constance Cummings on stage: From sex-change farce and Emma Bovary to Juliet and 'Saint Joan' (See previous post: “Constance Cummings: Frank Capra, Mae West and Columbia Lawsuit.”) In the mid-1930s, Constance Cummings landed the title roles in two of husband Benn W. Levy's stage adaptations: Levy and Hubert Griffith's Young Madame Conti (1936), starring Cummings as a demimondaine who falls in love with a villainous character. She ends up killing him – or does she? Adapted from Bruno Frank's German-language original, Young Madame Conti was presented on both sides of the Atlantic; on Broadway, it had a brief run in spring 1937 at the Music Box Theatre. Based on the Gustave Flaubert novel, the Theatre Guild-produced Madame Bovary (1937) was staged in late fall at Broadway's Broadhurst Theatre. Referring to the London production of Young Madame Conti, The...
- 11/10/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
The Phantom of the Opera
Written by John Jacoby, Samuel Hofffenstein, Eric Taylor
Directed by Arthur Lubin
U.S.A., 1943
It comes as a surprise to no one when stating that Hollywood is not averse to remaking movies. It is an old practice that goes back many decades, all the way back to the earliest days of the studio system. Great stories, apparently, bear retelling with more modern casts and more modern filmmaking techniques. In some cases, it is an issue of actually modernizing the setting, whereas in others instances the studio believes that audiences crave a new version of a familiar classic even though it was a period piece to begin with. Among several early attempts at refurbishing highly regarded motion pictures was 1943’s Phantom of the Opera, released not quite 20 years after the terrifying original and about 15 years after said original was itself the subject of tinkering to...
Written by John Jacoby, Samuel Hofffenstein, Eric Taylor
Directed by Arthur Lubin
U.S.A., 1943
It comes as a surprise to no one when stating that Hollywood is not averse to remaking movies. It is an old practice that goes back many decades, all the way back to the earliest days of the studio system. Great stories, apparently, bear retelling with more modern casts and more modern filmmaking techniques. In some cases, it is an issue of actually modernizing the setting, whereas in others instances the studio believes that audiences crave a new version of a familiar classic even though it was a period piece to begin with. Among several early attempts at refurbishing highly regarded motion pictures was 1943’s Phantom of the Opera, released not quite 20 years after the terrifying original and about 15 years after said original was itself the subject of tinkering to...
- 10/11/2015
- by Edgar Chaput
- SoundOnSight
Adolphe Menjou movies today (This article is currently being revised.) Despite countless stories to the contrary, numerous silent film performers managed to survive the coming of sound. Adolphe Menjou, however, is a special case in that he not only remained a leading man in the early sound era, but smoothly made the transition to top supporting player in mid-decade, a position he would continue to hold for the quarter of a century. Menjou is Turner Classic Movies' Star of the Day today, Aug. 3, as part of TCM's "Summer Under the Stars" 2015 series. Right now, TCM is showing William A. Wellman's A Star Is Born, the "original" version of the story about a small-town girl (Janet Gaynor) who becomes a Hollywood star, while her husband (Fredric March) boozes his way into oblivion. In typical Hollywood originality (not that things are any different elsewhere), this 1937 version of the story – produced by...
- 8/4/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Marta Eggerth: Operetta and film star — a sort of Jeanette MacDonald of Central European cinema — dead at 101 Marta Eggerth, an international star in film and stage operettas who frequently performed opposite husband Jan Kiepura, died on December 26, 2013, at her home in Rye, New York. The Budapest-born Eggerth had turned 101 last April 17. (Photo: Marta Eggerth ca. 1935.) Although best known for her roles in stage musicals such as the Max Reinhardt-directed 1927 Hamburg production of Die Fledermaus, and various incarnations of Franz Lehár’s The Merry Widow, Marta Eggerth was featured in nearly 40 films. The vast majority of those were produced in Austria and Germany in the 1930s, as the Nazis ascended to power. Marta Eggerth films Marta Eggerth films, which frequently made use of her coloratura soprano voice, include Max Neufeld’s drama Eine Nacht im Grandhotel ("A Night at the Grand Hotel," 1931); the Victor Janson-directed musicals Once There Was a Waltz...
- 12/31/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Ann Blyth today: Light songs and heavy drama on TCM Ann Blyth, a 1940s Universal leading lady best remembered for her Oscar-nominated performance as Joan Crawford’s cute-but-sociopathic teenage daughter in Warner Bros.’ Mildred Pierce, is Turner Classic Movies’ "Summer Under the Stars" star on Friday, August 16, 2013. Note: Today, Ann Blyth, one of the earliest surviving Oscar nominees in the acting categories, turns 85 years old. (See: “Ann Blyth Movies: TCM Schedule.”) (Photo: Ann Blyth ca. 1955.) First, the good news: Ann Blyth is a likable, talented actress and singer, and it’s great that TCM is dedicating a whole day to her movies. The bad news: As mentioned above, Ann Blyth was mostly (1944-1952) a Universal star; TCM is presenting only one of Blyth’s Universal movies, Brute Force (1947), which has been shown before. In other words, not a chance of finally having the opportunity to catch Ann Blyth in B...
- 8/16/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Mary Boland movies: Scene-stealing actress has her ‘Summer Under the Stars’ day on TCM Turner Classic Movies will dedicate the next 24 hours, Sunday, August 4, 2013, not to Lana Turner, Lauren Bacall, Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Esther Williams, or Bette Davis — TCM’s frequent Warner Bros., MGM, and/or Rko stars — but to the marvelous scene-stealer Mary Boland. A stage actress who was featured in a handful of movies in the 1910s, Boland came into her own as a stellar film supporting player in the early ’30s, initially at Paramount and later at most other Hollywood studios. First, the bad news: TCM’s "Summer Under the Stars" Mary Boland Day will feature only two movies from Boland’s Paramount period: the 1935 Best Picture Academy Award nominee Ruggles of Red Gap, which TCM has shown before, and one TCM premiere. So, no rarities like Secrets of a Secretary, Mama Loves Papa, Melody in Spring,...
- 8/4/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Yodelling country singer best known for Rose Marie and Indian Love Call
The singer Slim Whitman, who has died aged 90, was a noteworthy figure in country music, since, although he was hugely popular outside the Us, for most of his career he was almost forgotten in his own country. In the 1970s, two decades after his American heyday, he still commanded enough of a following in the UK to be voted the No 1 international star in a music poll – four times.
Much of the reason for his success outside the Us was his high, clear, strong singing and almost operatic yodelling, characteristics that several generations in Britain, Australia and South Africa have assimilated into their notions and fantasies of the old west of America. One of Whitman's chief models was Wilf Carter, a Nova Scotian yodeller and singer of cowboy songs who was popular throughout north America in the 30s...
The singer Slim Whitman, who has died aged 90, was a noteworthy figure in country music, since, although he was hugely popular outside the Us, for most of his career he was almost forgotten in his own country. In the 1970s, two decades after his American heyday, he still commanded enough of a following in the UK to be voted the No 1 international star in a music poll – four times.
Much of the reason for his success outside the Us was his high, clear, strong singing and almost operatic yodelling, characteristics that several generations in Britain, Australia and South Africa have assimilated into their notions and fantasies of the old west of America. One of Whitman's chief models was Wilf Carter, a Nova Scotian yodeller and singer of cowboy songs who was popular throughout north America in the 30s...
- 6/20/2013
- by Tony Russell
- The Guardian - Film News
If not for a last minute change, legendary opera star Maria Callas would have been the female lead in The Guns of Navarone.
Opera superstar Maria Callas was set to make her movie debut in Carl Foreman’s iconic war film The Guns Of Navarone, according to a new book, The Making Of The Guns Of Navarone launched this weekend at the Bradford Widescreen Film Festival (April 26-29) by Scottish film historian Brian Hannan.
The singer had scandalised the world by her affair with Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, who would later marry Jackie Kennedy, widow of assassinated president John F Kennedy. Callas was first choice for the role of the older female Greek partisan. Producer Carl Foreman promised ‘mucho love scenes’ with star Gregory Peck.
Commented Hannan, ‘At the time, Maria Callas was the most famous woman in the world, a fiery mixture of Princess Diana and Madonna, the...
Opera superstar Maria Callas was set to make her movie debut in Carl Foreman’s iconic war film The Guns Of Navarone, according to a new book, The Making Of The Guns Of Navarone launched this weekend at the Bradford Widescreen Film Festival (April 26-29) by Scottish film historian Brian Hannan.
The singer had scandalised the world by her affair with Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, who would later marry Jackie Kennedy, widow of assassinated president John F Kennedy. Callas was first choice for the role of the older female Greek partisan. Producer Carl Foreman promised ‘mucho love scenes’ with star Gregory Peck.
Commented Hannan, ‘At the time, Maria Callas was the most famous woman in the world, a fiery mixture of Princess Diana and Madonna, the...
- 4/25/2013
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
After their boxed set of classic horror titles were released last year, Universal has announced that they are splitting up the set and selling the movies as individual Blu-rays. The first wave will be released on June 4th, and includes The Mummy, Creature From the Black Lagoon, The Phantom of the Opera, and The Invisible Man. Continue reading for a look at the cover art and a list of bonus features for each title:
Creature From the Black Lagoon: “ Perfectly blending Universal’s classic monster heritage with the science-fiction explosion of the 1950s, Creature from the Black Lagoon tells the mythical story of a dangerous half-human, half-fish creature lurking in the depths of the Amazon. After discovering a unique prehistoric claw fossil on an expedition deep in the jungle, archeologists investigate its origins which lead them directly to a mysterious creature. Led by marine life specialist David Reed (Richard Carlson...
Creature From the Black Lagoon: “ Perfectly blending Universal’s classic monster heritage with the science-fiction explosion of the 1950s, Creature from the Black Lagoon tells the mythical story of a dangerous half-human, half-fish creature lurking in the depths of the Amazon. After discovering a unique prehistoric claw fossil on an expedition deep in the jungle, archeologists investigate its origins which lead them directly to a mysterious creature. Led by marine life specialist David Reed (Richard Carlson...
- 3/28/2013
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Dead at 99: Opera star and Crosby's ex-girlfriend in 1944 Best Picture Oscar winner Risë Stevens, the Metropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano that moviegoers remember as Nelson Eddy's romantic partner in Roy Del Ruth's 1941 musical The Chocolate Soldier and as Bing Crosby's ex-girlfriend in Leo McCarey's 1944 Oscar-winning blockbuster Going My Way, died on Wednesday, March 20, at her Manhattan home. The former singer was 99 years old. (Pictured above: Stevens in her most famous operatic role, that of Bizet's anti-heroine Carmen.) Born in The Bronx, New York City, Stevens sang at the Metropolitan from 1938 to 1961; among her most popular roles were Dalila in Camille Saint-Saëns' Samson et Dalila, Mignon in Ambroise Thomas' opera of the same name, and most notable of all, the lead in Bizet's Carmen. After leaving the stage, she became an arts administrator with the Met and president of the Mannes College of Music.
- 3/22/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson rumors and gossip: Tabloid ‘news’ equals profits Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson have been used as grist for the planet’s countless rumor mills since Catharine Hardwicke’s Twilight became the worldwide sleeper hit of 2008. Following the Kristen Stewart and Rupert Sanders "scandal" in late summer 2012, "news" reports about Stewart and Pattinson breaking up, getting back together again, dating others, etc., have become not just daily, but, in the age of instant online "reports," second-ly occurrences. Now, who has the most to gain from the barrage of Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson gossip articles? The above drawing — sent to me by a follower on Twitter — makes it clear. Besides the tabloid publications themselves, Summit Entertainment and, within the last year or so, its sibling/parent company Lionsgate Pictures, have had the most to gain. Really, would the Twilight movies have been so tremendously successful without the possibility (or reality,...
- 1/18/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
One thing we always make time for here at Dread Central is honoring the masters, and we wanted to take a moment to point out our recent review of Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection on Blu-ray along with the overflowing image gallery Universal provided to us as a supplement.
Click Here to read our review of Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection (as you can imagine, it earned pretty high marks), and enjoy perusing the exclusive photos below.
From the Prior Press Release:
Digitally restored from high resolution film elements in perfect high-definition picture and perfect high-definition sound for the first time ever, Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection brings together the very best of Universal’s legendary monsters—imaginative and technically groundbreaking tales of terror that launched a uniquely American movie genre. This definitive collection features eight films on Blu-ray, a collectible 48-page book featuring behind-the-scenes photographs, original posters,...
Click Here to read our review of Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection (as you can imagine, it earned pretty high marks), and enjoy perusing the exclusive photos below.
From the Prior Press Release:
Digitally restored from high resolution film elements in perfect high-definition picture and perfect high-definition sound for the first time ever, Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection brings together the very best of Universal’s legendary monsters—imaginative and technically groundbreaking tales of terror that launched a uniquely American movie genre. This definitive collection features eight films on Blu-ray, a collectible 48-page book featuring behind-the-scenes photographs, original posters,...
- 11/6/2012
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
By now the word is out and the monsters have exited their graves in search of your Blu Ray player. Have you seen the new Universal Classic Monsters Essenstial Collection and bright shiny new Blu Ray in the ultra cool box set with the handy collector’s edition book? While it doesn’t necessarily come cheap, retailing just over $100, it contains eight movies, bonus features out the wazzooo (and I’ll even include the press release below so you know what those are) and, as previously stated, some literature that will be perfect for the monster maniac on your Halloween chopping list. Never forget that this would make the ideal Christmas present for the holiday horror fiend in your home. Also don’t forget that I, as a horror fiend, am telling you that it’s on my wish list. When I pick it up, you’ll get a review,...
- 10/5/2012
- by Jimmy Terror
- The Liberal Dead
Today's the day that Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection debuts on Blu-ray, and in honor of the occasion, Universal has released a trailer for the collection. See Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney, Jr., Claude Rains, and Elsa Lanchester in the roles that made them famous!
From the Press Release:
Digitally restored from high resolution film elements in perfect high-definition picture and perfect high-definition sound for the first time ever, Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection brings together the very best of Universal’s legendary monsters—imaginative and technically groundbreaking tales of terror that launched a uniquely American movie genre. This definitive collection features eight films on Blu-ray, a collectible 48-page book featuring behind-the-scenes photographs, original posters, correspondence, and much more.
Each iconic film is accompanied by an array of bonus features that tell the fascinating story of its creation and history, including behind-the-scenes documentaries, filmmaker commentaries, interviews, storyboards,...
From the Press Release:
Digitally restored from high resolution film elements in perfect high-definition picture and perfect high-definition sound for the first time ever, Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection brings together the very best of Universal’s legendary monsters—imaginative and technically groundbreaking tales of terror that launched a uniquely American movie genre. This definitive collection features eight films on Blu-ray, a collectible 48-page book featuring behind-the-scenes photographs, original posters, correspondence, and much more.
Each iconic film is accompanied by an array of bonus features that tell the fascinating story of its creation and history, including behind-the-scenes documentaries, filmmaker commentaries, interviews, storyboards,...
- 10/2/2012
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
One of the biggest Blu-ray releases of the year is now available and Universal has shared a new trailer that shows off their updated classics. For those that missed our previous story, we’ve included details on the Universal Classic Monsters Blu-ray collection and another video that shows the restoration work done on Dracula:
For the first time ever, eight of the most iconic cinematic masterpieces of the horror genre are available together on Blu-ray as Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection debuts on October 2, 2012 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Digitally restored from high resolution film elements in perfect high-definition picture and perfect high-definition sound for the first time ever, Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection brings together the very best of Universal’s legendary monsters—imaginative and technically groundbreaking tales of terror that launched a uniquely American movie genre. This definitive collection features eight films on Blu-ray, a...
For the first time ever, eight of the most iconic cinematic masterpieces of the horror genre are available together on Blu-ray as Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection debuts on October 2, 2012 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Digitally restored from high resolution film elements in perfect high-definition picture and perfect high-definition sound for the first time ever, Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection brings together the very best of Universal’s legendary monsters—imaginative and technically groundbreaking tales of terror that launched a uniquely American movie genre. This definitive collection features eight films on Blu-ray, a...
- 10/2/2012
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
In celebration of the October 2nd Blu-ray release of the Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection from Universal Studios Home Entertainment, veteran horror historian Scott Essman has prepared a truly monstrous trip back through time for you classic horror fans!
It’s a quiet dusty morning in the summer of 1916 and all but a small eastern region of the San Fernando Valley is largely undeveloped, to say nothing of unpopulated. For the past year, inside of an unassuming front gate just over the hill from Los Angeles proper, two men are trying to forge their path in the fledgling motion picture business: Lon Chaney and Jack Pierce. Nascent actors Chaney, 33, and Pierce, 27, were completely unknown, but each had an angle; they could both work magic out of a simple makeup case, fully transforming their faces and even parts of their bodies to put themselves into a better position to be cast in a role.
It’s a quiet dusty morning in the summer of 1916 and all but a small eastern region of the San Fernando Valley is largely undeveloped, to say nothing of unpopulated. For the past year, inside of an unassuming front gate just over the hill from Los Angeles proper, two men are trying to forge their path in the fledgling motion picture business: Lon Chaney and Jack Pierce. Nascent actors Chaney, 33, and Pierce, 27, were completely unknown, but each had an angle; they could both work magic out of a simple makeup case, fully transforming their faces and even parts of their bodies to put themselves into a better position to be cast in a role.
- 9/25/2012
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
By Michael Juvinall, MoreHorror.com
Universal classic monster fans can now officially rejoice as the studio announced today they will be bringing their highly regarded classic monsters to blu-ray in a massive Essential collection on October 2nd.
As part of their 100th anniversary celebration, Universal Studios will release eight chilling classics from the studio that pioneered the horror genre, digitally restored and released on Blu-ray™ for the first time ever.
The ultimate box set includes 8 classic films from the Universal vault of spine-tingling terror with over 12 hours of bonus features just in time for Halloween.
From the Press Release:
For the first time ever, eight of the most iconic cinematic masterpieces of the horror genre are available together on Blu-rayTM as Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection debuts on October 2, 2012 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Digitally restored from high resolution film elements in perfect high-definition picture and perfect high-definition sound for the first time ever,...
Universal classic monster fans can now officially rejoice as the studio announced today they will be bringing their highly regarded classic monsters to blu-ray in a massive Essential collection on October 2nd.
As part of their 100th anniversary celebration, Universal Studios will release eight chilling classics from the studio that pioneered the horror genre, digitally restored and released on Blu-ray™ for the first time ever.
The ultimate box set includes 8 classic films from the Universal vault of spine-tingling terror with over 12 hours of bonus features just in time for Halloween.
From the Press Release:
For the first time ever, eight of the most iconic cinematic masterpieces of the horror genre are available together on Blu-rayTM as Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection debuts on October 2, 2012 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Digitally restored from high resolution film elements in perfect high-definition picture and perfect high-definition sound for the first time ever,...
- 6/29/2012
- by admin
- MoreHorror
For the first time ever, eight of the most iconic cinematic masterpieces of the horror genre are available together on Blu-rayTM as Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection debuts on October 2, 2012 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Digitally restored from high resolution film elements in perfect high-definition picture and perfect high-definition sound for the first time ever, Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection brings together the very best of Universal.s legendary monsters.imaginative and technically groundbreaking tales of terror that launched a uniquely American movie genre. This definitive collection features eight films on Blu-rayM, a collectible 48-page book featuring behind-the-scenes photographs, original posters, correspondence and much more. Each iconic film is accompanied by an array of bonus features that tell the fascinating story of its creation and history, including behind-the-scenes documentaries, filmmaker commentaries, interviews, storyboards, photo galleries, and trailers. Especially appealing for fans are a never-before-seen featurette about the restoration...
- 6/28/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
For the first time ever eight of the most iconic cinematic masterpieces of the horror genre are available together on Blu-ray as Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection debuts on October 2, 2012, from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.
From the Press Release:
Digitally restored from high resolution film elements in perfect high-definition picture and perfect high-definition sound for the first time ever, Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection brings together the very best of Universal’s legendary monsters—imaginative and technically groundbreaking tales of terror that launched a uniquely American movie genre. This definitive collection features eight films on Blu-ray, a collectible 48-page book featuring behind-the-scenes photographs, original posters, correspondence, and much more. Each iconic film is accompanied by an array of bonus features that tell the fascinating story of its creation and history, including behind-the-scenes documentaries, filmmaker commentaries, interviews, storyboards, photo galleries, and trailers. Especially appealing for fans are a never-before-seen...
From the Press Release:
Digitally restored from high resolution film elements in perfect high-definition picture and perfect high-definition sound for the first time ever, Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection brings together the very best of Universal’s legendary monsters—imaginative and technically groundbreaking tales of terror that launched a uniquely American movie genre. This definitive collection features eight films on Blu-ray, a collectible 48-page book featuring behind-the-scenes photographs, original posters, correspondence, and much more. Each iconic film is accompanied by an array of bonus features that tell the fascinating story of its creation and history, including behind-the-scenes documentaries, filmmaker commentaries, interviews, storyboards, photo galleries, and trailers. Especially appealing for fans are a never-before-seen...
- 6/28/2012
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
About time! Time to stop working and focus on something that Really matters. After a lot of hemming and hawing, Universal is bringing all of our favorite famous monsters of filmland (hey…) to Blu-Ray in a massive collection featuring eight movies and eight monsters (Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, Creature From The Black Lagoon, The Wolf Man, Phantom Of The Opera, The Invisible Man and The Bride Of Frankenstein) jam-packed with awesome special features. The Creature will even be in 3-D, if your TV allows such a wondrous thing. I could go on and on about this, but I think what you really want to read is the press release (complete with titles and special features) from Universal. Give it a read and when it’s available for pre-order (the collection is released October 2nd), we will put up a link immediately.
For the first time ever, eight of the most...
For the first time ever, eight of the most...
- 6/28/2012
- by Andy Greene
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
We knew that Universal was working on a Blu-ray collection containing some of their classic horror films and we now have all the details. Titled Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection, the release includes digitally restored versions of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, Bride of Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, The Phantom of the Opera, and Creature from the Black Lagoon.
Continue reading for the official press release, a list of bonus features for each film, box art, and a video clip showing the restoration of Dracula:
Press Release: Universal City, California, June 28, 2012—For the first time ever, eight of the most iconic cinematic masterpieces of the horror genre are available together on Blu-ray as Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection debuts on October 2, 2012 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Digitally restored from high resolution film elements in perfect high-definition picture and perfect high-definition sound for the first time ever,...
Continue reading for the official press release, a list of bonus features for each film, box art, and a video clip showing the restoration of Dracula:
Press Release: Universal City, California, June 28, 2012—For the first time ever, eight of the most iconic cinematic masterpieces of the horror genre are available together on Blu-ray as Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection debuts on October 2, 2012 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Digitally restored from high resolution film elements in perfect high-definition picture and perfect high-definition sound for the first time ever,...
- 6/28/2012
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Our look back over the history of MGM continues, as the silent era gives way to the talkies and musicals of the 20s and 30s...
It’s 1928, and the success of Warner Bros’ musical, The Jazz Singer, has ushered in a new age of talking pictures. Audiences adored it, and it was sink or swim time for MGM. Suddenly, the silent cinema rule book was thrown out of the window and numerous opportunities opened up in Hollywood.
Composers were in demand, and song and script writers, along with voice coaches, were needed more than ever. White Shadows In The South Seas was the first MGM sound picture, although not a talkie. Originally filmed as a silent picture, MGM realised that sound wasn’t just a passing fad and, like most studios at the time, swiftly added sound effects to its music. But they did make one character speak – and that was Leo the lion,...
It’s 1928, and the success of Warner Bros’ musical, The Jazz Singer, has ushered in a new age of talking pictures. Audiences adored it, and it was sink or swim time for MGM. Suddenly, the silent cinema rule book was thrown out of the window and numerous opportunities opened up in Hollywood.
Composers were in demand, and song and script writers, along with voice coaches, were needed more than ever. White Shadows In The South Seas was the first MGM sound picture, although not a talkie. Originally filmed as a silent picture, MGM realised that sound wasn’t just a passing fad and, like most studios at the time, swiftly added sound effects to its music. But they did make one character speak – and that was Leo the lion,...
- 1/16/2012
- Den of Geek
In 1925, Universal released what would become one of the most influential and important movies ever made. Even today it stands as a singular achievement in film that still impresses some eighty years on.
From Lon Chaney’s outstanding makeup to the beautiful sets and costumes, it is a breathtakingly lavish film that entertains as much as it educates. The film cannot be overstated in its historical importance, as it was the first of the Universal Monsters to be born.
Without Chaney and his amazing creation, we would arguably never have seen Lugosi’s Dracula or Karloff’s Monster and so on. One could point to this film and say it was the birth of the horror film, as we know it today. Sure, Nosferatu had come before, as had The Golem, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and of course Edison’s Frankenstein. However, The Phantom of the Opera was the...
From Lon Chaney’s outstanding makeup to the beautiful sets and costumes, it is a breathtakingly lavish film that entertains as much as it educates. The film cannot be overstated in its historical importance, as it was the first of the Universal Monsters to be born.
Without Chaney and his amazing creation, we would arguably never have seen Lugosi’s Dracula or Karloff’s Monster and so on. One could point to this film and say it was the birth of the horror film, as we know it today. Sure, Nosferatu had come before, as had The Golem, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and of course Edison’s Frankenstein. However, The Phantom of the Opera was the...
- 12/29/2011
- by Derek Botelho
- DailyDead
Ann Blyth is Turner Classic Movies Star of the Evening tonight, as part of TCM's "The Essentials" film series. [Ann Blyth Movie Schedule.] Opera- and Broadway-trained Ann Blyth began her film career in the mid-1940s at Universal, appearing in light B musicals opposite Donald O'Connor and/or Peggy Ryan, among them The Merry Monahans, Chip Off the Old Block, and Babes on Swing Street. Blyth's big break came in 1945, when — following back surgery — she played Joan Crawford's pathologically selfish daughter Veda in Michael Curtiz's classic film noir-cum-melodrama Mildred Pierce. A well-deserved Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination followed, and so did leads in darker, bigger-budgeted productions, among them Jules Dassin's Brute Force (1947), with Burt Lancaster; Zoltan Korda's A Woman's Vengeance (1948), opposite Charles Boyer; and Michael Gordon's film version of Lillian Hellman's Another Part of the Forest (1948), a prequel to The Little Foxes. Unfortunately, TCM isn't showing any of Blyth's hard-to-find Universal titles.
- 9/18/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Howard Keel on TCM: Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, Show Boat, Kiss Me Kate Callaway Went Thataway is a pleasant comedy in which Keel has two roles: that of a cowboy star who spends most of his time wasted and a naive hick hired to impersonate said cowboy star. Keel is fine in both comedic roles, and so is Dorothy McGuire as the Hollywood slicker who falls for him. Fred MacMurray, as usual, is just there; also there are Elizabeth Taylor, Clark Gable, and Esther Williams playing themselves in brief cameos. Charles Walters' Texas Carnival (1951) is a disappointingly flat Esther Williams musical. Not even Ann Miller manages to save this one. Robert Alton's Pagan Love Song (1950) uses the song and the setting — but not the story — of the 1929 Ramon Novarro blockbuster The Pagan. Nacio Herb Brown and future producer of MGM musicals Arthur Freed wrote the hit song "Pagan Love Song,...
- 8/30/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Deborah Kerr, Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Gail Russell, Donna Reed, Jeanette MacDonald, Emil Jannings, Jacques Tati, Nelson Eddy, Anthony Quinn, John Wayne, and Frank Sinatra are a few of the movie personalities to be found in the May film series at the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation in Culpeper, Va. [Full Schedule.] Screening films include Fred Zinnemann’s multiple Academy Award-winning blockbuster From Here to Eternity (1953), which earned Donna Reed and Frank Sinatra Oscars; the first pairing of singing lovebirds Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, W. S. Van Dyke’s Naughty Marietta (1935) — which actually boasts a goosebump-inducing duet as the film’s climax; and Jacques Tati’s hilarious M. Hulot Holiday (1953). Angel and the [...]...
- 5/1/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
In anticipation of the release of his 33rd album, Together Through Life, Bob Dylan sat down with rock critic and MTV producer Bill Flanagan for a rare and unusually candid conversation. The first three portions of their meeting can be read at bobdylan.com, and the fourth installment can be read here on the Huffington Post). In the fifth installment, published below, Dylan reveals his favorite songwriters, discusses whether he's a cult figure, and gives his thoughts on trading on nostalgia and if he's a mainstream artist (to view a slide show of Dylan's favorite's, click here). Bill Flanagan: Going back to that song you wrote for the movie that you mentioned earlier, "Life is Hard," has the formality of an old Rudy Vallee or Nelson Eddy ballad right down to the middle eight ("Ever since the day..."). Do you...
- 4/15/2009
- by Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
Susanna Foster, the star of 1943's Phantom Of The Opera movie has died.
The singer/actress died of heart failure at the Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, New Jersey on Saturday. She was 84.
She co-starred with Claude Rains and Nelson Eddy in the remake of the 1925 silent screen version of Phantom, and then enjoyed a clutch of film successes throughout the 1940s.
Foster was a child star on radio before her Hollywood career began, and she landed an MGM contract at the age of 12.
She turned down the leading role in National Velvet, which eventually helped turn Elizabeth Taylor into a star. That decision eventually cost her the MGM contract.
By 1950, Foster had virtually disappeared from Hollywood and the public spotlight. She struggled in her private life and at one point was homeless.
She was to make only one more movie appearance - in 1992's Detour.
The singer/actress died of heart failure at the Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, New Jersey on Saturday. She was 84.
She co-starred with Claude Rains and Nelson Eddy in the remake of the 1925 silent screen version of Phantom, and then enjoyed a clutch of film successes throughout the 1940s.
Foster was a child star on radio before her Hollywood career began, and she landed an MGM contract at the age of 12.
She turned down the leading role in National Velvet, which eventually helped turn Elizabeth Taylor into a star. That decision eventually cost her the MGM contract.
By 1950, Foster had virtually disappeared from Hollywood and the public spotlight. She struggled in her private life and at one point was homeless.
She was to make only one more movie appearance - in 1992's Detour.
- 1/20/2009
- WENN
By Michael Atkinson
The idea of a "national" cinema, expressive of a particular and coherent cultural esprit, is a standard of most cinematic intercourse . until you confront the real map, in which Kosovar cinema is now primed to forge an identity of its own (as the Serbs and Slovenians have done), the ex-Soviet nations of the Silk Road are struggling to differentiate themselves from Russian film and the nationless movies of the Basque, the Romany and the Palestinians still hunt for footing and voice. Add to this gray zone the films of Kurdistan, a non-country standing nevertheless with its own army, government and debatable borders, and a nascent cinema rising with the ascent of the Iranian new wave and from the crater of the American occupation. Even within this context, Hiner Saleem is filmmaker on the roam . an Iraqi Kurd long expatriated to France, Saleem has made seven features, two in France,...
The idea of a "national" cinema, expressive of a particular and coherent cultural esprit, is a standard of most cinematic intercourse . until you confront the real map, in which Kosovar cinema is now primed to forge an identity of its own (as the Serbs and Slovenians have done), the ex-Soviet nations of the Silk Road are struggling to differentiate themselves from Russian film and the nationless movies of the Basque, the Romany and the Palestinians still hunt for footing and voice. Add to this gray zone the films of Kurdistan, a non-country standing nevertheless with its own army, government and debatable borders, and a nascent cinema rising with the ascent of the Iranian new wave and from the crater of the American occupation. Even within this context, Hiner Saleem is filmmaker on the roam . an Iraqi Kurd long expatriated to France, Saleem has made seven features, two in France,...
- 3/4/2008
- by Michael Atkinson
- ifc.com
WASHINGTON -- Some of Hollywood's most dynamic duos and the ever-popular sequel are among the headliners included in the 2003 version of the Library of Congress' list of 25 films that will be added to the National Film Registry. Among the major motion pictures included in this year's list are Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, which first paired Robert Redford and Paul Newman; Tarzan and His Mate, the second in the Tarzan series; National Velvet, which put Mickey Rooney together with a teenage Elizabeth Taylor; Naughty Marietta, one of the movies made by the song-and-dance team Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy; and Son of the Sheik, starring Rudolph Valentino. Each year Librarian of Congress James Billington selects 25 "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant motion pictures for the Registry. The list is designed to reflect the full breadth and diversity of America's film heritage, thus increasing public awareness of the richness of American cinema and the need for its preservation, Billington said.
- 12/17/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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