With the 96th Academy Awards in the history books, it’s time to become obsessed over the 77th Tony Awards. Nominations are April 30th with the awards set to air on CBS on June 16 from Lincoln Center. Among the contenders for Tony nominations are many musicals based on movies including “Back to the Future,’ “The Notebook,” “Water for Elephants” and “The Outsiders”: high profile revivals such as Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People” with Jeremy Strong; “Cabaret” with Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne and the Who’s “Tommy”; imports from London and transfers from off-Broadway.
Do you remember the Tony landscape 50 years ago? The 28th annual honors took place April 21, 1974, at the Shubert Theater and aired on ABC. And to say it was a star-studded affair is something of an understatement. Robert Preston, Peter Falk, Cicely Tyson, Florence Henderson hosted; presenters included Al Pacino –-let’s hope he had better...
Do you remember the Tony landscape 50 years ago? The 28th annual honors took place April 21, 1974, at the Shubert Theater and aired on ABC. And to say it was a star-studded affair is something of an understatement. Robert Preston, Peter Falk, Cicely Tyson, Florence Henderson hosted; presenters included Al Pacino –-let’s hope he had better...
- 3/14/2024
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Turner Classic Movies will turn 30 on April 14, 2024. That’s right: It’ll be 30 years since Ted Turner flipped the switch — flanked by Old Hollywood legends Arthur Hiller, Arlene Dahl, Jane Powell, Celeste Holm, and Van Johnson — right in the middle of Times Square to turn the network “on.”
Also with Turner that day was the man who’d become TCM’s longtime host, Robert Osborne, then just 61. A veteran columnist for The Hollywood Reporter, Osborne had become known as a close friend to many of the surviving stars of yesteryear ever since he was photographed kissing Bette Davis’s hand during a Golden Globes broadcast in the late ’70s. He’d go on to host the intros and outros for most of TCM’s primetime lineup for close to 23 years after that launch date, until he died in March 2017 at 84.
For so many TCM fans, Robert Osborne was the network.
Also with Turner that day was the man who’d become TCM’s longtime host, Robert Osborne, then just 61. A veteran columnist for The Hollywood Reporter, Osborne had become known as a close friend to many of the surviving stars of yesteryear ever since he was photographed kissing Bette Davis’s hand during a Golden Globes broadcast in the late ’70s. He’d go on to host the intros and outros for most of TCM’s primetime lineup for close to 23 years after that launch date, until he died in March 2017 at 84.
For so many TCM fans, Robert Osborne was the network.
- 3/14/2024
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
Judy Nugent, who portrayed one of the twins on the early TV sitcom The Ruggles and a girl who flies around the world in the arms of the Man of Steel on a heartwarming Adventures of Superman episode, has died. She was 83.
Nugent died on Oct. 26 “surrounded by family at her Montana ranch after a short battle with cancer,” according to a family statement shared by her daughter-in-law and Battlestar Galactica and Chicago Fire actress Anne Lockhart (the older daughter of Lassie and Lost in Space star June Lockhart).
The younger daughter of a prop man at MGM, Nugent also appeared in two films directed by Douglas Sirk: as a wise-cracking tomboy who tries to get a blinded widow (Jane Wyman) to snap out of it in Magnificent Obsession (1954), and as one of the daughters of Fred MacMurray and Joan Bennett’s characters in There’s Always Tomorrow (1956).
Nugent also...
Nugent died on Oct. 26 “surrounded by family at her Montana ranch after a short battle with cancer,” according to a family statement shared by her daughter-in-law and Battlestar Galactica and Chicago Fire actress Anne Lockhart (the older daughter of Lassie and Lost in Space star June Lockhart).
The younger daughter of a prop man at MGM, Nugent also appeared in two films directed by Douglas Sirk: as a wise-cracking tomboy who tries to get a blinded widow (Jane Wyman) to snap out of it in Magnificent Obsession (1954), and as one of the daughters of Fred MacMurray and Joan Bennett’s characters in There’s Always Tomorrow (1956).
Nugent also...
- 10/31/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
James Fitzgerald, a Hollywood publicist and manager who represented his wives Jane Powell and Erin O’Brien as well as Rock Hudson, Louella Parsons, Chuck Connors and Howard Keel, has died. He was 91.
Fitzgerald died Sunday of natural causes at an assisted living facility in Canoga Park, his son Greg Fitzgerald told The Hollywood Reporter.
Fitzgerald also assisted the careers of John Raitt, Engelbert Humperdinck, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Jimmy Van Heusen and The Burgundy Street Singers, among others. And when he was promoting the Sammy Cahn song “High Hopes” — a big hit for Frank Sinatra that won an Oscar in 1960 — he got to meet Eleanor Roosevelt, who performed the lyrics during an interview with him, as she did here.
Fitzgerald was married to singer-actress O’Brien (77 Sunset Strip, Onionhead) from 1951 until their 1963 divorce and to Seven Brides for Seven Brothers standout Powell from 1965 until their 1975 divorce (he was the third...
Fitzgerald died Sunday of natural causes at an assisted living facility in Canoga Park, his son Greg Fitzgerald told The Hollywood Reporter.
Fitzgerald also assisted the careers of John Raitt, Engelbert Humperdinck, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Jimmy Van Heusen and The Burgundy Street Singers, among others. And when he was promoting the Sammy Cahn song “High Hopes” — a big hit for Frank Sinatra that won an Oscar in 1960 — he got to meet Eleanor Roosevelt, who performed the lyrics during an interview with him, as she did here.
Fitzgerald was married to singer-actress O’Brien (77 Sunset Strip, Onionhead) from 1951 until their 1963 divorce and to Seven Brides for Seven Brothers standout Powell from 1965 until their 1975 divorce (he was the third...
- 8/21/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
by Nathaniel R
Jane Powell is no Julie Andrews but she does take a spin on a hilltop while singing in MGM's "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers"
Our film title this week on Hit Me With Your Best Shot is Seven Brides for Seven Brothers which is streaming on HBOMax. We knew we'd need to chase The Godfather with something lighter so we opted for a musical. So saddle up, and ride into this absurdly problematic but bouncy and colorful comedy after the jump...
Jane Powell is no Julie Andrews but she does take a spin on a hilltop while singing in MGM's "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers"
Our film title this week on Hit Me With Your Best Shot is Seven Brides for Seven Brothers which is streaming on HBOMax. We knew we'd need to chase The Godfather with something lighter so we opted for a musical. So saddle up, and ride into this absurdly problematic but bouncy and colorful comedy after the jump...
- 4/15/2022
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Who will be included for the special “In Memoriam” segment for Sunday night’s Oscars 2022 ceremony? For almost all other Academy Awards productions since the 1990s, producers typically select 40-50 people from the various branches. The 2021 segment had close to 100 people in a particularly fast-paced three minutes that was not very well-received since many of them were only on screen for a second or two.
SEECelebrity Deaths 2022: In Memoriam Gallery
Previous Oscar winners from acting categories passing away since last year’s late April ceremony are Olympia Dukakis, William Hurt and Sidney Poitier. Past acting nominees include Ned Beatty, Sally Kellerman and Dean Stockwell.
Almost all of the dozens on the list below were Academy members, previous nominees/winners or both.
Louie Anderson (actor)
Ed Asner (actor)
Ned Beatty (actor)
Marilyn Bergman (composer)
Val Bisoglio (actor)
Robert Blalack (visual effects)
Peter Bogdanovich (director)
David Brenner (editor)
Leslie Bricusse (composer...
SEECelebrity Deaths 2022: In Memoriam Gallery
Previous Oscar winners from acting categories passing away since last year’s late April ceremony are Olympia Dukakis, William Hurt and Sidney Poitier. Past acting nominees include Ned Beatty, Sally Kellerman and Dean Stockwell.
Almost all of the dozens on the list below were Academy members, previous nominees/winners or both.
Louie Anderson (actor)
Ed Asner (actor)
Ned Beatty (actor)
Marilyn Bergman (composer)
Val Bisoglio (actor)
Robert Blalack (visual effects)
Peter Bogdanovich (director)
David Brenner (editor)
Leslie Bricusse (composer...
- 3/24/2022
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Sunday’s SAG Awards ceremony will return to its normal two-hour live format on TNT and TBS. One of the highlights each year is the special In Memoriam segment. It’s been a particularly rough year with over 100 deaths of prominent actors and actresses who were likely members of SAG/AFTRA. Show producers typically are able to include approximately 40-50 people in a tribute. The 2021 segment saluted 55 people because they had responsibility for 14 months instead of 12.
Among that group will certainly be previous SAG president Ed Asner, who was also a life achievement award recipient. That honorary award was also presented to Sidney Poitier and Betty White, who both died this past year.
SEECelebrity Deaths 2022: In Memoriam Gallery
Who else might be featured in the 2022 tribute? Look for Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis, Oscar nominees Ned Beatty, Peter Bogdanovich and Dean Stockwell, plus Emmy champs Louie Anderson, Michael Constantine, Charles Grodin,...
Among that group will certainly be previous SAG president Ed Asner, who was also a life achievement award recipient. That honorary award was also presented to Sidney Poitier and Betty White, who both died this past year.
SEECelebrity Deaths 2022: In Memoriam Gallery
Who else might be featured in the 2022 tribute? Look for Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis, Oscar nominees Ned Beatty, Peter Bogdanovich and Dean Stockwell, plus Emmy champs Louie Anderson, Michael Constantine, Charles Grodin,...
- 2/25/2022
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
SAG-AFTRA’s unclaimed residuals fund has grown to roughly $76 million – up 60% from $48 million six years ago. According to the union, the fund now contains 124,000 separate accounts for members and others, living and dead, that it can’t locate. That’s up from 96,000 accounts in 2016.
“The funds may be unclaimed for a variety of reasons including a bad address or as a result of mail returned for other reasons; unresolved estate issues, or the funds may be in trust for an inactive or dissolved loan out corporation,” a spokesperson for the union said. “Most often, residuals may be waiting for a recipient or their agent to formalize a change of address or submit the appropriate paperwork to claim the funds. The union uses a number of tools to locate and get money to those individuals due unclaimed residuals including mail, email and telephone outreach to last known address and telephone number,...
“The funds may be unclaimed for a variety of reasons including a bad address or as a result of mail returned for other reasons; unresolved estate issues, or the funds may be in trust for an inactive or dissolved loan out corporation,” a spokesperson for the union said. “Most often, residuals may be waiting for a recipient or their agent to formalize a change of address or submit the appropriate paperwork to claim the funds. The union uses a number of tools to locate and get money to those individuals due unclaimed residuals including mail, email and telephone outreach to last known address and telephone number,...
- 1/10/2022
- by David Robb
- Deadline Film + TV
It was another Year of Covid in 2021, and the sadness extended to many beloved and groundbreaking people in the show business and media worlds who died during the past 12 months.
Scroll through a photo gallery above.
The acting world lost such giants as Betty White who died on New Year’s Eve eve, Ed Asner, Cicely Tyson, Charles Grodin, Jessica Walter, Christopher Plummer, Michael K. Williams, Hal Holbrook, George Segal, Yaphet Kotto, Jane Powell and Ned Beatty.
We also pay tribute to filmmakers including Melvin Van Peebles, Jean-Marc Vallée, Bertrand Travernier, Richard Donner, Michael Apted and Roger Michell.
The executive and producing worlds lost the likes of Jamie Tarses, Chuck Fries and public television’s Pete Noyes and Bill Kobin.
Musicians who left us this past year include Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, Don Everly, Vicente Fernandez, Dmx, Chick Corea, Biz Markie, B.J. Thomas, the Monkees’ Mike Nesmith, the Supremes’ Mary Wilson,...
Scroll through a photo gallery above.
The acting world lost such giants as Betty White who died on New Year’s Eve eve, Ed Asner, Cicely Tyson, Charles Grodin, Jessica Walter, Christopher Plummer, Michael K. Williams, Hal Holbrook, George Segal, Yaphet Kotto, Jane Powell and Ned Beatty.
We also pay tribute to filmmakers including Melvin Van Peebles, Jean-Marc Vallée, Bertrand Travernier, Richard Donner, Michael Apted and Roger Michell.
The executive and producing worlds lost the likes of Jamie Tarses, Chuck Fries and public television’s Pete Noyes and Bill Kobin.
Musicians who left us this past year include Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, Don Everly, Vicente Fernandez, Dmx, Chick Corea, Biz Markie, B.J. Thomas, the Monkees’ Mike Nesmith, the Supremes’ Mary Wilson,...
- 12/31/2021
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
The movie awards’ season is in full flower with such films as Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog”; Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story”; Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast,” Guillermo Del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley” and Joel Coen’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth” among the favorites for top prizes. But one thing we know for certain is that there is no sure thing when it comes to the Oscars. Consider the case of seventy years ago. Not only were there surprises among the nominees, but there were also some shocks when it came to the winners of the 1952 Oscars.
Let’s revisit the 24th Academy Awards, which took place March 20, 1952 at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood and were hosted by Danny Kaye. This was the last time the ceremony was presented on radio. The show moved to television the following year. Among the presenters that evening were Lucille Ball,...
Let’s revisit the 24th Academy Awards, which took place March 20, 1952 at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood and were hosted by Danny Kaye. This was the last time the ceremony was presented on radio. The show moved to television the following year. Among the presenters that evening were Lucille Ball,...
- 12/6/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
American singer and dancer who played Milly in the classic 1954 film musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Jane Powell, who has died aged 92, was a singing star at MGM during the heyday of the studio’s musicals, from the mid-1940s to the mid-50s. She had a creamy coloratura soprano voice and appeared in several glossy, gossamer entertainments, playing a love-sick teenager before graduating to adulthood at the age of 25 with her best role as Milly in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954).
In Stanley Donen’s exuberant film, the diminutive Powell is wooed by the baritone Howard Keel (singing Bless Your Beautiful Hide), and despite the disparity in their heights they made a good match. Powell attempts to civilise her six unruly brothers-in-law, teaching them to dance politely in the number Goin’ Courtin’. She was never again to play such a mature and well-rounded character. It was the peak of her career.
Jane Powell, who has died aged 92, was a singing star at MGM during the heyday of the studio’s musicals, from the mid-1940s to the mid-50s. She had a creamy coloratura soprano voice and appeared in several glossy, gossamer entertainments, playing a love-sick teenager before graduating to adulthood at the age of 25 with her best role as Milly in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954).
In Stanley Donen’s exuberant film, the diminutive Powell is wooed by the baritone Howard Keel (singing Bless Your Beautiful Hide), and despite the disparity in their heights they made a good match. Powell attempts to civilise her six unruly brothers-in-law, teaching them to dance politely in the number Goin’ Courtin’. She was never again to play such a mature and well-rounded character. It was the peak of her career.
- 9/21/2021
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Joel Rapp, who had writing or co-writing credits on 16 feature films and more than 250 classic sitcoms, died Wednesday at home. He was 87 and no cause of death was given by his family.
Born on May 22, 1934 in New York City, Rapp grew up Beverly Hills in a family considered part of Hollywood royalty. His father, Philip Rapp, created radio series The Bickersons and Baby Snooks. His godmother was actress and singer Fanny Brice, and his godfather was actor-singer Eddie Cantor.
Joel Rapp went on to work with director Roger Corman on many films and wrote for such television hits as Gilligan’s Island, The Lucy Show, McHale’s Navy, My Favorite Martian, The Patty Duke Show, The Joey Bishop Show and The Donna Reed Show.
Later, he became VP Comedy Development at Universal Pictures. But in a departure, he left that position in 1969 to pursue two different passions: indoor gardening and cooking.
Jane Powell...
Born on May 22, 1934 in New York City, Rapp grew up Beverly Hills in a family considered part of Hollywood royalty. His father, Philip Rapp, created radio series The Bickersons and Baby Snooks. His godmother was actress and singer Fanny Brice, and his godfather was actor-singer Eddie Cantor.
Joel Rapp went on to work with director Roger Corman on many films and wrote for such television hits as Gilligan’s Island, The Lucy Show, McHale’s Navy, My Favorite Martian, The Patty Duke Show, The Joey Bishop Show and The Donna Reed Show.
Later, he became VP Comedy Development at Universal Pictures. But in a departure, he left that position in 1969 to pursue two different passions: indoor gardening and cooking.
Jane Powell...
- 9/16/2021
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Jane Powell, who starred as an angelically visaged young actress in a number of MGM musicals including “Royal Wedding” and “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” during the 1940s and 1950s, has died of natural causes. She was 92 years old.
The blonde, blue-eyed Powell usually played characters with a gentle mischievous streak in her musical comedies, but she would shatter the light-hearted atmosphere of her films when she sang: A surprisingly powerful coloratura would emerge from the diminutive (5-feet-1) thesp.
Her producer and mentor was MGM’s Joe Pasternak, who had earlier developed the talents of Deanna Durbin at Universal.
Auditioning for Louis B. Mayer and for David O. Selznick, she quickly drew a seven-year contract with MGM in 1943. Her first film, on loan-out, was 1944 musical “Song of the Open Road,” in which the actress played a child film star who runs away. She took her character’s name, Jane Powell,...
The blonde, blue-eyed Powell usually played characters with a gentle mischievous streak in her musical comedies, but she would shatter the light-hearted atmosphere of her films when she sang: A surprisingly powerful coloratura would emerge from the diminutive (5-feet-1) thesp.
Her producer and mentor was MGM’s Joe Pasternak, who had earlier developed the talents of Deanna Durbin at Universal.
Auditioning for Louis B. Mayer and for David O. Selznick, she quickly drew a seven-year contract with MGM in 1943. Her first film, on loan-out, was 1944 musical “Song of the Open Road,” in which the actress played a child film star who runs away. She took her character’s name, Jane Powell,...
- 9/16/2021
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Jane Powell, an Old Hollywood star known for films such as “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” and “Royal Wedding” with Fred Astaire, has died. She was 92.
Powell died early Thursday of natural causes in her home in Wilton, Connecticut, that she had shared with husband, actor and publicist Dickie Moore, who died in 2015. Powell’s death was confirmed to TheWrap by her longtime friend and spokesperson Susan Granger.
Powell was one of the last surviving stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, and her storied career took her into theater and television, even playing Alan Thicke’s mother on the hit 1980s series “Growing Pains.” Powell is fondly remembered for her soprano voice and spunky charm in several classic MGM musicals, and she would eventually share the screen with stars such as Astaire, Debbie Reynolds and Elizabeth Taylor.
Born Suzanne Lorraine Burce, Powell won a talent competition in Los Angeles in...
Powell died early Thursday of natural causes in her home in Wilton, Connecticut, that she had shared with husband, actor and publicist Dickie Moore, who died in 2015. Powell’s death was confirmed to TheWrap by her longtime friend and spokesperson Susan Granger.
Powell was one of the last surviving stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, and her storied career took her into theater and television, even playing Alan Thicke’s mother on the hit 1980s series “Growing Pains.” Powell is fondly remembered for her soprano voice and spunky charm in several classic MGM musicals, and she would eventually share the screen with stars such as Astaire, Debbie Reynolds and Elizabeth Taylor.
Born Suzanne Lorraine Burce, Powell won a talent competition in Los Angeles in...
- 9/16/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Jane Powell, who made her screen debut with W.C. Fields, danced with Fred Astaire in Royal Wedding, was one of seven brides for seven brothers in the classic 1954 film musical, sang “Buttons and Bows” at President Harry S. Truman’s Inaugural Ball and was a bridesmaid at the first of Elizabeth Taylor’s weddings, died of natural causes today at her home in Wilton, Connecticut. She was 92.
Susan Granger, a friend of the actress and spokesperson for her family, told Deadline that Powell died peacefully at the house she shared for many years with her husband, the actor and publicist Dick Moore, who died in 2015.
Powell, one of the last surviving stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, continued to appear on stage well into the 21st Century, making her career among her generation’s sturdiest.
Born Suzanne Lorraine Burce in Portland, Oregon, Powell was already a locally successful singer – she...
Susan Granger, a friend of the actress and spokesperson for her family, told Deadline that Powell died peacefully at the house she shared for many years with her husband, the actor and publicist Dick Moore, who died in 2015.
Powell, one of the last surviving stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, continued to appear on stage well into the 21st Century, making her career among her generation’s sturdiest.
Born Suzanne Lorraine Burce in Portland, Oregon, Powell was already a locally successful singer – she...
- 9/16/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Jane Powell, the radiant and refined singing star of such ebullient Hollywood musicals as A Date With Judy, Royal Wedding and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, died Thursday. She was 92.
Powell, who projected an image of the innocent girl next door throughout her movie career, which began as a teenager, died of natural causes at her home in Wilton, Connecticut, film critic and longtime friend Susan Granger told The Hollywood Reporter.
With her soprano operatic voice, Powell also was a recording star and a popular stage performer, playing in road productions of such musicals as The Sound of Music, Oklahoma!, My Fair Lady and Carousel, and she reteamed with ...
Powell, who projected an image of the innocent girl next door throughout her movie career, which began as a teenager, died of natural causes at her home in Wilton, Connecticut, film critic and longtime friend Susan Granger told The Hollywood Reporter.
With her soprano operatic voice, Powell also was a recording star and a popular stage performer, playing in road productions of such musicals as The Sound of Music, Oklahoma!, My Fair Lady and Carousel, and she reteamed with ...
- 9/16/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Jane Powell, the radiant and refined singing star of such ebullient Hollywood musicals as A Date With Judy, Royal Wedding and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, died Thursday. She was 92.
Powell, who projected an image of the innocent girl next door throughout her movie career, which began as a teenager, died of natural causes at her home in Wilton, Connecticut, film critic and longtime friend Susan Granger told The Hollywood Reporter.
With her soprano operatic voice, Powell also was a recording star and a popular stage performer, playing in road productions of such musicals as The Sound of Music, Oklahoma!, My Fair Lady and Carousel, and she reteamed with ...
Powell, who projected an image of the innocent girl next door throughout her movie career, which began as a teenager, died of natural causes at her home in Wilton, Connecticut, film critic and longtime friend Susan Granger told The Hollywood Reporter.
With her soprano operatic voice, Powell also was a recording star and a popular stage performer, playing in road productions of such musicals as The Sound of Music, Oklahoma!, My Fair Lady and Carousel, and she reteamed with ...
- 9/16/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
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
David Crow Feb 23, 2019
Stanley Donen, legendary director of Singin' in the Rain, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and Charade, has passed away.
Stanley Donen, one of the filmmakers most associated with the Golden Age of Hollywood movie musicals out of the MGM Freed unit, has passed away at the age of 94, leaving behind a legacy that includes Singin’ in the Rain, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, On the Town, Funny Face, and non-musical Audrey Hepburn classics like Charade and Two for the Road.
The news was confirmed by one of Donen’s sons to The Chicago Tribune critic Michael Phillips. The journalist tweeted Saturday morning, “Confirmed by one of his sons this morning: Director Stanley Donen has died at 94… A huge, often neglected talent.”
Born in South Carolina in April 1924, Donen said later in life that he was inspired by the likes of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals of the ‘30s,...
Stanley Donen, legendary director of Singin' in the Rain, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and Charade, has passed away.
Stanley Donen, one of the filmmakers most associated with the Golden Age of Hollywood movie musicals out of the MGM Freed unit, has passed away at the age of 94, leaving behind a legacy that includes Singin’ in the Rain, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, On the Town, Funny Face, and non-musical Audrey Hepburn classics like Charade and Two for the Road.
The news was confirmed by one of Donen’s sons to The Chicago Tribune critic Michael Phillips. The journalist tweeted Saturday morning, “Confirmed by one of his sons this morning: Director Stanley Donen has died at 94… A huge, often neglected talent.”
Born in South Carolina in April 1924, Donen said later in life that he was inspired by the likes of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals of the ‘30s,...
- 2/23/2019
- Den of Geek
Stanley Donen, the director of such stylish and exuberant films as “Singin’ in the Rain,” “Funny Face” and “Two for the Road” and the last surviving helmer of note from Hollywood’s golden age, has died at 94.
The Chicago Tribune’s Michael Phillips tweeted that one of his sons had confirmed the news to him.
Confirmed by one of his sons this morning: Director Stanley Donen has died at 94. With Gene Kelly he brought On The Town and Singin’ In The Rain into the world; on his own, 7 Brides, Charade and Two For The Road. A huge, often neglected talent. #StanleyDonen
— Michael Phillips (@phillipstribune) February 23, 2019
Though he was never Oscar-nominated for any of the many films he directed, Donen received a lifetime achievement Oscar at the 1998 Academy Awards “in appreciation of a body of work marked by grace, elegance, wit and visual innovation.”
His films were known for their brisk pace,...
The Chicago Tribune’s Michael Phillips tweeted that one of his sons had confirmed the news to him.
Confirmed by one of his sons this morning: Director Stanley Donen has died at 94. With Gene Kelly he brought On The Town and Singin’ In The Rain into the world; on his own, 7 Brides, Charade and Two For The Road. A huge, often neglected talent. #StanleyDonen
— Michael Phillips (@phillipstribune) February 23, 2019
Though he was never Oscar-nominated for any of the many films he directed, Donen received a lifetime achievement Oscar at the 1998 Academy Awards “in appreciation of a body of work marked by grace, elegance, wit and visual innovation.”
His films were known for their brisk pace,...
- 2/23/2019
- by Carmel Dagan and Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Kaye Ballard, a comic actress and singer who was a regular presence on TV for decades and starred in the late-’60s NBC comedy The Mothers-in-Law, has died. Palm Springs-area paper The Desert Sun reported that the star also known for The Girl Most Likely and a half-dozen Broadway musicals died Monday at her home in Rancho Mirage.
Ballard had appeared on a couple of TV programs when she was cast as Marge opposite Jane Powell and Cliff Robertson in the 1958 big-screen musical comedy remake of The Girl Most Likely. She would appear in a handful of movies in the ensuing decades, but TV was her go-to medium.
In 1967 she starred with Eve Arden in The Mothers-in-Law, playing half of an unconventional couple, the Buells, who was best friends with their very-straight suburban neighbors the Hubbards (Arden and Herbert Rudley). The series struggled to lure viewers in its 8:30 Sunday...
Ballard had appeared on a couple of TV programs when she was cast as Marge opposite Jane Powell and Cliff Robertson in the 1958 big-screen musical comedy remake of The Girl Most Likely. She would appear in a handful of movies in the ensuing decades, but TV was her go-to medium.
In 1967 she starred with Eve Arden in The Mothers-in-Law, playing half of an unconventional couple, the Buells, who was best friends with their very-straight suburban neighbors the Hubbards (Arden and Herbert Rudley). The series struggled to lure viewers in its 8:30 Sunday...
- 1/22/2019
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Singer-comedienne Kaye Ballard, who starred alongside Eve Arden in the 1960s sitcom “The Mothers-in-Law” and was among the stars of the 1976 feature based on Terrence McNally’s farce “The Ritz,” died Monday in Rancho Mirage, Calif. She was 93.
She had recently attended a screening of a documentary about her life, “Kaye Ballard: The Show Goes On,” at the Palm Springs Film Festival, according to the Desert Sun, and became ill soon after.
Ballard’s career spanned stage and screen, and she was a star on Broadway when she was paired with Arden as neighbors whose kids get married on “The Mothers-in-Law,” which ran on NBC from 1967-69 and later in syndication.
On the show Ballard played Katherine “Kaye” Josephina Buell, the overly emotional wife of Roger Buell (played by Roger C. Carmel) and overprotective mother of Jerry Buell (Jerry Fogel). She was an unenthusiastic housewife, frequently spoke in Italian, and...
She had recently attended a screening of a documentary about her life, “Kaye Ballard: The Show Goes On,” at the Palm Springs Film Festival, according to the Desert Sun, and became ill soon after.
Ballard’s career spanned stage and screen, and she was a star on Broadway when she was paired with Arden as neighbors whose kids get married on “The Mothers-in-Law,” which ran on NBC from 1967-69 and later in syndication.
On the show Ballard played Katherine “Kaye” Josephina Buell, the overly emotional wife of Roger Buell (played by Roger C. Carmel) and overprotective mother of Jerry Buell (Jerry Fogel). She was an unenthusiastic housewife, frequently spoke in Italian, and...
- 1/22/2019
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
This article marks Part 5 of the Gold Derby series analyzing 84 years of Best Original Song at the Oscars. Join us as we look back at the timeless tunes recognized in this category, the results of each race and the overall rankings of the Academy Awards winners.
The 1950 Oscar nominees in Best Original Song were:
“Mona Lisa” from “Captain Carey, U.S.A.”
“Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” from “Cinderella”
“Mule Train” from “Singing Guns”
“Be My Love” from “The Toast of New Orleans”
“Wilhelmina” from “Wabash Avenue”
Won and should’ve won: “Mona Lisa” from “Captain Carey, U.S.A. ”
Best Original Song in 1950 underwhelms a bit, with really only two particularly memorable nominees – one, the winning “Mona Lisa,” and second, the catchy-as-can-be “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo.”
“Mona Lisa,” featured in the forgettable Alan Ladd war picture “Captain Carey, U.S.A.,” is performed sumptuously here by the always-marvelous Nat King Cole. His performance, coupled with the rich orchestrations,...
The 1950 Oscar nominees in Best Original Song were:
“Mona Lisa” from “Captain Carey, U.S.A.”
“Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” from “Cinderella”
“Mule Train” from “Singing Guns”
“Be My Love” from “The Toast of New Orleans”
“Wilhelmina” from “Wabash Avenue”
Won and should’ve won: “Mona Lisa” from “Captain Carey, U.S.A. ”
Best Original Song in 1950 underwhelms a bit, with really only two particularly memorable nominees – one, the winning “Mona Lisa,” and second, the catchy-as-can-be “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo.”
“Mona Lisa,” featured in the forgettable Alan Ladd war picture “Captain Carey, U.S.A.,” is performed sumptuously here by the always-marvelous Nat King Cole. His performance, coupled with the rich orchestrations,...
- 8/20/2018
- by Andrew Carden
- Gold Derby
Cinema Retro has received the following press release from the Warner Archive:
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
Burbank, Calif., Get ready for one of the liveliest, leaping-est, sassiest and happiest musicals ever, as Warner Archive Collection proudly unveils its Two-Disc Special Edition Blu-ray™ release of the Oscar-winning 1954 MGM classic Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
Directed by Stanley Donen (Singin' in the Rain), and starring Jane Powell and Howard Keel, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers was nominated for four Academy Awards® and won for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture. This Western musical is distinguished by a wonderful score of original songs by composer Gene de Paul and lyricist by Johnny Mercer (Li’l Abner) along with brilliant, acrobatic dancing scenes choreographed by Michael Kidd.
Presented for the first time on Blu-ray, featuring a new 1080p HD master from a 2018 2K scan in its original 2.55 CinemaScope aspect ratio,...
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
Burbank, Calif., Get ready for one of the liveliest, leaping-est, sassiest and happiest musicals ever, as Warner Archive Collection proudly unveils its Two-Disc Special Edition Blu-ray™ release of the Oscar-winning 1954 MGM classic Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
Directed by Stanley Donen (Singin' in the Rain), and starring Jane Powell and Howard Keel, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers was nominated for four Academy Awards® and won for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture. This Western musical is distinguished by a wonderful score of original songs by composer Gene de Paul and lyricist by Johnny Mercer (Li’l Abner) along with brilliant, acrobatic dancing scenes choreographed by Michael Kidd.
Presented for the first time on Blu-ray, featuring a new 1080p HD master from a 2018 2K scan in its original 2.55 CinemaScope aspect ratio,...
- 6/8/2018
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
The Little Song ‘n’ Dance Show that Could, this over-achieving Jack Cummings production is a bright exception to the dull waning days of the MGM musical, due to many factors but especially Michael Kidd’s athletic choreography. And it’s been restored in both of its simultaneously-filmed versions, flat-widescreen and CinemaScope.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Two- disc Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1954 / Color / 1:77 widescreen + 2:55 anamorphic 16:9 (separate versions) /
102 min. / Street Date June 5, 2018 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Jane Powell, Howard Keel, Jeff Richards, Russ Tamblyn, Tommy Rall, Marc Platt, Matt Mattox, Jacques d’Amboise, Julie Newmeyer (Newmar), Nancy Kilgas, Betty Carr, Virginia Gibson, Ruta Kilmonis (Lee), Norma Doggett.
Cinematography: George Folsey
Choreography: Michael Kidd
Film Editor: Ralph E. Winters
Original Music: Gene de Paul, Johnny Mercer
Written by Albert Hackett & Frances Goodrich, Dorothy Kingsley from the story The Sobbin’ Women by Stephen Vincent Benet
Produced by Jack Cummings...
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Two- disc Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1954 / Color / 1:77 widescreen + 2:55 anamorphic 16:9 (separate versions) /
102 min. / Street Date June 5, 2018 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Jane Powell, Howard Keel, Jeff Richards, Russ Tamblyn, Tommy Rall, Marc Platt, Matt Mattox, Jacques d’Amboise, Julie Newmeyer (Newmar), Nancy Kilgas, Betty Carr, Virginia Gibson, Ruta Kilmonis (Lee), Norma Doggett.
Cinematography: George Folsey
Choreography: Michael Kidd
Film Editor: Ralph E. Winters
Original Music: Gene de Paul, Johnny Mercer
Written by Albert Hackett & Frances Goodrich, Dorothy Kingsley from the story The Sobbin’ Women by Stephen Vincent Benet
Produced by Jack Cummings...
- 5/29/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
(See previous post: Fourth of July Movies: Escapism During a Weird Year.) On the evening of the Fourth of July, besides fireworks, fire hazards, and Yankee Doodle Dandy, if you're watching TCM in the U.S. and Canada, there's the following: Peter H. Hunt's 1776 (1972), a largely forgotten film musical based on the Broadway hit with music by Sherman Edwards. William Daniels, who was recently on TCM talking about 1776 and a couple of other movies (A Thousand Clowns, Dodsworth), has one of the key roles as John Adams. Howard Da Silva, blacklisted for over a decade after being named a communist during the House Un-American Committee hearings of the early 1950s (Robert Taylor was one who mentioned him in his testimony), plays Benjamin Franklin. Ken Howard is Thomas Jefferson, a role he would reprise in John Huston's 1976 short Independence. (In the short, Pat Hingle was cast as John Adams; Eli Wallach was Benjamin Franklin.) Warner...
- 7/5/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Fourth of July movies: A few recommended titles that should help you temporarily escape current global madness Two thousand and seventeen has been a weirder-than-usual year on the already pretty weird Planet Earth. Unsurprisingly, this Fourth of July, the day the United States celebrates its Declaration of Independence from the British Empire, has been an unusual one as well. Instead of fireworks, (at least some) people's attention has been turned to missiles – more specifically, a carefully timed North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile test indicating that Kim Jong-un could theoretically gain (or could already have?) the capacity to strike North America with nuclear weapons. Then there were right-wing trolls & history-deficient Twitter users berating National Public Radio for tweeting the Declaration of Independence, 140 characters at a time. Besides, a few days ago the current U.S. president retweeted a video of himself body-slamming and choking a representation of CNN – courtesy of a gif originally created by a far-right Internet...
- 7/5/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Prince William shared his own experience of dealing with male suicide when he met with British emergency service workers who find themselves tackling the issue far too often. William told a small group of workers, including a lifeboat volunteer, a fireman and a marine policeman, that one of his first calls in his job at East Anglia's air ambulance service was to a young man who had committed suicide. "He is concerned that men sometimes consider themselves too strong to ask for help," a palace spokeswoman tells People. "He wants to see what he can do to help encourage men to ask for help.
- 5/12/2016
- by Simon Perry, @SPerryPeoplemag
- PEOPLE.com
Prince William shared his own experience of dealing with male suicide when he met with British emergency service workers who find themselves tackling the issue far too often. William told a small group of workers, including a lifeboat volunteer, a fireman and a marine policeman, that one of his first calls in his job at East Anglia's air ambulance service was to a young man who had committed suicide. "He is concerned that men sometimes consider themselves too strong to ask for help," a palace spokeswoman tells People. "He wants to see what he can do to help encourage men to ask for help.
- 5/12/2016
- by Simon Perry, @SPerryPeoplemag
- PEOPLE.com
Merle Oberon films: From empress to duchess in 'Hotel.' Merle Oberon films: From starring to supporting roles Turner Classic Movies' Merle Oberon month comes to an end tonight, March 25, '16, with six movies: Désirée, Hotel, Deep in My Heart, Affectionately Yours, Berlin Express, and Night Song. Oberon's presence alone would have sufficed to make them all worth a look, but they have other qualities to recommend them as well. 'Désirée': First supporting role in two decades Directed by Henry Koster, best remembered for his Deanna Durbin musicals and the 1947 fantasy comedy The Bishop's Wife, Désirée (1954) is a sumptuous production that, thanks to its big-name cast, became a major box office hit upon its release. Marlon Brando is laughably miscast as Napoleon Bonaparte, while Jean Simmons plays the title role, the Corsican Conqueror's one-time fiancée Désirée Clary (later Queen of Sweden and Norway). In a supporting role – her...
- 3/26/2016
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Hank Williams became a legend for his piercing voice, catchy tunes, and charming swagger, but as this exclusive clip from the new biopic "I Saw the Light" shows, he could wheel and deal, too.
Hank (Tom Hiddleston) and his producer, Fred (Bradley Whitford), meet with a movie mogul to discuss the possibility of the singer joining the cast of "Small Town Girl," starring Farley Granger and Jane Powell.
That's exciting news to the two men. "My wife loves Jane Powell!" Fred exclaims.
But there's one small hitch: Money. When the mogul lays out the terms of the deal -- four weeks, $4,500 a week -- Hank isn't thrilled. He thinks he's worth a lot more than that.
"I Saw the Light" traces Hank's journey through his meteoric rise to the top of country music, all while he struggles with inner demons, alcoholism, and marriage problems with wife Audrey (Elizabeth Olsen). The...
Hank (Tom Hiddleston) and his producer, Fred (Bradley Whitford), meet with a movie mogul to discuss the possibility of the singer joining the cast of "Small Town Girl," starring Farley Granger and Jane Powell.
That's exciting news to the two men. "My wife loves Jane Powell!" Fred exclaims.
But there's one small hitch: Money. When the mogul lays out the terms of the deal -- four weeks, $4,500 a week -- Hank isn't thrilled. He thinks he's worth a lot more than that.
"I Saw the Light" traces Hank's journey through his meteoric rise to the top of country music, all while he struggles with inner demons, alcoholism, and marriage problems with wife Audrey (Elizabeth Olsen). The...
- 3/22/2016
- by Kelly Woo
- Moviefone
Rko's final in-house production is a good end-of-an-era film, a spirited and well-made musical comedy. Bright-eyed Jane Powell can't stop accepting marriage proposals, from nerdy Tommy Noonan, dreamboat kisser Cliff Robertson and zillionare Keith Andes. She imagines her future with each man in musical terms, through production numbers staged by Gower Champion. The Girl Most Likely DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1956 / Color / 1:78 enhanced widescreen / 98 min. / Street Date November 17, 2015 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring Jane Powell, Cliff Robertson, Keith Andes, Kaye Ballard, Tommy Noonan, Una Merkel, Kelly Brown, Judy Nugent, Frank Cady, Joseph Kearns, Marjorie Stapp, Robert Banas. Cinematography Robert H. Planck Film Editor Doane Harrison Original Music Nelson Riddle Choreographer Gower Champion Written by Devery Freeman, Paul Jarrico (uncredited) Produced by Stanley Rubin Directed by Mitchell Leisen
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
From roughly 1925 to 1957, the powerful men in charge of the big studios controlled most aspects of production. That...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
From roughly 1925 to 1957, the powerful men in charge of the big studios controlled most aspects of production. That...
- 1/1/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The gaudy MGM musical bio gets one last go-round, gathering an all-star cast to illustrate the songbook of composer Sigmund Romberg. Gene Kelly dances with his brother Fred, and Cyd Charisse does a hot number with James Mitchell, while star José Ferrer goes on stage to perform with his wife Rosemary Clooney. Deep in My Heart Blu-ray Warner Archive Collection 1954 / Color / 1:37 flat Academy / 132 min. / Street Date November 10, 2015 / available through the WBshop / 17.95 Starring José Ferrer, Merle Oberon, Helen Traubel, Doe Avedon, Walter Pidgeon, Jim Backus, Rosemary Clooney, Gene Kelly, Fred Kelly, Jane Powell, Ann Miller, Cyd Charisse, Howard Keel, Vic Damone, Tony Martin, Joan Weldon, Fred Kelly, Russ Tamblyn. Susan Luckey, Robert Easton, Barrie Chase, Douglas Fowley. Cinematography George J. Folsey Film Editor Adrienne Fazan Original Music Alexander Courage, Adolph Deutsch Written by Leonard Spigelgass from a book by Elliott Arnold Produced by Roger Edens Directed by Stanley Donen
Reviewed...
Reviewed...
- 11/3/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Dickie Moore, a former child actor best known for starring as the titular character in 1933's Oliver Twist, has died at 89, according to The New York Times. Moore, who served as a public-relations executive, died on Monday in Connecticut, the Times reported.
Moore, who was born in September 1925, made his big screen-debut before even turning 1 in silent film The Beloved Rogue as the younger version of actor John Barrymore's character.
He was a series regular in Our Gang, or The Little Rascals, from 1932-1933 before landing the role of Oliver for Hollywood's first talkie version of Oliver Twist.
He...
Moore, who was born in September 1925, made his big screen-debut before even turning 1 in silent film The Beloved Rogue as the younger version of actor John Barrymore's character.
He was a series regular in Our Gang, or The Little Rascals, from 1932-1933 before landing the role of Oliver for Hollywood's first talkie version of Oliver Twist.
He...
- 9/11/2015
- by Lindsay Kimble, @lekimble
- People.com - TV Watch
Child actor Dickie Moore: 'Our Gang' member. Former child actor Dickie Moore dead at 89: Film career ranged from 'Our Gang' shorts to features opposite Marlene Dietrich and Gary Cooper 1930s child actor Dickie Moore, whose 100+ movie career ranged from Our Gang shorts to playing opposite the likes of Marlene Dietrich, Barbara Stanwyck, and Gary Cooper, died in Connecticut on Sept. 7, '15 – five days before his 90th birthday. So far, news reports haven't specified the cause of death. According to a 2013 Boston Phoenix article about Moore's wife, MGM musical star Jane Powell, he had been “suffering from arthritis and bouts of dementia.” Dickie Moore movies At the behest of a persistent family friend, combined with the fact that his father was out of a job, Dickie Moore (born on Sept. 12, 1925, in Los Angeles) made his film debut as an infant in Alan Crosland's 1927 costume drama The Beloved Rogue,...
- 9/11/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Little Dickie Moore, the beloved former child star, has died. He was 89. The husband of famed actress Jane Powell, Moore began his long career in show business when he was only 11 months old, playing John Barrymore as an infant in the 1927 silent film The Beloved Rogue. He would go on to appear in more than 100 films during the next 30 years and was later the longtime spokesman for AFTRA. His many memorable screen performances included starring roles in Oliver Twist, Serge…...
- 9/10/2015
- Deadline TV
Little Dickie Moore, the beloved former child star, has died. He was 89. The husband of famed actress Jane Powell, Moore began his long career in show business when he was only 11 months old, playing John Barrymore as an infant in the 1927 silent film The Beloved Rogue. He would go on to appear in more than 100 films during the next 30 years and was later the longtime spokesman for AFTRA. His many memorable screen performances included starring roles in Oliver Twist, Serge…...
- 9/10/2015
- Deadline
Debbie Reynolds ca. early 1950s. Debbie Reynolds movies: Oscar nominee for 'The Unsinkable Molly Brown,' sweetness and light in phony 'The Singing Nun' Debbie Reynolds is Turner Classic Movies' “Summer Under the Stars” star today, Aug. 23, '15. An MGM contract player from 1950 to 1959, Reynolds' movies can be seen just about every week on TCM. The only premiere on Debbie Reynolds Day is Jerry Paris' lively marital comedy How Sweet It Is (1968), costarring James Garner. This evening, TCM is showing Divorce American Style, The Catered Affair, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, and The Singing Nun. 'Divorce American Style,' 'The Catered Affair' Directed by the recently deceased Bud Yorkin, Divorce American Style (1967) is notable for its cast – Reynolds, Dick Van Dyke, Jean Simmons, Jason Robards, Van Johnson, Lee Grant – and for the fact that it earned Norman Lear (screenplay) and Robert Kaufman (story) a Best Original Screenplay Academy Award nomination.
- 8/24/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Fred Astaire ca. 1935. Fred Astaire movies: Dancing in the dark, on the ceiling on TCM Aug. 5, '15, is Fred Astaire Day on Turner Classic Movies, as TCM continues with its “Summer Under the Stars” series. Just don't expect any rare Astaire movies, as the actor-singer-dancer's star vehicles – mostly Rko or MGM productions – have been TCM staples since the early days of the cable channel in the mid-'90s. True, Fred Astaire was also featured in smaller, lesser-known fare like Byron Chudnow's The Amazing Dobermans (1976) and Yves Boisset's The Purple Taxi / Un taxi mauve (1977), but neither one can be found on the TCM schedule. (See TCM's Fred Astaire movie schedule further below.) Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals Some fans never tire of watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing together. With these particular fans in mind, TCM is showing – for the nth time – nine Astaire-Rogers musicals of the '30s,...
- 8/5/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Hedy Lamarr: 'Invention' and inventor on Turner Classic Movies (photo: Hedy Lamarr publicity shot ca. early '40s) Two Hedy Lamarr movies released during her heyday in the early '40s — Victor Fleming's Tortilla Flat (1942), co-starring Spencer Tracy and John Garfield, and King Vidor's H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941), co-starring Robert Young and Ruth Hussey — will be broadcast on Turner Classic Movies on Wednesday, November 12, 2014, at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Pt, respectively. Best known as a glamorous Hollywood star (Ziegfeld Girl, White Cargo, Samson and Delilah), the Viennese-born Lamarr (née Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler), who would have turned 100 on November 9, was also an inventor: she co-developed and patented with composer George Antheil the concept of frequency hopping, currently known as spread-spectrum communications (or "spread-spectrum broadcasting"), which ultimately led to the evolution of wireless technology. (More on the George Antheil and Hedy Lamarr invention further below.) Somewhat ironically,...
- 11/2/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Danielle Darrieux turns 97: Darrieux has probably enjoyed the longest film star career in history (photo: Danielle Darrieux in ‘La Ronde’) Screen legend Danielle Darrieux is turning 97 today, May 1, 2014. In all likelihood, the Bordeaux-born (1917) Darrieux has enjoyed the longest "movie star" career ever: eight decades, from Wilhelm Thiele’s Le Bal (1931) to Denys Granier-Deferre’s The Wedding Cake / Pièce montée (2010). (Mickey Rooney has had a longer film career — nearly nine decades — but mostly as a supporting player in minor roles.) Absurdly, despite a prestigious career consisting of more than 100 movie roles, Danielle Darrieux — delightful in Club de femmes, superb in The Earrings of Madame De…, alternately hilarious and heartbreaking in 8 Women — has never won an Honorary Oscar. But then again, very few women have. At least, the French Academy did award her an Honorary César back in 1985; additionally, in 2002 Darrieux and her fellow 8 Women / 8 femmes co-stars shared Best Actress honors...
- 5/1/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will open the 2014 edition of the TCM Classic Film Festival with the world premiere of a brand new restoration of the beloved Rodgers & Hammerstein musical Oklahoma! (1955). TCM’s own Robert Osborne, who serves as official host for the festival, will introduce Oklahoma!, with the film’s star, Academy Award®-winner Shirley Jones, in attendance. Vanity Fair will also return for the fifth year as a festival partner and co-presenter of the opening night after-party. Marking its fifth year, the TCM Classic Film Festival will take place April 10-13, 2014, in Hollywood. The gathering will coincide withTCM’s 20th anniversary as a leading authority in classic film.
In addition, the festival has added several high-profile guests to this year’s lineup, including Oscar®-winning director William Friedkin, who will attend for the screening of the U.S. premiere restoration of his suspenseful cult classic Sorcerer (1977); Kim Novak, who...
In addition, the festival has added several high-profile guests to this year’s lineup, including Oscar®-winning director William Friedkin, who will attend for the screening of the U.S. premiere restoration of his suspenseful cult classic Sorcerer (1977); Kim Novak, who...
- 2/14/2014
- by Melissa Thompson
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
“Somehow it just don’t seem fitting for a man to spend his wedding night in a tree.”
Seven Brides For Seven Brother (1954) was loosely based on first century Greek writer Plutarch’s “The Rape of the Sabean Women” but that would have made a terrible film title!
You’ll wanna go find some barn and dance in it after you see Seven Brides For Seven Brother and you’ll have your chance when it plays in all its big screen glory this Saturday at St. Louis’ fabulous Hi-Pointe Theater. It’s Saturday, September 14th at 10:30am at the Hi-Pointe located at 1005 McCausland Ave., St. Louis, Mo 63117. as part of their Classic Film Series
Would you ever believe that seven backwoodsmen would break out into song and dance on a whim? Howard Keel (in the lead) is tremendous as a cocky, arrogant, ignorant man who thinks that women are...
Seven Brides For Seven Brother (1954) was loosely based on first century Greek writer Plutarch’s “The Rape of the Sabean Women” but that would have made a terrible film title!
You’ll wanna go find some barn and dance in it after you see Seven Brides For Seven Brother and you’ll have your chance when it plays in all its big screen glory this Saturday at St. Louis’ fabulous Hi-Pointe Theater. It’s Saturday, September 14th at 10:30am at the Hi-Pointe located at 1005 McCausland Ave., St. Louis, Mo 63117. as part of their Classic Film Series
Would you ever believe that seven backwoodsmen would break out into song and dance on a whim? Howard Keel (in the lead) is tremendous as a cocky, arrogant, ignorant man who thinks that women are...
- 9/9/2013
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Shirley Jones: From book to film A few weeks ago, Shirley Jones, 79, made headlines following the publication of her book of memoirs, concisely titled Shirley Jones: A Memoir. But why the headlines? Does Shirley Jones twerk like Miley Cyrus? Nope. (And that may explain why the release of Jones’ book wasn’t selected as CNN.com’s Top Story of the Day.) So, were The Media and The People interested in Jones’ Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for Elmer Gantry, or maybe they were curious about her work in several major 1950s musicals and 1960s comedies? Are you crazy? Who gives a damn about that? The Answer: Let’s just say that the furor had something to do with sweet and innocent all-American bare breasts and three-ways. Keep that in mind next time you watch Oklahoma! (Photo: Shirley Jones ca. 1955.) (On TCM: “Shirley Jones Movies: Innocent Virgins and Sex Workers Galore.
- 8/28/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Wallace Beery from Pancho Villa to Long John Silver: TCM schedule (Pt) on August 17, 2013 (photo: Fay Wray, Wallace Beery as Pancho Villa in ‘Viva Villa!’) See previous post: “Wallace Beery: Best Actor Oscar Winner — and Runner-Up.” 3:00 Am The Last Of The Mohicans (1920). Director: Maurice Tourneur. Cast: Barbara Bedford, Albert Roscoe, Wallace Beery, Lillian Hall, Henry Woodward, James Gordon, George Hackathorne, Nelson McDowell, Harry Lorraine, Theodore Lorch, Jack McDonald, Sydney Deane, Boris Karloff. Bw-76 mins. 4:30 Am The Big House (1930). Director: George W. Hill. Cast: Chester Morris, Wallace Beery, Lewis Stone, Robert Montgomery, Leila Hyams, George F. Marion, J.C. Nugent, DeWitt Jennings, Matthew Betz, Claire McDowell, Robert Emmett O’Connor, Tom Wilson, Eddie Foyer, Roscoe Ates, Fletcher Norton, Noah Beery Jr, Chris-Pin Martin, Eddie Lambert, Harry Wilson. Bw-87 mins. 6:00 Am Bad Man Of Brimstone (1937). Director: J. Walter Ruben. Cast: Wallace Beery, Virginia Bruce, Dennis O’Keefe. Bw-89 mins.
- 8/17/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Wallace Beery: Best Actor Academy Award winner and Best Actor Academy Award runner-up in the same year (photo: Jackie Cooper and Wallace Beery in ‘The Champ’) (See previous post: “Wallace Beery Movies: Anomalous Hollywood Star.”) In the Academy’s 1931-32 season, Wallace Beery took home the Best Actor Academy Award — I mean, one of them. In the King Vidor-directed melodrama The Champ (1931), Beery plays a down-on-his-luck boxer and caring Dad to tearduct-challenged Jackie Cooper, while veteran Irene Rich is Beery’s cool former wife and Cooper’s mother. Will daddy and son remain together forever and ever? Audiences the world over were drowned in tears — theirs and Jackie Cooper’s. Now, regarding Wallace Beery’s Best Actor Academy Award, he was actually a runner-up: Fredric March, initially announced as the sole winner for his performance in Rouben Mamoulian’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, turned out to have...
- 8/17/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Paul Henreid: Actor was ‘dependable’ leading man to Hollywood actresses Paul Henreid, best known as the man who wins Ingrid Bergman’s body but not her heart in Casablanca, is Turner Classic Movies’ Star of the Month of July 2013. TCM will be showing a couple of dozen movies featuring Henreid, who, though never a top star, was a "dependable" — i.e., unexciting but available — leading man to a number of top Hollywood actresses of the ’40s, among them Bette Davis, Ida Lupino, Olivia de Havilland, Eleanor Parker, Joan Bennett, and Katharine Hepburn. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of Paul Henreid movies to be shown on Turner Classic Movies in July consists of Warner Bros. productions that are frequently broadcast all year long, no matter who is TCM’s Star of the Month. Just as unfortunately, TCM will not present any of Henreid’s little-seen supporting performances of the ’30s, e.
- 7/3/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Oscar winners Olivia de Havilland and Luise Rainer among movie stars of the 1930s still alive With the passing of Deanna Durbin this past April, only a handful of movie stars of the 1930s remain on Planet Earth. Below is a (I believe) full list of surviving Hollywood "movie stars of the 1930s," in addition to a handful of secondary players, chiefly those who achieved stardom in the ensuing decade. Note: There’s only one male performer on the list — and curiously, four of the five child actresses listed below were born in April. (Please scroll down to check out the list of Oscar winners at the 75th Academy Awards, held on March 23, 2003, as seen in the picture above. Click on the photo to enlarge it. © A.M.P.A.S.) Two-time Oscar winner and London resident Luise Rainer (The Great Ziegfeld, The Good Earth, The Great Waltz), 103 last January...
- 5/7/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
‘The Deanna Durbin Unit’ (photo: Robert Cummings, Deanna Durbin, and Charles Laughton in It Started with Eve) [See previous post: "Deanna Durbin Movies Save Universal."] Deanna Durbin and Henry Koster, who has been credited with helping to mold Durbin’s screen persona, collaborated on five movies. Besides Three Smart Girls, there was the inevitable sequel, Three Smart Girls Grow Up (1939), in addition to One Hundred Men and a Girl, after which Durbin’s salary was reportedly doubled to $3,000 per week, plus a $10,000 bonus per film; the Cinderella-like First Love (1939), in which, following worldwide publicity, Durbin gets kissed on screen for the first time (Robert Stack was the kisser); Spring Parade (1940), with a Viennese setting and Robert Cummings as her leading man; and It Started with Eve (1941), a light, well-received romantic comedy co-starring Cummings and Charles Laughton. (Universal would also release the 1964 remake, I’d Rather Be Rich, starring Sandra Dee in the Robert Cummings role, Robert Goulet in the Deanna Durbin part,...
- 5/5/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Warner Archive Collection 4th anniversary DVD / Blu-ray releases The Warner Archive Collection (aka Wac), which currently has a DVD / Blu-ray library consisting of approximately 1,500 titles, has just turned four. In celebration of its fourth anniversary, Wac is releasing with movies featuring the likes of Jane Powell, Eleanor Parker, and many more stars and filmmakers of yesteryear. (Pictured above: Greer Garson, Debbie Reynolds, Ricardo Montalban in the sentimental 1966 comedy / drama with music The Singing Nun.) For starters, Jane Powell and Debbie Reynolds play siblings in Richard Thorpe's Athena (1954), whose supporting cast includes Edmund Purdom, Vic Damone, frequent Jerry Lewis foil Kathleen Freeman, Citizen Kane's Ray Collins, Tyrone Power's then-wife Linda Christian, former Mr. Universe and future Hercules Steve Reeves, veteran Louis Calhern, not to mention numerology, astrology, and vegetarianism. As per Wac's newsletter, the score by Hugh Martin and Martin Blane "gets a first ever Stereophonic Sound remix for this disc,...
- 3/27/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
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