Did you know that Alfred Hitchcock made a film starring Shirley MacLaine and John Forsythe? Did you know he made a broad comedy? Did you know he shot an entire film in Craftsbury, Vermont?! Well, I guess the last one isn't so shocking. And "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", Hitchcock's Carole Lombard-starring screwball comedy from 1941, is quite well-known and liked.
But I'm not talking about "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." I'm talking about the other comedy made by the master of suspense. 1955's "The Trouble With Harry" represented several firsts for Hitchcock -- his first dark comedy, the first film he made after obtaining American citizenship (he had been living and working in the country for 16 years by that point), and the first film he made after commencing production on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." That series quickly became popular with audiences and was cemented in short order as an American institution,...
But I'm not talking about "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." I'm talking about the other comedy made by the master of suspense. 1955's "The Trouble With Harry" represented several firsts for Hitchcock -- his first dark comedy, the first film he made after obtaining American citizenship (he had been living and working in the country for 16 years by that point), and the first film he made after commencing production on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." That series quickly became popular with audiences and was cemented in short order as an American institution,...
- 12/24/2023
- by Ryan Coleman
- Slash Film
With the long-delayed 74th Tony Awards set for Sept. 26 at the Winter Garden and streaming on Paramount + and a CBS special, let’s take a deep dive into Tony Awards history and look back at the first decade. Broadway was bristling with excitement post World War II. Young playwrights such as Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller and William Inge breathed new life into the Great White Way. And new talents electrifying audiences included Marlon Brando, Julie Harris and Gwen Verdon. It was the perfect time for the creation of the Tony Awards in 1947. The Antoinette Perry Awards or Theatre Excellence were named after the legendary theater actress who was co-founder of the American Theatre Wing; she had died in 1946.
The first annual Tony Awards took place on April 6, 1947 at the Waldorf Astoria and was broadcast on radio on Wor and Mutual Network radio. There was no categories for best play or musical,...
The first annual Tony Awards took place on April 6, 1947 at the Waldorf Astoria and was broadcast on radio on Wor and Mutual Network radio. There was no categories for best play or musical,...
- 9/23/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
With the Emmy Awards nominations set for Tuesday, it is a good time to back at a few of the greatest Emmy-winning and Emmy-nominated performances from some of the biggest stars in Hollywood.
Ingrid Bergman, “The Turn of the Screw” (1959)
The Oscar-winning Swedish actress certainly ended the 1950s on a different note than she began the decade. After making her U.S. film debut opposite Leslie Howard in 1939’s “Intermezzo,” Bergman became one of the top Hollywood stars earning her first Oscar for 1944’s “Gaslight.” Married with a young daughter, she shocked the U.S. when she had an affair and became pregnant by famed Italian director Roberto Rossellini during the production of “Stromboli.” She was even denounced in Congress for her affair. The couple did marry, have three children including actress Isabella Rossellini and made several films together before they divorced in 1957. All was forgiven by 1956 when she won...
Ingrid Bergman, “The Turn of the Screw” (1959)
The Oscar-winning Swedish actress certainly ended the 1950s on a different note than she began the decade. After making her U.S. film debut opposite Leslie Howard in 1939’s “Intermezzo,” Bergman became one of the top Hollywood stars earning her first Oscar for 1944’s “Gaslight.” Married with a young daughter, she shocked the U.S. when she had an affair and became pregnant by famed Italian director Roberto Rossellini during the production of “Stromboli.” She was even denounced in Congress for her affair. The couple did marry, have three children including actress Isabella Rossellini and made several films together before they divorced in 1957. All was forgiven by 1956 when she won...
- 7/24/2020
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Not all Tennessee Williams film adaptations are successful, but Richard Brooks’ blend of romance, show biz venality and political thuggery is just too entertaining to dismiss. The entire cast is better than good, with Geraldine Page shining and Paul Newman well-cast. And the ingenue Shirley Knight receives her most iconic role, right at the beginning of her career. It’s sad timing for admirers of Ms. Knight, but still good to see her looking so radiant.
Sweet Bird of Youth
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1962 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 120 min. / Street Date April 28, 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Paul Newman, Geraldine Page, Shirley Knight, Ed Begley, Rip Torn, Mildred Dunnock, Madeleine Sherwood.
Cinematography: Milton Krasner
Film Editor: Henry Berman
Written by Richard Brooks from a play by Tennessee Williams
Produced by Pandro S. Berman
Directed by Richard Brooks
As with many American playwrights, Tennessee Williams was definitely bitten by the bug to...
Sweet Bird of Youth
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1962 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 120 min. / Street Date April 28, 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Paul Newman, Geraldine Page, Shirley Knight, Ed Begley, Rip Torn, Mildred Dunnock, Madeleine Sherwood.
Cinematography: Milton Krasner
Film Editor: Henry Berman
Written by Richard Brooks from a play by Tennessee Williams
Produced by Pandro S. Berman
Directed by Richard Brooks
As with many American playwrights, Tennessee Williams was definitely bitten by the bug to...
- 4/28/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Here’s a highly suspenseful thriller with fine characterizations, set in a grim but meaningful place — Fascist Spain in the late 1950s, when Franco’s operatives still hold the country in a tight grip. The very modern story (by Emeric Pressburger) is also timeless: the old lost-cause warrior takes on one last mission into enemy territory. Gregory Peck (he’s good) is the legendary raider on a mission to kill an old enemy, Anthony Quinn.
Behold a Pale Horse
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1964 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 118 min. / Street Date July 29, 2019 / Available from Twilight Time Movies / 29.95
Starring: Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, Omar Sharif, Raymond Pellegrin, Paolo Stoppa, Mildred Dunnock, Daniela Rocca, Christian Marquand, Marietto Angeletti, Perrette Pradier, Zia Mohyeddin, Rosalie Crutchley, Michael Lonsdale, Martin Benson, Claude Berri, Albert Rémy, Alan Saury.
Cinematography: Jean Badal
Original Music: Maurice Chevalier
Written by J.P. Miller from a novel by Emeric Pressburger
Produced by Gregory...
Behold a Pale Horse
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1964 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 118 min. / Street Date July 29, 2019 / Available from Twilight Time Movies / 29.95
Starring: Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, Omar Sharif, Raymond Pellegrin, Paolo Stoppa, Mildred Dunnock, Daniela Rocca, Christian Marquand, Marietto Angeletti, Perrette Pradier, Zia Mohyeddin, Rosalie Crutchley, Michael Lonsdale, Martin Benson, Claude Berri, Albert Rémy, Alan Saury.
Cinematography: Jean Badal
Original Music: Maurice Chevalier
Written by J.P. Miller from a novel by Emeric Pressburger
Produced by Gregory...
- 8/6/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
It’s cold-blooded murder, I tell ya! Feisty Ruth Gordon goes undercover to find the evidence of homicide at Geraldine Page’s desert home, where companion-housekeepers keep disappearing. Robert Aldrich produced this marvelous, E-Ticket battle between celebrated actresses, and the result is a creative new solution for retirement finance problems!
What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice?
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1969 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 101 min. / Street Date January 8, 2019 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Geraldine Page, Ruth Gordon, Rosemary Forsyth, Robert Fuller, Mildred Dunnock, Joan Huntington, Peter Brandon, Michael Barbera, Peter Bonerz, Richard Angarola, Claire Kelly, Valerie Allen, Martin Garralaga.
Cinematography: Joseph Biroc
Film Editors: Frank J. Urioste, Michael Luciano
Original Music: Gerald Fried
Written by Theodore Apstein from a novel by Ursula Curtiss
Produced by Robert Aldrich
Directed by Lee H. Katzin (and Bernard Girard)
Few fans of Robert Aldrich’s The Dirty Dozen realize that he used the windfall profits...
What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice?
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1969 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 101 min. / Street Date January 8, 2019 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Geraldine Page, Ruth Gordon, Rosemary Forsyth, Robert Fuller, Mildred Dunnock, Joan Huntington, Peter Brandon, Michael Barbera, Peter Bonerz, Richard Angarola, Claire Kelly, Valerie Allen, Martin Garralaga.
Cinematography: Joseph Biroc
Film Editors: Frank J. Urioste, Michael Luciano
Original Music: Gerald Fried
Written by Theodore Apstein from a novel by Ursula Curtiss
Produced by Robert Aldrich
Directed by Lee H. Katzin (and Bernard Girard)
Few fans of Robert Aldrich’s The Dirty Dozen realize that he used the windfall profits...
- 2/19/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture: Mashup of the Day: What instead of meeting E.T., Elliott befriended Freddy Krueger? This mashup from Space Taste shows us: Character in Close-Up: Star Wars Kids compiled every moment when Chewbacca roars, grunts or growls in the original Star Wars trilogy: Fan Theory of the Day: Screen Rant takes on the theory that the Kevin Wendell Crumb character from Split and Glass is also hidden in Unbreakable: Reworked Movie of the Day: This video from FilmScoreAnalysis proves the importance of the music for Raiders of the Lost Ark by showing a scene with the score removed: Vintage Image of the Day: Mildred Dunnock, who was born on this day in...
- 1/26/2019
- by Christopher Campbell
- Movies.com
The book was raw & dirty, and did you read what that girl did with that guy on page 167? Racking up a stack of Oscar nominations, Peyton Place became one of the big hits of its year, launched the careers of several young actors, and proved that Hollywood could pasteurize most any so-called un-filmable book. Lana Turner is the nominal star but the leading actress is Diane Varsi, in her film debut.
Peyton Place
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1957 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 157 min. / Street Date March 14, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Lana Turner, Hope Lange, Arthur Kennedy, Lloyd Nolan, Lee Philips, Terry Moore, Russ Tamblyn, Betty Field, David Nelson, Leon Ames, Mildred Dunnock.
Cinematography William Mellor
Art Direction Jack Martin Smith, Lyle R. Wheeler
Film Editor David Bretherton
Original Music Franz Waxman
Written by John Michael Hayes from the book by Grace Metalious
Produced by Jerry Wald
Directed by Mark Robson
What’s this,...
Peyton Place
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1957 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 157 min. / Street Date March 14, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Lana Turner, Hope Lange, Arthur Kennedy, Lloyd Nolan, Lee Philips, Terry Moore, Russ Tamblyn, Betty Field, David Nelson, Leon Ames, Mildred Dunnock.
Cinematography William Mellor
Art Direction Jack Martin Smith, Lyle R. Wheeler
Film Editor David Bretherton
Original Music Franz Waxman
Written by John Michael Hayes from the book by Grace Metalious
Produced by Jerry Wald
Directed by Mark Robson
What’s this,...
- 3/28/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
This is the ultimate in screen sadism circa 1947, and it’s all in the debut film performance of Richard Widmark as a too-nasty-for-words hood who likes to shoot people in the stomach. Actually, Victor Mature is not bad in a grim story of a stool pigeon that tries to square himself with the law, and finds himself a target for mob murder.
Kiss of Death
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1947 / B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / 98 min. / Street Date February 7, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Victor Mature, Brian Donlevy, Coleen Gray, Richard Widmark, Taylor Holmes, Karl Malden, Mildred Dunnock
Cinematography: Norbert Brodine
Art Direction: Leland Fuller, Lyle Wheeler
Film Editor: J. Watson Webb Jr.
Original Music: David Buttolph
Written by Ben Hecht, Charles Lederer, Eleazar Lipsky
Produced by Fred Kohlmar
Directed by Henry Hathaway
The older they get, the better they look. Henry Hathaway’s Kiss of Death is...
Kiss of Death
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1947 / B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / 98 min. / Street Date February 7, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Victor Mature, Brian Donlevy, Coleen Gray, Richard Widmark, Taylor Holmes, Karl Malden, Mildred Dunnock
Cinematography: Norbert Brodine
Art Direction: Leland Fuller, Lyle Wheeler
Film Editor: J. Watson Webb Jr.
Original Music: David Buttolph
Written by Ben Hecht, Charles Lederer, Eleazar Lipsky
Produced by Fred Kohlmar
Directed by Henry Hathaway
The older they get, the better they look. Henry Hathaway’s Kiss of Death is...
- 2/28/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Something Wild
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 850
1961 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen 1:37 flat Academy / 113 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date January 17, 2017 / 39.95
Starring: Carroll Baker, Ralph Meeker, Mildred Dunnock, Jean Stapleton, Martin Kosleck, Charles Watts, Clifton James, Doris Roberts, Anita Cooper, Tanya Lopert.
Cinematography: Eugen Schüfftan
Film Editor: Carl Lerner
Original Music: Aaron Copland
Written by Jack Garfein and Alex Karmel from his novel Mary Ann
Produced by George Justin
Directed by Jack Garfein
After writing up an earlier Mod disc release of the 1961 movie Something Wild, I received a brief but welcome email note from its director:
“Dear Glenn Erickson,
Thank you for your profound appreciation of Something Wild.
If possible, I would appreciate if you could send
me a copy of your review by email.
Sincerely yours, Jack Garfein”
Somewhere back East (or in London), the Actors Studio legend Jack Garfein had found favor with the review. Although...
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 850
1961 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen 1:37 flat Academy / 113 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date January 17, 2017 / 39.95
Starring: Carroll Baker, Ralph Meeker, Mildred Dunnock, Jean Stapleton, Martin Kosleck, Charles Watts, Clifton James, Doris Roberts, Anita Cooper, Tanya Lopert.
Cinematography: Eugen Schüfftan
Film Editor: Carl Lerner
Original Music: Aaron Copland
Written by Jack Garfein and Alex Karmel from his novel Mary Ann
Produced by George Justin
Directed by Jack Garfein
After writing up an earlier Mod disc release of the 1961 movie Something Wild, I received a brief but welcome email note from its director:
“Dear Glenn Erickson,
Thank you for your profound appreciation of Something Wild.
If possible, I would appreciate if you could send
me a copy of your review by email.
Sincerely yours, Jack Garfein”
Somewhere back East (or in London), the Actors Studio legend Jack Garfein had found favor with the review. Although...
- 1/10/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Coleen Gray in 'The Sleeping City' with Richard Conte. Coleen Gray after Fox: B Westerns and films noirs (See previous post: “Coleen Gray Actress: From Red River to Film Noir 'Good Girls'.”) Regarding the demise of her Fox career (the year after her divorce from Rod Amateau), Coleen Gray would recall for Confessions of a Scream Queen author Matt Beckoff: I thought that was the end of the world and that I was a total failure. I was a mass of insecurity and depended on agents. … Whether it was an 'A' picture or a 'B' picture didn't bother me. It could be a Western movie, a sci-fi film. A job was a job. You did the best with the script that you had. Fox had dropped Gray at a time of dramatic upheavals in the American film industry: fast-dwindling box office receipts as a result of competition from television,...
- 10/15/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Coleen Gray actress ca. 1950. Coleen Gray: Actress in early Stanley Kubrick film noir, destroyer of men in cult horror 'classic' Actress Coleen Gray, best known as the leading lady in Stanley Kubrick's film noir The Killing and – as far as B horror movie aficionados are concerned – for playing the title role in The Leech Woman, died at age 92 in Aug. 2015. This two-part article, which focuses on Gray's film career, is a revised and expanded version of the original post published at the time of her death. Born Doris Bernice Jensen on Oct. 23, 1922, in Staplehurst, Nebraska, at a young age she moved with her parents, strict Lutheran Danish farmers, to Minnesota. After getting a degree from St. Paul's Hamline University, she relocated to Southern California to be with her then fiancé, an army private. At first, she eked out a living as a waitress at a La Jolla hotel...
- 10/14/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Coleen Gray actress ca. 1950. Coleen Gray: Actress in early Stanley Kubrick film noir, destroyer of men in cult horror 'classic' Actress Coleen Gray, best known as the leading lady in Stanley Kubrick's film noir The Killing and – as far as B horror movie aficionados are concerned – for playing the title role in The Leech Woman, died at age 92 in Aug. 2015. This two-part article, which focuses on Gray's film career, is a revised and expanded version of the original post published at the time of her death. Born Doris Bernice Jensen on Oct. 23, 1922, in Staplehurst, Nebraska, at a young age she moved with her parents, strict Lutheran Danish farmers, to Minnesota. After getting a degree from St. Paul's Hamline University, she relocated to Southern California to be with her then fiancé, an army private. At first, she eked out a living as a waitress at a La Jolla hotel...
- 10/14/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Coleen Gray ca. 1950. Coleen Gray dead at 92: Leading lady in early Stanley Kubrick film noir classic Actress Coleen Gray, best known for Stanley Kubrick's crime drama The Killing, has died. Her death was announced by Classic Images contributor Laura Wagner on Facebook's “Film Noir” group. Wagner's source was David Schecter, who had been friends with the actress for quite some time. Via private message, he has confirmed Gray's death of natural causes earlier today, Aug. 3, '15, at her home in Bel Air, on the Los Angeles Westside. Gray (born on Oct. 23, 1922, in Staplehurst, Nebraska) was 92. Coleen Gray movies As found on the IMDb, Coleen Gray made her film debut as an extra in the 20th Century Fox musical State Fair (1945), starring Jeanne Crain and Dana Andrews. Her association with film noir began in 1947, with the release of Henry Hathaway's Kiss of Death (1947), notable for showing Richard Widmark...
- 8/4/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Glenda Jackson: Actress and former Labour MP. Two-time Oscar winner and former Labour MP Glenda Jackson returns to acting Two-time Best Actress Academy Award winner Glenda Jackson set aside her acting career after becoming a Labour Party MP in 1992. Four years ago, Jackson, who represented the Greater London constituency of Hampstead and Highgate, announced that she would stand down the 2015 general election – which, somewhat controversially, was won by right-wing prime minister David Cameron's Conservative party.[1] The silver lining: following a two-decade-plus break, Glenda Jackson is returning to acting. Now, Jackson isn't – for the time being – returning to acting in front of the camera. The 79-year-old is to be featured in the Radio 4 series Emile Zola: Blood, Sex and Money, described on their website as a “mash-up” adaptation of 20 Emile Zola novels collectively known as "Les Rougon-Macquart."[2] Part 1 of the three-part Radio 4 series will be broadcast daily during an...
- 7/2/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson on the Oscars' Red Carpet Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson at the Academy Awards Eli Wallach and wife Anne Jackson are seen above arriving at the 2011 Academy Awards ceremony, held on Sunday, Feb. 27, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. The 95-year-old Wallach had received an Honorary Oscar at the Governors Awards in November 2010. See also: "Doris Day Inexplicably Snubbed by Academy," "Maureen O'Hara Honorary Oscar," "Honorary Oscars: Mary Pickford, Greta Garbo Among Rare Women Recipients," and "Hayao Miyazaki Getting Honorary Oscar." Delayed film debut The Actors Studio-trained Eli Wallach was to have made his film debut in Fred Zinnemann's Academy Award-winning 1953 blockbuster From Here to Eternity. Ultimately, however, Frank Sinatra – then a has-been following a string of box office duds – was cast for a pittance, getting beaten to a pulp by a pre-stardom Ernest Borgnine. For his bloodied efforts, Sinatra went on...
- 4/24/2015
- by D. Zhea
- Alt Film Guide
Cinema deviants can come in all forms or variety. It is just a matter of taking your pick as to what kind of deviant you consider. Perhaps your preference of deviant is of the sexual or molesting persuasion? Or maybe in the arena of hustlers or swindlers or cheaters? Will notorious gangsters and corrupt officials fit the bill for your definition of legitimate deviant sources?
The one type of deviant prototype that no one can question or disregard in terms of an impacting impression is the serial killer…or any killer where the impulse to slaughter is mindless fun or in some cases a perverse release to punish society for their own inner psychological demons and despair.
In “Killer Instinct”: Top Ten Disturbed Deviants in the Movies we will look at the selections of twisted individuals whose overwhelming passion for the pleasure of pain and punishment against their fellow...
The one type of deviant prototype that no one can question or disregard in terms of an impacting impression is the serial killer…or any killer where the impulse to slaughter is mindless fun or in some cases a perverse release to punish society for their own inner psychological demons and despair.
In “Killer Instinct”: Top Ten Disturbed Deviants in the Movies we will look at the selections of twisted individuals whose overwhelming passion for the pleasure of pain and punishment against their fellow...
- 2/8/2015
- by Frank Ochieng
- SoundOnSight
We are pleased to welcome StinkyLulu back to Smackdowning. Give him a warm welcome in the comments! - Editor
It has been a while since I dropped into a random year’s field of Supporting Actress nominees. Still, as I have re/screened the relevant films in preparation for Saturday afternoon's Supporting Actress Smackdown, it’s startling how familiar the 1952 roster feels. Remember that “Best Supporting Actress” was only in its 15th year or so (having been introduced in 1936, almost ten years after the Oscar game got started) but, already by 1952, the category seemed to have established some of its most enduring quirks.
1952’s nominated roles are definitely cut from Oscar’s favorite cloth: the hooker with a heart; the hale helpmeet; the full force of youth; the long (briefly) suffering wife; and the shrewish “ex.”
Oscar loves a type - you see these types still!
The field we'll be...
It has been a while since I dropped into a random year’s field of Supporting Actress nominees. Still, as I have re/screened the relevant films in preparation for Saturday afternoon's Supporting Actress Smackdown, it’s startling how familiar the 1952 roster feels. Remember that “Best Supporting Actress” was only in its 15th year or so (having been introduced in 1936, almost ten years after the Oscar game got started) but, already by 1952, the category seemed to have established some of its most enduring quirks.
1952’s nominated roles are definitely cut from Oscar’s favorite cloth: the hooker with a heart; the hale helpmeet; the full force of youth; the long (briefly) suffering wife; and the shrewish “ex.”
Oscar loves a type - you see these types still!
The field we'll be...
- 8/29/2013
- by StinkyLulu
- FilmExperience
Lana Turner movies: Scandal and more scandal Lana Turner is Turner Classic Movies’ "Summer Under the Stars" star today, Saturday, August 10, 2013. I’m a little — or rather, a lot — late in the game posting this article, but there are still three Lana Turner movies left. You can see Turner get herself embroiled in scandal right now, in Douglas Sirk’s Imitation of Life (1959), both the director and the star’s biggest box-office hit. More scandal follows in Mark Robson’s Peyton Place (1957), the movie that earned Lana Turner her one and only Academy Award nomination. And wrapping things up is George Sidney’s lively The Three Musketeers (1948), with Turner as the ruthless, heartless, remorseless — but quite elegant — Lady de Winter. Based on Fannie Hurst’s novel and a remake of John M. Stahl’s 1934 melodrama about mother love, class disparities, racism, and good cooking, Imitation of Life was shown on...
- 8/11/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Baby Doll
Directed by Elia Kazan
Written by Tennessee Williams
1956, USA
Two of Tennessee Williams’ one-act plays – Twenty-Seven Wagons Full of Cotton and The Long Stay Cut Short – are the basis for Elia Kazan’s Baby Doll. The film stars Karl Malden as a sexually frustrated, dimwitted, middle-aged owner of a Southern cotton gin, and Carroll Baker (in her debut) as his luscious teenage-trophy wife, who desperately holds on to her virginity until she reaches the age of 20. Her nickname is “Baby Doll” – appropriate, since she sleeps alone in a baby crib, sucking her thumb and wearing only a short nightie, as her husband Archie spies on her through a hole in the wall. Eli Wallach (also making his first big screen appearance) shows up as a a shady Sicilian businessman named Silva Vacarro, who takes advantage of Archie’s troubles and tries to claim Baby Doll as “compensation” for...
Directed by Elia Kazan
Written by Tennessee Williams
1956, USA
Two of Tennessee Williams’ one-act plays – Twenty-Seven Wagons Full of Cotton and The Long Stay Cut Short – are the basis for Elia Kazan’s Baby Doll. The film stars Karl Malden as a sexually frustrated, dimwitted, middle-aged owner of a Southern cotton gin, and Carroll Baker (in her debut) as his luscious teenage-trophy wife, who desperately holds on to her virginity until she reaches the age of 20. Her nickname is “Baby Doll” – appropriate, since she sleeps alone in a baby crib, sucking her thumb and wearing only a short nightie, as her husband Archie spies on her through a hole in the wall. Eli Wallach (also making his first big screen appearance) shows up as a a shady Sicilian businessman named Silva Vacarro, who takes advantage of Archie’s troubles and tries to claim Baby Doll as “compensation” for...
- 5/10/2013
- by Ricky da Conceição
- SoundOnSight
By Lee Pfeiffer
The Warner Archive has released the 1975 remake of The Spiral Staircase as a burn-to-order title. The original version from 1946 has always been well-regarded and holds up well even today. Not so with this version, which was made for American television and released theatrically in Europe. The movie boasts an impressive cast and was directed by Peter Collinson, who died only a few years later at the young age of 44. Collinson's main claim to fame is the original version of The Italian Job which, over the decades, has developed a very enthusiastic cult following in England. The wit and liveliness he brought to that production is nowhere to be found in this pedantic affair. Jacqueline Bisset plays Helen Mallory, a beautiful young woman who has been rendered mute by the trauma of having witnessed her husband and young daughter killed in a house fire. She's trying to get...
The Warner Archive has released the 1975 remake of The Spiral Staircase as a burn-to-order title. The original version from 1946 has always been well-regarded and holds up well even today. Not so with this version, which was made for American television and released theatrically in Europe. The movie boasts an impressive cast and was directed by Peter Collinson, who died only a few years later at the young age of 44. Collinson's main claim to fame is the original version of The Italian Job which, over the decades, has developed a very enthusiastic cult following in England. The wit and liveliness he brought to that production is nowhere to be found in this pedantic affair. Jacqueline Bisset plays Helen Mallory, a beautiful young woman who has been rendered mute by the trauma of having witnessed her husband and young daughter killed in a house fire. She's trying to get...
- 5/20/2012
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
More long hidden horrors are now available as part of Warner's made-to-order Archive Collection. Oh, the classic terrors that await you, dearest reader! Dig it!
Head on over to the Warner Archives and order yours today!
The Awakening
Director: Mike Newell
Cast: Charlton Heston, Susannah York, Jill Townsend, Stephanie Zimbalist
Synopsis
Mention Bram Stoker’s name, and literature and movie buffs will conjure up Count Dracula. But there was more blood in Stoker’s pen. He also wrote The Jewel of the Seven Stars, later filmed with chilling effect as The Awakening, grippingly directed by Mike Newell (Dance with a Stranger, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) and sensuously shot on Egyptian locations by veteran cinematographer Jack Cardiff. Charlton Heston stars as an Egyptologist with a passion that will trigger several mysterious deaths. He’s obsessed with a sorceress whose return has been prophesied – and whose tomb he opened...
Head on over to the Warner Archives and order yours today!
The Awakening
Director: Mike Newell
Cast: Charlton Heston, Susannah York, Jill Townsend, Stephanie Zimbalist
Synopsis
Mention Bram Stoker’s name, and literature and movie buffs will conjure up Count Dracula. But there was more blood in Stoker’s pen. He also wrote The Jewel of the Seven Stars, later filmed with chilling effect as The Awakening, grippingly directed by Mike Newell (Dance with a Stranger, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) and sensuously shot on Egyptian locations by veteran cinematographer Jack Cardiff. Charlton Heston stars as an Egyptologist with a passion that will trigger several mysterious deaths. He’s obsessed with a sorceress whose return has been prophesied – and whose tomb he opened...
- 5/15/2012
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
DVD Playhouse—February 2012
By Allen Gardner
To Kill A Mockingbird 50th Anniversary Edition (Universal) Robert Mulligan’s film of Harper Lee’s landmark novel pits a liberal-minded lawyer (Gregory Peck) against a small Southern town’s racism when defending a black man (Brock Peters) on trumped-up rape charges. One of the 1960s’ first landmark films, a truly stirring human drama that hits all the right notes and isn’t dated a bit. Robert Duvall makes his screen debut (sans dialogue) as the enigmatic Boo Radley. DVD and Blu-ray double edition. Bonuses: Two feature-length documentaries: Fearful Symmetry and A Conversation with Gregory Peck; Featurettes; Excerpts and film clips from Gregory Peck’s Oscar acceptance speech and AFI Lifetime Achievement Award; Commentary by Mulligan and producer Alan J. Pakula; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS 2.0 mono.
Outrage: Way Of The Yakuza (Magnolia) After a brief hiatus from his signature oeuvre of Japanese gangster flicks,...
By Allen Gardner
To Kill A Mockingbird 50th Anniversary Edition (Universal) Robert Mulligan’s film of Harper Lee’s landmark novel pits a liberal-minded lawyer (Gregory Peck) against a small Southern town’s racism when defending a black man (Brock Peters) on trumped-up rape charges. One of the 1960s’ first landmark films, a truly stirring human drama that hits all the right notes and isn’t dated a bit. Robert Duvall makes his screen debut (sans dialogue) as the enigmatic Boo Radley. DVD and Blu-ray double edition. Bonuses: Two feature-length documentaries: Fearful Symmetry and A Conversation with Gregory Peck; Featurettes; Excerpts and film clips from Gregory Peck’s Oscar acceptance speech and AFI Lifetime Achievement Award; Commentary by Mulligan and producer Alan J. Pakula; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS 2.0 mono.
Outrage: Way Of The Yakuza (Magnolia) After a brief hiatus from his signature oeuvre of Japanese gangster flicks,...
- 2/26/2012
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
James Dean, Jo Van Fleet, East of Eden Elia Kazan: Oscar Actors' Director Pt.1 Elia Kazan-directed movies: twenty-four acting nominations; nine wins. (s) supporting category. (*) Academy Award winner 1945 * James Dunn (s), A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Additionally, Peggy Ann Garner won a Juvenile Oscar for her 1945 performances, including the one in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn) 1947 Gregory Peck, Gentleman's Agreement Dorothy McGuire, Gentleman's Agreement * Celeste Holm (s), Gentleman's Agreement Anne Revere (s), Gentleman's Agreement 1949 Jeanne Crain, Pinky (co-directed with John Ford) Ethel Barrymore (s), Pinky Ethel Waters (s), Pinky 1951 Marlon Brando, A Streetcar Named Desire * Vivien Leigh, A Streetcar Named Desire * Karl Malden (s), A Streetcar Named Desire * Kim Hunter (s), A Streetcar Named Desire 1952 Marlon Brando, Viva Zapata * Anthony Quinn (s), Viva Zapata 1954 * Marlon Brando, On the Waterfront Lee J. Cobb (s), On the Waterfront Karl Malden (s), On the Waterfront Rod Steiger (s), On the Waterfront...
- 2/22/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Dorothy McGuire, Gregory Peck, Gentleman's Agreement Elia Kazan is best remembered today for two things: his association with Marlon Brando during the first half of the 1950s, and the fact that he claimed to be unrepentant about naming names — and ruining careers and lives — during the Red-baiting hysteria of the post-World War II years. Kazan's 19 feature films as a director are wildly uneven. For every great A Streetcar Named Desire there is a dreadful America, America, in addition to everything in between. Yet, probably as a result of his Broadway training, Kazan was undeniably an outstanding actors' director. Tough-guy Brando remains the best-remembered Kazan star for his performances in A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront (less so for his Emiliano Zapata in Viva Zapata!). Even so, the director elicited superb performances from a wide range of players, from child actress Peggy Ann Garner, who won a Juvenile Oscar...
- 2/22/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
You'd think a movie starring Marlon Brando at the height of his young-firebrand sex appeal, written by Nobel laureate John Steinbeck, and directed by the great Elia Kazan, would be better remembered today. Yet "Viva Zapata!", released exactly 60 years ago (on Feburary 7, 1952), is all but regarded as a footnote in the careers of Brando, Steinbeck, and Kazan. That's a shame, since it's at once a terrifically exciting action film, a heroic biopic, and a penetrating political study. Of course, even then, it was an odd one -- a movie about legendary figures in Mexican history portrayed by an almost Mexican-free cast; a movie about a pro-peasant revolutionary hero made at a time of anti-Communist hysteria in Hollywood. That it got made at all was remarkable, given the battles over censorship and casting, not to mention the battles between Brando and co-star Anthony Quinn, whose bitter tension often erupted into elaborate pranks and practical jokes.
- 2/7/2012
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
Elegant and charming supporting actor with more than 200 credits over a 70-year career
Kevin McCarthy, who has died aged 96, notched up more than 70 years as a working actor on stage and screen, with more than 200 film and TV credits. However mundane the material, it was usually enhanced by his lazy charm and natural elegance, his intriguing baritone voice and unconventional good looks – all attributes that might well have led him down the political path of his cousin, senator Eugene McCarthy. As it happened, he preferred to play politicians rather than be one.
He received his first screen credit in Laslo Benedek's version of Death of a Salesman (1951). McCarthy had previously played Biff, one of Willy Loman's disillusioned sons, in the London production of Arthur Miller's play, in 1949. By the time of the movie, he was a youthful-looking 37, with considerable stage experience. Resuming the role of Biff, he held...
Kevin McCarthy, who has died aged 96, notched up more than 70 years as a working actor on stage and screen, with more than 200 film and TV credits. However mundane the material, it was usually enhanced by his lazy charm and natural elegance, his intriguing baritone voice and unconventional good looks – all attributes that might well have led him down the political path of his cousin, senator Eugene McCarthy. As it happened, he preferred to play politicians rather than be one.
He received his first screen credit in Laslo Benedek's version of Death of a Salesman (1951). McCarthy had previously played Biff, one of Willy Loman's disillusioned sons, in the London production of Arthur Miller's play, in 1949. By the time of the movie, he was a youthful-looking 37, with considerable stage experience. Resuming the role of Biff, he held...
- 9/14/2010
- by Brian Baxter
- The Guardian - Film News
Woody Strode in John Ford‘s Sergeant Rutledge I’m not at all familiar with Woody Strode‘s film career. I believe that most people aren’t either. And that is an excellent reason to check out Turner Classic Movies‘ Woody Strode Day this Thursday, August 5, as part of TCM’s "Summer Under the Stars" series. I’ve seen only two of TCM’s twelve movies featuring Strode: John Ford‘s swan song, the much-panned 7 Women (1966), and Sergio Leone‘s Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). I actually enjoyed 7 Women, which features a great cast including Anne Bancroft (replacing ailing Patricia Neal), Margaret Leighton, Betty Field, Mildred Dunnock, Anna Lee and Flora Robson. The widely revered Once Upon a Time in the West has never been one of my favorite Westerns, but it does have my all-time favorite movie theme music, courtesy of the masterful Ennio Morricone. And I...
- 8/5/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Horton Foote, the prolific playwright and screenwriter who gave enduring voice to the values of small-town America in such movies as "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Tender Mercies" and "The Trip to Bountiful" and plays like the Pulitzer Prize-winning "The Young Man From Atlanta," died Wednesday in Hartford, Conn. He was 92.
Foote died in his sleep in his apartment. He was working on "The Orphans' Home Cycle," a collection of nine plays that will be presented next fall at the Hartford Stage, where his daughter, actress Hallie Foote, is now appearing in a production of "Mockingbird."
The Texas-born writer's career spanned more than 50 years in film, TV and theater. He earned two Academy Awards -- best adapted screenplay for 1962's "Mockingbird" and best original screenplay for 1983's "Mercies" -- and was nominated for a third for 1985's "Bountiful."
Robert Duvall won the best actor Oscar for "Mercies," and Geraldine Page took...
Foote died in his sleep in his apartment. He was working on "The Orphans' Home Cycle," a collection of nine plays that will be presented next fall at the Hartford Stage, where his daughter, actress Hallie Foote, is now appearing in a production of "Mockingbird."
The Texas-born writer's career spanned more than 50 years in film, TV and theater. He earned two Academy Awards -- best adapted screenplay for 1962's "Mockingbird" and best original screenplay for 1983's "Mercies" -- and was nominated for a third for 1985's "Bountiful."
Robert Duvall won the best actor Oscar for "Mercies," and Geraldine Page took...
- 3/4/2009
- by By Gregg Kilday and Duane Byrge
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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