Film was a particularly difficult industry for black actresses to break into. Hattie McDaniel was the first black actress to ever win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1939, for playing Mammy in Gone With The Wind, opening the door for more black women to appear in prominent roles in film. Specifically for screenings in the 1940s South, where a black actress couldn’t play anything but a servant on screen, beautiful women like Lena Horne were given roles that were expendable, able to easily be cut out of films without affecting the plot. Eventually, movies would reflect the real-life improvements in race relations, leading to Halle Berry becoming the first black woman to win a Best Actress Oscar in 2001. The St. Louis Classic Black Film Festival is proud to present a new film festival celebrating the roles and careers of eight pioneering black actresses in a variety of films spanning four decades.
- 9/25/2015
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Rex Ingram in 'The Thief of Bagdad' 1940 with tiny Sabu. Actor Rex Ingram movies on TCM: Early black film performer in 'Cabin in the Sky,' 'Anna Lucasta' It's somewhat unusual for two well-known film celebrities, whether past or present, to share the same name.* One such rarity is – or rather, are – the two movie people known as Rex Ingram;† one an Irish-born white director, the other an Illinois-born black actor. Turner Classic Movies' “Summer Under the Stars” continues today, Aug. 11, '15, with a day dedicated to the latter. Right now, TCM is showing Cabin in the Sky (1943), an all-black musical adaptation of the Faust tale that is notable as the first full-fledged feature film directed by another Illinois-born movie person, Vincente Minnelli. Also worth mentioning, the movie marked Lena Horne's first important appearance in a mainstream motion picture.§ A financial disappointment on the...
- 8/12/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
So once again I went down to the basement and searched my secret vault for those rare, forgotten or unknown black films or TV gems such as "Tamango," "Toxi," "Coonskin," "Roll Out" or the Grace Bumbry "Carmen" opera film, to see what can I bring out into the light. This time around it’s the 1959 United Artists film "Anna Lucasta" with Sammy Davis Jr, Eartha Kitt and Rex Ingram - a film I decided to discuss since it’s been mainly overlooked (especially strange as it was pretty unique at the time it came out, which I’ll get into later). Also because I found out four things about the film and the play that it’s based on, that I never knew before, which surprised me (I’ll get to...
- 6/17/2014
- by Sergio
- ShadowAndAct
So once again I went down to the basement and searched my secret vault for those rare, forgotten or unknown black films or TV gems such as Tamango, Toxi, Coonskin, Roll Out or the Grace Bumbry Carmen opera film, to see what can I bring out into the light. This time around it’s the 1959 United Artists film Anna Lucasta with Sammy Davis Jr, Eartha Kitt and Rex Ingram - a film I decided to discuss since it’s been mainly overlooked (especially strange as it was pretty unique at the time it came out, which I’ll get into later). Also because I found out four things about the film and the play that it’s based on, that I never knew before, which surprised me (I’ll get to those too...
- 1/6/2014
- by Sergio
- ShadowAndAct
I used to post Netflix streaming offerings weekly late last year, but it's tough to keep up with it on a weekly, given how much else I have to handle. But I'll post when I can. These arent all necessarily recommendations (although a few of them I do definitely recommend); consider it just an Fyi - films we've talked about recently that are streaming on Netflix, that you might want to check out for yourselves. Without further ado, here's this week's list: 1 - Sergio reminded you of Anna Lucasta a week or two ago. The play the film was based on, was written in 1936 by Philip Yordan, and was about a Polish family. It was later adapted by Abram Hill for American Negro Theater in New...
- 4/5/2013
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Producer-director behind a raft of 20th-century TV classics
It is no exaggeration to declare that the name of the film and television producer-director Arnold Laven, who has died aged 87, has been seen by millions of people all over the world, even if it might not have registered. Think of all those viewers of the TV series The Rifleman (1959-63) and The Big Valley (1965-69), made by Laven's company, Levy-Gardner-Laven Productions, many episodes of which he directed.
Laven was also credited as director on scores of episodes of such archetypal 1970s series as Marcus Welby MD, Gunsmoke, Mannix, Ironside, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Rockford Files and Fantasy Island. In the 1980s he directed, among others, several episodes of Hill Street Blues and The A-Team. In addition, Laven directed 11 feature films from 1952 to 1969, some for companies other than his own.
In the late 1930s, the Chicago-born Laven moved with his family to Los Angeles,...
It is no exaggeration to declare that the name of the film and television producer-director Arnold Laven, who has died aged 87, has been seen by millions of people all over the world, even if it might not have registered. Think of all those viewers of the TV series The Rifleman (1959-63) and The Big Valley (1965-69), made by Laven's company, Levy-Gardner-Laven Productions, many episodes of which he directed.
Laven was also credited as director on scores of episodes of such archetypal 1970s series as Marcus Welby MD, Gunsmoke, Mannix, Ironside, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Rockford Files and Fantasy Island. In the 1980s he directed, among others, several episodes of Hill Street Blues and The A-Team. In addition, Laven directed 11 feature films from 1952 to 1969, some for companies other than his own.
In the late 1930s, the Chicago-born Laven moved with his family to Los Angeles,...
- 11/25/2009
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Eartha Kitt, who used her seductive purr and sultry style to charm audiences as an actress, singer and cabaret star, died Thursday of colon cancer. She was 81.
The cancer was detected about two years ago and treated, but it recurred after a period of remission. Kitt recently had been treated at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York.
"She came back strongly; she had been performing until two months ago," said Andrew Freedman, a longtime friend and publicist. "We had dates booked through 2009."
Among Kitt's hits was the Christmas tune "Santa Baby," lending poignancy to her Christmas Day death. The song went gold this year, and she received the gold record before she died, Freedman said.
Slinky and catlike, Kitt described herself as a "sex kitten": She followed Julie Newmar in the role of Catwoman on the TV series "Batman" during the 1960s.
But the seductress also could be a political provocateur.
The cancer was detected about two years ago and treated, but it recurred after a period of remission. Kitt recently had been treated at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York.
"She came back strongly; she had been performing until two months ago," said Andrew Freedman, a longtime friend and publicist. "We had dates booked through 2009."
Among Kitt's hits was the Christmas tune "Santa Baby," lending poignancy to her Christmas Day death. The song went gold this year, and she received the gold record before she died, Freedman said.
Slinky and catlike, Kitt described herself as a "sex kitten": She followed Julie Newmar in the role of Catwoman on the TV series "Batman" during the 1960s.
But the seductress also could be a political provocateur.
- 12/25/2008
- by By Duane Byrge
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.