Sir John Mills,(22 February 1908 – 23 April 2005), was an English actor, who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.
Willie Nelson (born April 30, 1933), is a Texan country singer-songwriter, author, poet, actor. He reached his greatest fame during the outlaw country movement of the 1970s.
We are wrapping up "Summer Under the Stars" Blogathon with, Clint Eastwood, film actor, director, producer and composer. He has received five Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, two Cannes Film Festival awards, and five People's Choice Awards, including one for Favorite All-Time Motion Picture Star.
Eastwood is best known for his anti-hero roles in action and western films. Following his television series Rawhide(1958–65), he performed as the "Man With No Name" in the Dollars Trilogy of Spaghetti Westerns in the 1960s, and as Inspector Harry Callahan in the Dirty Harry films in the 1970s and 1980s. Eastwood is also known for his comedic performances, in Every Which Way but Loose (1978) and its sequel Any Which Way You Can (1980). In the films Unforgiven (1992) and Million Dollar Baby (2004), Eastwood won Academy Awards for Best Director and for producer of the Best Picture, and received nominations for Best Actor. Some other well known Clint Eastwood films, Paint Your Wagon (1969), Play Misty for Me (1971), High Plains Drifter (1973), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), Escape from Alcatraz (1979), Pale Rider (1985), In the Line of Fire (1993), and Gran Torino (2008), have all been successful. He has directed films, Mystic River (2003) and Letters from Iwo Jima (2006), for which he received Academy Award nominations.
TCM is featuring one of my favorite Clint Eastwood movies today.
The Bridges of Madison County (1995). Romantic drama film based on the best-selling novel by Robert James Waller. The film was produced and directed by Clint Eastwood with Kathleen Kennedy as co-producer and the screenplay was adapted by Richard LaGravenese. The film stars Eastwood and Meryl Streep, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1996 for her performance in the film.
The film takes place during four summer days of 1965. While Francesca, a Italian housewife in Iowa, is home alone. Her husband and children are away at the Illinois State Fair, she meets and falls in love with a photographer who has come to Madison County, Iowa to take pictures for National Geographic on the covered bridges in the area. The four days they spend together are a turning point in her life and she writes of her experience in a diary which is later read by her children after her death and they are taken back by it.
I thought Clint Eastwood was amazing in this very emotional film. It seems he steps back and allows Meryl to become the heart of the film. The film is beautifully directed, beautifully photographed and beautifully scored. The music on the radio really helps create the romantic, mood of the film.
Fred MacMurray, played the saxophone. In 1930, he recorded a tune for the Gus Arnheim Orchestra as a featured vocalist on All I Want Is Just One Girl on the Victor 78 label. Before he signed on with Paramount Pictures in 1934, he performed on Broadway in Three's a Crowd (1930–31) with Sydney Greenstreet and with Bob Hope in the original production of Roberta (1933–34).
MacMurray worked with some of Hollywood's greatest directors Billy Wilder and Preston Sturges and actors Barbara Stanwyck, Humphrey Bogart and Marlene Dietrich. He played opposite Claudette Colbert in seven films, beginning with The Gilded Lily. He co-starred with Katharine Hepburn in Alice Adams and with Carole Lombard in four films, Hands Across the Table, The Princess Comes Across, Swing High, Swing Low and True Confession.
Fred MacMurray, was usually cast in light comedies such as, (The Trail of the Lonesome Pine) and in melodramas (Above Suspicion 1943) and musicals (Where Do We Go from Here? 1945).
MacMurray, thought his best roles were when he was cast against type by Wilder. In 1944, he played the role of Walter Neff, an insurance salesman who plots with a greedy wife Barbara Stanwyck to murder her husband in Double Indemnity.
Sixteen years later, he played Jeff Sheldrake, a two-timing corporate executive in Wilder's Oscar-winning comedy The Apartment, with Shirley MacLaine and Jack Lemmon. MacMurray played Lieutenant Thomas Keefer in the film, The Caine Mutiny(1954).
MacMurray, was cast as the father in the Disney comedy, The Shaggy Dog. In the 1960s, he performed in one of my favorite shows, My Three Sons, which ran for 12 seasons. While filming the show, My Three Sons, MacMurray continued to perform in films, The Absent-Minded Professor(1961) and in its sequel, Son of Flubber(1964).
MacMurray was known to bring a brown bag lunch to work, often with a hard-boiled egg. Friends and business associates called him "the thrifty multimillionaire". After the cancellation of My Three Sons in 1972, MacMurray made only a few more films before retiring in 1978.
In 1941 MacMurray purchased land in Northern California and built the MacMurray Ranch where he raised prize-winning Aberdeen Angus cattle. In keeping with his wishes that the property's agricultural heritage be preserved it was sold in 1996 to Gallo, which planted vineyards on it for wines with the MacMurray Ranch label.
During the silent era, Todd performed in supporting roles that made full use of her beauty. With the talkies, Todd was given opportunity to expand her roles when producer Hal Roach signed her to perform with comedy stars Harry Langdon, Charley Chase, and Laurel and Hardy. In 1931 she was given her own series, teaming with ZaSu Pitts for slapstick comedies. This was Roach's female version of Laurel and Hardy. The Todd shorts often cast her as a working girl having all sorts of problems, and trying her best to remain charming despite the antics of her sidekick.
Thelma Todd became known as a wonderful film comedienne, and Roach loaned her out to other studios to play opposite Wheeler & Woolsey, Buster Keaton, Joe E. Brown, and the Marx Brothers. She also performed in the original 1931 film version of The Maltese Falcon, in which she played Miles Archer's widow. During her career she performed in 119 films although many of these were short films, and was sometimes publicized as "The Ice Cream Blonde." In August 1934, she opened a successful cafe at Pacific Palisades, called Thelma Todd's Sidewalk Cafe.
Todd continued her short-subject series through 1935, and was featured in the full-length Laurel and Hardy comedy The Bohemian Girl. This was her last film; she died after completing all of her scenes, but most of them were re-shot. Producer Roach deleted all of Todd's dialogue and limited her appearance to one musical number.
This video is from the film: You're Such A Comfort To Me" by Thelma Todd, Ginger Rogers, Jack Oakie and Jack Haley .
Carol Dempster, started her career in films with the help of film director D.W. Griffith alongside other actresses of the mid-1910s, Lillian and Dorothy Gish and Mae Marsh. Griffith gave Dempster her first role at age 15 in his all-star cast Intolerance(1916) playing one of the Babylonian harem girls alongside another teen aged newcomer, Mildred Harris. Dempster became one of Griffiths "favorites" and cast her in nearly every one of his films throughout the 1920s, allegedly to the jealous dismay of Mae Marsh and Lillian Gish. Dempster became romantically involved with the much older Griffith during the early 1920s while Griffith was estranged from his wife, Linda Arvidson.
Dempster's first feature role came in 1919 in the Griffith directed The Girl Who Stayed at Home, The Love Flower (1920), Dream Street (1921), One Exciting Night (1922) and Isn't Life Wonderful? (1924), It was based on the novel by Geoffrey Moss and it went under the title Dawn. The title of the film was spoofed in the Charlie Chase comedy Isn't Life Terrible (1925). Most of the scenes were filmed in Germany and Austria. Only one was filmed in New York at the studio.
The story is about, a family from Poland who has been left homeless in the wake of World War I. They move to Germany and struggle to survive the conditions there, during the Great Inflation. Inga is a Polish war orphan who has only has a small amount of money and hopes to marry Paul. Weakened by poison gas, Paul tries to invest in Inga's future.
Dempster career in films flourished throughout the 1920s and performed in films America (1924) and Sally of the Sawdust (1925), also directed by Griffith.
In 1926 Dempster acted in her final film, another Griffith movie, The Sorrows of Satan. Dempster retired from the screen to marry wealthy banker Edward S. Larson in 1929.
America (1924) is a silent historical drama starring Neil Hamilton, Carol Dempster and Lionel Barrymore. Directed by D.W. Griffith, this film is the story of a family caught up in the American Revolutionary War. The story begins in the village of Lexington in Massachusetts prior to the Revolutionary War. Nathan Holden, a poor Patriot farmer and express rider, played by Neil Hamilton, is in love with Nancy Montague, played by Carol Dempster, a Tory aristocrat from Virginia living on a mountain estate on the James River. Nancy’s father, Justice Montague, played by Erville Alderson, and brother, Justice Charles Montague, played by Charles Emmett Mack, both disapprove of her relationship with a Patriot. Complications ensue when during a fight on the streets of Lexington, someone pushes Nathan’s arm causing him to discharge his gun and accidentally wound Nancy’s father, Justice Montague. When Captain Walter Butler, a deputy for the king’s superintendent, played by Lionel Barrymore, takes an interest in Nancy, her father is delighted much to Nancy’s disappointment. Will Nathan and Nancy break up due to them being on opposite sides of the war?
Even though “America” (1924) is discussed less than D.W. Griffith’s other highly visible films, it is vastly superior in many ways. “America” was constructed in two parts. The first sketched the background of the Revolution, and the rest of the film concentrated on the evil campaign of Butler. In 1923, Griffith began filming “America,” arousing tremendous enthusiasm among local people on the actual sites of the Revolutionary War. Vivid recreations of Paul Revere’s historical ride were performed along with the battles of Valley Forge, Bunker Hill, and the Cherry Hill massacre. Large numbers of army troops were deployed over the original battlefields. Griffith handled the historic battles of Lexington and Concord with the superb editing pace he was famous. Griffith even waited impatiently for a great snowstorm in which to shoot the Valley Forge sequence. “America” opened at the 44th Street Theater in New York on February 21, 1924, with a twelve-reel length. The film was a critical success in its initial release, but costume dramas were not popular at the height of the Roaring Twenties. Unfortunately, “America” initially lost money because it did not recover the high production costs of $795,000 until many years of distribution, reissue, and sales of stock footage tallied a final gross of $1,750,000. When the film was finished, Griffith owed six month’s salary to nearly everyone in the company. He was forced to close his Mamaroneck studio. In July 1924, Adolph Zukor hired Griffith as one of the staff of directors at Paramount. Griffith had finally lost his gamble for independence. Handsome Neil Hamilton gave one of his best performances in “America.” The characters played by Hamilton and the female star, Carol Dempster, were woven through the historical recreations in a romantic subplot, allowing the camera to focus intimately on their personal struggles. Griffith thought newcomer Carol Dempster was perfect for the love interest around which he could ignite all the history of the nation. Griffith was growing desperate because many of the stars he was credited with creating like Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess, Mae Marsh, and Blanche Sweet had all moved on to enjoy the benefits of the fame gleaned from his films and had signed lucrative contracts with other studios. Not everyone thought as highly of Carol Dempster as Griffith. In fact, neither audiences nor her colleagues liked her very much. Many thought Griffith was trying to make the hopelessly inept Carol Dempster, with her bump-tipped nose, into a superb actress of the quality people were in the habit of seeing in his films. I think the biggest problem with Carol Dempster was not her nose or her performances, but the perception that she was taking the place of Lillian Gish in Griffith’s films. Carol Dempster ended her career starring in four of Griffith’s last films, “Isn’t Life Wonderful” (1924), “Sally of the Sawdust” (1925), “That Royle Girl” (1925), and “The Sorrows of Satan” (1926). Carol Dempster achieved a lasting place in film history with a performance in "America" that has stood the test of time. She was the last star by the man credited with American motion picture as we know it today. Not controversial as "The Birth of a Nation" (1915), "America" (1924) was Griffith's last epic and an impressive piece of film making.
It is interesting to note that Neil Hamilton was a sometime player in stock and model for shirts in magazine ads. He got his first film role in 1918 and was chosen by D.W. Griffith to star in "The White Rose" (1923) and "Isn't Life Wonderful" (1924), becoming after that a popular star at Paramount. Hamilton was active in sound pictures as late as 1970 and on television as Police Commissioner Gordon in the "Batman" series. Neil Hamilton was a distant cousin of Margaret Hamilton, the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz (1939).
Happy Birthday to the legendary Ingrid Bergman. Her many classic films include Casablanca, Notorious, Gaslight, The Bells Of St. Mary, Anastasia, and Joan Of Arc. She is survived by her 4 children including actress Isabella Rossellini.
Henry Fonda, began his acting career on stage as a Broadway actor. He made his first Hollywood film in 1935. He became well known after his Academy Award-nominated performance as Tom Joad in The Grapes of Wrath(1940), an adaptation of John Steinbeck's novel about an Oklahoma family who moved west. Over six decades in Hollywood, Fonda had amazing performances in the films, The Ox-Bow Incident, Mister Roberts and 12 Angry Men. Later, Fonda performed in a very different role in the film, Once Upon a Time in the West and a much lighter role in family comedies like Yours, Mine and Ours.
Fonda comes from of a family of famous actors, daughter Jane Fonda, son Peter Fonda, granddaughter Bridget Fonda, and grandson Troy Garity.
One of my favorite Henry Fonda movies that TCM is featuring is, Fort Apache(1948). Western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and Henry Fonda. The film was the first of the director's "cavalry trilogy" and was followed by She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) and Rio Grande (1950), both starring Wayne. The story, which screenwriter James Warner Bellah based loosely on George Armstrong Custer and the Battle of Little Bighorn, was one of the first to show an authentic and sympathetic view of the Native Americans involved in the battle.
Some of the film's location shooting were in, Monument Valley, Utah. The exteriors involving the fort itself and the renegade Indian agent's trading post were filmed at the Corriganville Movie Ranch.
Peter O'Toole's big break came when he played T. E. Lawrence in the film, Lawrence of Arabia (1962), after Marlon Brando was unavailable and Albert Finney turned down the role. The role earned him the first of his eight nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
O'Toole is also one of the few actors to be Oscar-nominated for playing the same role in two different films; he played King Henry II in both 1964's Becket and 1968's The Lion in Winter. In 1980, he received critical acclaim for playing the director in the film The Stunt Man. Another performance from O'Toole, which gained him a nomination for Best Actor, was My Favorite Year(1982).
In 1972 he played both Miguel de Cervantes and his fictional creation Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha, opposite Sophia Loren. O'Toole's singing was dubbed by Simon Gilbert. O'Toole received Golden Globe nomination for his performance.
O'Toole won an Emmy Award for his role in the 1999 mini-series Joan of Arc. In 2004, O'Toole played King Priam in Troy. In 2005, he performed on television as the older version of legendary 18th century Italian adventurer Giacomo Casanova in the BBC drama serial Casanova.
He was again nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award for his performance in the film Venus(2006). O'Toole co-starred in the Pixar animated film, Ratatouille. O'Toole performed in the second season of Showtime's drama series The Tudors, playing Pope Paul III, who excommunicates King Henry VIII from the church; an act that leads to a showdown between the two men in seven of the ten episodes. O'Toole narrated the horror comedy film El Dorado.
TCM is having a Kim Novak five movie tribute, Wednesday September 1st. Kim Novak is best known for her performance in the classic film Vertigo(1958).
Picnic(1955) A young drifter stirs up passions in a small-town Labor Day picnic. Cast: William Holden, Kim Novak, Rosalind Russell. Dir: Joshua Logan.
Jeanne Eagels(1957) The famed actress fights drug addiction to build a career and find love. Cast: Kim Novak, Jeff Chandler, Agnes Moorehead. Dir: George Sidney.
Pal Joey (1957) film, loosely based from the musical play of the same name. Cast: Rita Hayworth, Frank Sinatra, and Kim Novak. Kim Novak's singing voice was dubbed by Trudy Erwin. Director: George Sidney. Choreographer: Hermes Pan. Sinatra won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Pal Joey also earned four Academy Award nominations and two Golden Globe nominations.
Night club singer, Joey, is thrown out of town, for being caught with the mayor's underage daughter. When Joey arrives in San Fransisco, he sees a poster of his friend, band leader Ned, at the Barbary Coast Club. When the club's entrainment fails to show, Joey jumps onstage to perform. Later, Ned invites Joey and Linda English, to perform with the band at a charity event sponsored by Vera Simpson. Joey recognizes Vera as a former stripper, and embarrasses her by introducing her on stage. Then has her perform one of her dance routines to raise money for charity. Later that night, Ned and Joey walk Linda to her apartment, there Joey notices a room for rent sign in the window. The next morning, Linda is not happy to hear Joey knocking on her bathroom door.
As time goes on, Joey dates most of the club's girls. Only Gladys and Linda have been immune to his womanizing ways.. Linda tricks him into buying a small dog, named "Snuffy."
Wanting to get even with Joey for embarrassing her, Vera comes to the club. As Joey begins to sing, Vera walks out without paying her bill and Mike fires him. Sure of himself, Joey strikes a deal with Mike, if Joey can convince Vera to return to the club by Saturday, he can keep his job with a raise.. Joey goes to see Vera at her mansion and tells her that he has been fired because of her and intends to leave town. Back at the apartment Linda tells Joey that she will miss him and Snuffy. At closing time that night, Vera walks to the club, Joey sings an insulting song to her. They leave together and drive up to her yacht. There, Joey shares with her his dream to have his own club. When Joey suggests that Vera become his partner in "Chez Joey," they seal the deal with a kiss. In love with Linda, will Joey give up his dream to save his integrity? Pal Joey, is one of my favorite musicals. A wonderful collection of songs and lots of glamorous star power.
Middle of the Night(1959) A widowed businessman courts a younger woman who works for him. Cast: Fredric March, Kim Novak, Lee Grant. Dir: Delbert Mann.
Notorious Landlady,(1962) A junior diplomat in London falls in love with his landlady even though she's a murder suspect. Cast: Jack Lemmon, Kim Novak, Fred Astaire. Please click on Kim Novak's name in the tag line located at the bottom of the post, to read movie review.
Now that "Summer Under the Stars" is winding down. I'm planning on couple of new things for Noir and Chick Flicks. I plan on having more movie polls located on the side bar. And... what I hope to turns out to be a lot of fun the "Looks Like" series. Where I compare a classic movie star with a star from the present, that I think look simular.
Also.. I'm going to restart the Noir and Chick Flicks: This week at the Movies. This weeks featured film. The Big Bluff(1955). Cast: John Bromfield, Martha Vicker(pictured above), Robert Hutton and Rosemarie Stack. When a scheming fortune hunter finds his rich wife is not going to die as expected, he and his lover make other plans to get her millions. Click picture on side bar to view movie.
TCM is having a Kim Novak five movie tribute, Wednesday September 1st. Please check out side bar to vote on the Kim Novak featured movies that you have seen.
Friday, September 3rd TCM is showing the film, Blue Daliah (1946). I'm really really looking forward to watching it for the first time.
Monty, came up with a wonderful idea for Chick Flicks Musical Page: Singin' and Dancing Back in Time. He thought it would be fun if every month we would come up with a theme.. So we decided that: This month on Chick Flicks Musicals: The Golden Age of Musicals: From the 1940s. I hope you enjoy..
Olivia De Havilland and Errol Flynn were known as one of Hollywood's most talented on-screen couples, performing in eight films together, but, were never romantically involved. The films in which they co-starred: Captain Blood (1935), The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), The Adventures of Robin Hood and Four's a Crowd (1938), Dodge City(1939). Directed by Michael Curtiz and based on a story by Robert Buckner. As a classic western, it tells the story of the rise, after the end of the Civil War, of the frontier post of Dodge City, Kansas to civilized town and trading place for cattle. In the process, Dodge City has to get rid of the bad guys terrorizing the citizens, and it takes a new sheriff and his deputy to clean up the town.
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), Santa Fe Trail (1940) and They Died with Their Boots On (1941).
De Havilland stated, "He never guessed I had a crush on him. In fact, I read that he was in love with me when we made The Charge of the Light Brigade the next year, in 1936. I was amazed to read that, for it never occurred to me that he was smitten with me, too, even though we did all those pictures together." However, in an interview cited on Turner Classic Movies De Havilland claims she knew the crush was reciprocal and that when Flynn proposed, he was still married to actress Lili Damita.
De Havilland married novelist Marcus Goodrich in 1946 and they divorced in 1953. Their son, Benjamin (born in 1949) became a mathematician. She was married to French journalist and Paris Match editor Pierre Galante between 1955 until 1979. Their daughter, Giselle (who later became a journalist) was born in July 1956 when De Havilland was 40. After the divorce, De Havilland and Galante remained on good terms.
De Havilland was good friends with Bette Davis with whom she performed with in Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964), The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), It's Love I'm After (1937), and In This Our Life (1942). She still remains a close friend of actress Gloria Stuart. In April 2008, she attended the Los Angeles funeral of Charlton Heston. In 2008, she was a surprise guest at the Centennial Tribute to Bette Davis.
In this video, lifelong friends Bette Davis & Olivia De Havilland perform on November 7th, 1964 episode of Hollywood Palace to promote what would be their final film together, Hush Hush, Sweet Charlotte and perform a dramatic reading. The performance is a amazing. Guest host: Gene Barry.
Lee Remick made her first film performance in, A Face in the Crowd. While filming the movie in Arkansas, Remick lived with a local family and practiced baton twirling.
After performing as Eula Varner in the film, The Long, Hot Summer(1958), she performed in the film, These Thousand Hills. Remick became famous in her performance in the film, Anatomy of a Murder (1959), a trial court drama film directed by Otto Preminger and written by Wendell Mayes based on the best-selling novel of the same name written by Michigan Supreme Court Justice John D. Voelker . Voelker based the novel on a 1952 murder case in which he was the defense attorney. Cast: James Stewart, George C. Scott, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, Arthur O'Connell, Eve Arden, Kathryn Grant, Brooks West (Arden's real-life husband), Orson Bean, and Murray Hamilton. The judge was played by Joseph N. Welch, a real-life lawyer famous for berating Joseph McCarthy during the Army-McCarthy Hearings. The film is famous as one of the first Hollywood films to talk frankly about sex and rape.
Lee made a second film with Elia Kazan called Wild River (1960), co-starring with Montgomery Clift and Jo Van Fleet.
In 1962, she was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actress for her performance as the alcoholic wife of Jack Lemmon in Days of Wine and Roses.
When Marilyn Monroe was fired during the filming of the comedy Something's Got to Give, the studio announced that Remick would be her replacement. Co-star Dean Martin said that while he admired Remick, he had signed on to do the picture to work with Monroe.
She co-starred with Gregory Peck in the horror film, The Omen(1976).
Remick later performed in several made-for-TV movies or miniseries (for which she earned seven Emmy nominations). Most were of a historical nature, including two noted miniseries: Ike, in which she portrayed Kay Summersby, alongside Robert Duvall as General Dwight Eisenhower, and Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill where she portrayed the title character, Winston Churchill's American mother.
A happy birthday to Tuesday Weld. She turns 67 today. And while she hasn't appeared in anything since 2001, she is fondly remembered for several notable films and TV appearances during the 60's. First and foremost would be The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis Show as Thalia Menninger. She became a solid and sexy actress in such films as I'll Take Sweden, The Cincinnati Kid, Lord Love A Duck, Pretty Poison and Walk The Line with the legendary Gregory Peck.
Lauren Bacall, worked as theatre usher and a fashion model. As Betty Bacall (age17), she made her first acting performance on Broadway in 1942, as a walk-on in Johnny 2 X 4. According to her autobiography, Davis visited Bacall backstage to congratulate her on her performance in Applause, a musical based on Davis's performance in All About Eve.
Howard Hawks's wife Nancy spotted her on the March 1943 cover of Harper's Bazaar and urged Hawks to have her take a screen test for the film, To Have and Have Not. He signed her up to a seven-year contract, brought her to Hollywood and began to manage her career. Hawks changed her name to Lauren Bacall. Nancy Hawks dressed Lauren in, stylish clothes, and guided her in the art of elegance, manners and taste. Bacall's voice was trained to be lower and sexier, which resulted in one of the most distinctive voices in Hollywood.
After To Have and Have Not, Bacall was seen opposite Charles Boyer in Confidential Agent (1945). Bacall would state in her autobiography that her career never fully recovered from this film, and that studio boss Jack Warner did not care about quality. She then performed with Bogart in the film noir The Big Sleep (1946), the thriller Dark Passage (1947), Key Largo (1948). She was cast with Gary Cooper in the film, Bright Leaf (1950).
Young Man with a Horn (1950),one of my favorite movies is often considered to be one of the first big-budget jazz films. Based on a biographical novel of the same name about the life of Bix Beiderbecke. Cast: Doris Day, Kirk Douglas, and Lauren Bacall.
Musician Smoke Willoughby thinks back to when he first meet his friend legendary trumpet player Rick Martin. After his mother dies , Rick moves in with his sister in California. Rick sees a trumpet in a pawn shop window and gets a job in a bowling alley to pay for it. Next to the bowling alley is a Jazz club, where Rick hears jazz for the first time. He quickly makes friends with the trumpet player Art Hazzard, who teaches his young friend how to play the trumpet. As Rick gets older, he finds odd jobs playing for carnivals and dance marathons. Rick decides to follow Art to New York and gets a job playing trumpet for big band leader Jack Chandler where he meets Smoke and singer Jo. Chandler insists that Rick play the music exactly as written. Chandler fires Rick after he plays a jazzy number. Despite Jo's efforts, Rick refuses to go back when Chandler offers to rehire him. Rick learns that his friend Art has been sick and he returns to New York. Jo gets him a job with another orchestra. Some evenings Rick goes over to help out Art at Louis Galba's nightclub. Jo brings her friend Amy to hear Rick play. Amy, who is studying to be a psychiatrist, blames her father for her mother's death and believes that she is not capable of love. They fall in love and are married, soon after Rick and Amy start to have problems because of his dedication to music. Will Rick be torn away from playing the trumpet to save his marriage?
For anyone who loves jazz, this is a wonderful movie. The soundtrack to this movie is awesome.(trumpet played by Harry James). Kirk Douglas is perfect for Rick's character. Lauren Bacall performance as a manipulative heiress was perfect.
Bacall starred in another one of my favorite films, How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), teaming up with Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable.
Written on the Wind (1956). Bacall says in her autobiography that she did not think much of the role. While struggling at home with Bogart's severe illness, Bacall starred with Gregory Peck in another wonderful film, Designing Woman. It was released in New York City on May 16, 1957, four months after Bogart died of cancer on January 14.
Bacall's movie career began to fade in the 1960s. The few movies Bacall performed in were, Sex and the Single Girl (1964) with Henry Fonda, Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood, Harper (1966) with Paul Newman, Shelley Winters, Julie Harris, Robert Wagner and Janet Leigh, and Murder on the Orient Express (1974), with Ingrid Bergman, Albert Finney and Sean Connery.
In 1976, she co-starred with John Wayne in his last picture, The Shootist. The two became friends, even with the political differences between them. They had previously been cast together in 1955's Blood Alley.
The original James Bond, Sean Connery turns 80 years old today. Outside of his six original Bond films and the one later adventure Never Say Never Again, Sean has had a solid career. Films such as The Hunt For Red October, Time Bandits, Murder on the Orient Express, Finding Forrester, Outland, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Marnie, and his Oscar winning role as Best Supporting Actor in 1987's The Untouchables. Hats off to Sean Connery.
Happy Birthday to Mel Ferrer (1917-2008). One time husband to Audrey Hepburn, Ferrer was also a very good actor in his own right. Having appeared in such films like Lili, War and Peace, The Sun Also Rises, The Longest Day and Sex & the Single Girl.
The Nutty Professor(1963). Science fiction comedy film produced, directed, co-written with Bill Richmond and Jerry Lewis. The score was composed by Walter Scharf.
Professor Julius Kelp (Jerry Lewis), is a nerdy, introverted, accident prone, university professor who always seems to find himself in trouble with the university by continually destroying the classroom lab. When a football-player bullies Kelp he decides to join a gym, with no results. He then invents a potion that turns him into the handsome, smooth, obnoxious, Buddy Love.
As Buddy Love, he now as the confidence to date one of his students, Stella Purdy (Stella Stevens). Who finds herself strangely attracted to him. Buddy impresses the crowd with his jazzy personality at the Purple Pit, a nightclub where everyone hangs out. He also teaches the bartender, how to mix the cocktail, The "Alaskan Polar Bear Heater". Which is two shots of vodka, a little rum, some bitters, a smidgen of vinegar, a shot of vermouth, a shot of gin, a shot of scotch, a little brandy, a lemon peel, orange peel, cherry, some more scotch. At one point the bartender says "You going to drink this here, or are you going to take it home and rub it on your chest?
Love says "mix it nice" and pour it into a tall glass. The bartender asks if he can take a sip, when he does he freezes like a statue. While the drink started as fictional, it now listed among real drinks.
Later that night, Buddy performs at the student dance, and while on stage, the formula starts to wear off. Will this Jekyll and Hyde's real identity be revealed?
I thought Jerry Lewis must be a very talented actor to be able to manage two very distinct characters with two distinct personalities.
Fun Facts:
Film debut of Henry Gibson.
Buddy Love is often thought to be Lewis' former show business partner Dean Martin. Film Critic Danny Peary wrote in his book Cult Movies that the character of Love is actually the real counterpart of Jerry Lewis. Les Brown and his Band play themselves in the senior prom scenes. Stella Steven's costumes (and the rest of the casts costumes as well) were designed by Edith Head.
The Nutty Professor was filmed mostly on the campus of Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ) in 1962 with the prom portion filmed in the newly completed Gammage Auditorium Hall (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright). Stella Stevens was first under contract to 20th Century Fox. Then after performing in the role for the musical, Li'l Abner (1959), she signed a contract with Paramount Pictures (1959-1963) and later Columbia Pictures (1964-1968). She shared the 1960 Golden Globe Award for "Most Promising Newcomer - Female", with Tuesday Weld, Angie Dickinson and Janet Munro for the film, Say One For Me.
In 1962, Stevens performed with Elvis Presley in the movie, Girls! Girls! Girls!. Later that year, she played Jerry Lewis's love interest in The Nutty Professor. This was followed by other comedy, The Courtship of Eddie's Father and opposite Dean Martin in the "Matt Helm", The Silencers. Plus How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life.
Stevens was featured in the western, The Ballad of Cable Hogue(1970). She also performed in the film, The Poseidon Adventure(1972), as the wife of Ernest Borgnine's character.
Stevens was a regular on the 1981-1982 prime time soap opera Flamingo Road. She teamed with Sandy Dennis in a touring production of an all-female version of Neil Simon's The Odd Couple, playing the Oscar Madison character. She had a contract role on NBC's daytime drama Santa Barbara as Phyllis Blake from 1989 to 1990.
Stevens produced and directed two films, The Ranch (1989) and The American Heroine (1979).
I have already posted a profile post on the handsome John Gilbert.((Sigh)). Please click his name on the tag line located at the bottom of this post, to read Noir and Chick Flicks collection of John Gilbert info.
Queen Christina (1933). Pre-code historical/ drama. Director: Rouben Mamoulian.The film was written by H. M. Harwood and Salka Viertel with dialogue by S. N. Behrman, based on a story by Salka Viertel and Margaret P. Levino. Cast: Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Ian Keith and Lewis Stone. The movie is very loosely based on the life of the 17th century Queen Christina of Sweden, who, in the film, falls in love during her reign but has to deal with the political realities of her society. It was billed as Garbo's return to cinema after an eighteen-month hiatus.
In 1632, after her father, King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, is killed on the battlefield, six-year-old Christina raised as a boy is crowned "king" of Sweden . And then promises to her court, that Sweden will fight until it wins the war.
Many years later, the now-grown Christina, who dresses in men's clothing, meets with her council and states for the good of the country, they must find peace. Christina then argues with Oxenstierna about marrying her Swedish-born cousin, Prince Palatine Charles Gustavus. Not wanting to marry a man she does not love, Christina rejects Oxenstierna's demands. To escape Christina, goes on a hunting trip with her servant Aage. While riding, Christina comes across the path of a coach filled with Spaniards, which have gotten stuck in a ditch. Because she is dressed as a man, Christina is not recognized and is treated as a male servant by Don Antonio de la Prada. Later, Christina and Aage seek shelter at the Inn and once again meet Antonio and his men. Antonio apologizes when he learns that Christina is a gentleman of means and engages him/her, in conversation. Christina impresses Antonio, after which insists that he take her to his room, the last room in the inn. After a polite argument, the couple decide to share the room. While Antonio undresses, Christina becomes uncomfortable, but finally reveals that she is a woman by removing her jacket. Surprised, Antonio takes Christina in his arms. For the next several days, Christina and Antonio, who is still unaware of her royal identity, fall in love and promise their lasting devotion to each other. Needing to accomplish his mission, Antonio leaves the inn, but arranges to meet with Christina in Stockholm.
Back at the palace, Christina is confronted by Magnus, who questions her about her disappearance. Christina's only care, is her reunion with Antonio and dresses up in her most beautiful gown to greet him. When Antonio is introduced to Christina, he is surprised but maintains his composure. Later in private Antonio, accuses her for playing with his affections and presents to her a proposal of marriage. Christina ignores her royal duties to spend time with Antonio. Jealous, Magnus hires two men to spread rumors about the queen's scandalous behavior, and one night in the Palace, Christina is met by an angry mob.
After calming the crowd, Christina confronts Magnus, where he threatens to have Antonio killed. For his protection, Christina orders Antonio back to Spain, unaware that the Spaniard has challenged Magnus to a duel. Christina calls together her court, announces that she is stepping down from the throne. While Christina says good by to her heartbroken court, Antonio and Magnus engage in their sword fight. What will Christina find when she reaches Antonio's ship?
Fun Fact: Since John Gilbert was becoming less popular as a leading man, Greta Garbo was doing him a big favor by requesting him as the male lead. Unfortunately, the film did not help to re-establish Gilbert, and soon after he dropped out of pictures altogether.
I just watched Queen Christina for the first time. For me, it is a beautiful and haunting film. John Gilbert and Greta Garbo had wonderful on screen chemistry. My favorite scene in the movie, is when she is enjoying herself as a woman.
Matthew McConaughey(born November 4, 1969), breakout role was in the film Dazed and Confused (1993). He then performed in films, A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Sahara, and We Are Marshall. McConaughey is best known for his performances in the romantic comedies The Wedding Planner, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Failure to Launch, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and Fool's Gold.
Kirk Douglas (born December 9, 1916) is an actor and film producer recognized for his cleft chin, his gravelly voice. He is the father of Hollywood actor and producer Michael Douglas and is #17 on the American Film Institutes's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time.
Monday, August 23, 2010
New mix by St. Shredrr, "SHREDRR CHEESE". I'm in the library right now and literally im bouncin. I can't help it. LISTEN NOW----->>>>>>
If that didn't blow your mind, then I don't know what will. Well, ok. Maybe this will enhance your life:
Gaga for I-D mag, lookin flipped as ever. DesignScene.
ummm...yeaaaa.
New favorite etsy shop: Cupcaity. She crochets these things called "beardlings". I've never seen anything like this before, it's probably the most clever thing I've come across in a bit. I kind of need one for fall, so I can look like a freak on my excursions to Colonial Williamsburg and Monticello.
amazing.
The fall '10 couture shows. Yes, it's very late, but I think as long as I talk about them before September fashion week, you'll forgive me. So here are my tops picks for Chanel.
look at those bangles. and the menswear-inspired tailoring that's oh-so-chic. I CAN'T DEAL
Happy Birthday to the legendary Ingrid Bergman. Her many classic films include Casablanca, Notorious, Gaslight, The Bells Of St. Mary, Anastasia, and Joan Of Arc. She is survived by her 4 children including actress Isabella Rossellini.
Picnic(1955)
Jeanne Eagels(1957)
Pal Joey (1957) film, loosely based from the musical play of the same name. Cast: Rita Hayworth, Frank Sinatra, and Kim Novak. Kim Novak's singing voice was dubbed by Trudy Erwin. Director: George Sidney. Choreographer: Hermes Pan. Sinatra won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Pal Joey also earned four Academy Award nominations and two Golden Globe nominations.
Notorious Landlady,(1962)
This Weeks: Noir and Chick Flicks Poll results.
Stella Stevens was first under contract to 20th Century Fox. Then after performing in the role for the musical, Li'l Abner (1959), she signed a contract with Paramount Pictures (1959-1963) and later Columbia Pictures (1964-1968). She shared the 1960 Golden Globe Award for "Most Promising Newcomer - Female", with Tuesday Weld, Angie Dickinson and Janet Munro for the film, Say One For Me.
