After wrapping up his four-season run on HBO’s acclaimed dark comedy Barry, Henry Winkler has been set to receive USC Comedy’s prestigious Oakie Award for Exceptional Achievements in Film and Television Comedy.
Part of the Jack Oakie and Victoria Horne Oakie Masters of Comedy Lecture Series, the award presentation will take place on Tuesday, March 5 at 7:00 pm and will include an in-depth conversation with Winkler, moderated by Barry‘s co-creator and star, Bill Hader. In addition to Hader, past recipients of the Oakie Award include Catherine O’Hara, Nancy Meyers, Kenya Barris, Steve Carell, James Burrows, Paul Feig, Mel Brooks, James L. Brooks, Judd Apatow, Lisa Kudrow, Barnet Kellman, David Isaacs, Phil Rosenthal, and Tim Story.
In a statement on Winkler’s forthcoming recognition, David Isaacs, Co-Chair of USC Comedy and Chair of the John Wells Division of Writing for Screen & Television, said: “Henry Winkler’s indelible mark...
Part of the Jack Oakie and Victoria Horne Oakie Masters of Comedy Lecture Series, the award presentation will take place on Tuesday, March 5 at 7:00 pm and will include an in-depth conversation with Winkler, moderated by Barry‘s co-creator and star, Bill Hader. In addition to Hader, past recipients of the Oakie Award include Catherine O’Hara, Nancy Meyers, Kenya Barris, Steve Carell, James Burrows, Paul Feig, Mel Brooks, James L. Brooks, Judd Apatow, Lisa Kudrow, Barnet Kellman, David Isaacs, Phil Rosenthal, and Tim Story.
In a statement on Winkler’s forthcoming recognition, David Isaacs, Co-Chair of USC Comedy and Chair of the John Wells Division of Writing for Screen & Television, said: “Henry Winkler’s indelible mark...
- 2/21/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Ingmar Bergman had Liv Ullmann. Woody Allen had Diane Keaton and Christopher Guest had Catherine O’Hara — that’s how actor John Michael Higgins summed up the stature of O’Hara’s work on screen with Guest and other top directors during a wide-ranging Q&a held Saturday as part of the sixth annual USC Comedy Festival.
The Emmy-winning O’Hara was honored with the Jack Oakie and Victoria Horne Oakie Masters of Comedy Award at the festival, in recognition of her long, and often underrated, career in film, TV, stage and sketch comedy.
The Oakie Foundation honors the lives and work of two comedy legends, Jack Oakie and Victoria Horne Oakie. Jack Oakie won a supporting actor Oscar for Charlie Chaplins’ 1940 satire “The Great Dictator.” Victoria Oakie was a comedy trouper who had supporting roles (as Victoria Horne) in numerous films, most memorably opposite Jimmy Stewart in 1950’s “Harvey.”
In reviewing...
The Emmy-winning O’Hara was honored with the Jack Oakie and Victoria Horne Oakie Masters of Comedy Award at the festival, in recognition of her long, and often underrated, career in film, TV, stage and sketch comedy.
The Oakie Foundation honors the lives and work of two comedy legends, Jack Oakie and Victoria Horne Oakie. Jack Oakie won a supporting actor Oscar for Charlie Chaplins’ 1940 satire “The Great Dictator.” Victoria Oakie was a comedy trouper who had supporting roles (as Victoria Horne) in numerous films, most memorably opposite Jimmy Stewart in 1950’s “Harvey.”
In reviewing...
- 2/26/2023
- by Carla Renata
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix has dropped the trailer for the eight-episode second season of “Shadow and Bone.” The second season depicts Alina Starkov, played by Jessie Mei Li, on the run in an effort to bring down the Shadow Fold and save Ravka. However, General Kirigan (played by Ben Barnes) is also back and this time has an army of shadow monsters behind him.
The Season 2 cast includes also includes Archie Renaux, Freddy Carter, Amita Suman, Kit Young, Danielle Galligan, Daisy Head, Calahan Skogman, Lewis Tan, Anna Leong Brophy, Jack Wolfe and Patrick Gibson.
Eric Heisserer and Daegan Fryklind serve as showrunners and executive producers, with Leigh Bardugo as author and executive producer for the series. “Shadow and Bone” is also executive produced by Shawn Levy, Josh Barry, Dan Levine and Dan Cohen for 21 Laps Entertainment, Pouya Shahbazian (Loom Studios) and Shelley Meals.
Season 2 of “Shadow and Bone” premieres March 16. Check out the trailer below.
The Season 2 cast includes also includes Archie Renaux, Freddy Carter, Amita Suman, Kit Young, Danielle Galligan, Daisy Head, Calahan Skogman, Lewis Tan, Anna Leong Brophy, Jack Wolfe and Patrick Gibson.
Eric Heisserer and Daegan Fryklind serve as showrunners and executive producers, with Leigh Bardugo as author and executive producer for the series. “Shadow and Bone” is also executive produced by Shawn Levy, Josh Barry, Dan Levine and Dan Cohen for 21 Laps Entertainment, Pouya Shahbazian (Loom Studios) and Shelley Meals.
Season 2 of “Shadow and Bone” premieres March 16. Check out the trailer below.
- 2/18/2023
- by Julia MacCary and Katie Reul
- Variety Film + TV
Saucy pre-Code entertainment frequently served up risqué dialogue, with edgy content like promiscuity and drug use. Mitchell Leisen’s 1934 murder mystery goes straight for a supposed family-industry no-no: Broadway-revue near-nudity featuring Earl Carroll’s ‘Most Beautiful Girls In The World’. Victor McLaglen is an inept detective and Jack Oakie a wise-cracking impresario. Gertrude Michael and Kitty Carlisle carry the musical numbers, the most famous being an ode to the still-legal Sweet Marijuana. Showgirls like Lucille Ball possess the daring to don the skimpy costumes, even if they hadn’t yet learned what Marijuana was. Duke Ellington and his orchestra sit in for Ebony Rhapsody, a mixed-race musical number with room for ‘guest dancers from Harlem.’
Murder at the Vanities
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1934 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 89 min. / Street Date October 11, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Carl Brisson, Victor McLaglen, Jack Oakie, Kitty Carlisle, Dorothy Stickney, Gertrude Michael, Jessie Ralph,...
Murder at the Vanities
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1934 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 89 min. / Street Date October 11, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Carl Brisson, Victor McLaglen, Jack Oakie, Kitty Carlisle, Dorothy Stickney, Gertrude Michael, Jessie Ralph,...
- 10/1/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The mark Nancy Meyers has left on film and TV comedy has garnered another prize as she’s been selected to receive USC Comedy’s Oakie Award.
Doled out as a way to recognize “exceptional achievements in film and TV comedy,” news of the award was announced on Tuesday by university professor Jack Epps, who holds the Jack and Victoria Horne Oakie chair in comedy.
Meyers will accept the prize during a virtual presentation on Nov. 14 that also includes an in-depth chat with moderator and comedy legend Martin Short. The event is part of the Jack Oakie and Victoria Horne ...
Doled out as a way to recognize “exceptional achievements in film and TV comedy,” news of the award was announced on Tuesday by university professor Jack Epps, who holds the Jack and Victoria Horne Oakie chair in comedy.
Meyers will accept the prize during a virtual presentation on Nov. 14 that also includes an in-depth chat with moderator and comedy legend Martin Short. The event is part of the Jack Oakie and Victoria Horne ...
- 11/2/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The mark Nancy Meyers has left on film and TV comedy has garnered another prize as she’s been selected to receive USC Comedy’s Oakie Award.
Doled out as a way to recognize “exceptional achievements in film and TV comedy,” news of the award was announced on Tuesday by university professor Jack Epps, who holds the Jack and Victoria Horne Oakie chair in comedy.
Meyers will accept the prize during a virtual presentation on Nov. 14 that also includes an in-depth chat with moderator and comedy legend Martin Short. The event is part of the Jack Oakie and Victoria Horne ...
Doled out as a way to recognize “exceptional achievements in film and TV comedy,” news of the award was announced on Tuesday by university professor Jack Epps, who holds the Jack and Victoria Horne Oakie chair in comedy.
Meyers will accept the prize during a virtual presentation on Nov. 14 that also includes an in-depth chat with moderator and comedy legend Martin Short. The event is part of the Jack Oakie and Victoria Horne ...
- 11/2/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
USC Comedy has named Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated filmmaker Nancy Meyers as the recipient of its 2021 Oakie Award for Exceptional Achievements in Film and Television Comedy.
The award will be presented at a virtual presentation on Sunday, November 14 at 4 p.m. Pt, which is part of Jack Oakie and Victoria Horne Oakie Masters of Comedy Lecture Series, and will include an in-depth conversation with Meyers, moderated by Only Murders in the Building‘s Martin Short.
Meyers is the latest in a long line of Oakie Award recipients that includes Bill Hader, Kenya Barris, Steve Carell, James Burrows, Paul Feig, Mel Brooks, James L. Brooks, Judd Apatow, Lisa Kudrow, Barnet Kellman, David Isaacs, Phil Rosenthal, and Tim Story.
“Nancy Meyers is a visionary filmmaker who has touched the heart of audiences around the world for decades and we are honored to present her with USC Comedy’s 2021 Oakie Award,” said David Isaacs,...
The award will be presented at a virtual presentation on Sunday, November 14 at 4 p.m. Pt, which is part of Jack Oakie and Victoria Horne Oakie Masters of Comedy Lecture Series, and will include an in-depth conversation with Meyers, moderated by Only Murders in the Building‘s Martin Short.
Meyers is the latest in a long line of Oakie Award recipients that includes Bill Hader, Kenya Barris, Steve Carell, James Burrows, Paul Feig, Mel Brooks, James L. Brooks, Judd Apatow, Lisa Kudrow, Barnet Kellman, David Isaacs, Phil Rosenthal, and Tim Story.
“Nancy Meyers is a visionary filmmaker who has touched the heart of audiences around the world for decades and we are honored to present her with USC Comedy’s 2021 Oakie Award,” said David Isaacs,...
- 11/2/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
In film history, the anthology genre is the most challenging. Episodic films often have several directors and screenwriters which gives them an inconsistent tone and quality. But the genre’s pitfalls haven’t stopped such filmmakers including Akira Kurosawa (“Dreams”), the Coens (“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”), Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez (“Sin City”); Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese (“New York Stories”); and Joe Dante, John Landis, George Miller and Steven Spielberg (“Twilight Zone: The Movie”).
Wes Anderson joined them with his latest film “The French Dispatch,” which received a nine-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival. The comedy brings to life three stories from an American magazine published in a fictional French city and features his stock company of actors including Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody and Owen Wilson.
If you are a fan of the genre, here are the best anthology movies that...
Wes Anderson joined them with his latest film “The French Dispatch,” which received a nine-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival. The comedy brings to life three stories from an American magazine published in a fictional French city and features his stock company of actors including Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody and Owen Wilson.
If you are a fan of the genre, here are the best anthology movies that...
- 10/30/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
“Tomorrow’S News Today!”
By Raymond Benson
One wonders if Bond villain Elliot Carver ever saw the 1944 comedy-fantasy, It Happened Tomorrow. Carver’s evil plot involved making bad news happen so that his newspapers could scoop the headlines before other media outlets even learned about the events. “Tomorrow’s News Today!” was his slogan.
In the fanciful and entertaining It Happened Tomorrow, a newspaper man receives tomorrow’s news today, allowing him to write the piece and get it ready to go to the presses before the incident occurs.
French filmmaker René Clair had come to Hollywood in the early 1940s after working for a time in the U.K. He made a handful of pictures for different studios, namely I Married a Witch (1942) and And Then There Were None (1945). In-between those notable titles came It Happened Tomorrow, which was based on an...
“Tomorrow’S News Today!”
By Raymond Benson
One wonders if Bond villain Elliot Carver ever saw the 1944 comedy-fantasy, It Happened Tomorrow. Carver’s evil plot involved making bad news happen so that his newspapers could scoop the headlines before other media outlets even learned about the events. “Tomorrow’s News Today!” was his slogan.
In the fanciful and entertaining It Happened Tomorrow, a newspaper man receives tomorrow’s news today, allowing him to write the piece and get it ready to go to the presses before the incident occurs.
French filmmaker René Clair had come to Hollywood in the early 1940s after working for a time in the U.K. He made a handful of pictures for different studios, namely I Married a Witch (1942) and And Then There Were None (1945). In-between those notable titles came It Happened Tomorrow, which was based on an...
- 6/4/2021
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
It Happened Tomorrow
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1944 / 1.33:1 / 85 min.
Starring Dick Powell, Linda Darnell, Jack Oakie
Cinematography by Archie Stout, Eugen Schüfftan
Directed by René Clair
René Clair takes a trip through The Twilight Zone in It Happened Tomorrow, the story of a reporter’s perilous adventure with a different kind of time machine. Like Clair’s I Married a Witch and The Ghost Goes West, this 1944 fantasy is lighter than air but its feet are planted firmly on the ground. Dick Powell plays Larry Stevens, a struggling journalist with a literal dead end job—he writes obituaries for The Evening News. Linda Darnell is Sylvia Smith, a stage performer who predicts fortunes with the help of Oscar Cigolini, né Smith, her showboating uncle played by Jack Oakie. Sylvia isn’t the only one with insight into the future, Larry gets in on the act when he’s handed a...
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1944 / 1.33:1 / 85 min.
Starring Dick Powell, Linda Darnell, Jack Oakie
Cinematography by Archie Stout, Eugen Schüfftan
Directed by René Clair
René Clair takes a trip through The Twilight Zone in It Happened Tomorrow, the story of a reporter’s perilous adventure with a different kind of time machine. Like Clair’s I Married a Witch and The Ghost Goes West, this 1944 fantasy is lighter than air but its feet are planted firmly on the ground. Dick Powell plays Larry Stevens, a struggling journalist with a literal dead end job—he writes obituaries for The Evening News. Linda Darnell is Sylvia Smith, a stage performer who predicts fortunes with the help of Oscar Cigolini, né Smith, her showboating uncle played by Jack Oakie. Sylvia isn’t the only one with insight into the future, Larry gets in on the act when he’s handed a...
- 5/22/2021
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Alice in Wonderland
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1933 / 1.33:1/ 76 min.
Starring Charlotte Henry, W.C. Fields, Gary Cooper
Cinematography by Bert Glennon, Henry Sharp
Directed by Norman Z. McLeod
Written by Harvey Kurtzman with art by Jack Davis, Mad‘s 1954 parody of Alice in Wonderland stands as a succinct critique of Paramount Pictures’s 1933 adaptation. The film stars crowd pleasing performers like Cary Grant and W.C. Fields yet manages to be one of the most uniquely disturbing studio pictures ever made.
Directed by Norman Z. McLeod and written by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and William Cameron Menzies, the movie began production in 1932, the centennial of Lewis Carroll’s birth. Carroll’s classic was ripe for Paramount – the studio on Melrose was ground zero for absurdist humor in the early ’30s. McLeod had just wrapped the Marx Brothers’ sublime Horse Feathers while the Mankiewicz-scripted Million Dollar Legs was released the same year – both...
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1933 / 1.33:1/ 76 min.
Starring Charlotte Henry, W.C. Fields, Gary Cooper
Cinematography by Bert Glennon, Henry Sharp
Directed by Norman Z. McLeod
Written by Harvey Kurtzman with art by Jack Davis, Mad‘s 1954 parody of Alice in Wonderland stands as a succinct critique of Paramount Pictures’s 1933 adaptation. The film stars crowd pleasing performers like Cary Grant and W.C. Fields yet manages to be one of the most uniquely disturbing studio pictures ever made.
Directed by Norman Z. McLeod and written by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and William Cameron Menzies, the movie began production in 1932, the centennial of Lewis Carroll’s birth. Carroll’s classic was ripe for Paramount – the studio on Melrose was ground zero for absurdist humor in the early ’30s. McLeod had just wrapped the Marx Brothers’ sublime Horse Feathers while the Mankiewicz-scripted Million Dollar Legs was released the same year – both...
- 6/6/2020
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
"Wtf Value"
By Raymond Benson
Only serious film history aficionados and perhaps viewers of Turner Classic Movies will be aware that there was once a live-action version of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland adapted by Hollywood in the early pre-code years. It was released in 1933 by Paramount and directed by Norman Z. McLeod, the guy who had helmed the Marx Brothers’ comedies Monkey Business (1931) and Horse Feathers (1932). McLeod would go on to make such titles as It’s a Gift (1934), Topper (1937), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), and The Paleface (1948).
The production of Alice in 1933 boasts a screenplay by none other than heavyweights Joseph L. Mankiewicz and William Cameron Menzies, the man behind Things to Come and a production designer whose hands were all over Hollywood and British productions over the next two decades. The script also borrows heavily from the popular and then-current stage production written by Eva La Gallienne and Florida Friebus,...
By Raymond Benson
Only serious film history aficionados and perhaps viewers of Turner Classic Movies will be aware that there was once a live-action version of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland adapted by Hollywood in the early pre-code years. It was released in 1933 by Paramount and directed by Norman Z. McLeod, the guy who had helmed the Marx Brothers’ comedies Monkey Business (1931) and Horse Feathers (1932). McLeod would go on to make such titles as It’s a Gift (1934), Topper (1937), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), and The Paleface (1948).
The production of Alice in 1933 boasts a screenplay by none other than heavyweights Joseph L. Mankiewicz and William Cameron Menzies, the man behind Things to Come and a production designer whose hands were all over Hollywood and British productions over the next two decades. The script also borrows heavily from the popular and then-current stage production written by Eva La Gallienne and Florida Friebus,...
- 5/18/2020
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
“Jojo Rabbit” dares to be a slice of Third Reich hipster whimsy about an awkward lad and budding 10-year-old Hitler youth (Roman Griffin Davis), whose faithful imaginary companion is none other than a rather buffoonish iteration of Der Fuhrer himself. As played by the dark satire’s half-Jewish writer/director Taika Waititi in khaki pantaloons and askew mini-mustache, this demented dictator starts out as a goofy father substitute who encourages Jojo to be a good Nazi as he struggles to learn such skills as killing rabbits and throwing a grenade – an act that ends rather badly. But by the end, this alt-world Adolf grows resentful that his reign in the real life has come to an end while Jojo literally gives the hateful being the heave-ho and banishes him from his life forever.
See‘Jojo Rabbit’ is a strong contender in 11 Oscar categories
Film fans and history buffs know all...
See‘Jojo Rabbit’ is a strong contender in 11 Oscar categories
Film fans and history buffs know all...
- 10/21/2019
- by Susan Wloszczyna
- Gold Derby
Showrunner Kenya Barris offered a glimpse of one of the projects he is pursuing now that he has relocated to Netflix during a wide-ranging discussion Saturday night held as part of the USC Comedy Festival.
“I can say this,” Barris teased. “I want to reboot what a family show is.”
Barris spoke with filmmaker Tim Story during the packed session at USC’s Eileen Norris Cinema Theatre.
The showrunner was on campus to take part in the Jack Oakie and Victoria Horne Oakie Masters of Comedy Lecture Series at the fourth edition of USC’s School of Cinema Arts gathering focused on comedy. Attendees at Barris’ session heard an inspiring discussion about the future of the industry, the power of comedy and a tiny glimpse of what to expect from the “Black-ish” creator now that he’s relocated to Netflix. Students in the crowd were buzzing about the $100 million pact...
“I can say this,” Barris teased. “I want to reboot what a family show is.”
Barris spoke with filmmaker Tim Story during the packed session at USC’s Eileen Norris Cinema Theatre.
The showrunner was on campus to take part in the Jack Oakie and Victoria Horne Oakie Masters of Comedy Lecture Series at the fourth edition of USC’s School of Cinema Arts gathering focused on comedy. Attendees at Barris’ session heard an inspiring discussion about the future of the industry, the power of comedy and a tiny glimpse of what to expect from the “Black-ish” creator now that he’s relocated to Netflix. Students in the crowd were buzzing about the $100 million pact...
- 11/4/2018
- by Sean Fitz-Gerald
- Variety Film + TV
In August 1946, Jack Oakie, the Oscar-nominated star comedian, looked back on his career two decades earlier — specifically when he made the leap from a pantomimer to speaker on the big screen. In a Hollywood Reporter column commemorating the 20th anniversary of talking pictures, the comedian remembers tentatively transitioning to sound films in a piece originally titled "Before We Talked."
For a couple of years before 1926, we had been reading publicity stories in New York and Hollywood — those of us who could read, that is — about when the movies would talk.
Nobody ...
For a couple of years before 1926, we had been reading publicity stories in New York and Hollywood — those of us who could read, that is — about when the movies would talk.
Nobody ...
- 8/30/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
In August 1946, Jack Oakie, the Oscar-nominated star comedian, looked back on his career two decades earlier — specifically when he made the leap from a pantomimer to speaker on the big screen. In a Hollywood Reporter column commemorating the 20th anniversary of talking pictures, the comedian remembers tentatively transitioning to sound films in a piece originally titled "Before We Talked."
For a couple of years before 1926, we had been reading publicity stories in New York and Hollywood — those of us who could read, that is — about when the movies would talk.
Nobody ...
For a couple of years before 1926, we had been reading publicity stories in New York and Hollywood — those of us who could read, that is — about when the movies would talk.
Nobody ...
- 8/30/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Michael Musto, who writes for the Daily Beast and is a member of the Gold Derby panel of Experts, has just published an interview with an Oscar voter who he declined to name, and though his subject’s predictions are in line with most of ours, it’s always good to hear from someone on the inside.
Those of us journalists who’ve covered the industry in its home town have known many members of the academy and have always called on them during awards season to get whatever inside dope they might have on voter sentiments.
I covered Hollywood with a close eye on the Oscars from the late ‘70s to the early ‘90s for Knight-Ridder, USA Today and the Los Angeles Times, and I was on the phone with academy members from October to March. It wasn’t by any stretch a scientific poll I was conducting, but so far,...
Those of us journalists who’ve covered the industry in its home town have known many members of the academy and have always called on them during awards season to get whatever inside dope they might have on voter sentiments.
I covered Hollywood with a close eye on the Oscars from the late ‘70s to the early ‘90s for Knight-Ridder, USA Today and the Los Angeles Times, and I was on the phone with academy members from October to March. It wasn’t by any stretch a scientific poll I was conducting, but so far,...
- 2/13/2018
- by Jack Mathews
- Gold Derby
By Doug Oswald
Robert Mitchum is Martin Brady, an American hired gun living in exile in Mexico in “The Wonderful Country,” a Blu-ray release from Kino Lorber. While waiting on the Rio Grande for his contact for a gun smuggling job, Brady decides to escort the wagon north to Puerto, Texas, and pick up a cache of guns on behalf of his employers, the Castro brothers. Pancho Gil (Mike Kellin), another agent of the Castros, arrives to escort the guns they’re buying from a man named Sterner, but Brady insists on picking up the guns himself. When one of Brady’s associates reminds him that he’s a wanted man in America, Brady states, “I want to see the other side of the river.”
Arriving in Puerto, a tumble-weed startles Brady’s horse and he breaks a leg in the fall. He’s aided by Dr. Herbert J. Stovall...
Robert Mitchum is Martin Brady, an American hired gun living in exile in Mexico in “The Wonderful Country,” a Blu-ray release from Kino Lorber. While waiting on the Rio Grande for his contact for a gun smuggling job, Brady decides to escort the wagon north to Puerto, Texas, and pick up a cache of guns on behalf of his employers, the Castro brothers. Pancho Gil (Mike Kellin), another agent of the Castros, arrives to escort the guns they’re buying from a man named Sterner, but Brady insists on picking up the guns himself. When one of Brady’s associates reminds him that he’s a wanted man in America, Brady states, “I want to see the other side of the river.”
Arriving in Puerto, a tumble-weed startles Brady’s horse and he breaks a leg in the fall. He’s aided by Dr. Herbert J. Stovall...
- 4/26/2017
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
William Cameron Menzies. William Cameron Menzies movies on TCM: Murderous Joan Fontaine, deadly Nazi Communists Best known as an art director/production designer, William Cameron Menzies was a jack-of-all-trades. It seems like the only things Menzies didn't do was act and tap dance in front of the camera. He designed and/or wrote, directed, produced, etc., dozens of films – titles ranged from The Thief of Bagdad to Invaders from Mars – from the late 1910s all the way to the mid-1950s. Among Menzies' most notable efforts as an art director/production designer are: Ernst Lubitsch's first Hollywood movie, the Mary Pickford star vehicle Rosita (1923). Herbert Brenon's British-set father-son drama Sorrell and Son (1927). David O. Selznick's mammoth production of Gone with the Wind, which earned Menzies an Honorary Oscar. The Sam Wood movies Our Town (1940), Kings Row (1942), and For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943). H.C. Potter's Mr. Lucky...
- 1/28/2016
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Norma Shearer films Note: This article is being revised and expanded. Please check back later. Turner Classic Movies' Norma Shearer month comes to a close this evening, Nov. 24, '15, with the presentation of the last six films of Shearer's two-decade-plus career. Two of these are remarkably good; one is schizophrenic, a confused mix of high comedy and low drama; while the other three aren't the greatest. Yet all six are worth a look even if only because of Norma Shearer herself – though, really, they all have more to offer than just their top star. Directed by W.S. Van Dyke, the no-expense-spared Marie Antoinette (1938) – $2.9 million, making it one of the most expensive movies ever made up to that time – stars the Canadian-born Queen of MGM as the Austrian-born Queen of France. This was Shearer's first film in two years (following Romeo and Juliet) and her first release following husband Irving G.
- 11/25/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Norma Shearer films Note: This article is being revised and expanded. Please check back later. Turner Classic Movies' Norma Shearer month comes to a close this evening, Nov. 24, '15, with the presentation of the last six films of Shearer's two-decade-plus career. Two of these are remarkably good; one is schizophrenic, a confused mix of high comedy and low drama; while the other three aren't the greatest. Yet all six are worth a look even if only because of Norma Shearer herself – though, really, they all have more to offer than just their top star. Directed by W.S. Van Dyke, the no-expense-spared Marie Antoinette (1938) – $2.9 million, making it one of the most expensive movies ever made up to that time – stars the Canadian-born Queen of MGM as the Austrian-born Queen of France. This was Shearer's first film in two years (following Romeo and Juliet) and her first release following husband Irving G.
- 11/25/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Constance Cummings in 'Night After Night.' Constance Cummings: Working with Frank Capra and Mae West (See previous post: “Constance Cummings: Actress Went from Harold Lloyd to Eugene O'Neill.”) Back at Columbia, Harry Cohn didn't do a very good job at making Constance Cummings feel important. By the end of 1932, Columbia and its sweet ingenue found themselves in court, fighting bitterly over stipulations in her contract. According to the actress and lawyer's daughter, Columbia had failed to notify her that they were picking up her option. Therefore, she was a free agent, able to offer her services wherever she pleased. Harry Cohn felt otherwise, claiming that his contract player had waived such a notice. The battle would spill over into 1933. On the positive side, in addition to Movie Crazy 1932 provided Cummings with three other notable Hollywood movies: Washington Merry-Go-Round, American Madness, and Night After Night. 'Washington Merry-Go-Round...
- 11/5/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
(Region B) It's just like the film industry, I tell ya! Director Jules Dassin teams with writer A.I. Bezzerides for one of filmdom's strongest slams at the free market system. Trucker Richard Conte fights back when cheated and robbed by Lee J. Cobb's racketeering produce czar. Thieves' Highway Region B Blu-ray + Pal DVD Arrow Video (UK) 1949 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 94 min. / Street Date October 20, 2015 / Available at Amazon UK / £14.99 Starring Richard Conte, Valentina Cortese, Lee J. Cobb, Barbara Lawrence, Jack Oakie, Millard Mitchell, Joseph Pevney, Morris Carnovsky Cinematography Norbert Brodine Art Direction Chester Gore, Lyle Wheeler Film Editor Nick DeMaggio Original Music Alfred Newman Written by A.I. Bezzerides from his novel Thieves' Market Produced by Robert Bassler Directed by Jules Dassin
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Did Jules Dassin initiate his string of studio produced films noirs, each of which has a strong element of social criticism, if not outright condemnation of 'the system?...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Did Jules Dassin initiate his string of studio produced films noirs, each of which has a strong element of social criticism, if not outright condemnation of 'the system?...
- 11/3/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Stars: Richard Conte, Valentina Cortese, Lee J. Cobb, Barbara Lawrence, Jack Oakie, Millard Mitchell, Joseph Pevney, Morris Carnovsky, Tamara Shayne | Written by A.I. Bezzerides | Directed by Jules Dassin
Jules Dassin’s Thieves’ Highway was released at a time when Noir was going strong, and fits the mould of what is expected of the genre. In truth though, it is something much different and much more human, providing the audience with an insight into the dirty tricks of market life controlled by mobsters.
In this Arrow Academy release we are introduced to A.I. Bezzerides world of crooks and fall guys where the nice guy is normally the fall guy. In this case Richard Conte plays Nick Garcos a soldier returning from the war to find his father crippled by mobster Mike Figlia (Lee J. Cobb) in a deal gone wrong. Looking for revenge Garcos sources some apples, taking them to the...
Jules Dassin’s Thieves’ Highway was released at a time when Noir was going strong, and fits the mould of what is expected of the genre. In truth though, it is something much different and much more human, providing the audience with an insight into the dirty tricks of market life controlled by mobsters.
In this Arrow Academy release we are introduced to A.I. Bezzerides world of crooks and fall guys where the nice guy is normally the fall guy. In this case Richard Conte plays Nick Garcos a soldier returning from the war to find his father crippled by mobster Mike Figlia (Lee J. Cobb) in a deal gone wrong. Looking for revenge Garcos sources some apples, taking them to the...
- 10/26/2015
- by Paul Metcalf
- Nerdly
Let's hear it for the great westerns -- not the Ford and Hawks classics, but the fascinating marginal gems that see The West in a different way. Do you like Sam Peckinpah? Robert Parrish's evocation of Texas and Mexico in the 1880s will be pleasantly familiar -- a testing ground of personal codes and shifting loyalties in a treacherous land. The Wonderful Country Savant Blu-ray Review Kl Studio Classics 1959 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 98 min. / Street Date September 29, 2015 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Robert Mitchum, Julie London, Pedro Armendariz, Gary Merrill, Jack Oakie, Albert Dekker, Charles McGraw, Leroy "Satchel" Paige. Cinematography Floyd Crosby Film Editor Michael Luciano Production Design Harry Horner Original Music Alex North Written by Robert Ardrey from the book by Tom Lea Produced by Chester Erskine Directed by Robert Parrish
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
This gem is as individual a western as any made in the 1950s, and a...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
This gem is as individual a western as any made in the 1950s, and a...
- 9/8/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
First Best Actor Oscar winner Emil Jannings and first Best Actress Oscar winner Janet Gaynor on TCM (photo: Emil Jannings in 'The Last Command') First Best Actor Academy Award winner Emil Jannings in The Last Command, first Best Actress Academy Award winner Janet Gaynor in Sunrise, and sisters Norma Talmadge and Constance Talmadge are a few of the silent era performers featured this evening on Turner Classic Movies, as TCM continues with its Silent Monday presentations. Starting at 5 p.m. Pt / 8 p.m. Et on November 17, 2014, get ready to check out several of the biggest movie stars of the 1920s. Following the Jean Negulesco-directed 1943 musical short Hit Parade of the Gay Nineties -- believe me, even the most rabid anti-gay bigot will be able to enjoy this one -- TCM will be showing Josef von Sternberg's The Last Command (1928) one of the two movies that earned...
- 11/18/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
E.A. Dupont had perhaps the most precipitous career trajectory of any German filmmaker of the silent years, plunging from the pinnacle of his native industry to the stinky depths of The Neanderthal Man (1953) in Hollywood. Supposedly the secret of his lack of success was an incident in 1939 when he was fired for slapping a bit player on the set of a Dead End Kids picture, and he spent a decade working as a talent agent (helped no doubt by his obvious sympathy for performers, ahem). It might be observed that if you're directing a Dead End Kids picture your career has already descended a few notches since your Ufa heyday.
Varieté (1925) was Dupont's breakthrough film, and today it's remembered more in film histories than it is actually seen: there's never been a DVD to my knowledge, and the copies drifting about in cyberspace are patchy and aged off-air recordings with...
Varieté (1925) was Dupont's breakthrough film, and today it's remembered more in film histories than it is actually seen: there's never been a DVD to my knowledge, and the copies drifting about in cyberspace are patchy and aged off-air recordings with...
- 9/19/2013
- by David Cairns
- MUBI
Paul Henreid: From Eleanor Parker to ‘The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse’ (photo: Paul Henreid and Eleanor Parker in ‘Between Two Worlds’) Paul Henreid returns this evening, as Turner Classic Movies’ Star of the Month of July 2013. In Of Human Bondage (1946), he stars in the old Leslie Howard role: a clubfooted medical student who falls for a ruthless waitress (Eleanor Parker, in the old Bette Davis role). Next on TCM, Henreid and Eleanor Parker are reunited in Between Two Worlds (1944), in which passengers aboard an ocean liner wonder where they are and where the hell (or heaven or purgatory) they’re going. Hollywood Canteen (1944) is a near-plotless, all-star showcase for Warner Bros.’ talent, a World War II morale-boosting follow-up to that studio’s Thank Your Lucky Stars, released the previous year. Last of the Buccaneers (1950) and Pirates of Tripoli (1955) are B pirate movies. The former is an uninspired affair,...
- 7/24/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Special 60th Anniversary Screening of Chaplin's Last Us-Made Film, with Presence of Two Cast Members
Charles Chaplin Limelight screening to feature Claire Bloom Charles Chaplin’s Limelight turns 60 this year. Honoring Chaplin’s last Us-made film, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present a 60th anniversary screening of Limelight on Wednesday, October 3, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. As an installment of the Jack Oakie Celebration of Comedy in Film — even though Limelight is sheer melodrama — the evening will feature Chaplin "discovery" Claire Bloom and actor Norman Lloyd, who has a supporting role in the film. (Photo: Claire Bloom, Charles Chaplin Limelight.) Set in the London music halls of [...]...
- 9/26/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Photo: Courtesy of the Technicolor Foundation for Cinema Heritage and Groupama Gan Foundation for Cinema
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present a rare look at the films of French comedian Pierre Étaix in its latest installment of the Jack Oakie Celebration of Comedy in Film, on Wednesday, November 16, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Hosted by film critic Leonard Maltin, .Pierre Étaix: The Laughter Returns. will feature Étaix in person followed by screenings of .Le Grand Amour. (.The Great Love,. 1969) and the Oscar®-winning short .Heureux Anniversaire. (Happy Anniversary, 1962) from new restorations.
Étaix is a clown, magician, illustrator and cabaret artist whose films recall the genius of Keaton, Chaplin and Lloyd. He worked with famed director Jacques Tati in various capacities on .Mon Oncle. (1958), then found an ideal collaborator for his own film projects in Jean-Claude Carrière.
Copyright entanglements have...
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present a rare look at the films of French comedian Pierre Étaix in its latest installment of the Jack Oakie Celebration of Comedy in Film, on Wednesday, November 16, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Hosted by film critic Leonard Maltin, .Pierre Étaix: The Laughter Returns. will feature Étaix in person followed by screenings of .Le Grand Amour. (.The Great Love,. 1969) and the Oscar®-winning short .Heureux Anniversaire. (Happy Anniversary, 1962) from new restorations.
Étaix is a clown, magician, illustrator and cabaret artist whose films recall the genius of Keaton, Chaplin and Lloyd. He worked with famed director Jacques Tati in various capacities on .Mon Oncle. (1958), then found an ideal collaborator for his own film projects in Jean-Claude Carrière.
Copyright entanglements have...
- 11/4/2011
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Claudette Colbert, Alla Nazimova, Marion Davies, Charles Boyer: Cinecon 2011 Thursday September 1 (photo: Alla Nazimova) 7:00 Hollywood Rhythm (1934) 7:10 Welcoming Remarks 7:15 Hollywood Story (1951) 77 min. Richard Conte, Julie Adams, Richard Egan. Dir: William Castle. 8:35 Q & A with Julie Adams 9:10 Blazing Days (1927) 60 min. Fred Humes. Dir: William Wyler. 10:20 In The Sweet Pie And Pie (1941) 18 min 10:40 She Had To Eat (1937) 75 min. Jack Haley, Rochelle Hudson, Eugene Pallette. Friday September 2 9:00 Signing Off (1936) 9:20 Moon Over Her Shoulder (1941) 68 min. Dan Dailey, Lynn Bari, John Sutton, Alan Mowbray. 10:40 The Active Life Of Dolly Of The Dailies (1914) 15 min. Mary Fuller. 10:55 Stronger Than Death (1920) 80 min. Alla Nazimova, Charles Bryant. Dir: Herbert Blaché, Charles Bryant, Robert Z. Leonard. 12:15 Lunch Break 1:45 Open Track (1916) 2:00 On The Night Stage (1915) 60 min. William S. Hart, Rhea Mitchell. Dir: Reginald Barker. 3:15 50 Miles From Broadway (1929) 23 min 3:45 Cinerama Adventure (2002). Dir: David Strohmaier. 5:18 Discussion...
- 9/2/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Linda Darnell Linda Darnell on TCM: A Letter To Three Wives, No Way Out Schedule (Et) and synopses from the TCM website: 6:00 Am Zero Hour! (1957) When a flight crew falls ill only man who can land the plane is afraid of flying. Dir: Hall Bartlett. Cast: Dana Andrews, Linda Darnell, Sterling Hayden. Bw-81 mins, Letterbox Format. 7:30 Am Sweet And Low Down (1944) Dir: Archie Mayo. Cast: Benny Goodman, Linda Darnell, Jack Oakie. Bw-76 mins. 9:00 Am Rise And Shine (1941) The college president head cheerleader and a gambling gangster try to keep a flunking football star in the game. Dir: Allan Dwan. Cast: Jack Oakie, George Murphy, Linda Darnell. Bw-88 mins. 10:45 Am Brigham Young (1940) Two young Mormons struggle to survive their people's journey to a new home in the West. Dir: Henry Hathaway. Cast: Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Dean Jagger. Bw-113 mins. 12:45 Pm Two Flags West (1950) A bitter...
- 8/27/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Joan Blondell on TCM: Dames, Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? Schedule (Et) and synopses from the TCM website: 6:00 Am The Reckless Hour (1931) A young innocent almost ruins her life for the love of an unfeeling cad. Dir: John Francis Dillon. Cast: Dorothy Mackaill, Conrad Nagel, H. B. Warner. Bw-71 mins. 7:15 Am Big City Blues (1932) A country boy finds love and heartache in New York City. Dir: Mervyn LeRoy. Cast: Joan Blondell, Eric Linden, Jobyna Howland. Bw-63 mins. 8:30 Am Central Park (1932) Small-town kids out to make it in the big city inadvertently get mixed up with gangsters. Dir: John G. Adolfi. Cast: Joan Blondell, Wallace Ford, Guy Kibbee. Bw-58 mins. 9:30 Am Lawyer Man (1933) Success corrupts a smooth-talking lawyer. Dir: William Dieterle. Cast: William Powell, Joan Blondell, David Landau. Bw-68 mins. 10:45 Am Traveling Saleslady (1935) A toothpaste tycoon's daughter joins his rival to teach him a lesson. Dir: Ray Enright.
- 8/24/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Lucille Ball, Easy to Wed Lucille Ball Centennial on TCM: Stage Door, Best Foot Forward Schedule (Et) and synopses from the TCM website: 6:00 Am Du Barry Was A Lady (1943) A night club employee dreams he's Louis Xv, and the star he idolizes is his lady love. Dir: Roy Del Ruth. Cast: Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Gene Kelly. C-101 mins. 8:00 Am Panama Lady (1939) An oil man forces a cabaret singer to work for him after she tries to rob him. Dir: Jack Hively. Cast: Lucille Ball, Allan Lane, Steffi Duna. Bw-65 mins. 9:30 Am Without Love (1945) A World War II housing shortage inspires a widow to propose a marriage of convenience with an inventor. Dir: Harold S. Bucquet. Cast: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Lucille Ball. Bw-111 mins. 11:30 Am Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949) An inept secretary goes to work for a bogus real estate firm thinking it's for real.
- 8/6/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Unlike Robert Taylor, who would have turned 100 today, or Ginger Rogers, whose centennial was last July 16, Lucille Ball is actually going to be remembered on the occasion of what would have been her 100th birthday this Saturday, August 6. Turner Classic Movies' "Summer Under the Stars" series continues with 14 Lucille Ball movies. All of them have been shown before on TCM. [Lucille Ball Movie Schedule.] As an actress working mostly at Rko (1935-42) and at MGM (1943-46), Lucille Ball has been a TCM regular, as the Time Warner library encompasses films made at those two studios. On Saturday, TCM will also show the United Artists' release Lured, a crime drama directed by Douglas Sirk, and co-starring George Sanders, and two comedies Ball made during her tenure at Columbia in the late '40s: Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949), co-starring William Holden, and The Fuller Brush Girl (1950), a reboot of The Fuller Brush Man (1948), which starred Red Skelton.
- 8/6/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Paulette Goddard, Modern Times Paulette Goddard on TCM Part I: Modern Times, Reap The Wild Wind I've never watched Alexander Korda's British-made An Ideal Husband, a 1948 adaptation (by Lajos Biro) of Oscar Wilde's play, but it should be at least worth a look. The respectable cast includes Michael Wilding, Diana Wynyard, C. Aubrey Smith, Hugh Williams, Constance Collier, and Glynis Johns. George Cukor's film version of Clare Boothe Luce's hilarious The Women ("officially" adapted by Anita Loos and Jane Murfin) is definitely worth numerous looks; once or twice or even three times isn't/aren't enough to catch the machine-gun dialogue spewed forth by the likes of Goddard, Rosalind Russell, Joan Crawford, Mary Boland, Phyllis Povah, Lucile Watson, et al. A big hit at the time, The Women actually ended up in the red because of its high cost. Norma Shearer, aka The Widow Thalberg, was the nominal star; curiously,...
- 8/2/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
The Great Dictator Directed by: Charles Chaplin Written by: Charles Chaplin Starring: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard and Jack Oakie While The Great Dictator may not be as iconic as Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times or The Gold Rush, it's certainly still a classic piece of filmmaking that demonstrates how a master of silent movies makes the transition into sync sound cinema. While not technically a part of the 'Tramp' series of films, Chaplin still manages to update and reuse his classic character, dropping him into a dark setting -- the Jewish ghetto circa 1939 -- not realizing just how dark the real life counterpart to this story was going to get in the coming years. The film opens in battle during World War I as Charlie Chaplin (playing an unnamed Jewish barber turned soldier) bumbles his way through various tasks on the battlefield. It's classic Chaplin that at first seems slightly...
- 6/3/2011
- by Jay C.
- FilmJunk
Chicago – Every time I’ve seen “The Great Dictator,” I’m amazed that it even exists. It is not only one of the great Charlie Chaplin’s most consistently funny films but it is a satirical masterpiece that is So daring that it’s amazing it even got made. It is a piece of slapstick comedy about World War II and Adolf Hitler. Think about that for one minute. Now, it was made in 1940 (a year before our entry into the war), but it was still a risky move to make a piece this politically and socially conscious and try and sell it to an audience who had grown accustomed to watching Charlie Chaplin fall down.
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
Now, of course, we can look back at Chaplin’s career now and realize that he was Always socially and politically conscious. “City Lights,” “Modern Times,” the very character of the Tramp...
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
Now, of course, we can look back at Chaplin’s career now and realize that he was Always socially and politically conscious. “City Lights,” “Modern Times,” the very character of the Tramp...
- 5/30/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Hitting movie theaters this weekend:
The Hangover Part II – Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms
Kung Fu Panda 2 – Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan
Movie of the Week
The Hangover Part II
The Stars: Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms
The Plot: Right after their infamous Las Vegas bachelor party, Phil, Stu, Alan, and Doug jet to Thailand for Stu’s wedding. Stu’s plan for a subdued pre-wedding brunch, however, goes seriously awry.
The Buzz: Like many wines and cheeses before him, Hangover II writer/director Todd Phillips has aged well. With Road Trip, his directorial debut, he made a film just funny enough to facilitate the production of his 2nd film, the far superior, Old School. From there Phillips helmed Starsky and Hutch, which was respected well enough, for what it was, before taking a major misstep with School for Scoundrels. Phillips bounced back big-time from his first flop,...
The Hangover Part II – Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms
Kung Fu Panda 2 – Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan
Movie of the Week
The Hangover Part II
The Stars: Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms
The Plot: Right after their infamous Las Vegas bachelor party, Phil, Stu, Alan, and Doug jet to Thailand for Stu’s wedding. Stu’s plan for a subdued pre-wedding brunch, however, goes seriously awry.
The Buzz: Like many wines and cheeses before him, Hangover II writer/director Todd Phillips has aged well. With Road Trip, his directorial debut, he made a film just funny enough to facilitate the production of his 2nd film, the far superior, Old School. From there Phillips helmed Starsky and Hutch, which was respected well enough, for what it was, before taking a major misstep with School for Scoundrels. Phillips bounced back big-time from his first flop,...
- 5/25/2011
- by Aaron Ruffcorn
- The Scorecard Review
DVD Playhouse: May 2011
By
Allen Gardner
Blow Out (Criterion) Brian De Palma’s greatest Hitchcock homage, with a dash of Antonioni thrown in for good measure. John Travolta gives one of his best turns as a sound-effects engineer who unwittingly records a political assassination, then finds himself hunted by a ruthless hitman (John Lithgow, a memorably creepy psycho) after saving the life of the kindly, albeit dim-witted call girl (Nancy Allen, excellent) who was with the deceased. Terrific blend of suspense and very black humor, perhaps De Palma’s finest hour as an auteur. Beautifully shot by Vilmos Zsigmond. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Interviews with De Palma, Allen, cameraman Garrett Brown; Photo gallery; De Palma’s 1967 feature Murder a la Mod; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 2.0 surround.
Kes (Criterion) Ken Loach’s landmark 1970 film is both a heart-rending portrait of adolescence, and a pointed socio-political commentary on life in the North of England.
By
Allen Gardner
Blow Out (Criterion) Brian De Palma’s greatest Hitchcock homage, with a dash of Antonioni thrown in for good measure. John Travolta gives one of his best turns as a sound-effects engineer who unwittingly records a political assassination, then finds himself hunted by a ruthless hitman (John Lithgow, a memorably creepy psycho) after saving the life of the kindly, albeit dim-witted call girl (Nancy Allen, excellent) who was with the deceased. Terrific blend of suspense and very black humor, perhaps De Palma’s finest hour as an auteur. Beautifully shot by Vilmos Zsigmond. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Interviews with De Palma, Allen, cameraman Garrett Brown; Photo gallery; De Palma’s 1967 feature Murder a la Mod; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 2.0 surround.
Kes (Criterion) Ken Loach’s landmark 1970 film is both a heart-rending portrait of adolescence, and a pointed socio-political commentary on life in the North of England.
- 5/9/2011
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Child radio star and the voice of Disney's heroine Cinderella
For the American singer Ilene Woods, it was a job of no particular consequence: to record, as a favour to friends, a few demo tapes of songs they were writing for a Walt Disney cartoon film. But the session would lead to her voice being forever associated with one of Disney's enduring heroines, Cinderella.
In 1948, Mack David and Jerry Livingstone asked Woods to record the songs they were writing for a planned animated feature based on the fairytale Cinderella. Woods recorded the Fairy Godmother's magic song, Bibbidi-bobbiddi-boo and Cinderella's songs, A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes and So This Is Love.
Disney had been auditioning actors to voice his new screen heroine and had rejected between 300 and 400 applicants. When he heard Woods's tapes, he declared Cinderella to have been found and offered her the role. Woods, who...
For the American singer Ilene Woods, it was a job of no particular consequence: to record, as a favour to friends, a few demo tapes of songs they were writing for a Walt Disney cartoon film. But the session would lead to her voice being forever associated with one of Disney's enduring heroines, Cinderella.
In 1948, Mack David and Jerry Livingstone asked Woods to record the songs they were writing for a planned animated feature based on the fairytale Cinderella. Woods recorded the Fairy Godmother's magic song, Bibbidi-bobbiddi-boo and Cinderella's songs, A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes and So This Is Love.
Disney had been auditioning actors to voice his new screen heroine and had rejected between 300 and 400 applicants. When he heard Woods's tapes, he declared Cinderella to have been found and offered her the role. Woods, who...
- 7/19/2010
- The Guardian - Film News
The IMDb250. A list of the top 250 films as ranked by the users of the biggest Internet movie site on the web. It is based upon the ratings provided by the users of the Internet Movie Database, which number into the millions. As such, it’s a perfect representation of the opinions of the movie masses, and arguably the most comprehensive ranking system on the Internet.
It’s because of this that we at HeyUGuys (and in this case we is myself and Gary) have decided to set ourselves a project. To watch and review all 250 movies on the list. We’ve frozen the list as of January 1st of this year. It’s not as simple as it sounds, we are watching them all in one year, 125 each.
This is our 24th update, my next five films watched for the project. You can find all our previous week’s updates here.
It’s because of this that we at HeyUGuys (and in this case we is myself and Gary) have decided to set ourselves a project. To watch and review all 250 movies on the list. We’ve frozen the list as of January 1st of this year. It’s not as simple as it sounds, we are watching them all in one year, 125 each.
This is our 24th update, my next five films watched for the project. You can find all our previous week’s updates here.
- 7/5/2010
- by Gary Phillips
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Hollywood and Broadway star whose family life inspired the musical Gypsy
Those who know the gorgeously gaudy Jule Styne/Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical Gypsy (1959) will remember the refrain of "my name is June, what's yours?" addressed to the audience by the curly-haired child performer. "Baby" June was based on June Havoc, who has died aged 97, and the show was inspired by her early days in Us vaudeville with her "monstrous" stage mother and older sister Rose Louise, who became Gypsy Rose Lee, the famous stripper.
"I think Gypsy was one of the most smashing shows I've seen in my life," Havoc once told me. "But very little to do with fact. My mother was not such a monster. Few parents who had a child who, at the age of two, stood on her toes and danced every time she heard music, could resist putting her forward. Particularly if the child was happy doing it.
Those who know the gorgeously gaudy Jule Styne/Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical Gypsy (1959) will remember the refrain of "my name is June, what's yours?" addressed to the audience by the curly-haired child performer. "Baby" June was based on June Havoc, who has died aged 97, and the show was inspired by her early days in Us vaudeville with her "monstrous" stage mother and older sister Rose Louise, who became Gypsy Rose Lee, the famous stripper.
"I think Gypsy was one of the most smashing shows I've seen in my life," Havoc once told me. "But very little to do with fact. My mother was not such a monster. Few parents who had a child who, at the age of two, stood on her toes and danced every time she heard music, could resist putting her forward. Particularly if the child was happy doing it.
- 3/30/2010
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
With the 80th anniversary of USC's School of Cinematic Arts imminent, industry benefactors have been lining up to support the institution's expansion.
Fox Entertainment Group, Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., the Fran and Ray Stark Foundation, the Dana and Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli Foundation and Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg are among the donors that have ponied up to support construction of the school's new campus, which USC hopes to complete next year.
Since 2006, fundraisers have accumulated nearly $125 million of the $175 million needed to finish the state-of-the-art project.
Alumni including John August, Ashley and David Kramer, Peter Segal, Stacey Sher and Jana and Stephen Sommers also have contributed.
George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg will present a tour of the new campus March 29 during a news conference with Sca dean Elizabeth Daley and USC president Steven Sample.
"We are incredibly proud of our close and valued ties to the entertainment industry,...
Fox Entertainment Group, Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., the Fran and Ray Stark Foundation, the Dana and Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli Foundation and Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg are among the donors that have ponied up to support construction of the school's new campus, which USC hopes to complete next year.
Since 2006, fundraisers have accumulated nearly $125 million of the $175 million needed to finish the state-of-the-art project.
Alumni including John August, Ashley and David Kramer, Peter Segal, Stacey Sher and Jana and Stephen Sommers also have contributed.
George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg will present a tour of the new campus March 29 during a news conference with Sca dean Elizabeth Daley and USC president Steven Sample.
"We are incredibly proud of our close and valued ties to the entertainment industry,...
- 3/18/2009
- by By Jay A. Fernandez
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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