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No more enjoyable conversation grudge match can be had than pitting James Dean against Marlon Brando in a Hollywood Heartthrob showdown. Which do prefer? The rough, raw honesty of Brando in László Benedek's "The Wild One," wherein he plays a humming, human motorcycle engine, tanked up on erotic, rebellious energy and living to subvert paradigms and dismiss 1950s squareness? Or the brooding, poetic angst of Dean in Nicholas Ray's "Rebel Without a Cause," a sensitive, mature soul -- even a little kooky -- who may sometimes let pride get the better of him, but who would be content to form his own blissful, star-gazing queer polycule with a pair of classmates. 

Each of the actors was also sexually open at a time when queerness was notoriously repressed and pilloried; remember when Rock Hudson and Liberace were "ladies men"? Commonly attributed to Dean is the quote "No, I'm not homosexual.

Ever since features such as Dennis Hopper’s “Easy Rider” or László Benedek’s “The Wild One“, the image of the motorcycle is closely connected to notions like freedom, independence and rebellion. It has also sparked numerous clubs worldwide dedicated to the motorbike, a specific brand and, of course, its rider too, who almost feels like a modern-day cowboy in a way. Naturally, the cult surrounding motorcycles would also reach Japan, with many of its most famous clubs originating in the 1980s. In his 1986 feature “His Motorbike, Her Island” director Nobuhiko Obayashi would present his own approach to the various associations to the motorbike, what kind of person rides one and to what ends the longing for freedom would lead someone.

on Terracotta

While balancing his studies at music school and his part-time-job as a messenger, Ko (Riki Takeuchi) still finds plenty of time riding his motorcycle,...

Port of New York

Written by Eugene Ling

Directed by Lazlo Benedek

U.S.A., 1949

Ports, much like airports and border crosses, are the among the most important gates through which returning citizens, visitors and imported goods much pass in order to step onto a territory’s soil. The level of security associated with such to and fro activity is unfathomable, ranging from the verification of travellers identification pieces to the inspection of whatever goods said arrivals want to bring with them into the new country or state. Just ask New York customs agent Jim Flannery (Richard Rober), tasked with investigating the sudden disappearance of drugs originally intended for medicinal use. Enter narcotics officer Michael Waters (Scott Brady) who, together with Jim Flannery, is on the prowl for the stolen goods. A suspect presumed to be involved with the clandestine operation, Toni Cardell (K.T. Stevens) is pressured into confessing critical information,...

Hey Johnny, what are you rebelling against?

There's probably some conflation of Laslo Benedek's The Wild One (1953)--coming out for the first time on blu-ray--and Nicholas Ray's (superior) Rebel Without a Cause (1955) because of this famous exchange. A young woman, enjoying the antics of the Black Rebels Motorcycle Club (B.R.M.C.), asks Johnny (Marlon Brando), the ringleader, what they're rebelling against to which Johnny replies, "Whadya got?" The comparison is an interesting one. While James Dean is the height of 50's cool off screen, in Rebel Without a Cause, he plays a whiney youth in the throws of a terrible case of full-blown angst, having to deal with alienation and social phenomena he's not ready for. Why it was Dean that became the icon, despite making only three major films before he died, isn't obvious. Brando's Johnny, however, is what icons are made of with his black leather jacket,...

Actor and director who brought dark good looks and a commanding presence to his roles

Austrian by birth, Swiss by circumstance and international by reputation, Maximilian Schell, who has died aged 83, was a distinguished actor, director, writer and producer. However, he will be best remembered as an actor, especially for his Oscar-winning performance in Stanley Kramer's Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) – an early highlight among scores of television and movie appearances. He also directed opera, worked tirelessly in the theatre and made six feature films, including Marlene (1984) - a tantalising portrait of Dietrich, his co-star in Judgment, who is heard being interviewed but not seen, except in movie extracts.

Schell courted controversy and much of his work, including The Pedestrian (1973), dealt with the second world war, its attendant crimes and the notion of collective guilt. In 1990, when he was offered a special award for his contributions to German film, he refused to accept it.

Linda Darnell, Ann Sothern, Jeanne Crain, A Letter to Three Wives DGA Awards vs. Academy Awards Pt.2: Foreign, Small, Controversial Movies Have Better Luck at the Oscars Since pre-1970 Directors Guild Award finalists often consisted of more than five directors, it was impossible to get an exact match for the DGA's and the Academy's lists of nominees. In the list below, the years before 1970 include DGA finalists (DGA) who didn't receive an Academy Award nod and, if applicable, those Academy Award-nominated directors (AMPAS) not found in the — usually much lengthier — DGA list. The label "DGA/AMPAS" means the directors in question received nominations for both the DGA Award and the Academy Award. The DGA Awards vs. Academy Awards list below goes from 1948 (the DGA Awards' first year) to 1952. Follow-up posts will cover the ensuing decades. The number in parentheses next to "DGA" indicates that year's number of DGA finalists if other than five.

Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, A Streetcar Named Desire Marlon Brando Movies on TCM: The Wild One, Julius Caesar, The Chase Schedule (Et) and synopses from the TCM website: 6:00 Am The Fugitive Kind (1960) A drifter ignites passions among the women of a Mississippi town. Dir: Sidney Lumet. Cast: Marlon Brando, Anna Magnani, Joanne Woodward. Bw-121 mins, Letterbox Format 8:15 Am Julius Caesar (1953) An all-star adaptation of Shakespeare's classic about Julius Caesar's assassination and its aftermath. Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Cast: John Doucette, George Macready, Michael Pate. Bw-121 mins. 10:30 Am The Chase (1966) A convict's escape ignites passions in his hometown. Dir: Arthur Penn. Cast: Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, Robert Redford. C-133 mins, Letterbox Format 1:00 Pm Reflections In A Golden Eye (1967) A military officer becomes obsessed with an enlisted man. Dir: John Huston. Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Marlon Brando, Brian Keith. C-109 mins, Letterbox Format 3:00 Pm Teahouse Of The...

Marlon Brando is the first star in the 2011 edition of Turner Classic Movies' annual Summer Under the Stars series, which kicks off August 1. [Marlon Brando Movie Schedule.] Unfortunately, none of the 11 scheduled Marlon Brando movies is a TCM premiere; in fact, nearly all of them were shown on Brando Day three years ago. In other words, don't expect The Island of Dr. Moreau, Morituri, A Bedtime Story, Burn!, A Dry White Season, or The Appaloosa. And certainly no frolicking with Maria Schneider in Last Tango in Paris. That's too bad. But then again, those who would like to check out Julius Caesar for the 118th time will be able to do so. And perhaps they won't be sorry, as this great-looking Joseph L. Mankiewicz effort remains one of the best-liked film adaptations of a Shakespeare play. Those not into Shakespeare can take a look at The Fugitive Kind and A Streetcar Named Desire, both from Tennessee Williams' plays.

Mary Murphy, Marlon Brando, The Wild One Mary Murphy, best remembered as motorcycle gang leader Marlon Brando's small-town love interest in The Wild One, died of heart disease May 4 at her home in Beverly Hills. She was 80. Directed by Laslo Benedek, The Wild One was a notch above B fare merely as a result of Brando's presence, which guaranteed prestige to his vehicles following his success in Elia Kazan's A Streetcar Named Desire in 1951. Even so, The Wild One is risible, what with actors who looked (at least) 35 trying to pass for rebellious, youthful bikers while all but holding hostage [...]...

Per Oscarsson, Hunger The year of 2011 begins with a likely tragedy for the movie world: According to reports, a Friday, Dec. 31, house fire may have killed veteran Swedish actor Per Oscarsson, 83, winner of the Best Actor award at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival for his performance as a late-19th century, mentally unbalanced, starving writer in Henning Carlsen's Hunger. The remains of one person were found amid the ashes of the house located outside the town of Skara in southwest Sweden. It's still unclear if those are Oscarsson's or, perhaps, his 67-year-old wife Kia Ostling's. Both had been reported missing by relatives. Born in Stockholm on Jan. 28, 1927, Oscarsson appeared numerous stage productions (including the title role in Hamlet), nearly 90 motion pictures, and 50 television productions. Among his best-known films are Åke Falck's Adam and Eva (1963), Laslo Benedek's The Night Visitor (1971), Jan Troell's Oscar-nominated The New [...]...

Nov 08, 2010

In an overheated moment part-way through Laslo Benedek's 1953 film The Wild One, Johnny (Marlon Brando) responds to the question "What are you rebelling against?" with "Watcha got?" That film detailed the restless rebellion of two motorcycle gangs, one bent on havoc, the other on less violent forms of social rebellion, and in Johnny lay the seed of many a Hollywood rebel, the pose of many an aspiring Hollywood actor, and the essence of a new breed of teenager. The following year, two films were released that immediately secured a position for their star ...Read more at MovieRetriever.com...

Elegant and charming supporting actor with more than 200 credits over a 70-year career

Kevin McCarthy, who has died aged 96, notched up more than 70 years as a working actor on stage and screen, with more than 200 film and TV credits. However mundane the material, it was usually enhanced by his lazy charm and natural elegance, his intriguing baritone voice and unconventional good looks – all attributes that might well have led him down the political path of his cousin, senator Eugene McCarthy. As it happened, he preferred to play politicians rather than be one.

He received his first screen credit in Laslo Benedek's version of Death of a Salesman (1951). McCarthy had previously played Biff, one of Willy Loman's disillusioned sons, in the London production of Arthur Miller's play, in 1949. By the time of the movie, he was a youthful-looking 37, with considerable stage experience. Resuming the role of Biff, he held...

By SAÏDEH Pakravan - September 14, 2010

That would be Kevin McCarthy who left us last Saturday. Although he never made it to the top tier of leading men, at least twice in his long acting life McCarthy created unforgettable characters. The first was in the 1949 Arthur Miller play, “Death of a Salesman” where he reprised his Broadway role in the Laslo Benedek film of the same name. He plays Biff Loman, a small-time loser who can never meet his father’s expectations. The father, of course, played by the formidable Fredric March as traveling salesman Willy Loman, adores his son through whom he hoped to vicariously fulfill his own dreams. No such thing happened and they both remain failures, with Loman unable to hide from his son his profound disappointment bordering on contempt. For this supporting role, McCarthy was nominated for an Academy Award.

The other character he will be remembered as is Dr.

There is something insanely romantic about a movie on a city rooftop. And I’m not just talking taking a hold of your girl’s hand. It’s the night air, the hint nostalgia for drive-in movies, and hopefully stars in the sky as well as the screen.

Here is Portland’s schedule thanks to the Northwest Film Center …

The Northwest Film Center presents: Top Down: Rooftop Films July 16-August 27 This summer the Northwest Film Center’s Top Down rooftop cinema event is back for a fifth season. Warm starry nights in downtown Portland are filled with entertaining films, culinary treats, live music and spectacular city views, all atop the panoramic parking rooftop at the Hotel deLuxe (Sw 15th at Yamhill). The evenings begin at 8pm with local music and refreshments. Gracie’s Restaurant will offer easy-to-juggle meals, snacks and cocktails, and additional beverages will be available from Tazo and BridgePort Brewing.