Karen's Movies

For Broadway Lovers Only: "Every Little Step"

2010-02-13T03:12:00.003-06:00

Technically, the movie's release date is listed as 2008 because that is when it ran in its first film festival in Japan. Since then, and throughout 2009 it seems that it's theatrical showings have been limited to other film festivals and VERY very limited runs. Now however, it is out on DVD so the unconnected and the geographically challenged can see it.

Ah - but what is it? It is the best "behind the scenes" show biz documentary I have ever seen with the possible exception of the making of the "Company" album. Specifically, it is the story of the musical "A Chorus Line". The initial and primary focus is the process of casting a revival of the musical. Many of the principals involved in this production (producer, Director, choreographer) were involved in the original show. Therefore, they refer to, and draw from the original in their interviews. this gives the film director''s the stepping off place to examine the unique circumstances that brought "A Chorus Line" to Broadway the first time, including the singular genius of Michael Bennett, and of course the loss of that genius way too young. We also get to hear much of the original tapes of Michael's dancer friends just sitting around talking, which form the basis of the show.

I shouldn't say that it is only for broadway lovers because this is different from just sitting through an entire musical. It's far more about the process. We get bits of songs and dances, and acting monologues. You can decide yourself whether the creative team casts the best people. On a more gossipy level you get the first discussion I've ever heard of the brief marriage between Donna McKechnie and the already out of the closet Michael Bennet. Despite it's brief duration people still wonder why?...

The link in the header will take you to the official website, and I've pasted the main credits from IMDB below:

Directed by

Adam Del Deo
James D. Stern

Cast (in alphabetical order)

Bob Avian	...	Himself
Michael Bennett	...	Himself (archive footage)
Charlotte d'Amboise	...	Herself
Jacques d'Amboise	...	Himself
Mara Davi	...	Herself
Natascia Diaz	...	Herself
Ramon Flowers	...	Dancer
Jessica Lee Goldyn	...	Herself
Marvin Hamlisch	...	Himself
Megan Larche	...	Herself
Baayork Lee	...	Herself
J. Elaine Marcos	...	Herself
David Marquez	...	Himself
Donna McKechnie	...	Herself
Heather Parcells	...	Herself
Meredith Patterson	...	Herself
Alisan Porter	...	Herself
Rachelle Rakhttp://www.sonyclassics.cm/everylittlestep/	...	Herself
German Santiago	...	Himself
Nikki Snelson	...	Herself
Yuka Takara	...	Herself
	...


Jason Tam	...	Himself
Chryssie Whitehead	...	Herself
Tyce Diorio	...	Himself (uncredited)
Jamie Harris	...	Himself (uncredited)
Amy Spanger	...	Herself (uncredited)

Produced by
John Breglio	....	executive producer
Christopher C. Chen	....	executive producer
Adam Del Deo	....	producer
Douglas Hansen	....	executive producer
Linda Karen Hirsch	....	field producer
Alex LaGory	....	associate producer
Eleanor Nett	....	co-producer
Lauren Sherman	....	field producer
James D. Stern	....	producer

Original Music by
Jane Antonia Cornish
Marvin Hamlisch

Nora Ephron: My 11 Favorite Romantic Movies - Page 1 - The Daily Beast

2010-02-12T22:05:00.000-06:00

Nora Ephron: My 11 Favorite Romantic Movies - Page 1 - The Daily Beast

OOOOPS! again - this link will take you to page one.

Nora Ephron: My 11 Favorite Romantic Comedies - Page 2 - The Daily Beast

2010-02-12T21:58:00.000-06:00

Nora Ephron: My 11 Favorite Romantic Comedies - Page 2 - The Daily Beast

Here's the proper link for the article by Nora Ephron. Excellent list of romantic movies.

Nora Ephron: My 11 Favorite Romantic Comedies - The Daily Beast

2010-02-12T15:49:00.002-06:00

I couldn't have said it better myself. Any of these movies would be a good choice whether you have a date for Valentine's day or don't.

For Valentine's Day, the director and screenwriter picks her favorite romantic comedies—WATCH VIDEO of her selections, from The Lady Vanishes to Sense & Sensibility.

Posted using ShareThis

Hitler's Gifts to Hollywood - Part one

2009-01-05T16:44:00.007-06:00

I've decided to do a longer and broader post than usual since it has been so long since I posted. The other day I saw a wonderful special on PBS about the many talented people from the German and other European film communities who were forced to emmigrate in the 30s and eventually wound up in Hollywood bringing with them a boom of creativity which probably cemented Hollywood as the world capital of film. The post-war United States benifitted immeasurably from the pre- and post-war brain drain from Europe in many fields, of course (think Albert Einstein) but Hollywood was particularly lucky - due in part- to the large number of Jews involved in early movie-making.
Some would have ended up in Hollywood anyway, no doubt Marlene Dietrich (not Jewish but vehemently anti-Nazi) would have come here anyway, but many others, particularly the writers only left because the situation was intolerable. Billy Wilder, who will be remembered as one of the best writer/directors ever pointed out in this special how difficult it is to change countries and consequently languages as a writer when language is your primary tool.

At any rate, here is a short list of the gifts given to us by Adolph and some of their best films. Rather than try to include IMDB details from the individual films I've included links to the IMDB list of credits for each individual. I've divided this into two parts because it is simply too long to post in one day.

Fritz Lang - Director: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000485/

Lang became world famous in movie circles with the release of "M" in Germany in 1931. That movie, starring Peter Lorre as a serial killer of children, remains remarkably riveting today. However, since we are focussing on the American part of these people's careers, I recommend "Fury" from 1936. The movie starts Spencer Tracy as a man wrongly accused of murder who is attacked in his jail cell by an angry out of control mob. Sylvia Sidney plays his fiance and those who only know of her from her later "Beetle Juice" era performances will be amazed by how beautiful she was in her younger days. The movie explores the need to hold individuals accountable for their actions, even when carried away by mob sentiment. The message of the film is still relevant, the acting is excellent and the directing keeps things very interesting. The use of light and shadow by Lang and his contemporaries from Germany is credited with creating the great American film genre known as "Film Noir". Some great examples of this genre are later Lang movies: "Scarlett Street" (1945) and "Clash by Night" (1952).

Peter Lorre - Actor: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000048/

Thanks to his distinctive voice and appearance, I think Peter Lorre's name is known to people who have never seen him in a movie. But hopefully most of you have at least seen him in "Casablanca". As noted above, his first starring film role was as a serial killer in "M" in Germany. That success may well have led to Hollywood without Adolph's help, but, given that Lorre's birth name was Laszlo Lowenstein, the Nazi rise to power made leaving Germany and eventually leaving Europe necessary. He was first cast as a b-movie "detective" "Mr. Moto" but with "Casablanca" and "The Maltese Falcon" (1941) he was able to graduate to the a-list of character actors. I recommend "The Maltese Falcon" because I assume you have seen Casablanca and Falcon is a "must see" movie. In many ways the stylized dialogue makes it seem dated, so don't go in expecting a "timeless" experience. However, everything you see in the movie that may now seem cliche was probably invented for that film. Bogart is awesome as Sam Spade and the supporting cast is first rate. The story, for those who don't know, is about private detective, Sam Spade and his partner Miles Archer who are hired by a woman to follow a man named "Thursby" whom she claims has run off with her younger sister. They take the job, but Spade makes it clear he doesn't trust the woman. Miles is killed that night while following Thursby. In trying to find out who killed him Spade gets to the bottom of the woman's secrets and those of a whole cast of ne'er do wells with whom she is mixed up. It turns out that they are all after a statue of a bird that though currently covered in lead, is supposed to be encased with priceless jewels underneath. A true American Classic.

Marlene Dietrich - Actress: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000485/

Dietrich is one who undoubtedly would have come to Hollywood without Hitler, but there is no question that she stayed longer because of Adolph. In fact I found out just a few years ago what an active anti-nazi she was. Hitler begged her to come back to Germany after he took power (having developed a crush on her when seeing her first starring role in "The Blue Angel" (1930). She refused so disrespectfully that her films were banned in Germany for the duration of the "Third Reich". I recommend "Seven Sinners" (1940) with co-star John Wayne. She plays a "night club singer" who has been banned from several south Asian countries because she incited riots among her male fans. Wayne plays a Navy officer who falls in love despite his own and his superiors concerns about her "character". It's far from deep movie making, but it's fun and she looks amazing.

Paul Henreid - Actor: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002134/

Though not Jewish, Austrian-born Henreid was forced to emigrate after refusing to pledge his loyalty to the Nazi's as an actor in Germany. After two small roles in 1941 he starred in two of his best known pictures in 1942: "Casablanca" and my recommendation "Now Voyager". Chances are you have seen at least one scene from "Now Voyager" without knowing what it was, namely the scene when Henreid lights two cigarettes at once and hands one to Bette Davis. Voyager is a WONDERFULLY sappy love story about Charlotte Vale - a study in lack of self-esteem who's been beaten down by her mother her whole life. On the verge of a "nervous breakdown" she is sent to a "sanitorium" run by Claude Rains to recover. She emerges a new woman, but still painfully shy and sets sail on a long cruise where she meets Henreid and they fall in love. Unfortunately Henried is married (to someone we never have ANY sympathy for) so the course of this true love is far from smooth. All in all a really great rainy afternoon kind of movie.

S. Z. Sakall - Actor: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0757064/

You probably don't recognize his name but one look at his picture and you will think - Oh, yeah, that guy. He was in 43 movies from his first in Hollywood, "It's a Date" (1940) and his last in 1954. That's a LOT of movies in 14 years. Also in "Casablanca" as Karl the waiter, he was known in Hollywood as "cuddles" because apparently he was so cuddly! I recommend "Christmas in Connecticut" (1945) starring Barbara Stanwyck. Stanwyck plays a Martha Stewart type who is in fact a fraud. Despite having written a household hints column for years she has no "homemaking" skills at all, is not married and does not have a child. When a sailor who has been rescued after several days stranded at sea expresses a desire for an old-fashioned Christmas, her publisher, who has no idea she is a fraud decides he will be invited to her farm for the holidays. Stanwyck and her editor must get married, borrow a baby and a farm in short order and start putting on a show. They bring "cuddles" aka "Felix" their favorite neighborhood chef along as her alleged uncle so that he can cook all the recipes she has printed in her column. It's one of those silly love stories from the 40s that make no real sense, but are delightful to watch.

Fred Zinneman - Director: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0003593/

Zinneman's transition to Hollywood took longer than some of the others. Most of his early movies were of the B- variety. Then in 1952 he made a little western called "High Noon" and from then on basically every movie he made was a classic. I recommend "High Noon" as it is another "must see" film. For those who don't know, the movie opens with the wedding of Gary Cooper, sheriff Will Kane to Grace Kelly, pacifist Quaker. (How they ended up together in the first place given this conflict is never explained). The intent is for Cooper to retire and the for the couple to move to their new farm. When they are informed immediately following the wedding that a convict that Will had put away, and who had vowed revenge against him, has been released and will be arriving on the Noon train, this transition takes on new urgency. Just out of town, however, Kane decides that running is pointless, the con will just pursue him to the farm where he would be defenseless so he returns to town. He is confident that the town's inhabitants with whom he has always been very popular will stand with him against the con and his equally violent brothers, but it seems he over-estimates them. It is the ultimate story of the need to stand up for what is right against bullies. It is briliantly directed and keeps you on the edge of your seat as the clock moves toward . . . high nooon.

More Later

Election Week - Day 3: "The Manchurian Candidate" (1962)http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056218/

2008-10-31T02:23:00.006-05:00

See the original first. The second one isn't bad, but the orignal was an original and the second was a copy - clearly the original is better art. Plus, we know Liev Schriber, we like him, he's a great actor, but let's be honest - he's no Frank Sinatra aka Chairman of the Board.

Lawrence Harvey, the actor playing the Candidate of the title, is not nearly as famous now as he was when he made the movie, but his co-stars have become much more famous. In 1962 Sinatra's original career was waning as the dreaded "rock & roll" was taking over everything. And he wasn't yet the Icon, the "Chairman of the Board" that he was in the 80s and 90s. Meanwhile Angela Landsbury was actually coming to the end of her 1st Act career in the Movies, but still had her most impressive second act as a Broadway Star, of Musicals, no less - specifically her star-turns in Mame and Sweeney Todd. All of this makes for a remarkable capable cast.

The story, for those who don't know, centers around a platoon of soldiers who were captured in Korea but managed to escape due to the bravery of Sergeant Raymond Shaw, who is awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor as a result. His mother, Angela Lansbury cannot wait to use her son's honor to promote the career of her doltish, Senator Husband, a clear Joe McCarthy facsimile. Raymond, however, cannot stand his mother or his stepfather and wants nothing to do with them, taking a job with a well respected journalist instead.

Meanwhile, Major Bennet Marco, the commanding officer of the lost patrol, is having lots of nightmares in which the soldier they lost on the mission wasn't killed in action as he remembers when he is awake, but is instead executed by Raymond Shaw who seems to be hypnotized by their commie captors. Unfortunatelly these nightmares are insufficient to convince "the brass" that they should take another look at a mission that had already been demmed a success and for which a medal of honor was awarded. Marco is sent away to "rest" at which time he meets Janet Leigh and they begin one of those instant romances that, I'm fairly sure only exist in the movies.

At any rate, some stilted & dated language notwithstanding it's a great movie to watch.

Directed by
John Frankenheimer

Writing credits
Richard Condon		(novel)
George Axelrod		(screenplay)
John Frankenheimer		uncredited

Cast (in credits order) verified as complete

Frank Sinatra	...	Maj. Bennett Marco
Laurence Harvey	...	Raymond Shaw
Janet Leigh	...	Eugenie Rose Chaney
Angela Lansbury	...	Mrs. Iselin
Henry Silva	...	Chunjin
James Gregory	...	Sen. John Yerkes Iselin
Leslie Parrish	...	Jocelyn Jordan
John McGiver	...	Sen. Thomas Jordan
Khigh Dhiegh	...	Dr. Yen Lo
James Edwards	...	Cpl. Allen Melvin
Douglas Henderson	...	Col. Milt
Albert Paulsen	...	Zilkov
Barry Kelley	...	Secretary of Defense
Lloyd Corrigan	...	Holborn Gaines
Madame Spivy	...	Female Berezovo

Election Week - Day Two: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

2008-10-30T00:16:00.003-05:00

Everyone has heard of this movie, but I find that a frightening percentage have never actually seen it. I'm inserting it here to counter the negativity of "The Candidate" plus it really is THE iconic movie about American Politics. It was among the fabled releases of 1939 - still generally agreed to be the best year ever for Hollywood movies. It's Frank Capra - so you can pretty much count on a happy ending for this one.

The movie centers around Mr. Jeff Smith (Jimmy Stewart) who is appointed to the Senate after the junior Senator from an un-named western state dies. He's chosen because he's a local hero who is seen as too green to object to some of the slimier deals that already exist between the head of the State's political "machine" (Edward Arnold), the State's bumbling Governor and the other Senator from the State (Adolph Menjou). The very wise secretary of the dead Senator (the AWESOME Jean Arthur) is ordered to babysit Jeff Smith and be sure he doesn't get into any trouble - or uncover any trouble for the public. Instead she becomes so disgusted with her job and feels so sorry for this sap that she "put him wise" as only the hard charging broad from a movie in the 30s could do. Jeff decides to fight and stand up for the people (hardly a surprise given his resume). His fight culminates in the famous filibuster scene - can you imagine someone putting a filibuster scene in a movie today!

It's a sadly still relevant picture of what can happen when Washington power combines with media and corporate power. Anyone who thinks that Fox news or the "liberal mainstream media" invented media slant will have their eyes opened. It's a great movie. Trust me - there is a reason it's ranked 26th on the AFI - top 100 movies list.

Directed by
Frank Capra

Writing credits
Lewis R. Foster		(story)
Sidney Buchman		(screenplay)

Cast (in credits order) verified as complete

Jean Arthur	...	Clarissa Saunders
James Stewart	...	Jefferson Smith
Claude Rains	...	Sen. Joseph Harrison Paine
Edward Arnold	...	Jim Taylor
Guy Kibbee	...	Gov. Hubert 'Happy' Hopper
Thomas Mitchell	...	Diz Moore
Eugene Pallette	...	Chick McGann
Beulah Bondi	...	Ma Smith
H.B. Warner	...	Sen. Agnew (Senate Majority Leader)
Harry Carey	...	President of the Senate
Astrid Allwyn	...	Susan Paine
Ruth Donnelly	...	Emma Hopper
Grant Mitchell	...	Sen. MacPherson (Privileges and Elections Committee)
Porter Hall	...	Sen. Monroe
Pierre Watkin	...	Sen. Barnes (Senate Minority Leader)
Charles Lane	...	Nosey newsman
William Demarest	...	Bill Griffith (at station)
Dick Elliott	...	Carl Cook (at station)
Billy Watson	...	Peter Hopper
Delmar Watson	...	Jimmie Hopper
Johnny Russell	...	Otis Hopper (as John Russell)
Harry Watson	...	Hopper boy
Garry Watson	...	Hopper boy (as Gary Watson)
Larry Simms	...	Hopper boy (as Baby Dumpling)
H.V. Kaltenborn	...	Himself (broadcaster)

Election Week Day One - "The Candidate" (1972)

2008-10-29T02:31:00.005-05:00

In case you aren't getting enough of the nasty side of politics from the news, I've decided to feature a different political movie each day until the election. I have to say that I noticed in mulling over which movies to feature that Hollywood has not been kind to Washington. I'm starting with one of the harshest. The Candidate stars Robert Redford as Bill McKay, an idealistic civil rights lawyer who fights for the downtrodden - a truly GREAT guy. He is persuaded to run for the Senate against an apparently unbeatable Republican. He figures he will lose but he will be able to bring attention to the issues that concern him. The rest of the movie is the starkest depiction about how a desire to win can cause someone to compromise their values so slowly they hardly notice . . . util they are unrecognizable.

It's not as depressing as that sounds it is really fascinating. Moreover, Redford and the other able performers are so good it is well worth seeing. I haven't seen this one in awhile, but I have a horrible feeling that it will seem very tame in the year of "he's a socialist who pals around with terrorists."

Directed by
Michael Ritchie

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jeremy Larner		writer

Cast (in credits order) complete, awaiting verification

Robert Redford	...	Bill McKay
Peter Boyle	...	Lucas
Melvyn Douglas	...	John J. McKay
Don Porter	...	Jarmon
Allen Garfield	...	Klein
Karen Carlson	...	Nancy
Quinn K. Redeker	...	Jenkin (as Quinn Redeker)
Morgan Upton	...	Henderson
Michael Lerner	...	Corliss
Kenneth Tobey	...	Starkey
Chris Prey	...	David
Joe Miksak	...	Neil Atkinson
Jenny Sullivan	...	Lynn
Tom Dahlgren	...	Pilot
Gerald Hiken	...	Station Manager
Jason Goodrow	...	Boy in commercial
Robert De Anda	...	Jaime
Robert Goldsby	...	Fleischer
Mike Barnicle	...	Wilson (as Michael Barnicle)
Lois Foraker	...	Large girl
David Moody	...	Watts Heckler
George Meyer	...	Man in Urinal
Dudley Knight	...	Magazine Editor
Fred L. Van Amburg	...	Himself (ABC) (as Van Amburg)
Richard Bergholtz	...	Himself
Jesse Birnbaum	...	Himself
Ken Cory	...	Himself
Alan Cranston	...	Himself (as Senator Alan Cranston)
Judy Fayard	...	Herself

Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

2008-09-15T01:54:00.000-05:00

First, I want to let people know that "The Women" ie the 1939 original will be on TCM (Turner Classic Movies) at 8:00 PM eastern time tomorrow (Monday September 16, 2008). The Witness for the Prosecution - described below - will be on that channel at 8:00 PM Saturday Sept. 20th.

Because he was woefully under-utilized by Hollywood, I was surprised when I first started to hear actors I really respect talking about what a magnificent actor Charles Laughten was. This movie does give a glimpse of what they mean, however. It also stars Marlene Dietrich my opinion of whom was recently elevated substantially when I found out that she had not only refused to return to Germany at Hitler's personal request, she worked tirelessly during the war to entertain troops. She performed so close to the front that she might easily have been captured and considering her status as an outspoken anti-nazi German she would have faced unknown horrors. So for those two reasons alone I'm favorably inclined toward this movie, but fortunately it has far more to offer.

The movie is based on a play written by Agatha Christie and it has all of the twists one would therefore expect. In addition, it was directed by Billy Wilder one of the best and most versatile directors from the studio era - with a diverse and impressive body of work that includes "Sunset Boulevard", "The Apartment" and "Some Like it Hot". As the title suggests, this is a courtroom drama - one of the best. Laughten plays Sir Wilford Robarts, the most famous Barrister in Britain who is supposed to be taking it easy on doctor's orders following a heart attack, but who cannot resist taking the case of Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power). Vole has been accused of murdering a wealthy widow with whom he had been friendly. Laughten is convinced of Vole's innocence by realizes that proving it will be most difficult, in part because Leonard's only alibi is his German wife (Dietrich) whom he met an married just after the war.

The twists in the trial maintain constant suspense and Sir Robarts attempts to defy the orders of his doctor under the watchful eye of his nurse, played by Elsa Lanchester (bride of Frankenstein herself) provide regular comic relief. I highly recomend this one!

Directed by
Billy Wilder

Writing credits
Agatha Christie		(play)
Larry Marcus		(adaptation)
Billy Wilder		(screenplay) and
Harry Kurnitz		(screenplay)

Cast (in credits order) verified as complete

Tyrone Power	...	Leonard Vole
Marlene Dietrich	...	Christine Vole
Charles Laughton	...	Sir Wilfrid Robarts
Elsa Lanchester	...	Miss Plimsoll
John Williams	...	Brogan-Moore
Henry Daniell	...	Mayhew
Ian Wolfe	...	Carter
Torin Thatcher	...	Mr. Myers
Norma Varden	...	Emily Jane French
Una O'Connor	...	Janet McKenzie
Francis Compton	...	Judge
Philip Tonge	...	Inspector Hearne
Ruta Lee	...	Diana

The Women (1939)

2008-08-24T01:58:00.002-05:00

If the title sounds familiar it's because remake of this movie is coming out on September 12. I don't know how good the remake will be, but the original is Excellent! 1939 is generally recognized to have been the best year for movies ever, having produced: Gone With the Wind, Wizard of Oz, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Stagecoach, Dark Victory, Goodbye Mr. Chips, Ninotchka and a dozen other classic movies. The Women certainly belongs on this prestigious list. It had one of the first ever "all star" casts, which included: Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell, Joan Crawford, and Paulette Godard. Much more interesting was the fact that there were only females in the movie, even the extras and the children were all female. George Cukor, one of the great comedic directors, directs expertly (this movie was part of why he became known as a "women's director" although that may primarily have been a way for men who were uncomfortable with his homosexuality to avoid working with him). Much of the action, however, revolves around the missing men and it's interesting to see how they manage this.

The story centers around Mary Haines (Norma Shearer, a star who was enormous at that time though she is less well known today than some of the others) who's husband Stephen is having an affair. She doesn't know at the beginning of the film but her "friends" make sure she finds out. The question then becomes whether or not to leave him and whether or not she'd be better off if she did. It's an extremely clever script based on a play by Clair Booth (not yet Booth-Luce as she and Henry had not yet married). Some of it is, of course, dated - very pre-feminism, but a surprising amount is not. Furthermore, there's lots of humor including one of the best cat fights on film.

If the reviews for the new one are good, you may want to wait before you rent this. If they are bad, however, as most remakes are, I strongly recommend renting this instead.

Directed by
George Cukor

Writing credits
Clare Boothe Luce		(play) (as Clare Boothe)
Anita Loos		(screenplay) and
Jane Murfin		(screenplay)
F. Scott Fitzgerald		uncredited and
Donald Ogden Stewart		uncredited

Cast (in credits order) verified as complete

	Norma Shearer	...	Mrs. Stephen Haines (Mary)
	Joan Crawford	...	Crystal Allen
	Rosalind Russell	...	Mrs. Howard Fowler (Sylvia)
	Mary Boland	...	The Countess De Lave
	Paulette Goddard	...	Miriam Aarons
	Phyllis Povah	...	Mrs. Phelps Potter (Edith)
	Joan Fontaine	...	Mrs. John Day (Peggy)
	Virginia Weidler	...	Little Mary
	Lucile Watson	...	Mrs. Morehead
	Marjorie Main	...	Lucy
	Virginia Grey	...	Pat (perfume counter clerk)
	Ruth Hussey	...	Miss Watts (Stephen's secretary)
	Muriel Hutchison	...	Jane (Mary's maid)
	Hedda Hopper	...	Dolly Dupuyster (columnist)
	Florence Nash	...	Nancy Blake
	Cora Witherspoon	...	Mrs. Van Adams
	Ann Morriss	...	Exercise instructress
	Dennie Moore	...	Olga (manicurist)
	Mary Cecil	...	Maggie (Mary's town house cook)
	Mary Beth Hughes	...	Miss Trimmerback (notary)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
	Dorothy Adams	...	Miss Atkinson (uncredited)
	Ruth Alder	...	Woman under sunlamp (uncredited)
	Mariska Aldrich	...	Singing teacher (uncredited)
	Meeka Aldrich	...	Masseuse (uncredited)
	Barbara Jo Allen	...	Receptionist (uncredited)
	Judith Allen	...	Corset model (uncredited)
	Maude Allen	...	Cyclist (uncredited)
	Effie Anderson	...	Nurse (uncredited)
	Mary Anderson	...	Young girl (uncredited)
	Dorothy Appleby	...	Treatment girl (uncredited)
	Gertrude Astor	...	Bud bath nurse (uncredited)
	Bunny Beatty	...	Debutante in powder room (uncredited)
	May Beatty	...	Fat woman / Society woman (uncredited)
	Wilda Bennett	...	Mrs. Carter (uncredited)
	Joan Blair	...	Miss Atkins (uncredited)
	Gladys Blake	...	Miss St. Claire (woman with tough girl) (uncredited)
	Marie Blake	...	Stockroom girl (uncredited)
	Betty Blythe	...	Mrs. South (uncredited)
	May Boley	...	Mud mask (uncredited)
	Lilian Bond	...	Mrs. Erskine (uncredited)
	Frederika Brown	...	Head saleswoman (uncredited)
	Veda Buckland	...	Woman (uncredited)
	Aileen Carlyle	...	Miss Hicks (uncredited)
	Shirley Chambers	...	Girl in a bath (uncredited)
	Lita Chevret	...	Woman under sunlamp (uncredited)
	Dora Clement	...	Woman under sunlamp (uncredited)
	Mabel Colcord	...	Woman getting massage (uncredited)
	Beatrice Cole	...	Negligee model (uncredited)
	Mildred Coles	...	Debutante (uncredited)
	Nell Craig	...	Nurse (uncredited)
	Esther Dale	...	Ingrid (Mary's country house cook) (uncredited)
	Mary Dees	...	Girl (uncredited)
	Eva Dennison	...	Old girl (uncredited)
	Margaret Dumont	...	Mrs. Wagstaff (uncredited)
	Estelle Etterre	...	Hairdresser #2 (uncredited)
	Dot Farley	...	Large woman (uncredited)
	Nance Lee Ferrar	...	Edith Potter's daughter (uncredited)
	Flora Finch	...	Woman window tapper (uncredited)
	Ruth Findlay	...	Pedicurist (uncredited)
	Agnes Fraser	...	Debutante (uncredited)
	June Gittelson	...	Mrs. Goldstein (uncredited)
	Grace Goodall	...	Head saleswoman (uncredited)
	Rita Gould	...	Dietician (uncredited)
	Grayce Hampton	...	Dowager in powder room (uncredited)
	Sibyl Harris	...	Fashion show commentator (uncredited)
	Theresa Harris	...	Olive (uncredited)
	Winifred Harris	...	Mrs. North / Society woman (uncredited)
	Grace Hayle	...	Cyclist (uncredited)
	Brenda Henderson	...	Mrs. Jones' daughter (uncredited)
	Jany Hope	...	Edith Potter's daughter (uncredited)
	Joey Hope	...	Edith Potter's daughter (uncredited)
	Virginia Howell	...	Receptionist (uncredited)
	Carol Hughes	...	Salesgirl at Modiste Salon (uncredited)
	Jane Isbell	...	Edith Potter's daughter (uncredited)
	Suzanne Kaaren	...	Countess Tamara (uncredited)

Heath Ledger Memorial Post

2008-07-20T00:24:00.000-05:00

OK, I deliberately left the title of this movie out of the Post title because I want to make it clear that this movie is NOT on a par with the others I've recommended. It's not a must see and will never be a classic, but I just saw "The Dark Knight" and Heath Ledger is so UNBELIEVABLY good in that movie that it made me sad he won't be making any more, and made me think of other movies I've seen him in. The first time I saw him was in a teen romance called "10 Things I Hate About You" (1999). It is an updated version of "The Taming of the Shrew" set in high school. I know . . . but if you are looking for something that you and a teen family member could both enjoy, it's a good rental. Not only doe Ledger do an excellent job as the Petruchio character, but "Kate" (Kat) is played by Julia Stiles who I think is one of the best young actresses out there.

For those who need to brush up their Shakespeare, the story centers around the beautiful and highly sought after Bianca, who is unfortunately not allowed to date (marry in the original) until her older sister does. Unfortunately, her older sister is a man (boy)-hating shrew. Desperate, the boy who most wants to date Bianca goes in search of someone to woo Kat, in this case a new student named Patrick Verona. The story has only one major nod to modern life - giving Kat a better reason than in the original (ie: she's just like that) for being wary of men.

Anyway, I'm not saying go rent this immediately, but put it on your list - I promise it's worth a look.

Directed by
Gil Junger

Writing credits (WGA)
Karen McCullah Lutz		(written by) &
Kirsten Smith		(written by)
William Shakespeare		(play "The Taming of the Shrew") uncredited

Cast (in credits order) verified as complete

Heath Ledger	...	Patrick Verona
Julia Stiles	...	Kat Stratford
Joseph Gordon-Levitt	...	Cameron James
Larisa Oleynik	...	Bianca Stratford
David Krumholtz	...	Michael
Andrew Keegan	...	Joey Donner
Susan May Pratt	...	Mandella
Gabrielle Union	...	Chastity
Larry Miller	...	Walter Stratford
Daryl Mitchell	...	Mr. Morgan (as Daryl 'Chill' Mitchell)
Allison Janney	...	Ms. Perky
David Leisure	...	Mr. Chapin
Greg Jackson	...	Scruvy
Kyle Cease	...	Bogie Lowenstien
Tarance Houston	...	Derek
Cameron Fraser	...	Trevor
Eric Riedmann	...	Audio Visual Guy
Quinn Maixner	...	Beautiful Jock
Demegio Kimbrough	...	Coffee Kid #1
Todd Butler	...	Coffee Kid #2
Dennis Mosley	...	Cohort
Bianca Kajlich	...	Coffee Girl
Nick Vukelic	...	Drugged Out Loser
Ben Laurence	...	Wimpy Loser (as Benjamin Laurance)
Aidan Kennedy	...	Laughing Loser
Jelani Quinn	...	Crying Loser
Jesse Dyer	...	Screaming Loser
Aaron Therol	...	Detention Student
Carlos Lacamara	...	Bartender
Joshua Thorpe	...	Jock
J.R. Johnson	...	Mba Guy at Party
Wendy Gottlieb	...	Heather
Brian Hood	...	Clem
Travis Muller	...	Cowboy
Ari Karczag	...	Kissing Guy
Laura Kenny	...	Judith
Alice Evans	...	Perky Girl
Jesper Inglis	...	Buckaroo Bartender
Nick Brown	...	Biker
Monique Powell	...	Save Ferris Singer
Brian Mashburn	...	Save Ferris Singer
Kay Hanley	...	Letters To Cleo Singer
Michael Eisenstein	...	Letters To Cleo Singer

Reds (1981)

2008-07-09T03:25:00.000-05:00

Yale doesn't limit enrollment in most of it's lecture courses, they simply move the more popular classes to larger rooms. However, when I took the already very popular History of the Soviet Union in the Spring Semester of 1982, attendance was too much even for the Law School auditorium. Eventually they decided Freshmen wouldn't be allowed to take the class that year. Why had enrollment in this class doubled from the year before? Because "Reds" was released that Christmas. Never has being a commie seemed to exciting and sexy!

Watching the American Film Institute's tribute to Warren Beatty this evening reminded me how much I like this movie. Reds is the story of Jack Reed, writer journalist and political activist who went to Russia in 1917 to cover the Russian Revolution in person. The immediate result was his book, "Ten Days that Shook the World". The long-term result was his role in founding the Communist Party in America and ultimately his status as the only American buried in the Kremlin. If this sounds dry let me assure you it isn't - it's actually remarkably stirring and I haven't even touched on the love story. Reed's wife, played by Diane Keaton, follows him on his crusades, but wrestles with her role in his life and in American life as a woman trying to make a name as a writer herself. Other characters in their circle of Grenwich Village bohemians include Eugen O'Neill (played by Jack Nicholson) and Emma Goldman (played by the brilliant Maureen Stapleton). Interspersed between these fictional portrayals are interviews with people who knew the Reeds and their fellow radicals. This film of people like Henry Miller, Adela Rogers St. Johns, Rebecca West and George Jessel alone makes the film worth seeing, but in this case they are just a side show to the sweeping drama of the main story. Beatty was nominated for writing, acting, directing and producing this picture and won for his directing. If all you know of the Soviet Union is Reagan's "evil empire" rhetoric, you owe it to yourself to see how idealistically it came into being - even if those ideals were compromised almost immediately.

Directed by
Warren Beatty

Writing credits
Warren Beatty		(screenplay) &
Trevor Griffiths		(screenplay)
Peter S. Feibleman		uncredited
Elaine May		uncredited
Jeremy Pikser		uncredited

Cast (in credits order) verified as complete

Warren Beatty	...	John Reed
Diane Keaton	...	Louise Bryant
Edward Herrmann	...	Max Eastman
Jerzy Kosinski	...	Grigory Zinoviev
Jack Nicholson	...	Eugene O'Neill
Paul Sorvino	...	Louis Fraina
Maureen Stapleton	...	Emma Goldman
Nicolas Coster	...	Paul Trullinger
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Speaker - Liberal Club
Ian Wolfe	...	Mr. Partlow
Bessie Love	...	Mrs. Partlow
MacIntyre Dixon	...	Carl Walters
Pat Starr	...	Helen Walters
Eleanor D. Wilson	...	Mrs. Reed
Max Wright	...	Floyd Dell
George Plimpton	...	Horace Whigham
Harry Ditson	...	Maurice Becker
Leigh Curran	...	Ida Rauh
Kathryn Grody	...	Crystal Eastman
Brenda Currin	...	Marjorie Jones
Nancy Duiguid	...	Jane Heap
Norman Chancer	...	Barney
Dolph Sweet	...	Big Bill Haywood
Ramon Bieri	...	Police Chief
Jack O'Leary	...	Pinkerton Guard
Gene Hackman	...	Pete Van Wherry
Gerald Hiken	...	Dr. Lorber
William Daniels	...	Julius Gerber
Dave King	...	Allan Benson
Joseph Buloff	...	Joe Volski
Stefan Gryff	...	Alex Gomberg
Denis Pekarev	...	Interpreter in Factory
Roger Sloman	...	V.I. Lenin
Stuart Richman	...	Leon Trotsky
Oleg Kerensky	...	A. Kerensky / Himself
Nikko Seppala	...	Young Bolshevik Soldier
John J. Hooker	...	Senator Overman
Shane Rimmer	...	MacAlpine
Jerry Hardin	...	Harry
Jack Kehoe	...	Eddie
Christopher Malcolm	...	C.L.P. Party Member
Tony Sibbald	...	C.L.P. Party Member
R.G. Armstrong	...	Government Agent
Josef Sommer	...	State Department Official
Jan Triska	...	Karl Radek
Åke Lindman	...	Scandinavian Escort (as Ake Lindman)
Pertti Weckström	...	Finnish Doctor (as Pertti Weckstrom)
Nina Macarova	...	Russian Nurse
Jose De Fillippo	...	Russian Doctor
Andreas La Casa	...	Little Boy
Roger Baldwin	...	Himself
Henry Miller	...	Himself
Adela Rogers St. Johns	...	Herself
Dora Russell	...	Herself
Scott Nearing	...	Himself
Tess Davis	...	Herself
Heaton Vorse	...	Himself
Hamilton Fish	...	Himself
Isaac Don Levine	...	Himself
Rebecca West	...	Herself
Will Durant	...	Himself
Will Weinstone	...	Herself
Emmanuel Herbert	...	Himself
Arne Swabeck	...	Himself
Adele Gutman Nathan	...	Herself (as Adele Nathan)
George Seldes	...	Himself
Kenneth Chamberlain	...	Himself
Blanche Hays Fagen	...	Herself
Galina von Meck	...	Herself (as Galina Von Meck)
Art Shields	...	Himself
Andrew Dasburg	...	Himself
Hugo Gellert	...	Himself
Dorothy Frooks	...	Herself
George Jessel	...	Himself
Jacob Bailin	...	Himself
John Ballato	...	Himself
Lucita Williams	...	Herself
Bernadine Szold-Fritz	...	Herself
Jessica Smith	...	Herself
Harry Carlisle	...	Himself
Arthur Mayer	...	Himself

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) - or NOT "The Searchers"

2008-06-24T00:46:00.000-05:00

I don't know how many of you saw the most recent American Film Institute TV special naming the top ten movies from ten different genres. It was enjoyable, if not particularly surprising in its results and presentation. Apparently these are quite the money makers for AFI and they do good work so more power to them. I did take issues with a couple of their selections, however, including the placement of Vertigo above Chinatown in the Mystery category -- which I'll discuss some other time when I've stopped being angry -- and the anticipated by me, but still disappointing choice of "The Searchers" as the best western. I predicted it, because I've seen enough people discussing their favorite movies to know that men - including many men who's movie opinions I ordinarily respect highly (like Martin Scorcese) LOVE this movie. I, on the other hand, HATE that movie. It is one of the only movies I've bothered to comment on at IMDB in order to warn women from seeing this movie with their significant others because it can only lead to fighting. Men love it because supposedly John Wayne's character grows and develops during the film. I have never been able to get beyond his character's inherent racism and sexism enough to get all goose-pimply over the fact that he actually allows hie niece to live at the end!

So here's my solution. If you are dating a guy who likes westerns and wants to watch one with you, suggest "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" instead. It is a FAR, kinder and gentler western than the other, but has enough toughness and action to please any man in the room. It's also a John Ford directed Western, which really are the best of the genre, and it also stars John Wayne so it should be an easy trade-off. Fortunately, it also stars Jimmy Stewart which adds a level to the acting and the plot that is sorely lacking in many westerns. For those of us who grew up hearing comedians imitate John Wayne on the various talk shows, you will finally understand why they always threw in a drawn out "Pill-grimm" at the end. Wayne's character gives this nickname to the hopelessly green Yankee Stewart as soon as they meet and calls him nothing else throughout.

The movie starts with Jimmy Stewart traveling to "Shinbone" in an un-named western territory via stagecoach which is held up by the dreaded "Liberty Valance" played by Lee Marvin. Stewart, we immediately discover, is a lawyer determined to bring some rule of law to the West. Stewart and his robbed and injured fellow travelers are rescued by John Wayne and his trusty (and interestingly African American) sidekick Pompey - played by the always excellent, though relatively unknown, due to the accident of his race, Woody Strode, and taken to the local inn owned by the Ericson's where he is looked after by Hallie, the waitress. Greatful as he is for all of this hospitality, he is appalled to learn that nothing will be done to the perpetrators of the crime despite the fact that everyone knows it was Valance and his gang. He insists there should be rule of law and Wayne teaches him a little of the reality of the west and the ways of the gun. These conflicting views of life and their effect on the town in general and Hallie, the object of both men's affection, for the primary conflict of the movie. Underlying this, however, is Stewart's desire to bring justice to Valance one way or another. The rest of the plot I'll leave as a surprise, and there is a big surprise at the end. Meanwhile, there is lot's of drinking and fighting and all the stock western characters, including the righteous newspaperman whith golden principles and feet of clay (Edmund O'Brien) and the worthless cowardly marshal (Andy Devine) to round out the picture of the old west we all think we know.

Directed by
John Ford

Writing credits
Dorothy M. Johnson		(short story)
James Warner Bellah		(screenplay) and
Willis Goldbeck		(screenplay)

Cast (in credits order) verified as complete

	John Wayne	...	Tom Doniphon
	James Stewart	...	Ransom Stoddard
	Vera Miles	...	Hallie Stoddard
	Lee Marvin	...	Liberty Valance
	Edmond O'Brien	...	Dutton Peabody
	Andy Devine	...	Marshal Link Appleyard
	Ken Murray	...	Doc Willoughby
	John Carradine	...	Maj. Cassius Starbuckle
	Jeanette Nolan	...	Nora Ericson
	John Qualen	...	Peter Ericson
	Willis Bouchey	...	Jason Tully - Conductor
	Carleton Young	...	Maxwell Scott
	Woody Strode	...	Pompey
	Denver Pyle	...	Amos Carruthers
	Strother Martin	...	Floyd
	Lee Van Cleef	...	Reese
	Robert F. Simon	...	Handy Strong
	O.Z. Whitehead	...	Herbert Carruthers
	Paul Birch	...	Mayor Winder
	Joseph Hoover	...	Charlie Hasbrouck - Reporter for 'The Star'
rest of cast listed alphabetically:

A Little Romance (1979)

2008-06-14T23:11:00.000-05:00

Diane Lane's first movie and one of Laurence Olivier's last, this sweet romantic adventure is really worth renting. Diane Lane is a brilliant American Girl, Lauren, living in France with her slutty mother (Sally Kellerman) and her rich stepfather (Arthur Hill). Despite the attractions of Paris, she's pretty bored with her life until she meets a cute French boy named Daniel who's as smart as she is. It's puppy love at first sight. During one of their outings together, they meet an elderly man with a gift for storytelling (Olivier). One of his stories involves the legend that if a couple kisses under the Bridge of Sighs in Venice at sunset, their love will last forever. When Lauren's parents announce that they will be moving back to America, she decides and convinces Daniel that they must go to Venice so they can be assured that their love will last despite the distance. How they manage this, with the help of Olivier makes up the bulk of the movie.

This is another small, non-action-packed movie, showing my clear bias, but I think you will really enjoy it nonetheless. Olivier's performance is fantastic, and the kids are adorable. The love triangle among, Kellerman, Hill and David Dukes is a little swingin' seventies, but it's a small side plot. For those of you too young to remember mainframe computers and punch-cards this will be something of an education. A friend of mine used to get mad at me for saying that this was Diane Lane's best movie - and she's right that really isn't fair, but it is delightful.

Directed by
George Roy Hill

Writing credits
Claude Klotz		(novel "E=MC2 mon amour") (as Patrick Cauvin)
Allan Burns		(screenplay)
George Roy Hill		(dialogue) uncredited

Cast (in credits order) verified as complete

Laurence Olivier	...	Julius
Diane Lane	...	Lauren King
Thelonious Bernard	...	Daniel Michon
Arthur Hill	...	Richard King
Sally Kellerman	...	Kay King
Broderick Crawford	...	Himself
David Dukes	...	George de Marco
Andrew Duncan	...	Bob Duryea
Claudette Sutherland	...	Janet Duryea
Graham Fletcher-Cook	...	Londet
Ashby Semple	...	Natalie Woodstein
Claude Brosset	...	Michel Michon
Jacques Maury	...	Inspector Leclerc
Anna Massey	...	Ms. Siegel
Peter Maloney	...	Martin
Dominique Lavanant	...	Mme. Cormier
Mike Marshall	...	1st Assistant Director
Michel Bardinet	...	French Ambassador
David Gabison	...	French Representative (as Alain David Gabison)
Isabel Duby	...	Monique

Duck Soup (1933)

2008-06-05T17:41:00.000-05:00

I think that a lot of women hear Marx Brothers and think "guy thing" like The Three Stooges. But the Marx Brothers had an intelligence behind their low brow humor that the Stooges never did. Certainly everyone should see at least one Marx Brothers movie so you can judge for yourself and my personal recommendation is Duck Soup. Some Film experts prefer the better plotted and written movies that they made under the tutelage of Irving Thalberg at MGM, but I still think that plot is as superfluous to a Marx Brothers movie as it is to an Astaire and Rogers musical, or to porn. We really only care about the jokes, and Duck Soup is as chock full of one liners and sight gags as any movie you'll ever see.

Still, the plot, such as it is, is particularly timely in its anti-war message. The tiny European nation of "Fredonia" is rescued from bankruptcy by wealthy widow Mrs. Teasdale (played by the perennial Groucho foil Margaret Dumont). Her loan, however, is conditional on Rufus T. Firefly's (Groucho) being made President. Firefly is clearly mad, and immediately gets into a fight with the ambassador from neighboring Sylvania over the affections of Mrs. Teasdale. Their fight quickly escalates into war!

Francois Truffaut once said that "Duck Soup" was the best anti-war film ever because it refuses to take war seriously. Having watched the U.S. become more bellicose in the aftermath of a brutal film like "Saving Private Ryan", I'm inclined to agree. But politics aside, this is mostly just hilarious nonsense. Harpo is at his slapstick best. Groucho does some hilarious songs and has numerous lines that can bring real laughter, not just wry smiles. One of my personal favorites Groucho, pinned down by enemy fire, picks up the phone and says, "We're trapped, three men and one woman. Please, send help. If you can't send help, send two more women."

Directed by
Leo McCarey

Writing credits
Bert Kalmar		(story) and
Harry Ruby		(story)
Arthur Sheekman		(additional dialogue) and
Nat Perrin		(additional dialogue)

Cast (in credits order) verified as complete

	Groucho Marx	...	Rufus T. Firefly
	Harpo Marx	...	Pinky
	Chico Marx	...	Chicolini
	Zeppo Marx	...	Lt. Bob Roland
	Margaret Dumont	...	Mrs. Gloria Teasdale
	Raquel Torres	...	Vera Marcal
	Louis Calhern	...	Ambassador Trentino of Sylvania
	Edmund Breese	...	Zander
	Leonid Kinskey	...	Sylvanian Agitator (as Leonid Kinsky)
	Charles Middleton	...	Prosecutor (as Charles B. Middleton)
	Edgar Kennedy	...	Lemonade Vendor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
	Edward Arnold	...	Politician (uncredited)
	Wade Boteler	...	Officer at Battle Headquarters (uncredited)
	Sidney Bracey	...	Mrs. Teasdale's Butler (uncredited)
	E.H. Calvert	...	Officer in battle sequence (uncredited)
	Davison Clark	...	Minister of Finance #2 (uncredited)
	Louise Closser Hale	...	Reception Guest (uncredited)
	Carrie Daumery	...	Reception Guest (uncredited)
	Maude Turner Gordon	...	Reception Guest (uncredited)
	Verna Hillie	...	Trentino's Secretary (uncredited)
	Edward LeSaint	...	Secretary of Labor (uncredited)
	George MacQuarrie	...	First Judge (uncredited)
	Edwin Maxwell	...	Freedonia's Secretary of War (uncredited)
	Eric Mayne	...	Third Judge (uncredited)
	Dennis O'Keefe	...	Bridegroom at Firefly's Reception (uncredited)
	Frederick Sullivan	...	Second Judge (uncredited)
	Dale Van Sickel	...	A Palace Guard (uncredited)
	William Worthington	...	First Minister of Finance (uncredited)

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

2008-05-29T22:57:00.000-05:00

My brother says my recent entry was too obvious, so I've gone with a movie that I know LOTS of people my age and younger have never seen. The Best Years of Our Lives is a REMARKABLY still relevant look at the difficulties encountered by soldiers returning home. Remarkable because the soldiers in this movie were returning home from World War II, the War that retains virtually no moral ambiguity, the war fought by "the greatest generation" the "good" war. Despite those positive differences between these veterans and the veterans of Vietnam or Iraq, coming home could still be difficult as William Wyler's brilliant movie demonstrates.

The movie centers on three veterans who return via the same military cargo plane to their hometown of Boone City, Iowa. The eldest is played by Frederich March, who had been a star for more than 20 years by 1946, and was beloved for his many comedy rolls. He was a mere Sergeant in the army who is now returning to his wife, Myrna Loy, and his children, Peggy, Theresa Wright, who is in her very early 20s and Rob, who's still in high school. Assuming he's been gone for "the duration" means he left them as a high school girl and a pubescent boy. He's barely arrived and he gets the call from his former boss at the local bank to start working again. work that seems far less interesting or important than it did before D-day.

The next is Fred Derry, played by Dana Andrews. He's spent the war years as one of the "glamor boys" of the air force, as the members of the other services are happy to rib him for. Unfortunately, he didn't feel much like a glamor boy since he spent the war as a bombardier who saw too many of his friends torn apart by Anti-aircraft guns. Most importantly, there is little call for a bombardier's skills in civilian life, so Fred finds himself moving from his relatively large pay as an officer in the Air Force to a disappointing return to his old job as a soda jerk at the local pharmacy, which has unfortunately been bought out by a national chain since left. His personal life is worse, as he comes to realize that he and his wife, whom he married just before he shipped out, have NOTHING in common. In fact she is, to use 1946 vernacular, quite common.

Finally, the youngest vet with the hardest transition is Homer played by real life wounded veteran Harold Russell. He won an Oscar for his portrayal, though I'm sure he would have preferred more work as an actor instead. He was forced to sell his Oscar shortly before his death because he needed the money (although I seem to recall that Stephen Spielberg heard about his predicament and bought the Oscar at an inflated price so....). At any rate, Russell (and Homer) lost both arms below the elbows in a fire resulting from his ship being bombed. He's been fitted with and taught how to use hooks, but needless to say this causes no small stir in Boone City, Iowa. Remember that we are dealing with a time when a man had been President for 13 years and had successfully hid from most of the public that he was unable to walk. The fact that Roosevelt was able to hide this, and felt the need to hide this is certainly an indication of the view of the disabled at that time. On the outside, Homer seems fine with his disability, but we are given a few glimpses into his limitations and the attitude of the outside world that can still make us think about what is means to be severely wounded in war.

All of these lives intersect and affect each other in a wonderful story. Of course, everything works out for the best in the end (this is peak studio power days, after all) but the journey to that happy ending was truly revolutionary at the time and can still teach us a great deal today.

Here's the info:

Directed by
William Wyler

Writing credits
MacKinlay Kantor		(novel "Glory for Me")
Robert E. Sherwood		(writer)

Cast (in credits order) verified as complete

Myrna Loy	...	Milly Stephenson
Fredric March	...	Al Stephenson
Dana Andrews	...	Fred Derry
Teresa Wright	...	Peggy Stephenson
Virginia Mayo	...	Marie Derry
Cathy O'Donnell	...	Wilma Cameron
Hoagy Carmichael	...	Butch Engle
Harold Russell	...	Homer Parrish
Gladys George	...	Hortense Derry
Roman Bohnen	...	Pat Derry
Ray Collins	...	Mr. Milton
Minna Gombell	...	Mrs. Parrish
Walter Baldwin	...	Mr. Parrish
Steve Cochran	...	Cliff Scully
Dorothy Adams	...	Mrs. Cameron
Don Beddoe	...	Mr. Cameron
Victor Cutler	...	Woody Merrill
Marlene Aames	...	Luella Parrish
Charles Halton	...	Mr. Prew (Novak Complaint)
Ray Teal	...	Mr. Mollett (Axis powers sympathizer)
Howland Chamberlain	...	Mr. Thorpe
Dean White	...	Mr. Novak
Erskine Sanford	...	Mr. Bullard
Michael Hall	...	Rob Stephenson

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

2008-05-28T02:12:00.000-05:00

I wonder whether there is any significance to the fact that two of the instances where I would say both the Book and the Movie are "essentials" are this an "Gone With the Wind" both by Southern women and the only novel written by each. At any rate. Whether or not you have read the novel (which I highly recommend you do even if you have seen the movie, as I had several times) you MUST see this movie. Gregory Peck's performance is simply perfect. It is, for better or worse, the performance that launched a thousand legal careers. Never has an attorney been more heroic.

The movie, like the novel surrounds the events in a small Alabama town during two years of the depths of the depression, as seen through the eyes of a 5-6 year old child. The events themselves are intense, primarily concerning a black man wrongfully accused of assaulting a white woman, and a neighbor who has been locked away for decades by his abusive father. Yet, as seen through the eyes of "Scout" the bright, funny, tom-boy daughter of Atticus Finch, town lawyer, the simple truth about these issues is crystal clear.

Atticus Finch, particularly as portrayed by Gregory Peck, is the father every child should have and the Lawyer we all wish we were. The children, Scout, her brother Jem and their sometime next door neighbor "Dill" have a charming view of their world, with only the slightly older Jem, beginning to see that there is more there than the neighbors might talk about above a whisper.
Knowing that Dill is based on the child that would become Truman Capote adds to the humor of his boasting and sartorial splendor. There really is no excuse to miss this one!

Directed by
Robert Mulligan

Writing credits
Harper Lee		(novel "To Kill a Mockingbird ")
Horton Foote		(screenplay)

Cast (in credits order) verified as complete

Gregory Peck	...	Atticus Finch
John Megna	...	Charles Baker 'Dill' Harris
Frank Overton	...	Sheriff Heck Tate
Rosemary Murphy	...	Maudie Atkinson
Ruth White	...	Mrs. Dubose
Brock Peters	...	Tom Robinson
Estelle Evans	...	Calpurnia
Paul Fix	...	Judge Taylor
Collin Wilcox Paxton	...	Mayella Violet Ewell (as Collin Wilcox)
James Anderson	...	Robert E. Lee 'Bob' Ewell
Alice Ghostley	...	Aunt Stephanie Crawford
Robert Duvall	...	Arthur 'Boo' Radley
William Windom	...	Mr. Gilmer, Prosecutor
Crahan Denton	...	Walter Cunningham Sr.
Richard Hale	...	Nathan Radley
Mary Badham	...	Scout
Phillip Alford	...	Jem

The Boys from Brazil (1978)

2008-05-15T00:01:00.000-05:00

OK, so the first actor you are likely to recognize as you sit down to watch this movie is Steve Guttenberg! But don't let that throw you. The real stars are none other than Laurence Olivier and Gregory Peck -- doesn't get much better than that. We've had lot's of movies lately that involve the implications of cloning, but as far as I know this was the first, probably the most accurate and the scariest.

Guttenberg's character has decided to go Nazi hunting in South America on his own. He happens upon a huge meeting of former Nazi's set up to welcome former Nazi Doctor Joseph Mengele, Gregory Peck. Mengele has arrived to oversee the next step in an unspecified plan he's been working on for years. A plan that will require the murder of some 64 men over the next few months. Guttenberg tapes part of this meeting before his bug is discovered. He rushes back to his hotel to contact Nazi- Hunter Laurence Olivier (clearly based on Simon Weisenthal). While he's on the phone with Olivier, Peck and company track him down and kill him. Having heard this murder over the phone, Olivier's character who had not been taking Guttenberg's claims seriously decides he needs to investigate. What he discovers is, as I said, the worst possible implication of cloning human beings.

Even if you didn't have the ultimate movie bad guys (Nazi's) and a subject matter that only becomes more relevant with each scientific advancement, the mere presence of Olivier and Peck in one movie would make it worth seeing. The combination of all of these factors means it belongs on my must see list. One thing I wonder about every time I see the film is whatever came of the adolescent who plays multiple rolls in the movie - I hope he's a quiet accountant somewhere.

Director:

Franklin J. Schaffner

Writers:

Ira Levin (novel)
Heywood Gould (screenplay)

Release Date:

12 October 1978 (Netherlands) more

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 win & 7 nominations more

Cast

(in credits order) (verified as complete)

Gregory Peck	...	Dr. Josef Mengele
Laurence Olivier	...	Ezra Lieberman
James Mason	...	Eduard Seibert
Lilli Palmer	...	Esther Lieberman
Uta Hagen	...	Frieda Maloney
Steve Guttenberg	...	Barry Kohler (as Steven Guttenberg)
Denholm Elliott	...	Sidney Beynon
Rosemary Harris	...	Mrs. Doring
John Dehner	...	Henry Wheelock
John Rubinstein	...	David Bennett
Anne Meara	...	Mrs. Curry
Jeremy Black	...	Jack Curry / Simon Harrington / Erich Doring / Bobby Wheelock

The Philadelphia Story (1940)

2008-05-08T22:42:00.000-05:00

Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart, what more could you ask for? Well, you may not ask but it has a brilliant script and excellent direction by George Cukor as well. The movie was based on a successful play by Phillip Barry. Hepburn had starred in the play on Broadway, where she had gone for refuge when her career hit a very rough patch in the late 1930s (she was famously declared to be "box office poison" by the theater owners). She planned her return to Hollywood brilliantly, however, by purchasing the rights to the play (with the financial support of her then-boyfriend Howard Hughes) so that she could have the last word on co-stars and director. Her first choice for the Cary Grant role was Spencer Tracy whom she had not yet met, but he was tied up so she settled for Grant only slightly reluctantly.

The movie begins with a classic wordless end of the marriage of Tracy Lord (Hepburn) and C.K. Dexter Haven (Grant), childhood sweethearts from neighboring main-line Philadelphia families. We then immediately fast forward two years to the week before Tracy's second wedding to George Kittredge, self-made man who just happens to work for her father. In order to kill a story about Tracy's father and his chorus-girl paramour, Grant agrees to get access for two reporters from "spy" magazine to do a story on Tracy's wedding. The reporter (Jimmy Stewart) and photographer (Ruth Hussey) are installed as house guests at the Lord mansion. Stewart is a serious writer who writes garbage for "spy" to make the living that his serious writing does not produce. He and Hussey are a couple, but he's never been ready to settle down. The presence of these two and ex-husband Dexter wreak havoc on Tracy's wedding plans, thank goodness! I've made this all sound very serious, but it's really a very funny movie. One of my favorite lines comes from Grant when Stewart tells him he drinks "a little" he says, "I thought all writers drank to excess and beat their wives . . you know at one time I think I secretly wanted to be a writer at one point."

There are two quite obvious themes running throughout this wonderful comedy. One, recited as a line from Stewart's book is, "with the rich and mighty always a little patience." The other, stated to and by Hepburn's character, "you'll never be a first-class human being or a first-class woman until you've learned to have some regard for human frailty." Both lessons are worth learning and well taught in this VERY entertaining movie.

Directed by
George Cukor

Writing credits
Donald Ogden Stewart		(screenplay)
Philip Barry		(play)
Waldo Salt		uncredited

Cast (in credits order) verified as complete

Cary Grant	...	C.K. Dexter Haven
Katharine Hepburn	...	Tracy Lord
James Stewart	...	Macaulay Connor
Ruth Hussey	...	Elizabeth Imbrie
John Howard	...	George Kittredge
Roland Young	...	Uncle Willie
John Halliday	...	Seth Lord
Mary Nash	...	Margaret Lord
Virginia Weidler	...	Dinah Lord
Henry Daniell	...	Sidney Kidd

Woman of the Year (1942)

2008-05-08T22:23:00.000-05:00

Generally you can't go wrong with any Tracy and Hepburn movie (the exception being a bizarre piece of World War II propaganda entitled "Keeper of the Flame"). But this was the first of their 8 pairings and therefore probably a good place to start. As you may know, the two fell in love on the set of this movie and the heat shows on the screen.

Our story begins with Spencer Tracy as sports' columnist for a newspaper, hearing Katharine Hepburn's character, an international reporter for the same paper, say in a radio interview that Baseball should be suspended for the duration of the war (see year above). Appalled, Tracy responds in his column. She fires back and then their editor calls them both in to insist they take on other papers instead of each other. This meeting in the editor's office is their first meeting and the sparks fly immediately. They are an unlikely couple, sports writer Tracy, clearly a blue collar beer drinkin' kinda guy and Hepburn's Tess Harding, son of a and famous women's activist (no such thing as a feminist in 1942) Nonetheless, love is clearly inevitable and marriage follows. Soon, however, Tess' hectic life, and her failure to include her in it wear on Tracy and he leave. All's well by the end, of course, but I'll not give the details here except to say that they reach a rather modern compromise.

Directed by
George Stevens

Writing credits
Ring Lardner Jr.		(original screenplay) and
Michael Kanin		(original screenplay)
John Lee Mahin		uncredited

Cast (in credits order) verified as complete

	Spencer Tracy	...	Sam Craig
	Katharine Hepburn	...	Tess Harding
	Fay Bainter	...	Ellen Whitcomb
	Reginald Owen	...	Clayton
	Minor Watson	...	William J. Harding
	William Bendix	...	'Pinkie' Peters
	Gladys Blake	...	Flo Peters
	Dan Tobin	...	Gerald Howe
	Roscoe Karns	...	Phil Whittaker
	William Tannen	...	Ellis
	Ludwig Stössel	...	Dr. Lubbeck (as Ludwig Stossel)
	Sara Haden	...	Matron
	Edith Evanson	...	Alma
	George Kezas	...	Chris
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
	Herbert Ashley	...	Stage Doorman (uncredited)
	Dorothy Ates	...	Phone Girl (uncredited)
	Brooks Benedict	...	Clayton's Secretary (uncredited)
	John Berkes	...	Pal (uncredited)
	Symona Boniface	...	Tess' Party Guest (uncredited)
	Elfriede Borodin	...	Leni (uncredited)
	Jack Carr	...	Fat Baseball Spectator (uncredited)
	Ann Codee	...	Madame Sylvia (uncredited)
	Jimmy Conlin	...	Reporter at Bar (uncredited)
	Jules Cowles	...	Joe the Bartender (uncredited)
	Fern Emmett	...	Justice of the Peace's Wife (uncredited)
	Lisa Golm	...	Yugoslav Consul's Wife (uncredited)
	Carey Harrison	...	Spaniard (uncredited)
	Winifred Harris	...	Chairlady (uncredited)
	Bern Hoffman	...	Hindu Man at Party (uncredited)
	William Holmes	...	Man at Banquet (uncredited)
	Ben Lessy	...	Punchy (uncredited)

Being There (1979)

2008-04-26T00:22:00.000-05:00

Peter Sellers was apparently a miserable human being - but he was an amazing actor/comedian. If all you know of Sellers is the Pink Panther series you owe it to yourself to see Dr. Strangelove and Being There.

Sellers stars as Chance, a simple minded gardener, who has never left the estate where he works until his employer/father? dies. He likes gardening and he likes to watch tv and beyond that he seems incapable of anything. Nonetheless once he is cast out of his home, a series of circumstances turns him into the most celebrated intellectual in Washington DC. Shirley MacLaine co-stars as the facilitator of this transformation who falls in love with the man she knows as "Chauncey Gardener" even as her elderly husband (Melvyn Douglas) is dying. How she managed to film the "sex"scene between her and Sellers without laughing is beyond me.

Hal Ashby, who directs, was hardly prolific by Hollywood standards but many of the movies he did direct, particularly early in his career were gems, albeit not well known, including: The Landlord, The Last Detail, Shampoo and Coming Home. The script was by Jerzy Kosinski based upon his? (possibly plagiarized see- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0467085/bio) novel of the same name. Whoever the writer it is a brilliant concept brilliantly executed.

This is a movie that is very hard to describe but I've never met anyone who saw it who did not think it was hilarious.

Here's the facts:

Directed by
Hal Ashby

Writing credits
Jerzy Kosinski		(novel)
Jerzy Kosinski		(screenplay)
Robert C. Jones		uncredited

Cast (in credits order) verified as complete

Peter Sellers	...	Chance
Shirley MacLaine	...	Eve Rand
Melvyn Douglas	...	Benjamin Rand
Jack Warden	...	President 'Bobby'
Richard Dysart	...	Dr. Robert Allenby
Richard Basehart	...	Vladimir Skrapinov
Ruth Attaway	...	Louise
David Clennon	...	Thomas Franklin (as Dave Clennon)
Fran Brill	...	Sally Hayes
Denise DuBarry	...	Johanna
Oteil Burbridge	...	Lolo
Ravenell Keller III	...	Abbaz
Brian Corrigan	...	Policeman

The Third Man (1949)

2008-04-22T20:53:00.000-05:00

Boy did I fall behind. So Sorry I'll try to be a more consistent blogger.

Today's entry is another one of those movies one can watch over and over and keep discovering new things. The movie is set in post-World War II Vienna. Joseph Cotton as Holly Martins an author of pulp western fiction has just arrived to pursue a job opportunity offered to him long distance by an old friend named Harry Lime. Unfortunately, as soon as he arrives he learns that Lime was killed the week before in a car accident. He is also told by the British military governor that Lime was involved in criminal activities in Vienna. From Lime's Czech girlfriend and other friends and acquaintances he uncovers some inconsistencies in the story of Harry's life in Vienna and his demise that he resolves to get to the bottom of before leaving town.

Vienna at this time is a town still filled with fear. Different parts of the city were under the control of a different allied victor. People have already begun to avoid remaining in the "Russian sector" having learned that the Americans and British were much more friendly to their former adversaries. Poverty persists and secrecy is still the order of the day. All of these aspects add to the difficulties faced by Holly Martens and add to his desire to unravel the mystery.

One of the few well known Orson Welles movies in which he did not direct himself, so it is not surprising, perhaps that it one of his best performances. Carol Reed's directing career was eclectic to say the least - everything from this drama/thriller to Oliver! to Charlton Heston chewing the scenery as Michaelangelo in The Agony and the Ecstasy. He handled each one extremely well, however, and this is arguably his best effort. He shoots Vienna in such a way that there is a pervasive sense that things are off-kilter. The first glimpse of Welles character and his longest monologue in the film are both classics that film historians could spend hours discussing. Despite a brilliant screenplay by Grahame Greene, it was apparently Welles who contributed one of it's best known lines:

"In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love--they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.''

This justification fails to persuade either Martens or the authorities and Lime is ironically forced to attempt an escape through the sewers of Vienna. If this doesn't sound that exciting, let me assure you that this is one of those truly great movies that is more than the sum of it's parts.
Don't miss this one!

Directed by
Carol Reed

Writing credits
Graham Greene		(story) and
Alexander Korda		(story) uncredited
Graham Greene		(screenplay)
Carol Reed		uncredited and
Orson Welles		uncredited

Cast (in credits order) verified as complete

Joseph Cotten	...	Holly Martins
Alida Valli	...	Anna Schmidt (as Valli)
Orson Welles	...	Harry Lime
Trevor Howard	...	Major Calloway
Bernard Lee	...	Sergeant Paine
Paul Hörbiger	...	Harry's Porter (as Paul Hoerbiger)
Ernst Deutsch	...	'Baron' Kurtz
Siegfried Breuer	...	Popescu
Erich Ponto	...	Dr. Winkel
Wilfrid Hyde-White	...	Crabbin
Hedwig Bleibtreu	...	Anna's Old Landlady