Monday, February 28, 2011
The best OSCAR off the actress: 1963
Great classic films, best all time movies
Happy New Year' S Day
Great classic films, best all time movies
Caesar freak Outside: Stimulates Deneuve, OLIVIA OF HAVILLAND
Great classic films, best all time movies
The forest Rangers (1942): What C you obtain when you cross-country race smoky the bear with the maximum Factor?
The Forest Rangers (1942) isnât high drama, it isnât supposed to be. It IS a sometimes comedy, sometimes action, always colorful yarn from Paramount with some of the studios top stars of the day, tromping around among mile high timbers, dodging the flames of a raging forest fire. Along with striking Technicolor, The Forest Rangers sports a catchy tune, âIâve Got Spurs That Jingle Jangle Jingleâ, written by Frank Loesser and Joseph J. Lilley, which became a big hit on the airwaves.Fred MacMurray is the forest ranger, Susan Hayward is a fetching lumber mill owner, who has the hots for Freddie boy, while he meets, gets the hots for and marries even more fetching! city girl Paulette Goddard. Redheaded wildcat Hayward doesnât take too kindly to the new bride (like itâs any of her business) and gives girlie girl Goddard the wilderness once-over. Think along the lines of of Hayley Millâs treatment of tenderfoot Joanna Barnes in The Parent Trap some twenty years later. Both remained perfectly coiffed and glossed while fighting fires and each other, and MacMurray remains his ever stoic, yet capable self.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Madeline Carroll was originally to play Celia, the part Goddard ended up playing, and Goddard was to play Tana, the Hayward role. After seeing the film, and knowing the wa! y Paramount worked such a treatment during this period, I coul! d see th e Carroll/Goddard combo working very nicely, even better than the finished product in fact, as Goddard had vivaciously conniving down pat (see Hold Back the Dawn (1941)).Susan and Paulette had just come off the set of Cecil B. DeMilleâs Reap the Wild Wind, so the two cuties were no strangers to sharing the screen and both did what was required of them in this lighthearted look at love in the lonesome pines. Also sharing the screen with the star trio was Eugene Pallette (always a rotund treat), Lynne Overman and Regis Toomey, who completes the love daisy chain as an airplane pilot who carries the torch (no pun intendedâ¦.this time) for Haywardâs Tana.Great classic films, best all time movies
Eightieth happy Mr. the senior off birthday
Great classic films, best all time movies
Happy New Year' S Day
Great classic films, best all time movies
The best OSCAR off the actress: 1963
Great classic films, best all time movies
Eightieth happy Mr. the senior off birthday
Great classic films, best all time movies
Happy New Year' S Day
Great classic films, best all time movies
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Eightieth happy Mr. the senior off birthday
Great classic films, best all time movies
Happy New Year' S Day
Great classic films, best all time movies
The forest Rangers (1942): What C you obtain when you cross-country race smoky the bear with the maximum Factor?
The Forest Rangers (1942) isnât high drama, it isnât supposed to be. It IS a sometimes comedy, sometimes action, always colorful yarn from Paramount with some of the studios top stars of the day, tromping around among mile high timbers, dodging the flames of a raging forest fire. Along with striking Technicolor, The Forest Rangers sports a catchy tune, âIâve Got Spurs That Jingle Jangle Jingleâ, written by Frank Loesser and Joseph J. Lilley, which became a big hit on the airwaves.Fred MacMurray is the forest ranger, Susan Hayward is a fetching lumber mill owner, who has the hots for Freddie boy, while he meets, gets the hots for and marries even more fetching! city girl Paulette Goddard. Redheaded wildcat Hayward doesnât take too kindly to the new bride (like itâs any of her business) and gives girlie girl Goddard the wilderness once-over. Think along the lines of of Hayley Millâs treatment of tenderfoot Joanna Barnes in The Parent Trap some twenty years later. Both remained perfectly coiffed and glossed while fighting fires and each other, and MacMurray remains his ever stoic, yet capable self.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Madeline Carroll was originally to play Celia, the part Goddard ended up playing, and Goddard was to play Tana, the Hayward role. After seeing the film, and knowing the wa! y Paramount worked such a treatment during this period, I coul! d see th e Carroll/Goddard combo working very nicely, even better than the finished product in fact, as Goddard had vivaciously conniving down pat (see Hold Back the Dawn (1941)).Susan and Paulette had just come off the set of Cecil B. DeMilleâs Reap the Wild Wind, so the two cuties were no strangers to sharing the screen and both did what was required of them in this lighthearted look at love in the lonesome pines. Also sharing the screen with the star trio was Eugene Pallette (always a rotund treat), Lynne Overman and Regis Toomey, who completes the love daisy chain as an airplane pilot who carries the torch (no pun intendedâ¦.this time) for Haywardâs Tana.Great classic films, best all time movies
Eightieth happy Mr. the senior off birthday
Great classic films, best all time movies
Happy New Year' S Day
Great classic films, best all time movies
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Eightieth happy Mr. the senior off birthday
Great classic films, best all time movies
Happy New Year' S Day
Great classic films, best all time movies
Charon honours `the Room ace L
With âThe L-Shaped Room,â Leslie Caron brings the same level of grace to a dramatic role that she did to her dancing.After appearing in such classics as âAn American in Paris,â âLiliâ and âGigi,â Caron was desperate to find an adult, non-musical role that would showcase her acting talents. Frankly, she was tired of playing the ingénue.âThe L-Shaped Roomâ certainly gave her that opportunity. She was thrilled to play Jane Fosset, an unmarried French woman who discovers sheâs pregnant. The film is part of the British new wave that brought a grittier reality to the film landscape not typically found in Hollywood and routinely tacked topics that the studios rarely touched.While âThe L-S! haped Roomâsâ subject matter and revelations are less shocking today, the movie is still powerful, and Caronâs deeply felt performance is wonderful to watch.The filmâs opening credits play over Jane searching for an apartment. She ends up at a run-down rooming house, where landlady Doris (Avis Bunnage) chirps, âWeâre just one big happy family here, dear,â as she leads Jane up to the top floor and the small, odd-shaped apartment. The price is right, so Jane takes it. Upon her first night, Jane pulls back the sheets on her bed to discover roaches. She falls into the nearest chair, pulls her coat over her and curls up, exhausted, frightened and dejected.Soon Jane befriends two of her neighbors (below): Johnny (Brock Peters), who has the room next to her and who can see into her room (but itâs not a âpeeping Tomâ situation), and Toby (Tom Bell), who lives one floor down and is a struggling writer. He quickly develops a crush on Jane, but she keeps him at arm! âs length, not revealing to him â" or any of her other neig! hbors â " that sheâs pregnant.
Not sure of what to do, Jane visits a doctor about an abortion. He asks, âCan the young man be persuaded to marry you?â She replies, âI donât want to marry him.â This surprising answer is not what he expected to hear. While heâs neither friendly nor unfriendly, the doctor has an impersonal approach, and his assumptions about Jane result in her decision to keep the baby.Meanwhile, Toby continues to persist in his affections, and soon Jane finds herself with him even though she knows itâs the wrong thing to do.The French new wave and the subsequent British new wave were not afraid to tackle themes like this. Often they focused on the working class â" the people, their nei! ghborhoods, their friends. And sexuality wasnât danced around. These films are so different from what Hollywood was churning out in the early 1960s. With rising costs, the studios spent their money on the familiar â" big Biblical epics, road-show musicals, and glossy romances and melodramas â" in hopes the returns would be big.If the British new wave didnât make big bucks at the box office, they were attracting audiences â" particularly younger crowds who wanted more realism in their films. And young directors and actors who would come of age by the end of the decade were riveted by such films as âThe Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner,â âA Taste of Honeyâ and âThis Sporting Life.âEven if itâs clear where âThe L-Shaped Roomâ is going, the drama unfolds beautifully. The womenâs movement may be a few years away, but this movie (as well as its American counterpart that year, âLove With the Proper Stranger") isnât afraid of exploring womenâs! roles and sexuality. The landlady has a revolving door of men! into he r apartment; in the basement apartment live two prostitutes. But the unmarried yet pregnant Jane is considered a whore â" and sheâs not a promiscuous woman.In fact, the movie also touches on homosexuality, and while itâs not overtly discussed, the issue is there and accepted without relying on broad stereotypes.Director Bryan Forbes was making only his second film with âRoom.â He would direct several other British new wave movies, such as âSéance on a Wet Afternoonâ and âThe Whisperers,â both featuring lead performances that brought Oscar nods to Kim Stanley and Edith Evans, respectively. Then in the 1970s he made the chilling âThe Stepford Wives,â which examines womenâs roles within a different genre.As for âThe L-Shaped Room,â the entire cast is excellent in bringing the characters vividly to life, yet the movieâs soul comes out through Caron. She portrays Janeâs search for some direction in her life as beautifully as she danced with Gene Ke! lly. Even in some of her plaintive conversations, when her emotions get the best of her, Caron conveys an unspoken defiance, as if sheâs saying, âWhat have I done thatâs so wrong?â Jane may be shaken, and her journey is not easy, but Caron conveys it all with sureness.
If Caron wanted to prove she could act without dancing, to convincingly play an adult instead of a virginal young woman, she clearly succeeds. Had it not been for Patricia Neal in âHud,â the Oscar may have been hers. It was her second nomination, the first coming for âLili,â and she can be proud of her work as Jane.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *It was while watching "The L-Shaped Room" that I thought about the Best Actress race ! from 1963 and doing a blogathon. So far the results have been ! terrific , and here is the lineup with links:Monday, Feb. 21: Classic Film and TV Cafe will profile Rachel Roberts, nominated for "This Sporting Life" NOW POSTED!Tuesday, Feb. 22: Kevin's Movie Corner will present Shirley MacLaine in "Irma La Douce" NOW POSTED!Wednesday, Feb. 23: Classicfilmboy will cover Leslie Caron in "The L-Shaped Room"Thursday, Feb. 24: ClassicBecky's Film and Literary Review will examine Patricia Neal in "Hud" NOW POSTED!Friday, Feb. 25: Noir and Chick Flicks will look at Natalie Wood in "Love With the Proper Stranger" NOW POSTED!We hope you enjoy this look back at the Oscars -- leave us plenty of comments and let us know what you think!Great classic films, best all time movies
Friday, February 25, 2011
Charon honours the `Room IN form with L
With âThe L-Shaped Room,â Leslie Caron brings the same level of grace to a dramatic role that she did to her dancing.After appearing in such classics as âAn American in Paris,â âLiliâ and âGigi,â Caron was desperate to find an adult, non-musical role that would showcase her acting talents. Frankly, she was tired of playing the ingénue.âThe L-Shaped Roomâ certainly gave her that opportunity. She was thrilled to play Jane Fosset, an unmarried French woman who discovers sheâs pregnant. The film is part of the British new wave that brought a grittier reality to the film landscape not typically found in Hollywood and routinely tacked topics that the studios rarely touched.While âThe L-S! haped Roomâsâ subject matter and revelations are less shocking today, the movie is still powerful, and Caronâs deeply felt performance is wonderful to watch.The filmâs opening credits play over Jane searching for an apartment. She ends up at a run-down rooming house, where landlady Doris (Avis Bunnage) chirps, âWeâre just one big happy family here, dear,â as she leads Jane up to the top floor and the small, odd-shaped apartment. The price is right, so Jane takes it. Upon her first night, Jane pulls back the sheets on her bed to discover roaches. She falls into the nearest chair, pulls her coat over her and curls up, exhausted, frightened and dejected.Soon Jane befriends two of her neighbors (below): Johnny (Brock Peters), who has the room next to her and who can see into her room (but itâs not a âpeeping Tomâ situation), and Toby (Tom Bell), who lives one floor down and is a struggling writer. He quickly develops a crush on Jane, but she keeps him at arm! âs length, not revealing to him â" or any of her other neig! hbors â " that sheâs pregnant.
Not sure of what to do, Jane visits a doctor about an abortion. He asks, âCan the young man be persuaded to marry you?â She replies, âI donât want to marry him.â This surprising answer is not what he expected to hear. While heâs neither friendly nor unfriendly, the doctor has an impersonal approach, and his assumptions about Jane result in her decision to keep the baby.Meanwhile, Toby continues to persist in his affections, and soon Jane finds herself with him even though she knows itâs the wrong thing to do.The French new wave and the subsequent British new wave were not afraid to tackle themes like this. Often they focused on the working class â" the people, their nei! ghborhoods, their friends. And sexuality wasnât danced around. These films are so different from what Hollywood was churning out in the early 1960s. With rising costs, the studios spent their money on the familiar â" big Biblical epics, road-show musicals, and glossy romances and melodramas â" in hopes the returns would be big.If the British new wave didnât make big bucks at the box office, they were attracting audiences â" particularly younger crowds who wanted more realism in their films. And young directors and actors who would come of age by the end of the decade were riveted by such films as âThe Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner,â âA Taste of Honeyâ and âThis Sporting Life.âEven if itâs clear where âThe L-Shaped Roomâ is going, the drama unfolds beautifully. The womenâs movement may be a few years away, but this movie (as well as its American counterpart that year, âLove With the Proper Stranger") isnât afraid of exploring womenâs! roles and sexuality. The landlady has a revolving door of men! into he r apartment; in the basement apartment live two prostitutes. But the unmarried yet pregnant Jane is considered a whore â" and sheâs not a promiscuous woman.In fact, the movie also touches on homosexuality, and while itâs not overtly discussed, the issue is there and accepted without relying on broad stereotypes.Director Bryan Forbes was making only his second film with âRoom.â He would direct several other British new wave movies, such as âSéance on a Wet Afternoonâ and âThe Whisperers,â both featuring lead performances that brought Oscar nods to Kim Stanley and Edith Evans, respectively. Then in the 1970s he made the chilling âThe Stepford Wives,â which examines womenâs roles within a different genre.As for âThe L-Shaped Room,â the entire cast is excellent in bringing the characters vividly to life, yet the movieâs soul comes out through Caron. She portrays Janeâs search for some direction in her life as beautifully as she danced with Gene Ke! lly. Even in some of her plaintive conversations, when her emotions get the best of her, Caron conveys an unspoken defiance, as if sheâs saying, âWhat have I done thatâs so wrong?â Jane may be shaken, and her journey is not easy, but Caron conveys it all with sureness.
If Caron wanted to prove she could act without dancing, to convincingly play an adult instead of a virginal young woman, she clearly succeeds. Had it not been for Patricia Neal in âHud,â the Oscar may have been hers. It was her second nomination, the first coming for âLili,â and she can be proud of her work as Jane.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *It was while watching "The L-Shaped Room" that I thought about the Best Actress race ! from 1963 and doing a blogathon. So far the results have been ! terrific , and here is the lineup with links:Monday, Feb. 21: Classic Film and TV Cafe will profile Rachel Roberts, nominated for "This Sporting Life" NOW POSTED!Tuesday, Feb. 22: Kevin's Movie Corner will present Shirley MacLaine in "Irma La Douce" NOW POSTED!Wednesday, Feb. 23: Classicfilmboy will cover Leslie Caron in "The L-Shaped Room"Thursday, Feb. 24: ClassicBecky's Film and Literary Review will examine Patricia Neal in "Hud" NOW POSTED!Friday, Feb. 25: Noir and Chick Flicks will look at Natalie Wood in "Love With the Proper Stranger"We hope you enjoy this look back at the Oscars -- leave us plenty of comments and let us know what you think!Great classic films, best all time movies
Eightieth happy Mr. the senior off birthday
Great classic films, best all time movies
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Charon honours `the Room ace L
With âThe L-Shaped Room,â Leslie Caron brings the same level of grace to a dramatic role that she did to her dancing.After appearing in such classics as âAn American in Paris,â âLiliâ and âGigi,â Caron was desperate to find an adult, non-musical role that would showcase her acting talents. Frankly, she was tired of playing the ingénue.âThe L-Shaped Roomâ certainly gave her that opportunity. She was thrilled to play Jane Fosset, an unmarried French woman who discovers sheâs pregnant. The film is part of the British new wave that brought a grittier reality to the film landscape not typically found in Hollywood and routinely tacked topics that the studios rarely touched.While âThe L-S! haped Roomâsâ subject matter and revelations are less shocking today, the movie is still powerful, and Caronâs deeply felt performance is wonderful to watch.The filmâs opening credits play over Jane searching for an apartment. She ends up at a run-down rooming house, where landlady Doris (Avis Bunnage) chirps, âWeâre just one big happy family here, dear,â as she leads Jane up to the top floor and the small, odd-shaped apartment. The price is right, so Jane takes it. Upon her first night, Jane pulls back the sheets on her bed to discover roaches. She falls into the nearest chair, pulls her coat over her and curls up, exhausted, frightened and dejected.Soon Jane befriends two of her neighbors (below): Johnny (Brock Peters), who has the room next to her and who can see into her room (but itâs not a âpeeping Tomâ situation), and Toby (Tom Bell), who lives one floor down and is a struggling writer. He quickly develops a crush on Jane, but she keeps him at arm! âs length, not revealing to him â" or any of her other neig! hbors â " that sheâs pregnant.
Not sure of what to do, Jane visits a doctor about an abortion. He asks, âCan the young man be persuaded to marry you?â She replies, âI donât want to marry him.â This surprising answer is not what he expected to hear. While heâs neither friendly nor unfriendly, the doctor has an impersonal approach, and his assumptions about Jane result in her decision to keep the baby.Meanwhile, Toby continues to persist in his affections, and soon Jane finds herself with him even though she knows itâs the wrong thing to do.The French new wave and the subsequent British new wave were not afraid to tackle themes like this. Often they focused on the working class â" the people, their nei! ghborhoods, their friends. And sexuality wasnât danced around. These films are so different from what Hollywood was churning out in the early 1960s. With rising costs, the studios spent their money on the familiar â" big Biblical epics, road-show musicals, and glossy romances and melodramas â" in hopes the returns would be big.If the British new wave didnât make big bucks at the box office, they were attracting audiences â" particularly younger crowds who wanted more realism in their films. And young directors and actors who would come of age by the end of the decade were riveted by such films as âThe Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner,â âA Taste of Honeyâ and âThis Sporting Life.âEven if itâs clear where âThe L-Shaped Roomâ is going, the drama unfolds beautifully. The womenâs movement may be a few years away, but this movie (as well as its American counterpart that year, âLove With the Proper Stranger") isnât afraid of exploring womenâs! roles and sexuality. The landlady has a revolving door of men! into he r apartment; in the basement apartment live two prostitutes. But the unmarried yet pregnant Jane is considered a whore â" and sheâs not a promiscuous woman.In fact, the movie also touches on homosexuality, and while itâs not overtly discussed, the issue is there and accepted without relying on broad stereotypes.Director Bryan Forbes was making only his second film with âRoom.â He would direct several other British new wave movies, such as âSéance on a Wet Afternoonâ and âThe Whisperers,â both featuring lead performances that brought Oscar nods to Kim Stanley and Edith Evans, respectively. Then in the 1970s he made the chilling âThe Stepford Wives,â which examines womenâs roles within a different genre.As for âThe L-Shaped Room,â the entire cast is excellent in bringing the characters vividly to life, yet the movieâs soul comes out through Caron. She portrays Janeâs search for some direction in her life as beautifully as she danced with Gene Ke! lly. Even in some of her plaintive conversations, when her emotions get the best of her, Caron conveys an unspoken defiance, as if sheâs saying, âWhat have I done thatâs so wrong?â Jane may be shaken, and her journey is not easy, but Caron conveys it all with sureness.
If Caron wanted to prove she could act without dancing, to convincingly play an adult instead of a virginal young woman, she clearly succeeds. Had it not been for Patricia Neal in âHud,â the Oscar may have been hers. It was her second nomination, the first coming for âLili,â and she can be proud of her work as Jane.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *It was while watching "The L-Shaped Room" that I thought about the Best Actress race ! from 1963 and doing a blogathon. So far the results have been ! terrific , and here is the lineup with links:Monday, Feb. 21: Classic Film and TV Cafe will profile Rachel Roberts, nominated for "This Sporting Life" NOW POSTED!Tuesday, Feb. 22: Kevin's Movie Corner will present Shirley MacLaine in "Irma La Douce" NOW POSTED!Wednesday, Feb. 23: Classicfilmboy will cover Leslie Caron in "The L-Shaped Room"Thursday, Feb. 24: ClassicBecky's Film and Literary Review will examine Patricia Neal in "Hud" NOW POSTED!Friday, Feb. 25: Noir and Chick Flicks will look at Natalie Wood in "Love With the Proper Stranger"We hope you enjoy this look back at the Oscars -- leave us plenty of comments and let us know what you think!Great classic films, best all time movies
Removed family members: Jaw and true granulating
Robert here, with my series Distant Relatives, where we look at two films, (one classic, one modern) related through theme and ask what their similarities/differences can tell us about the evolution of cinema. Please note that hereafter be SPOILERS AHEAD.
Three characters in search of a killer
If there’s one notable difference between the original 1969 True Grit and the Coens’ version, it’s the sense of nihilism and meaninglessness in the world the Coens create. Of course the Coens have long been the kings of nihilistic worlds, and it says something that True Grit provides one of their most meaning filled realities. Still when all is done, in the Coen version, we’re left wondering what it was all worth. The John Wayne version, which suffers in no small part from being surrounded by a sea of bleak late 60’s cinematic masterpieces, feels more like a tale of good guys an bad guys. And while the Coen version has good guys and bad guys it feels more like a tale of how reality itself, the natural world is out to get us all. But we’re not here to compare two versions of the same story, we’re here to compare distant relatives. Which brings us to a film where the natural world is quite literally out to get us, in the form o! f Steven Spielberg’s antagonizing great white shark (nicknamed Bruce) as it terrorizes the citizens of Amity island. Jaws and True Grit present us with all kinds of similarities in terms of structure, character and the eternal theme of mankind’s struggle against the natural world.
Both are revenge films, though there’s something that doesn’t seem quite right about that. They’re not in the same company as Mad Max or Kill Bill because the singular intense insanity of the vengeance-seeker is not the most integral element of the story here. In fact, there isn’t a sole vengeance seeker. In both cases there are three individuals who serve different purposes and convey a wide scope of what could posses a person to go out hunting for “justice.”

Rub a dub dub We can start with the characters who get to be the audience's surrogate. Jaws’ Chief Brody (Roy Schieder) and True Grit's Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) have to present some sort of righteous motive for us to get behind. Mattie’s detached desire to avenge her father and Brody’s obssessive quest to kill a shark don’t exactly invite us to cozy up. But it’s the amorality of others around them that throw new empathetic light on their pursuits. Those who have the power to bring about justice and prevent future bloodshed have no interest in doing so. So we have to get behind Mattie and Brody. Theirs may not be the best way, but it’s the only way. When we discussed Midnight Cowboy and The Fighter, we talked about the relationships between cinematic duos and how the straight man/comic relief model has had lasting influence. We find in these two films that our teams of three follow a similar mold. ! The hero is our center, the most rational of the characters, the one whose desires we are most likely to understand. He or she is flanked on one side by a man with more “noble” motives like science or avenging the death of a Texas Ranger. This man is snarky, sarcastic, rather full of himself and his noble goals, though underneath harbors a somewhat more base motivation, money or pure adrenaline. We may call him our uber-hero since in his own mind he’s far more worthy of his cause than anyone else. On the other flank of our hero is our anti-hero, a man with an obsession, usually courtesy a past trauma. Anti-authority, often drunk and wild, he is not hindered by the morality of the other two men. By standard anti-hero rules, he has none. He cares not for the means only the ends. Perhaps it’s going too far to suggest an id, ego, superego connection. But there it is. Quint, Brody, Hooper. Rooster, Mattie, LaBoeuf. Anti-hero, hero, uber-hero.

Into the woods
Both films follow a similar structure too. The first kill, the inciting kill, happens as a prologue, before the main title even appears. Then an act’s worth of gathering evidence, momentum, and a posse and it’s off into the water or wilderness. Here, the randomness of nature is the enemy. And while it might seem odd to compare the instincts of a predatory animal to the free will of a man, consider Tom Chaney when we see him. He is practically an animal; gruff, dim-witted, hairy, smelly and quite frankly, a disappointment. If Bruce the Shark, by lack of a frontal cortex is no Tom Chaney, then Tom Chaney by lack of chutzpah and screen presence is certainly no Bruce the Shark. In both cases, we’re left with the uncertainty of a happy ending. In terms of the prevention of future attacks, the sparing of future victims, indeed both missions are a success. But what of it? Jaws is a happy ending with a question mark, one where our rejoicing is tarnished by ! remembering what was lost, who was killed. True Grit is a happy ending with ellipses, one that gives us justice served and then follows it with the pointless onward march of time, lives suddenly devoid of a vengeful goal falling into parody or banality.
So, is there a reason why in thirty five years, happiness’s cold side dish has changed from sacrifice to uncertainty? We can consider the films’ directors. For Steven Spielberg, child of World War II, the long sad road to the other side of the rainbow is a constant recurrence in his films. Jaws, made in the waning days of Vietnam asks of the quest for justice “what is the sacrifice?” The Coens, prophets of pointlessness and futility, coming of age in the cold war, coming to prominence during the war on terror, make a film about the quest for justice and ask “what is the point?”
Great classic films, best all time movies
Charon honours `the Room ace L
With âThe L-Shaped Room,â Leslie Caron brings the same level of grace to a dramatic role that she did to her dancing.After appearing in such classics as âAn American in Paris,â âLiliâ and âGigi,â Caron was desperate to find an adult, non-musical role that would showcase her acting talents. Frankly, she was tired of playing the ingénue.âThe L-Shaped Roomâ certainly gave her that opportunity. She was thrilled to play Jane Fosset, an unmarried French woman who discovers sheâs pregnant. The film is part of the British new wave that brought a grittier reality to the film landscape not typically found in Hollywood and routinely tacked topics that the studios rarely touched.While âThe L-S! haped Roomâsâ subject matter and revelations are less shocking today, the movie is still powerful, and Caronâs deeply felt performance is wonderful to watch.The filmâs opening credits play over Jane searching for an apartment. She ends up at a run-down rooming house, where landlady Doris (Avis Bunnage) chirps, âWeâre just one big happy family here, dear,â as she leads Jane up to the top floor and the small, odd-shaped apartment. The price is right, so Jane takes it. Upon her first night, Jane pulls back the sheets on her bed to discover roaches. She falls into the nearest chair, pulls her coat over her and curls up, exhausted, frightened and dejected.Soon Jane befriends two of her neighbors (below): Johnny (Brock Peters), who has the room next to her and who can see into her room (but itâs not a âpeeping Tomâ situation), and Toby (Tom Bell), who lives one floor down and is a struggling writer. He quickly develops a crush on Jane, but she keeps him at arm! âs length, not revealing to him â" or any of her other neig! hbors â " that sheâs pregnant.
Not sure of what to do, Jane visits a doctor about an abortion. He asks, âCan the young man be persuaded to marry you?â She replies, âI donât want to marry him.â This surprising answer is not what he expected to hear. While heâs neither friendly nor unfriendly, the doctor has an impersonal approach, and his assumptions about Jane result in her decision to keep the baby.Meanwhile, Toby continues to persist in his affections, and soon Jane finds herself with him even though she knows itâs the wrong thing to do.The French new wave and the subsequent British new wave were not afraid to tackle themes like this. Often they focused on the working class â" the people, their ne! ighborhoods, their friends. And sexuality wasnât danced around. These films are so different from what Hollywood was churning out in the early 1960s. With rising costs, the studios spent their money on the familiar â" big Biblical epics, road-show musicals, and glossy romances and melodramas â" in hopes the returns would be big.If the British new wave didnât make big bucks at the box office, they were attracting audiences â" particularly younger crowds who wanted more realism in their films. And young directors and actors who would come of age by the end of the decade were riveted by such films as âThe Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner,â âA Taste of Honeyâ and âThis Sporting Life.âEven if itâs clear where âThe L-Shaped Roomâ is going, the drama unfolds beautifully. The womenâs movement may be a few years away, but this movie (as well as its American counterpart that year, âLove With the Proper Stranger") isnât afraid of exploring womenâ! s roles and sexuality. The landlady has a revolving door of me! n into h er apartment; in the basement apartment live two prostitutes. But the unmarried yet pregnant Jane is considered a whore â" and sheâs not a promiscuous woman.In fact, the movie also touches on homosexuality, and while itâs not overtly discussed, the issue is there and accepted without relying on broad stereotypes.Director Bryan Forbes was making only his second film with âRoom.â He would direct several other British new wave movies, such as âSéance on a Wet Afternoonâ and âThe Whisperers,â both featuring lead performances that brought Oscar nods to Kim Stanley and Edith Evans, respectively. Then in the 1970s he made the chilling âThe Stepford Wives,â which examines womenâs roles within a different genre.As for âThe L-Shaped Room,â the entire cast is excellent in bringing the characters vividly to life, yet the movieâs soul comes out through Caron. She portrays Janeâs search for some direction in her life as beautifully as she danced with Gene K! elly. Even in some of her plaintive conversations, when her emotions get the best of her, Caron conveys an unspoken defiance, as if sheâs saying, âWhat have I done thatâs so wrong?â Jane may be shaken, and her journey is not easy, but Caron conveys it all with sureness.
If Caron wanted to prove she could act without dancing, to convincingly play an adult instead of a virginal young woman, she clearly succeeds. Had it not been for Patricia Neal in âHud,â the Oscar may have been hers. It was her second nomination, the first coming for âLili,â and she can be proud of her work as Jane.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *It was while watching "The L-Shaped Room" that I thought about the Best Actress race! from 1963 and doing a blogathon. So far the results have been! terrifi c, and here is the lineup with links:Monday, Feb. 21: Classic Film and TV Cafe will profile Rachel Roberts, nominated for "This Sporting Life" NOW POSTED!Tuesday, Feb. 22: Kevin's Movie Corner will present Shirley MacLaine in "Irma La Douce" NOW POSTED!Wednesday, Feb. 23: Classicfilmboy will cover Leslie Caron in "The L-Shaped Room"Thursday, Feb. 24: ClassicBecky's Film and Literary Review will examine Patricia Neal in "Hud"Friday, Feb. 25: Noir and Chick Flicks will look at Natalie Wood in "Love With the Proper Stranger"We hope you enjoy this look back at the Oscars -- leave us plenty of comments and let us know what you think!Great classic films, best all time movies
Podcast: Obligation off the return, 2010 MEMORies
Great classic films, best all time movies
The forest Rangers (1942): What C you obtain when you cross-country race smoky the bear with the maximum Factor?
The Forest Rangers (1942) isnât high drama, it isnât supposed to be. It IS a sometimes comedy, sometimes action, always colorful yarn from Paramount with some of the studios top stars of the day, tromping around among mile high timbers, dodging the flames of a raging forest fire. Along with striking Technicolor, The Forest Rangers sports a catchy tune, âIâve Got Spurs That Jingle Jangle Jingleâ, written by Frank Loesser and Joseph J. Lilley, which became a big hit on the airwaves.Fred MacMurray is the forest ranger, Susan Hayward is a fetching lumber mill owner, who has the hots for Freddie boy, while he meets, gets the hots for and marries even more fetching! city girl Paulette Goddard. Redheaded wildcat Hayward doesnât take too kindly to the new bride (like itâs any of her business) and gives girlie girl Goddard the wilderness once-over. Think along the lines of of Hayley Millâs treatment of tenderfoot Joanna Barnes in The Parent Trap some twenty years later. Both remained perfectly coiffed and glossed while fighting fires and each other, and MacMurray remains his ever stoic, yet capable self.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Madeline Carroll was originally to play Celia, the part Goddard ended up playing, and Goddard was to play Tana, the Hayward role. After seeing the film, and knowing the wa! y Paramount worked such a treatment during this period, I coul! d see th e Carroll/Goddard combo working very nicely, even better than the finished product in fact, as Goddard had vivaciously conniving down pat (see Hold Back the Dawn (1941)).Susan and Paulette had just come off the set of Cecil B. DeMilleâs Reap the Wild Wind, so the two cuties were no strangers to sharing the screen and both did what was required of them in this lighthearted look at love in the lonesome pines. Also sharing the screen with the star trio was Eugene Pallette (always a rotund treat), Lynne Overman and Regis Toomey, who completes the love daisy chain as an airplane pilot who carries the torch (no pun intendedâ¦.this time) for Haywardâs Tana.Great classic films, best all time movies
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Charon honours `the Room ace L
With âThe L-Shaped Room,â Leslie Caron brings the same level of grace to a dramatic role that she did to her dancing.After appearing in such classics as âAn American in Paris,â âLiliâ and âGigi,â Caron was desperate to find an adult, non-musical role that would showcase her acting talents. Frankly, she was tired of playing the ingénue.âThe L-Shaped Roomâ certainly gave her that opportunity. She was thrilled to play Jane Fosset, an unmarried French woman who discovers sheâs pregnant. The film is part of the British new wave that brought a grittier reality to the film landscape not typically found in Hollywood and routinely tacked topics that the studios rarely touched.While âThe L-S! haped Roomâsâ subject matter and revelations are less shocking today, the movie is still powerful, and Caronâs deeply felt performance is wonderful to watch.The filmâs opening credits play over Jane searching for an apartment. She ends up at a run-down rooming house, where landlady Doris (Avis Bunnage) chirps, âWeâre just one big happy family here, dear,â as she leads Jane up to the top floor and the small, odd-shaped apartment. The price is right, so Jane takes it. Upon her first night, Jane pulls back the sheets on her bed to discover roaches. She falls into the nearest chair, pulls her coat over her and curls up, exhausted, frightened and dejected.Soon Jane befriends two of her neighbors (below): Johnny (Brock Peters), who has the room next to her and who can see into her room (but itâs not a âpeeping Tomâ situation), and Toby (Tom Bell), who lives one floor down and is a struggling writer. He quickly develops a crush on Jane, but she keeps him at arm! âs length, not revealing to him â" or any of her other neig! hbors â " that sheâs pregnant.
Not sure of what to do, Jane visits a doctor about an abortion. He asks, âCan the young man be persuaded to marry you?â She replies, âI donât want to marry him.â This surprising answer is not what he expected to hear. While heâs neither friendly nor unfriendly, the doctor has an impersonal approach, and his assumptions about Jane result in her decision to keep the baby.Meanwhile, Toby continues to persist in his affections, and soon Jane finds herself with him even though she knows itâs the wrong thing to do.The French new wave and the subsequent British new wave were not afraid to tackle themes like this. Often they focused on the working class â" the people, their ne! ighborhoods, their friends. And sexuality wasnât danced around. These films are so different from what Hollywood was churning out in the early 1960s. With rising costs, the studios spent their money on the familiar â" big Biblical epics, road-show musicals, and glossy romances and melodramas â" in hopes the returns would be big.If the British new wave didnât make big bucks at the box office, they were attracting audiences â" particularly younger crowds who wanted more realism in their films. And young directors and actors who would come of age by the end of the decade were riveted by such films as âThe Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner,â âA Taste of Honeyâ and âThis Sporting Life.âEven if itâs clear where âThe L-Shaped Roomâ is going, the drama unfolds beautifully. The womenâs movement may be a few years away, but this movie (as well as its American counterpart that year, âLove With the Proper Stranger") isnât afraid of exploring womenâ! s roles and sexuality. The landlady has a revolving door of me! n into h er apartment; in the basement apartment live two prostitutes. But the unmarried yet pregnant Jane is considered a whore â" and sheâs not a promiscuous woman.In fact, the movie also touches on homosexuality, and while itâs not overtly discussed, the issue is there and accepted without relying on broad stereotypes.Director Bryan Forbes was making only his second film with âRoom.â He would direct several other British new wave movies, such as âSéance on a Wet Afternoonâ and âThe Whisperers,â both featuring lead performances that brought Oscar nods to Kim Stanley and Edith Evans, respectively. Then in the 1970s he made the chilling âThe Stepford Wives,â which examines womenâs roles within a different genre.As for âThe L-Shaped Room,â the entire cast is excellent in bringing the characters vividly to life, yet the movieâs soul comes out through Caron. She portrays Janeâs search for some direction in her life as beautifully as she danced with Gene K! elly. Even in some of her plaintive conversations, when her emotions get the best of her, Caron conveys an unspoken defiance, as if sheâs saying, âWhat have I done thatâs so wrong?â Jane may be shaken, and her journey is not easy, but Caron conveys it all with sureness.
If Caron wanted to prove she could act without dancing, to convincingly play an adult instead of a virginal young woman, she clearly succeeds. Had it not been for Patricia Neal in âHud,â the Oscar may have been hers. It was her second nomination, the first coming for âLili,â and she can be proud of her work as Jane.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *It was while watching "The L-Shaped Room" that I thought about the Best Actress race! from 1963 and doing a blogathon. So far the results have been! terrifi c, and here is the lineup with links:Monday, Feb. 21: Classic Film and TV Cafe will profile Rachel Roberts, nominated for "This Sporting Life" NOW POSTED!Tuesday, Feb. 22: Kevin's Movie Corner will present Shirley MacLaine in "Irma La Douce" NOW POSTED!Wednesday, Feb. 23: Classicfilmboy will cover Leslie Caron in "The L-Shaped Room"Thursday, Feb. 24: ClassicBecky's Film and Literary Review will examine Patricia Neal in "Hud"Friday, Feb. 25: Noir and Chick Flicks will look at Natalie Wood in "Love With the Proper Stranger"We hope you enjoy this look back at the Oscars -- leave us plenty of comments and let us know what you think!Great classic films, best all time movies
Eightieth happy Mr. the senior off birthday
Great classic films, best all time movies
Happy New Year' S Day
Great classic films, best all time movies
Happy New Year' S Day
Great classic films, best all time movies
âChris, that one which emergency has more dreamer â
Great classic films, best all time movies
Eightieth happy Mr. the senior off birthday
Great classic films, best all time movies
Charon honours `the Room ace L
With âThe L-Shaped Room,â Leslie Caron brings the same level of grace to a dramatic role that she did to her dancing.After appearing in such classics as âAn American in Paris,â âLiliâ and âGigi,â Caron was desperate to find an adult, non-musical role that would showcase her acting talents. Frankly, she was tired of playing the ingénue.âThe L-Shaped Roomâ certainly gave her that opportunity. She was thrilled to play Jane Fosset, an unmarried French woman who discovers sheâs pregnant. The film is part of the British new wave that brought a grittier reality to the film landscape not typically found in Hollywood and routinely tacked topics that the studios rarely touched.While âThe L-S! haped Roomâsâ subject matter and revelations are less shocking today, the movie is still powerful, and Caronâs deeply felt performance is wonderful to watch.The filmâs opening credits play over Jane searching for an apartment. She ends up at a run-down rooming house, where landlady Doris (Avis Bunnage) chirps, âWeâre just one big happy family here, dear,â as she leads Jane up to the top floor and the small, odd-shaped apartment. The price is right, so Jane takes it. Upon her first night, Jane pulls back the sheets on her bed to discover roaches. She falls into the nearest chair, pulls her coat over her and curls up, exhausted, frightened and dejected.Soon Jane befriends two of her neighbors (below): Johnny (Brock Peters), who has the room next to her and who can see into her room (but itâs not a âpeeping Tomâ situation), and Toby (Tom Bell), who lives one floor down and is a struggling writer. He quickly develops a crush on Jane, but she keeps him at arm! âs length, not revealing to him â" or any of her other neig! hbors â " that sheâs pregnant.
Not sure of what to do, Jane visits a doctor about an abortion. He asks, âCan the young man be persuaded to marry you?â She replies, âI donât want to marry him.â This surprising answer is not what he expected to her. While heâs neither friendly nor unfriendly, the doctor has an impersonal approach, and his assumptions about Jane result in her decision to keep the baby.Meanwhile, Toby continues to persist in his affections, and soon Jane finds herself with him even though she knows itâs the wrong thing to do.The French new wave and the subsequent British new wave were not afraid to tackle themes like this. Often they focused on the working class â" the people, their neig! hborhoods, their friends. And sexuality wasnât danced around. These films are so different from what Hollywood was churning out in the early 1960s. With rising costs, the studios spent their money on the familiar â" big Biblical epics, road-show musicals, and glossy romances and melodramas â" in hopes the returns would be big. If the British new wave didnât make big bucks at the box office, they were attracting audiences â" particularly younger crowds who wanted more realism in their films. And young directors and actors who would come of age by the end of the decade were riveted by such films as âThe Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner,â âA Taste of Honeyâ and âThis Sporting Life.âEven if itâs clear where âThe L-Shaped Roomâ is going, the drama unfolds beautifully. The womenâs movement may be a few years away, but this movie (as well as its American counterpart that year, âLove With the Proper Stranger) isnât afraid of exploring womenâs ! roles and sexuality. The landlady has a revolving door of men ! into her apartment; in the basement apartment live two prostitutes. But the unmarried yet pregnant Jane is considered a whore â" and sheâs not a promiscuous woman.In fact, the movie also touches on homosexuality, and while itâs not overtly discussed, the issue is there and accepted without relying on broad stereotypes.Director Bryan Forbes was making only his second film with âRoom.â He would direct several other British new wave movies, such as âSéance on a Wet Afternoonâ and âThe Whisperers,â both featuring lead performances that brought Oscar nods to Kim Stanley and Edith Evans, respectively. Then in the 1970s he made the chilling âThe Stepford Wives,â which examines womenâs roles within a different genre.As for âThe L-Shaped Room,â the entire cast is excellent in bringing the characters vividly to life, yet the movieâs soul comes out through Caron. She portrays Janeâs search for some direction in her life as beautifully as she danced with Gene Kel! ly. Even in some of her plaintive conversations, when her emotions get the best of her, Caron conveys an unspoken defiance, as if sheâs saying, âWhat have I done thatâs so wrong?â Jane may be shaken, and her journey is not easy, but Caron conveys it all with sureness.
If Caron wanted to prove she could act without dancing, to convincingly play an adult instead of a virginal young woman, she clearly succeeds. Had it not been for Patricia Neal in âHud,â the Oscar may have been hers. It was her second nomination, the first coming for âLili,â and she can be proud of her work as Jane.Great classic films, best all time movies
The forest Rangers (1942): What C you obtain when you cross-country race smoky the bear with the maximum Factor?
The Forest Rangers (1942) isnât high drama, it isnât supposed to be. It IS a sometimes comedy, sometimes action, always colorful yarn from Paramount with some of the studios top stars of the day, tromping around among mile high timbers, dodging the flames of a raging forest fire. Along with striking Technicolor, The Forest Rangers sports a catchy tune, âIâve Got Spurs That Jingle Jangle Jingleâ, written by Frank Loesser and Joseph J. Lilley, which became a big hit on the airwaves.Fred MacMurray is the forest ranger, Susan Hayward is a fetching lumber mill owner, who has the hots for Freddie boy, while he meets, gets the hots for and marries even more fetching! city girl Paulette Goddard. Redheaded wildcat Hayward doesnât take too kindly to the new bride (like itâs any of her business) and gives girlie girl Goddard the wilderness once-over. Think along the lines of of Hayley Millâs treatment of tenderfoot Joanna Barnes in The Parent Trap some twenty years later. Both remained perfectly coiffed and glossed while fighting fires and each other, and MacMurray remains his ever stoic, yet capable self.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Madeline Carroll was originally to play Celia, the part Goddard ended up playing, and Goddard was to play Tana, the Hayward role. After seeing the film, and knowing the wa! y Paramount worked such a treatment during this period, I coul! d see th e Carroll/Goddard combo working very nicely, even better than the finished product in fact, as Goddard had vivaciously conniving down pat (see Hold Back the Dawn (1941)).Susan and Paulette had just come off the set of Cecil B. DeMilleâs Reap the Wild Wind, so the two cuties were no strangers to sharing the screen and both did what was required of them in this lighthearted look at love in the lonesome pines. Also sharing the screen with the star trio was Eugene Pallette (always a rotund treat), Lynne Overman and Regis Toomey, who completes the love daisy chain as an airplane pilot who carries the torch (no pun intendedâ¦.this time) for Haywardâs Tana.Great classic films, best all time movies
Eightieth happy Mr. the senior off birthday
Great classic films, best all time movies
Happy New Year' S Day
Great classic films, best all time movies
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Eightieth happy Mr. the senior off birthday
Great classic films, best all time movies
The forest Rangers (1942): What C you obtain when you cross-country race smoky the bear with the maximum Factor?
The Forest Rangers (1942) isnât high drama, it isnât supposed to be. It IS a sometimes comedy, sometimes action, always colorful yarn from Paramount with some of the studios top stars of the day, tromping around among mile high timbers, dodging the flames of a raging forest fire. Along with striking Technicolor, The Forest Rangers sports a catchy tune, âIâve Got Spurs That Jingle Jangle Jingleâ, written by Frank Loesser and Joseph J. Lilley, which became a big hit on the airwaves.Fred MacMurray is the forest ranger, Susan Hayward is a fetching lumber mill owner, who has the hots for Freddie boy, while he meets, gets the hots for and marries even more fetching! city girl Paulette Goddard. Redheaded wildcat Hayward doesnât take too kindly to the new bride (like itâs any of her business) and gives girlie girl Goddard the wilderness once-over. Think along the lines of of Hayley Millâs treatment of tenderfoot Joanna Barnes in The Parent Trap some twenty years later. Both remained perfectly coiffed and glossed while fighting fires and each other, and MacMurray remains his ever stoic, yet capable self.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Madeline Carroll was originally to play Celia, the part Goddard ended up playing, and Goddard was to play Tana, the Hayward role. After seeing the film, and knowing the wa! y Paramount worked such a treatment during this period, I coul! d see th e Carroll/Goddard combo working very nicely, even better than the finished product in fact, as Goddard had vivaciously conniving down pat (see Hold Back the Dawn (1941)).Susan and Paulette had just come off the set of Cecil B. DeMilleâs Reap the Wild Wind, so the two cuties were no strangers to sharing the screen and both did what was required of them in this lighthearted look at love in the lonesome pines. Also sharing the screen with the star trio was Eugene Pallette (always a rotund treat), Lynne Overman and Regis Toomey, who completes the love daisy chain as an airplane pilot who carries the torch (no pun intendedâ¦.this time) for Haywardâs Tana.Great classic films, best all time movies
Monday, February 21, 2011
Blogathon: Oscars the best actress 1963
Great classic films, best all time movies
Lypsinka Linka
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Podcast: Sexy more intruder. Role performance by OSCAR
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