From the 1940s: Christmas in Connecticut

1945 Romantic Comedy

From Warner Bros.

Directed by Peter Godfrey

Starring

Barbara Stanwyck

Dennis Morgan

Sydney Greenstreet

S. Z. Sakall

Reginald Gardiner

Una O'Connor

Robert Shayne

From the 1950s: Compulsion

1959 Drama

From 20th Century Fox

Directed by Richard Fleischer

Starring

Orson Welles

Diane Varsi

Dean Stockwell

Bradford Dillman

E. G. Marshall

Martin Milner

Richard Anderson

Robert F. Simon

Edward Binns

Edward G. Robinson

To a degree Edward G. Robinson was fortunate to have had the career he did.  He was 5'5" tall with a lived-in sort of body (he loathed exercise) and a face that to call it plain is a compliment.  A romantic leading man he was not and he knew it as well as his bosses.  Fortunately he was a supreme craftsman, giving beautifully measured performances that commanded one to watch his every move.  Additionally, he landed at a studio that was the perfect match.

Visiting Film Noir: Fallen Angel

1945 Film Noir

From 20th Century Fox

Directed by Otto Preminger

Starring

Alice Faye

Dana Andrews

Linda Darnell

Charles Bickford

Anne Revere

Percy Kilbride

Bruce Cabot

John Carradine

Dorothy Adams

From the 1950s: Come Next Spring

1956 Drama

From Republic Pictures

Directed by R. G. Springsteen

Starring

Ann Sheridan

Steve Cochran

Walter Brennan

Sherry Jackson

Richard Eyer

Edgar Buchanan

Sonny Tufts

James Westmoreland

Ralph Meeker

I always liked him... liked his face, his strong voice, his overall presence, his acting.  On the screen he was generally a tough guy and could be found on either side of the law which is why he populated a few film noirs and westerns that I could usually be found attending.  At the same time I always detected a mischievous sense of humor in the way he approached his craft.  

From the 1960s: Sweet Bird of Youth

1962 Drama

From MGM

Directed by Richard Brooks

Starring

Paul Newman

Geraldine Page

Shirley Knight

Ed Begley

Rip Torn

Mildred Dunnock

Madeleine Sherwood

Philip Abbott

Corey Allen 

Dub Taylor

James Douglas

From the 1950s: Tea and Sympathy

1956 Drama

From MGM

Directed by Vincente Minnelli

Starring

Deborah Kerr

John Kerr

Leif Erickson

Edward Andrews

Darryl Hickman

Norma Crane

Dean Jones

Tom Laughlin

Cesar Romero

I saw him in Brentwood, California... several times, in fact.  I was always impressed with his astonishing physical appearance.  He was tall, aristocratic, ramrod-straight posture, handsome with a great amount of silver hair and always dressed as though he was doing a photo shoot.  I remember one time watching a young girl shove an autograph book in his face as she said are you a movie star?  He gave her a huge, welcoming smile as he took the book and pen and said well I've done a few movies.

From the 1990s: Love! Valour! Compassion!

1997 Romance Comedy Drama

From First Line Features

Directed by Joe Mantello

Starring

Jason Alexander

Randy Becker

Stephen Bogardus

John Glover

John Benjamin Hickey

Justin Kirk

Stephen Spinella

Anthony Perkins

Hollywood tried to market him as the All-American boy next door but it was a tough, if not impossible, sale.  He was anything but that.  When his acting was free of his peculiar mannerisms he wasn't a bad actor at all but he had facial tics, darting eyes, halting language, fingernails to chew and long arms and legs that he didn't seem able to control. He was 6'2" and major skinny.  He reminded me of some sort of neurotic crane.

Movie Biographies: Nijinsky

1980 Biography

From Paramount Pictures

Directed by Herbert Ross

Starring

Alan Bates

George De La Peña

Leslie Browne

Alan Badel

Carla Fracci

Colin Blakeley

Jeremy Irons

Janet Suzman

Ronald Pickup

Mart Crowley

Dirk Bogarde

I came to know of Dirk Bogarde later in life... his life, not mine.  I was young.  I knew who he was but as a teenager I was not the least bit interested in English movies.  I wasn't interested in English actors unless, of course, they'd moved over here and made a slew of American films.  I was still in my Troy Donahue phase... what did I know about great English actors?

From the 1960s: Victim

1961 Drama

From Astor Pictures Corp.

From Basil Dearden

Starring

Dirk Bogarde

Sylvia Syms

Dennis Price

John Barrie

Peter Copley

Peter McEnery

Derren Nesbitt

John Cairney

Golden Age Bravado: Lon McCallister and William Eythe

They were both under contract to 20th Century Fox and its boss Darryl F. Zanuck was generally tolerant of having gay men in his employ.  After all, Tyrone Power, Clifton Webb, Vincent Price and Roddy McDowall and a few others collected paychecks at the West Los Angeles studio.  Zanuck was especially fond of Power and Webb.  But those men marched to the tune of their times.  They generally did what they were told and created no fuss.  The one thing they didn't do was live with another man.  That got the boss very angry.

RIP Marge Champion

I thought she was adorable.  She and her very handsome husband entertained me when I was falling in love with movies, with musicals and with absolutely anyone who danced on that big screen.  Marge and Gower Champion were the only married dancing movie partners I knew and they dazzled me with their vitality, twirling, swirling, dipping, leaping, kicking, acrobatics and imaginative choreography through six films, a television series and numerous other TV shows.

From the 1940s: Red River

1948 Western

From United Artists

Directed by Howard Hawks

Starring

John Wayne

Montgomery Clift

Joanne Dru

Walter Brennan

John Ireland

Harry Carey

Noah Beery Jr.

Harry Carey Jr.

Chief Yowlachie

Paul Fix

Mickey Kuhn

Hank Worden

Coleen Gray

Visiting Film Noir: Double Indemnity

1944 Film Noir

From Paramount Pictures

Directed by Billy Wilder

Starring 

Fred MacMurray

Barbara Stanwyck

Edward G. Robinson 

Porter Hall

Jean Heather

Tom Powers

Byron Barr

Richard Gaines

From the 1940s: Rachel and the Stranger

1948 Romance Comedy Drama

From RKO

Directed by Norman Foster

Starring

Loretta Young

William Holden

Robert Mitchum

Gary Gray

Tom Tully

Sara Haden

James Darren

I've always had a fantasy about James Darren.  No, not that...!  I fantasized that he was really the genuinely nice guy I suspected he was.  I have probably always had that fantasy about movie stars in general.  Of course, fantasy is the right word here because nice is not often the case.  

From the 1950s: River of No Return

1954 Western

From 20th Century Fox

Directed by Otto Preminger

Starring

Robert Mitchum

Marilyn Monroe

Rory Calhoun

Tommy Rettig

Murvyn Vye

Douglas Spencer

Guilty Pleasure: Ladies of the Chorus

1948 Drama

From Columbia Pictures

Directed by Phil Karlson

Starring

Marilyn Monroe

Adele Jergens

Rand Brooks

Nana Bryant

Eddie Garr

Steven Geray

The Directors: George Stevens

He stood alongside John Ford, William Wyler, Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock, Howard Hawks, John Huston and a few others as one of the great American directors of Hollywood's Golden Age, a genius craftsman of some classic cinema.  He was legendary for his sharp eye for detail that enhanced his visual storytelling.  With a couple of exceptions, he had a strong rapport with some of Hollywood's most renowned actors which produced memorable performances.  Three of his films in the 1950s, darlings among the critics and public, are among my favorites ever.

Visiting Film Noir: No Way Out

1950 Film Noir
From 20th Century Fox
Directed by Joseph Mankiewicz

Starring
Richard Widmark
Sidney Poitier

Linda Darnell
Stephen McNally

Mildred Joanne Smith

Harry Bellaver

Ruby Dee

Ossie Davis

Amanda Randolph

Stanley Ridges

A Glittering Cast: The Chase

1966 Drama
From Columbia Pictures
Directed by Arthur Penn

Starring

Marlon Brando

Jane Fonda

Robert Redford

E. G. Marshall

Angie Dickinson 

James Fox

Janice Rule

Martha Hyer

Miriam Hopkins

Richard Bradford

Robert Duvall

Clifton James

Malcom Atterbury

Henry Hull

Diana Hyland

Jocelyn Brando

Joel Fluellen

Ken Renard

Steve Ihnat

Bruce Cabot

From the 1970s: Sometimes a Great Notion

1971 Drama
From Universal
Directed by Paul Newman

Starring
Paul Newman
Henry Fonda
Lee Remick
Michael Sarrazin
Richard Jaeckel
Linda Lawson

Joe Maross

Cliff Potts

Lee Remick

I found her to be such an intelligent, focused and determined actress.  She was also a versatile one who made a few good movies with top actors and directors, made a name for herself on Broadway and when she ultimately headed for television, it was not in the standard episodic rot but in acclaimed programs where her skills were evident and her recognition soared.

Gilbert Roland

He was one of Hollywood's original Latin Lovers, in the same time frame as Rudolf Valentino and years before the likes of Ricardo Montalban and Fernando Lamas.  Gilbert Roland was dashing, sexy, a bit dangerous and often had that cigarillo hanging from his lips.  On the screen he always seemed like he was having a good time.

From the 1940's: Sitting Pretty

1948 Comedy
From 20th Century Fox
Directed by Walter Lang

Starring
Robert Young
Maureen O'Hara
Clifton Webb
Louise Albritton
Richard Haydn
John Russell
Ed Begley
Randy Stuart
Betty Lynn

From the 1950s: Tiger Bay

1959 Crime Drama
From The Rank Organisation
Directed by J. Lee Thompson

Starring
Hayley Mills
Horst Buchholz
John Mills
Yvonne Mitchell
Megs Jenkins
Anthony Dawson
Michael Anderson Jr.

Susannah York

She was the pretty, flaxen-haired beauty who arose out of London's swinging 60s and whose most famous work came from that decade.  For some reason, however, and despite the fact that she worked with top actors and directors and even made two Oscar-winning best pictures and continued to work through 2010, she never attained the glory that Maggie or Judi or Helen or Vanessa did.

From the 1960s: What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice?

1969 Crime Thriller
From Cinerama Releasing Corp.
Directed by Lee. H. Katzin

Starring
Geraldine Page
Ruth Gordon
Rosemary Forsyth
Robert Fuller
Mildred Dunnock
Joan Huntington
Peter Brandon

Lupe Vélez: Mexican Spitfire

She was considered what I like to call one of those too celebrities of the 1920s and 30s, even the 40s... too devilish, too wild, too violent, too loud, too sexual, too selfish, just too over the top.  She was, of course, also too much a product of her time.  Her  offscreen antics kept her from reaching the top of her game.  

From the 1950s: The Defiant Ones

1958 Drama
From United Artists
Directed by Stanley Kramer

Starring
Tony Curtis
Sidney Poitier
Theodore Bikel
Charles McGraw
Lon Chaney Jr.
King Donovan
Lawrence Dobkin
Claude Akins
Cara Williams

Guilty Pleasure: Shalako

1968 Western
From Cinerama Releasing Corp
Directed by Edward Dmytryk

Starring
Sean Connery
Brigitte Bardot
Stephen Boyd
Jack Hawkins
Peter van Eyck
Honor Blackman
Woody Strode
Alexander Knox
Valerie French
Eric Sykes
Don Barry

From the 1960s: No Way to Treat a Lady

1968 Black Comedy Drama
From Paramount Pictures
Directed by Jack Smight

Starring
Rod Steiger
Lee Remick
George Segal
Eileen Heckart
Murray Hamilton
Martine Bartlett
Ruth White
Michael Dunn
Barbara Baxley
Doris Roberts
Irene Dailey

Janice Rule

She never made it to the top ranks of the acting profession and I suspect it annoyed the hell out of her.  It's not difficult to figure out where she went wrong.  I always sensed she had a lot of anger and bitterness which undoubtedly escalated as her film career lackadaisically progressed.  It's also not a stretch to see why she was so often cast as bitter, neurotic socialites.

A Glittering Cast: Woman's World

1954 Comedy Drama
From 20th Century Fox
Directed by Jean Negulesco

Starring
Clifton Webb
June Allyson
Van Heflin
Lauren Bacall
Fred MacMurray
Arlene Dahl
Cornel Wilde
Elliott Reid
Margalo Gillmore

RIP John Saxon

Since Portrait in Black was published here earlier in the month, I have been thinking of John Saxon and had planned to write a piece on him early next month.  It freaks me out when I have someone in my consciousness and then he passes away.  And it's happened before in these pages... with Maureen O'Hara and someone else whom I can't recall at the moment.

From the 1950s: The Long, Hot Summer

1958 Drama
From 20th Century Fox
Directed by Martin Ritt

Starring
Paul Newman
Joanne Woodward
Anthony Franciosa
Orson Welles
Lee Remick
Angela Lansbury
Richard Anderson
Mabel Albertson

From the 1960s: Rome Adventure

1962 Romance Drama
From Warner Bros.
Directed by Delmer Daves

Starring
Troy Donahue
Suzanne Pleshette
Rossano Brazzi
Angie Dickinson
Hampton Fancher
Constance Ford
Al Hirt
Iphigenie Castiglioni
Gertrude Flynn
Pamela Austin

John Gavin

Back in Hollywood's Golden Age when movie studios were thriving they occasionally hired actors or actresses chiefly for the purpose of replacing top contract stars who got big heads and made big demands.  One such case was at Universal-International when Rock Hudson began flexing his muscles.  To step in for Hudson, if need be, an actor had to be tall, dark and handsome and be able to act some.

From the 1940s: In This Our Life

1942 Drama
From Warner Bros
Directed by John Huston

Starring
Bette Davis
Olivia de Havilland
George Brent
Dennis Morgan
Charles Coburn
Frank Craven
Billie Burke
Hattie McDaniel
Lee Patrick
Ernest Anderson

From the 1950s: Wild Is the Wind

1957 Drama

From Paramount

Directed by George Cukor

Starring

Anna Magnani

Anthony Quinn

Anthony Franciosa

Dolores Hart

Joseph Calleia

Lili Valenty

George Raft

You've probably heard of him but many these days have not.  He was never much of an actor and used to say so all the time.  He also addressed how ill-at-ease he was and how he never had any particular acting skills he could think of.  All I could do was be me, he mused.  On the other hand, how many actors have been the subject of a movie biography?  George Raft has.  Let's find out why.

Guilty Pleasures: Portrait in Black

1960 Drama
From Universal
Directed by Michael Gordon

Starring
Lana Turner
Anthony Quinn
Richard Basehart
Sandra Dee
John Saxon
Ray Walston
Anna May Wong
Virginia Grey
Lloyd Nolan

From the 1950s: Separate Tables

1958 Drama
From United Artists
Directed by Delbert Mann

Starring
Deborah Kerr
Rita Hayworth
David Niven
Burt Lancaster
Wendy Hiller
Gladys Cooper
Cathleen Nesbitt
Rod Taylor
Audrey Dalton 
Felix Aylmer
May Hallatt

Howard Duff

In the fabulous fifties when movie stars were golden and fawned over in movie magazines, readers got a kick out of reading about married actors.  Right at the top of any such list was Howard Duff and Ida Lupino.  I list them in that rare order because Duff would have preferred it and after all this piece is about him.  It would depress him that he would be more remembered for an unhappy marriage than for anything he did on the screen.

From the 1950s: The Mating Season

1951 Romance Comedy
From Paramount
Directed by Mitchell Leisen

Starring
Gene Tierney
John Lund
Miriam Hopkins
Thelma Ritter
Jan Sterling
Larry Keating
James Lorimer
Cora Witherspoon
Ellen Corby
Billie Bird

Rossano Brazzi

For a number of years Brazzi personified the romantic aristocrat in nearly three dozen Italian movies.  He appeared briefly on the stage as well.  His Italian films never provided him with the worldwide acclaim he was seeking or thought he deserved.  It wasn't until the late 40s when he came to the U.S. that he made a name for himself.

From the 1970s: Emperor of the North

1973 Drama
From 20th Century Fox
Directed by Robert Aldrich

Starring
Lee Marvin
Ernest Borgnine
Keith Carradine
Charles Tyner
Malcolm Atterbury
Harry Caesar
Matt Clark

Movie Biographies: With a Song in My Heart

1952 Musical Biography
From 20th Century Fox
Directed by Walter Lang

Starring
Susan Hayward
Rory Calhoun
David Wayne
Thelma Ritter
Robert Wagner
Richard Allan
Helen Westcott
Una Merkel
Max Showalter

The Directors: Richard Fleischer

He was a soft-spoken, well-liked, respected craftsman who made quite a number of movies I enjoyed.  He was never as showy or as famous as a number of his contemporaries or forefathers but he got the job done.  He did not have a particular style that I could detect nor did he make a certain type of movie.  Richard Fleischer made some epics, sci-fi's, true-life crime, even horror and thrillers, and to my ever-lasting gratitude, some wonderful film noirs.

May Britt

She had her 15 minutes of fame in the late 50s and early 60s... oh yes she did, she certainly did.  Born in Sweden, she made some Italian movies before she came to the U.S.  She had starring roles in four American films for 20th Century Fox but most of us from those days know her for being far more famous/infamous for her personal life.

Visiting Film Noir: Pickup on South Street

1953 Film Noir
From 20th Century Fox
Directed by Samuel Fuller

Starring
Richard Widmark
Jean Peters
Thelma Ritter
Murvyn Vye
Richard Kiley
Willis Bouchey

Guilty Pleasures: The Legend of Lylah Clare

1968 Drama
From MGM
Directed by Robert Aldrich

Starring
Kim Novak
Peter Finch
Ernest Borgnine
Rossella Falk
Milton Selzer
Gabriele Tinti
Michael Murphy
Valentina Cortese
Coral Browne

Richard Jaeckel

During my first year of marriage I lived in Sherman Oaks, California.  On Saturday mornings I could often be found walking the dog, cutting the grass or washing the car.  (That's probably why I got a divorce.)  I couldn't help but notice a very hunky, short, handsome, blond man in a beautiful blue Woody pull up in front of the house three doors from mine.  He was there most Saturdays during the time I lived there.  One time he walked over to my house and asked if he could use my phone.  When he came back out I said I liked his car.  

The Directors: Chuck Walters

He was not an auteur... he was a company man.  He never went after the limelight... leave that to Minnelli and LeRoy and those other guys.  He felt he put in an honest day's work and he wanted to go home at a reasonable time and he would be back again in the morning.  MGM had a lot of big egos and Walters never had one of them despite excelling in dancing, choreography and directing.  

MGM Livewire: Debbie Reynolds

As a kid living first in Texas and then Burbank, California, Mary Frances Reynolds (you can call her Frannie, everyone did)
was a tomboy and everyone's kid sister.  She loved playing with boys and doing boy things, especially baseball.  The boys didn't always treat her nicely and she bristled when they accused her of being a girl.  As a result Frannie grew feisty, tough and energized, traits that would be a part of her until her dying day.

Villainy with B Leading Man Stephen McNally

He populated a helluva lot of movies in my boyhood and my young eyes bulged out of their sockets at some of the vicious, spellbinding things he did.  All those women he slapped and the men he shot right between the eyes.  While I didn't know the word "amoral" at the time, I see it's fitting to describe Stephen McNally's characters.  He could be a nasty killer, a brooder, blistering with his stock-in-trade being the eyes that narrow and bore into his quarry.  He scared me.  

Guilty Pleasures: Valentino

1977 Biography
Screenplay by Ken Russell
and Mardik Martin
From United Artists
Book by Brad Steiger and
Chaw Mank
Directed by Ken Russell

Starring
Rudolf Nureyev
Leslie Caron
Michelle Phillips
Felicity Kendal
Carol Kane
Seymour Cassel
Huntz Hall

Visiting Film Noir: Johnny Eager

1941 Film Noir
From MGM
Screenplay by John Lee Mahin
and James Edward Grant
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy

Starring
Robert Taylor
Lana Turner
Edward Arnold
Van Heflin
Robert Sterling
Barry Nelson
Paul Stewart
Patricia Dane
Glenda Farrell
Cy Kendall

Vivien Leigh

Few actresses have been as celebrated as Vivien Leigh.  She is certainly among the five best actresses of the Golden Age.  In her own country she was likely more honored for her stage work.  In America she is far better known for her work in two films playing neurotic southern women with a fire burning deep within them... and winning Oscars for both.

From the 1940s: Waterloo Bridge

1940 Romance Drama
From MGM
Screenplay by S. N. Behrman
and Hans Rameau
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy

Starring
Vivien Leigh
Robert Taylor
Lucile Watson
Virginia Field
Maria Ouspenskaya
C. Aubrey Smith

Guilty Pleasures: Three Coins in the Fountain

1954 Romance Drama
From 20th Century Fox
Screenplay by John Patrick
From novel by John Secondari
Directed by Jean Negulesco

Starring
Clifton Webb
Dorothy McGuire
Jean Peters
Louis Jourdan
Maggie McNamara
Rossano Brazzi
Howard St. John
Kathryn Giveny
Cathleen Nesbitt

The Films of Rodgers and Hammerstein

In the early 40's composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein joined forces and set Broadway marquees on fire with their partnership.  Rodgers had previously worked with Lorenz Hart while Hammerstein partnered with Jerome Kern.  Those partnerships were once successful but they were not to compare with the new one.  Audiences couldn't get enough of them and although they didn't always see eye-to-eye, they produced music with a profound influence on America's tastes.

The Incorrigible Tony Curtis

Hey Tony, are you listening up there?  Can you hear me?  Tell all the ladies to stop feeding you grapes on your overstuffed pillows and to stop oiling your body.  I have something to tell you.  Are you listening?  You were very handsome.  Ok, I'm sorry... you were very, very, very handsome.  Are you satisfied?  I got it out of the way right off.   Now listen up.

Visiting Film Noir: Desert Fury

1947 Film Noir
From Paramount Pictures
Novel by Ramona Stewart
Screenplay by Robert Rossen
and A. I. Bezzerides
Directed by Lewis Allen

Starring
Lizabeth Scott
John Hodiak
Burt Lancaster
Mary Astor
Wendell Corey

From the 1950s: The Naked Spur

1953 Western
From MGM
Written by Sam Rolfe
and Harold Jack Bloom
Directed by Anthony Mann

Starring 
James Stewart
Janet Leigh
Robert Ryan
Ralph Meeker
Millard Mitchell

So Sad: Susan Cabot

She is unknown to most people.  I suspect even at the top of her career, she never made much of an impact on filmgoers, aside from her exotic looks.  Exceptions would be the fans of B westerns where one was able to spot her as an Indian maiden and for those who liked 1950's sci-fi flicks.  While good fortune didn't exactly rain on her in her chosen profession, it must be acknowledged that she made some poor choices.  Everyone's climb to the top is different but hers was... well, so sad.

Visiting Film Noir: The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

1946 Film Noir
From Paramount Pictures
Story by John Patrick
Adapted by Robert Rossen
Directed by Lewis Milestone

Starring
Barbara Stanwyck
Van Heflin
Lizabeth Scott
Kirk Douglas
Judith Anderson
Janis Wilson
Darryl Hickman
Roman Bohnen
Mickey Kuhn

From the 1960s: Five Branded Women

1960 War Drama
From Paramount Pictures
Based on novel by Ugo Pirro
Screenplay adapted by Igo Perilli
Directed by Martin Ritt

Starring
Silvana Mangano
Van Heflin
Jeanne Moreau
Vera Miles
Richard Basehart
Barbara Bel Geddes
Alex Nicol
Harry Guardino
Carla Gravina
Steve Forrest

From the 1960s: Pollyanna

1960 Family Comedy Drama
From Disney 
Novel by Eleanor Porter
Adapted by David Swift
Directed by David Swift

Starring
Hayley Mills
Jane Wyman
Richard Egan
Karl Malden
Nancy Olson
Adolphe Menjou
Donald Crisp
Agnes Moorehead
Kevin Corcoran
James Drury
Reta Shaw
Leora Dana
Anne Seymour
Edward Platt
Mary Grace Canfield

From the 1950s: The Bad and the Beautiful

1952 Drama
From Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Story written by George Bradshaw
Screenplay by Charles Schnee
Directed by Vincente Minnelli

Starring
Lana Turner
Kirk Douglas
Walter Pidgeon
Dick Powell
Barry Sullivan
Gloria Grahame
Gilbert Roland
Paul Stewart
Elaine Stewart
Vanessa Brown
Leo G. Carroll

Movie Biographies: Lust for Life

1956 Biography
From Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Based on novel by Irving Stone
Screenplay adapted by Norman Corwin
Directed by Vincente Minnelli

Starring
Kirk Douglas
Anthony Quinn
James Donald
Pamela Brown
Everett Sloane
Jill Bennett
Jeanette Sterke
Toni Gerry

A Glittering Cast: Spartacus

1960 Historical Drama
From Universal Pictures
Screenplay adapted by Dalton Trumbo
Novel by Howard Fast
Directed by Stanley Kubrick

Starring
Kirk Douglas
Laurence Olivier
Jean Simmons
Charles Laughton
Peter Ustinov
John Gavin
John Ireland
John Dall
Nina Foch
Herbert Lom
Woody Strode
Joanna Barnes
Charles McGraw
Tony Curtis

From the 1960's: All Fall Down

1962 Drama
From Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Directed by John Frankenheimer 

Starring
Eva Marie Saint
Warren Beatty
Karl Malden
Angela Lansbury
Brandon deWilde
Constance Ford
Barbara Baxley
Evans Evans

Visiting Film Noir: 99 River Street

1953 Film Noir
From United Artists
Directed by Phil Karlson

Starring
John Payne
Evelyn Keyes
Brad Dexter
Frank Faylen
Peggie Castle
Jay Adler
Jack Lambert

Anne Francis

She tried very hard to become a big movie star but it never worked out for Anne Francis.  She was a looker with her curly blonde hair, sky-blue eyes and a beauty mark on the right of her lower lip.  Maybe it was her outspokenness that did her in.  Maybe she was too much the nymphet for some.  Whatever it was, two major studios gave her a try (one of them twice) and then off she went to the world of television.

From the 1970s: Red Sun

1971 Western
From National General Corp.
Directed by Terence Young

Starring
Charles Bronson
Ursula Andress
Toshirô Mifune
Alain Delon
Capucine
Barta Barri
Anthony Dawson

From the 1950s: Pete Kelly's Blues

1955 Musical Drama
From Warner Bros.
Directed by Jack Webb

Starring 
Jack Webb
Janet Leigh
Edmond O'Brien
Peggy Lee
Andy Devine
Lee Marvin
Ella Fitzgerald
Martin Milner
Than Wyenn

Movie Biographies: The Eddy Duchin Story

1956 Biography  
From Columbia Pictures
Directed by George Sidney 

Starring
Tyrone Power
Kim Novak
Victoria Shaw
James Whitmore
Rex Thompson
Shepperd Strudwick
Frieda Inescort
Larry Keating

A Glittering Cast: How to Make an American Quilt

1995 Drama
From Universal Pictures
Directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse

Starring
Winona Ryder
Anne Bancroft
Ellen Burstyn
Jean Simmons
Kate Nelligan
Maya Angelou
Alfre Woodard
Lois Smith
Samantha Mathis 
Dermot Mulroney
Rip Torn
Johnathon Schaech
Loren Dean
Joanna Going
Tim Guinee
Derrick O'Connor
Richard Jenkins
Claire Danes
Jared Leto
Kate Capshaw

The Directors: Mervyn LeRoy

If it weren't for this director-producer, there would be a giant hole in the middle of Hollywood's Golden Age but as it turned out, his career was one of the most successful.  His signature crime films at Warner Bros. became the studio's signature films as well.  He moved to MGM and presided over those lushly beautiful films for which that studio was famous. He also knew his way around musicals, comedies, action, women's films, historical and social themes.  He was hard to pin down because he could do it all.

The Messy Life of Peter Lawford

It didn't start off well and it didn't end well. It was more or less a messed-up life from start to finish and to his credit, he probably would have agreed.  He made it to the extent that he did as an MGM contract player because the big-name actors were off fighting the war.  He didn't appear to take his career any more seriously than he did anything else.  He was good-looking, had some aristocracy in his bones and lived as a rich playboy... whenever he could.  After his glory years with the Kennedys came to a sorry end, he hit the skids.

Carolyn Jones

She was told early on in her dusty Texas hometown that she looked like Bette Davis.  Everybody thought so.  Her mama even named a baby sister Bette.  It was primarily Carolyn's big brown cow eyes... oh so prominent on her face.  They seemed to bulge out in just the same way Davis' eyes did and they may have shared a similar forehead as well.  Davis and little Carolyn were both blondes in those long-ago days which added to the allure.  Sadly, the hero worship would end badly.

From the 1930s: Come and Get It

1936 Drama
From The Samuel Goldwyn Company
Directed by Howard Hawks & William Wyler

Starring
Edward Arnold
Joel McCrea
Frances Farmer
Walter Brennan
Mady Christians
Mary Nash
Andrea Leeds
Frank Shields
Cecil Cunningham

From the 1950s: Friendly Persuasion

1956 Drama
From Allied Artists
Directed by William Wyler

Starring
Gary Cooper
Dorothy McGuire
Anthony Perkins
Richard Eyer
Robert Middleton
Phyllis Love
Mark Richman
Walter Catlett
Joel Fluellen
John Smith
Marjorie Main

From the 1950s: The Desperate Hours

1955 Drama
From Paramount Pictures
Directed by William Wyler

Starring
Humphrey Bogart
Fredric March
Arthur Kennedy
Martha Scott
Dewey Martin
Gig Young
Mary Murphy
Richard Eyer
Robert Middleton
Whit Bissell
Bert Freed
Ray Collins
Ray Teal

Movie Biographies: Gypsy

1962 Musical Biography
From Warner Bros.
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy

Starring
Rosalind Russell
Natalie Wood
Karl Malden
Paul Wallace
Betty Bruce
Faith Dane
Roxanne Arlen
Ann Jillian
Morgan Brittany
Jean Willes

Martha Hyer

Oh she fascinated me.  Film after film she fascinated me.  I found the actress in her to be icy, haughty, opinionated, uptight, often vindictive and to the manor born.  The woman and the actress were beautiful with gorgeous manners, a formal speaking voice
and a strong constitution.  She was born into a wealthy Texas family and it always showed.  She had that air of aristocracy... she never left home without it.  She also used it to great advantage in most of her film roles but I suspect she lost a few because of it, too.

From the 1960s: Cape Fear

1962 Drama
From Universal Studios
Directed by J. Lee Thompson

Starring
Gregory Peck
Robert Mitchum
Polly Bergen
Lori Martin
Martin Balsam
Telly Savalas
Jack Kruschen
Barrie Chase

The Directors: Fritz Lang

One can look for some humor while finding more than a little irony in this Austrian-born director's story.  He was famous for films which drew attention to the common man and his fight against bureaucracy and the abuse of power.  And yet he was autocratic and mercurial, stubborn and argumentative, intense and vain and could be downright abusive.   He went nose-to-nose with studio heads and was tossed off movie lots.  Some actors revered him and some detested him.  Fritz Lang, largely forgotten by movie audiences, was a force in his day.

A Glittering Cast: In Harm's Way

1965 War Drama
From Paramount Pictures
Directed by Otto Preminger

Starring
John Wayne
Kirk Douglas
Patricia Neal
Tom Tryon
Paula Prentiss
Brandon De Wilde
Jill Haworth
Dana Andrews
Burgess Meredith
Stanley Holloway
Franchot Tone
Patrick O'Neal
Carroll O'Connor
Hugh O'Brian
Barbara Bouchet
George Kennedy
Slim Pickens
Henry Fonda

John Dall

I love writing pieces about actors whose fame has largely evaporated over time and/or may never have reached the heights that were hoped for.  Such is John Dall.  Do you recognize the name?  You fellow movie fanatics, of course, know of him for his two most famous films but I dare say most folks don't know the name.

From the 1950s: The Big Knife

1955 Drama
From United Artists
Directed by Robert Aldrich

Starring
Jack Palance
Ida Lupino
Wendell Corey
Rod Steiger
Shelley Winters
Jean Hagen
Everett Sloane
Wesley Addy
Ilka Chase
Paul Langton
Nick Dennis
Bill Walker

From the 1950s: Bell, Book and Candle

1958 Romantic Comedy
From Columbia Pictures
Directed by Richard Quine

Starring
James Stewart
Kim Novak
Jack Lemmon
Ernie Kovacs
Elsa Lanchester
Hermione Gingold
Janice Rule
Bek Nelson
and
Pyewacket

Melvyn Douglas

So invested was he in Democratic politics that he could have been a congressman (like his wife) or a governor.  Although he elected to stick with being an actor, it was a decided second place to his love for the political arena.   He made his first movie in 1931 and his last in 1981.  Melvyn Douglas' career can be divided into two parts, the early and middle years as a debonair leading man and then after a decade-long hiatus, the older years as a character actor who was richly and justly awarded with golden prizes.