From the 1960s: Where the Boys Are

1960 Romance Comedy Drama

From MGM

Directed by Henry Levin

Starring

Dolores Hart

George Hamilton

Yvette Mimieux

Jim Hutton

Paula Prentiss

Connie Francis

Barbara Nichols

Frank Gorshin

Chill Wills

Rory Harrity

John Brennan

Simone Signoret

She made a career on playing loose women, often prostitutes, but even when not collecting money she played kept women where her love was illicitly sought.  As she got older she had a field day playing bourgeois wives and girlfriends.  No matter the film or role, her characters were earthy, wise, opinionated, sensuous and unbeatable as a woman in love.  And yet there was always that vulnerability that made them so damned real.  If one were to name France's greatest stars of all time, Simone Signoret's name would be among them.

From the 1940s: Gaslight

1944 Psychological Thriller

From MGM

Directed by George Cukor

Starring

Charles Boyer

Ingrid Bergman

Joseph Cotten

Angela Lansbury

May Whitty

Barbara Everest

Golden Age Casting Choices

Here's some light-hearted fare for you.  Actually, at the last minute I decided not to publish something I wrote (a first for here) and I had nothing else of any real substance ready.  But I did have this and a couple more for just such occasions.  What we have is a number of films that could have looked a bit different had the actors who were first considered actually gotten the roles.  See what you think.  

From the 1950s: Bad Day at Black Rock

1955 Drama

From Metro Goldwyn Mayer

Directed by John Sturges

Starring

Spencer Tracy

Robert Ryan

Anne Francis

Dean Jagger

Walter Brennan

John Ericson

Ernest Borgnine

Lee Marvin

Russell Collins

Walter Sande

The Directors: Nicholas Ray

There's no denying here is a man who marched to his own tune.  His personal life more than matched what he put on the screen.  A former student of Nick Ray's, director Jim Jarmusch, said that Ray was my idol, a legend, the outcast Hollywood legend, white hair, black eye patch, and a head full of subversion and controlled substances.  French director François Truffaut called him the poet of nightfall.  We offer you this to get you in the best frame of mind for all that follows.