The preview opening of the new exhibit Meet the Stars: 100 Years of MGM Studios and the Golden Age of Hollywood on Thursday night was a crowded, buzzing affair. Held at the Hollywood Heritage Museum in the historic Lasky DeMille Barn across from the Hollywood Bowl, the event showcased the items of over 20 movie collectors. Memorabilia hunters, dressed in fedoras and flirty ’40s dresses, gabbed about their latest finds with others who have a similar passion.
The highlight of the night was when the crowd sang “Happy Birthday” to former MGM child star Cora Sue Collins (who played a little Greta Garbo in 1933’s Queen Christina), the last surviving MGM contract player from the 1930s. Sitting at a tableau that recreated a party thrown for her by MGM in 1935, Collins elegantly thanked everyone for their well wishes. Actor George Chakiris was also in attendance, and he posed next to a costume...
The highlight of the night was when the crowd sang “Happy Birthday” to former MGM child star Cora Sue Collins (who played a little Greta Garbo in 1933’s Queen Christina), the last surviving MGM contract player from the 1930s. Sitting at a tableau that recreated a party thrown for her by MGM in 1935, Collins elegantly thanked everyone for their well wishes. Actor George Chakiris was also in attendance, and he posed next to a costume...
- 4/5/2024
- by Hadley Meares
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Hollywood Roosevelt is offering a look at its newly redesigned penthouse suites.
The iconic hotel recently announced that the two rooms had undergone a reimaging thanks to Los Angeles-based interior designer Kevin Klein through his firm Kevin Klein Design. Both penthouses were named after famous residents of years past.
The first — the Gable and Lombard penthouse — is named after Hollywood icons Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, who resided in the hotel in the 1930s. Gable, still considered one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, and Lombard, a screwball comedy staple, were a true Hollywood power couple of their time. The couple spent just three years married before Lombard was killed in a 1942 plane crash at the age of 33.
The second suite — the Johnny Grant apartment — is named after the host and television personality, who was a permanent resident of the hotel in the 1990s.
Klein and his team worked to...
The iconic hotel recently announced that the two rooms had undergone a reimaging thanks to Los Angeles-based interior designer Kevin Klein through his firm Kevin Klein Design. Both penthouses were named after famous residents of years past.
The first — the Gable and Lombard penthouse — is named after Hollywood icons Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, who resided in the hotel in the 1930s. Gable, still considered one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, and Lombard, a screwball comedy staple, were a true Hollywood power couple of their time. The couple spent just three years married before Lombard was killed in a 1942 plane crash at the age of 33.
The second suite — the Johnny Grant apartment — is named after the host and television personality, who was a permanent resident of the hotel in the 1990s.
Klein and his team worked to...
- 3/21/2024
- by Nicole Fell
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Did you know that Alfred Hitchcock made a film starring Shirley MacLaine and John Forsythe? Did you know he made a broad comedy? Did you know he shot an entire film in Craftsbury, Vermont?! Well, I guess the last one isn't so shocking. And "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", Hitchcock's Carole Lombard-starring screwball comedy from 1941, is quite well-known and liked.
But I'm not talking about "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." I'm talking about the other comedy made by the master of suspense. 1955's "The Trouble With Harry" represented several firsts for Hitchcock -- his first dark comedy, the first film he made after obtaining American citizenship (he had been living and working in the country for 16 years by that point), and the first film he made after commencing production on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." That series quickly became popular with audiences and was cemented in short order as an American institution,...
But I'm not talking about "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." I'm talking about the other comedy made by the master of suspense. 1955's "The Trouble With Harry" represented several firsts for Hitchcock -- his first dark comedy, the first film he made after obtaining American citizenship (he had been living and working in the country for 16 years by that point), and the first film he made after commencing production on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." That series quickly became popular with audiences and was cemented in short order as an American institution,...
- 12/24/2023
- by Ryan Coleman
- Slash Film
Quick, silly and lent weight only by the costume department’s copious wigs and furs, “The Crime Is Mine” finds tireless French auteur François Ozon in the playful period pastiche mode of “Potiche” and “8 Women.” It’s a film less about any frenetic onscreen shenanigans as it is about its own mood board of sartorial and cinematic reference points — Jean Renoir, Billy Wilder, some vintage Chanel — and as such it slips down as fizzily and forgettably as a bottle of off-brand sparkling wine. This story of an aspiring stage star standing trial for a top impresario’s murder (and making the most of her moment in the tabloid flashbulbs) may be based on a nearly 90-year-old play, but for those versed more in Hollywood and Broadway than in French theater, Ozon’s adaptation resembles a kind of diva fanfic: What if Roxie Hart went up against Norma Desmond, except in rollicking 1930s Paris?...
- 12/24/2023
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
The 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany were about more than sports. The world was still mired in the Great Depression, and faced the prospect of a second world war as fascism flourished throughout Europe. As such, there couldn't have been a worse time for Berlin to host the games. They gave Hitler a global platform to espouse his white supremacist views, and he vigorously exploited the opportunity by putting on an Aryan spectacle that made him look like the god emperor of the greatest (and whitest) country on Earth.
And so it was important for the free-ish world to trounce Hitler's athletes whenever possible. When we look back on the games now, the first figure that comes to mind is African-American track-and-field prodigy Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals as Hitler fumed from his box in his imposing, 100,000-seat Olympiastadion. But there were other triumphs, one of the most notable being the U.
And so it was important for the free-ish world to trounce Hitler's athletes whenever possible. When we look back on the games now, the first figure that comes to mind is African-American track-and-field prodigy Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals as Hitler fumed from his box in his imposing, 100,000-seat Olympiastadion. But there were other triumphs, one of the most notable being the U.
- 12/17/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
James Brolin on Wednesday clarified he was mistakenly referring to the 1973 film “The Way We Were” in an interview with Bill Maher in which he said his wife, Barbra Streisand, was working on redoing the ending.
“The Way We Were” is, in fact, being re-released Oct. 17 on Blu-ray for its 50th anniversary, not “Funny Girl.”
Brolin released a statement of clarification to TheWrap.
“To My Wife Barbra and all her fans,” the statement said. “Drinking tequila with Bill Maher on his ‘Club Random’ podcast recently, I mistakenly mentioned the wrong film. I meant to say my wife was working on ‘The Way We Were.‘ Apologies for all the confusion … Jim Brolin.”
Original story is below:
“Funny Girl,” the smash hit that cemented Barbra Streisand’s place in Hollywood at the ripe age of 26, ended with her protagonist, Fanny Brice, separating from her husband after he was released from prison.
Fifty-five years later,...
“The Way We Were” is, in fact, being re-released Oct. 17 on Blu-ray for its 50th anniversary, not “Funny Girl.”
Brolin released a statement of clarification to TheWrap.
“To My Wife Barbra and all her fans,” the statement said. “Drinking tequila with Bill Maher on his ‘Club Random’ podcast recently, I mistakenly mentioned the wrong film. I meant to say my wife was working on ‘The Way We Were.‘ Apologies for all the confusion … Jim Brolin.”
Original story is below:
“Funny Girl,” the smash hit that cemented Barbra Streisand’s place in Hollywood at the ripe age of 26, ended with her protagonist, Fanny Brice, separating from her husband after he was released from prison.
Fifty-five years later,...
- 10/11/2023
- by Jeremy Bailey
- The Wrap
There wasn't a funnier or sharper show in the mid-1980s than "Moonlighting." Created by Glenn Gordon Caron, the hour-long ABC series starred Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis as Maddie Hayes and David Addison, perpetually squabbling partners in the Blue Moon Detective Agency. It was an odd duck. Caron and the cast took big, genre-hopping swings; one episode might be a musical, the next might be written in iambic pentameter, and another could be a homage to big-screen boxing melodramas. It was arguably the ballsiest network series prior to the 1990 premiere of "Twin Peaks."
And somehow, in the middle of the Reagan era, "Moonlighting" became a Nielsen ratings behemoth.
American television viewers weren't exactly clamoring for an amiably off-kilter riff on "The Thin Man" and 1930s - '40s screwball comedies at the time, but once they saw Shepherd and Willis bantering with Hepburn-Grant ease, they were sold. "Moonlighting" roared...
And somehow, in the middle of the Reagan era, "Moonlighting" became a Nielsen ratings behemoth.
American television viewers weren't exactly clamoring for an amiably off-kilter riff on "The Thin Man" and 1930s - '40s screwball comedies at the time, but once they saw Shepherd and Willis bantering with Hepburn-Grant ease, they were sold. "Moonlighting" roared...
- 9/26/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
He is best remembered as the affable dad on the long-running television series “My Three Sons” and for his good-natured characters in a string in Disney films. But Fred MacMurray had a rich and varied career that spanned over half a century.
Frederick Martin MacMurray was born on August 30, 1908, in Kankakee, Il. His father was a concert violinist, and young Fred initially followed his father steps into the music business. He worked as a saxophonist and vocalist to pay his way through college, eventually moving to Los Angeles and joining the California Collegians vocal ensemble. This led him cross-country to Broadway, where he was discovered by a Paramount scout, who brought him back to L.A. and film stardom.
MacMurray is widely considered one of the most underrated actors of the Golden Age of Hollywood. He held his own against some of the industry’s most talented actresses, including four...
Frederick Martin MacMurray was born on August 30, 1908, in Kankakee, Il. His father was a concert violinist, and young Fred initially followed his father steps into the music business. He worked as a saxophonist and vocalist to pay his way through college, eventually moving to Los Angeles and joining the California Collegians vocal ensemble. This led him cross-country to Broadway, where he was discovered by a Paramount scout, who brought him back to L.A. and film stardom.
MacMurray is widely considered one of the most underrated actors of the Golden Age of Hollywood. He held his own against some of the industry’s most talented actresses, including four...
- 8/25/2023
- by Susan Pennington, Misty Holland and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Jessica Lange came by her restlessness naturally. Born on April 20, 1949, to a stay-at-home mom and a traveling salesman father who moved the family all over the state of Minnesota, she quickly became acclimated to the process of re-acclimating. Eventually, the need for stabilization lost its appeal. Three years into studying art and photography at the University of Minnesota, she married Spanish photographer Paco Grande, at which point their shared wanderlust took them all over the United States and Mexico. The pair split upon moving to Paris, where Lange discovered Étienne Decroux and corporeal mime -- which departs from the conventional white-faced japery you're familiar with, and seeks to find abstract poetry in the movement of people and things.
Lange possessed the soul of a poet, but found this form of performance emotionally unrewarding, so she decamped for New York City to study acting with Mira Rostova at Hb Studio. She...
Lange possessed the soul of a poet, but found this form of performance emotionally unrewarding, so she decamped for New York City to study acting with Mira Rostova at Hb Studio. She...
- 7/25/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Jennifer Lawrence is hilarious. Sure, she made her name as an actor in dead-serious indie dramas (The Burning Plain, Winter’s Bone), franchise tent poles (The Hunger Games trilogy, those X-Men 2.0 blockbusters), the kind of nerve-shredding films that fall somewhere between horror and thriller (House at the End of the Street, Passengers), and whatever category you care to slot Mother! into. Filmmaker David O. Russell figured out early on that Lawrence was a perfect fit for his skewed, neurotic dramedies, and it’s impossible to think that Silver Linings Playbook and...
- 6/23/2023
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
Jennifer Lawrence and Andrew Barth Feldman in No Hard FeelingsPhoto: Macall Polay/Sony Pictures Entertainment
In No Hard Feelings, Jennifer Lawrence plays Maddie, a floundering 32-year-old so down on her luck she’s willing to make a deal with the parents of a sheltered 19-year-old to “date” him in exchange...
In No Hard Feelings, Jennifer Lawrence plays Maddie, a floundering 32-year-old so down on her luck she’s willing to make a deal with the parents of a sheltered 19-year-old to “date” him in exchange...
- 6/22/2023
- by Cindy White
- avclub.com
Here’s the thing: you can argue for another Indiana Jones film as the archaeologist’s greatest adventure, but then Raiders comes along and outshines it with a light that reduces all who disrespect it to dust. Raiders is a perfect film: if it had flaws they’d be like the scar on Harrison Ford’s chin: a flourish to set off the perfection of the rest. If Raiders had a flaw (see Note 2), it would be like the deliberate mistake that master Persian carpet weavers introduce to their intricate patterns so that they don’t challenge God himself. And if this film teaches us anything, it’s that challenging God is not a good idea. The other are (mostly) astonishingly great because they’re a lot like Raiders. Raiders is astonishingly great because it is a perfect film.
First and foremost, that’s down to Steven Spielberg, which explains...
First and foremost, that’s down to Steven Spielberg, which explains...
- 6/21/2023
- by Helen O'Hara
- Empire - Movies
Many L.A. neighborhoods regularly welcome new hotels, but Santa Monica not so often. Until earlier this year, Ocean Avenue hadn’t seen a fresh property open in 11 years. But the debut of The Georgian in April seems to have kicked off a new chapter for the classic coastal city, which in recent months has also been blessed with two major hotel transformations and, later this year, will see another brand-new luxury bolthole added to its beloved seafront strip.
And there’s all the more reason to plan a trip or staycation in order to sample the area’s latest foodie favorites such as Coucou (218 Main St.), a convivial Cali-French mashup bistro in a former art gallery just over the border in Venice, and Isla (2424 Main St.), serving wood-fired seafood and potent cocktails. Also hot: Bar Monette (109 Santa Monica Blvd.), the hood’s latest source for perfectly blistered pizza thanks to chef Sean MacDonald.
And there’s all the more reason to plan a trip or staycation in order to sample the area’s latest foodie favorites such as Coucou (218 Main St.), a convivial Cali-French mashup bistro in a former art gallery just over the border in Venice, and Isla (2424 Main St.), serving wood-fired seafood and potent cocktails. Also hot: Bar Monette (109 Santa Monica Blvd.), the hood’s latest source for perfectly blistered pizza thanks to chef Sean MacDonald.
- 6/10/2023
- by Kathryn Romeyn
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When Twa Flight 3, a twin-engine DC-3 concluding its cross-country route from Indiana to Burbank, California, slammed into Potosi Mountain just outside of Las Vegas in the early evening of January 16, 1942, the movies lost its greatest screwball comedienne.
Carole Lombard was 33 years old, and had just weathered a run of tepidly received dramas to reclaim her stature as one of Hollywood's most dependably hilarious performers via Alfred Hitchcock's "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." She was about to receive another round of critical acclaim for her turn as the Polish theater diva Maria Tura in Ernst Lubitsch's masterful "To Be or Not to Be." She was married to Rhett Butler himself, Clark Gable, and had committed herself to the war effort (she'd been in her home state of Indiana to host a war bond rally). Lombard was as beloved and consequential an actor as there was in the industry, and, just like that,...
Carole Lombard was 33 years old, and had just weathered a run of tepidly received dramas to reclaim her stature as one of Hollywood's most dependably hilarious performers via Alfred Hitchcock's "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." She was about to receive another round of critical acclaim for her turn as the Polish theater diva Maria Tura in Ernst Lubitsch's masterful "To Be or Not to Be." She was married to Rhett Butler himself, Clark Gable, and had committed herself to the war effort (she'd been in her home state of Indiana to host a war bond rally). Lombard was as beloved and consequential an actor as there was in the industry, and, just like that,...
- 5/13/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Rachel McAdams had been anointed Hollywood's latest "It Girl" when she was tapped to grace the cover of Vanity Fair's 2006 Oscar issue alongside Keira Knightley and Scarlett Johansson. She was coming off a string of critical and commercial successes in "Mean Girls," "The Notebook," "Red Eye" and "The Family Stone," and appeared to be on the cusp of superstardom. But when McAdams learned, upon arriving at the Tom Ford photoshoot, that she was expected to pose nude, she walked, promptly fired her publicist (who'd failed to inform her of the shoot's parameters), and pressed the pause button on her film career.
Prior to the #MeToo revolution, firing up double rockets at the exploitative Hollywood movie star machine was considered career suicide. This was how women got smeared with the "difficult" label. McAdams, however, persevered and has established herself as one of the most brilliantly unpredictable actors of her generation. She's...
Prior to the #MeToo revolution, firing up double rockets at the exploitative Hollywood movie star machine was considered career suicide. This was how women got smeared with the "difficult" label. McAdams, however, persevered and has established herself as one of the most brilliantly unpredictable actors of her generation. She's...
- 4/21/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
The 1962 film, The Misfits, is a western drama by director John Huston and screenwriter Arthur Miller. The movie starred Miller’s wife, Marilyn Monroe, and two big male actors of the time, Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift. Sadly, the film was marred with tragedy.
What is ‘The Misfits’ about?
The Misfits depicts Monroe’s Roslyn Taber, a beautiful ex-stripper Roslyn Taber in the midst of a divorce. She ends up meeting aging cowboy-turned-gambler Gay Langland, played by Gable, and former World War II aviator Guido Racanelli, played by Eli Wallach.
The two men become smitten with Roslyn and the three decide to move into Guido’s still-under-construction desert home together. When ex-rodeo star Perce Howland arrives, played by Montgomery Clift, the four start a business capturing wild horses.
The Misfits was lauded by critics and fans for the writing and cast performances even if it wasn’t a major hit when it was first released.
What is ‘The Misfits’ about?
The Misfits depicts Monroe’s Roslyn Taber, a beautiful ex-stripper Roslyn Taber in the midst of a divorce. She ends up meeting aging cowboy-turned-gambler Gay Langland, played by Gable, and former World War II aviator Guido Racanelli, played by Eli Wallach.
The two men become smitten with Roslyn and the three decide to move into Guido’s still-under-construction desert home together. When ex-rodeo star Perce Howland arrives, played by Montgomery Clift, the four start a business capturing wild horses.
The Misfits was lauded by critics and fans for the writing and cast performances even if it wasn’t a major hit when it was first released.
- 3/30/2023
- by Angela Ward
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Carole Cook, “Sixteen Candles” actress, Broadway star and longtime collaborator and friend of Lucille Ball, has died. She was 98. Cook’s rep, Robert Malcolm, confirmed the sad news to Et on Wednesday, revealing that Cook died three days shy of her 99th birthday.
“She was one of my favourites. She passed away from heart failure today. She was in the hospital. She came home last week. Her birthday would have been Saturday. She would have been 99. She died peacefully, and her husband was there,” Malcolm shared.
“She was a wonderfully gifted and outrageous woman. She could say the dirtiest things and you would never be offended,” he added. “She was a lovely, lovely person. She was an incredibly talented woman and loved what she did.”
Cook came to Hollywood in 1959 from Texas, getting her start on an episode of Ball’s “Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse”. Born Mildred Frances Cook, Ball convinced...
“She was one of my favourites. She passed away from heart failure today. She was in the hospital. She came home last week. Her birthday would have been Saturday. She would have been 99. She died peacefully, and her husband was there,” Malcolm shared.
“She was a wonderfully gifted and outrageous woman. She could say the dirtiest things and you would never be offended,” he added. “She was a lovely, lovely person. She was an incredibly talented woman and loved what she did.”
Cook came to Hollywood in 1959 from Texas, getting her start on an episode of Ball’s “Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse”. Born Mildred Frances Cook, Ball convinced...
- 1/12/2023
- by Becca Longmire
- ET Canada
Carole Cook, a one-time protégé of Lucille Ball who starred in the CBS sitcom The Lucy Show and the hit film Sixteen Candles, has died. She was 98. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the veteran actress passed away on Wednesday, January 11, due to heart failure, just three days before her 99th birthday. Born Mildred Frances Cook on January 14, 1924, in Abilene, Texas, her on-screen career began after Ball encouraged her to come to Hollywood in the late 1950s. Ball also convinced Cook to change her first name from Mildred to Carole, honoring her favorite actress, Carole Lombard. Cook appeared in an episode of Ball’s Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse before going on to work opposite the comedienne on The Lucy Show from 1963 to 1968, playing Lucy Carmichael’s friend Thelma Green. She also appeared in five episodes of Here’s Lucy from 1969-74. In addition to her work with Ball, Cook had parts in several other classic television series,...
- 1/12/2023
- TV Insider
The famed star of stage and screen, Carole Cook, has died of heart failure at the age of 98. Born Mildred Francis Cook, the actor was given the stage name Carole by her longtime friend and mentor Lucille Ball and it stuck for her entire 60-year career.
Starting in the late 1950s, Cook was a staple on television, appearing on shows like "U.S. Marshalls," "The Lucy Show," "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis," "McMillan & Wife," "Maude," "Baretta," "Charlie's Angels," "Kojak," "The Love Boat," "Murder, She Wrote," "Grey's Anatomy," and "Dynasty," to name but a small sampling of her credits list.
She was almost as prolific on the stage as she was on television, appearing in a ton of big-name shows. She notably was the second actor to fill in for the role of Dolly Levi in "Hello, Dolly!" after Carol Channing and appeared in shows on and off Broadway...
Starting in the late 1950s, Cook was a staple on television, appearing on shows like "U.S. Marshalls," "The Lucy Show," "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis," "McMillan & Wife," "Maude," "Baretta," "Charlie's Angels," "Kojak," "The Love Boat," "Murder, She Wrote," "Grey's Anatomy," and "Dynasty," to name but a small sampling of her credits list.
She was almost as prolific on the stage as she was on television, appearing in a ton of big-name shows. She notably was the second actor to fill in for the role of Dolly Levi in "Hello, Dolly!" after Carol Channing and appeared in shows on and off Broadway...
- 1/12/2023
- by Eric Vespe
- Slash Film
Carole Cook, a veteran stage and screen actor who was a protégé of Lucille Ball, has died in Beverly Hills, Calif., of heart failure. She was 98.
Cook was known for her guest roles on “The Lucy Show” from 1963-68 and “Here’s Lucy” from 1969-74. She began her acting career in 1959 when Ball requested she appear in an episode of “Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse” titled, “The Desilu Revue.”
In films, Cook was known for her role as Molly Ringwald’s Grandma Helen in the 1984 John Hughes rom-com, “Sixteen Candles.” She also appeared in “The Incredible Mr. Limpet,” “Palm Springs Weekend,” “American Gigolo,” “The Gauntlet,” “Grandview, U.S.A.,” “Summer Lovers” and “A Very Sordid Wedding.”
In addition to her television work with Ball, Cook guest starred on “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,” “U.S. Marshal,” “Daniel Boone,” “My World and Welcome to It,” “That Girl,” “Baretta,” “Starsky and Hutch,” “Charlie’s Angels,...
Cook was known for her guest roles on “The Lucy Show” from 1963-68 and “Here’s Lucy” from 1969-74. She began her acting career in 1959 when Ball requested she appear in an episode of “Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse” titled, “The Desilu Revue.”
In films, Cook was known for her role as Molly Ringwald’s Grandma Helen in the 1984 John Hughes rom-com, “Sixteen Candles.” She also appeared in “The Incredible Mr. Limpet,” “Palm Springs Weekend,” “American Gigolo,” “The Gauntlet,” “Grandview, U.S.A.,” “Summer Lovers” and “A Very Sordid Wedding.”
In addition to her television work with Ball, Cook guest starred on “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,” “U.S. Marshal,” “Daniel Boone,” “My World and Welcome to It,” “That Girl,” “Baretta,” “Starsky and Hutch,” “Charlie’s Angels,...
- 1/12/2023
- by Michaela Zee
- Variety Film + TV
Carole Cook, a protege of Lucille Ball who would become a familiar face through appearances on Ball’s TV shows, movies like The Incredible Mr. Limpet and Sixteen Candles and stage musicals 42nd Street and Romantic Comedy, died today of heart failure in Beverly Hills, California, just three days before her 99th birthday.
Her death was announced by husband Tom Troupe.
Born Mildred Frances Cook in Abilene, Texas, Cook made her Broadway debut as a replacement in 1954’s Threepenny Opera. After moving to Los Angeles, she became a favorite of Ball’s, who suggested the name spelling of Carole in honor of movie star Carole Lombard. “Like her, you have the same healthy disrespect for all things in general,” Ball told Cook.
Cook would subsequently make guest appearances on Ball’s sitcoms The Lucy Show and Here’s Lucy. The two remained life-long friends, with Ball serving as matron-of-honor at Cook’s 1964 wedding to Troupe.
Her death was announced by husband Tom Troupe.
Born Mildred Frances Cook in Abilene, Texas, Cook made her Broadway debut as a replacement in 1954’s Threepenny Opera. After moving to Los Angeles, she became a favorite of Ball’s, who suggested the name spelling of Carole in honor of movie star Carole Lombard. “Like her, you have the same healthy disrespect for all things in general,” Ball told Cook.
Cook would subsequently make guest appearances on Ball’s sitcoms The Lucy Show and Here’s Lucy. The two remained life-long friends, with Ball serving as matron-of-honor at Cook’s 1964 wedding to Troupe.
- 1/12/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Carole Cook, who used a career boost from Lucille Ball to build a career that included three turns on Broadway and roles in Sixteen Candles and The Incredible Mr. Limpet, has died. She was 98.
Cook died of heart failure on Wednesday, three days shy of her birthday, in Beverly Hills, her husband, actor Tom Troupe, announced.
On television, Cook showed up as the ex-wife of Walter Findlay (Bill Macy) on Maude, as the bar owner of the cop hangout Stella’s on Kojak, as madam Cora Van Husen on Dynasty and as Donna La Mar, the girlfriend of Charlie Cagney (Dick O’Neill), on Cagney & Lacey.
The fun-loving Texan came to Hollywood at Ball’s behest and appeared on a 1959 episode of the comedienne’s Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse. Ball convinced her to change her first name from Mildred to Carole in honor of the actress she most admired, Carole Lombard.
Cook...
Cook died of heart failure on Wednesday, three days shy of her birthday, in Beverly Hills, her husband, actor Tom Troupe, announced.
On television, Cook showed up as the ex-wife of Walter Findlay (Bill Macy) on Maude, as the bar owner of the cop hangout Stella’s on Kojak, as madam Cora Van Husen on Dynasty and as Donna La Mar, the girlfriend of Charlie Cagney (Dick O’Neill), on Cagney & Lacey.
The fun-loving Texan came to Hollywood at Ball’s behest and appeared on a 1959 episode of the comedienne’s Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse. Ball convinced her to change her first name from Mildred to Carole in honor of the actress she most admired, Carole Lombard.
Cook...
- 1/11/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When nice guys turn nasty: ‘The Good Nurse’ could follow in the Oscar footsteps of ‘Night Must Fall’
Oscar-winning Eddie Redmayne (“The Theory of Everything”) has been testing out his darker side of late. The baby-faced 40-year-old British actor has made a name for playing nice, often complex guys. But last year, he turned that persona on its ear in London’s West End playing the smarmy and decadent Emcee in the revival of the musical “Cabaret.” He won the prestigious Olivier Award for his performance.
And now he’s giving a killer of a performance as a serial murderer in Netflix’s fact-based thriller “The Good Nurse.” Redmayne’s hospital nurse Charlie is friendly and sweet with a great bedside manner. But beneath this caring visage lurks a vicious mind who killed at least 400 patients at various hospitals over the years.
Doing a 180 from his usual fare, recalls Robert Montgomery’s shift with 1937’s “Night Must Fall.” Best known these days as the father of Elizabeth Montgomery of “Bewitched” fame,...
And now he’s giving a killer of a performance as a serial murderer in Netflix’s fact-based thriller “The Good Nurse.” Redmayne’s hospital nurse Charlie is friendly and sweet with a great bedside manner. But beneath this caring visage lurks a vicious mind who killed at least 400 patients at various hospitals over the years.
Doing a 180 from his usual fare, recalls Robert Montgomery’s shift with 1937’s “Night Must Fall.” Best known these days as the father of Elizabeth Montgomery of “Bewitched” fame,...
- 11/3/2022
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Click here to read the full article.
What the Chateau Marmont has been to the Sunset Strip — a hotel-slash-playground of the famous and frisky — the Georgian hotel once was to Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica. Known for its handsome turquoise blue Art Deco exterior, it’s been a local landmark since it opened in 1933 and was a favorite haunt of Hollywood stars including Charlie Chaplin, Fatty Arbuckle and Clark Gable, who, while married, is said to have met up with Carole Lombard there. Mobsters such as Bugsy Siegel and Al Capone also frequented The Georgian, which was home to a speakeasy during Prohibition.
Now, The Georgian, located at 1415 Ocean Avenue, is set to relaunch after a chic renovation that promises to restore much of its Art Deco grandeur. Purchased in 2020 by Blvd Hospitality (the developer behind downtown Los Angeles’ Ace Hotel) in partnership with Esi Ventures, the 84-room, eight-story hotel...
What the Chateau Marmont has been to the Sunset Strip — a hotel-slash-playground of the famous and frisky — the Georgian hotel once was to Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica. Known for its handsome turquoise blue Art Deco exterior, it’s been a local landmark since it opened in 1933 and was a favorite haunt of Hollywood stars including Charlie Chaplin, Fatty Arbuckle and Clark Gable, who, while married, is said to have met up with Carole Lombard there. Mobsters such as Bugsy Siegel and Al Capone also frequented The Georgian, which was home to a speakeasy during Prohibition.
Now, The Georgian, located at 1415 Ocean Avenue, is set to relaunch after a chic renovation that promises to restore much of its Art Deco grandeur. Purchased in 2020 by Blvd Hospitality (the developer behind downtown Los Angeles’ Ace Hotel) in partnership with Esi Ventures, the 84-room, eight-story hotel...
- 10/11/2022
- by Degen Pener
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Click here to read the full article.
It was the summer of 1973 and Meryl Streep, fresh off her first year of drama school, had a job cleaning urinals in New Haven, Connecticut.
“True story,” she recalled from an Austin podium Saturday night in opening a tribute that was less about bathrooms and more about an acting hero. “I heard that a friend of mine that I knew in college got cast in a big movie and it was the first person that I ever knew that had been cast in a movie. Michael Moriarty was a beautiful young actor. So, all my friends after work, we went to the movie theater to see him.”
The film was the John D. Hancock-directed Bang the Drum Slowly about the friendship between a pitcher (Moriarty) and catcher as they cope with the latter’s terminal illness through the course of a baseball season.
It was the summer of 1973 and Meryl Streep, fresh off her first year of drama school, had a job cleaning urinals in New Haven, Connecticut.
“True story,” she recalled from an Austin podium Saturday night in opening a tribute that was less about bathrooms and more about an acting hero. “I heard that a friend of mine that I knew in college got cast in a big movie and it was the first person that I ever knew that had been cast in a movie. Michael Moriarty was a beautiful young actor. So, all my friends after work, we went to the movie theater to see him.”
The film was the John D. Hancock-directed Bang the Drum Slowly about the friendship between a pitcher (Moriarty) and catcher as they cope with the latter’s terminal illness through the course of a baseball season.
- 9/26/2022
- by Chris Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The world was at war 80 years ago. The United States was grieving over the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 by the Japanese military and the defeat of our forces that month at Wake Island. And then the beloved Carole Lombard, her mother, servicemen and the crew perished in a plane crash west of Las Vegas on January 16, 1942. She was returning to Hollywood after raising 2 million in a war bond drive in Indianapolis.
How would Hollywood and audiences respond to World War II? They certainly didn’t shy away from the war. If you look at the top 10 films of the year, there are some escapist films but also movies dealing with the global conflict.
In fact, the No. 1 film of the year William Wyler’s “Mrs. Miniver” broke records at Radio City Music Hall in New York playing 10 weeks. Production began on the stirring, sentimental drama about a British...
How would Hollywood and audiences respond to World War II? They certainly didn’t shy away from the war. If you look at the top 10 films of the year, there are some escapist films but also movies dealing with the global conflict.
In fact, the No. 1 film of the year William Wyler’s “Mrs. Miniver” broke records at Radio City Music Hall in New York playing 10 weeks. Production began on the stirring, sentimental drama about a British...
- 9/18/2022
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Actress Diane Kruger ("The 355") poses for "Women's Health" magazine, photographed by Caleb & Gladys:
"With modeling, you pose," said the Carole Lombard lookalike. "You want to look your best all the time. "With acting, you have to be aware of the camera. The more you show your imperfections, the better you're going to be.
"And I get offered a 'World War II' movie at least once a week just because I speak German.
"But I don't want to let my life as a woman pass me by. There's a time to work, there's a time to be young and crazy, and there should be a time to enjoy motherhood.
"What counts in Hollywood is box office. It doesn't really matter what people think of you as an actor..."
Click the images to enlarge...
"With modeling, you pose," said the Carole Lombard lookalike. "You want to look your best all the time. "With acting, you have to be aware of the camera. The more you show your imperfections, the better you're going to be.
"And I get offered a 'World War II' movie at least once a week just because I speak German.
"But I don't want to let my life as a woman pass me by. There's a time to work, there's a time to be young and crazy, and there should be a time to enjoy motherhood.
"What counts in Hollywood is box office. It doesn't really matter what people think of you as an actor..."
Click the images to enlarge...
- 6/6/2022
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
The screwball comedy has a unique place in Hollywood history: When times were tough, audiences sought escapism. What was less interesting to audiences during the Great Depression was celebrations of wealth and extravagance, as the purse strings were tighter than ever before. Enter the screwball, comedies that regularly delighted audiences by transporting them with ridiculous and often nonsensical scenarios featuring the brightest stars of the day. Performers like Carole Lombard, Gene Kelly, Claudette Colbert, Jean Arthur, Irene Dunn, and Gary Cooper regularly lit up the screen. The genre exploded in the 1930s, and while there's no consensus as to the first screwball, "Twentieth Century" and "It...
The post The 15 Best Screwball Comedies Of All Time appeared first on /Film.
The post The 15 Best Screwball Comedies Of All Time appeared first on /Film.
- 4/21/2022
- by Barry Levitt
- Slash Film
To lose ourselves in a world of winks and wisecracks from quick-witted showgirls, ditzy heiresses and fast-talking career women may seem like a borderline irresponsible choice in These Troubled Times. But the blast of pure pleasure that is the Berlin Film Festival’s 27-movie tribute to Mae West, Rosalind Russell and Carole Lombard is an act of cinematic self-care with a precedent. The “No Angels” Retrospective, which co-ordinator Annika Haupts says was conceived as “mood-lightening” counter-programming during Germany’s first corona lockdown, comprises comedies that were themselves developed during America’s Great Depression. Spanning 1932 to 1943, there are ordained classics like “My Man Godfrey,” “His Girl Friday,” “Twentieth Century,” “To Be or Not to Be” and “The Women.” But there’s also a trove of less well-known treasures, united by irreverence and leading ladies whose charisma transforms the contrivances of Hayes Code-era Hollywood into escapism so effervescent it froths the blues away.
- 2/11/2022
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
In the two dozen years since Paul Thomas Anderson first became an Oscar nominee, he has received seven more bids across four categories, the two most recent of which came in 2018 for “Phantom Thread” (Best Picture; Best Director). He has also directed nine nominated performances that span three of the four acting categories; to date, no Anderson film has ever figured in a Best Actress lineup. But now, Alana Haim (“Licorice Pizza”) could make history as the first to do so.
Haim, whose performance in “Licorice Pizza” marks her film debut, ranks ninth in our Best Actress odds but that should change based on her surprise BAFTA bid. Those running ahead of her are four women snubbed by the BAFTAs — Olivia Colman (“The Lost Daughter”), Nicole Kidman (“Being the Ricardos”), Jessica Chastain (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”) and Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”) — plus Lady Gaga (“House of Gucci”), Penélope Cruz (“Parallel Mothers...
Haim, whose performance in “Licorice Pizza” marks her film debut, ranks ninth in our Best Actress odds but that should change based on her surprise BAFTA bid. Those running ahead of her are four women snubbed by the BAFTAs — Olivia Colman (“The Lost Daughter”), Nicole Kidman (“Being the Ricardos”), Jessica Chastain (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”) and Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”) — plus Lady Gaga (“House of Gucci”), Penélope Cruz (“Parallel Mothers...
- 2/3/2022
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
To cite Monica Vitti as an icon, following her death in Rome this week at 90, is somehow unsatisfying. She could never be summed up as something so inert — she was far too vividly alive. If her sensuality has been called “chilly,” it nonetheless animated every frame she stood in or fast-tapped through in high heels. If the landscapes her greatest creative partner Michelangelo Antonioni directed her across were at times sprawling or forbidding, she always held the eye, whether with a look or a highly kinetic outburst.
To a young film buff crammed into a swaybacked seat at a Manhattan arthouse, beholding her for the first time was to risk a schoolboy crush. She’s been called “Impossibly lovely” on this site, and that’s true enough — impossible, and yet there she is onscreen. The sturdy lips forming a blossom of a mouth, the eyes that seem focused just a...
To a young film buff crammed into a swaybacked seat at a Manhattan arthouse, beholding her for the first time was to risk a schoolboy crush. She’s been called “Impossibly lovely” on this site, and that’s true enough — impossible, and yet there she is onscreen. The sturdy lips forming a blossom of a mouth, the eyes that seem focused just a...
- 2/3/2022
- by Fred Schruers
- Indiewire
Star of Michelangelo Antonioni’s films in the 1960s who later turned to light comedies
Although she was often described, perhaps with a touch of irony, as the “muse of incommunicability” for her dramatic roles in several of Michelangelo Antonioni’s films, Monica Vitti, who has died aged 90, always aspired to be a comic actor. In 1962, she had an offer to do a film for Agnès Varda, but turned it down; as she explained in an interview, “I want to remain loyal to Michelangelo, who has promised to make me the Carole Lombard of the second half of the century.” Though Vitti certainly had comparable looks and verve, and did eventually succeed in becoming a popular comedic star, she will probably remain in most film buffs’ minds as Giuliana, the complicated young blond woman in Antonioni’s Il Deserto Rosso, his first colour feature.
Giuliana was perhaps Vitti’s most credible and identifiable characterisation.
Although she was often described, perhaps with a touch of irony, as the “muse of incommunicability” for her dramatic roles in several of Michelangelo Antonioni’s films, Monica Vitti, who has died aged 90, always aspired to be a comic actor. In 1962, she had an offer to do a film for Agnès Varda, but turned it down; as she explained in an interview, “I want to remain loyal to Michelangelo, who has promised to make me the Carole Lombard of the second half of the century.” Though Vitti certainly had comparable looks and verve, and did eventually succeed in becoming a popular comedic star, she will probably remain in most film buffs’ minds as Giuliana, the complicated young blond woman in Antonioni’s Il Deserto Rosso, his first colour feature.
Giuliana was perhaps Vitti’s most credible and identifiable characterisation.
- 2/2/2022
- by John Francis Lane
- The Guardian - Film News
For almost 100 years, the motion picture academy has honored the best in film, but many times the winners aren’t always the best remembered, or the films that go on to become classics. At the 14th ceremony, “How Green Was My Valley” famously won Best Picture over “Citizen Kane,” now considered by most filmmakers, historians and cinephiles as the greatest movie ever made – and even those who disagree acknowledge its profound influence on the industry. Additionally, there were quite a few now-classic films and performances that either didn’t win, or were snubbed altogether. Let’s flashback 80 years ago to the 1942 Oscars ceremony.
SEE15 biggest Oscar Best Picture upsets, ranked
Hosted by Bob Hope, the ceremony took place on February 26, less than three months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and a month after beloved actress Carole Lombard was killed in a plane crash – while returning home after selling war bonds.
SEE15 biggest Oscar Best Picture upsets, ranked
Hosted by Bob Hope, the ceremony took place on February 26, less than three months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and a month after beloved actress Carole Lombard was killed in a plane crash – while returning home after selling war bonds.
- 1/27/2022
- by Susan Pennington
- Gold Derby
The Notebook Primer introduces readers to some of the most important figures, films, genres, and movements in film history.Twentieth CenturyA common misconception about 1930s Hollywood cinema is that escapism was the trend du jour. The ubiquity of genres like historical melodramas and musicals indicates that rationale may be true to an extent, but even the most fantastic films were grounded in some semblance of social realism. And how could they not be? With nearly one in four Americans out of work by 1933 and a slow-but-stable economic recovery stimulated by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal program, the bleakness of the Great Depression and the disparity between the haves and have-nots was an omnipresent thread throughout the decade’s popular culture. Like any major American industry, Hollywood was formative to the public’s perception of culture and politics, and the movies were a temperature gauge of the decade’s cultural climate.
- 1/3/2022
- MUBI
The holidays are upon us, so whether you looking for film-related gifts or simply want to pick up some of the finest the year had to offer in the category for yourself, we have a gift guide for you. Including must-have books on filmmaking, the best from the Criterion Collection, Kino Lorber, and more home-video picks, subscriptions, magazines, music, and more, dive in below.
4K & Blu-ray Box Sets
There’s no better gift for a cinephile than a beautiful Blu-ray box set. Leading the pack in this regard is a collection that actually arrived much earlier this year: World of Wong Kar-wai, the long-awaited Criterion release that features the Hong Kong master’s most celebrated works, along with the first U.S. release of his short The Hand. Another must-own trio of sets from Criterion: Melvin Van Peebles: Essential Films, featuring four bold films from the late director, The...
4K & Blu-ray Box Sets
There’s no better gift for a cinephile than a beautiful Blu-ray box set. Leading the pack in this regard is a collection that actually arrived much earlier this year: World of Wong Kar-wai, the long-awaited Criterion release that features the Hong Kong master’s most celebrated works, along with the first U.S. release of his short The Hand. Another must-own trio of sets from Criterion: Melvin Van Peebles: Essential Films, featuring four bold films from the late director, The...
- 11/29/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Ghostbusters: Afterlife director Jason Reitman takes hosts Joe Dante and Josh Olson on a journey through some of his favorite cinematic tonal shifts.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)
Thank You For Smoking (2006)
Up In The Air (2009)
Juno (2007)
Young Adult (2011)
Citizen Kane (1941) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Seven Samurai (1954) Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Rififi (1955)
Titane (2021)
Cannibal Girls (1973)
Raw (2016)
Hellraiser (1987)
A Serbian Film (2010)
Cast Away (2000)
What Lies Beneath (2000)
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Downhill Racer (1968) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Breaking Away (1979)
Boys Don’t Cry (1999)
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
The Great Waldo Pepper (1975)
Psycho (1960) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings
Psycho (1998) – Ti West’s trailer commentary
Last Night In Soho (2021)
Funny Games (1997)
Funny Games (2008)
The Piano Teacher (2001) – Charlie Largent’s Criterion Blu-ray
I, The Jury (1982)
Mother! (2017)
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Tully (2018)
Gremlins (1984) – Glenn Erickson’s 4K Blu-ray review, Tfh’s 30th anniversary links...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)
Thank You For Smoking (2006)
Up In The Air (2009)
Juno (2007)
Young Adult (2011)
Citizen Kane (1941) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Seven Samurai (1954) Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Rififi (1955)
Titane (2021)
Cannibal Girls (1973)
Raw (2016)
Hellraiser (1987)
A Serbian Film (2010)
Cast Away (2000)
What Lies Beneath (2000)
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Downhill Racer (1968) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Breaking Away (1979)
Boys Don’t Cry (1999)
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
The Great Waldo Pepper (1975)
Psycho (1960) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings
Psycho (1998) – Ti West’s trailer commentary
Last Night In Soho (2021)
Funny Games (1997)
Funny Games (2008)
The Piano Teacher (2001) – Charlie Largent’s Criterion Blu-ray
I, The Jury (1982)
Mother! (2017)
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Tully (2018)
Gremlins (1984) – Glenn Erickson’s 4K Blu-ray review, Tfh’s 30th anniversary links...
- 11/23/2021
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
All products and services featured by IndieWire are independently selected by IndieWire editors. However, IndieWire may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
Vintage magazines make a great collector’s item (or gift idea) for movie lovers, and anyone looking to capture that Old Hollywood aesthetic. But you don’t even have to leave the house to get your hands on these collectibles. If you’re not in the mood to visit a garage sale or thrift store, we put together a list of rare magazines that you can buy online.
From Photoplay to Movieland magazine, you might not be familiar with some of the publications listed but if you’re a fan of Hollywood’s Golden Era, then you’re likely to recognize some (if not all) of the screen legends captured on the covers,...
Vintage magazines make a great collector’s item (or gift idea) for movie lovers, and anyone looking to capture that Old Hollywood aesthetic. But you don’t even have to leave the house to get your hands on these collectibles. If you’re not in the mood to visit a garage sale or thrift store, we put together a list of rare magazines that you can buy online.
From Photoplay to Movieland magazine, you might not be familiar with some of the publications listed but if you’re a fan of Hollywood’s Golden Era, then you’re likely to recognize some (if not all) of the screen legends captured on the covers,...
- 9/7/2021
- by Latifah Muhammad
- Indiewire
When Raiders of the Lost Ark was released in 1981, it was like a jolt of lightning from out of the past. As with George Lucas’ Star Wars before it, here was a throwback to many of the cinematic touchstones high and low that Baby Boomers grew up with: Saturday morning serials, prestige Oscar winners from yesteryear, and even boys’ pulp magazines were sifted through, borrowed from, and recontextualized into one of the most thrilling action-adventure movies anyone had ever seen. Somehow Lucas, who was a producer on the project, director Steven Spielberg, and the whole Indiana Jones team were able to craft a movie simultaneously retro and new.
Of course the younger generations who were swept up in Indy’s adventures may not have noticed any of this. They were here to see Indy outrun a boulder. And as the years have passed, Raiders of the Lost Ark and the...
Of course the younger generations who were swept up in Indy’s adventures may not have noticed any of this. They were here to see Indy outrun a boulder. And as the years have passed, Raiders of the Lost Ark and the...
- 9/6/2021
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
by Cláudio Alves
During the past years, the Criterion Channel has highlighted the careers of many Old Hollywood stars. After Carole Lombard, Mae West, Joan Crawford, Jean Arthur, Rita Hayworth, and many more, it's time to celebrate Jean Harlow. In this case, the selection of titles entices because of how encompassing it is. The Criterion Channel presents 14 films, every feature the starlet did while on contract with MGM, from 1932 to her untimely death in 1937. By watching these works, one can get a good sense of Harlow's meteoric rise, how her persona evolved, how it changed to accommodate personal and physical transformations, a transfiguration of industry ideals and popular tastes. Furthermore, the movies showcase other great stars and the work of such vital 1930s screenwriters as Anita Loos and Dorothy Parker. It's a perfect treasure trove of Old Hollywood moviemaking, history, and scandal…...
During the past years, the Criterion Channel has highlighted the careers of many Old Hollywood stars. After Carole Lombard, Mae West, Joan Crawford, Jean Arthur, Rita Hayworth, and many more, it's time to celebrate Jean Harlow. In this case, the selection of titles entices because of how encompassing it is. The Criterion Channel presents 14 films, every feature the starlet did while on contract with MGM, from 1932 to her untimely death in 1937. By watching these works, one can get a good sense of Harlow's meteoric rise, how her persona evolved, how it changed to accommodate personal and physical transformations, a transfiguration of industry ideals and popular tastes. Furthermore, the movies showcase other great stars and the work of such vital 1930s screenwriters as Anita Loos and Dorothy Parker. It's a perfect treasure trove of Old Hollywood moviemaking, history, and scandal…...
- 8/23/2021
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.Closeup of Fay Wray from Doctor X after restoration work. Image from https://www.cinema.ucla.eduNEWSAfter working together in the film Rojo (2018), director Benjamin Naishtat and actor Alfredo Castro reunite to talk about the terror, pleasure and mystery involved in the process of creating a film. They agree that for both director and actor, the seed of creation is the irrationality of madness, and that uncertainty is an essential factor in filmmaking. Castro and Naishtat call for a subversive cinema that cannot be domesticated by current narrative paradigms and that is also capable of using the imagination as a means and a catalyst to reinterpret our history. To listen to this episode and subscribe on your favorite podcast app, click here.The great French film director Jacques Rozier is being evicted from his...
- 7/14/2021
- MUBI
by Cláudio Alves
The Criterion Channel is honoring Carole Lombard with one of their latest collections. This curated sample of eleven films illuminates different talents in the Old Hollywood star's repertoire, from her comedic chops to less heralded, though not less excellent, work in melodramas. While she's best remembered as the queen of the screwball genre thanks to films like My Man Godfrey, Lombard was a multifaceted actress whose range deserves to be remembered. While her life was cut short by a tragic plane crash in 1942, the starlet's filmography is a thing of beauty, vast and distinctive, full of treasures to discover and enjoy…...
The Criterion Channel is honoring Carole Lombard with one of their latest collections. This curated sample of eleven films illuminates different talents in the Old Hollywood star's repertoire, from her comedic chops to less heralded, though not less excellent, work in melodramas. While she's best remembered as the queen of the screwball genre thanks to films like My Man Godfrey, Lombard was a multifaceted actress whose range deserves to be remembered. While her life was cut short by a tragic plane crash in 1942, the starlet's filmography is a thing of beauty, vast and distinctive, full of treasures to discover and enjoy…...
- 7/5/2021
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
Clark Gable did not intend to see action when World War II came to America. Which is not to say he ignored the war. Gable was there that day in 1940 when President Franklin Roosevelt gave his famous “Arsenal of Democracy” speech from the Oval Office. And, indeed, the first thing the movie star did when he heard about the Pearl Harbor attack was cable Fdr to offer his full support—and, tellingly, the besieged president promptly answered right back.
But then in the 1930s and early ‘40s, Gable was “the King of Hollywood;” the reigning movie star who could sell more tickets than anybody this side of Shirley Temple, and he didn’t have to sing or dance to do it either. He was a mustachioed and muscular alpha who appealed to everybody, even presidents, and was one of the few leading men who would tell Louis B. Mayer no...
But then in the 1930s and early ‘40s, Gable was “the King of Hollywood;” the reigning movie star who could sell more tickets than anybody this side of Shirley Temple, and he didn’t have to sing or dance to do it either. He was a mustachioed and muscular alpha who appealed to everybody, even presidents, and was one of the few leading men who would tell Louis B. Mayer no...
- 6/18/2021
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Ahead of the Curve
In 1990, a 23-year-old named Frances “Franco” Stevens applied for multiple credit cards. When she was approved, she withdrew as much cash as she could from them, and used the money to launch Deneuve, one of the first lesbian magazines in the United States. In a fiction feature-length film, this moment would arrive halfway through the running time, the percussion in the score would tense as we saw an actor convey the fear and hopefulness of someone attempting something bold and risky. A mellow piano would probably announce that this is “the” make or break moment for our heroine. – Jose S. (full review)
Where to Stream: VOD
Bad Tales (D’Innocenzo Brothers)
Amid the litany of horrors the biting little film Bad Tales presents,...
Ahead of the Curve
In 1990, a 23-year-old named Frances “Franco” Stevens applied for multiple credit cards. When she was approved, she withdrew as much cash as she could from them, and used the money to launch Deneuve, one of the first lesbian magazines in the United States. In a fiction feature-length film, this moment would arrive halfway through the running time, the percussion in the score would tense as we saw an actor convey the fear and hopefulness of someone attempting something bold and risky. A mellow piano would probably announce that this is “the” make or break moment for our heroine. – Jose S. (full review)
Where to Stream: VOD
Bad Tales (D’Innocenzo Brothers)
Amid the litany of horrors the biting little film Bad Tales presents,...
- 6/4/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The Criterion Channel has unveiled their lineup for next month and it’s another strong slate, featuring retrospectives of Carole Lombard, John Waters, Robert Downey Sr., Luis García Berlanga, Jane Russell, and Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman. Also in the lineup is new additions to their Queersighted series, notably Todd Haynes’ early film Poison (Safe is also premiering in a separate presentation), William Friedkin’s Cruising, and Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Teorama.
The new restorations of Manoel de Oliveira’s stunning Francisca and Francesco Rosi’s Christ Stopped at Eboli will join the channel, alongside Agnieszka Holland’s Spoor, Bong Joon Ho’s early short film Incoherence, and Luc Dardenne & Jean-Pierre Dardenne’s Rosetta.
See the lineup below and explore more on criterionchannel.com.
#Blackmendream, Shikeith, 2014
12 Angry Men, Sidney Lumet, 1957
About Tap, George T. Nierenberg, 1985
The AIDS Show, Peter Adair and Rob Epstein, 1986
The Assignation, Curtis Harrington, 1953
Aya of Yop City,...
The new restorations of Manoel de Oliveira’s stunning Francisca and Francesco Rosi’s Christ Stopped at Eboli will join the channel, alongside Agnieszka Holland’s Spoor, Bong Joon Ho’s early short film Incoherence, and Luc Dardenne & Jean-Pierre Dardenne’s Rosetta.
See the lineup below and explore more on criterionchannel.com.
#Blackmendream, Shikeith, 2014
12 Angry Men, Sidney Lumet, 1957
About Tap, George T. Nierenberg, 1985
The AIDS Show, Peter Adair and Rob Epstein, 1986
The Assignation, Curtis Harrington, 1953
Aya of Yop City,...
- 5/24/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
I’ve written here before about my fondness for director Michael Ritchie, particularly his streak in the 1970s when he made one great movie after another about the dark side of the American competitive spirit. Most of his best films – Downhill Racer (1969), The Candidate (1972), The Bad News Bears (1976) – are wry meditations on what it really means to win (and lose) in a culture where winning is valued above all else; one of the most memorable moments in all of his work comes at the conclusion of The Candidate, when Robert Redford’s senatorial candidate wins his election […]
The post Smile, Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Carole Lombard: Jim Hemphill’s Home Video Recommendations first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Smile, Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Carole Lombard: Jim Hemphill’s Home Video Recommendations first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 5/7/2021
- by Jim Hemphill
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
I’ve written here before about my fondness for director Michael Ritchie, particularly his streak in the 1970s when he made one great movie after another about the dark side of the American competitive spirit. Most of his best films – Downhill Racer (1969), The Candidate (1972), The Bad News Bears (1976) – are wry meditations on what it really means to win (and lose) in a culture where winning is valued above all else; one of the most memorable moments in all of his work comes at the conclusion of The Candidate, when Robert Redford’s senatorial candidate wins his election […]
The post Smile, Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Carole Lombard: Jim Hemphill’s Home Video Recommendations first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Smile, Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Carole Lombard: Jim Hemphill’s Home Video Recommendations first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 5/7/2021
- by Jim Hemphill
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
If there’s any silver lining to the last year, it was how it compelled creators to think even further outside the box. For director/writer Jeff Baena, the idea for the Showtime anthology “Cinema Toast” came as the result of being unable to direct a feature film in Italy — and transferring his weekly poker game to the online sphere after Covid hit.
In chatting with his friends, Baena joked about doing something similar to Woody Allen’s debut feature — 1966’s “What’s Up, Tiger Lily” — by taking existing features and altering them. “Everyone thought it was funny…and later on that night [the project] started spinning in my head about how that’s actually not a bad idea,” Baena told IndieWire. Baena saw the opportunity to not necessarily dub over something, but use the features as a springboard to create a totally new story and genre than what was originally filmed.
In chatting with his friends, Baena joked about doing something similar to Woody Allen’s debut feature — 1966’s “What’s Up, Tiger Lily” — by taking existing features and altering them. “Everyone thought it was funny…and later on that night [the project] started spinning in my head about how that’s actually not a bad idea,” Baena told IndieWire. Baena saw the opportunity to not necessarily dub over something, but use the features as a springboard to create a totally new story and genre than what was originally filmed.
- 5/5/2021
- by Kristen Lopez
- Indiewire
Twentieth Century
Blu ray – Region B
Indicator
1934 / 1.33:1 / 91 min.
Starring John Barrymore, Carole Lombard
Cinematography by Joseph August
Directed by Howard Hawks
All the world’s a stage and that includes the Twentieth Century, a deluxe passenger train transformed into an itinerant theater thanks to the first class talent in first class, Carole Lombard and John Barrymore. The story of a has-been director conniving to get back on Broadway with the help of a former protege, Howard Hawks’ 1934 comedy is glamorous slapstick—”screwball comedy” before it had a name.
Lombard plays Lily Garland, né Mildred Plotka, former lingerie model, and now a top of the heap movie star. Barrymore is the preening Oscar Jaffe, a director of actors and anyone else who dares cross his path—he was born in a trunk and most of his acquaintances wish that he’d stayed there. Shakespearean in his appetites and his distastes,...
Blu ray – Region B
Indicator
1934 / 1.33:1 / 91 min.
Starring John Barrymore, Carole Lombard
Cinematography by Joseph August
Directed by Howard Hawks
All the world’s a stage and that includes the Twentieth Century, a deluxe passenger train transformed into an itinerant theater thanks to the first class talent in first class, Carole Lombard and John Barrymore. The story of a has-been director conniving to get back on Broadway with the help of a former protege, Howard Hawks’ 1934 comedy is glamorous slapstick—”screwball comedy” before it had a name.
Lombard plays Lily Garland, né Mildred Plotka, former lingerie model, and now a top of the heap movie star. Barrymore is the preening Oscar Jaffe, a director of actors and anyone else who dares cross his path—he was born in a trunk and most of his acquaintances wish that he’d stayed there. Shakespearean in his appetites and his distastes,...
- 3/16/2021
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Donald Glover and Phoebe Waller-Bridge will be putting a new spin on “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” for New Regency and Amazon Prime Video. The series, which is based on the 2005 hit New Regency film, is due in 2022.
Glover and Waller-Bridge will star in and executive produce the series,
made the announcement via social media, posting a video to Instagram Stories with details of the project. Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke also posted the news of the new show to her Twitter account on Friday.
“Talk about the dream team! Donald and Phoebe are two of the most talented creators and performers in the world. It’s truly a dream for us, as it will be for our global audience, to have these two forces of nature collaborating as a powerhouse creative team,” Salke said in a statement. “’Mr. and Mrs. Smith’ is an iconic property, and we can’t wait to see how Donald,...
Glover and Waller-Bridge will star in and executive produce the series,
made the announcement via social media, posting a video to Instagram Stories with details of the project. Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke also posted the news of the new show to her Twitter account on Friday.
“Talk about the dream team! Donald and Phoebe are two of the most talented creators and performers in the world. It’s truly a dream for us, as it will be for our global audience, to have these two forces of nature collaborating as a powerhouse creative team,” Salke said in a statement. “’Mr. and Mrs. Smith’ is an iconic property, and we can’t wait to see how Donald,...
- 2/12/2021
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
The 2021 festival will take place in two parts.
The Berlin International Film Festival has unveiled the first films selected for its 2021 edition which will take place in two parts, starting with the industry-focused, online-only event from March 1-5.
They are the titles that will comprise the Generation and Retrospective strands, and come nearly two months later than last year’s equivalent announcement as organisers prepare to host the first virtual edition of the festival.
A second event, titled Summer Special, is scheduled to run June 9-20 and set to include physical screenings of the selection and their filmmakers, at 10 venues in Berlin.
The Berlin International Film Festival has unveiled the first films selected for its 2021 edition which will take place in two parts, starting with the industry-focused, online-only event from March 1-5.
They are the titles that will comprise the Generation and Retrospective strands, and come nearly two months later than last year’s equivalent announcement as organisers prepare to host the first virtual edition of the festival.
A second event, titled Summer Special, is scheduled to run June 9-20 and set to include physical screenings of the selection and their filmmakers, at 10 venues in Berlin.
- 2/8/2021
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
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