OK ! All you Surfer dudes and beach bunnies, it is time to rock 'n roll with the "Beach movies" that were all the rage. Surfing was big, dancing was all part of a day at the beach and some cool songs made their way onto our favorite beach films. So please help us celebrate the end of Summer with... Dawn & Monty’s Summer Movies at The Beach.
Also: For The month of August ON TCM: It is my favorite time of the year. The eighth annual TCM Summer Under the Stars marathon. Each and every day TCM gives a 24-hour salute to one of the famous actors from Hollywood’s past and/or present. Check side bar for the actor of the day.
Deception (1946). Directed Irving Rapper. The film is based on the play Monsieur Lamberthier by Louis Verneuil. The screenplay was written by John Collier and Joseph Than. Cast: Bette Davis, Paul Henreid and Claude Rains who had also performed together in, Now, Voyager (1942).
After a long separation, pianist Christine Radcliffe is reunited in New York with her fiancee, cellist Karel Novak. When Karel wants to know how Christine can afford such a beautiful apartment and clothes, Christine says that she is giving music lessons. Soon Christine receives a call from composer Alexander Hollenius, whose mistress she has been, and informs him of her up coming marriage. Hollenius arrives at a party celebrating the marriage and tells Karel that he believes the marriage will interfere with Christine's music. The following day, Christine visits Hollenius and begs him not to reveal their relationship. Later, Karel visits Hollenius, to his surprise, he finds Hollenius listening to a recording that Karel made. Hollenius is impressed by Karel's talent and offers him a cello concerto that he has just written. When Christine hears Karel practicing Hollenius' concerto, she becomes convinced that Hollenius intends to use the concerto to destroy Karel. When Christine shares her fears to Karel, he demands to know why she is afraid that Hollenius will take the concerto away from him, but Christine still refuses to tell her husband the truth. The next day, Christine returns to Hollenius' apartment to beg him not to take out his anger on Karel, he tells her that his first duty is to his music and that he is sure Karel will perform well. As she leaves the apartment, Christine sees Bertram Gribble, the orchestra's first cellist, waiting in the foyer and is sure that Hollenius intends to replace Karel with Gribble. On the night of the performance, after Karel has left for the concert hall, Christine again visits Hollenius and begs him to promise that he will not tell Karel of their relationship and again when Hollenius refuses, what will Christine do to keep her secret?
If you're in the mood Bette Davis-Claude Rains melodrama, you have to add this film to your "gotta see" list. Rains has some of the cruelest and wittiest lines in this film. Bette matches him with her display of emotions.
Paul Henreid, performed in his two most important films. In Now, Voyager(1942) and Casablanca(1942). He made regular film performances in the 1940s, and in the early 1950s began directing for both film and television. His film credits include The Spanish Main (1945), Of Human Bondage (1946), Song of Love (1947), Thief of Damascus (1952), Siren of Bagdad (1953), and Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1961). His television directorial credits include Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Maverick, Bonanza and The Big Valley. In 1964, Henreid directed Dead Ringer, which starred Bette Davis and featured, in a minor role, the director's daughter, Monika.
Manhattan Melodrama(1934). Director: W. S. Van Dyke. Cast: Clark Gable, William Powell, Myrna Loy, Leo Carrillo, Nat Pendleton, and Isabel Jewell. The movie also provided one of the earliest film roles for Mickey Rooney, who played the Gable character as a child. This is the first of 14 pairings of Myrna Loy and William Powell and the first of three movies they would make together in 1934.
Blackie Gallagher and Jim Wade lose their parents when the General Slocum sinks in New York harbor, and are rescued by Father Joe. A kind man, Poppa Rosen takes the boys in, but a few years later he is trampled by police horses used to break up a riot against the Russian Leon Trotsky.
Years later, Blackie runs a gambling club while Jim has been elected district attorney. Blackie looks up to Jim, even though they are on opposite sides of the law. Blackie's mistress Eleanor tries to convince Blackie to stop gambling and settle down with her. Knowing that he will not change his ways, she decides to marry Jim.
After gambler Manny Arnold is shot, Spud, accidentally left Jim's coat at the scene of the crime, Blackie has Spud bring an exact duplicate that he has had his tailor make to Jim.
Soon Jim runs for governor, but his assistant, Richard Snow, tries to pressure him by indicating that the Arnold case makes Jim look like he is mixed up with murderers.
The story takes off when Jim has to make the heartbreaking decision of having to decide whether his friend should live or die.
This is one of my favorite Powell performances and Gable's performance is wonderful as the bad guy we all root for.
Isabel Jewell, was a Broadway actress who achieved immediate success in, Up Pops the Devil (1930) and Blessed Event (1932).
She was brought to Hollywood for the film version of the latter.
Jewell performed in many supporting roles in the early 1930s. She played gangster's women in films, Manhattan Melodrama (1934) and Marked Woman (1937).
She also performed well as a seamstress sentenced to death in, A Tale of Two Cities (1935).
Her most significant role was as the prostitute Gloria Stone in Lost Horizon (1937).
Jewell's films included Gone with the Wind (1939) in the role of "that white trash, Emmy Slattery", Northwest Passage (1940), High Sierra (1941), and The Leopard Man (1943).
By the end of her career, Jewell had performed in more than one hundred films, between 1930 and 1971.
She also performed in radio dramas in the 1950s, including This is Your FBI.
Isabel Jewell played opposite Edie Sedgwick in her biographical/drama CIAO, Manhattan.
Her final film was the "B" movie Sweet Kill (1973).
Clara Bow will forever be the "It" girl… She was often cast as a waitress, a manicurist, or a salesgirl. The ever resourceful Clara would set her sights on a handsome man. Armed with her irresistible charm, Clara's character would rise above her problems and obtain her goal where she lit up the screen.
From Clara Bow's film "It". A scene contrasting how she and her romantic rival get ready for a dinner at the Ritz.
Good news for Kim Novak Fans! The Kim Novak Collection, will be released August 3rd. Featuring the movies:
Picnic (1955). A story of an ex-college football star turned drifter who shows up in a small Kansas town on Labor Day and falls for a girl who is already spoken for. Cast: William Holden, Kim Novak, Susan Strasberg, Cliff Robertson, Arthur O'Connell, Nick Adams, Betty Field, Rosalind Russell and Verna Felton. It won two Academy Awards and was nominated for four more. Directed by Joshua Logan, Picnic made Novak a star.
Jeanne Eagels (also title The Jeanne Eagels story) is a 1957 fictionalized biographical film of the life of stage star Jeanne Eagels, made by Columbia Pictures. It was produced and directed by George Sidney from a screenplay by John Fante, Daniel Fuchs and Sonya Levien, based on a story by Fuchs. The film stars Kim Novak and Jeff Chandler with Charles Drake, Agnes Moorehead, Larry Gates, Virginia Grey, Gene Lockhart and Murray Hamilton.
Bell, Book and Candle (1958) is a romantic comedy directed by Richard Quine based on the hit Broadway play by John Van Druten. Cast: James Stewart and Kim Novak in their second on-screen pairing (after the Alfred Hitchcock classic Vertigo, released earlier the same year). Fans of the film point to similarities between it and the earlier I Married A Witch (1942) and especially the 1960s television series Bewitched, thinking that this film may have been an inspiration.
Middle of the Night(1959). A film about a 56-year-old clothing manufacturer (March) falls in love with 24-year-old Novak, much to the dismay of both families. Future Oscar winners Martin Balsam (A Thousand Clowns, 1965) and Lee Grant (Shampoo, 1975) also star in this film.
Pal Joey (1957). loosely adapted from the musical play of the same name; it stars Rita Hayworth, Frank Sinatra, and Kim Novak. Kim Novak's singing voice was dubbed by Trudy Erwin. The director is George Sidney and the choreographer is Hermes Pan. Considered by many critics as the definitive Frank Sinatra vehicle, Sinatra won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his role as the wise-cracking, Joey Evans. As to be expected the musical arrangements are particularly fine, with some near-perfect Nelson Riddle charts for the Rodgers and Hart standards "I Didn't Know What Time It Was," "I Could Write a Book" and "There's A Small Hotel." Pal Joey is also one of Frank Sinatra's few post-From Here to Eternity movies in which he did not receive top-billing, Sinatra deciding himself to allow Rita Hayworth this honor stating, with regards to being billed "between" Hayworth and Novak, "That's a sandwich I don't mind being stuck in the middle of." Along with being a strong box office success, Pal Joey also earned four Academy Award nominations and two Golden Globe nominations.
Gia Scala, studied acting at night and made appearances on radio shows and television quiz shows. At the end of 1954 she was signed contracts with both Universal Studios and Columbia Pictures. Using the stage name "Gia Scala", she made her first film, All That Heaven Allows(1955), with Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson. Her next performances were, Tip on a Dead Jockey, The Garment Jungle (1957) and The Tunnel of Love (1958), starring Richard Widmark and Doris Day.
A romantic comedy based on the Broadway hit by Peter De Vries and Joseph Fields. The film follows a married couple, who are unable to conceive a child and have to go through a bunch of red tape to adopt a child. The Tunnel of Love is best known for the first directorial of Gene Kelly in which he didn't also star.
Doris Day received a Golden Globe-nomination for Best Actress for her performance. Please check out movie review on Noir and Chick Flicks: Doris Day Page,located on side bar. Critics also gave good reviews for Gia's performances in, The Garment Jungle, "Anna" and The Guns of Navarone(1961), starring Gregory Peck.
Scala made many appearances on television shows during the 1960s: Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1960-1961), Convoy, The Rogues, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Twelve O'Clock High (1965), Tarzan (NBC series) (1967), and It Takes a Thief (1969).
To Kill a Mockingbird(1962). Drama film adaptation of Harper Lee's novel of the same name. Cast: Mary Badham and Gregory Peck.In 1995, the film was listed in the National Film Registry. It also ranks twenty-fifth on the American Film Institute's 10th anniversary list of the greatest American movies of all time, and #1 on AFI's list of best courtroom films. In 2003, AFI named Atticus Finch the greatest movie hero of the 20th century.This film marks the film debut of Robert Duvall, William Windom and Alice Ghostley.
The story is about Atticus Finch, a widowed small town lawyer and his two children who live a carefree life. They spend their time running the neighborhood, teasing eccentric Mrs. Dubose, and hanging out with their new little friend, who has BIG stories about Boo Radley, a mentally retarded neighbor whom they have never seen.
Soon there is big trouble for the town, Atticus agrees to defend Tom Robinson, who is accused of raping Mayella Ewell. The children find themselves defending their father against the taunts of their classmates. Even though Atticus proves Tom's innocence, the jury finds him guilty. In revenge against Atticus, Bob Ewell attacks the two children, but Boo Radley, who has secretly watched over the children comes to the rescue.
"To Kill a Mockingbird" has what I thought one of the most impressive child performances I have ever viewed. The scene in which Scout breaks up the lynch mob by identifying its individual members is a very powerful moment.
Mary Badham, best known for her portrayal of Jean Louise 'Scout' Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. At the time, Badham (age 10) was the youngest actress ever nominated in this category.
Mary Badham is the younger sister of film director John Badham.
Badham had no prior film acting experience before being cast in To Kill a Mockingbird. The Oscar in her category went to another child actress, Patty Duke for The Miracle Worker.
During filming, Badham became close to Gregory Peck and remained friends with him.
Badham is also known for her performance in, The Bewitchin' Pool, the final episode of the original Twilight Zone series.
She also performed in the films, Let's Kill Uncle and This Property Is Condemned.
She also made a cameo opposite Keith Carradine for his film, Our Very Own.
At present Badham is an art restorer and a college testing coordinator. Married to a school teacher, and the mother of two, she travels around the world sharing her experiences in the making of the film, To Kill a Mocking Bird.
This weeks Chick Flicks at the Moves: Blood and Sand (1922). Silent film produced by Paramount Pictures, directed by Fred Niblo and starring Rudolph Valentino, Lila Lee(pictured above), and Nita Naldi. It was based on the Spanish 1909 novel Blood and Sand by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez. Click picture on side bar to view movie.
ON TCM : Monday. July 26, 2010. When Were You Born(1938). Astrology and murder meet in the Warner Bros. When Were You Born? When horoscope specialist Mary Lee Liang (Anna May Wong) predicts the death of importer Philip Corey (James Stephenson), her prophecy comes true in a surprisingly short time thanks to a mysterious killer.
ON TCM: Tuesday July 27, 2019. Doris Day. Doris Day's entertainment career began in her late teens as a big band singer. In 1945 she had her first hit recording , "Sentimental Journey", and, in 1948, appeared in her first film, Romance on the High Seas. During her entertainment career, she has appeared in thirty-nine films, recorded more than six-hundred-fifty songs, received an Academy Award nomination, won a Golden Globe and a Grammy Award, and, in 1989, received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in motion pictures. Click picture on sid bar to view the list of 5 Doris Day featured movies.
ON TCM: Tuesday. July 27, 2010. The Old Maid(1939). The Old Maid is a 1939 American drama film directed by Edmund Goulding. The screenplay by Casey Robinson is based on the 1935 Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same title by Zoë Akins, which was adapted from the 1924 Edith Wharton novella The Old Maid: the fifties.
On TCM: Friday. July 30, 2010. Deception (1946).Deception (1946) is a film noir released by Warner Brothers, and directed by Irving Rapper. The film is based on the play Monsieur Lamberthier by Louis Verneuil. The screenplay was written by John Collier and Joseph Than.
My favorite Hitchcock film of all time. It mixes comedy with suspense extremely well. Set in the Swiss Alps, a bunch of tourists meet at a village the night before boarding a train the next morning. A young girl named Iris (the excellent Margaret Lockwood) meets a young student named Gilbert (wonderful performance by Michael Redgrave). Of course they meet cute and can't stand each other. The next day on the train the lovable old Mrs. Froy (Dame May Whitty) vanishes and the chase is on to find her. You have to pay attention to the details in this one because things are not what they seem. An excellent film from Hollywood's golden past. One minute you're laughing, then you're on the edge of your seat. In my opinion, this is Hitch's best work. Just ahead of Shadow of a Doubt.
Caged(1950). The movie was adapted by Virginia Kellogg from the story Women Without Men by Kellogg and Bernard C. Schoenfeld. It was directed by John Cromwell. Cast: Eleanor Parker, Agnes Moorehead, Ellen Corby, Hope Emerson, Betty Garde, Sheila MacRae, Jan Sterling, Lee Patrick, Jane Darwell and Gertrude Hoffman.
Among the new prisoners at the Women's State Prison is 19 year old Marie Allen, who has been sentenced as an accessory in a armed robbery where her husband was killed. During Marie's physical they find out that she is pregnant, the warden, assigns her to work in the laundry. When the matron of Marie's cell block learns that Marie has no money, she reassigns her to scrubbing floors. Marie is befriended by Smoochie, Kitty Stark and Claire, who believe most of the women are in prison because of men.
Marie is still in jail when the baby is born, she hopes that her mother will take the child until she is paroled.
Kitty invites Marie to join her shoplifting racket when she gets out, telling her that even if she is paroled, she will be forced to stay in jail until she is offered a job. Marie, turns her down. One of the convicts then has a breakdown and when June, is denied parole, she hangs herself.
After Marie goes into labor, the doctor is disgusted by the prison conditions and goes to the medical board. The Warden is aware of the matrons treatment of the women, but her efforts to have the matron fired are always stop by her political friends. Her request for teachers and a psychologist are also denied by the prison board.
Marie's mother refuses to take her baby, so she puts him up for adoption and as Marie's parole hearing nears, Kitty renews her job offer. Even though the matron gives favorable recommendation, Marie's parole is denied. Will her experience in prison change her from a Innocent young girl into a hardened convict?
I thought this film was very engaging and you will find yourself getting wrapped up in the characters and how they choose to cope in unbearable circumstances.
Gertude Hoffmann, began her film career in Germany in 1918, aged 40, but made her American film debut in 1933.
She made quite a few films over the next 20 years, though many of her parts were unbilled.
She played Mrs. Odets on Gale Storm's My Little Margie, a situation comedy that alternated between CBS and NBC from 1952 to 1955. The series was created by Frank Fox and produced at Hal Roach Studios by Hal Roach, Jr. and Roland D. Reed. My Little Margie premiered on CBS as the summer replacement for I Love Lucy on June 16, 1952.
She also performed in films: Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent, which was nominated for Best Picture Oscar in 1941, as well as The File on Thelma Jordon (1950), Caged (1950), and The War of the Worlds (1953).
Amelia Mary Earhart, was an American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many other records, wrote books about her flying experiences and was instrumental in the formation of The Ninety-Nines, an organization for female pilots. Earhart joined the faculty of the world-famous Purdue University aviation department in 1935 as a visiting faculty member to counsel women on careers and help inspire others with her love for aviation. She was also a member of the National Woman's Party, and an early supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment.
During an attempt to make a flight of the globe in 1937 in a Purdue-funded Lockheed Model 10 Electra, Earhart disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island. Fascination with her life and disappearance continues to this day through Movies and television:
The 1943 Rosalind Russell film Flight for Freedom derived from a treatment, Stand by to Die, was a fictionalized treatment of Earhart's life, with a heavy dose of Hollywood World War II propaganda.
A 1976 television bio production titled Amelia Earhart starring Susan Clark and John Forsythe included flying by Hollywood stunt pilot Frank Tallman whose late partner in Tallmantz Aviation, Paul Mantz, had tutored Earhart in the 1930s.
In the climax of the 1977 science fiction film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Amelia Earhart is seen walking out of the Mothership, along with a crowd of a hundred other alien abduction survivors. Director Steven Spielberg has acknowledged that this was specifically a nod to the legacy of Earhart and other flyers who mysteriously vanished at sea.
The documentary Amelia Earhart: The Price of Courage (1993) from American Experience.
Amelia Earhart: The Final Flight (1994) starring Diane Keaton, Rutger Hauer and Bruce Dern was initially released as TV movie and subsequently released as a theatrical feature.
Earhart as one of many humans abducted by an alien race in 1937, only to be found in cryo-stasis on a planet on the other side of the galaxy, is portrayed by Sharon Lawrence in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "The 37's" (first aired 1995).Dialogue from the episode states that the flight was, in fact, espionage - the fact that such top-secret information had become common knowledge was the first thing that made her realize that the Voyager crew's tale of another planet, and in the future, might actually be true.
Stock footage of Earhart is shown in the opening sequence for the full broadcast run of Star Trek: Enterprise (2001–2005).
Actress Jane Lynch was cast as Amelia Earhart in the 2004 film The Aviator, but her scenes were cut.
Academy Award nominee Amy Adams portrayed Earhart in Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009).
In Amelia (2009), Amelia Earhart is portrayed by Hilary Swank, who also served as co-executive producer of the biopic.
Quicksand (1950). Cast: Mickey Rooney and Peter Lorre. The film has been described as "film noir in a teacup".
Auto mechanic Dan Brady, just told his friend Chuck that he has broken up with Helen Calder, when he notices the blond cashier, Vera Novak. Dan asks Vera to go out with him, but when he returns to the garage, he remembers that he is broke. While making change at the register, Dan decides to borrow twenty dollars, planning on pay it back the next day when he is paid back the money that Buzz Larson, owes him. That night, he and Vera go to the Santa Monica pier, and she tells him she used to work in the arcade managed by Nick.
The next day, Dan is unable to find Buzz, and the bookkeeper arrives two days ahead of schedule, Dan buys an expensive watch on credit and pawns it, racing back to the garage just in time to replace the money.
The next day, an investigator comes to the garage looking for Dan and tell him if he does not pay the jewelry store within twenty-four hours, he will be arrested for grand larceny.
That night, Dan goes to a bar on the pier, where he notices drunken Shorty McCabe, who runs the bingo parlor, has a wallet full of cash. Dan follows Shorty and robs him, but is seen by a witness whose screams bring the police. Dan goes to the arcade to meet Vera, and when he finds Nick putting his hands her, he knocks him down, leaving behind the handkerchief he used during the robbery.
The next day, Nick calls Dan and says he knows about the robbery, and demands a new car in exchange for the handkerchief.
Desperate, Dan steals a car from the garage, his boss Mackey tells Dan that he was seen taking the car, and threatens to go to the police. Dan goes to Vera with his problems and she suggests that they steal the money from Nick's office. They are able to pay off Mackey and Vera spends half of the money on a mink coat. Every time Dan tries to get out of trouble he finds himself deeper into... Quicksand. You have to watch to see what happens next. Click to view the movie Quicksand.
I'm not really a Mickey Rooney fan. But I did enjoy him in the film, Quicksand. Overall, it's a wonderful film although is starts slowly but gets better and better as the story unfolds.
Newsreels of Ginger making imprints at Grauman's Chinese Theater 1939,
receiving her Academy Award 1941,
Fred dancing and introducing his sister Adele at the Stage Door Canteen in London 1944,
Fred dancing on the streets of Paris 1944,
Fred and Ginger at the Oscar's 1967 (mute) and more.
Perfect Strangers(1950). Comedy/drama. Director: Bretaigne Windust. Cast: Ginger Rogers, Dennis Morgan and Thelma Ritter. The screenplay for the Warner Bros. release by Edith Sommer was based on an adaptation of the 1939 Ben Hecht-Charles MacArthur play Ladies and Gentlemen by George Oppenheimer.
Jury members selected to sit for the Los Angeles murder trial of Ernest Craig are: Terry Scott, who is separated from her husband, David Campbell, married with two children, Lena Fassler, pregnant with her sixth child, Mrs. Isobel Bradford, a society woman and womanizer Robert Fisher.
The sequestered jury discuss over dinner, how they believe Craig murdered his wife when she refused to give him a divorce so he could marry his secretary. Terry tells the others to keep an open mind until they hear the case.
After the first day in court, the jurors return to their hotel suite. During a heated discussion of the case, Terry and David walk out to the balcony, but are soon joined by Isobel and Fisher. David and Isobel agree that when Craig had the motive for the murder, Terry accuses them of being too opinionated.
Later David walks out to the balcony where Terry, apologizes for her earlier outburst, they talk about what they would be doing if they were at home. David talks about his family, Terry talks about her lonely life since separating from her husband. They end up in each other arms for a passionate kiss.
The following day in court, the district attorney reads a love letter from Craig to Eileen, which upsets Terry. During the next break, she tells David that they should stop seeing each other.
Things look bad for Craig when his sister-in-law takes the stand saying that she heard him quarrel with his wife before she fell to her death from a cliff. After the defense presents its case, the jury begins to deliberate the verdict, David is elected foreman.
Will Terry decide to she return to Cleveland and her husband and will Graig be found Innocent?
This is a must see for all Ginger fans and among the supporting roles, Thelma Ritter delivers as always.
Ritter's first movie performance was in the film, Miracle on 34th Street (1947).
Her second role, A Letter to Three Wives (1949).
Ritter was also cast in the film, All About Eve (1950), which earned her an Oscar nomination.
A second nomination followed for her work in, The Mating Season (1951) starring Gene Tierney and John Lund.
Ritter performed steady for the next dozen years.
She also performed in many of the episodic drama TV series of the 1950's: Alfred Hitchcock Presents, General Electric Theater, and The United States Steel Hour.
Later film roles were as James Stewart's nurse in, Rear Window (1954) and as Doris Day's housekeeper in Pillow Talk (1959).
Although best-known for comedy roles, she performed in occasional dramatic roles, Pickup on South Street (1953) and The Misfits (1961).
I'm so excited that they have made a movie about the book of the same name: Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for herself. 2006 memoir by author Elizabeth Gilbert. The memoir is about the author's trip around the world after her divorce, and what she discovered during her travels. She spent four months in Italy, eating and enjoying life (Eat). She spent four months in India, finding her spirituality (Pray). She ended the year in Bali, Indonesia, looking for "balance" of the two and found love (Love).
Columbia Pictures purchased the movie rights for the memoir and will produce a film version under the same title set to be released on August 13, 2010. American actress Julia Roberts is starring in the film; Ryan Murphy will direct the film. The film also stars Javier Bardem, James Franco and Billy Crudup. Actor Brad Pitt and Dede Gardner of Plan B, Pitt's production company, will produce the film.
Clarine Seymour, father had to liquidate his business due to illness. In order to help out the family's finances, Clarine found work with the Thanhouser Film Company. Pathé offered her roles in a Pearl White serial and the 1917 serial "Mystery of the Double Cross". Pathé the offered her an opportunity to work for them on the West Coast, which she accepted. The job gave her work in the Toto the Clown series for the Rolin Company. Rolin brought a lawsuit against her because of a stunt she refused to perform, but she won, assuming her career was at an end. She soon got work with Al Christie Comedies, but only for a short time. In 1918, she was introduced to D.W. Griffith and was given a part in "The Girl Who Stayed at Home" (1919) She was immediately cast as "the other woman" in "True Heart Susie" (1919) with Lillian Gish and Robert Harron in the leads. Once again she was cast in a secondary role to the two leads, played by Richard Barthelmess and Carol Dempster, in Griffith's "Scarlet Days"(1919). Seymour also performed in "The Idol Dancer" (1920) as she played the female lead, island girl Almond Flower, opposite Richard Barthelmess. After being signed for a four-year contract, she began work on "Way Down East" (1920), but died suddenly on April 25, 1920, her part being assumed by Mary Hay. Most historians believe Seymour's looks and style would have been well-suited for the 1920's.
“True Heart Susie” (1919) is a silent romantic drama starring Lillian Gish, Robert Harron, and Clarine Seymour. Directed by D.W. Griffith and adapted from the story by Marian Fremont, this film is about a shy, plain girl who loves her childhood sweetheart but loses him to a more “modern woman.” The story begins with Susie, played by Lillian Gish, secretly in love with the boy next door, William Jenkins, played by Robert Harron, but is afraid to tell him, and he is totally oblivious about her true feelings. Susie secretly sells her cow, Daisy, and other livestock she inherited from her mother to send William away to college to study for the ministry and fulfill his ambition. However, Susie lets William believe that the money comes from this rich man whom once promised to help him. After his college graduation, William returns, and Susie has the satisfaction of hearing him preach his first sermon. Susie’s hopes, however, are shattered when William becomes fascinated by a frivolous and worthless party girl, Bettina Hopkins, played by Clarine Seymour. When Susie accidentally sees William and Bettina kissing, she realizes he is lost to her. Ready to settle down, William surprisingly asks Bettina to marry him. Bettina agrees to marry him because she is tired of working and wants someone to support her instead. Even though Susie is heartbroken, she never confronts William about it. Instead, Susie swallows her pride and grief to serve as bridesmaid at William and Bettina’s wedding. Totally unqualified as a minister’s wife, Bettina starts cheating on William with Sporty Malone, played by Raymond Cannon, and his friends. One day Bettina makes plans to sneak away from William and attend a party with some friends. On her way home that night it starts thundering and Bettina realizes she has lost her key. At this point, she runs to Susie for help and asks her to lie to William for her. With her love married to a hussy how will poor Susie ever find happiness?
Lillian Gish made her screen debut with her younger sister Dorothy in D.W. Griffith’s “The Unseen Enemy” (1912), a one-reel suspense drama featuring the pair, at American Biograph. “The Mothering Heart”(1913), a two-reeler, first demonstrated the emotional intensity of which Lillian was capable. Griffith must have first become aware of the unique quality of her acting when he directed her at American Biograph. There are few who are not aware of Lillian’s emotionally moving performances for Griffith in “The Birth of a Nation” (1915), “Hearts of the World” (1918), “Broken Blossoms” (1919),”Way Down East” (1920) and “Orphans of the Storm” (1922). Her relationship with Griffith flourished until 1921, when a financial disagreement finally severed their ties. Lillian then became the darling of MGM, where she starred in “The White Sister” (1923), “Romola” (1925), “La Boheme” (1926), “The Scarlet Letter” (1926),“The Wind” (1928), and others. After the introduction of sound, her innocent image seemed dated. When her contract expired, Lillian returned to the stage for many years. Eventually she returned to the screen as a character actress, giving memorable performances in “Duel in the Sun” (1945), “The Night of the Hunter” (1955), and her last film, “The Whales of August” (1987).
Nineteen-twenty was a bad year for both D.W. Griffith and for American filmgoers. That year saw the deaths of two of the director’s brightest young stars, Clarine Seymour and Robert Harron, both of whom might have had brilliant careers ahead of them. Clarine Seymour had a natural, saucy quality that made her an appealing light comedienne. Her curly black hair was just ready for the bob of the new decade. Harron and Seymour were teamed in two features, “The Girl Who Stayed at Home” and “True Heart Susie," both released in 1919. After “The Girl Who Stayed at Home” and “True Heart Susie,” Griffith featured Seymour along with Richard Barthelmess in “Scarlet Days” (1919) and “The Idol Dancer” (1920). Ultimately, “The Idol Dancer” was a waste of time for both its leads, but it did bring Seymour critical and popular praise. The films make it obvious that Griffith was grooming both Seymour and Barthelmess for stardom in the 1920’s. Seymour signed a four-year contract with Griffith and began filming of the role subsequently played by Mary Hay in “Way Down East” (1920), but she died suddenly of an intestinal ailment that didn’t respond to treatment on April 25, 1920. Seymour was only twenty-one years old. Robert Harron was a brilliantly talented actor whose last film with Griffith was the odd, dark “The Greatest Question” (1919), with Lillian Gish. Some feel he was being ousted by Richard Barthelmess, who had appeared in several Griffith films and was being groomed for the male lead in “Way Down East” (1920). When Harron died, some writer speculated that he was heartbroken at Barthelmess usurping his career. Actually, his career was on the upswing when he and Griffith parted amicably. Harron signed on with Metro early in 1920, and he had his own company within the studio. Harron died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on September 5, 1920. The official certificate listed his death as accidental. Harron was only twenty-seven years old.
Not a fan of Griffith’s spectacles like “The Birth of a Nation” (1915) and “Intolerance” (1916), I prefer his smaller productions like “True Heart Susie” (1919). Robert Harron is wonderful as the sincere and naïve young man who is fooled by a superficial woman. Lillian Gish is excellent as the shy, plain, and simple girl who loves Robert Harron. She makes the role interesting and sympathetic with her subtle gestures and expressions. Clarine Seymour almost steals the show from Gish playing the vamp who ensnares Harron. A bittersweet love story, “True Heart Susie” (1919) is one of the most charming of Griffith’s films and a little gem of the silent screen.
The legendary director turns 84 today and while not directing as much, is still alive and in good health as far as I know. His list of credits include Moonstruck (for which he won an Oscar for Best Director), A Soldier's Story (1984), In The Heat Of The Night (1967), The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), The Cincinnati Kid (1965), Send Me No Flowers (1964) and The Thrill Of It All (1963). His last major directing effort was Denzel Washington's 1999 boxing film The Hurricane. That's an impressive list for an extremely talented director.
The wonderful Diana Rigg turns 72 today.Wish her a happy birthday as she is continuing to work to this day. She is most known as Ms. Emma Peel from the TV series, The Avengers.
(1938-1981) Natalie would have been 72 today if not for her accidental drowning back in 1981. She is one of my favorite actresses and was extremely talented. My personal favorite films of hers were The Great Race, Inside Daisy Clover, Sex and The Single Girl, and The Searchers.
Leigh Taylor-Young, studied classical ballet and attended Northwestern University where she majored in economics. She became interested in theater and was the youngest member of the Eaglesmere Summer Repertory Theatre. Leigh moved to New York and studied under Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse. Her BIG break came when she was cast in "Peyton Place" (1964), where she played Rachael Welles. She met Ryan O'Neal, the couple married in 1967-1973.
Leigh started off in films as a "flower child" of the 1960's. She earned a Golden Globe nomination for "Best Newcomer" when she performed in, I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! (1968). The film is about Attorney Harold Fine, who is about to marry his girlfriend Joyce, but is having second thoughts. He runs into his brother, a hippie living in Venice Beach, and falls for a hippie girl who makes "special" brownies.
Then performed opposite her husband in The Big Bounce (1969). She went on to cameo in her husband's movie The Games (1970), then her career took of again in the epic The Adventurers (1969), The Buttercup Chain (1970), The Horsemen (1971) and the The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (1971). Leigh's best known role was in the film Soylent Green (1973). In the 1980s she made a comeback as a mature character actress, in the thriller Looker (1981) and Jagged Edge (1985). She won an Emmy award in 1994 for "Picket Fences" (1992). In addition, she performed in several plays, in the US, England and Scotland, including "The Beckett Plays," "Knives" and "Sleeping Dogs." More recently she performed in her writer/director brother's film Bliss (1997). Leigh played a regular role on the daytime soap "Passions" (1999).
Leigh also became an ordained minister in the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness, and her voice can be heard in the Search of Serenity series of audio meditations from The Course in Miracles trainings. She is also the grandmother of two granddaughters by her son Patrick O'Neal.
Soylent Green(1973). Science fiction. Director: Richard Fleischer. Cast: Charlton Heston, Edward G. Robinson, Joseph Cotton, Chuck Connors, Leigh Taylor and Dick Van Patten. The film is about the investigation of a brutal murder of a wealthy businessman in a future suffering from pollution, overpopulation, depleted resources, poverty, dying oceans and a hot climate. Much of the population survives on processed food rations called "soylent green".
The film, is loosely based on the 1966 science fiction novel Make Room! Make Room!, by Harry Harrison, won the Nebula Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film in 1973.
Soylent Green, is one of my favorite sci-fi and Charlton Heston films. Eddie Robinson performance was very touching as one of the last men who remembers the past. Charlton Heston's and Edward G. Robinson's, on screen chemistry was very believable, as friends who truly loved each other.. One of my favorite scenes, is when they are eating a meal of real food and they savor every bite. The film is very powerful in its possible view of our world in the future.
*Spoiler alert*
In Charlton Heston's crying scene, he really was crying, he was the only person on set who knew Edward G. Robinson was dying of cancer. His death scene was the last day he worked in his life; he died just nine days after shooting wrapped.
Leigh Taylor-Young (born January 25, 1945). Her younger siblings are actress Dey Young and writer/director Lance Young. Taylor-Young got her first big break in 1966, when she was cast as Rachel Welles in the soap opera, Peyton Place. It was on this series that she met Ryan O'Neal, whom she later married. Despite the huge amount of publicity she received while working on Peyton Place, Taylor-Young left the soap opera in 1967 because of her pregnancy, she also wanted to pursue a career in films. Her first film role was the comedy, I Love You, Alice B. Toklas(1968). Where she received a Golden Globe nomination for Most Promising Female Newcomer. This was followed by her performance with husband Ryan O'Neal in, The Big Bounce(1969).
For the next several years, she performed mostly in high budget films, such as, The Adventurers and The Horsemen. She is best known for her performance as Shirl, the "furniture" girl, in the science fiction, Soylent Green(1973).
Zero Hour!(1957). Written by Arthur Hailey. Cast: Dana Andrews, Linda Darnell, and Sterling Hayden. Zero Hour! was the basis for the movie Airplane! Zero Hour! was also the remake of Hailey's Canadian Broadcasting Corporation play Flight into Danger(1956). Hailey co-wrote a novel with John Castle based on the same idea titled Flight Into Danger: Runway Zero-Eight (1958). The rights to the movie were purchased by the makers of the 1980 film Airplane! and they were able to use the screenplay almost verbatim. In later years, the film was bought by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Pilot Ted Stryker, in the final weeks of World War II, leads a raid on Wiesbaden, Germany. The target area is covered by fog, Ted does not cancel the mission and six of his pilots crash into countryside. Wounded Ted, is the only man to survive the mission and blames himself for the death of his men.
Eleven years later, Ted applies for a job in the Canadian Jet Research division of the Mid-Canadian Aircraft Co. Ted's old friend Frank Graham hires him and Ted returns home to celebrate the good news with his family. When he gets there he finds a note written by his wife Ellen, saying that she is leaving him. Ted rushes to the airport just in time to board her plane to Vancouver, even though he is still afraid of flying.
Once on the the plane, Ted asks Ellen to give him another chance, but she refuses because he has never stopped punishing himself from his mistakes. Midway through the flight, some of the passengers become deathly ill, the stewardess, asks a physician who happens to be on the plane to help them. Baird tells Capt. Bill Wilson to land the plane, so the sick passengers can be taken to the hospital. Only to learn that they are going to run into bad weather and they can not land the plane. Soon, co-pilot Stewart passes out and Baird now believes that the problem is food poisoning. Soon, Bill is also sick with food poisoning. Although he is able to put the plane on autopilot before collapsing.
Baird tells Janet he is not even sure he can save the sick passengers lives unless they receive medical attention soon. In the cockpit, Baird tells Ted that he is the only person aboard who can of land the plane. Ted then takes the pilot's seat and contacts Canadian air traffic control, asking for guidance in flying the plane. Will Ted manage to get over his past and land the plane safely?
I really enjoyed this film even though some moments are impossible to watch without being reminded of their parody versions.
Sterling Hayden, For most of his career performed as a leading man, in westerns and film noir, such as Johnny Guitar, The Asphalt Jungle and The Killing.
Later on he became known as a character actor for such roles as Gen. Jack D. Ripper in Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964).
He also played the Irish policeman, Captain McCluskey, in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather in 1972.
Standing 6-feet, 5-inches tall, he is one of the tallest leading actors of all time.
Donald Sutherland's, 50 year acting career began In the early 60s, with small parts in British films and TV, landing roles in horror films: Castle of the Living Dead (1964) and Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965) and twice performing in the The Saint. The episodes were directed by, Roger Moore, who later recalled that Sutherland "asked me if he could show it to some producers as he was up for an important part. They came to view a rough cut at the studio and he got The Dirty Dozen. Sutherland was cast for the first of the three war films which would be his first great successes: The Dirty Dozen in 1967, with Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson; in 1970, as the lead "Hawkeye" Pierce in Robert Altman's MASH; and, again in 1970, as tank commander Sgt. Oddball in Kelly's Heroes, with Clint Eastwood and Telly Savalas. An offbeat 1970 war film about a group of World War II soldiers who go AWOL to rob a bank behind enemy lines. During his time in England Sutherland also performed in The Avengers in 1967, in an episode titled "The Superlative Seven."
James Cagney, first performing role was dancing dressed as a woman in the chorus line of the 1919 revue Every Sailor. He spent several years in vaudeville as a hoofer and comedian until his first major acting role in 1925. He performed in many roles, receiving good reviews before landing the lead in the 1929 play Penny Arcade. After rave reviews for his acting, Warner's signed him on to reprise his role. Over the years, Cagney won major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys."
Later in life Cagney became a diabetic and Zimmerman then took it upon herself to take care of Cagney, preparing his meals to reduce his blood triglyceride level. She was successful, that Cagney made a rare public appearance at his AFI Lifetime Achievement award ceremony in 1974 he had lost 20 pounds and his vision had improved. The ceremony was opened by Charlton Heston and he was introduced by Frank Sinatra, the ceremony was attended by so many Hollywood stars—said to be more than for any event in history—that one columnist wrote at the time that a bomb in the dining room would have brought about the end of the movie industry. During his acceptance speech, Cagney lightly teased impressionist Frank Gorshin, saying, "Oh, Frankie, I never said 'MMMMmmmm, you dirty rat!' What I actually said was 'Judy, Judy, Judy!" which was one of Cary Grant's famous misquotations.
Jeanne Carolyn Cagney,(pictured above) was the younger sister of film actor James Cagney and actor/producer William Cagney. She performed in 19 films between 1939 and 1965, including four films with James Cagney: Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), The Time of Your Life (1948), A Lion Is in the Streets (1953) and Man of a Thousand Faces (1957). Cagney performed opposite Mickey Rooney in the film Quicksand(1950). A story about a garage mechanic's descent into crime. The film has been described as "film noir in a teacup... Click picture on side bar to view movie.
ON TCM : Mon. July 19, 2010. Soylent green (1973).Soylent Green (1973). Science fiction film. Cast: Charlton Heston, the film about the investigation of a brutal murder of a wealthy businessman in a future suffering from pollution, overpopulation, depleted resources, poverty, dying oceans and a hot climate due to the greenhouse effect. Much of the population survives on processed food rations, including "soylent green".
ON TCM: Wed. July 21, 2010. Perfect Strangers(1950). Perfect Strangers is a 1950 American comedy-drama film directed by Bretaigne Windust. The screenplay for the Warner Bros. release by Edith Sommer was based on an adaptation of the 1939 Ben Hecht-Charles MacArthur play Ladies and Gentlemen by George Oppenheimer.
ON TCM: Sat. July 24, 2010. Cages (1950).Caged is a 1950 film which tells the story of a teenage newlywed, who is sent to prison for being an accessory to a robbery. Her experiences while incarcerated, along with the killing of her husband, change her from a very frightened young girl into a hardened convict.
Ginger Rogers, made a total of 73 films, and is best known for her role as Fred Astaire's romantic interest and dancing partner in a series of ten Hollywood musical films.
She also achieved success in a variety of film roles, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in, Kitty Foyle (1940).
Kitty Foyle, a hard-working girl from a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, meets and falls in love with young socialite Wyn Strafford but his family is against her.
