Dawn's Favorite Movie actresses and their films of the "60's".

These are my top 10 movie actresses of the 60's and the films that they performed in:

Katharine Hepburn:
1962 Long Day's Journey Into Night
1967 Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (video below).
1968 The Lion in Winter
1969 The Madwoman of Chaillot

By the 1960′s Katherine Hepburn had been making films for over 30 years, with 8 Academy Award Nominations and one win. In 1960 she was nominated a 9th time for Best Actress in the film, Suddenly Last Summer, opposite Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift. In 1963, she again was nominated for a tenth Oscar as Mary Tyrone in the film, Long Day’s Journey Into Night(1962). Then in 1968 and 1969, Kathrine won her second and third Oscar for Best Actress in, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, and The Lion in Winter. The 1960′s introduced her to a whole new group of fans.

Fay Dunaway:
1969 The Extraordinary Seaman
1969 The Arrangement
1968 A Place for Lovers
1968 The Thomas Crown Affair
1967 Bonnie and Clyde
1967 The Happening
1967 Hurry Sundown

Her first film was in 1967 in, Hurry Sundown, but that same year, she got the leading female role in, Bonnie and Clyde (opposite Warren Beatty) which won her an Oscar nomination. Very few actresses started off their Hollywood careers with Oscar nominated roles.

It would be another ten years before she won her Oscar, but in my opinion her greatest role was that of Bonnie Parker in, Bonnie and Clyde.

Audrey Hepburn:
1967 Wait Until Dark
1967 Two for the Road
1966 How to Steal a Million
1964 My Fair Lady
1964 Paris When It Sizzles
1963 Charade
1961 The Children's Hour
1961 Breakfast at Tiffany's
1960 The Unforgiven

Audrey Hepburn, best work may have been in the 1960′s with one of her best known roles as Holly Golightly in, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, or Eliza Doolitle in, My Fair Lady (even though her voice was dubbed in the singing parts). Beautiful, elegant, Hollywood.. had very few actresses like, Audrey.

Audrey's work with UNICEF, made the organization a household name.

Elizabeth Taylor:
1969 Anne of the Thousand Days
1968 Secret Ceremony
1968 Boom!
1967 The Comedians
1967 Reflections in a Golden Eye
1967 Doctor Faustus
1967 The Taming of the Shrew
1966 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
1965 The Sandpiper
1964 Becket
1963 The V.I.P.s
1963 Cleopatra
1960 BUtterfield 8
1960 Scent of Mystery

In the 1960′s Taylor was known for her beauty, but she also was very talented. She was the winner of the 1960 Best Actress award in the film, Butterfield8 as a prostitute and in 1963′s Cleopatra and in 1966 she won the Best Actress award for the second time for her performance in, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolfe. Based on the controversial play by Edward Albee, this noir-ish 1966 drama stars former real-life couple Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, which maybe their best performances.

Jane Fonda:
1969 They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
1968 Barbarella
1968 Spirits of the Dead
1967 Barefoot in the Park
1967 Hurry Sundown
1966 Any Wednesday
1966 The Game Is Over
1966 The Chase
1965 Cat Ballou
1964 Circle of Love
1964 Joy House
1963 Sunday in New York
1963 In the Cool of the Day
1962 Period of Adjustment
1962 The Chapman Report
1962 Walk on the Wild Side
1960 Tall Story

Her stage work in the late 1950's help prepared her for her film career in the 1960s. She averaged almost two movies a year throughout the decade, starting in 1960 with Tall Story, in which she recreated one of her Broadway roles as a college cheerleader pursuing a basketball star, played by Anthony Perkins. Period of Adjustment and Walk on the Wild Side followed in 1962. In Walk on the Wild Side Fonda played a prostitute, and earned a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer.

Fonda's breakthrough came with the film, Cat Ballou (1965), in which she played a schoolmarm turned outlaw. This comedy Western received five Oscar nominations. Soon after she performed in the comedies, Any Wednesday (1966) and Barefoot in the Park (1967).

In 1968 she played the lead role in, Barbarella, directed by her French film director husband Roger Vadim. The film, They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) earned her first Oscar nomination. Fonda was very selective by the end of the 1960s, turning down lead roles in Rosemary's Baby and Bonnie and Clyde.

Video from: Barefoot in the Park.

Marilyn Monroe:
1960 Let's Make Love
1961 Misfits
1962 Something's Got to Give

Marilyn, had no real acting techniques. It was only Marilyn, a "star" and "sex symbol" of the "60's".

Her last completed film, The Misfits, was directed by John Huston and costarring Clark Gable, Montgomery Clift, Eli Wallach and Thelma Ritter. Shooting taking place in the hot Northern Nevada desert. Monroe was frequently ill and unable to perform. Making the film was a difficult experience for all the actors; in addition to Monroe's illness, Montgomery Clift had frequently been unable to perform and by the final day of shooting, Thelma Ritter was in hospital suffering from exhaustion. Gable, commenting that he did not fell well, left the set without attending the wrap party. Within ten days Gable had died from a heart attack. Gable's widow, Kay, commented to Louella Parsons that it had been the "eternal waiting" on the set of The Misfits that had contributed to his death.

In 1962 Monroe began filming Something's Got to Give. It was to be directed by George Cukor, and co-starred Dean Martin and Cyd Charisse.

On May 19, 1962, she attended a birthday celebration of President John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden, at the suggestion of Kennedy's brother-in-law, actor Peter Lawford. Where Monroe performed "Happy Birthday".

Monroe returned to the set of, Something's Got to Give and filmed a scene in which she performed nude in a swimming pool. Commenting that she wanted to "push Liz Taylor off the magazine covers", she gave permission for several partially nude photographs to be published by Life. Monroe was dismissed and was replaced by Lee Remick, and Dean Martin refused to work with any other actress.

Following her dismissal, she gave an interview to Cosmopolitan and was photographed at Peter Lawford's beach house sipping champagne and walking on the beach. She next posed for Vogue in a series of photographs that included several nudes. Published after her death, they became known as "The Last Sitting".

In the final weeks of her life, Monroe was planning future film projects, and to continue negotiations on the film, Something's Got to Give.. Among the projects was a biography of Jean Harlow filmed two years later with, Carroll Baker. Starring roles in, Irma la Douce and What a Way to Go! were also discussed. A film version of the Broadway musical, A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, and an unnamed World War I–themed musical co-starring Gene Kelly were also discussed, but the projects were never to be.

Brigitte Bardot:
1969 Les femmes
 1968 Shalako
1968 Spirits of the Dead
1967 Two Weeks in September
1965 Dear Brigitte
1965 Viva Maria!
1964 Agent 38-24-36
1963 Contempt
1962 Love on a Pillow
1962 A Very Private Affair
1961 Famous Love Affairs
1961 Please, Not Now!
1960 The Truth
1960 It Happened All Night

Brigitte's, "sex kitten" beauty took the US by storm. In 1965 she performed as herself  in, "Dear Brigitte" (1965) with James Steward (she only appeared in one scene).



She prefers life outside of stardom. The Paparazzi constantly hounded her with their cameras. After her life in the spotlight, Brigitte went on to become a leading spokesperson for animal rights and started the "Foundation Brigitte Bardot".

Goldie Hawn:
1969 Cactus Flower
1969 Five the Hard Way (unconfirmed)
1968 The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band.

Hawn, began her acting career as a cast member of the comedy Good Morning, World during 1967-1968, her role was the girlfriend of a radio disc jockey, with a stereotype "dumb blonde" personality. Her next role, was as one of the regular cast members on the 1968-1973 comedy show, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. On the show, she would break out into giggles in the middle of a joke, and deliver a perfect performance a minute later. Hawn, was known as the "60s It" girl.

Hawn's Laugh-In personaiity was used in the film, Cactus Flower. Hawn had made her feature film debut in a bit role as a giggling dancer in the 1968 film, The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band, in which she was billed as "Goldie Jeanne", but in her first major film role, in Cactus Flower (1969), she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress as Walter Matthau's suicidal fiancée.




 

Sharon Tate:

Sharon Tate had performed only bit parts, but was considered a beautiful and rising actress. Tate met film director Roman Polanski then starred in Valley of the Dolls, followed by, The Wrecking Crew with Dean Martin.

1969 The Wrecking Crew
1967 Valley of the Dolls
1967 The Fearless Vampire Killers
1967 Don't Make Waves
1966 Eye of the Devil

Ava Gardner:
1968 Mayerling
1966 The Bible: In the Beginning...
1964 The Night of the Iguana
1964 Seven Days in May
1963 55 Days at Peking
1960 The Angel Wore Red

Ava Gardner, is thought of as one of the most beautiful actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age. In 1966, Gardner tried out for the role of Mrs. Robinson in the film, The Graduate (1967).

In 1968, she made what some consider to be one of her best films, Mayerling, in which she played the Austrian Empress Elisabeth of Austria opposite James Mason as Emperor Franz Joseph I.

Happy Birthday: Steve McQueen!

Steve McQueen (March 24, 1930 – November 7, 1980), landed his first film depute in a small part in the film, Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956), directed by Robert Wise. A film based on the life of middleweight boxing legend Rocky Graziano. Joseph Ruttenberg, was awarded a 1956 Oscar, in the category of Best Cinematography. The film also won the Oscar for Best Art Direction. The role of Rocky Graziano, was originally to be played by James Dean, but he died before filming began, Paul Newman accepted the part.

The story is about Rocky Graziano, who joins a street gang and gets into trouble and is sent to prison. After his release, he is drafted into the U.S. Army, but runs away. To support himself , he becomes a boxer and wins six fights in a row. Before the Army catches up with him and throws him in a United States Disciplinary Barracks for a year. When he gets out, he falls in love and marries his sister's friend, Norma. He rises to the top, but loses a title fight with Tony Zale. Someone from his past blackmails him into throwing a fight. Rocky fakes an injury and avoids the fight altogether. Will he loose his license and ever be able to fight again?

When McQueen, performed in a two-part television presentation entitled The Defenders, Hollywood manager Hilly Elkins, thought that B-movies, would be a good place for him to start. McQueen was hired to perform in the films: Never Love a Stranger, The Blob (his first leading role), and The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery.

Please click here to read Steve McQueen movie reviews.

McQueen, got a big break when Frank Sinatra removed Sammy Davis, Jr. from the film, Never So Few. When Davis role went to McQueen, Sinatra, made sure that McQueen had plenty of close-up shots. After the film, Never So Few, director John Sturges cast McQueen in his next movie, The Magnificent Seven (1960), which became McQueen's first major hit.

McQueen's next big film, The Great Escape (1963), gave Hollywood's version of the true story of an historical escape from a World War II POW camp. This film made McQueen, a superstar.

In 1963, McQueen starred with Natalie Wood in the film, Love With The Proper Stranger. He later performed in the film, Nevada Smith. McQueen, also earned his only Academy Award nomination in 1966 for his role in, The Sand Pebbles.

He followed his Oscar nomination with the film, Bullitt(1968), one of his most famous films. It featured an amazing car chase through San Francisco.

McQueen, performed as a wealthy executive in one of my favorite films, The Thomas Crown Affair with Faye Dunaway in 1968. He made the Southern period piece The Reivers(1969), followed by the film, Le Mans(1971). Then came the film, The Getaway(1972) during which he met future wife, Ali MacGraw. An action-crime film directed by, Sam Peckinpah. The film is based on a novel by, Jim Thompson. It was remade in 1994 starring Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger.

The story is about Carter "Doc" McCoy, a convict, who is denied parole. He wants his wife Carol, to make a deal with Jack Benyon. Benyon, has Doc paroled on the condition that he take part in a bank robbery, with two of his men. Things go wrong, Frank draws a gun on Doc, who beats him to the draw and shoots Rudy.

Doc meets with Benyon, who attempts a double cross and shot and killed by Carol. Doc gathers up the money and the couple run for the border into Mexico.

Rudy, having secretly worn a bulletproof vest, is still alive. He forces a veterinarian and his wife to treat his injuries, then kidnaps them so he can go after, Doc and Carol.

Benyon's brother Cully and his men also go after Doc and Carol. At the train station, a thief takes Carol's, locker keys and takes their bag of money. Doc, follows the thief onto a train and takes it back. Doc, steals a shotgun and they find themselves several shoot-outs with police. They escape by hiding in a trash bin and dumped at the local landfill.

Rudy's and the veterinarian's wife end up together. They arrive at hotel well known by criminals as a safe house, threatening the hotel's manager. Doc and Carol are given a room on the same floor and ask for food to be delivered, but the manager says he can't leave the desk. Doc, soon realizes that the manager has sent away his family. As they are planning their get away, Fran and Rudy, come to their door. Doc, is surprised to see Rudy alive. He sneaks up from behind and knocks out both Rudy and Fran.

Cully and his men arrive just as the McCoys are leaving. In a gunfight all of Cully's men are killed, except one, who Doc allows to walk away. Rudy now recovered follows Doc, who shoots and kills him.

With the police hot on their heels, the couple hijack a pickup truck and force its driver, a cowboy, to take them to Mexico. After crossing the border, Doc and Carol pay the cowboy for his truck and send him on his way.

He worked for director Sam Peckinpah, again with the leading role in, Junior Bonner (1972), a story of an aging rodeo rider. He followed this with a physically demanding role in the film, Papillon(1973).

After the film, The Towering Inferno(1974), co-starring with his friend, Paul Newman and reuniting him with Dunaway, McQueen wanted to focus on motorcycle racing and traveling around the country in a motor home and on one of his vintage motorcycles. He did not return to acting until the film, An Enemy of the People(1978).

His last films were both loosely based on true stories: Tom Horn, a Western adventure, about a former Army scout turned professional gunman, who worked for the big cattle ranchers and then the film, The Hunter, a action movie, about a modern-day bounty hunter, both released in 1980.

Happy Birthday: Faye Dunaway !

One of my favorite actress of the 70s and 80s was Faye Dunaway, an elegant blonde with a knack for playing complex and strong-willed female leads. Faye Dunaway, won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film, Network (1976). The film was written by Paddy Chayefsky. Directed by Sidney Lumet. Cast: William Holden, Peter Finch and Robert Duvall and features Wesley Addy, Ned Beatty, and Beatrice Straight. A story about how a TV network exploits a ex-TV anchor's ravings for their own profit.

James Stewart turned the film down because of the strong language.

Faye also received nomination for the film, Bonnie and Clyde (1967). A crime/comedy/romance.

During the depression in the early 1930's, Bonnie Parker meets Clyde Barrow while he tries to steal her mother's car from the front yard. Interested in his personality and bored with her job as a waitress, she decides to run off with him. Together they commit a few small time holdups that provide them with excitement, but.. that is about all. Eventually, they recruit C. W. Moss, a slow witted garage mechanic, to drive the getaway car. Soon, they are joined by Clyde's brother Buck, just released from prison and his whining wife, Blanche. They decide to become notorious bank robbers which turns into an amazing and exciting story ...

The film was directed by Arthur Penn. Costar: Warren Beatty. The screenplay was written by David Newman and Robert Benton, with Robert Towne and Beatty providing uncredited contributions to the script.

Bonnie and Clyde is considered a landmark film, that broke many taboos. Its success motivated other filmmakers to use sex and violence in their films.

Bonnie and Clyde received Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress (Estelle Parsons) and Best Cinematography (Burnett Guffey).

Other actresses considered for the role of Bonnie Parker included: Tuesday Weld, Ann-Margret, Carol Lynley and Sue Lyon.




Chinatown (1974). Neo-noir film, directed by Roman Polanski from a screenplay by Robert Towne. Cast: Jack Nicholson and John Huston. The film is a multi-layered story that is part mystery and part psychological drama. Performed perfectly by its amazing cast, with a terrifying performance by John Huston as Noah Cross.

The story, set in Los Angeles in 1937,  inspired by the historical disputes over land and water rights in southern California during the 1910s and 1920s, in which William Mulholland acted on behalf of Los Angeles to secure water rights in the Owens Valley.

Chinatown, was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, winning in the category of Best Original Screenplay for Robert Towne.



Faye Dunaway also starred in one of my favorite films, The Thomas Crown Affair(1968), with Steve McQueen. It was nominated for two Academy Awards and won the Award for Best Song with, "Windmills of Your Mind". A remake was released in 1999. Of all of the films that Steve McQueen made in his career, this film is reported to have been his favorite.

The story begins when, Thomas Crown, a millionaire businessman and sportsman, pulls off a perfect crime by robbing a Boston bank and dumping the money into a cemetery's trash can. Crown retrieves the money later and deposits it at a bank in Geneva.

Vicki Anderson, an independent insurance investigator, is contracted to investigate the heist. She will receive a percentage of the stolen money if she recovers it.

Their relationship turns into one of the hottests affairs I have seen in a movie. But, things become complicated by Vicki's job.

The film is beautifully photographed and it also has a wonderful musical score. Jewison makes use of the split screen in several places in the film. Which captures the era perfectly.




The Towering Inferno (1974). Action disaster film produced by Irwin Allen. Cast: Steve McQueen and Paul Newman. The film, was adapted from the novels: The Tower by Richard Martin Stern and The Glass Inferno by Thomas N. Scortia and Frank M. Robinson. Directed by John Guillermin, with Allen himself directing the action sequences. Jennifer Jones made her final film appearance in this film.

During filming an actual fire broke out on one of the sets and Steve McQueen began helping the firemen put it out. One of the firemen, not recognizing McQueen, said to the actor, "My wife is not going to believe this." To this McQueen replied, "Neither is mine."

The suspense will keep you on edge of your seat, like the scene when they are climbing up a flaming stair well and a long decent down an elevator. You can almost feel the flames and smell the smoke. The scenic elevator is actually one of two in the Hyatt Regency Hotel in San Francisco. This elevator was also used in the movie, Time After Time (1979).




Another favorite Faye Dunaway film, Three Days of the Condor (1975). An action thriller with a twist. produced by Stanley Schneider and directed by Sydney Pollack. The screenplay, by Lorenzo Semple Jr. and David Rayfiel, was adapted from the novel, Six Days of the Condor by James Grady.

The film is set in New York City. Robert Redford, an employee of the Central Intelligence Agency who becomes involved in a deadly power struggle within the agency. It is a story of a common man (Robert Redford) battling for his life. This film reminded me a little of the Alfred Hitchcock's film, North By Northwest.

The film was nominated for the 1976 Academy Award for Film Editing. Semple and Rayfiel received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Motion Picture Screenplay.



Another favorite Faye Dunaway  movie is, The First Deadly Sin (1980). The last of nine films produced by and starring Frank Sinatra,  Faye Dunaway, David Dukes, Brenda Vaccaro, James Whitmore and, in his final acting role, Martin Gabel. Bruce Willis made his film debut in a bit part. The First Deadly Sin was based on the novel of the same name, first of a series of popular novels by Lawrence Sanders.

New York police Sgt. Edward Delaney is at the scene of a brutal murder when news comes from the hospital that his wife condition has worsened after her kidney operation. Even with his wife's health problems and being close to retirement, Delaney tries to link the recent killing to other recent string of murders. Delaney recruits a museum curator, a coroner, and the victim's wife , to help with his investigation. The investigation leads to a man named Blank, a businessman who looks to be leading a secret life. Will Delaney come up with a plan to trap the killer?

Dunaway blamed the film, Mommie Dearest (1981), for ruining her career as a leading lady. In 1987, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama for her performance in Barfly.  Next she went onto perform in the film, Don Juan DeMarco (1995), with Johnny Depp and Marlon Brando.

Dunaway, also starred in the 1986 made-for-television movie, Beverly Hills Madam. In 1993, Dunaway briefly starred in a sitcom with Robert Urich, It Had to Be You. Dunaway won an Emmy for a 1994 role as a murderer in, "It's All in the Game," an episode of the mystery series, Columbo.

In 1996, she toured nationally with the stage play, Master Class. The story about opera singer Maria Callas. Dunaway bought the rights to the Terrence McNally play, for possible film development.

In 2006, Dunaway played a character named Lois O'Neill in the sixth season of the crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. She served as a judge on the 2005 reality show The Starlet, which was to find the next young actress to become a major star. In the spring of 2007, the direct-to-DVD movie release of Rain, based on the novel by V. C. Andrews and starring Dunaway, was released. In 2009, Dunaway starred in the film, The Bait by  film director and producer Dariusz Zawiślak.

Dunaway has been married twice, from 1974 to 1979 to Peter Wolf, the lead singer of the rock group, The J. Geils Band, and from 1984 to 1987 to Terry O'Neill, a British photographer.