it's my party and i'll cry if i want to

birthdays are for dong what you like. i found myself opting for a burst of great beauty and knew i could find it in 'the man who fell to earth.' i know this story/movie so well but still, the stunning visuals grab me every time. walter tevis, who wrote the novel, is just about my fave writer. he was, like the character 'brice', a teacher and perhaps he too suffered the sorrows of alcohol infused memories. this story is about as sad as it gets. every character is stuck in their own fate, hard as they wish to escape it. still, one does go on, perhaps in the hopes of the impossible transforming itself.

images: bowie reflecting on life back home/unknown

choices

winona ryder was very smart to cast angelina jolie as the wacked young woman in 'girl, interrupted.' even if angelina stole the show, it is to winona's credit that as a producer, she chose well. the entire casting is tops.

winona drops in and out of the public eye. as she is in the new and much applauded film, 'black swan' i figure she is poised for a nice new page in her up and down career. so, who is she about to make a film with? charlie sheen. perhaps there is further to fall.

winona has 46 screen credits. even if she is incapable of delivering the fire of jolie, surely someone ought to be able to place her in a role she can bring to life in her unique way. perhaps she could play an outcast who roams the northwest reciting really good poetry to her shepard and gets a lift in the back of a pickup driven by a high profile literary agent who is on the run from.... played by jolie!

janice rules

janice rule was a beautiful actress. the fact that her looks were considered unconventional is crazy.

i am most familiar with her from the film, 'the chase.' even though it is not a stellar film, the cast, including brando (and his sister) and tons of great people, is heaven. the allure of janice rule is beyond question. to learn that she and ralph meeker played the leads in 'picnic' on stage and were together off stage is dizzying. they just don't make 'em like meeker anymore.

'Rule had a brief engagement to Farley Granger in 1956 followed by a relationship with Ralph Meeker. Rule married and then divorced three men, N. Richard Nash, Robert Thom and Ben Gazzara.

'During the 1960s she became interested in psychoanalysis. She began studying it in 1973 and received a Ph.D. 10 years later from the Southern California Psychoanalytic Institute in Los Angeles. She practiced in New York and Los Angeles and continued to act occasionally until her death.'

photos: janice/with meeker/perhaps reading freud

swann's way

by way of illustration

progress

ballerinas are the rage again which is a lovely occurrence as watching poetry in the form of dance is a thrill.

for those who want more insight into the life of a dancer, the great vanessa redgrave opens her heart to the role that shed light on the first lady of modern ballet, isadora duncan. 'isadora' was released in 1968 and also stars the wonderful james fox.

























photos: vanessa/isadora/isadora

dirk and ava

these two beauties made a film called 'the angel wore red.' just for fun the director threw in the wonderful joseph cotten. still, i think i am content to simply see this lovely image without the need to view a spanish civil war tale that involves a clergyman and a vivacious entertainer.

liz alike

too fun. it is comforting to think that when 'george' pushes 'martha' against the car with one heck of a thud, it was not fair elizabeth who took the bruising. i trust there were plenty of laughs during the making of 'who's afraid of virginia woolf.'

a garden of ava

"I think of Ava, who had no use or need for coiffing or makeup. Her tousled brown hair was loose and soft. She had a long neck, and seemed freshly scrubbed, casual but impeccable. That first time she was wearing a shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a skirt that was softly gathered up, perfect for twirling. And I remember that she smelled of gardenias, and that she was barefoot—and soon Nancy and I were barefoot, too. Looking back, it was the first time I saw simplicity perfected.”- from 'my father's daughter' (written by tina sinatra)

intensity

On the set of 'M' director Fritz Lang discusses the complexities of the script with Peter Lorre (1931)

just cause i don't go...

i read the book when it came out. i was stunned. however, i did not see 'precious.' that does not prevent me from appreciating the terrific poster.

too cool for school

check this out! tennessee williams and sylvia miles. for anyone who is not too sure about sylvia, this actress managed to knock everyone's socks off in a relatively short scene in the academy award winning film, 'midnight cowboy.' she is both hilarious and excellent in Paul Morrisseys' 'HEAT.'

tennessee? the greatest and most beloved playwright.

what's not to love

some couplings are just timeless. vivien and oliver were indeed married. they performed together and endless stunning photos of them can be found. warren and natalie may have held hands in real life for a time but their portrayals of 'bud' and 'deanie' in 'splendor in the grass' is unforgettable.

interestingly, warren beatty and vivien leigh made a film together ('the roman spring of mrs. stone') and natalie wood and laurence olivier did a film version of 'cat on a hot tin roof.' both of those films were based on tennessee williams plays.

'the man who fell to earth'

today is my birthday. what better way to spend my film viewing hours than watching one of the best films i have ever seen.

marilyn moments

missed man

marlon moment

i guess this kinda stuff works in a small town.


photo: the year was 1953 and the fun movie is 'the wild one.' turns out marlon wasn't quite so wild after all. actress kathie bleeker sorted him out.

this was kathie's one stand out film in her two decade career. however, included in that career was a part in 'harlow' which starred caroll baker!

timeless

up for it

27 film credits to her name, liv tyler may always be most known for portraying a princess and having a rock singer for a pa. still, the films keep coming. look who she is working with these days:

cast:

Liv Tyler
Jerry Lewis
Peter Bogdanovich

you just know steven tyler did jerry lewis impersonations as a kid. lineage aside, liv has an innate sweetness that is hard to beat.

classic portraits

colin clive

he owned the role as dr. frankenstein. elegant, tortured, brilliant, and in love. what's not to adore?

colin clive made only 18 films. he died in 1937 at the age of 37. the title of his last film was 'the woman i love.' sad.

looks don't hurt

before 'love story' and steve mcqueen there was ali the model.

youth

christopher walken

trust me

alicia: 'my car's outside.'
devlin: 'naturally.'

ingrid bergman and cary grant must have had a great time working together. hitchcock's 'notorious' (1946) is hands down the most romantic of his movies. beautifully written and acted, this is one terrific film.

want more inducement?

devlin to alicia: "I've always been scared of women, but I get over it.'

promoting 'the tourist'

'tracy's face'

woody allen is now making a film with marion cotillard. the man surely knows how to capture a gorgeous face and i trust he will do right by the stunning french actress.

in his movie 'manhattan' (1979) he created a very sweet character named 'tracy' and the scene where woody records into a cassette player a list of his favorite things in life, while holding a harmonica she gave him, sure enough 'tracy's face' is included. it was a lovely moment.

the young woman who played this character was mariel hemingway, granddaughter of the famous writer. she is a yoga gal and still makes movies. i kid you not when i tell you that the most recent movie she made is called Ay Lav Yu.

papa bear

from big budget films to television, ernest hemingway amassed a total of 55 screen credits based on his novels and stories. i suppose the most notable cast was for 'the sun also rises' (1957) which starred:



Tyrone Power
Ava Gardner
Mel Ferrer
Errol Flynn
Eddie Albert

image: he appears to be thinking, as some film bloggers might say, 'f*ck yeah tyrone power!

kidding around

a surprisingly kooky image of reese witherspoon

actor/director/ladies man

by way of illustration

fast, furious, and fun

john ireland is cool, calm, and collected. he is also perfectly paired with the very special dorothy malone. ready for chemistry on and off the race track? you can watch it anytime right here: http://www.hulu.com/watch/199342/the-fast-and-the-furious-1955

there are so many improbable moments in this classic b movie that you may find yourself laughing where the director did not intend to get that reaction. it matters not. there is something quite restful about a film that does not reach above its potential and this slice of '50's drama is a treat. music by chet baker!

the two leads are really good.

just because

dang

According to Vincent Curcio in Suicide Blonde: The Life of Gloria Grahame, this was the actress’ favorite portrait of herself. one can see why.

forever garbo

gimme silence

i am not a spoil sport. honest. the other night i watched this film, not for the first time though i had little memory of it. how is it possible that it is so highly rated!

garbo's star is the brightest of them all. she is positively transcendent. why i do not enjoy watching melvyn douglas is my problem. it is unbelievable to me that men's wives stray from the path to be with him. that aside, watching garbo laughing her heart out in this movie actually feels strange, but not in a good way.

my favorite greta films are from the silent period. the leading men were as gorgeous as she was. this is not the first time she laughs on screen (her joy in 'camille' is heaven) but i think that is how this was marketed in its time.

ain't it fun to not give a rave.

images: greta circa 'ninotchka'/terrible poster