e.t. in love

elizabeth taylor was a truly astonishing looking little girl. she thought the great beauty of the family was her brother howard, most likely her first love. then came richard.

this is not maria schneider

but the look lives on...

if it's tuesday it must be weld

tuesday turned 68 today. to celebrate i found this snap of her and the king of rock and roll hanging out while waiting for the director to call 'action.'

here's the deal...

In feature films the director is God; in documentary films God is the director. -Alfred Hitchcock

making waves

until i saw this snapshot, all i knew of Alexander Skarsgård was that his dad was terrific in 'breaking the waves' and that alexander is in a hit t.v. show. now i also know he is plenty handsome while being awfully strong.

turn back time

just sayin'

“If you love two people at the same time, choose the second one. Because if you truly loved the first one, you wouldn’t love another."
—JOHNNY DEPP.

my marilyn

fear of music

if someone told me they never saw a marilyn monroe movie, i wouldn't suggest they start with 'niagara.' that said, i love it. joseph cotten rules and marilyn was pretty unforgettable. the scene where she goes over to make a song request (a song that drives her husband over the edge) is crazy great. i don't like all the 'dangerous' parts but they are overshadowed by monroe's screen presence.

by way of illustration

'i have the prettiest mother'

today is patty mccormack's 66th birthday. the child actress who haunted everyone's dreams more than any others made her star turn in 1956's 'the bad seed.' her character's name 'rhoda' became synonymous with CREEPY.

patty has been acting away since that unforgettable performance as the murderous child of a very helpless mother beautifully played by nancy kelly. what a fantastically nervous voice nancy had.

macormack has 128 screen credits! nick cave and the bad seeds have been making great records since 1983.

photos: rhoda lying/punishment/nick cave and the bad seeds

c.g.

i watched 'notorious' for the umpteenth time last night. it was the very first time i was able to see cary grant as an actual man! his face is so iconic that it is not easy. what i discovered last night is that he is just about as handsome as it gets.

photo: gundlach

ticket to ride

My formula for living is quite simple. I get up in the morning and I go to bed at night. In between, I occupy myself as best I can.-Cary Grant

jack

expensive candy

'brighton rock' is a great novel by graham greene. i loved the original film version (1947) starring Richard Attenborough. even though i thought sam riley was terrific in the film 'control' i had no interest in seeing the recent remake of my fave greene book. however, i like this not so subtle fashion editorial starring sam.

by way of illustration

ivan dixon doing true yoga practice while pumping gas for a car full of imbeciles.

a true queen

anna marie wooldridge does not ring a bell. however:

Bob Russell, became anna's manager. “One time he told me, ‘Since Abraham Lincoln didn’t free the slaves, maybe you could handle it,’ ” she recalled with a laugh. “He named me Abbey Lincoln.”

abbey lincoln was not only a wonderful singer but she was a very unique actress. while watching 'nothing but a man' i was constantly struck by her poise. even when she cries her character maintains her dignity. i got the feeling abbey was like the woman in the movie: proud and intelligent in the face of reality.

her co-star in this 1964 drama is ivan dixon, the actor who played sidney poitier's brother in 'a patch of blue.' he also worked with sidney in 'a raisin in the sun.' he and abbey are perfect in this quiet lovely film about good people who hold their heads high during moments when you, the viewer, want to reach into the screen and knocks a few blocks off.

my sister's hand in

"The only human being I could tell everything was my sister Françoise. She and I were so diametrically different; put together we would have been a fantastic woman." - Catherine Deneuve

catherine lost her sister one month before the release of 'belle de jour', a film that put deneuve on the international cinema map. the car crash that took the life of francoise dorleac came three years after francoise had made the lovely film, 'the soft skin.' both of these actresses are very beautiful and as catherine says, very different. francoise was absolutely delightful on screen. deneuve is far more serious.

quelle fammile!

chaplin's kid

look at this! jackie coogan with a baby elephant. too much. the year was 1921...

by way of illustration

soldiering on

I never understood a word John Cassavetes said. And I think he did that deliberately. -Peter Falk

the film 'a woman under the influence' blew my little mind. i would love if the whole world saw it just once. there was such incredible tenderness between the husband and wife, played by peter and gena. the movie is painfully insightful and just beautiful.


photo: falk with gena rowlands

adorable anne francis

this woman has 167 screen credits! she even appeared in 'the fugitive.' i love richard kimble.

i have not seen tons of anne work but she stars in one of my fave rare films, 1960's 'Girl of the Night.' it is not impossible to find but impossible to forget. she was absolutely terrific in it.

'In 1982 Francis published a book she had written, Voices from Home, subtitled An Inner Journey. To quote from the cover, "(This book) is my spiritual expose. It is about our essence of being, the inner workings of mind and spirit which contribute to the growth of the invisible and most important part of us."'-wiki

she was surely an enlightenment soul.

hiya, sailor

boy, what a looker 'coop' was.

forever 'jeanne'

maria schneider lit up the screen like no other. joy, petulance, and a sense of wonderment seemed to follow her around like a swarm of yellow butterflies. 'last tango in paris' may not have been her favorite movie making experience but i love every frame. sadly, maria suffered humiliation at the hands of the director. seems like he paid the price for it:

'After the film's release in Europe, director Bernardo Bertolucci, producer Alberto Grimaldi, Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider were all indicted by a court in Bologna, Italy for making the film under the term "ultalitarian pornography". They were all acquitted of the charge shortly thereafter with Bertolucci losing his civil rights (including his right to vote) for five years.'-imdb

when you were young

christopher walken looking like a ball player who surfs on the weekend.

she is still making movies! her daughter is an actress too.

'tess'

It's true what people say - that actors are the closest thing there is to children. They play. -Nastassja Kinski

more pennies per pound

the highest earning man in show biz

never forget

" When anything is blocking my head or there’s worry in my life, i just go sit on mars or something and look back here at earth. All you can see is this tiny speck. You don’t see the fear. You don’t see the pain. You don’t see thought. It’s just one solid speck. Then nothing really matters. It just doesn’t. "

- Heath Ledger

married or not

“Though so many years had passed since their divorce, not a week went by without contact between Ava and Dad. Their tender affection was conveyed through funny notes and gifts, and routine phone calls. Dad advised Ava in her business affairs and provided whatever she needed that she could not afford."-tina sinatra

could they look any more amazing?

the girl with the most cake

by way of illustration

the safety of good actors

Kristen Stewart: It’s weird, because I would be the last person in my school to be in plays, but I was forced to sing a song in a school thing. I sang a dreidl song, which is funny for me. I’ve never celebrated Hanukkah—it wasn’t in my upbringing, but it was one of those deals where everybody has to pick a song or participate somehow in the chorus. It wasn’t the normal dreidl song; I can’t really remember the words, but it was a more serious dreidl song. The dreidl was huge, it was really honored. And that’s how I met my agent, who was in the audience. I was eight. I was nine when I did my first movie, The Safety of Objects.

terrific film.

hooray for hollywood

i grew up in l.a. and i love it there. as they say, 'there's no place like home.'

pre-chunnel

it is so easy to escape to paris or return to london now. no need to taxi out to the airports! at first i was scared at the idea but it was a piece of cake. especially when that cake is made in paris.

it is such a gorgeous day here in upstate new york that i don't even wish to be in paris. right.



















photos: british albert finney with french anouk aimee/french jean-michel jarre with british charlotte rampling/paris...

a lighter liz

this blonde definitely had more fun.

what's in a name

calling them 'winklevii' still cracks me up.