birds of a feather

what a winning image of french actor alain delon. the impossibly handsome delon has 91 screen credits, the last one being 2010. i am familiar with only a few of his movies. at the height of my jeremy irons fascination i was in paris when 'swann in love' came out. it was very pleasurable to sit back and be free of subtitles, as there were none! i had read the story of 'swann's' love for 'odette.' jeremy was heartachingly helpless as a man in love. ornella muti was exquisite. one of the great surprises of the film was seeing delon cast as 'swann's' best friend, 'the baron de charlus.'

for so long delon was the suave and cool guy. as 'charlus' he was an aging upper class connoisseur in pursuit of young men. he wore rouge and held his handsome head high. i feel sure the french applauded his taking on the role.

cute

take your time

You - are not a victim
You - just scream with boredom
You - are not evicting time

-bowie

c'mon david, make another film. not that i am actually complaining. every time i watch 'the man who fell to earth' i am thoroughly satisfied.

the good guy

as you can tell from this blog, i rarely watch contemporary films. still, every once in a while i come upon one that grabs my attention. while showing the trailer for 'never let me go' to a friend yesterday, i was immediately caught with tears in my eyes by seeing the face of andrew garfield. his character in this stunning movie broke my heart in a perfectly satisfying way.

he is now making a film based on an 'oprah' approved novel. brand new hardcover copies of that book are for sale on amazon for 75 cents. what is this world coming to? ain't no one reading real books? fahrenheit 451 here we come...

johnny and vanessa

just like everyone else, i too am kinda sad to see this end.

where to draw the line

fred macmurray took a big chance when he took on the role of 'walter neff' in director billy wilder's genius film 'double indemnity.' the year was 1944 and fred was known mostly as a likable character in lots of films. he was blessed with the role of 'walter', a guy whose ordinary life as an insurance salesman goes way south upon seeing the anklet on the wife of a potential client. said anklet was on the slim ankle of barbara stanwyck.

her performance is exceptional. these two have over two hundred credits between them but it is 'double indemnity' that is the most deeply etched in cinema history. i have seen this film more times than i will confess. hallelujah for actors who break free from public perceptions of them.

stamina

how does she do it? we all know that living with sam shepard must have been intense. still, when i watched jessica win her golden globe the other night, i was once again seduced by the fizzy concoction of confidence/sincerity (with a dash of bashful) that the woman continues to exude.

my introduction came with 'tootsie.' her performance in 'blue sky' knocks one's socks off. 'frances'? forget about it. the genius actress kim stanley played her mom in that. if i am not mistaken, at the golden globes she seems to have been carrying kim within her.

i'm not about to watch the scary series she just won for but clearly she is still knockin' people's socks off.

what's it all about

i believe this is the scene in 'alfie' when he calls his girlfriend (one of many) 'cloth ears.' i love british expressions big time. i also loved michael caine's performance in this classic film. it is never too late to hear the story of a man's ascent to consciousness. everyone is splendid as the cast of characters who tolerate and come to extricate alfie from their lives.

thanks to sherry for the great photo.

art imitates life

'Kim Stanley in the film The Goddess as the best performance ever in film. Recommended viewing for anyone interested in the “Golden Age” of film and Broadway.

'1958 Columbia Pictures drama film starring Kim Stanley and Lloyd Bridges. Others in the cast include Steven Hill, Betty Lou Holland, Joan Copeland, Patty Duke, and Elizabeth Wilson. The movie was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

'In her movie debut, Kim Stanley gives a heart-rending performance in one of the very few films to show what effect Hollywood or show business, in general, can have on a single person. She captures the character’s restless misery, fragile turmoil and neurosis, brought about by the rejection and unhappiness of childhood.'

it has been said that this film is about marilyn monroe. maybe it is.

dang

garbo and gilbert had serious chemistry. when she began to make films in hollywood he was the biggest star of all. they fell in love, the talkies came, and as garbo rose to greater fame gilbert was out of a job due to audiences laughing at the sound of his voice. cruel!

when garbo made 'queen christina' she had them cast gilbert opposite her. i never really liked that film but i surely admire greta for reaching out to the one who gave her guidance in her early days.

what makes a legend most

short and sweet

fade to black

seems there is a new wave of black and white movies being made. they look so bland! in this techno age we are living in, why aren't they processing the film to get gorgeous contrasts?




black and white can be BEAUTIFUL, as this image proves.

gimme plenty clementi

leave it to pierre clementi to play the role of a man teaching a class to make a bomb.

j.d. squared

even more beautiful

http://www.youtube.com/user/Ohpoopnotagain#p/u/18/gH_R0Nvw9_M

this film from 1964 shows a side of bergman that will thrill you. sarcastic, proud, and as ever, gorgeous.


photo: promotional shot made on set of the 1964 film.

elizabeth's profile

men and women

when i first saw 'women in love' i was envious. the sisters not only traipsed around their english village in beautiful clothes, they existed outside of society yet were able to penetrate the hearts of two men from the upper class, by birth or association. i loved the actors and actresses. glenda jackson and alan bates remained favorites of mine through all of their films.

d.h. lawrence fans are well aware of his perceptions of the conflicts between lovers. he is a lovely writer and most likely he would have appreciated director ken russell's painful depiction of people trying to keep love from getting the better of them.

it's never too late to see this film. the acting is exceptional and the scenes remain provocative.

fascinating

My mother and I could always look out the same window without ever seeing the same thing.- Gloria Swanson

as my mom used to say, 'what's not to love.' that's how i feel about gloria swanson. thanks to a documentary on silent films, i now know much more about swanson than simply her spellbinding performance as 'norma desmond' in 'sunset boulevard.' the woman was enchanting. smart, classy, courageous, and fun.

she lived to be 84. she has 84 screen credits! her many times director cecil b. demille called her 'little fella.' her wiki page is stuff of legend: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloria_Swanson

she was fabulously stylish, courageous and forward thinking. she was a health foodist. she drove across the country in her rolls royce with nuts in the trunk! when she'd stop with her driver so that he could eat she'd order a cup of hot water and use her own tea bag. i think she was my mom in a parallel universe. ? i adore her spirit.

romy

from my other blog: http://popsicleskies.tumblr.com/post/15457339816/romy-schneider-by-alberto-mielgo

huston's own

some of the best lines in 'the maltese falcon' are delivered to the policemen who keep on bogart's trail. expressions like 'crackin' foxy' really get me.

"Sam Spade: Haven't you anything better to do than to keep popping in here early every morning and asking a lot of fool questions?
Lt. Dundy: And gettin' a lot of lyin' answers!
Sam Spade: Take it easy."

the way he says 'take it easy' is priceless.

then there's always:

Detective Tom Polhaus: [picks up the falcon] Heavy. What is it?
Sam Spade: The, uh, stuff that dreams are made of.
Detective Tom Polhaus: Huh?

the screenplay was written by the film's director john huston.

reimagination

the job's yours

bette davis was unbelievable in 'of human bondage.' if you adore actor leslie howard like i do, this film is downright painful to watch. still, bette and leslie are both true artists and their talents manage to uplift the viewer from such a downright drag of a story.

ageless, considering

raquel welch 100 years b.c.

o'toole and child

breathtaking

'In 2007, she accepted a part on a Brazilian prime time soap opera, Páginas da Vida, and then in the Portuguese language version of the American TV series Desperate Housewives. After that she moved back to Roosevelt Island in New York City to relaunch her career in the United States.'

gosh, how stunning was sonia braga?? so that's what she's been up to. well, if the legendary shirley knight can do a stint in a 'housewives' production, i guess it's acceptable.

hey days

keaton's card

“It was on purpose that I started looking miserable, humiliated, hounded, and haunted, bedeviled, bewildered, and at my wit’s end. Some other comedians can get away with laughing at their own gags. Not me. The public just will not stand for it. And that is all right with me. All of my life I have been happiest when the folks watching me said to each other, ‘Look at the poor dope, wilya?’

Because of the way I looked on the stage and screen the public naturally assumed that I felt hopeless and unloved in my personal life. Nothing could be farther from the fact. As long back as I can remember I have considered myself a fabulously lucky man. From the beginning I was surrounded by interesting people who loved fun and knew how to create it. I’ve had few dull moments and not too many sad and defeated ones.”

-Buster Keaton, in his autobiography My Wonderful World of Slapstick (1960)

makin' movies

class

anjelica huston was stunning! i had a brief exchange with her in a store and she was gracious as well.

a man needs a carrie

legend has it that neil young fell for actress carrie snodgress after watching her in 'diary of a mad housewife.' he wrote 'a man needs a maid' without giving too much thought to what those lyrics might mean to others. then again, neil has gotten away with plenty in the lyrics department.

their union ended as abruptly as her shining career. i only included the magazine page so you can see her and the son she had with neil. he looks like his pa.

she was a magnificent actress, tiny and fragile, yet fierce.

the allure of a total prick

today is frank langella's 74th birthday. i first set eyes on him in 1970 when he played a total cad opposite carrie snodgress in 'diary of a mad housewife.' gosh, carrie was surrounded. richard benjamin played her impossibly irritating husband and their two daughters were a total drag! however, even though the quality of the dvd is poor, the film is terrific and the performances are stellar.

it was frank's first big screen role. he was so gorgeous that i was able to fully understand carrie's character choosing to spend time with him. langella has 82 screen credits. he just completed a film in which he plays a man named 'frank.'

there have been so many great looking fellas in countless movies. still, i think i'd have to give this man the vote for sexiest screen presence for his work in 'diary.'