children of the depression era part 1

oil painting by pal shazar

children of the depression era part 2

nestled among movies illustrating suggestive adult behavior in the latest pre code set of films from the 1930's is a little gem called 'wild boys of the road.' director william wellman claimed it was one of his top five faves of his amazing career. i can see why. like all his movies that i have seen, it smacks of honor, integrity, injustice, and heroism. when these qualities apply to teens it is downright awe inspiring.
this 1933 movie stars a wonderful actor named frankie darro, an actor who began as a child and has a total of 178 screen credits! in this black and white beauty we follow two best buddies who decide to ride the rails instead of be a drain on their families. the depression was hitting hard and as the boys hop trains in search of greener pastures they team up with a darling girl (a great understatement as this actress was the one to win handsome wellman's love for life) on top of a boxcar. the film is heartbreaking and real.

photos: frankie darro/with silent film cowboy star tom tyler

joey

the ramones kicked off a bona fide revolution in music. their contribution to soundtracks is amazing. joey even acted in a couple of films. he is surely missed.

michel

i do not know what it is about this actor. michel piccoli has 'je ne sais quoi' like nobody's business. this living legend of french cinema has over 220 film credits! i fell for him in jean luc godard's 'le mepris' (trans. 'contempt') where he played the bewildered husband of brigitte bardot. i have seen him in other films and he is just so solid. i read he will star in the life story of actress romy schneider, who he worked with. if you're getting the impression that i am crazy for things french, you'd be correct.









photos: decades ago with bardot/today he is still winning awards

filming 'romy'

a film about the life of romy schneider is in the works. she did make some films in america but back in france, her adopted home, she is simply adored.
born in vienna in 1938, she died in paris in 1982. much too young. alas, her precious beauty did not fade before this world. a love and life long friend of actor alain delon, he arranged to have her buried near her son who had accidently died the year before she did.

audrey

the beauty gets ready to add another layer to the mystery of her charm.

she'll be your mirror

yes please! the singer hauntingly named 'nico' is the subject of a fantastic documentary from a few years back called 'nico/icon.' before stepping out a career in germany as a fashion model and into the monochromatic folky/psychedelic nyc group 'the velvet underground', she was rocking the eyeshadow.

donkey time

animal loving is surely one of the most graceful pastimes. a ballet dancer who transformed herself into one of the most beloved personalities of all time, audrey hepburn even had a pet deer. naturally she did.

mick and keith

the magnetic men.... mick and marianne/keith and johnny.

'beauty fades'

ah, the lesson we prefer not to learn. if anyone on this earth proves the wisdom of accepting the bitter truth it is singer actress marianne faithfull. at one time she was as ravishing as could be. wonderfully unshy about aging before the camera, she has continued a film career that began in the sixties.

'so long marianne, its time that we began
To laugh and cry and cry and laugh about it all again' -leonard cohen

from playing 'the girl on a motorcycle' in 1968 to a recent turn as 'maggie' in 'irina palm', this tour de force has sung and acted herself in and out of love, addiction, and poverty. many lessons can be learned from her.

photos: late sixties, 'the girl on a motorcycle'/marianne as 'maggie' in 'irina palm'

love and films

some of the rolling stones and some of their partners made successful forays into movies. 1970's 'performance' has yet to go out of style. starring both mick jagger and anita pallenberg, it is a bohemian rhapsody frozen in time. while mick was under the lights and cavorting in bed with anita, keith richards was downstairs in his car fuming.

anita pallenberg/keith looking up at mick thinking, 'shooting's over, mate.'

happiness is a warm....book

hold on to your hats, jack kerouac lovers. a film of jack's great legacy of literature, 'on the road' is gonna be made into a film. this book that he 'typed' into existence and delivered to his publisher on one huge roll of paper is about to reach yet another generation. how wise a choice to cast sam riley as the handsome and uncompromising writer who both pleased and pissed off a lot of people.
watching kerouac read his poetry on the hugely popular steve allen show was one of the rare times i wanted to put my foot through the screen and into the face of the disrespectful host. i felt so bad for jack. well, he has been long gone and his resurrection is coming. sam riley was exceptional as singer ian curtis in the film, 'control.' fingers crossed.