Ken Annakin
Ken Annakin, best remembered for directing the big-budget 1965 adventure comedy Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, died of natural causes on Wednesday, April 22, at his home in Beverly Hills. He had suffered a stroke and a heart attack in February, and had been in poor health since. Like fellow British filmmaker Jack Cardiff, who also died on April 22, Annakin was 94.
Born Kenneth Cooper Annakin in Beverley, Yorkshire, in England, on Aug. 10, 1914, Annakin began his film career working as a cameraman on training films for the Royal Air Force in World War II.
His first feature as a director was the 1947 family vacation comedy Holiday Camp, [...]
by Andre Soares | April 24, 2009
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Tags: Across the Bridge, Andrew Marton, Battle of the Bulge, Beau Bridges, Bernhard Wicki, Broken Journey, Call of the Wild, Charlton Heston, Christopher Atkins, Classic Movies, Claudette Colbert, Dorothy McGuire, Flora Robson, Genghis Khan, Henry Fonda, Holiday Camp, Jack Cardiff, Jack Hawkins, Jack Warner, John Mills, Kathleen Harrison, Ken Annakin, Monte Carlo or Bust!, Olivia de Havilland, Outpost in Malaya, Phyllis Calvert, Raquel Welch, Richard Todd, Robert Morley, Robert Ryan, Rod Steiger, Swiss Family Robinson, Terry-Thomas, The Biggest Bundle of Them All, The Fifth Musketeer, The Longest Day, The Pirate Movie, The Planter's Wife, The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, Tony Curtis, Vittorio De Sica
Jack Cardiff
Cinematographer and director Jack Cardiff, one of the early masters of color cinematography, has died. He was 94.
Cardiff’s work as a cinematographer was quite eclectic, ranging from his partnership with Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger in the British-made Black Narcissus (1945) and The Red Shoes (1948) to prestigious international productions such as John Huston’s The African Queen (1951) and King Vidor’s War and Peace (1956), and to low-brow commercial fare such as Conan the Destroyer (1984) and Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985).
I’ve never watched Conan or Rambo, but I have watched more than 20 of Cardiff’s 60 or so features, and I can testify that whether working in art-house or commercial fare, Cardiff’s cinematography was invariably one [...]
by Andre Soares | April 22, 2009
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Tags: A Matter of Life and Death, Alfred Hitchcock, Annabella, Ava Gardner, Black Narcissus, Caesar and Cleopatra, Cinematographers, Classic Movies, Conan the Destroyer, Death on the Nile, Emeric Pressburger, Errol Flynn, Fanny, Girl on the Motorcycle, Harold D. Schuster, Henry Fonda, Jack Cardiff, John Huston, King Vidor, Laurence Olivier, Michael Powell, Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, Rambo: First Blood Part II, Ray Rennahan, Robert Donat, Rod Taylor, Sean O'Casey, Sons and Lovers, The African Queen, The Barefoot Contessa, The Black Rose, The Dance of Shiva, The Long Ships, The Red Shoes, The Vikings, The Wicked Lady, Trevor Howard, Tyrone Power, Under Capricorn, Vivien Leigh, War and Peace, Wings of the Morning, Young Cassidy
Best Films – 1940
Henry Fonda in The Grapes of Wrath
FILM
The Blue Bird
d: Walter Lang; scr: Ernest Pascal
The Grapes of Wrath
d: John Ford; scr: Nunnally Johnson
Kitty Foyle
d: Sam Wood; scr: Dalton Trumbo
The Letter
d: William Wyler; scr: Howard Koch
The Mark of Zorro
d: Rouben Mamoulian; scr: John Tainton Foote, Garrett Fort, Bess Meredyth
Pinocchio
d: Hamilton Luske, Ben Sharpsteen; scr: Ted Sears, Otto Englander and others
Pride and Prejudice
d: Robert Z. Leonard; scr: Aldous Huxley, Jane Murfin
Rebecca
d: Alfred Hitchcock; scr: Robert E. Sherwood, Joan Harrison
Waterloo Bridge
d: Mervyn LeRoy; scr: S.N. Behrman, Hans Rameau, George Froeschel
Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday
CHECK THESE OUT
Busman’s Honeymoon / Haunted Honeymoon
d: Arthur B. Woods; scr: Monckton Hoffe, Angus MacPhail, Harold Goldman
His Girl Friday
d: Howard Hawks; scr: Charles Lederer
The Long Voyage Home
d: John [...]
by Andre Soares | April 4, 2009
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Tags: Aldous Huxley, Alfred Hitchcock, Alfred Newman, Anita Loos, Basil Rathbone, Bella Spewack, Bess Meredyth, Best Films, Bette Davis, Busman's Honeymoon, Cary Grant, Cedric Hardwicke, Charles Chaplin, Charles Lederer, Classic Movies, Constance Cummings, Edna May Oliver, Ernest Haller, Florence Bates, Frieda Inescort, George Barnes, Ginger Rogers, Greer Garson, Henry Fonda, Herbert Marshall, Herbert Stothart, His Girl Friday, Howard Hawks, Howard Koch, Irene Dunne, Irving Pichel, Jack Oakie, James Stephenson, Jane Darwell, Jane Murfin, Joan Crawford, Joan Fontaine, Joan Harrison, Joel McCrea, John Ford, Judith Anderson, Karl Freund, Kitty Foyle, Laurence Olivier, Leo McCarey, Marjorie Main, Mary Boland, Max Steiner, Melville Cooper, Mervyn LeRoy, Micheline Presle, Nunnally Johnson, Pinocchio, Pride and Prejudice, Ray Rennahan, Rebecca, Robert E. Sherwood, Robert Montgomery, Robert Z. Leonard, Rosalind Russell, Rouben Mamoulian, Roy Webb, Sam Spewack, Sam Wood, Susan and God, The Blue Bird, The Grapes of Wrath, The Great Dictator, The Letter, The Long Voyage Home, The Man I Married, The Mark of Zorro, The Philadelphia Story, Tyrone Power, Virginia City, Vivien Leigh, Walter Lang, Waterloo Bridge, William Wyler
Oscar Answers #1 & 2
Before looking at the answers, you may want to test your Oscar knowledge — or lack thereof — by checking out the Oscar Quiz first.
Oscar Answer No. 1
William Wyler (right). From Walter Brennan* to Barbra Streisand, Wyler directed 36 Oscar-nominated performances.
Elia Kazan comes in second place, with 24 nominations; George Cukor in third, with 21; and both Fred Zinnemann and Martin Scorsese in fourth, with 20.
* Following some serious "creative differences" with producer Samuel Goldwyn, Howard Hawks was replaced by William Wyler during the making of the 1936 family saga Come and Get It, for which Walter Brennan won the first ever best supporting actor Oscar. Both Wyler and Hawks shared directorial credit for the film.
Henry Fonda, Jane [...]
by Andre Soares | February 11, 2007
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Tags: Academy Awards, Classic Movies, Film Awards, Helen Hayes, Henry Fonda, Jack Palance, On Golden Pond, Oscar Quiz, The Grapes of Wrath, William Wyler
Major Oscar Comebacks
Henry Fonda in The Grapes of Wrath (top); Fonda and Katharine Hepburn in On Golden Pond (bottom)
Below are the performers and directors who had a 20-year or longer gap between Academy Award nominations.
Unless otherwise noted, the nominations are for leading roles; years in bold means Oscar wins.
41 years between nominations
Henry Fonda (1940, The Grapes of Wrath — 1981, On Golden Pond)
38
Helen Hayes (1931-32, The Sin of Madelon Claudet — 1970, supporting, Airport)
Jack Palance (1953, supporting, Shane — 1991, supporting, City Slickers)
Alan Arkin (1968, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter — 2006, supporting, Little Miss Sunshine)
35
Ralph Richardson (1949, supporting, The Heiress — 1984, supporting, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes)
33
John [...]
by Andre Soares | February 1, 2006
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Tags: Academy Awards, Fay Bainter, Film Awards, Helen Hayes, Henry Fonda, Jack Palance, Julie Christie, Lynn Redgrave, On Golden Pond, Ralph Richardson, The Grapes of Wrath
Best Films – 1947
Deborah Kerr, Kathleen Byron, David Farrar in Black Narcissus
FILM
Black Narcissus
d, scr: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Cheyenne
d: Raoul Walsh; scr: Alan Le May, Thames Williamson
Crossfire
d: Edward Dmytryk; scr: John Paxton
Down to Earth
d: Alexander Hall; scr: Edwin Blum, Don Hartman
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
d: Joseph L. Mankiewicz; scr: Philip Dunne
Life with Father
d: Michael Curtiz; scr: Donald Ogden Stewart
Miracle on 34th Street
d, scr: George Seaton
Monsieur Vincent
d: Maurice Cloche; scr: Jean Bernard Luc, Jean Anouilh
Mourning Becomes Electra
d, scr: Dudley Nichols
Nicholas Nickleby
d: Alberto Cavalcanti; scr: John Dighton
The Perils of Pauline
d: George Marshall; scr: P. J. Wolfson, Frank Butler
CHECK THESE OUT
Body and Soul
d: Robert Rossen; scr: Abraham Polonsky
A Double Life
d: George Cukor; [...]
by Andre Soares | August 31, 2004
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Tags: A Double Life, Abraham Polonsky, Alan Le May, Alberto Cavalcanti, Alexander Hall, Allen Rivkin, Anne Revere, Aubrey Woods, Audrey Totter, Bernard Herrmann, Betty Hutton, Black Narcissus, Body and Soul, Brian Easdale, Carol Reed, Cedric Hardwicke, Charles B. Lang, Charles Bickford, Charles Chaplin, Cheyenne, Claudette Colbert, Crossfire, Curtis Bernhardt, David Farrar, Deborah Kerr, Dolores del Rio, Don Hartman, Donald Ogden Stewart, Down to Earth, Dudley Nichols, Edmund Gwenn, Edward Dmytryk, Edwin Blum, Elwood Bredell, Emeric Pressburger, Ethel Barrymore, F. L. Green, Frank Butler, Frank Davis, Gabriel Figueroa, Garson Kanin, Gene Tierney, Geoffrey Homes, George Barnes, George Cukor, George Marshall, George Seaton, Ginger Rogers, H. C. Potter, Harry Stradling, Heinz Roemheld, Henry Fonda, Irene Dunne, It Had to Be You, Jack Cardiff, Jacques Tourneur, James Mason, James Wong Howe, Jean Anouilh, Jean Bernard Luc, Jean Renoir, Joan Crawford, John Dighton, John Ford, John Paxton, Joseph A. Valentine, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Lady in the Lake, Laura Kerr, Life with Father, Lilli Palmer, Lloyd Gough, Lord Berners, Loretta Young, Marjorie Main, Martha Raye, Mary Merrall, Maureen O'Hara, Maurice Cloche, Max Steiner, May Hallatt, Michael Curtiz, Michael Hogan, Michael Powell, Miracle on 34th Street, Monsieur Vincent, Mourning Becomes Electra, Nicholas Nickleby, Odd Man Out, Out of the Past, P. J. Wolfson, Peverell Marley, Philip Dunne, Pierre Fresnay, Possessed, Pursued, R. C. Sheriff, Ranald MacDougall, Raoul Walsh, Rex Harrison, Richard Hageman, Ride the Pink Horse, Rita Hayworth, Robert Krasker, Robert Montgomery, Robert Rossen, Robert Ryan, Roland Culver, Ronald Colman, Ruth Gordon, Signe Hasso, Silvia Richards, Thames Williamson, The Egg and I, The Farmer's Daughter, The Fugitive, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The Perils of Pauline, The Sea of Grass, The Unsuspected, The Woman on the Beach, Van Heflin, Vida Hope, William Alwyn, William Conrad, William Powell, William V. Skall
