Grace Kelly on TCM: REAR WINDOW, THE COUNTRY GIRL
James Stewart, Grace Kelly in Rear Window
Turner Classic Movies‘ Grace Kelly series continues this Thursday, Nov. 12, with three of Kelly’s biggest hits, all from 1954: Dial M for Murder, Rear Window, and The Country Girl. Kelly, who died in 1982 following a car accident in Monaco, would have turned 80 on Nov. 12.
Some consider Dial M for Murder a minor Alfred Hitchcock effort. Personally, I find it more enjoyable than Hitchcock’s revered Rear Window. Part of the reason is a pair of deadly scissors found in the former but not in the latter; yet, I’d say that the chief reason is that neither one of Kelly’s leading men in Dial M for Murder is James Stewart. Instead, [...]
by Andre Soares | November 10, 2009
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Tags: Alfred Hitchcock, Classic Movies, Dial M for Murder, George Seaton, Grace Kelly, James Stewart, Oscar 1954, Oscar Movies, Ray Milland, Rear Window, The Country Girl, Thelma Ritter, Turner Classic Movies
Grace Kelly on TCM
Stating the obvious: most people take great pleasure in idealizing their idols — which is why idols are idols.
Whether we’re talking of gods, saints, prophets, or pop stars, the process is pretty much the same: flaws are expunged, deeds that never took place are turned into (at times miraculous) facts, the Pantheon of the Immortals becomes their abode following their earthly demise. (In some extreme cases — assorted gods, Elvis — the idol in question doesn’t die, period.)
Grace Kelly, Turner Classic Movies’ Star of the Month, is one of the lofty ones now dwelling in the aforementioned Pantheon. True, the flesh-and-bood Philadelphia-born (Nov. 12, 1929) woman (nee Grace Patricia Kelly) may have been quite different [...]
by Andre Soares | November 5, 2009
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Tags: Alfred Hitchcock, Classic Movies, Dial M for Murder, George Seaton, Grace Kelly, Rear Window, The Country Girl, Turner Classic Movies
Thelma Ritter
Thelma Ritter, Grace Kelly, James Stewart in Rear Window
Actress Thelma Ritter, who was born on Feb. 14, 1905, in Brooklyn, would have turned 101 years old today. Her film career began rather late — she was 42 when she made her film debut in a small role in The Miracle on 34th Street — but in a few years she was to become one of the best-known actresses in Hollywood, working mostly at 20th Century Fox.
Though never a star big enough to carry her own films, Ritter was what is referred to as a "star supporting player." She was honored with star billing every now and then, though her roles were subordinate to those of other players from whom [...]
by Andre Soares | February 14, 2006
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Tags: Classic Movies, Pickup on South Street, Rear Window, Thelma Ritter
Christopher Reeve
Christopher Reeve, best known for his Superman movies of the late 1970s and early 1980s, died of heart failure on October 10. He was 52.
Nine years ago, Reeve was left paralyzed by a near-fatal riding accident, after which he became a staunch advocate for spinal chord and stem cell research, sponsoring with his wife the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation (formerly the American Paralysis Association).
Besides his four Superman films — the most entertaining of which, despite the flag-waving finale, was Richard Lester’s fast-paced Superman II (1980) — Reeve also appeared in about a dozen features.
Among his other notable screen roles are the lovestruck playwright in Jeannot Szwarc’s romantic fantasy Somewhere in Time [...]
by Andre Soares | October 11, 2004
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Tags: Christopher Reeve, Deathtrap, Jane Seymour, Jeannot Szwarc, Monsignor, Rear Window, Somewhere in Time, Superman, Superman II, Switching Channels, The Bostonians
