John Paul Jones with Robert Stack: 4th of July movies. Although every sign indicates that 2019 is the new 1984, those in the U.S. shouldn’t fret: TCM’s 4th of July movies will transport viewers to the distant past, when there was no climate crisis (or…
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Rebecca 1940: Joan Fontaine as the “successor” and Judith Anderson as the creepy lesbian housekeeper, madly in love with her deceased mistress. ‘Rebecca’ 1940: Alfred Hitchcock Best Picture Oscar winner back on Brazilian screens Based on Daphne Du Maurier’s 1938 novel, Alfred Hitchcock’s first Hollywood…
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Nicholas and Alexandra movie with Janet Suzman and Michael Jayston. ‘Nicholas and Alexandra’ movie review: Opulent 1971 spectacle lacks emotional core Nicholas and Alexandra is surely one of the most sumptuous film productions ever made. Production designer John Box’s elaborate sets, Yvonne Blake’s equally elaborate…
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Renée Asherson in Henry V (1944), with Laurence Olivier. ‘Henry V’ movie (1944) actress Renée Asherson dead at 99: Laurence Olivier leading lady in acclaimed Shakespearean classic Renée Asherson, a British stage actress featured in London productions of A Streetcar Named Desire and Three Sisters,…
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Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier as Emma Hamilton and Lord Nelson in That Hamilton Woman (1941). Vivien Leigh biography, movies, and photo exhibit among centenary celebrations [See previous post: “Vivien Leigh Turns 100: Centenary of One of the Greatest Movie Stars.”] From Nov. 30–July 20,…
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Vivien Leigh. Vivien Leigh: Legendary ‘Gone with the Wind’ and ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ star would have turned 100 today Vivien Leigh was perhaps the greatest film star that hardly ever was. What I mean is that following her starring role in the 1939 Civil…
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Rebecca remake in the works? Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 original – based on a novel by Daphne Du Maurier – starred Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier. Hollywood has been running out of ideas since the time filmmakers started making movies in Hollywood. Even the first “official”…
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Laurence Olivier = Kenneth Branagh in My Week with Marilyn. Once upon a time, Kenneth Branagh was hailed as the new Laurence Olivier. Back in early 1990, Branagh was nominated for two Academy Awards for directing and starring in Henry V, an adaptation of William…
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Jean Simmons in Hamlet with Laurence Olivier. Star of the Month Jean Simmons is back on Turner Classic Movies this Tuesday evening, with five more films. Like last week, these are all from Simmons’ British period: Trio, featuring three stories by W. Somerset Maugham; the…
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Marathon Man with Laurence Olivier. The deadliest sin a good-guy-vs.-bad-guy movie can commit is to – unintentionally – have us root for the evildoer. That is exactly what director John Schlesinger (Darling; Midnight Cowboy; Sunday, Bloody Sunday) and screenwriter William Goldman (adapting his own novel,…
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Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard in Mutiny on the Bounty 1962: Veteran director Lewis Miletone bypassed. Previous post: Biggest Oscar Snubs: Michael Nyman for The Piano, Lee Smith for Inception, Gordon Willis for The Godfather, and Caleb Deschanel for The Black Stallion. Below is a…
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Jean Simmons. Jean Simmons, the beautiful actress who was nominated for Oscars for her work in Hamlet (1948) and The Happy Ending (1969), died on Jan. 22 at her home in Santa Monica, Calif. The London-born actress would have turned 81 on Jan. 31. Simmons’…
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Wuthering Heights with Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier as star-crossed lovers Cathy Earnshaw and Heathcliff: Independent mogul Samuel Goldwyn’s favorite among his movies. ‘Wuthering Heights’: ‘Hollywood’s Greatest Year’ continues with Samuel Goldwyn’s favorite among his films The 1939 Best Picture Oscar nominee Wuthering Heights –…