SmartLess, the podcast co-hosted by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett, just got paid more, with the trio signing a three-year deal with SiriusXM worth a reported $100 million. Now, Tracy, SiriusXM is the biggest satellite radio corporation in the world…
This summer, SmartLess will officially be part of the Sirius team, joining a number of other podcasts, including James Corden’s own and Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, which is currently available on channel 104. This is a monumental deal for the podcasting world, but it’s not much of a surprise considering just how popular SmartLess has become. It’s not every podcast that gets its own behind-the-scenes documentary, as SmartLess did courtesy of Max.
According to SiriusXM president and Cco Scott Greenstein (via The Hollywood Reporter), “At SiriusXM, we are proud to be home to the stars, and with Jason, Sean and Will joining us, that statement has never been more true.
This summer, SmartLess will officially be part of the Sirius team, joining a number of other podcasts, including James Corden’s own and Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, which is currently available on channel 104. This is a monumental deal for the podcasting world, but it’s not much of a surprise considering just how popular SmartLess has become. It’s not every podcast that gets its own behind-the-scenes documentary, as SmartLess did courtesy of Max.
According to SiriusXM president and Cco Scott Greenstein (via The Hollywood Reporter), “At SiriusXM, we are proud to be home to the stars, and with Jason, Sean and Will joining us, that statement has never been more true.
- 1/30/2024
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
Good Night, Oscar, the Oscar Levant bio-play starring Sean Hayes, and El Mago Pop, the Broadway debut of Spanish illusionist Antonio Díaz, ended their limited Broadway engagements on upswings last week, with the former selling out for its best week take of $1,147,057 and the magician conjuring a big $2,717,000 to break the house record at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre with an unusually busy 13-performance week.
For its 10-day run, El Mago Pop grossed a whopping total of $3,341,826.
Both El Mago Pop and Good Night, Oscar played their final performances on Sunday, August 27.
Also of note: Funny Girl starring Lea Michele broke its own box office record at the August Wilson Theatre with a hefty $2,132,454. The box office receipts for the musical revival reflect the boost in last-chancers grabbing seats before the show closes Sunday, Sept. 3.
In all, the 25 Broadway productions grossed $27,215,118 for the week ending August 27, a 5% bump over the previous week.
For its 10-day run, El Mago Pop grossed a whopping total of $3,341,826.
Both El Mago Pop and Good Night, Oscar played their final performances on Sunday, August 27.
Also of note: Funny Girl starring Lea Michele broke its own box office record at the August Wilson Theatre with a hefty $2,132,454. The box office receipts for the musical revival reflect the boost in last-chancers grabbing seats before the show closes Sunday, Sept. 3.
In all, the 25 Broadway productions grossed $27,215,118 for the week ending August 27, a 5% bump over the previous week.
- 8/29/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
To Washington Heights we go. The Tony Awards head to a new venue this year, the United Palace, but the excitement of honoring the year’s best in theater is the same as ever. If, like me, you can’t wait for Sunday night’s event to begin, that’s where math can come in.
Similar to the Oscars, I’ve built a mathematical model to predict the Tonys in all 26 categories, based on a combination of which categories a show is nominated in, the aggregated predictions of various Broadway critics, and the results of the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Drama League Awards. The model is trained on historical Tony Awards data over the past quarter-century — inputs that have done a better job of predicting each category in the past get more weight in this year’s predictions. In some years, the favorites will dominate, like the final...
Similar to the Oscars, I’ve built a mathematical model to predict the Tonys in all 26 categories, based on a combination of which categories a show is nominated in, the aggregated predictions of various Broadway critics, and the results of the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Drama League Awards. The model is trained on historical Tony Awards data over the past quarter-century — inputs that have done a better job of predicting each category in the past get more weight in this year’s predictions. In some years, the favorites will dominate, like the final...
- 6/10/2023
- by Ben Zauzmer
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Has there ever been a less predictable Tony Awards?
Just a few weeks ago there were doubts that a televised ceremony would even happen, due to the ongoing WGA strike. That problem proved to be just a speed bump: The guild agreed not to picket the show, but the show will include no scripts, no pre-written introductions or podium banter. There will be the usual musical numbers from the nominated shows — the heart of the ceremony — as well as some additional performances, tributes to John Kander and Joel Grey, the traditional In Memoriam segment and, well, we’ll all just have to wait and see for the rest.
Related: Tony Award Nominations – The Complete List
But the usual Will Wins/Should Wins are predictions of a different sort, and no strike or toxic-looking orange sky over New York City can stop those speculations. So here we go. Deadline’s 2023 Tony Awards Predictions,...
Just a few weeks ago there were doubts that a televised ceremony would even happen, due to the ongoing WGA strike. That problem proved to be just a speed bump: The guild agreed not to picket the show, but the show will include no scripts, no pre-written introductions or podium banter. There will be the usual musical numbers from the nominated shows — the heart of the ceremony — as well as some additional performances, tributes to John Kander and Joel Grey, the traditional In Memoriam segment and, well, we’ll all just have to wait and see for the rest.
Related: Tony Award Nominations – The Complete List
But the usual Will Wins/Should Wins are predictions of a different sort, and no strike or toxic-looking orange sky over New York City can stop those speculations. So here we go. Deadline’s 2023 Tony Awards Predictions,...
- 6/9/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
The 2023 Tony Awards race for Best Play has already made history, even before the winner will be revealed on June 11. For the first time, three Pulitzer Prize-winning dramas were nominated in the same season for the top honor. According to Gold Derby’s theatre pundits, though, none of those works will take home the prize. Sam Eckmann and I recently reconvened to debate this “extraordinarily strong category” and the 10 other play races ahead of Sunday’s ceremony. Watch the full video slugfest above.
Out front all season long, Tom Stoppard’s “Leopoldstadt” looks to retain its edge for the prize of Best Play. Both Sam and I predict the breadth and topicality of the legendary playwright’s work will propel the Olivier-winning drama to victory, but we both have Pulitzer-winner “Fat Ham” in a strong second place. “I think ‘Fat Ham’ feels like it’s another play that is speaking to right now,...
Out front all season long, Tom Stoppard’s “Leopoldstadt” looks to retain its edge for the prize of Best Play. Both Sam and I predict the breadth and topicality of the legendary playwright’s work will propel the Olivier-winning drama to victory, but we both have Pulitzer-winner “Fat Ham” in a strong second place. “I think ‘Fat Ham’ feels like it’s another play that is speaking to right now,...
- 6/8/2023
- by David Buchanan
- Gold Derby
There’s a shadow hanging over the 2023 Tony Awards, and we don’t just mean the WGA strike, which nearly derailed Broadway’s biggest night. In a Broadway season boasting three nonbinary actors in major musical roles, the Tonys continue to require performers to submit themselves in either of the gendered actor and actress categories.
Both Some Like It Hot’s J. Harrison Ghee and Shucked’s Alex Newell are frontrunners in the categories they selected, while Justin David Sullivan, who would have been eligible in one of the featured performer categories for & Juliet, removed themselves from consideration early in the season. This year, the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards, which recognize both Broadway and Off Broadway productions, shed their gendered performance categories, allowing recent wins at both ceremonies for Ghee and Newell in all-gender fields.
If Ghee and Newell repeat those victories at the Tonys, it’ll...
Both Some Like It Hot’s J. Harrison Ghee and Shucked’s Alex Newell are frontrunners in the categories they selected, while Justin David Sullivan, who would have been eligible in one of the featured performer categories for & Juliet, removed themselves from consideration early in the season. This year, the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards, which recognize both Broadway and Off Broadway productions, shed their gendered performance categories, allowing recent wins at both ceremonies for Ghee and Newell in all-gender fields.
If Ghee and Newell repeat those victories at the Tonys, it’ll...
- 6/7/2023
- by Dan Rubins
- Slant Magazine
Broadway box office overall held steady last week, even as the recent Tony Award nominations already seemed to lose some of their power to boost ticket sales. Some shows with nominations saw declines at the box office, from Good Night, Oscar and Some Like It Hot to Leopoldstadt and New York, New York.
For the most part, the box office slips were small, though grosses for Good Night, Oscar, starring Sean Hayes, were down about 24% from the previous week, with a gross of $550,970 and attendance at just 59% of capacity at the Belasco.
With the much-discussed Tony Awards set for June 11, winning productions will be better poised to see some trophy-related box office mojo throughout the summer months.
Overall, the 34 Broadway productions grossed $33,088,397 for the first week of the 2023-24 season,...
For the most part, the box office slips were small, though grosses for Good Night, Oscar, starring Sean Hayes, were down about 24% from the previous week, with a gross of $550,970 and attendance at just 59% of capacity at the Belasco.
With the much-discussed Tony Awards set for June 11, winning productions will be better poised to see some trophy-related box office mojo throughout the summer months.
Overall, the 34 Broadway productions grossed $33,088,397 for the first week of the 2023-24 season,...
- 5/31/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Marchánt Davis can’t seem to keep away from the Belasco Theatre. He starred in Jordan E. Cooper’s “Ain’t No Mo’” at the 44th street haunt in December, and now just a few months later he is featured in Doug Wright’s new play “Good Night, Oscar.” “It was a lot of feelings,” admits the actor, revealing that a flood of memories hit him as he stepped back into the space, “but the machine keeps going.” Watch the exclusive video interview above.
As Oscar Levant’s doctor Alvin, Davis plays most of his scenes in “Good Night, Oscar” opposite Sean Hayes in the title role. “That character lives on a different beat, on a different metric, than the others,” explains Davis. Alvin’s beat is slow and steady like a metronome throughout the play, whereas Hayes’ Levant is more erratic and fast-paced. The actor describes this dynamic as...
As Oscar Levant’s doctor Alvin, Davis plays most of his scenes in “Good Night, Oscar” opposite Sean Hayes in the title role. “That character lives on a different beat, on a different metric, than the others,” explains Davis. Alvin’s beat is slow and steady like a metronome throughout the play, whereas Hayes’ Levant is more erratic and fast-paced. The actor describes this dynamic as...
- 4/27/2023
- by Sam Eckmann
- Gold Derby
If ever a play had good reason to front-load itself with exposition, Good Night, Oscar is it. Once among America’s premiere wits and raconteurs, Oscar Levant has gone the way of many another once-famous wits and raconteurs. Which is to say, he needs lots of exposition.
Good Night, Oscar, the new bio-play by Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife) starring Sean Hayes (Will & Grace) as Levant, goes a long way in introducing this long-ago talk-show staple to modern audiences. Whether it justifies the effort is considerably less certain.
A talented pianist and occasional second-banana movie actor, Levant is better known today for his frequent talk- and game-show appearances of the 1950s and ’60s, his aptitude for the improvised zinger and no-holds-barred confessional humor making him a sought-after, if controversial, Golden Age presence. Others would follow in his wake – the Gore Vidals and Truman Capotes and Phyllis Newmans, but Levant was first.
Good Night, Oscar, the new bio-play by Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife) starring Sean Hayes (Will & Grace) as Levant, goes a long way in introducing this long-ago talk-show staple to modern audiences. Whether it justifies the effort is considerably less certain.
A talented pianist and occasional second-banana movie actor, Levant is better known today for his frequent talk- and game-show appearances of the 1950s and ’60s, his aptitude for the improvised zinger and no-holds-barred confessional humor making him a sought-after, if controversial, Golden Age presence. Others would follow in his wake – the Gore Vidals and Truman Capotes and Phyllis Newmans, but Levant was first.
- 4/25/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
When surveying the outstanding crop of plays this Broadway season and attempting to make early guesses as to which ones will snag Tony nominations, I can only sum it up as “absolutely insane.” Luckily, trusted Gold Derby contributor David Buchanan joins me in a new video slugfest to hash out all the possibilities.
Though he concurs that this intensely crowded field is difficult to pare down. A whopping 17 new plays and 5 revivals will compete for top honors at the 2023 Tony Awards. Watch the full video above to find out which plays David and I believe will make the cut before logging your own predictions.
David and I begin the conversation as a united front, both picking Tom Stoppard’s “Leopoldstadt” as the current frontrunner for Best Play. It’s a positively massive success with both critics and audiences and offers a hauntingly poignant look at a Jewish family as they...
Though he concurs that this intensely crowded field is difficult to pare down. A whopping 17 new plays and 5 revivals will compete for top honors at the 2023 Tony Awards. Watch the full video above to find out which plays David and I believe will make the cut before logging your own predictions.
David and I begin the conversation as a united front, both picking Tom Stoppard’s “Leopoldstadt” as the current frontrunner for Best Play. It’s a positively massive success with both critics and audiences and offers a hauntingly poignant look at a Jewish family as they...
- 3/21/2023
- by Sam Eckmann
- Gold Derby
As Broadway moves toward its busy spring season, star power has returned to the Great White Way and boosted box offices in the process.
After making her Broadway debut in 2012, Jessica Chastain has returned to star as Nora Helmer in A Doll’s House. The classic Henrik Ibsen play, which was adapted by Amy Herzog and directed by Jamie Lloyd, began previews at the Hudson Theatre on Feb. 13 and has played to nearly full houses so far, minting a strong $811,261 in its first full week of performances.
The musical Parade, starring Ben Platt, began previews Feb. 21 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre and played to more than 100 percent capacity (including standing-room tickets), bringing in just above $587,000 in its first four preview performances. This came as the revival — which chronicles the true story of a Jewish factory worker who was wrongly accused of murdering a teenage girl and then lynched by a...
After making her Broadway debut in 2012, Jessica Chastain has returned to star as Nora Helmer in A Doll’s House. The classic Henrik Ibsen play, which was adapted by Amy Herzog and directed by Jamie Lloyd, began previews at the Hudson Theatre on Feb. 13 and has played to nearly full houses so far, minting a strong $811,261 in its first full week of performances.
The musical Parade, starring Ben Platt, began previews Feb. 21 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre and played to more than 100 percent capacity (including standing-room tickets), bringing in just above $587,000 in its first four preview performances. This came as the revival — which chronicles the true story of a Jewish factory worker who was wrongly accused of murdering a teenage girl and then lynched by a...
- 3/8/2023
- by Caitlin Huston
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Friends, Romans, theater lovers, lend me your ears! The 2023 Tony Awards nominations prediction center is now open, with 23 plays competing for Broadway’s top honors. Be sure to log your early predictions now to see if you can pick which dramas will win over the Tony voters.
Best Play is always a crowded field thanks to a slew of limited engagements that pepper the Broadway calendar, and this season is no different. 18 new works will attempt to be singled out as one of the five nominees.
“Leopoldstat” opened in October to a rapturous response from critics and audiences. It’s the latest drama from Tom Stoppard, who has won this category more than any other playwright. Featuring a vast ensemble cast which includes David Krumholtz, Brandon Uranowitz, and Faye Castelow, the gut wrenching story follows a Jewish family over multiple generations. It’s one of the rare straight plays that...
Best Play is always a crowded field thanks to a slew of limited engagements that pepper the Broadway calendar, and this season is no different. 18 new works will attempt to be singled out as one of the five nominees.
“Leopoldstat” opened in October to a rapturous response from critics and audiences. It’s the latest drama from Tom Stoppard, who has won this category more than any other playwright. Featuring a vast ensemble cast which includes David Krumholtz, Brandon Uranowitz, and Faye Castelow, the gut wrenching story follows a Jewish family over multiple generations. It’s one of the rare straight plays that...
- 3/4/2023
- by Sam Eckmann
- Gold Derby
Ten years ago, actor Sean Hayes and playwright David Adjmi were working together to develop a play based on the life of Oscar Levant, the actor, pianist and notorious wit of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Now Hayes is preparing to bring Good Night, Oscar to Broadway next spring. The play is written by Doug Wright.
Exactly how, why and when Hayes and Adjmi split up their partnership on the project is being disputed by both sides in an unusually public way. Adjmi wrote a long Facebook post detailing his perspective earlier this week, as publicity for Good Night, Oscar is just beginning to emerge. Theater twitter took note, as did The New York Times.
In response, Hayes, Wright and their producer Beth Williams have released their own extensive statement, obtained by Deadline. The two accounts of exactly how Levant came into Hayes’ life are notably different.
Adjmi, perhaps best known as the author of 3C,...
Exactly how, why and when Hayes and Adjmi split up their partnership on the project is being disputed by both sides in an unusually public way. Adjmi wrote a long Facebook post detailing his perspective earlier this week, as publicity for Good Night, Oscar is just beginning to emerge. Theater twitter took note, as did The New York Times.
In response, Hayes, Wright and their producer Beth Williams have released their own extensive statement, obtained by Deadline. The two accounts of exactly how Levant came into Hayes’ life are notably different.
Adjmi, perhaps best known as the author of 3C,...
- 10/7/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
The composer George Gershwin died in 1937 and eight years later Hollywood paid tribute with this biography directed by Irving Rapper. The preponderance of musicians appearing as themselves, including Paul Whiteman and Oscar Levant, confirms the storyline will concentrate on Gershwin’s music while playing fast and loose with the details of his private life. Robert Alda plays the composer, and Joan Leslie and Alexis Smith are on hand as two of his factionalized romantic entanglements.
The post Rhapsody in Blue appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
The post Rhapsody in Blue appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
- 10/5/2022
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Click here to read the full article.
Sean Hayes will return to Broadway in a new play about the life of actor and pianist Oscar Levant.
In Good Night, Oscar, written by Doug Wright, Hayes plays Levant, who is booked on Jack Paar’s The Tonight Show in a 90-minute session that delights audience members, but also comes at a cost for the star.
Directed by Lisa Peterson, Good Night, Oscar will play a 20-week engagement at the Belasco Theatre starting April 7, 2023. Opening night is set for April 24. The play comes to Broadway after a premiere at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre.
“Though he’s somewhat forgotten by today’s audiences, Oscar Levant was a startling phenomenon in his own time; following a stellar concert and movie career, he became a celebrated pundit, holding forth on the chat shows of the 1950’s. A brilliant, often searing raconteur, he was the first...
Sean Hayes will return to Broadway in a new play about the life of actor and pianist Oscar Levant.
In Good Night, Oscar, written by Doug Wright, Hayes plays Levant, who is booked on Jack Paar’s The Tonight Show in a 90-minute session that delights audience members, but also comes at a cost for the star.
Directed by Lisa Peterson, Good Night, Oscar will play a 20-week engagement at the Belasco Theatre starting April 7, 2023. Opening night is set for April 24. The play comes to Broadway after a premiere at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre.
“Though he’s somewhat forgotten by today’s audiences, Oscar Levant was a startling phenomenon in his own time; following a stellar concert and movie career, he became a celebrated pundit, holding forth on the chat shows of the 1950’s. A brilliant, often searing raconteur, he was the first...
- 9/19/2022
- by Caitlin Huston
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sean Hayes will return to Broadway this spring starring in Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Doug Wright’s new play Good Night, Oscar, in which Hayes will play Hollywood Golden Age actor, pianist and wit Oscar Levant.
Directed by Lisa Peterson, Good Night, Oscar will begin performances at the Belasco Theatre,on April 7, 2023, and an official opening set for April 24. The 20-week limited engagement will end on August 27, 2023.
The official synopsis: It’s 1958 and Jack Paar is hosting The Tonight Show. He’s booked his favorite guest, a pundit as hilarious as he is unpredictable: Oscar Levant, who once famously proclaimed, “There’s a fine line between genius and insanity, and I have erased that line.” In 90 short minutes, Oscar will have audiences howling, censors scrambling, and – when it’s all over – America will be just a little less innocent than she was before.
Hayes said, “I’m thrilled for Broadway audiences to experience Good Night,...
Directed by Lisa Peterson, Good Night, Oscar will begin performances at the Belasco Theatre,on April 7, 2023, and an official opening set for April 24. The 20-week limited engagement will end on August 27, 2023.
The official synopsis: It’s 1958 and Jack Paar is hosting The Tonight Show. He’s booked his favorite guest, a pundit as hilarious as he is unpredictable: Oscar Levant, who once famously proclaimed, “There’s a fine line between genius and insanity, and I have erased that line.” In 90 short minutes, Oscar will have audiences howling, censors scrambling, and – when it’s all over – America will be just a little less innocent than she was before.
Hayes said, “I’m thrilled for Broadway audiences to experience Good Night,...
- 9/19/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Northwestern University is playing a key role in bringing mental health stories to the world of film and TV. Its School of Communication features an innovative program that aims to shine a light on mental health and its role in filmed entertainment. Made possible by a gift from the Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation, the Pritzker Pucker Studio Lab for the Promotion of Mental Health via Cinematic Arts creates, supports, and examines original narrative screenwriting, television writing and media making centered on mental health.
“Jessy Pucker is a graduate from Northwestern and she wanted to do something important with psychology and film, and I pitched this program for student filmmakers and screenwriters to think more deeply on how mental illness was being represented in film and television,” says David E. Tolchinsky, professor of radio-tv-film, and director, the Pritzker Pucker Studio Lab for the Promotion of Mental Health via Cinematic Arts.
Student filmmakers,...
“Jessy Pucker is a graduate from Northwestern and she wanted to do something important with psychology and film, and I pitched this program for student filmmakers and screenwriters to think more deeply on how mental illness was being represented in film and television,” says David E. Tolchinsky, professor of radio-tv-film, and director, the Pritzker Pucker Studio Lab for the Promotion of Mental Health via Cinematic Arts.
Student filmmakers,...
- 5/19/2022
- by Nick Clement
- Variety Film + TV
On March 20, 1952, two black and white dramas came into the Oscar ceremony vying for the win. Both “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “A Place in the Sun” had everything the Academy loves: drama, an ensemble of well-known actors and directors – many of whom had previous nominations and wins – and loads of nominations. By the time the Best Picture was to be announced, each had picked up major wins – “Streetcar” had claimed three of the four acting wins, while “Sun” had picked up statues for directing, cinematography and editing. So, it was a “what the heck??” Oscar moment when the final big prize was shockingly announced: the romantic musical “An American in Paris.”
A little over six years after the end of a war that ravaged Europe and in the middle of a Cold War that led to the infamous Hollywood blacklist that destroyed the careers of friends and collaborators, the...
A little over six years after the end of a war that ravaged Europe and in the middle of a Cold War that led to the infamous Hollywood blacklist that destroyed the careers of friends and collaborators, the...
- 2/25/2022
- by Susan Pennington
- Gold Derby
Six years before his death in 1996, “Rent” composer Jonathan Larson began performing a solo semi-autobiographical musical “Tick, Tick…Boom!” about a young struggling composer named Jon who fears that he has made the wrong career choice. After his death, Larson’s show was expanded into a three-person piece by David Auburn that ran in London, off-Broadway, and as a national tour. Now it is an acclaimed new Netflix movie directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda (who appeared in a Encores production of the musical in 2014) and starring Andrew Garfield.
The composer bio movie genre has long been a favorite of Hollywood, especially during its Golden Age. But these bio-pics played fast and loose with the facts. The Production Code prevented these films from exploring the fact that Cole Porter and Lorenz Hart were gay. And some of these composers and/or their families were still alive and wanted a certain image presented on the big screen.
The composer bio movie genre has long been a favorite of Hollywood, especially during its Golden Age. But these bio-pics played fast and loose with the facts. The Production Code prevented these films from exploring the fact that Cole Porter and Lorenz Hart were gay. And some of these composers and/or their families were still alive and wanted a certain image presented on the big screen.
- 12/7/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
A bigger and brighter film debut couldn’t be imagined … Doris Day became America’s sweetheart in Michael Curtiz’s peppy production, graced with a witty script and several catchy, radio-ready song hits. And the color is better than new in this impressive Blu-ray remastering job — Woody Bredell’s Technicolor hues are literally eye-popping. It’s great fun seeing Ms. Day invent her natural, fresh-faced screen persona right before our eyes.
Romance on the High Seas
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1948 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 99 min. / It’s Magic / Street Date June 16, 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Doris Day, Jack Carson, Janis Paige, Don DeFore, Oscar Levant, S.Z. Sakall, Fortunio Bonanova, Eric Blore, Franklin Pangborn, Sir Lancelot, Barbara Bates, George N. Neise, Maila Nurmi, Grady Sutton.
Cinematography: Elwood Bredell
Film Editor: Rudi Fehr
Art Direction: Anton Grot
Special Effects: Robert Burks, Wilfrid M. Cline, David Curtiz
Original Music: Ray Heindorf, Oscar Levant
Written by Julius J. Epstein,...
Romance on the High Seas
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1948 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 99 min. / It’s Magic / Street Date June 16, 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Doris Day, Jack Carson, Janis Paige, Don DeFore, Oscar Levant, S.Z. Sakall, Fortunio Bonanova, Eric Blore, Franklin Pangborn, Sir Lancelot, Barbara Bates, George N. Neise, Maila Nurmi, Grady Sutton.
Cinematography: Elwood Bredell
Film Editor: Rudi Fehr
Art Direction: Anton Grot
Special Effects: Robert Burks, Wilfrid M. Cline, David Curtiz
Original Music: Ray Heindorf, Oscar Levant
Written by Julius J. Epstein,...
- 7/21/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Doris Day in Romance On The High Seas is available on Blu-ray From Warner Archive. Ordering info can be found Here
Bon voyage! Georgia Garrett’s singing career may not be going anywhere, but she is. She’s on a cruise, sailing under the name Mrs. Elvira Kent while the real Elvira secretly stays home to spy on her presumably philandering hubby. Meanwhile, the husband hires a spy to snoop on his supposedly voyaging wife. Doris Day makes her maiden film voyage, debuting as Georgia in a colorful bauble afloat on romantic seas. The studio surrounds the sunny overnight screen sensation with top talent: Michael Curtiz directs, the Epstein brothers provide the script, Busby Berkeley guides musical numbers, Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn create the tunes, and costars include Oscar Levant and Jack Carson. “It’s Magic,” Day sings. Yes, it is.
Doris Day dazzles in her screen debut in this Michael Curtiz directed musical comedy.
Bon voyage! Georgia Garrett’s singing career may not be going anywhere, but she is. She’s on a cruise, sailing under the name Mrs. Elvira Kent while the real Elvira secretly stays home to spy on her presumably philandering hubby. Meanwhile, the husband hires a spy to snoop on his supposedly voyaging wife. Doris Day makes her maiden film voyage, debuting as Georgia in a colorful bauble afloat on romantic seas. The studio surrounds the sunny overnight screen sensation with top talent: Michael Curtiz directs, the Epstein brothers provide the script, Busby Berkeley guides musical numbers, Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn create the tunes, and costars include Oscar Levant and Jack Carson. “It’s Magic,” Day sings. Yes, it is.
Doris Day dazzles in her screen debut in this Michael Curtiz directed musical comedy.
- 6/21/2020
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
India Adams, the Hollywood "secret singer" who performed in MGM musicals for Cyd Charisse in The Band Wagon and for Joan Crawford in Torch Song, has died. She was 93.
Adams died Saturday at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center in Los Angeles after a short illness, a family spokesman announced. She was still performing as recently as last year.
In the classic The Band Wagon (1953), it was really Adams, not Charisse as ballerina Gabrielle Gerard, who is heard singing "New Sun in the Sky" and "That's Entertainment," the latter performed with Fred Astaire, Oscar Levant, Jack Buchanan ...
Adams died Saturday at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center in Los Angeles after a short illness, a family spokesman announced. She was still performing as recently as last year.
In the classic The Band Wagon (1953), it was really Adams, not Charisse as ballerina Gabrielle Gerard, who is heard singing "New Sun in the Sky" and "That's Entertainment," the latter performed with Fred Astaire, Oscar Levant, Jack Buchanan ...
- 4/28/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
India Adams, the Hollywood "secret singer" who performed in MGM musicals for Cyd Charisse in The Band Wagon and for Joan Crawford in Torch Song, has died. She was 93.
Adams died Saturday at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center in Los Angeles after a short illness, a family spokesman announced. She was still performing as recently as last year.
In the classic The Band Wagon (1953), it was really Adams, not Charisse as ballerina Gabrielle Gerard, who is heard singing "New Sun in the Sky" and "That's Entertainment," the latter performed with Fred Astaire, Oscar Levant, Jack Buchanan ...
Adams died Saturday at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center in Los Angeles after a short illness, a family spokesman announced. She was still performing as recently as last year.
In the classic The Band Wagon (1953), it was really Adams, not Charisse as ballerina Gabrielle Gerard, who is heard singing "New Sun in the Sky" and "That's Entertainment," the latter performed with Fred Astaire, Oscar Levant, Jack Buchanan ...
- 4/28/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Goddamn it Chief, you’re about as big as a damn mountain! “
Get ready to laugh, cry, scream, sigh, and sing along with some of the greatest movies ever made, because throughout 2020, Fathom Events and Turner Classic Movies are teaming up for the fourth year in a row to present the hugely popular TCM Big Screen Classics Series in movie theaters nationwide.
In addition to pristine digital projection and movie-quality sound, each presentation will also feature all-new pre- and post-film commentary from popular TCM hosts, showcasing what makes each of these unique cinematic achievements such an important – and lasting – part of movie history. We hope you can share this exciting news with fellow movie lovers!
Now in its fourth year, the TCM Big Screen Classicsseries continues to grow in popularity. In 2019, many events in the series experienced sold-out audiences and ranked near or at the top of box-office results – showcasing...
Get ready to laugh, cry, scream, sigh, and sing along with some of the greatest movies ever made, because throughout 2020, Fathom Events and Turner Classic Movies are teaming up for the fourth year in a row to present the hugely popular TCM Big Screen Classics Series in movie theaters nationwide.
In addition to pristine digital projection and movie-quality sound, each presentation will also feature all-new pre- and post-film commentary from popular TCM hosts, showcasing what makes each of these unique cinematic achievements such an important – and lasting – part of movie history. We hope you can share this exciting news with fellow movie lovers!
Now in its fourth year, the TCM Big Screen Classicsseries continues to grow in popularity. In 2019, many events in the series experienced sold-out audiences and ranked near or at the top of box-office results – showcasing...
- 12/4/2019
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
When teenager Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff sang along to Ella Fitzgerald on the radio, the Cincinnati native could never have predicted that, as Doris Day, she would go on to become one of the 20th century’s most beloved performers, first as a vocalist, then as an actress and then finally as an outspoken champion for the rights of animals.
But it was those radio sing-alongs that inspired Alma Welz Kappelhoff to send her daughter to a vocal coach, and by the time Doris was 17, she was singing for bandleader Barney Rapp, who convinced her to change her name to a more marquee-friendly length.
Day would go on to sing for the likes of Jimmy James and Bob Crosby, but it was her collaboration with Les Brown and His Band of Renown in the late 1940s that would rocket her to national stardom with hits like “Sentimental Journey” and “‘Till the End of Time.
But it was those radio sing-alongs that inspired Alma Welz Kappelhoff to send her daughter to a vocal coach, and by the time Doris was 17, she was singing for bandleader Barney Rapp, who convinced her to change her name to a more marquee-friendly length.
Day would go on to sing for the likes of Jimmy James and Bob Crosby, but it was her collaboration with Les Brown and His Band of Renown in the late 1940s that would rocket her to national stardom with hits like “Sentimental Journey” and “‘Till the End of Time.
- 5/13/2019
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
Doris Day, the actress and singer who became one of Hollywood’s biggest stars in the Fifties and Sixties, died Monday after contracting pneumonia, The Associated Press reports. She was 97.
The Doris Day Animal Foundation confirmed Day’s death, saying she died at her home in Carmel Valley, California, surrounded by close friends. “Day had been in excellent physical health for her age, until recently contracting a serious case of pneumonia, resulting in her death,” a statement from the Foundation read.
Over the course of her career, Day starred in an array of films,...
The Doris Day Animal Foundation confirmed Day’s death, saying she died at her home in Carmel Valley, California, surrounded by close friends. “Day had been in excellent physical health for her age, until recently contracting a serious case of pneumonia, resulting in her death,” a statement from the Foundation read.
Over the course of her career, Day starred in an array of films,...
- 5/13/2019
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Doris Day, one of Hollywood’s most popular stars of the 1950s and ’60s who was Oscar-nommed for “Pillow Talk” and starred in her own TV show, has died. She was 97.
The Doris Day Animal Foundation confirmed the legendary actress-singer died on Monday at her Carmel Valley, Calif. home.
Though she was marketed as a wholesome girl-next-door type, the comedies for which she was most well-known were actually sexy and daring for their time, and her personal life was tumultuous, with four marriages and a notorious lawsuit.
The vivacious blonde, who also had a successful singing career, teamed with Rock Hudson in “Pillow Talk” and other lighthearted romantic comedies including “Lover Come Back” and “Send Me No Flowers.” Her other significant screen roles included Alfred Hitchcock thriller “The Man Who Knew Too Much” (1956), co-starring James Stewart and featuring Day’s Oscar-winning song “Que Sera Sera; and “The Pajama Game” (1957), based on the Broadway musical.
The Doris Day Animal Foundation confirmed the legendary actress-singer died on Monday at her Carmel Valley, Calif. home.
Though she was marketed as a wholesome girl-next-door type, the comedies for which she was most well-known were actually sexy and daring for their time, and her personal life was tumultuous, with four marriages and a notorious lawsuit.
The vivacious blonde, who also had a successful singing career, teamed with Rock Hudson in “Pillow Talk” and other lighthearted romantic comedies including “Lover Come Back” and “Send Me No Flowers.” Her other significant screen roles included Alfred Hitchcock thriller “The Man Who Knew Too Much” (1956), co-starring James Stewart and featuring Day’s Oscar-winning song “Que Sera Sera; and “The Pajama Game” (1957), based on the Broadway musical.
- 5/13/2019
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Whaddaya know, this new disc of the Carole Lombard / Fredric March comedy hit looks great, besting by far all previous videos and prints I’ve seen of the early (1937) Technicolor production. Hazel Flagg’s Madcap Manhattan Weekend now pops with brilliant hues. And a little digging tells us that Ben Hecht’s morbid premise is based on a real-life scandalous workplace tragedy called ‘The Living Dead Women.’
Nothing Sacred
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1937 / Color / 1:37 flat Academy / 74 min. / Street Date November 13, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Carole Lombard, Fredric March, Charles Winninger, Walter Connolly, Sig Ruman, Troy Brown, Max ‘Slapsie Maxie’ Rosenbloom, Margaret Hamilton, Olin Howland.
Cinematography: W. Howard Greene
Original Music: Oscar Levant
Written by Ben Hecht suggested by a story by James H. Street
Produced by David O. Selznick
Directed by William A. Wellman
Here’s something we didn’t expect to see. When I reviewed an older Kino disc of this title,...
Nothing Sacred
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1937 / Color / 1:37 flat Academy / 74 min. / Street Date November 13, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Carole Lombard, Fredric March, Charles Winninger, Walter Connolly, Sig Ruman, Troy Brown, Max ‘Slapsie Maxie’ Rosenbloom, Margaret Hamilton, Olin Howland.
Cinematography: W. Howard Greene
Original Music: Oscar Levant
Written by Ben Hecht suggested by a story by James H. Street
Produced by David O. Selznick
Directed by William A. Wellman
Here’s something we didn’t expect to see. When I reviewed an older Kino disc of this title,...
- 11/17/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Chicago – Day Five of the 54th Chicago International Film Festival (Ciff) on Sunday, October 14th, 2018, is a day to introduce yourself to a new side of Melissa McCarthy in “Can You Forgive Me?, to make a date with “Watergate,” the remarkable four hour documentary about that American history, to hop on “The Band Wagon” and to remember a magazine-era icon, Chicago’s own Art Paul.
’Can You Ever Forgive Me’ on Day Fiveof the 54th Chicago International Film Festival
Photo credit: Chicago International Film Festival/Fox Searchlight Pictures
Events A Chicago-centric vibe will be in the house on Sunday, as Ciff celebrates Windy City’s own Art Paul, one of the most influential graphic designers of the late 20th Century. The new documentary of his life, “Art Paul of Playboy: The Man Behind the Bunny” explains it all, as Art Paul was the man – in collaboration with Hugh Hefner – who...
’Can You Ever Forgive Me’ on Day Fiveof the 54th Chicago International Film Festival
Photo credit: Chicago International Film Festival/Fox Searchlight Pictures
Events A Chicago-centric vibe will be in the house on Sunday, as Ciff celebrates Windy City’s own Art Paul, one of the most influential graphic designers of the late 20th Century. The new documentary of his life, “Art Paul of Playboy: The Man Behind the Bunny” explains it all, as Art Paul was the man – in collaboration with Hugh Hefner – who...
- 10/13/2018
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Oscar fever is in full effect, and before you watch this year’s Academy Awards, FilmStruck has a great opportunity for you to study some Oscar history with classic Best Picture titles.
Thanks to Filmstruck’s new partnership with Warner Bros. Digital Networks and TCM Select, the streaming service has added dozens of classic films to its catalog — meaning you can catch up on Oscar winners of years past any time you wish. The service’s vast back catalog now includes some of the most iconic films from the Golden Age of Hollywood — including five classic Best Picture winners that paved the way for modern winners.
They range from some of the most iconic films in Hollywood history (“Casablanca” and “On the Waterfront”) to the not-quite-as-ubiquitous (“The Best Years of Our Lives”). Check out five classic Best Picture winners from the 1940s and ’50s — smack in the middle of Hollywood...
Thanks to Filmstruck’s new partnership with Warner Bros. Digital Networks and TCM Select, the streaming service has added dozens of classic films to its catalog — meaning you can catch up on Oscar winners of years past any time you wish. The service’s vast back catalog now includes some of the most iconic films from the Golden Age of Hollywood — including five classic Best Picture winners that paved the way for modern winners.
They range from some of the most iconic films in Hollywood history (“Casablanca” and “On the Waterfront”) to the not-quite-as-ubiquitous (“The Best Years of Our Lives”). Check out five classic Best Picture winners from the 1940s and ’50s — smack in the middle of Hollywood...
- 3/2/2018
- by Indiewire Staff
- Indiewire
Balletic, stylized and rather aloof, MGM’s biggest musical for 1954 still has what musical lovers crave — good dancing, beautiful melodies and unabashed romantic sentiments. Savant has a bad tendency to fixate on the inconsistencies of its fantasy concept — in which God places an ideal Scottish village outside the limits of Time itself.
Brigadoon
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1954 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 108 min. / Street Date September 26, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, Cyd Charisse, Elaine Stewart, Barry Jones, Albert Sharpe, Virginia Bosler, Jimmy Thompson.
Cinematography: Joseph Ruttenberg
Art Direction: Preston Ames, Cedric Gibbons
Film Editor: Albert Akst
Original Music: Frederick Loewe
Screenplay, book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
Produced by Arthur Freed
Directed by Vincente Minnelli
MGM underwent some severe cutbacks in 1953; most of its contract players were dropped including the majority of its proud roster of stars. The studio would have to survive in a new kind of Hollywood,...
Brigadoon
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1954 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 108 min. / Street Date September 26, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, Cyd Charisse, Elaine Stewart, Barry Jones, Albert Sharpe, Virginia Bosler, Jimmy Thompson.
Cinematography: Joseph Ruttenberg
Art Direction: Preston Ames, Cedric Gibbons
Film Editor: Albert Akst
Original Music: Frederick Loewe
Screenplay, book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
Produced by Arthur Freed
Directed by Vincente Minnelli
MGM underwent some severe cutbacks in 1953; most of its contract players were dropped including the majority of its proud roster of stars. The studio would have to survive in a new kind of Hollywood,...
- 9/23/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
“Schoolgirl Crushed”
By Raymond Benson
George Roy Hill’s 1964 comedy, The World of Henry Orient, is based on a novel by Nora Johnson that fictionalizes her own experiences as a schoolgirl in New York City when she and a friend allegedly had crushes on pianist Oscar Levant. She and her father, Nunnally Johnson, adapted the book to screenplay.
It’s the story of two mid-teens, competently played by newcomers Merrie Spaeth (“Gil”) and Tippy Walker (“Val”), who attend a private girls school in the city. Gil’s parents are divorced and she lives with her mother and another divorcee in a nice Upper East Side apartment. Val’s parents are still married, but unhappily, and they’re constantly traveling the world for her father’s (Tom Bosley) business. This leaves Gil and Val to indulge in precocious imaginary “adventures” around the city.
Val develops an infatuation on eccentric womanizing concert...
By Raymond Benson
George Roy Hill’s 1964 comedy, The World of Henry Orient, is based on a novel by Nora Johnson that fictionalizes her own experiences as a schoolgirl in New York City when she and a friend allegedly had crushes on pianist Oscar Levant. She and her father, Nunnally Johnson, adapted the book to screenplay.
It’s the story of two mid-teens, competently played by newcomers Merrie Spaeth (“Gil”) and Tippy Walker (“Val”), who attend a private girls school in the city. Gil’s parents are divorced and she lives with her mother and another divorcee in a nice Upper East Side apartment. Val’s parents are still married, but unhappily, and they’re constantly traveling the world for her father’s (Tom Bosley) business. This leaves Gil and Val to indulge in precocious imaginary “adventures” around the city.
Val develops an infatuation on eccentric womanizing concert...
- 6/5/2017
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Relatively few films from Fox Pictures (before they became Twentieth Century Fox) are readily available: Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans is the big one. The modest caper Black Sheep wouldn't be high on the list for reissue: stars Edmund Lowe and Claire Trevor aren't too well-remembered, though he's in Dinner at Eight and she's in Stagecoach. Despite a large cast of supporting players, rotund character man Eugene Pallette is the only other really familiar figure, though founding Keystone Kop Ford Sterling has a good bit as a ship's detective.We're on a transatlantic liner, see, and there are warnings posted about professional gamblers: The Lady Eve territory, before Sturges thought of it. Lowe is such a gambler, but he's a swell guy really. Trevor plays an actress, which is no stretch, and the two have real chemistry. He has a debonair manner and a mellifluous voice—and a drunk scene,...
- 5/18/2016
- MUBI
Anne Marie is tracking Judy Garland's career through musical numbers...
Judy Garland was wrapping production on one movie and starting production on another when she filmed a cameo for the WWII wartime musical, Thousands Cheer. Despite the fact that Garland was one of MGM's biggest stars, this cameo with José Iturbi was the first Technicolor movie she had made since The Wizard of Oz four years previous. The films between Oz and Thousands Cheer, though large in spirit, were small in budget due to Great Depression constraints. However, the onset of World War II brought about an audience boom - everyone was going to the movies to catch a newsreel and escape the fears of the war. As a result, budgets were about to skyrocket as MGM began to give Judy Garland big and colorful sets, costumes, and scenery to match her big and colorful voice.
The Movie: Thousands Cheer (1943)
The Songwriters: Roger Edens,...
Judy Garland was wrapping production on one movie and starting production on another when she filmed a cameo for the WWII wartime musical, Thousands Cheer. Despite the fact that Garland was one of MGM's biggest stars, this cameo with José Iturbi was the first Technicolor movie she had made since The Wizard of Oz four years previous. The films between Oz and Thousands Cheer, though large in spirit, were small in budget due to Great Depression constraints. However, the onset of World War II brought about an audience boom - everyone was going to the movies to catch a newsreel and escape the fears of the war. As a result, budgets were about to skyrocket as MGM began to give Judy Garland big and colorful sets, costumes, and scenery to match her big and colorful voice.
The Movie: Thousands Cheer (1943)
The Songwriters: Roger Edens,...
- 5/11/2016
- by Anne Marie
- FilmExperience
Fred Astaire ca. 1935. Fred Astaire movies: Dancing in the dark, on the ceiling on TCM Aug. 5, '15, is Fred Astaire Day on Turner Classic Movies, as TCM continues with its “Summer Under the Stars” series. Just don't expect any rare Astaire movies, as the actor-singer-dancer's star vehicles – mostly Rko or MGM productions – have been TCM staples since the early days of the cable channel in the mid-'90s. True, Fred Astaire was also featured in smaller, lesser-known fare like Byron Chudnow's The Amazing Dobermans (1976) and Yves Boisset's The Purple Taxi / Un taxi mauve (1977), but neither one can be found on the TCM schedule. (See TCM's Fred Astaire movie schedule further below.) Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals Some fans never tire of watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing together. With these particular fans in mind, TCM is showing – for the nth time – nine Astaire-Rogers musicals of the '30s,...
- 8/5/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
'Humoresque': Joan Crawford and John Garfield. 'Humoresque' 1946: Saved by Joan Crawford Directed by Jean Negulesco from a screenplay by Clifford Odets and Zachary Gold (loosely based on a Fannie Hurst short story), Humoresque always frustrates me because its first 25 minutes are excruciatingly boring – until Joan Crawford finally makes her appearance during a party scene. Crawford plays Helen Wright, a rich society lush in love with a tough-guy violin player, Paul Boray (John Garfield), who happens to be in love with his music. Fine support is offered by Paul's parents, played by Ruth Nelson and the fabulous chameleon-like J. Carroll Naish. Oscar Levant is the sarcastic, wisecracking piano player, who plays his part to the verge of annoyance. (Spoilers ahead.) Something wrong with that woman The Humoresque scenes between Paul and his mother are particularly intriguing, as the mother conveys her objections to Helen by lamenting, "There's something wrong with a woman like that!
- 7/27/2015
- by Danny Fortune
- Alt Film Guide
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the release of "Crash" (on May 6, 2005), an all-star movie whose controversy came not from its provocative treatment of racial issues but from its Best Picture Oscar victory a few months later, against what many critics felt was a much more deserving movie, "Brokeback Mountain."
The "Crash" vs. "Brokeback" battle is one of those lingering disputes that makes the Academy Awards so fascinating, year after year. Moviegoers and critics who revisit older movies are constantly judging the Academy's judgment. Even decades of hindsight may not always be enough to tell whether the Oscar voters of a particular year got it right or wrong. Whether it's "Birdman" vs. "Boyhood," "The King's Speech" vs. "The Social Network," "Saving Private Ryan" vs. "Shakespeare in Love" or even "An American in Paris" vs. "A Streetcar Named Desire," we're still confirming the Academy's taste or dismissing it as hopelessly off-base years later.
The "Crash" vs. "Brokeback" battle is one of those lingering disputes that makes the Academy Awards so fascinating, year after year. Moviegoers and critics who revisit older movies are constantly judging the Academy's judgment. Even decades of hindsight may not always be enough to tell whether the Oscar voters of a particular year got it right or wrong. Whether it's "Birdman" vs. "Boyhood," "The King's Speech" vs. "The Social Network," "Saving Private Ryan" vs. "Shakespeare in Love" or even "An American in Paris" vs. "A Streetcar Named Desire," we're still confirming the Academy's taste or dismissing it as hopelessly off-base years later.
- 5/6/2015
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
By Lee Pfeiffer
A controversy over the style of drapes for a mansion's library would not seem to be the fodder for a sizzling screen drama but it is the catalyst for the events that unwind in The Cobweb, a 1955 soap opera that involves the talents of some very impressive actors and filmmakers. The film was directed by Vincente Minnelli and produced by John Houseman, based on the bestselling novel by William Gibson. The cast features an impressive array of seasoned veterans as well as up-and-comers. Among them: Richard Widmark, Lauren, Bacall, Charles Boyer, Gloria Grahame, Lillian Gish, Oscar Levant, Susan Strasberg and John Kerr. The action all takes place in a psychiatric institute called "The Castle". It's actually a mansion house and the patients are seemingly there voluntarily. They are an assortment of mixed nuts ranging from elderly eccentrics to young people with severe problems interacting with others. The...
A controversy over the style of drapes for a mansion's library would not seem to be the fodder for a sizzling screen drama but it is the catalyst for the events that unwind in The Cobweb, a 1955 soap opera that involves the talents of some very impressive actors and filmmakers. The film was directed by Vincente Minnelli and produced by John Houseman, based on the bestselling novel by William Gibson. The cast features an impressive array of seasoned veterans as well as up-and-comers. Among them: Richard Widmark, Lauren, Bacall, Charles Boyer, Gloria Grahame, Lillian Gish, Oscar Levant, Susan Strasberg and John Kerr. The action all takes place in a psychiatric institute called "The Castle". It's actually a mansion house and the patients are seemingly there voluntarily. They are an assortment of mixed nuts ranging from elderly eccentrics to young people with severe problems interacting with others. The...
- 6/24/2014
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Today on Trailers from Hell, John Landis takes on that iconic 1952 musical, "Singin' In The Rain." Close to perfection. Directors Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly assemble a peerless cast and crew to satirize and celebrate Hollywood. Set at the moment when sound came to motion pictures and turned the industry upside down (sending more than a few actors to the unemployment line), 1952's "Singin' In The Rain" seamlessly integrates its songs into its storyline, but even without those buoyant musical numbers it would still be one of the funniest movies ever made, thanks to Comdon and Green's ingenious screenplay. Co-stars Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor (in a sidekick role intended for Oscar Levant), and especially Jean Hagen, as the overbearing star with the voice to match, were never better. The title song had appeared previously in The Hollywood Revue of 1929 and 1940's Little Nelly Kelly. Recycling never looked so good.
- 5/12/2014
- by Trailers From Hell
- Thompson on Hollywood
Close to perfection. Directors Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly assemble a peerless cast and crew to satirize and celebrate Hollywood. Set at the moment when sound came to motion pictures and turned the industry upside down (sending more than a few actors to the unemployment line), 1952′s Singin’ In The Rain seamlessly integrates its songs into its storyline, but even without those buoyant musical numbers it would still be one of the funniest movies ever made, thanks to Comdon and Green’s ingenious screenplay. Co-stars Debbie Reynolds, Donald O’Connor (in a sidekick role intended for Oscar Levant), and especially Jean Hagen, as the overbearing star with the voice to match, were never better. The title song had appeared previously in The Hollywood Revue of 1929 and 1940′s Little Nelly Kelly. Recycling never looked so good.
The post Singin’ in the Rain appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
The post Singin’ in the Rain appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
- 5/12/2014
- by TFH Team
- Trailers from Hell
Here's new contributor Diana D. Drumm to with a trip back to a film that opened today in 1964...
We open at the 1964 Cannes Film Festival, with all of its bubbles and laughter and cinema. A jury, including the likes of Fritz Lang and Charles Boyer, peer at a roster featuring now-classics The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Pumpkin Eater alongside cult favorite The World of Henry Orient... Oh, you haven’t heard of The World of Henry Orient?
Well, that isn’t so surprising, even considering its headliner, the late great Peter Sellers, it’s been lost to TCM and cult nostalgists. In terms of Sellers’s filmography, it’s sandwiched between two biggies -- Dr. Strangelove and A Shot in the Dark (this loaded schedule along with a marriage to Swedish bombshell Britt Ekland would lead to his first major heart attack in 1964).
Sellers stars at the eponymous “Henry...
We open at the 1964 Cannes Film Festival, with all of its bubbles and laughter and cinema. A jury, including the likes of Fritz Lang and Charles Boyer, peer at a roster featuring now-classics The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Pumpkin Eater alongside cult favorite The World of Henry Orient... Oh, you haven’t heard of The World of Henry Orient?
Well, that isn’t so surprising, even considering its headliner, the late great Peter Sellers, it’s been lost to TCM and cult nostalgists. In terms of Sellers’s filmography, it’s sandwiched between two biggies -- Dr. Strangelove and A Shot in the Dark (this loaded schedule along with a marriage to Swedish bombshell Britt Ekland would lead to his first major heart attack in 1964).
Sellers stars at the eponymous “Henry...
- 3/20/2014
- by Diana D Drumm
- FilmExperience
The unknown solo performer often gets an unfairly bad rap, but not so at the United Solo Theatre Festival, where actors get to prove that they can hold your attention alone. Dedicated to the solo genre, the festival collects shows from across the world and puts them up at Theatre Row on West 42nd Street Oct. 3–Nov. 24. With 121 shows to choose from, Backstage looks at some of the latest trends in one-person works. As in film, the lives of famous people are fertile ground for actors, offering them the chance both to show their range (no one ever chooses a boring famous person to portray) and impress with their ownership of the star’s mannerisms. Among the celebrities being reanimated onstage this fall are Montgomery Clift (“Monty Clift, the Rarest of Birds”), Victorian actor Fanny Kemble (“Mrs. Kemble’s Tempest”), Oscar Levant (“At Wit’s End”), Grace Kelly (“Longing for...
- 10/2/2013
- backstage.com
Jeanne Crain: Lighthearted movies vs. real life tragedies (photo: Madeleine Carroll and Jeanne Crain in ‘The Fan’) (See also: "Jeanne Crain: From ‘Pinky’ Inanity to ‘Margie’ Magic.") Unlike her characters in Margie, Home in Indiana, State Fair, Centennial Summer, The Fan, and Cheaper by the Dozen (and its sequel, Belles on Their Toes), or even in the more complex A Letter to Three Wives and People Will Talk, Jeanne Crain didn’t find a romantic Happy Ending in real life. In the mid-’50s, Crain accused her husband, former minor actor Paul Brooks aka Paul Brinkman, of infidelity, of living off her earnings, and of brutally beating her. The couple reportedly were never divorced because of their Catholic faith. (And at least in the ’60s, unlike the humanistic, progressive-thinking Margie, Crain was a “conservative” Republican who supported Richard Nixon.) In the early ’90s, she lost two of her...
- 8/26/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Doris Day movies: TCM’s ‘Summer Under the Stars 2013′ lineup continues (photo: Doris Day in ‘Calamity Jane’ publicity shot) Doris Day, who turned 89 last April 3, is Turner Classic Movies’ 2013 “Summer Under the Stars” star on Friday, August 2. (Doris Day, by the way, still looks great. Check out "Doris Day Today.") Doris Day movies, of course, are frequently shown on TCM. Why? Well, TCM is owned by the megaconglomerate Time Warner, which also happens to own (among myriad other things) the Warner Bros. film library, which includes not only the Doris Day movies made at Warners from 1948 to 1955, but also Day’s MGM films as well (and the overwhelming majority of MGM releases up to 1986). My point: Don’t expect any Doris Day movie rarity on Friday — in fact, I don’t think such a thing exists. Doris Day is ‘Calamity Jane’ If you haven’t watched David Butler’s musical...
- 8/1/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Warner Archive Collection 4th anniversary DVD / Blu-ray releases The Warner Archive Collection (aka Wac), which currently has a DVD / Blu-ray library consisting of approximately 1,500 titles, has just turned four. In celebration of its fourth anniversary, Wac is releasing with movies featuring the likes of Jane Powell, Eleanor Parker, and many more stars and filmmakers of yesteryear. (Pictured above: Greer Garson, Debbie Reynolds, Ricardo Montalban in the sentimental 1966 comedy / drama with music The Singing Nun.) For starters, Jane Powell and Debbie Reynolds play siblings in Richard Thorpe's Athena (1954), whose supporting cast includes Edmund Purdom, Vic Damone, frequent Jerry Lewis foil Kathleen Freeman, Citizen Kane's Ray Collins, Tyrone Power's then-wife Linda Christian, former Mr. Universe and future Hercules Steve Reeves, veteran Louis Calhern, not to mention numerology, astrology, and vegetarianism. As per Wac's newsletter, the score by Hugh Martin and Martin Blane "gets a first ever Stereophonic Sound remix for this disc,...
- 3/27/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
"Who are those guys?"
George Roy Hill doesn't get written up much these days. People either like some of his films or not, but don't usually have much to say about them. In the breadth of subjects and tones he tackled, the former TV director certainly made it hard to perceive an authorial voice, and even his visual style was inconsistent, veering between the flatly televisual and a more nouvelle vague playfulness. Regular collaborator William Goldman praised him as one of the greats precisely because of his versatility, but he seems destined to be recalled for only a couple of movies, and as an able journeyman rather than as a unique artist.
The World of Henry Orient (1964) is a charming oddity. It deals with a fantasy world concocted by two 14-year-old schoolgirls in New York, based around a minor local celebrity, concert pianist Henry Orient (Peter Sellers), whom they encounter...
George Roy Hill doesn't get written up much these days. People either like some of his films or not, but don't usually have much to say about them. In the breadth of subjects and tones he tackled, the former TV director certainly made it hard to perceive an authorial voice, and even his visual style was inconsistent, veering between the flatly televisual and a more nouvelle vague playfulness. Regular collaborator William Goldman praised him as one of the greats precisely because of his versatility, but he seems destined to be recalled for only a couple of movies, and as an able journeyman rather than as a unique artist.
The World of Henry Orient (1964) is a charming oddity. It deals with a fantasy world concocted by two 14-year-old schoolgirls in New York, based around a minor local celebrity, concert pianist Henry Orient (Peter Sellers), whom they encounter...
- 1/10/2013
- by David Cairns
- MUBI
She Monkeys
Directed by Lisa Aschan
Written by Lisa Aschan and Josefine Adolfsson
Sweden, 2011
Oscar Levant once said, “There’s a fine line between genius and insanity”. Perhaps Levant was a genius (or perhaps he was insane), but the truth within his aphorism is both pithy and well documented. In cinema, the most notable auteurs have always been avant-garde, pushing the boundaries of our sensibilities with purposed provocation, and although Lisa Aschan’s She Monkeys isn’t nearly as groundbreaking as its influential predecessors, it nevertheless straddles the precarious equilibrium of genius and insanity.
When Emma (Mathilda Paradeiser), a girl of unflinching earnestness, resolves to join an equestrian acrobatics team, she encounters Cassandra (Linda Molin), her enigmatic teammate with a piercingly frigid persona. As they begin to bond, their relationship escalates with sudden intensity, resulting in a smorgasbord narrative of desire, love, rivalry, and power.
Initially, and ironically, the film...
Directed by Lisa Aschan
Written by Lisa Aschan and Josefine Adolfsson
Sweden, 2011
Oscar Levant once said, “There’s a fine line between genius and insanity”. Perhaps Levant was a genius (or perhaps he was insane), but the truth within his aphorism is both pithy and well documented. In cinema, the most notable auteurs have always been avant-garde, pushing the boundaries of our sensibilities with purposed provocation, and although Lisa Aschan’s She Monkeys isn’t nearly as groundbreaking as its influential predecessors, it nevertheless straddles the precarious equilibrium of genius and insanity.
When Emma (Mathilda Paradeiser), a girl of unflinching earnestness, resolves to join an equestrian acrobatics team, she encounters Cassandra (Linda Molin), her enigmatic teammate with a piercingly frigid persona. As they begin to bond, their relationship escalates with sudden intensity, resulting in a smorgasbord narrative of desire, love, rivalry, and power.
Initially, and ironically, the film...
- 5/25/2012
- by Justin Li
- SoundOnSight
'Singin' in the Rain' 60th Anniversary: 25 Things You Didn't Know About Hollywood's Greatest Musical
In a year when the Best Picture Oscar went to a comedy about Hollywood's turbulent transition from silence to sound, "Singin' in the Rain" suddenly seems timely again. The beloved musical, which marks the 60th anniversary of its release in U.S. theaters in April, is not only fondly remembered for its exuberantly athletic song-and-dance numbers, but also for its witty dramatization of the birth of Hollywood's sound era. If you haven't seen it, imagine 2011's "The Artist" with spoken dialogue and without the heroic dog. But of course, you have seen it, even if you don't realize it. The title number, featuring a soaked but joyful Gene Kelly, is one of the most iconic (and most frequently parodied) sequences in film history. The film's impact on popular culture is enormous, from making stars out of Debbie Reynolds and Cyd Charisse to influencing directors as far-flung as Jacques Demy and Stanley Kubrick.
- 3/30/2012
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
Meet the new face of German techno: an accoustic trio who've spurned the sequencers to play live – they'll even let you dance
The avatar on Brandt Brauer Frick's Facebook page is a drawing of serious young men in shirts and ties. It's a portrait of the artists as middle managers or It support, reminiscent of Kraftwerk in their Trans-Europe Express phase. When I first meet Daniel Brandt, Jan Brauer and Paul Frick at a Frankfurt design event, they turn out to be serious young guys in sports jackets, carefully unpacking their instruments to play interstitial music for the annual Designpreis – 50 separate awards and speeches that required short blasts of music while the grinning winners find their way through the 1,000-seater hall.
Later that night I see the trio in a grotty downtown firetrap, performing on a cramped club stage, showing the same degree of professionalism and commitment at four times the volume.
The avatar on Brandt Brauer Frick's Facebook page is a drawing of serious young men in shirts and ties. It's a portrait of the artists as middle managers or It support, reminiscent of Kraftwerk in their Trans-Europe Express phase. When I first meet Daniel Brandt, Jan Brauer and Paul Frick at a Frankfurt design event, they turn out to be serious young guys in sports jackets, carefully unpacking their instruments to play interstitial music for the annual Designpreis – 50 separate awards and speeches that required short blasts of music while the grinning winners find their way through the 1,000-seater hall.
Later that night I see the trio in a grotty downtown firetrap, performing on a cramped club stage, showing the same degree of professionalism and commitment at four times the volume.
- 8/5/2011
- by John L Walters
- The Guardian - Film News
John Garfield on TCM: Humoresque, Four Daughters, We Were Strangers Schedule (Et) and synopses from the TCM website: 6:00 Am Four Daughters (1938) A small-town family's peaceful life is shattered when one daughter falls for a rebellious musician. Dir: Michael Curtiz. Cast: Priscilla Lane, Claude Rains, Jeffrey Lynn, John Garfield. Bw-90 mins. 7:45 Am Blackwell's Island (1939) A reporter gets himself sent to prison to expose a mobster. Dir: William McGann. Cast: John Garfield, Rosemary Lane, Dick Purcell. Bw-71 mins. 9:00 Am They Made Me A Criminal (1939) A young boxer flees to farming country when he thinks he's killed an opponent in the ring. Dir: Busby Berkeley. Cast: John Garfield, Claude Rains, Gloria Dickson. Bw-92 mins. 10:45 Am Dangerously They Live (1942) A doctor tries to rescue a young innocent from Nazi agents. Dir: Robert Florey. Cast: John Garfield, Nancy Coleman, Raymond Massey. Bw-77 mins. 12:15 Pm Pride Of The Marines (1945) A blinded...
- 8/4/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
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