Certain stories are worth adapting more than once. Such is the case for Mark McShane’s Séance on a Wet Afternoon. The two notable, not to mention distinct interpretations of this 1961 novel each capture a disquieting tale of an overzealous medium, and her plan to become esteemed and famous. Although one film follows the text more closely, the other takes creative license by underscoring the novel’s ambiguous supernatural element.
While McShane’s Séance on a Wet Afternoon was published years after spiritualism peaked in 19th century England, there was still a niche interest in clairvoyance, mesmerism and the like. As seen in Bryan Forbes’ ‘64 film, plenty of people seek out folks like Myra Savage; specifically those who stand between this world and the next. Or so they claim. Yet for Myra, she craves more than local repute. No, the protagonist of Séance on a Wet Afternoon wants everyone to know her name.
While McShane’s Séance on a Wet Afternoon was published years after spiritualism peaked in 19th century England, there was still a niche interest in clairvoyance, mesmerism and the like. As seen in Bryan Forbes’ ‘64 film, plenty of people seek out folks like Myra Savage; specifically those who stand between this world and the next. Or so they claim. Yet for Myra, she craves more than local repute. No, the protagonist of Séance on a Wet Afternoon wants everyone to know her name.
- 9/20/2023
- by Paul Lê
- bloody-disgusting.com
Attempting to climb out of director’s jail after the disastrous The Snowman, Tomas Alfredson returned to his native country of Sweden for the comedy Se upp för Jönssonligan, which landed with poor reception and hasn’t seen the light of day here in the United States. However, it looks like the Let the Right One In and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy director will get another crack with a high-profile project.
Deadline reports he’ll direct Rachel Weisz in Seance on a Wet Afternoon, scripted by Jack Thorne and backed by Legendary. Adapted from Mark McShane’s 1961 suspense novel, the thriller follows a self-proclaimed psychic medium who convinces her husband to kidnap a child so she can help the police solve the crime and achieve renown for her abilities. When her true intentions come to light, however, her husband realizes the plan threatens to consume them both.
This won’t...
Deadline reports he’ll direct Rachel Weisz in Seance on a Wet Afternoon, scripted by Jack Thorne and backed by Legendary. Adapted from Mark McShane’s 1961 suspense novel, the thriller follows a self-proclaimed psychic medium who convinces her husband to kidnap a child so she can help the police solve the crime and achieve renown for her abilities. When her true intentions come to light, however, her husband realizes the plan threatens to consume them both.
This won’t...
- 10/19/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Exclusive: Rachel Weisz is set star in and produce Legendary’s adaptation of acclaimed suspense novel Seance on a Wet Afternoon with Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy helmer Tomas Alfredson to direct.
Alfredson comes aboard the project replacing Harry Bradbeer, who will remain on as an executive producer as he recently returned to direct Legendary’s Enola Holmes sequel after the success of the first film. BAFTA and Tony-winner Jack Thorne wrote the draft, from a story by himself and Bradbeer.
Based on Mark McShane’s acclaimed 1961 suspense novel of the same name, the story follows a self-proclaimed psychic medium who convinces her husband to kidnap a child so she can help the police solve the crime and achieve renown for her abilities. When her true intentions come to light, however, her husband realizes the plan threatens to consume them both. The novel was previously adapted as a film in 1964 starring Richard Attenborough and Kim Stanley.
Alfredson comes aboard the project replacing Harry Bradbeer, who will remain on as an executive producer as he recently returned to direct Legendary’s Enola Holmes sequel after the success of the first film. BAFTA and Tony-winner Jack Thorne wrote the draft, from a story by himself and Bradbeer.
Based on Mark McShane’s acclaimed 1961 suspense novel of the same name, the story follows a self-proclaimed psychic medium who convinces her husband to kidnap a child so she can help the police solve the crime and achieve renown for her abilities. When her true intentions come to light, however, her husband realizes the plan threatens to consume them both. The novel was previously adapted as a film in 1964 starring Richard Attenborough and Kim Stanley.
- 10/14/2021
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
Netflix’s packed fall slate of original movies is beginning to take shape, and one that’s sure to be viewed by many a “Stranger Things” fan will be “Enola Holmes,” starring Millie Bobby Brown as Sherlock Holmes’ youngest sister. The mystery-adventure film is based upon the novel “The Case of the Missing Marquess: An Enola Holmes Mystery,” written by Nancy Springer and building upon the world first created by author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Ahead of the movie’s release on September 30, Netflix has dropped the first trailer. Check it out below.
Here’s the synopsis from Netflix: “England, 1884 — a world on the brink of change. On the morning of her 16th birthday, Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown) wakes to find that her mother (Helena Bonham Carter) has disappeared, leaving behind an odd assortment of gifts but no apparent clue as to where she’s gone or why. After a free-spirited childhood,...
Here’s the synopsis from Netflix: “England, 1884 — a world on the brink of change. On the morning of her 16th birthday, Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown) wakes to find that her mother (Helena Bonham Carter) has disappeared, leaving behind an odd assortment of gifts but no apparent clue as to where she’s gone or why. After a free-spirited childhood,...
- 8/25/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
British director Bryan Forbes is perhaps best remembered for his iconic American horror film The Stepford Wives, which became a genre classic and entered the cultural lexicon as a troubling metaphor for insidious patriarchy. But Forbes has an extensive underrated filmography, including a variety of haunting genre pieces, curious dramas and high-end literary adaptations worthy of wider renown.…...
- 2/25/2020
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Harry Bradbeer, the Emmy-winning director of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag, has lined up his next film project. He’s reuniting with Legendary and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child writer Jack Thorne for Seance on a Wet Afternoon, a movie adaptation of author Mark McShane’s 1961 suspense novel. The Hollywood Reporter initially broke the news, revealing that Bradbeer […]
The post ‘Fleabag’ and ‘Killing Eve’ Director to Helm ‘Seance on a Wet Afternoon’ appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘Fleabag’ and ‘Killing Eve’ Director to Helm ‘Seance on a Wet Afternoon’ appeared first on /Film.
- 1/11/2020
- by Ben Pearson
- Slash Film
After working together on Legendary Entertainment's upcoming Millie Bobby Brown-starrer Enola Holmes, Harry Bradbeer and Jack Thorne will reteam for Seance on a Wet Afternoon.
Bradbeer, who earned an Emmy and Golden Globe for his directing work on the second season of Fleabag, will helm the feature from a script by Thorne based on Mark McShane’s acclaimed 1961 suspense novel of the same name.
The story will follow a medium who convinces her husband to kidnap a child so she can help the police solve the crime and achieve renown for her abilities. When her true intentions come to ...
Bradbeer, who earned an Emmy and Golden Globe for his directing work on the second season of Fleabag, will helm the feature from a script by Thorne based on Mark McShane’s acclaimed 1961 suspense novel of the same name.
The story will follow a medium who convinces her husband to kidnap a child so she can help the police solve the crime and achieve renown for her abilities. When her true intentions come to ...
- 1/10/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
The Wallis Annenberg Center for Performing Arts announces today An Evening of Wicked Fun Honoring Stephen Schwartz, a Spring Celebration fundraising event presented by the legendary House of Harry Winston, highlighting the work of the award-winning composer/lyricist of classic musicals including Wicked, Pippin, Godspell, Enchanted and more.
The evening will take place on Thursday, May 16, 2019, beginning at 6:30 pm at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts and will feature performances from beloved artists including Idina Menzel, Megan Hilty, Andrea Martin, Liz Callaway, Angel Blue and many others! Proceeds from the night will support the artistic, education, and outreach programs of The Wallis which serve more than 70,000 audience members annually, including thousands of underserved students from throughout the greater Los Angeles area with limited access to the arts. Honorary Co-Chairs are Wallis Annenberg, Alan Menken, and Julie & Marc Platt. Event Co-Chairs are John Bendheim and Cathy Louchheim. Support...
The evening will take place on Thursday, May 16, 2019, beginning at 6:30 pm at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts and will feature performances from beloved artists including Idina Menzel, Megan Hilty, Andrea Martin, Liz Callaway, Angel Blue and many others! Proceeds from the night will support the artistic, education, and outreach programs of The Wallis which serve more than 70,000 audience members annually, including thousands of underserved students from throughout the greater Los Angeles area with limited access to the arts. Honorary Co-Chairs are Wallis Annenberg, Alan Menken, and Julie & Marc Platt. Event Co-Chairs are John Bendheim and Cathy Louchheim. Support...
- 4/12/2019
- Look to the Stars
It was only recently that I saw, for the very first time, Bryan Forbes’ adaptation of Mark McShane’s novel Séance on a Wet Afternoon (1964), and as it was designed to do, it chilled me to the bone. The movie descends like a shroud upon the lives of Myra (Kim Stanley), a would-be psychic who seems at the beginning of the film to be what one might describe as dotty and demanding, and her cowed husband Bill (Richard Attenborough), a milquetoast of a man who seems far too acquiescent to her insistent personality. But Myra is more than just a bit dotty, she’s borderline demented, and she has emotionally pummeled her husband into participating in a bizarre kidnapping plan— they’ll “borrow” the daughter of a wealthy businessman and then achieve fame and riches by helping police to discover her whereabouts. As the crime progresses, Séance reveals itself to be a disturbing,...
- 8/11/2017
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
A generic spy story becomes an inspired light comedy with the application of great talent led by the star-power of Walter Matthau. Matthau’s CIA spook hooks up with old flame Glenda Jackson to retaliate against his insufferable CIA boss (Ned Beatty) with a humiliating tell-all book about the agency’s dirty tricks history. Matthau’s sloppy, slouchy master agent is a comic delight; Ronald Neame’s stylishly assured direction makes a deadly spy chase into a wholly pleasant romp.
Hopscotch
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 163
1980 / Color / 2:39 widescreen / 105 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date August 15, 2017 / 39.95
Starring: Walter Matthau, Glenda Jackson, Sam Waterston, Ned Beatty, Herbert Lom, David Matthau, George Baker, Ivor Roberts, Lucy Saroyan, Severn Darden, George Pravda.
Cinematography: Arthur Ibbetson, Brian W. Roy
Production Designer: William J. Creber
Film Editor: Carl Kress
Original Music: Ian Fraser
Written by Bryan Forbes from a novel by Brian Garfield
Produced...
Hopscotch
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 163
1980 / Color / 2:39 widescreen / 105 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date August 15, 2017 / 39.95
Starring: Walter Matthau, Glenda Jackson, Sam Waterston, Ned Beatty, Herbert Lom, David Matthau, George Baker, Ivor Roberts, Lucy Saroyan, Severn Darden, George Pravda.
Cinematography: Arthur Ibbetson, Brian W. Roy
Production Designer: William J. Creber
Film Editor: Carl Kress
Original Music: Ian Fraser
Written by Bryan Forbes from a novel by Brian Garfield
Produced...
- 8/5/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
David Lynch: The Art Life (Jon Nguyen, Rick Barnes, and Olivia Neergaard-Holm)
Before David Lynch was a filmmaker, he was a struggling painter, whose lifeblood was to “drink coffee, smoke cigarettes, and paint.” That’s what he dubbed “the art life,” and what an image – as featured in the many contemporary photos seen in this new documentary – it is, the bequiffed 20-something Lynch sitting back in his Philadelphia studio,...
David Lynch: The Art Life (Jon Nguyen, Rick Barnes, and Olivia Neergaard-Holm)
Before David Lynch was a filmmaker, he was a struggling painter, whose lifeblood was to “drink coffee, smoke cigarettes, and paint.” That’s what he dubbed “the art life,” and what an image – as featured in the many contemporary photos seen in this new documentary – it is, the bequiffed 20-something Lynch sitting back in his Philadelphia studio,...
- 6/30/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Titles include classics such as The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp.
UK digital channel Talking Pictures TV has acquired some of the most iconic titles in British film history in two major library deals with ITV Studios Global Entertainment and the Samuel Goldwyn and Woodfall libraries, distributed by Miramax.
Talking Pictures TV, which broadcasts classic British movies on the Freeview and Sky platforms, has secured rights to more than 70 films from the ITV Studios Global Entertainment library and 33 films from the Samuel Goldwyn and Woodfall libraries through Miramax.
The ITV Studios Global Entertainment deal includes Lawrence Olivier’s Henry V; Reach For The Sky; Whistle Down The Wind; In Which We Serve; The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp; Hell Drivers; The Bulldog Breed; Séance on a Wet Afternoon; Defence of the Realm and Tarka The Otter.
Among the seminal films included in the Samuel Goldwyn and Woodfall deal are: The Entertainer; Loneliness of the Long...
UK digital channel Talking Pictures TV has acquired some of the most iconic titles in British film history in two major library deals with ITV Studios Global Entertainment and the Samuel Goldwyn and Woodfall libraries, distributed by Miramax.
Talking Pictures TV, which broadcasts classic British movies on the Freeview and Sky platforms, has secured rights to more than 70 films from the ITV Studios Global Entertainment library and 33 films from the Samuel Goldwyn and Woodfall libraries through Miramax.
The ITV Studios Global Entertainment deal includes Lawrence Olivier’s Henry V; Reach For The Sky; Whistle Down The Wind; In Which We Serve; The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp; Hell Drivers; The Bulldog Breed; Séance on a Wet Afternoon; Defence of the Realm and Tarka The Otter.
Among the seminal films included in the Samuel Goldwyn and Woodfall deal are: The Entertainer; Loneliness of the Long...
- 8/19/2016
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
“The truth is I’m just an old veteran character actor” says Robert Englund as we sit down to discuss The Last Showing, his latest foray into genre cinema. To find one standing opposite the genial and softly-spoken man who devoured so many hours of sleep by searing to the mind the menacing image of claws piercing first the mattress and then the torso, can only be described as ‘surreal.’ As these words flow onto the page there is a realisation that the reason horror cinema earns our affection was so eloquently phrased by Emily Berrington when she said, “There is a desire to feel that tiny part of your mind that otherwise doesn’t get tapped into.” By touching our sensibilities in a way that we crave, these terrifying encounters remain some of the most evocative and defining moments of the human experience, and therein cinema is our fix.
- 9/5/2014
- by Paul Risker
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Director and actor Richard Attenborough has died at the age of 90. An acclaimed performer who seamlessly segued from working in front of the camera to behind it, Attenborough earned two Oscars for his illuminating biopic Gandhi, for Best Picture and Best Director at the 1983 ceremony.
That victory came after a long and fruitful career in cinema for Attenborough, which began with an uncredited role as a deserting sailor in 1942 pic In Which We Serve. The British actor’s breakthrough role came five years later, in John Boulting’s adaptation of the Graham Greene novel Brighton Rock. From there, Attenborough’s star continued to climb. He would go on to work prolifically in British cinema, appearing in many comedies including Private’s Progress and I’m All Right Jack. Attenborough also succeeded on the stage, leading the West End production of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap for a time.
The actor...
That victory came after a long and fruitful career in cinema for Attenborough, which began with an uncredited role as a deserting sailor in 1942 pic In Which We Serve. The British actor’s breakthrough role came five years later, in John Boulting’s adaptation of the Graham Greene novel Brighton Rock. From there, Attenborough’s star continued to climb. He would go on to work prolifically in British cinema, appearing in many comedies including Private’s Progress and I’m All Right Jack. Attenborough also succeeded on the stage, leading the West End production of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap for a time.
The actor...
- 8/25/2014
- by Isaac Feldberg
- We Got This Covered
We pay our respects to Richard Attenborough, the legendary British actor, director and producer.
Each generation will have their own memories of the late Richard Attenborough. Some will remember him for his work as a character actor on the stage and the big screen in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, such as the terrifying Pinkie Brown in the film adaptation of Brighton Rock, Roger Bartlett in The Great Escape, or Billy Savage in Seance On A Wet Afternoon.
Others will remember him as the Oscar-winning producer and director of such films as Young Winston, A Bridge Too Far, Gandhi, Chaplin and Shadowlands. A younger generation will never forget his turn as John Hammond, the quixotic dinosaur maker in Jurassic Park and its sequel, The Lost World.
Although Ghandi saw Attenborough at the height of his critical acclaim - the film was nominated for 11 Oscars, and won eight - he continued...
Each generation will have their own memories of the late Richard Attenborough. Some will remember him for his work as a character actor on the stage and the big screen in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, such as the terrifying Pinkie Brown in the film adaptation of Brighton Rock, Roger Bartlett in The Great Escape, or Billy Savage in Seance On A Wet Afternoon.
Others will remember him as the Oscar-winning producer and director of such films as Young Winston, A Bridge Too Far, Gandhi, Chaplin and Shadowlands. A younger generation will never forget his turn as John Hammond, the quixotic dinosaur maker in Jurassic Park and its sequel, The Lost World.
Although Ghandi saw Attenborough at the height of his critical acclaim - the film was nominated for 11 Oscars, and won eight - he continued...
- 8/25/2014
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Richard Attenborough's death at the age of 90 has led to a flurry of tributes from stars from around the world. Known affectionately as "Dickie," the multiple-award-winning British actor, director and producer worked in the film business for over half a century and in that time touched the lives of many in Hollywood, Britain and around the world with his talent, his warmth and his generosity. Attenborough the actor won a BAFTA Award in 1964, unusually for two different films — Guns at Batasi and Seance on a Wet Afternoon. Attenborough also won two Golden
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- 8/25/2014
- by Abid Rahman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Lord Richard Attenborough was an Oscar winner. In fact he had two Oscars for both producing and directing 1982’s elegant epic biopic, Gandhi. But considering the breadth of his career not only in those capacities, but particularly as an actor, it is astounding to me that the Gandhi wins represented his only nominations in a six-decade career that memorably started with the British World War II classic In Which We Serve in 1942. As an actor, Attenborough deserved far better than he got from the Academy.
It’s almost criminal, for instance, that he was overlooked in 1964 for his creepy performance in Seance on a Wet Afternoon as Billy, the weak, complicit husband who gets involved in a kidnapping so his wife, played by the great Kim Stanley, could become famous as a psychic.
Stanley got a richly deserved Best Actress nomination that year but Attenborough, who also produced the film,...
It’s almost criminal, for instance, that he was overlooked in 1964 for his creepy performance in Seance on a Wet Afternoon as Billy, the weak, complicit husband who gets involved in a kidnapping so his wife, played by the great Kim Stanley, could become famous as a psychic.
Stanley got a richly deserved Best Actress nomination that year but Attenborough, who also produced the film,...
- 8/24/2014
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline
We've lost another. We're sad to report that the great Richard Attenborough has passed away in England today at the age of 90. While most may recognize him from Jurassic Park or Ghandi, Attenborough has an extensive and illustrious career that spans multiple decades. He won two Oscars, for Best Director and Best Picture, in 1983 for Ghandi, the biopic that introduced us to Ben Kingsley. He was made a Knight Bachelor in 1976, won BAFTA's Best British Film for his C.S. Lewis biopic Shadowlands in 1993, and was BAFTA's Best British Actor in 1965 for both Guns at Batasi and Seance on a Wet Afternoon. A true big screen legend. A few social media reactions (plus a great photo found on Twitter) regarding Lord Attenborough's passing: Rip Richard Attenborough. Very sad. I hope in the future we can use a strand of his DNA to clone him & have a whole park of wonderful...
- 8/24/2014
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
On Monday, May 12, 2014, Aop American Opera Projects hosts its 25th Anniversary Gala honoring Stephen Schwartz, composer and lyricist of Wicked, Pippin, and Godspell as well as the Aop-developed opera Seance on a Wet Afternoon that premiered at Opera Santa Barbara and ran at New York City Opera for ten performances in their 2010-11 Season. The evening, titled 'Opera Sings Broadway Sings Opera,' brings together stars of Opera and Broadway at The Players 16 Gramercy Park South, an historic theatre club in Manhattan. Doors open at 730pm with performances scheduled to begin at 800pm. Tickets begin at 250 and are available at Aop's website www.operaprojects.org.
- 4/17/2014
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Feature Aliya Whiteley 3 Apr 2014 - 07:22
Tend to think of Richard Attenborough as a kindly old man? Aliya digs into his early career to find some far nastier roles...
British cinema has always liked its angry young men: Richard Burton, Albert Finney, Laurence Harvey and others all played the 1950s and 60s social animal, raging against the class system and the staid attitudes of post-war Britain.
But they weren’t the first angry young man on the screen. Maybe that crown could be claimed by an unlikely actor – Richard Attenborough. Attenborough is best known now as a director and producer, for films such as Gandhi, Chaplin and Shadowlands. When he gets thought of as an actor, it’s often as a kindly old man with a white beard. Misguided, sometimes, as when he played John Hammond, the owner of Jurassic Park, but not downright nasty. A lot of his earlier...
Tend to think of Richard Attenborough as a kindly old man? Aliya digs into his early career to find some far nastier roles...
British cinema has always liked its angry young men: Richard Burton, Albert Finney, Laurence Harvey and others all played the 1950s and 60s social animal, raging against the class system and the staid attitudes of post-war Britain.
But they weren’t the first angry young man on the screen. Maybe that crown could be claimed by an unlikely actor – Richard Attenborough. Attenborough is best known now as a director and producer, for films such as Gandhi, Chaplin and Shadowlands. When he gets thought of as an actor, it’s often as a kindly old man with a white beard. Misguided, sometimes, as when he played John Hammond, the owner of Jurassic Park, but not downright nasty. A lot of his earlier...
- 4/1/2014
- by sarahd
- Den of Geek
Creative force in the British film industry whose work included The Stepford Wives and Whistle Down the Wind
The director, actor and writer Bryan Forbes, who has died aged 86, was one of the most creative forces in the British film industry of the 1960s, and the Hollywood films he directed included the original version of The Stepford Wives (1974). In later life he turned to the writing of books, both fiction and memoirs.
The turning point for him in cinema was the formation of the independent company Beaver Films with his friend Richard Attenborough in 1958. For the screenplay of their first production, The Angry Silence (1960), Forbes received an Oscar nomination and a Bafta award. Attenborough played a factory worker shunned and persecuted for not joining a strike. His colleagues are shown as being manipulated by skulking professional agitators and to some it seemed more like a political statement than a human...
The director, actor and writer Bryan Forbes, who has died aged 86, was one of the most creative forces in the British film industry of the 1960s, and the Hollywood films he directed included the original version of The Stepford Wives (1974). In later life he turned to the writing of books, both fiction and memoirs.
The turning point for him in cinema was the formation of the independent company Beaver Films with his friend Richard Attenborough in 1958. For the screenplay of their first production, The Angry Silence (1960), Forbes received an Oscar nomination and a Bafta award. Attenborough played a factory worker shunned and persecuted for not joining a strike. His colleagues are shown as being manipulated by skulking professional agitators and to some it seemed more like a political statement than a human...
- 5/9/2013
- by Dennis Barker
- The Guardian - Film News
The film world has lost another loved one this evening as we are saddened to report the passing of The Stepford Wives (1975) director Bryan Forbes. Read on for all of the current details.
The news just broke in the UK, where Forbes died at the age of 86 in Surrey, England, after a long battle with illness. Throughout his career Forbes wore many hats, even appearing in the 1964 Pink Panther classic A Shot in the Dark. Notable genre mentions include The Man Who Haunted Himself starring Roger Moore, Seance on a Wet Afternoon, and The Whisperers.
At this time we here at Dread Central would like to take a moment to offer our sincerest of condolences to Bryan's friends, family, and constituents. Godspeed, sir, and thank you!
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Honor the man in the comments section below!
The news just broke in the UK, where Forbes died at the age of 86 in Surrey, England, after a long battle with illness. Throughout his career Forbes wore many hats, even appearing in the 1964 Pink Panther classic A Shot in the Dark. Notable genre mentions include The Man Who Haunted Himself starring Roger Moore, Seance on a Wet Afternoon, and The Whisperers.
At this time we here at Dread Central would like to take a moment to offer our sincerest of condolences to Bryan's friends, family, and constituents. Godspeed, sir, and thank you!
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Honor the man in the comments section below!
- 5/9/2013
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Bryan Forbes, who personified the golden age of British cinema in the post-wwii era, has died at age 86. Forbes started out as an actor before morphing into a screenwriter and esteemed director. He teamed with Richard Attenborough to form a film production company. Among their films was The Angry Silence, an acclaimed 1960 movie in which both men starred. It dealt squarely with England's omnipresent tensions between business leaders and union members. Forbes co-wrote the screenplay and produced the movie. His high profile films as director include such British classics as Whistle Down the Wind, Seance on a Wet Afternoon, The Wrong Box, The Whisperers, King Rat, Deadfall, The Slipper and the Rose, The L-Shaped Room, International Velvet as well as the hit 1975 Hollywood horror flick The Stepford Wives. Forbes also wrote or co-wrote the screenplays for some of these films as well as the comedy classic The League of Gentlemen and director Attenborough's Chaplin.
- 5/9/2013
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Bryan Forbes dies at 86: Directed Katharine Hepburn, Leslie Caron, the original The Stepford Wives Director Bryan Forbes, whose films include the then-daring The L-Shaped Room, the all-star The Madwoman of Chaillot, and the original The Stepford Wives, has died "after a long illness" at his home in Virginia Water, Surrey, England. Forbes was 86. Born John Theobald Clarke on July 22, 1926, in London, Bryan Forbes began his film career as an actor in supporting roles in British productions of the late 1940s, e.g., Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s The Small Back Room / Hour of Glory and Thornton Freeland’s Dear Mr. Prohack. Another twenty or so movie roles followed in the ’50s, including those in Ronald Neame’s The Million Pound Note / Man with a Million (1954), supporting Gregory Peck, and Carol Reed’s The Key (1958), supporting Sophia Loren and William Holden. Bryan Forbes director Despite his relatively prolific output in the previous decade,...
- 5/9/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Bryan Forbes, who directed the original Stepford Wives, Whistle Down The Wind and International Velvet, has died at the age of 86.Born John Theobald Clarke in 1926, he always intended to become an actor and trained at Rada, though he didn’t finish his studies. Devoting himself to military service for three years, he got his first screen credit in 1949’s Hour Of Glory, and became a working performer.At the same time he began to write screenplays, contributing to films such as The Black Knight, and he was the sole writer on 1955’s The Cockleshell Heroes.With his ambitions stretching beyond acting and writing, Forbes founded Beaver Films with friend and regular collaborator Richard Attenborough, where they made 1960’s The Angry Silence (with Forbes writing and Attenborough starring) among several others.Beaver Films was also behind Forbes’ first shot at directing with 1961’s Whistle Down The Wind, which scored four BAFTA nominations.
- 5/8/2013
- EmpireOnline
Cortes’ Latest is a Discordant Rhythm of its Own.
Following up on his excellent 2010 thriller, Buried, director Rodrigo Cortes unveiled his next feature, an elliptical convulsion sporting considerable star power, Red Lights. Cortes’ latest reveals itself to be impressively ambitious, but depending on your expectations, could either delight or disappoint. Either way, this brave undertaking is surely not aimed at the masses, and may be destined to be a cult title in an otherwise worn thin genre.
We’re first introduced to Dr. Margaret Matheson (Sigourney Weaver), a college professor, and her assistant, Dr. Tom Buckley (Cillian Murphy), a physicist, both traveling the country debunking paranormal activity. While the film sets up their dynamic, they include a new protégé in their investigative forces, a young student (Elizabeth Olsen), concurrently pursuing a romance with Buckley. In the midst of their debunking, a mysterious and legendary blind psychic, Simon Silver (Robert De Niro...
Following up on his excellent 2010 thriller, Buried, director Rodrigo Cortes unveiled his next feature, an elliptical convulsion sporting considerable star power, Red Lights. Cortes’ latest reveals itself to be impressively ambitious, but depending on your expectations, could either delight or disappoint. Either way, this brave undertaking is surely not aimed at the masses, and may be destined to be a cult title in an otherwise worn thin genre.
We’re first introduced to Dr. Margaret Matheson (Sigourney Weaver), a college professor, and her assistant, Dr. Tom Buckley (Cillian Murphy), a physicist, both traveling the country debunking paranormal activity. While the film sets up their dynamic, they include a new protégé in their investigative forces, a young student (Elizabeth Olsen), concurrently pursuing a romance with Buckley. In the midst of their debunking, a mysterious and legendary blind psychic, Simon Silver (Robert De Niro...
- 7/9/2012
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
"The last old movie I saw was __________________ which I watched because ________________________ and it was ________________ ."
I'll start: The last old movie I saw was Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964) which I watched because Kim Stanley was Oscar nominated in a supercalifragilistic Best Actress year and the film was stagey but good... only I kept wishing Hitchcock had directed it to amp up both the perversity and the tension. I would totally endorse a remake for one of today's finest actresses because Myra Savage was one crazy bitch.
I'll start: The last old movie I saw was Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964) which I watched because Kim Stanley was Oscar nominated in a supercalifragilistic Best Actress year and the film was stagey but good... only I kept wishing Hitchcock had directed it to amp up both the perversity and the tension. I would totally endorse a remake for one of today's finest actresses because Myra Savage was one crazy bitch.
- 5/9/2012
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Red Lights Click here to read the review! "Recalling films like the 1935 Claude Rains’ starrer, The Clairvoyant or the underrated Séance On A Wet Afternoon, (and, strangely, maybe even a bit of De Palma’s The Fury, if only a Bernard Herrmann score could have accompanied the film), Cortes gives us an excessive amount of window dressing in its first half, only to pull the rug on us with one indefatigably head scratching conclusion. And this is what will either determine your reading of the film as convoluted or harebrained brilliant."...
- 1/22/2012
- IONCINEMA.com
Composer John Barry may be best known for his 007 scores, but we look beyond Bond for a detailed look at the rest of his extraordinary career...
Timeless, innovative, expansive and sensual, the music of John Barry Prendergast is a thought-provoking testament to a man who set the bar high and kept on raising it.
For many of us, the work of British composer, Barry, is synonymous with the Bond franchise, and there's no mistaking his contribution to that legacy. His work (along with that of Monty Norman) came to signify the arch, dangerously seductive swagger and cool, ambivalent melancholy that is the man behind the martini glass. He captured a world of intrigue, code and double meaning, of subterfuge, ambiguity, covert operation and sexuality. His was a trenchant and identifiable yet intriguingly elliptical and diverse musical sensibility that lassoed widely different vocalists from Louis Armstrong to Duran Duran, invariably producing something magnetic and memorable.
Timeless, innovative, expansive and sensual, the music of John Barry Prendergast is a thought-provoking testament to a man who set the bar high and kept on raising it.
For many of us, the work of British composer, Barry, is synonymous with the Bond franchise, and there's no mistaking his contribution to that legacy. His work (along with that of Monty Norman) came to signify the arch, dangerously seductive swagger and cool, ambivalent melancholy that is the man behind the martini glass. He captured a world of intrigue, code and double meaning, of subterfuge, ambiguity, covert operation and sexuality. His was a trenchant and identifiable yet intriguingly elliptical and diverse musical sensibility that lassoed widely different vocalists from Louis Armstrong to Duran Duran, invariably producing something magnetic and memorable.
- 7/25/2011
- Den of Geek
The Film Experience has always loved talking up theater, the true 3D experience. So let's do it weekly, even if it's brief. We'll make it movie adjacent: films adapted from stage, movies hitting the boards in a new form or worthy crossovers of any sort... that sort of thing. The lines in entertainment are much blurrier these days, aren't they? Many actors now do all three (tv, film, theater) with increasing regularity, don'cha know, no longer defining themselves as one medium actors.
Kathleen Turner on Opening Night | Turner w/ Evan Jonigkeit in "High"
I recently had the opportunity to see one of my all time favorite actresses on stage again: Kathleen Turner. Her major film career dwindled in the 90s but she's become a regular on Broadway and she's now starring as a foul-mouthed nun in Matthew Lombardo's drama "High". But not for much longer. It was announced yesterday...
Kathleen Turner on Opening Night | Turner w/ Evan Jonigkeit in "High"
I recently had the opportunity to see one of my all time favorite actresses on stage again: Kathleen Turner. Her major film career dwindled in the 90s but she's become a regular on Broadway and she's now starring as a foul-mouthed nun in Matthew Lombardo's drama "High". But not for much longer. It was announced yesterday...
- 4/21/2011
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Hustle departs, Modern Family season 2 starts in the UK, there's Community, The Walking Dead, 30 Rock and Kevin Costner. It's our UK TV look-ahead...!
We wave goodbye to a too short run of a favourite show and welcome back some older programming for a return visit to our TV sets over the next seven days in tellyland.
It feels like it just began, but Hustle series 7 ends tonight, Friday, February 18th at 9:00pm on BBC1. Albert is featured heavily, and worries are pressing weightily on the eldest of the group of cons with hearts. The series finale sees them helping a pal who's rubbed the Mafia the wrong way. We wouldn't rub the Mafia at all, frankly. But the damage has been done and we'll see if the Hustle crew can make repairs. We'll have a review of the finale as soon as possible.
If you haven't yet had the...
We wave goodbye to a too short run of a favourite show and welcome back some older programming for a return visit to our TV sets over the next seven days in tellyland.
It feels like it just began, but Hustle series 7 ends tonight, Friday, February 18th at 9:00pm on BBC1. Albert is featured heavily, and worries are pressing weightily on the eldest of the group of cons with hearts. The series finale sees them helping a pal who's rubbed the Mafia the wrong way. We wouldn't rub the Mafia at all, frankly. But the damage has been done and we'll see if the Hustle crew can make repairs. We'll have a review of the finale as soon as possible.
If you haven't yet had the...
- 2/18/2011
- Den of Geek
Prosthetic snouts have poked their beaks into numerous films. And the winners by a nose (or even a nasal hair) are ...
The nose knows. Slap bang in the middle of our faces sits something with which we can be identified with uncanny ease. So, when proboscises get altered, we're thrown off the scent. A shock conk confounds our perceptions and forces us to see a different person. That's why both Lawrence Olivier and Orson Welles liked fake beaks. The falsie Alec Guinness wore as Fagin in Oliver Twist (1948) copied Cruikshank's illustrations from the novel's first edition, but it also caused the film to be delayed, banned and edited. The temporary cinematic rhinoplasty packs powerful juju – and this is why nasal prostheses have poked on to the silver screen in over 50 roles in five basic categories.
1) Foremost, the phoney schnoz is thespian camouflage. Think Richard Attenborough in Seance on a Wet Afternoon,...
The nose knows. Slap bang in the middle of our faces sits something with which we can be identified with uncanny ease. So, when proboscises get altered, we're thrown off the scent. A shock conk confounds our perceptions and forces us to see a different person. That's why both Lawrence Olivier and Orson Welles liked fake beaks. The falsie Alec Guinness wore as Fagin in Oliver Twist (1948) copied Cruikshank's illustrations from the novel's first edition, but it also caused the film to be delayed, banned and edited. The temporary cinematic rhinoplasty packs powerful juju – and this is why nasal prostheses have poked on to the silver screen in over 50 roles in five basic categories.
1) Foremost, the phoney schnoz is thespian camouflage. Think Richard Attenborough in Seance on a Wet Afternoon,...
- 12/1/2010
- by Karen Krizanovich
- The Guardian - Film News
Mad Men at the Movies In this series we discuss the film references on Mad Men. And now for Season 4 we're also discussing the show in general. Previously: Live From Times Square, 60s Box Office Queens, Catherine Deneuve and...Gamera?
Episode 4.4 "The Rejected"
In this episode Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) faces both personal joy and career drama and combines them in cunning fashion. He sure is a 'high Wasp'. Don's secretary Alison gets a smashingly played exit scene (goodbye Alexa Alemanni. We hardly knew ye. But we liked what we knew. Pssst Mad Men will work wonders on your reel. You were great.) And Peggy attends an underground party winning both male and female attention. Plus, Ken Cosgrove returns (yay!).
Right before Ken's name surfaces, Pete and Harry are arguing about the printing of a newspaper ad.
Pete: I don't care if she looks like a Puerto Rican. Puerto Rican girls buy brassieres.
Episode 4.4 "The Rejected"
In this episode Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) faces both personal joy and career drama and combines them in cunning fashion. He sure is a 'high Wasp'. Don's secretary Alison gets a smashingly played exit scene (goodbye Alexa Alemanni. We hardly knew ye. But we liked what we knew. Pssst Mad Men will work wonders on your reel. You were great.) And Peggy attends an underground party winning both male and female attention. Plus, Ken Cosgrove returns (yay!).
Right before Ken's name surfaces, Pete and Harry are arguing about the printing of a newspaper ad.
Pete: I don't care if she looks like a Puerto Rican. Puerto Rican girls buy brassieres.
- 8/17/2010
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Bus Stop Actress Dies
American actress Kim Stanley, who played a nightclub singer in the 1950s Broadway play Bus Stop, has died aged 76. Stanley died of cancer on Monday in the hospital. In plays like Picnic, Traveling Lady and especially William Inge's 1955 Bus Stop, Stanley captivated Broadway audiences and dazzled the critics. But despite praise for her performance in Bus Stop, Hollywood passed over Stanley in favor of Marilyn Monroe for the movie version. "You can't be good in the theatre unless you've immersed yourself in the marvelous detective story of the human spirit," she told the New York Times in 1979. "But it's difficult - terribly difficult." She was nominated for two Oscars - one for portraying a crazed medium in 1964's Seance On A Wet Afternoon, the other for her role in Frances.
- 8/22/2001
- WENN
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