Ronald Colman: Turner Classic Movies' Star of the Month in two major 1930s classics Updated: Turner Classic Movies' July 2017 Star of the Month is Ronald Colman, one of the finest performers of the studio era. On Thursday night, TCM presented five Colman star vehicles that should be popping up again in the not-too-distant future: A Tale of Two Cities, The Prisoner of Zenda, Kismet, Lucky Partners, and My Life with Caroline. The first two movies are among not only Colman's best, but also among Hollywood's best during its so-called Golden Age. Based on Charles Dickens' classic novel, Jack Conway's Academy Award-nominated A Tale of Two Cities (1936) is a rare Hollywood production indeed: it manages to effectively condense its sprawling source, it boasts first-rate production values, and it features a phenomenal central performance. Ah, it also shows its star without his trademark mustache – about as famous at the time as Clark Gable's. Perhaps...
- 7/21/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Gary Cooper movies on TCM: Cooper at his best and at his weakest Gary Cooper is Turner Classic Movies' “Summer Under the Stars” star today, Aug. 30, '15. Unfortunately, TCM isn't showing any Cooper movie premiere – despite the fact that most of his Paramount movies of the '20s and '30s remain unavailable. This evening's features are Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Sergeant York (1941), and Love in the Afternoon (1957). Mr. Deeds Goes to Town solidified Gary Cooper's stardom and helped to make Jean Arthur Columbia's top female star. The film is a tad overlong and, like every Frank Capra movie, it's also highly sentimental. What saves it from the Hell of Good Intentions is the acting of the two leads – Cooper and Arthur are both excellent – and of several supporting players. Directed by Howard Hawks, the jingoistic, pro-war Sergeant York was a huge box office hit, eventually earning Academy Award nominations in several categories,...
- 8/30/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Fay Wray: King Kong actress, but never a Hollywood superstar [See previous article "Fay Wray bio."] While at Paramount at the dawn of the sound era, Fay Wray was featured opposite the fast-rising Gary Cooper in three movies: William A. Wellman’s war drama Legion of the Condemned (1928), Rowland V. Lee’s romance The First Kiss (1928), and John Cromwell’s Western The Texan (1930), the pair’s last film together while they were both at the studio. (Photo: Fay Wray King Kong, in which Wray plays screaming heroine Ann Darrow.) A mere three years later, Wray was reunited with Gary Cooper in Stephen Roberts’ slice of [...]...
- 9/17/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Janice Watson/Dagmar Pecková/Peter Auty/Peter Rose/London Philharmonic Choir & Orchestra/Neeme Järvi Antonin Dvořák: Stabat Mater, Op. 58 (Lpo) Dvořák’s Stabat Mater was born out of personal tragedy; its inspiration, if that is really the right word in the circumstances, was the death of all three of the composer’s children. This beautiful, heartfelt masterpiece is not heard as frequently in concert as it should be, but has been very well served on recordings.
Before Järvi’s arrived, I had three: the classic 1976 Deutsche Grammophon recording by Rafael Kubelik, Giuseppe Sinopoli’s lush 2000 concert recording (also on Dg), and Telarc’s last recording of the choral conductor par excellence, Robert Shaw. All are superb, but Järvi offers such a different yet compelling take on the piece that this recording, from an October 9, 2010 concert at London’s Royal Festival Hall, can also be highly recommended.
One thing that sets it apart is that,...
Before Järvi’s arrived, I had three: the classic 1976 Deutsche Grammophon recording by Rafael Kubelik, Giuseppe Sinopoli’s lush 2000 concert recording (also on Dg), and Telarc’s last recording of the choral conductor par excellence, Robert Shaw. All are superb, but Järvi offers such a different yet compelling take on the piece that this recording, from an October 9, 2010 concert at London’s Royal Festival Hall, can also be highly recommended.
One thing that sets it apart is that,...
- 8/1/2012
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Each year New York residents can look forward to two essential series programmed at the Film Forum, noirs and pre-Coders (that is, films made before the strict enforcing of the Motion Picture Production Code). These near-annual retrospective traditions are refreshed and re-varied and re-repeated for neophytes and cinephiles alike, giving all the chance to see and see again great film on film. Many titles in this year's Essential Pre-Code series, running an epic July 15 - August 11, are old favorites and some ache to be new discoveries; all in all there are far too many racy, slipshod, patter-filled celluloid splendors to be covered by one critic alone. Faced with such a bounty, I've enlisted the kind help of some friends and colleagues, asking them to sent in short pieces on their favorites in an incomplete but also in-progress survey and guide to one of the summer's most sought-after series. In this entry: what's playing Friday,...
- 8/4/2011
- MUBI
William Gargan, Miriam Hopkins, Jack La Rue in Stephen Roberts' The Story of Temple Drake Cinefest 2011, a four-day festival of rare American films, kicked off earlier today in Syracuse, NY. According to organizers, Cinefest features "great films … from the vaults of the world's greatest libraries and obscure specialties we are noted for from private collectors!" [Cinefest 2011 schedule.] Among the highlights at this year's Cinefest are the East Coast premiere of the Museum of Modern Art's restored print of the racy pre-Code Miriam Hopkins vehicle The Story of Temple Drake (1933), based on William Faulkner's Sanctuary; the Dolores Costello vehicle Glorious Betsy (1928), which earned Anthony Coldeway an Academy Award nomination for Best Adaptation; and Norman Taurog's The Phantom President (1932), a comedy musical starring Broadway legend George M. Cohan (James Cagney won an Oscar for playing him in Yankee Doodle Dandy), Claudette Colbert, and Jimmy Durante. Also, Joe May's [...]...
- 3/18/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
With 2010 only a week over, it already feels like best-of and top-ten lists have been pouring in for months, and we’re already tired of them: the ranking, the exclusions (and inclusions), the rules and the qualifiers. Some people got to see films at festivals, others only catch movies on video; and the ability for us, or any publication, to come up with a system to fairly determine who saw what when and what they thought was the best seems an impossible feat. That doesn’t stop most people from doing it, but we liked the fantasy double features we did last year and for our 3rd Writers Poll we thought we'd do it again.
I asked our contributors to pick a single new film they saw in 2010—in theaters or at a festival—and creatively pair it with an old film they saw in 2010 to create a unique double feature.
I asked our contributors to pick a single new film they saw in 2010—in theaters or at a festival—and creatively pair it with an old film they saw in 2010 to create a unique double feature.
- 1/10/2011
- MUBI
The 2009 Video Music Awards nominations are out, and though much of the attention is on Best Video, one of the most intriguing categories is the race for Best New Artist. It pits Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" against 3Oh!3 ("Don't Trust Me") and three top-shelf MCs: Drake ("Best I Ever Had"), Kid Cudi ("Day 'N' Nite") and Asher Roth ("I Love College").
The nominations are lead by two artists who appeared in a rather prescient feature MTV News' Stephen Roberts produced at the beginning of the year, announcing the five "MCs to Watch in 2009." ">Kid Cudi was on that list, and his nomination for his signature hit "Day 'N' Nite" — one of the best hip-hop jams of the year so far— proves that Roberts' prediction was deadly accurate.
In addition to producing the super-cool video for "Day 'N' Night," Cudi has spent the year prepping his debut album and touring with Asher Roth,...
The nominations are lead by two artists who appeared in a rather prescient feature MTV News' Stephen Roberts produced at the beginning of the year, announcing the five "MCs to Watch in 2009." ">Kid Cudi was on that list, and his nomination for his signature hit "Day 'N' Nite" — one of the best hip-hop jams of the year so far— proves that Roberts' prediction was deadly accurate.
In addition to producing the super-cool video for "Day 'N' Night," Cudi has spent the year prepping his debut album and touring with Asher Roth,...
- 8/4/2009
- by MTV News
- MTV Newsroom
Religulous
Featuring Bill Maher
Directed by Larry Charles
Rated R
They say you should never bring up politics or religion on a first date. Therefore, Religulous is a lousy date movie. Comedian and talk show host Bill Maher has skewered the institution of organized religion countless times on his Real Time with Bill Maher, and even more on the sorely missed Politically Incorrect, so it should come as no surprise that his new documentary is rather pointed. He doesn't care what religion you believe in; Maher thinks you're wrong.
But Religulous is not a lightweight film. This is serious discussion about the world's most serious and divisive subject. If Maher has fun with it, that's because it's really the only way to address it. Thanks to director Larry Charles (Borat), the film isn't stuffy, although it does have its moments of self-righteousness. A lot of that has to do with Maher,...
Featuring Bill Maher
Directed by Larry Charles
Rated R
They say you should never bring up politics or religion on a first date. Therefore, Religulous is a lousy date movie. Comedian and talk show host Bill Maher has skewered the institution of organized religion countless times on his Real Time with Bill Maher, and even more on the sorely missed Politically Incorrect, so it should come as no surprise that his new documentary is rather pointed. He doesn't care what religion you believe in; Maher thinks you're wrong.
But Religulous is not a lightweight film. This is serious discussion about the world's most serious and divisive subject. If Maher has fun with it, that's because it's really the only way to address it. Thanks to director Larry Charles (Borat), the film isn't stuffy, although it does have its moments of self-righteousness. A lot of that has to do with Maher,...
- 10/3/2008
- by Colin Boyd
- GetTheBigPicture.net
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.