When Disney purchased the 20th Century Fox library in 2019, it caused some consternation among cineastes. The Fox catalog was vast and impressive, containing tons of indelible classics and even more titles waiting deep inside the studio's archive. 20th Century Fox was formed in 1935 and quickly became one of the "big five" studios that dominated the film industry for decades. Fox hadn't seen a shake-up this dramatic since 1985 when ultra-conservative media mogul Rubert Murdoch bought a controlling share of the company from Marvin Davis.
When Disney made its purchase, many film fans wondered if Fox's old classics would be made more widely available through the about-to-launch Disney+. When the streaming service debuted with a paltry 500 titles, cineastes were aghast. Why buy all those Fox titles if you're not going to distribute them?
That, however, was merely the end of the road for Fox. For its 83-year life, the studio went through many massive,...
When Disney made its purchase, many film fans wondered if Fox's old classics would be made more widely available through the about-to-launch Disney+. When the streaming service debuted with a paltry 500 titles, cineastes were aghast. Why buy all those Fox titles if you're not going to distribute them?
That, however, was merely the end of the road for Fox. For its 83-year life, the studio went through many massive,...
- 4/21/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Billy Watson, a child star who was one of the famed Watson Family, the only acting family that has their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, died February 17 of natural causes at age 98 in a Spokane, Washington hospital.
Only one member of the family troupe, brother Garry. survives. William “Billy” Watson was remembered in an online announcement on March 1.
“He was loving and kind; he could light up a crowded room with his laughter and exuberance. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him,” his family said in a statement.
The Watson Family were all child actors who appeared in hundreds of films starting in the silent era. Billy’s credits included such as “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” “The Little Minister,” “The Winning Ticket,” “Kidnapped” and “Young Mr. Lincoln.” He shared screen time with such Hollywood legends as James Stewart, Will Rogers, Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn.
Only one member of the family troupe, brother Garry. survives. William “Billy” Watson was remembered in an online announcement on March 1.
“He was loving and kind; he could light up a crowded room with his laughter and exuberance. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him,” his family said in a statement.
The Watson Family were all child actors who appeared in hundreds of films starting in the silent era. Billy’s credits included such as “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” “The Little Minister,” “The Winning Ticket,” “Kidnapped” and “Young Mr. Lincoln.” He shared screen time with such Hollywood legends as James Stewart, Will Rogers, Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn.
- 3/5/2022
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Billy Watson, a child star who appeared in some Old Hollywood film classics such as “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” and “In Old Chicago” and one of the last members of The Watson Family of childhood actors, has died. He was 98.
William Richard Watson, or “Billy,” died on February 17 of natural causes at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, his family announced in an obituary on March 1.
“He was loving and kind; he could light up a crowded room with his laughter and exuberance. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him,” his family said in a statement.
Watson was the sixth of nine siblings as part of the Watson family, all nine of whom were child actors who between them appeared in hundreds, if not thousands of films between the silent era and the talkies era of Old Hollywood. They are the only family that together has...
William Richard Watson, or “Billy,” died on February 17 of natural causes at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, his family announced in an obituary on March 1.
“He was loving and kind; he could light up a crowded room with his laughter and exuberance. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him,” his family said in a statement.
Watson was the sixth of nine siblings as part of the Watson family, all nine of whom were child actors who between them appeared in hundreds, if not thousands of films between the silent era and the talkies era of Old Hollywood. They are the only family that together has...
- 3/4/2022
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
It’s a manhunt South of the Border — Niven Busch’s drama has violence and murder but is really a novelistic character study that goes against the typical rules of Hollywood. Lew Ayres tries to atone for mistakenly killing a man, by coming to the aid of the victim’s widow. But he doesn’t realize that Teresa Wright’s ranch wife has learned the truth about him. The independent production is a modern oil-field western set in Mexico, and unusual both in storytelling style and emphasis, with an atypical imperfect hero and a romance far removed from Hollywood clichés. John Sturges is the director of this interesting obscurity.
The Capture
Blu-ray
The Film Detective
1950 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 91 min. / Street Date January 18, 2022 / Available from The Film Detective / 24.95
Starring: Lew Ayres, Teresa Wright, Victor Jory, Jacqueline White, Jimmy Hunt, Barry Kelley, Duncan Renaldo, William Bakewell, Milton Parsons, Felipe Turich, Edwin Rand,...
The Capture
Blu-ray
The Film Detective
1950 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 91 min. / Street Date January 18, 2022 / Available from The Film Detective / 24.95
Starring: Lew Ayres, Teresa Wright, Victor Jory, Jacqueline White, Jimmy Hunt, Barry Kelley, Duncan Renaldo, William Bakewell, Milton Parsons, Felipe Turich, Edwin Rand,...
- 2/5/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
On Sunday the next Supporting Actress Smackdown and its companion podcast arrive, with a discussion of the 1937 Oscars and the Supporting Actress nominees. You know what that means. For maximum enjoyment (re)watch Best Picture nominees the Bogart noir Dead End, the actress-stuffed dramedy Stage Door and the epic In Old Chicago as well as two films that were both nominated for two acting Oscars, the thriller Night Must Fall and weepie classic Stella Dallas (all of which are readily available online) and send in your votes by Friday October 1st. Let's meet your fellow panelists, shall we?
Please Welcome...
Please Welcome...
- 9/27/2021
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
All five of the upcoming movies for the next Supporting Actress Smackdowns are rentable or free to stream (if so we've indicated where) so play along at home, won'cha? The Smackdowns are popular but they're more fun if You participate and watch and vote.
Tyrone Power and Alice Brady in "In Old Chicago"
Smackdown 1937 -Sunday, October 3rd, 2021
★ Alice Brady in In Old Chicago -a family drama, disaster epic, and sort-of musical Andrea Leeds in Stage Door - a boarding house dramedy which is an absolute must-see for actressexuals since everyone is in it! Anne Shirley in Stella Dallas (Amazon Prime) - a Stanwyck weepie Claire Trevor in Dead End (Amazon Prime) - a Bogart noir May Whitty in Night Must Fall - a mystery starring Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell
Between them these movies scored 18 nominations and 2 Oscar wins with In Old Chicago, Stage Door, and Dead End also vying for Best Picture.
Tyrone Power and Alice Brady in "In Old Chicago"
Smackdown 1937 -Sunday, October 3rd, 2021
★ Alice Brady in In Old Chicago -a family drama, disaster epic, and sort-of musical Andrea Leeds in Stage Door - a boarding house dramedy which is an absolute must-see for actressexuals since everyone is in it! Anne Shirley in Stella Dallas (Amazon Prime) - a Stanwyck weepie Claire Trevor in Dead End (Amazon Prime) - a Bogart noir May Whitty in Night Must Fall - a mystery starring Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell
Between them these movies scored 18 nominations and 2 Oscar wins with In Old Chicago, Stage Door, and Dead End also vying for Best Picture.
- 9/23/2021
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
We're about to enter the prime Oscar-hopeful months of the year. Excited? But before we do, here's a quick look back at August at Tfe. In case you missed any of this baker's dozen...
Some Highlights
• Interview Nine Perfect Strangers Abe interviews Michael Shannon
• Emmy Categories -we've analyzed many of the top races
• Spencer tease - will Kristen Stewart be up for gold?
• Jennifer Hudson in Respect a big new role for a fine singer
• The Green Knight -Matt has a big crush on Dev Patel
• Phil Tippet -Elisa meets the "mad god" of vfx
• Jeanette Goldstein in Aliens Nick gives a strong genre turn its due
• Gay Best Friend: Chuck and Buck - with White Lotus all the rage, Christopher looks back at Mike White's breakout
• A Room With a View a long-read team retrospective
• How had I never seen...Blue Velvet Ben has never been a...
Some Highlights
• Interview Nine Perfect Strangers Abe interviews Michael Shannon
• Emmy Categories -we've analyzed many of the top races
• Spencer tease - will Kristen Stewart be up for gold?
• Jennifer Hudson in Respect a big new role for a fine singer
• The Green Knight -Matt has a big crush on Dev Patel
• Phil Tippet -Elisa meets the "mad god" of vfx
• Jeanette Goldstein in Aliens Nick gives a strong genre turn its due
• Gay Best Friend: Chuck and Buck - with White Lotus all the rage, Christopher looks back at Mike White's breakout
• A Room With a View a long-read team retrospective
• How had I never seen...Blue Velvet Ben has never been a...
- 8/31/2021
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
MGM’s glamour factory hit heights of grandeur with this nostalgic disaster spectacle, which retains its power even as its pious sentimentality runs amuck. We don’t believe the characters but we believe the Stars: Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald and Spencer Tracy succeed with sheer personality. Best of all are the sensational special effects featuring the highly cinematic earthquake montage by Slavko Vorkapich and John Hoffman.
San Francisco
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1936 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 115 min. / Street Date February 16, 2021 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald, Spencer Tracy, Jack Holt, Jessie Ralph, Ted Healy, Shirley Ross, Edgar Kennedy, Warren Hymer, Gertrude Astor, Vince Barnett, Tom Dugan, D.W. Griffith, James Murray, Robert J. Wilke.
Montages: Slavko Vorkapich, John Hoffman
Special Effects: James Basevi, Russell A. Cully, A. Arnold Gillespie, Loyal Griggs
Film Editor: Tom Held
Songs: Bronislau Kaper & Walter Jurmann (music), Gus Kahn (lyrics), Nacio Herb Brown
Written...
San Francisco
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1936 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 115 min. / Street Date February 16, 2021 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald, Spencer Tracy, Jack Holt, Jessie Ralph, Ted Healy, Shirley Ross, Edgar Kennedy, Warren Hymer, Gertrude Astor, Vince Barnett, Tom Dugan, D.W. Griffith, James Murray, Robert J. Wilke.
Montages: Slavko Vorkapich, John Hoffman
Special Effects: James Basevi, Russell A. Cully, A. Arnold Gillespie, Loyal Griggs
Film Editor: Tom Held
Songs: Bronislau Kaper & Walter Jurmann (music), Gus Kahn (lyrics), Nacio Herb Brown
Written...
- 2/20/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The Supporting Actress Smackdown will resume in March 2021. Final Season!
Happy Smackdown to you Happy Smackdown to you
Happy Smackdown you actressexuals,
Happy Smackdown to youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!
After StinkyLulu graciously let us continue/revive the series here seven or eight years ago (eep!) we've done 35 episodes: 1938, 1941, 1943, 1944, 1947, 1948, 1952, 1954, 1957, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, and concurrently with Oscar races as they happened 2016, 2017, and 2018.
So, where to now?
The Remaining Years
1937- Brady (In Old Chicago) | Leeds (Stage Door) | Shirley (Stella Dallas) | Trevor (Dead End) | Whitty (Night Must Fall)
1946 - Baxter (The Razor's Edge) | Barrymore (The Spiral Staircase) | Gish (Duel in the Sun) | Robson (Saratoga Trunk) | Sondegaard (Anna and the King of Siam)
1951 Joan Blondell (The Blue Veil) | Dunnock (Death of a Salesman) | Grant (Detective Story) | Hunter (A Streetcar Named Desire) | Ritter (The Mating Season)
1986 - Harper (Crimes of the Heart) | Laurie (Children of a Lesser God) | Mastrantonio (The Color of Money) | Smith (A Room With a View) | Weist (Hannah and Her Sisters...
Happy Smackdown to you Happy Smackdown to you
Happy Smackdown you actressexuals,
Happy Smackdown to youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!
After StinkyLulu graciously let us continue/revive the series here seven or eight years ago (eep!) we've done 35 episodes: 1938, 1941, 1943, 1944, 1947, 1948, 1952, 1954, 1957, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, and concurrently with Oscar races as they happened 2016, 2017, and 2018.
So, where to now?
The Remaining Years
1937- Brady (In Old Chicago) | Leeds (Stage Door) | Shirley (Stella Dallas) | Trevor (Dead End) | Whitty (Night Must Fall)
1946 - Baxter (The Razor's Edge) | Barrymore (The Spiral Staircase) | Gish (Duel in the Sun) | Robson (Saratoga Trunk) | Sondegaard (Anna and the King of Siam)
1951 Joan Blondell (The Blue Veil) | Dunnock (Death of a Salesman) | Grant (Detective Story) | Hunter (A Streetcar Named Desire) | Ritter (The Mating Season)
1986 - Harper (Crimes of the Heart) | Laurie (Children of a Lesser God) | Mastrantonio (The Color of Money) | Smith (A Room With a View) | Weist (Hannah and Her Sisters...
- 2/17/2021
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Five random things that happened on this day (October 26th) in history...
1881 The Gunfight at the Ok Corral lasted just 30 seconds on this day but it's been immortal since via the movies and television where it's been depicted dozens of times, most famously in Gunfight at the Ok Corral (1957) and Tombstone (1993).
1931 Eugene O'Neill's Mourning Becomes Electra opens on Broadway starring Alice Brady (who will win an Oscar later that decade for In Old Chicago). But it takes 16 years for a film version to premiere which disappoints but nabs an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe Drama win for Rosalind Russell...
1881 The Gunfight at the Ok Corral lasted just 30 seconds on this day but it's been immortal since via the movies and television where it's been depicted dozens of times, most famously in Gunfight at the Ok Corral (1957) and Tombstone (1993).
1931 Eugene O'Neill's Mourning Becomes Electra opens on Broadway starring Alice Brady (who will win an Oscar later that decade for In Old Chicago). But it takes 16 years for a film version to premiere which disappoints but nabs an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe Drama win for Rosalind Russell...
- 10/26/2020
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
The Supporting Actress Smackdown of 1938 arrives on Monday (and the voting is close) so get your votes in by Sunday morning! Before we get there it's time for more context of that year in history. The minimum wage was 40¢ an hour, the economy was in recession, and Howard Hughes was busy breaking aviation records. In sports Seabiscuit was the fastest horse, and Joe Louis was the Heavyweight champion of boxing. Meanwhile there was great unease in Europe with Hitler on the march and already claiming Austria and Czechoslovakia for Germany (the US turned a blind eye and European leaders were still trying to appease the madman).
Things were happy at the movies, though, where screwball comedies and adventure films were all the rage. If there's a link on a title, we've already written about the movie. Ready?
When do you think "hung" changed its meaning in the popular vernacular?
Great...
Things were happy at the movies, though, where screwball comedies and adventure films were all the rage. If there's a link on a title, we've already written about the movie. Ready?
When do you think "hung" changed its meaning in the popular vernacular?
Great...
- 9/9/2020
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Oscar voters have shown from the beginning that they love actresses who portray historic people. Perhaps it’s because they can make easy comparisons. Or perhaps it’s because they are often heroic figures. Whatever the reason, it has occurred more often for supporting ladies than for supporting men. Tour our photo gallery of every single woman who has won the Best Supporting Actress category at the Academy Awards for playing a true life character.
The very first performer to win the illustrious prize for stepping into a real person’s shoes was Alice Brady for “In Old Chicago.” She played Molly O’Leary, whose pet cow allegedly started the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. In an interesting tidbit of Oscar history, Brady’s trophy was stolen by an imposter claiming to be accepting the prize on the absent star’s behalf. Unfortunately, the thief was never caught, and Brady died before...
The very first performer to win the illustrious prize for stepping into a real person’s shoes was Alice Brady for “In Old Chicago.” She played Molly O’Leary, whose pet cow allegedly started the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. In an interesting tidbit of Oscar history, Brady’s trophy was stolen by an imposter claiming to be accepting the prize on the absent star’s behalf. Unfortunately, the thief was never caught, and Brady died before...
- 1/30/2020
- by Zach Laws
- Gold Derby
We weren’t surprised that Bradley Cooper‘s remake of “A Star is Born” lost seven of its eight races at the Academy Awards. After all, there is an Oscar curse on this classic tale of Hollywood. The first three versions of “A Star is Born” earned 17 nominations but won just two. The original 1937 film claimed the screenplay award while the 1976 musical remake won Best Original Song (“Evergreen”) for its leading lady, Barbra Streisand. She was the first female composer to win this Oscar; Lady Gaga became the 11th when she won for “Shallow.”
Let’s take a closer look to see how each of the four films fared at the Oscars.
2018 version
Cooper cast Lady Gaga in her first starring role. Reviews for the film were ecstatic praising the first-time helmer and his leading lady. It was the early frontrunner to sweep the Oscars and earned bids from 12 of...
Let’s take a closer look to see how each of the four films fared at the Oscars.
2018 version
Cooper cast Lady Gaga in her first starring role. Reviews for the film were ecstatic praising the first-time helmer and his leading lady. It was the early frontrunner to sweep the Oscars and earned bids from 12 of...
- 2/25/2019
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
We all know that the academy loves when actors portray real people. Two years ago was the first time in 19 years that all four acting Oscar winners — Casey Affleck (“Manchester by the Sea”), Emma Stone (“La La Land”), Mahershala Ali (“Moonlight”) and Viola Davis (“Fences”) — won for playing fictional characters, which was frankly a minor miracle. But of the four categories, there is one where voters favor real-to-reel performances the most: Best Actor. And that love affair will continue if Rami Malek wins for his turn as Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody” as expected.
Malek would be the 12th Best Actor champ this century to win for playing a real person or a character based on a real person and the second in a row following Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour” (2017). The other 10 since 2000 are:
1. Adrien Brody (Wladyslaw Szpilman), “The Pianist” (2002)
2. Jamie Foxx (Ray Charles), “Ray” (2004)
3. Philip Seymour Hoffman...
Malek would be the 12th Best Actor champ this century to win for playing a real person or a character based on a real person and the second in a row following Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour” (2017). The other 10 since 2000 are:
1. Adrien Brody (Wladyslaw Szpilman), “The Pianist” (2002)
2. Jamie Foxx (Ray Charles), “Ray” (2004)
3. Philip Seymour Hoffman...
- 2/22/2019
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
Bradley Cooper‘s remake of “A Star is Born” has reaped bids with 12 of the 13 guilds that hand out awards but has yet to win with any of the six heard from so far. Cooper was widely expected to take home the Best First-Time Director prize at the DGA Awards on Feb. 2 but he lost that race to Bo Burnham (“Eighth Grade”). Is this losing streak a sign of things to come at the Academy Awards where it contends in eight categories?
It could well be. There is an Oscar curse on this classic tale of Hollywood. In all, the first three versions of “A Star is Born” earned 17 nominations but won just two. The original 1937 film claimed the screenplay award while the 1976 musical remake won Best Original Song (“Evergreen”) for its leading lady, Barbra Streisand. She was the first female composer to win this Oscar; Lady Gaga would be...
It could well be. There is an Oscar curse on this classic tale of Hollywood. In all, the first three versions of “A Star is Born” earned 17 nominations but won just two. The original 1937 film claimed the screenplay award while the 1976 musical remake won Best Original Song (“Evergreen”) for its leading lady, Barbra Streisand. She was the first female composer to win this Oscar; Lady Gaga would be...
- 2/4/2019
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
Bradley Cooper‘s remake of “A Star is Born” underperformed at Sunday’s Golden Globes winning just one of its five races: Lady Gaga shared in the prize for Best Original Song (“Shallow”). Could these shocking losses be a sign of things to come at the Oscars? Is there a curse on this classic tale of Hollywood?
Let’s take a look back at the results of how each of the first three versions of “A Star is Born” fared at the Academy Awards. Between them, they reaped 17 nominations but won just two. The original 1937 edition claimed the screenplay award while the 1976 musical remake won Best Original Song (“Evergreen”) for its star, Barbra Streisand. She was the first female composer to win this Oscar; Lady Gaga would be the 11th.
1937 version
This was a straight drama and was a loose retelling of the 1932 flick “What Price Hollywood.” It starred two...
Let’s take a look back at the results of how each of the first three versions of “A Star is Born” fared at the Academy Awards. Between them, they reaped 17 nominations but won just two. The original 1937 edition claimed the screenplay award while the 1976 musical remake won Best Original Song (“Evergreen”) for its star, Barbra Streisand. She was the first female composer to win this Oscar; Lady Gaga would be the 11th.
1937 version
This was a straight drama and was a loose retelling of the 1932 flick “What Price Hollywood.” It starred two...
- 1/7/2019
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
While we wait (impatiently) for the major Oscar contenders to show themselves to general audiences, why not check out an older Oscar nominees for kicks and to fill any gaps in your Oscar knowledge. Here are a few that iTunes is offering to rent for just 99¢... naturally I have to share the posters for the ones with exclamatory taglines.
• Sunrise (1927)/ Street Angel (1928) for Janet Gaynor, the very first Best Actress winner and the only Best Actress winner to win for multiple roles simultaneously (they changed the rule thereafter)
• In Old Chicago (1938) Tyrone Powers in a six-time nominated film which won Alice Brady supporting actress
• The Rains Came (1939) starring Myrna Loy and up for six Oscars
• Blood and Sand (1941) this torreador drama starring Tyrone Power won Best Cinematography
• This Above All (1942) a romantic drama starring Joan Fontaine and Tyrone Power received 4 nominations and a win for Art Direction
• The Snake Pit...
• Sunrise (1927)/ Street Angel (1928) for Janet Gaynor, the very first Best Actress winner and the only Best Actress winner to win for multiple roles simultaneously (they changed the rule thereafter)
• In Old Chicago (1938) Tyrone Powers in a six-time nominated film which won Alice Brady supporting actress
• The Rains Came (1939) starring Myrna Loy and up for six Oscars
• Blood and Sand (1941) this torreador drama starring Tyrone Power won Best Cinematography
• This Above All (1942) a romantic drama starring Joan Fontaine and Tyrone Power received 4 nominations and a win for Art Direction
• The Snake Pit...
- 10/15/2018
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
In 2009 — when the Academy Awards went to 10 Best Picture nominees for the first time since 1943 — the preferential system of voting, which had been used from 1934 to 1945, was reintroduced. The academy did so as it believed this “best allows the collective judgment of all voting members to be most accurately represented.”
We have detailed how the preferential voting system works at the Oscars in the modern era. So, let’s take a look back at those dozen years early in the history of the academy when it first used this complicated counting to determine the Best Picture winner rather than a simple popular vote. (At the bottom of this post, be sure to vote for the film that you think will take the top Oscar this year.)
See Best Picture Gallery: Every winner of the top Academy Award
1934
This seventh ceremony marked the first time that the Oscars eligibility period was the calendar year.
We have detailed how the preferential voting system works at the Oscars in the modern era. So, let’s take a look back at those dozen years early in the history of the academy when it first used this complicated counting to determine the Best Picture winner rather than a simple popular vote. (At the bottom of this post, be sure to vote for the film that you think will take the top Oscar this year.)
See Best Picture Gallery: Every winner of the top Academy Award
1934
This seventh ceremony marked the first time that the Oscars eligibility period was the calendar year.
- 2/28/2018
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
On this day in history as it relates to showbiz...
1892 One of Old Hollywood's most undersung but talented 1930s directors Gregory La Cava is born. Classics include Stage Door and My Man Godfrey
1913 Famed abolitionist and American hero Harriet Tubman dies of pneumonia. So glad she's getting biopic treatment soon. And twice over!
1938 The 10th annual Oscars are held with The Life of Emile Zzzzzola winning Best Picture and Louise Rainer taking her consecutive Best Actress prize but the most enduring anecdote was of course the theft of Alice Brady's Oscar for In Old Chicago.
1958 Sharon Stone is born in Pennysylvania
The 1959 Golden Globes (and more) are after the jump...
1892 One of Old Hollywood's most undersung but talented 1930s directors Gregory La Cava is born. Classics include Stage Door and My Man Godfrey
1913 Famed abolitionist and American hero Harriet Tubman dies of pneumonia. So glad she's getting biopic treatment soon. And twice over!
1938 The 10th annual Oscars are held with The Life of Emile Zzzzzola winning Best Picture and Louise Rainer taking her consecutive Best Actress prize but the most enduring anecdote was of course the theft of Alice Brady's Oscar for In Old Chicago.
1958 Sharon Stone is born in Pennysylvania
The 1959 Golden Globes (and more) are after the jump...
- 3/10/2017
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Dana Andrews movies: Film noir actor excelled in both major and minor crime dramas. Dana Andrews movies: First-rate film noir actor excelled in both classics & minor fare One of the best-looking and most underrated actors of the studio era, Dana Andrews was a first-rate film noir/crime thriller star. Oftentimes dismissed as no more than a “dependable” or “reliable” leading man, in truth Andrews brought to life complex characters that never quite fit into the mold of Hollywood's standardized heroes – or rather, antiheroes. Unlike the cynical, tough-talking, and (albeit at times self-delusionally) self-confident characters played by the likes of Alan Ladd, Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, and, however lazily, Robert Mitchum, Andrews created portrayals of tortured men at odds with their social standing, their sense of ethics, and even their romantic yearnings. Not infrequently, there was only a very fine line separating his (anti)heroes from most movie villains.
- 1/22/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
A few years ago the editors of Shadowlocked asked me to compile a list of what was initially to be, the ten greatest movie matte paintings of all time. A mere ten selections was too slim by a long shot, so my list stretched considerably to twenty, then thirty and finally a nice round fifty entries. Even with that number I found it wasn’t easy to narrow down a suitably wide ranging showcase of motion picture matte art that best represented the artform. So with that in mind, and due to the surprising popularity of that 2012 Shadowlocked list (which is well worth a visit, here Ed), I’ve assembled a further fifty wonderful examples of this vast, vital and more extensively utilised than you’d imagine – though now sadly ‘dead and buried’ – movie magic.
It would of course be so easy to simply concentrate on the well known, iconic,...
It would of course be so easy to simply concentrate on the well known, iconic,...
- 12/28/2015
- Shadowlocked
The Academy Awards offer a huge, guaranteed audience of both industry and civilian fans. That makes it a unique opportunity for stars and non-stars alike to act out with the assurance that someone, somewhere will be paying attention to them. And this has happened a lot. As we approach the 87th Academy Awards, let's take a look back at some of the strangest moments to grace Oscar night. Some Dude Steals Alice Brady's Oscar In 1938, as the story goes, an unidentified man strode onstage to accept Alice Brady's Best Supporting Actress Award (for In Old Chicago), because she...
- 2/22/2015
- by Alex Heigl, @alex_heigl
- PEOPLE.com
Pioneering woman director Lois Weber socially conscious drama 'Shoes' among Library of Congress' Packard Theater movies (photo: Mary MacLaren in 'Shoes') In February 2015, National Film Registry titles will be showcased at the Library of Congress' Packard Campus Theater – aka the Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation – in Culpeper, Virginia. These range from pioneering woman director Lois Weber's socially conscious 1916 drama Shoes to Robert Zemeckis' 1985 blockbuster Back to the Future. Another Packard Theater highlight next month is Sam Peckinpah's ultra-violent Western The Wild Bunch (1969), starring William Holden and Ernest Borgnine. Also, Howard Hawks' "anti-High Noon" Western Rio Bravo (1959), toplining John Wayne and Dean Martin. And George Cukor's costly remake of A Star Is Born (1954), featuring Academy Award nominees Judy Garland and James Mason in the old Janet Gaynor and Fredric March roles. There's more: Jeff Bridges delivers a colorful performance in...
- 1/24/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Robert Redford: 'The Great Gatsby' and 'The Way We Were' tonight on Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies' Star of the Month Robert Redford returns this evening with three more films: two Sydney Pollack-directed efforts, Out of Africa and The Way We Were, and Jack Clayton's film version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel The Great Gatsby. (See TCM's Robert Redford film schedule below. See also: "On TCM: Robert Redford Movies.") 'The Great Gatsby': Robert Redford as Jay Gatsby Released by Paramount Pictures, the 1974 film version of The Great Gatsby had prestige oozing from just about every cinematic pore. The film was based on what some consider the greatest American novel ever written. Francis Ford Coppola, whose directing credits included the blockbuster The Godfather, and who, that same year, was responsible for both The Godfather Part II and The Conversation, penned the adaptation. Multiple Tony winner David Merrick (Becket,...
- 1/21/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Robert Redford: 'The Great Gatsby' and 'The Way We Were' tonight on Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies' Star of the Month Robert Redford returns this evening with three more films: two Sydney Pollack-directed efforts, Out of Africa and The Way We Were, and Jack Clayton's film version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel The Great Gatsby. (See TCM's Robert Redford film schedule below. See also: "On TCM: Robert Redford Movies.") 'Out of Africa' Out of Africa (1985) is an unusual Robert Redford star vehicle in that the film's actual lead isn't Redford, but Meryl Streep -- at the time seen as sort of a Bette Davis-Alec Guinness mix: like Davis, Streep received a whole bunch of Academy Award nominations within the span of a few years: from 1978-1985, she was shortlisted for no less than six movies.* Like Guinness, Streep could transform...
- 1/21/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Faye Dunaway in ‘Mommie Dearest’ — Joan Crawford portrayal ‘Greatest Bad Performance’? Clint Eastwood Best Picture Oscar nominee among ‘Greatest Bad Movies’ See previous post: “From John Travolta to Bob Dylan: ‘The Greatest Bad Movies of All Time’: Q&A with Phil Hall.” (Photo: Mommie Dearest, Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford.) I noticed you have included some Bad Movies that were well received upon their release, e.g., Clint Eastwood’s Best Picture Oscar nominee ‘Mystic River’ (2003) and Henry King’s ‘In Old Chicago’ (1937) — another Best Picture nominee. Why are those movies not only Bad Movies, but also Great Bad Movies? I need to begin my answer by insisting that my new book is strictly about opinion. I don’t pretend to be the author of a be-all/end-all encyclopedia on the subject. Many people may disagree with the selection of films, both from an inclusive viewpoint and from...
- 9/10/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Well that went by quickly. We're just pretending the month isn't over when it comes to Reader Spotlights / Reader Appreciation Month. But I hope you're as excited for Spring as I am.
Tilda. She's found another place to sleep.
Highlights
Pocahontas Quiz come roll in all the riches all around us
Tilda in a Box I watched the goddess sleep. I couldn't take photos so I drew it
Vintage 1983 I chose a random year for this survey of its crop
In Old Chicago a look back at an odd Oscar legend and the accompanying film
Vanya & Sonia & Sasha & Spike Sigourney's Weaver's sublime silliness on stage
She Jane? That Jessica Chastain Tarzan rumor. And her competitive set?
The Wonderful Best Shots of Oz this season of Hit Me With Your Best Shot sure kicked up a dust storm as we left Kansas for the Emerald City for a few days
Horizontal...
Tilda. She's found another place to sleep.
Highlights
Pocahontas Quiz come roll in all the riches all around us
Tilda in a Box I watched the goddess sleep. I couldn't take photos so I drew it
Vintage 1983 I chose a random year for this survey of its crop
In Old Chicago a look back at an odd Oscar legend and the accompanying film
Vanya & Sonia & Sasha & Spike Sigourney's Weaver's sublime silliness on stage
She Jane? That Jessica Chastain Tarzan rumor. And her competitive set?
The Wonderful Best Shots of Oz this season of Hit Me With Your Best Shot sure kicked up a dust storm as we left Kansas for the Emerald City for a few days
Horizontal...
- 3/31/2013
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
On this very day in 1938, 75 years ago, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences met for the 10th time to honor the films of 1937. There was still no television to compete with but that also meant no televised ceremony. Which is too bad really because how great would it be to see one of Oscar's very oddest anecdotes happening "live"? According to legends, though the legends conflict either an Alice Brady impostor or a impostor Brady representative accepted the trophy which was never recovered! Drama. What then? Either the statue was replaced 12 days later or the more dramatic the statue was never replaced. This much is true: Brady, the second winner of this then brand new category, died a year and a half later at only 47 years of age.
In Old Chicago
Alice Brady plays the matriarch of the O'Leary clan (anniversary aside, since we're approaching St. Patrick's Day,...
In Old Chicago
Alice Brady plays the matriarch of the O'Leary clan (anniversary aside, since we're approaching St. Patrick's Day,...
- 3/10/2013
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
The release of the original Airport in 1970 began a new type of cinema genre: the “disaster” movie. For the next ten years or so the big studios (and some small) hit upon the formula of throwing a whole bunch of stars together (often providing work for many former screen gods and goddesses) and have them try to survive a catastrophe. One producer, Irwin Allen, became known as the disaster movie king with The Posiedon Adventure and The Towering Inferno. These films were thought of as grand escapist entertainments, popcorn flicks. But what about a disaster that really happened? True life disasters have been the backdrop for many Hollywood epics such as San Francisco and In Old Chicago. Those films had fictional characters in stories set in those calamities. The Impossible is the story of how a real family dealt with a real event that we all saw news reports of several years ago.
- 1/4/2013
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Martin Scorsese's Hugo (period film), David Yates' Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (fantasy film), and David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (contemporary film) were the feature-film winners at the Art Directors Guild's 16th Excellence in Production Design Awards, held this evening at the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. The respective production design winners were Dante Ferretti (photo), Stuart Craig, and Donald Graham Burt. [Full list of 2012 Art Directors Guild winners and nominees.] Both Ferretti (with frequent collaborator/set decorator Francesca Lo Schiavo) and Craig (with set decorator Stephenie McMillan ) are in the running for the Best Art Direction Academy Award. Their competitors are Laurence Bennett and set decorator Robert Gould for Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist, Anne Seibel and set decorator Hélène Dubreuil for Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, and Rick Carter and set decorator Lee Sandales for Steven Spielberg's War Horse. Among the...
- 2/5/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Disaster film-makers struggling to compete with the realities of the post-9/11 world have, in global warming, found the perfect plot device
It may be the start of a new year, but as far as cinema is concerned that doesn't mean it can't also be the end of the world. Even before January is out, audiences will have been given two gruelling visions of the future from which to choose. You can experience your dystopian forecast in moderately Hollywood-friendly form in The Book of Eli, in which Denzel Washington battles unwashed marauding types in a harsh futuristic landscape. Or you can take your medicine straight in the form of The Road, an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel about a father and son trudging through a world scarred by environmental collapse.
Long before such films, or recent animated equivalents like Wall-e or 9, we have harboured a cultural compulsion to imagine our collective demise.
It may be the start of a new year, but as far as cinema is concerned that doesn't mean it can't also be the end of the world. Even before January is out, audiences will have been given two gruelling visions of the future from which to choose. You can experience your dystopian forecast in moderately Hollywood-friendly form in The Book of Eli, in which Denzel Washington battles unwashed marauding types in a harsh futuristic landscape. Or you can take your medicine straight in the form of The Road, an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel about a father and son trudging through a world scarred by environmental collapse.
Long before such films, or recent animated equivalents like Wall-e or 9, we have harboured a cultural compulsion to imagine our collective demise.
- 1/1/2010
- by Ryan Gilbey
- The Guardian - Film News
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