The Silent Movie Era – a few observations.

November 30, 2016 Alan Royle 6

                                                             Here are a few unrelated ‘snippets’ from the good old days of the ‘Silent Era’. Some of them you may already know about; others you may not. But each one contributes to our knowledge and understanding of that long ago […]

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Cartoon characters – Matching the voices to the faces.

November 28, 2016 Alan Royle 2

  It usually comes as a surprise (to me anyway) when I come across an actor whose voice I instantly recognize as being that of a well-known cartoon character. I was watching an old 1949 Esther Williams film a few nights ago (Neptune’s Daughter), and a Mexican named Pancho (what […]

Past Oscars PT 6 – (1967-74).

November 26, 2016 Alan Royle 0

  1967               In the Heat of the Night – Best Picture                         Rod Steiger – Best Actor for In the Heat of the Night                         George Kennedy – Best Supporting Actor for Cool Hand Luke In the Heat of the Night was a strong choice for Best Picture, but how could […]

Actors marrying other actors – Pt 18

November 24, 2016 Alan Royle 2

             Arlene DAHL                                    Lex BARKER                        (1951 – 52)    divorced                                                                Fernando LAMAS                (1954 – […]

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On-set fatalities in Hollywood movies.

November 22, 2016 Alan Royle 5

Movie-making has cost the lives of quite a few of those involved in the process. Stuntmen, cameramen, assistants, extras, plus the occasional director and actor have lost their lives down the decades. This is not a definitive list, not by a long shot, but it does demonstrate the perils that […]

‘THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956).

November 18, 2016 Alan Royle 4

  Cecil B DeMille It has been 60 years since my grand-parents dragged me along to see CB DeMille’s The Ten Commandments at our local theatre. I think their plan was to give me a dose of good old religion, but all it did was scare the knickers clean off […]

Past Oscars PT 5 – (1961-66)

November 16, 2016 Alan Royle 0

    1961               West Side Story – Best Picture                         Maximilian Schell – Best Actor for Judgment at Nuremberg                         George Chakiris – Best Supporting Actor for West Side Story                                                               Except for Fanny, I have seen each of the nominees – West Side Story, Judgment at Nuremberg, […]

Did you know?

November 14, 2016 Alan Royle 0

  Director Dorothy Arzner & Crawford ‘I like to think that every director I’ve worked with has fallen a little in love with me’, Joan Crawford once confided in an interview none too modestly. ‘I know Dorothy Arzner did’. No surprises there. Given her well-documented sexual orientation Dorothy may well […]

WAMPAS Baby Stars PT2 – 1923

November 12, 2016 Alan Royle 2

  The 13 youngsters deemed to be ‘up and coming’ for 1923 were: BOARDMAN, Eleanor (1898 – 1991). Eleanor always wanted to be an actress. She left her native Philadelphia and headed for the bright lights of New York City, but success did not come there, so she signed up […]