MOVIE TRIVIA – PT90.

December 18, 2018 Alan Royle 4

      Laird Cregar                  The story of Laird Cregar was another of Hollywood’s tragic tales. Because of his enormous, bulky figure and somewhat sinister-looking eyes, he was forever being cast as the villain in his films, and it began to get to […]

MOVIE TRIVIA – PT89.

December 16, 2018 Alan Royle 4

  Marion Davies Marion Davies acquired a reputation for showing kindness to actors down on their luck. She was always writing cheques to help out struggling careers and to rejuvenate many. ‘You’re rich’, she said many times, ‘not because of money, but only through what you give.’ She also built […]

MOVIE TRIVIA – PT88.

December 14, 2018 Alan Royle 3

      Mario Lanza                                                       Legendary opera singer and actor Mario Lanza called himself ‘the Tiger’ and considered himself to be a stallion of […]

OSCAR ALSO-RANS

December 12, 2018 Alan Royle 2

Luise Rainer While there is no doubt that Hollywood admires actors and actresses who win Oscars, it is equally true that the industry only likes to employ those who make money, and to be able to do one does not necessarily mean you can do the other. Take Luise Rainer, […]

MOVIE TRIVIA – PT87.

December 10, 2018 Alan Royle 16

       Harpo Marx         Harpo Marx was offered $50,000 to utter the solitary word, ‘Murder!’ in the 1946 film A Night in Casablanca. He declined the offer, adhering to his policy of remaining mute on-screen and in public. In fact, he never spoke a word in any […]

MOVIE TRIVIA – PT86.

December 8, 2018 Alan Royle 0

  Gregory Peck & Ava Gardner in On the Beach (1959) When Ava Gardner came to Australia to make On the Beach (1959), she did not exactly endear herself to the nation when she remarked that Melbourne was the most appropriate place on Earth to make a picture about the end of […]

MOVIE TRIVIA – PT85.

December 6, 2018 Alan Royle 4

  Joan Crawford circa 1945 Joan Crawford worked full-time at being a movie star. Very little was left to chance, especially when she got older and her star had started to wane. For example, she always made a point of timing her arrival at a theatre seconds before the curtain […]

MOVIE TRIVIA – PT84

December 4, 2018 Alan Royle 0

    Marlon Brando & Karl Malden in One-Eyed Jacks (1961) One-Eyed Jacks (1961) was to have been directed by Stanley Kubrick at a budgeted cost of $1.8 million, but then Kubrick left and the picture’s star, Marlon Brando, took over as director. Day one, ominously, saw him throw away the script […]

MEMORABLE PERFORMANCES – PT9

December 2, 2018 Alan Royle 5

  George Clooney as Ulysses Everett McGill in O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) This charming comedy is very loosely based on Homer’s ‘Odyssey’ and is a wonderful vehicle for George Clooney, ably supported by the brilliant John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson. He demonstrates a natural flair for comedy […]

MEMORABLE PERFORMANCES – PT8

November 30, 2018 Alan Royle 0

  Rita Hayworth as Gilda in Gilda (1946) Glenn Ford & Rita in Gilda  Gilda was an enormous success for Columbia in 1946, so much so that Rita Hayworth’s agent demanded a share of the profits of all subsequent films made by her. Columbia head Harry Cohn point blank refused. Her […]