MEMORABLE SCREEN PAIRINGS (PT1)

January 21, 2019 Alan Royle 0

  I was thinking about what made some movies so superior to others and why I found myself watching them time and again. Of course, a strong story, snappy script, interesting characters and a memorable soundtrack are major ingredients, but there was something more. It was the interaction between the […]

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 […]

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THE ‘GOOD GAL’ ACTRESSES.

September 29, 2018 Alan Royle 4

  Selecting the 20 actresses that I felt might be really likeable, decent people to get to know, proved to be far more difficult than choosing the men. Why? Because I had to differentiate between likeability and desirability, a problem that never reared its head with the men. Each time […]

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MOVIE TRIVIA – PT42.

August 8, 2018 Alan Royle 4

      Katz’s today                                                                     Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal in When Harry Met Sally…          […]

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MOVIE TRIVIA – PT38.

July 31, 2018 Alan Royle 2

     Greg Bautzer & Joan Crawford at the Stork Club                                          Bautzer and his wife Dana Wynter The Hollywood playboy attorney Greg Bautzer spoke from experience when he said of […]

MOVIE TRIVIA – PT6

May 8, 2018 Alan Royle 0

Ava Gardner in 55 Days at Peking (1963) Ava Gardner had a long-running nervous breakdown during the making of 55 Days at Peking (1963). She was drunk on several days, continually demanded rewrites, and was extremely difficult to deal with. Charlton Heston stated that her character, Baroness Natalie Ivanoff, was killed off […]

Movie Trivia – PT3

May 2, 2018 Alan Royle 0

Capucine as Angel in North to Alaska (1960) Richard Fleischer was all set to direct North to Alaska (1960) but thought Capucine was all wrong as the prostitute. In his opinion she was ‘not classy enough and not sexy enough’. He was unaware that she just happened to be producer Charles Feldman’s […]

BEST OF THE BEST – Pt1 – CARY GRANT

December 25, 2017 Alan Royle 2

                              CARY GRANT  Here is a brief look at the very best movies from the very best actors and actresses (in my opinion). If you have never seen any or all of these movies, I sincerely […]

PETER O’TOOLE – the actor and the man.

August 19, 2017 Alan Royle 4

  PETER O’TOOLE   (1932 – 2013)                                      Peter O’Toole hailed from Leeds in Yorkshire. He always maintained he was born in Ireland, but there are simply no records indicating that. As a teenager he started out as a newspaper copy boy, showed promise as a reporter, but was drawn to the […]

Hollywood philanthropists – a quick look.

July 26, 2017 Alan Royle 2

  In the last 20-30 years there has developed a philanthropic culture in Hollywood involving superstars in the movie industry. Cynics are quick to accuse these people of ‘image-making’, or of diverting media attention from potential career-damaging headlines of a personal nature. In some instances that has certainly happened, but […]