There have been some quite wonderful ‘Best Picture’ Oscar winners since 1927/8 and there have been some shockers, too. Just for the heck of it, I went through the list and jotted down my top ten and my bottom ten. If anyone agrees with either list I shall be flabbergasted, […]
I have written nine books on Hollywood, mostly on the stars of the so-called ‘Golden Era’, and have reached the slightly disillusioning understanding that most of my readers, (not all I hasten to add), are far more interested in the scandal and gossip than about any of the genuinely […]
1949 All the King’s Men – Best Picture Broderick Crawford – Best Actor for All the King’s Men Broderick Crawford Greg Peck as General Savage in Twelve O’Clock High Having seen all five nominated films for 1949, I am surprised that All the King’s Men came out on […]
BLOOM, Claire STEIGER, Rod 1959 to 1969 (div.) Claire & Chaplin in Limelight Claire Bloom was catapulted into stardom in 1952 when Charlie Chaplin personally selected her for his leading lady in his sentimental drama Limelight. From then until 1954, however, the Shakespearian-trained actress toured with the Old […]
It would most likely surprise fans of Frank Sinatra to learn that at his birth in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1915 he weighed an enormous 13.5 lbs! He would, however, grow up to be a very slight 5’7” (1.7m). His forceps delivery left a permanent scar on his face […]
#30 Under the Tuscan Sun (2003) Diane Lane, Raoul Bova, Vincent Riotta, Lindsay Duncan A delightful romance with many moving moments and great scenery. #29 Shane (1953) Alan Ladd, Jack Palance, Van Heflin, Brandon de Wilde, Jean Arthur George Stevens’ classic western, Ladd and Palance outstanding. #28 A […]
In 1945 there were 7,000 TV sets in the USA. By 1950 there were 5 million! The first three shows to run weekly were I Love Lucy, Life with Riley and The Adventures of Superman. Most movie actors did not want to have anything to do with TV, convinced […]
Part 3 of ‘Stolen Oscars?’ looks at some of the individual Academy Award winners who, for want of a better word, purloined their statuettes. I shall start with the Best Actor category. 1930/1 Lionel Barrymore for A Free Soul I haven’t actually seen any of the other nominated performances […]
When James Jones wrote his best-seller From Here to Eternity, he based it on his own experiences in the US Army on Hawaii just prior to the Pearl Harbor bombing. The original manuscript contained extensive use of the word ‘fuck’, which made it totally unacceptable to the Catholic group […]
Today, to the younger generations, the name George Reeves means nothing. To baby-boomers (those born just after the end of World War Two) he was just a TV actor whose face became instantly recognizable because he portrayed Superman in 102 episodes of the hit TV series The Adventures of […]
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