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Heroes & Villains – the HUAC blacklistings 1947-58.

November 8, 2016 Alan Royle 15

  When 79 individuals were subpoenaed in September 1947 by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), and charged with subversive actions and/or injecting Communist propaganda into their movies, the repercussions career-wise for many of them were long and destructive. The charges were never substantiated, but their accusers were not concerned […]

Actors marrying other actors – PT 17.

November 6, 2016 Alan Royle 3

  CROWE, Russell                              SPENCER, Danielle                         2003 –   New Zealand-born Russell met Australian actress Danielle when they co-starred in The Crossing in 1989. Their relationship endured despite their being apart for much of the time until they finally tied the knot in 2003. They have two children, the second […]

A few Hollywood substance abusers PT 2.

November 4, 2016 Alan Royle 17

    Anthony Hopkins Anthony Hopkins opted to join Alcoholics Anonymous after he awoke in another state without having any idea how he got there. Until then he had struggled with alcoholism since the beginning of his acting career. It turned him into a loner and destroyed several relationships.   […]

A few Hollywood substance abusers. PT 1.

November 2, 2016 Alan Royle 18

  John Barrymore John Barrymore became famous for playing sympathetic drunks on film, no great stretch for him given he was a fully-fledged, dedicated alcoholic off-camera all his life. As a Shakespearian stage actor he was brilliant in his youth, able to memorize and deliver extraordinarily long speeches effortlessly and […]

Past Oscars – Pt 4 (1955-60)

October 31, 2016 Alan Royle 4

  1955               Marty – Best Picture                         Ernest Borgnine – Best Actor for Marty   Robert Mitchum in The Night of the Hunter Doris Day & Jimmy Cagney Well, at least Elia Kazan didn’t get Best Director for East of Eden despite being again nominated. […]

Did you know?

October 29, 2016 Alan Royle 2

  A few notes on Destry Rides Again (1939) For years writers have been saying that the bar-room fight scene between Marlene Dietrich and Una Merkel in Destry Rides Again (1939) was real, that the two actresses went at it hammer and tong because they loathed each other. That is simply untrue. In fact, […]

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The best films year by year – PT 2 (1945 – 52)

October 27, 2016 Alan Royle 0

  1945    OSCAR:         THE LOST WEEKEND Other nominees:    Anchors Aweigh The Bells of St. Mary’s Mildred Pierce Spellbound   My Top 10 films for 1945     #1   #2  #3  #4  #5  #6  #7  #8  #9  #10   COMMENTS:           This was one of the worst years for movies on record. […]

Sarah Miles – a candid eccentric?

October 25, 2016 Alan Royle 0

  Her father was an affluent engineer so Sarah grew up in a house with servants. She claims her childhood was a happy one although her mother often beat her with a hairbrush whenever she was naughty. Young people today probably regard this as a contradiction in terms, but being […]

The best pictures – year by year – PT 1 (1939-44).

October 23, 2016 Alan Royle 0

  I have often been flabbergasted or just plain disbelieving as the Academy ran out each year’s list of Oscar nominees, especially the Best Picture nominees, and time after time exceptional pictures simply did not make the list. Consequently, I thought I might (starting with 1939, the year movies came […]