Let’s be real: Navigating the list of Oscar nominees represents a challenge this year, so I was intrigued by one filmmaker’s winning formula. “The key is to mix and match,” he advised. “I watch the characters trudge across Nomadland, then turn to Fred Astaire dancing in Top Hat. I move from Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom to Easter Parade.” The objective: “It’s the real vs. the unreal; I need them back-to-back to appreciate them. Or survive them.”
His explanation may seem glib, but it reflects the escape mechanism adopted by some film devotees in coping with the isolation of the lockdown year – a re-excavation of Hollywood glitz. The current slate of nominees vividly reflects the themes of the moment — race, caste, sexual politics, immigration. It also embodies the angst-ridden mood of Hollywood.
All of which would have puzzled Fred Astaire. In his movie Funny Face, when Astaire...
His explanation may seem glib, but it reflects the escape mechanism adopted by some film devotees in coping with the isolation of the lockdown year – a re-excavation of Hollywood glitz. The current slate of nominees vividly reflects the themes of the moment — race, caste, sexual politics, immigration. It also embodies the angst-ridden mood of Hollywood.
All of which would have puzzled Fred Astaire. In his movie Funny Face, when Astaire...
- 3/25/2021
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
'The Love Goddess' herself, Rita Hayworth, was born on this day 100 years ago in Brooklyn. Audiences first noticed her in a small role in Only Angels Have Wings (1939) and she seguewayed into profile boosters like Blood and Sand (1941) and Strawberry Blonde (1941). A natural dancer she made two pictures she obviously cherished with Fred Astaire in You'll Never Get Rich (1941) and You Were Never Lovelier (1942) -- Astaire went so far as calling her his favorite dancer partner -- and was one of the two ubiquitous pinups of World War II for American soldiers (the other being Betty Grable)...
- 10/17/2018
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
This article marks Part 3 of the Gold Derby series analyzing 84 years of Best Original Song at the Oscars. Join us as we look back at the timeless tunes recognized in this category, the results of each race and the overall rankings of the Academy Awards winners.
The 1941 Oscar nominees in Best Original Song were:
“Out of the Silence” from “All-American Co-Ed”
“Blues in the Night” from “Blues in the Night
“Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company” from “Buck Privates”
“Baby Mine” from “Dumbo”
“The Last Time I Saw Paris” from “Lady Be Good”
“Dolores” from “Las Vegas Nights”
“Be Honest with Me” from “Ridin’ on a Rainbow”
“Chattanooga Choo Choo” from “Sun Valley Serenade”
“Since I Kissed My Baby Goodbye” from “You’ll Never Get Rich”
Won: “The Last Time I Saw Paris” from “Lady Be Good”
Should’ve won: “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B” from “Buck Privates...
The 1941 Oscar nominees in Best Original Song were:
“Out of the Silence” from “All-American Co-Ed”
“Blues in the Night” from “Blues in the Night
“Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company” from “Buck Privates”
“Baby Mine” from “Dumbo”
“The Last Time I Saw Paris” from “Lady Be Good”
“Dolores” from “Las Vegas Nights”
“Be Honest with Me” from “Ridin’ on a Rainbow”
“Chattanooga Choo Choo” from “Sun Valley Serenade”
“Since I Kissed My Baby Goodbye” from “You’ll Never Get Rich”
Won: “The Last Time I Saw Paris” from “Lady Be Good”
Should’ve won: “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B” from “Buck Privates...
- 7/30/2018
- by Andrew Carden
- Gold Derby
Fred Astaire ca. 1935. Fred Astaire movies: Dancing in the dark, on the ceiling on TCM Aug. 5, '15, is Fred Astaire Day on Turner Classic Movies, as TCM continues with its “Summer Under the Stars” series. Just don't expect any rare Astaire movies, as the actor-singer-dancer's star vehicles – mostly Rko or MGM productions – have been TCM staples since the early days of the cable channel in the mid-'90s. True, Fred Astaire was also featured in smaller, lesser-known fare like Byron Chudnow's The Amazing Dobermans (1976) and Yves Boisset's The Purple Taxi / Un taxi mauve (1977), but neither one can be found on the TCM schedule. (See TCM's Fred Astaire movie schedule further below.) Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals Some fans never tire of watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing together. With these particular fans in mind, TCM is showing – for the nth time – nine Astaire-Rogers musicals of the '30s,...
- 8/5/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: June 18, 2013
Price: DVD $19.95, Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Olive Films
Ava Gardner pulls the goddess routine on Robert Walker in One Touch of Venus.
Ava Gardner is at her most beautiful as the goddess Venus in the 1948 fantastical musical romantic comedy One Touch of Venus.
When a long-lost statue of Venus turns out to be the genuine goddess herself on an earthly assignment, a hapless department store clerk (Robert Walker) suddenly becomes the object of a furious employer, a jealous fiancée (Olga San Juan) and the lovesick Venus (Gardner) in this heavenly musical comedy of mistaken identity based on the successful Broadway musical.
Also starring Dick Haymes and Eve Arden, the much-loved movie is directed by comedy-musical veteran William A. Seiter (You Were Never Lovelier) with a screenplay by Harry Kurnitz (A Shot in the Dark) and Frank Tashlin (Rock-a-bye Baby).
Previously available on DVD from Lionsgate but out...
Price: DVD $19.95, Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Olive Films
Ava Gardner pulls the goddess routine on Robert Walker in One Touch of Venus.
Ava Gardner is at her most beautiful as the goddess Venus in the 1948 fantastical musical romantic comedy One Touch of Venus.
When a long-lost statue of Venus turns out to be the genuine goddess herself on an earthly assignment, a hapless department store clerk (Robert Walker) suddenly becomes the object of a furious employer, a jealous fiancée (Olga San Juan) and the lovesick Venus (Gardner) in this heavenly musical comedy of mistaken identity based on the successful Broadway musical.
Also starring Dick Haymes and Eve Arden, the much-loved movie is directed by comedy-musical veteran William A. Seiter (You Were Never Lovelier) with a screenplay by Harry Kurnitz (A Shot in the Dark) and Frank Tashlin (Rock-a-bye Baby).
Previously available on DVD from Lionsgate but out...
- 4/23/2013
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
A 'meet cute' is a plot device enabling the first meeting of a film's romantic lead characters. The rest, dear viewer, is history
Each week one reader offers up five of their favourite film clips on a subject of their choosing – and we ask you to tell us what other movie scenes should have been included. This week's is from john Carvill, who previously wrote a clip joint on taking the train.
If you've got an idea for a future clip joint, email [email protected].
The 'meet cute' is Hollywood screenwriters' name for a standard plot device in which a couple meet in a way that's charming, ironic, or just generally amusing.
Golden age film-makers such as Billy Wilder used to stockpile ideas for meet cutes, and Wilder was sufficiently adept at dreaming them up that he talked his way out of studio objections to his idea...
Each week one reader offers up five of their favourite film clips on a subject of their choosing – and we ask you to tell us what other movie scenes should have been included. This week's is from john Carvill, who previously wrote a clip joint on taking the train.
If you've got an idea for a future clip joint, email [email protected].
The 'meet cute' is Hollywood screenwriters' name for a standard plot device in which a couple meet in a way that's charming, ironic, or just generally amusing.
Golden age film-makers such as Billy Wilder used to stockpile ideas for meet cutes, and Wilder was sufficiently adept at dreaming them up that he talked his way out of studio objections to his idea...
- 1/23/2013
- by Guardian readers
- The Guardian - Film News
Two new screens at the Barbican, a taste of Newcastle in Hollywood, and the 15th British independent film awards
Barbican berth
Two new cinema screens were unveiled at the Barbican last week, the first addition to the venue since London's now-stalwart arts institution opened 30 years ago. Dame Vivienne Westwood declared the building open by cutting a vibrant green ribbon which, it was announced, she had designed herself. Upon looking at it though, scissors poised, the Queen of Fashion declared: "I don't think I've ever seen this before so maybe my assistant chose it." The venue – for now called Cinemas 2 and 3, although I understand there is much internal debate about naming them – has a magnificent collage of movie-star stills on its back wall as you go into the screening rooms. There were several movie buffs puzzling over which films the images came from: was that headshot of John Wayne from She Wore a Yellow Ribbon...
Barbican berth
Two new cinema screens were unveiled at the Barbican last week, the first addition to the venue since London's now-stalwart arts institution opened 30 years ago. Dame Vivienne Westwood declared the building open by cutting a vibrant green ribbon which, it was announced, she had designed herself. Upon looking at it though, scissors poised, the Queen of Fashion declared: "I don't think I've ever seen this before so maybe my assistant chose it." The venue – for now called Cinemas 2 and 3, although I understand there is much internal debate about naming them – has a magnificent collage of movie-star stills on its back wall as you go into the screening rooms. There were several movie buffs puzzling over which films the images came from: was that headshot of John Wayne from She Wore a Yellow Ribbon...
- 12/9/2012
- by Jason Solomons
- The Guardian - Film News
The great Italian poster artist Anselmo Ballester, who worked for more than half a century, has more breathtaking designs than I can encompass in one single post. So I thought I’d concentrate for now on one of his favorite subjects: Rita Hayworth, the Hollywood goddess in the face of whom Ballester seemed especially inspired.
I only came across Ballester’s work recently, struck by his unusually torrid compositions and his superb handling of color, as well as something strange about the eyes of many of his protagonists (something about the whites of their eyes, not much in evidence in these posters, but often giving the impression that his subjects are the undead). When I asked Dave Kehr, author of the Museum of Modern Art’s invaluable 2003 book Italian Film Posters and an avid collector himself, about Ballester I knew I was onto a good thing when he called him “for my money,...
I only came across Ballester’s work recently, struck by his unusually torrid compositions and his superb handling of color, as well as something strange about the eyes of many of his protagonists (something about the whites of their eyes, not much in evidence in these posters, but often giving the impression that his subjects are the undead). When I asked Dave Kehr, author of the Museum of Modern Art’s invaluable 2003 book Italian Film Posters and an avid collector himself, about Ballester I knew I was onto a good thing when he called him “for my money,...
- 12/23/2011
- MUBI
Andrew Embiricos, grandson of Rita Hayworth and Prince Aly Khan, was found dead of an apparent suicide at his West 17th Street apartment in Chelsea, New York City, on Sunday, Dec. 4. Embiricos was 25. Andrew Ali Aga Khan Embiricos was the son of economist and shipping heir Basil Embiricos and Princess Yasmin Aga Khan. He was also the nephew of Prince Karim, Aga Khan IV. As such, Embiricos was purportedly a direct descendant of the prophet Mohammed. His body, lying face up in bed with a bag over his head, was found Sunday evening by a friend, Aaron Edwards, who then called 911. An autopsy is to be performed. Because the handsome Embiricos had appeared in amateur gay sex video clips on X-Tube, New York and gay tabloids have gone on to claim that his death wasn't actually suicide, but an experimentation with autoerotic asphyxiation gone wrong. Those are the same sensational...
- 12/7/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Romay Dead At 91
Singer/actress Lina Romay has died at the age of 91.
The star passed away from natural causes on 17 December at a hospital in Pasadena, California.
Romay began her career in the early 1940s as the lead singer of the Xavier Cugat Orchestra and landed her big break after performing with the band in Fred Astaire's 1942 film You Were Never Lovelier.
The role led to Romay pursuing fame as an actress in numerous film and TV projects, including stints on the Milton Berle Show and the Red Skelton Show.
She bowed out of showbusiness in 1953, according to the Associated Press.
The star passed away from natural causes on 17 December at a hospital in Pasadena, California.
Romay began her career in the early 1940s as the lead singer of the Xavier Cugat Orchestra and landed her big break after performing with the band in Fred Astaire's 1942 film You Were Never Lovelier.
The role led to Romay pursuing fame as an actress in numerous film and TV projects, including stints on the Milton Berle Show and the Red Skelton Show.
She bowed out of showbusiness in 1953, according to the Associated Press.
- 12/27/2010
- WENN
Lina Romay, who sang with the Latin-inflected Xavier Cugat orchestra in the early 1940s before beginning a decade-long career as a film and TV actor, has died. She was 91. Romay’s son, Jay Gould, says his mother died on December 17 of natural causes at a hospital in Pasadena.Romay began her entertainment career by touring as the Cugat orchestra’s lead singer. A performance with the orchestra in the 1942 Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth film You Were Never Lovelier, led to her acting in 15 other films. ...
- 12/26/2010
- Hindustan Times - Celebrity
Adele Mara, a 1940s Hollywood actress best known for the John Wayne war melodrama Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) and for playing one of Rita Hayworth’s sisters in You Were Never Lovelier (1942), died Friday, May 7, of natural causes at her home in the Los Angeles suburb of Pacific Palisades. She was 87. Mara (born Adelaide Delgado on April 28, 1923, in Highland Park, Mich.) was discovered by bandleader Xavier Cugat (who played himself in You Were Never Lovelier). She began her Hollywood career at Columbia in the early 1940s, but shortly thereafter moved over to the third-rank Republic Pictures. Despite her sixty or so film appearances throughout the ’40s, Mara never became a star. Instead, she [...]...
- 5/11/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Kate Edelman Johnson is planning a return to "The Big Valley."
The producer is spinning a feature film out of the 1960s TV show co-created by her father, producer Louis F. Edelman, and writer A.I. Bezzerides. The Western series, which ran on ABC from 1965-69, starred Barbara Stanwyck as the matriarch of a ranching clan in the 1870s San Joaquin Valley. Lee Majors, Richard Long and Linda Evans were among the regulars.
Daniel Adams ("The Golden Boys") has written the screenplay and will direct. Johnson and Adams' Panther Entertainment will produce, with an April start date planned for principal photography in Michigan and New Mexico.
Brian and Ethan Gilmore of Capitoline Global Finance, Anthony Gudas of Tax Credit Finance and Scot Butcher are financing.
Edelman produced such films as "White Heat" (1949) and "You Were Never Lovelier" (1942) as well as such TV series as "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" and "The Danny Thomas Show.
The producer is spinning a feature film out of the 1960s TV show co-created by her father, producer Louis F. Edelman, and writer A.I. Bezzerides. The Western series, which ran on ABC from 1965-69, starred Barbara Stanwyck as the matriarch of a ranching clan in the 1870s San Joaquin Valley. Lee Majors, Richard Long and Linda Evans were among the regulars.
Daniel Adams ("The Golden Boys") has written the screenplay and will direct. Johnson and Adams' Panther Entertainment will produce, with an April start date planned for principal photography in Michigan and New Mexico.
Brian and Ethan Gilmore of Capitoline Global Finance, Anthony Gudas of Tax Credit Finance and Scot Butcher are financing.
Edelman produced such films as "White Heat" (1949) and "You Were Never Lovelier" (1942) as well as such TV series as "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" and "The Danny Thomas Show.
- 7/13/2009
- by By Jay A. Fernandez
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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