Girl with Green Eyes, The (1964): Awkward British Romance, Superbly Acted by Rita Tashingham and Peter Finch
Intimate in scale yet true to its ambitions, The Girl with the Green Eyes is a British melodrama about the awkward but honest romance between a naive country girl and a sophisticated older man. The acting of Rita Tashingham and Peter Finch is superb in this modest British film, directed by Desmond Davis, and based […]
No Love for Johnny (1961): Peter Finch Dominates as Troubled British Politician
Peter Finch won two awards –from BAFTA and Berlin Film Fest–for his performance No Love for Johnny, a black and white political melodrama, directed by Ralph Thomas and based on the book of the same title by Parliament member Wilfred Fienburgh.
Film Theory: Levi-Strauss–Binary Oppositions
Some theorists have borrowed concepts from the great structural anthropologists, Claude Levi-Strauss, specifically his notion of binary oppositions.
What Men Want: Interview with Director Adam Shenkman
Interview with Director Adam Shenkman Building Atmosphere Specifically I’m looking… this is a sequence towards the end of act… sort of… sort of the act two structure where she’s melting down basically and the purpose of the scene is as we’re leaving her too… as we’re leaving Taraji’s character to the all is lost moment […]
Girl from Mexico, The (1939): Star Vehicle for Lupe Velez, Which Became Film Franchise
Directed by Leslie Goodwins and scripted by Lionel Houser and Joseph Fields, The Girl from Mexico was a low-budget vehicle for the star Lupe Velez, whose career was declining, after a decade in Hollywood.
Laughing Boy (1934): Romantic Melodrma of Culture Collusion, Starring Ramon Novarro and Lupe Velez
Made in 1934, as a star vehicle for Ramon Navarro and Lupe Velez, Laughing Boy was based on the novel of the same name, which won the Pulitzer Prize for 1929.
Kongo (1932): William J. Cowen’s Remake of Tod Browning’s West of Zanzibar
An adaptation of the 1926 Broadway play, which starred Walter Huston, Kongo is also a remake of Tod Browning’s 1928 film West of Zanzibar, starring Lon Chaney and Lionel Barrymore, also based on the same play. Directed by William J. Cowen, Kongo was made in the same year as the scary horror film, Freaks, also […]
Squaw Man, The (1931): CeMille’s Third Version
The third version of the same play that he had filmed, and the first in sound, Cecil B. DeMille’s The Squaw Man stars Warner Baxter, a recent Best Actor Oscar winner.
Tea With the Dames: Tales of Four Dames and Icons–Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright and Maggie Smith
Directed by Roger Michell (Notting Hill), Tea With the Dames centers on four screen icons, Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright and Maggie Smith, as they talk about their lives: their experience in theatre, TV, and cinema, and the memories they have from when they were bright young things right up to the present day. […]
Franklin, Aretha: Elton John’s Tribute
Elton John, a friend and fan of Aretha Franklin’s, posted a tribute to the legendary singer on social media shortly after her passing after a long battle with cancer. Franklin’s last public performance was at Elton’s AIDS Foundation benefit in New York last November, where she was noticeably thin but in strong form during throughout […]