CineSage_jr

From Hollywood we get only films that show America and its soldiers in the worst light, but nowhere to be seen is the modern day equivalent of ?The Mortal Storm?. THE MORTAL STORM??? I doubt that many people in the modern Western world, including the U.S., need to be told that they probably wouldn't want to live in an Arab culture, which certainly wasn't the case in 1940, when right-wing isolationists and media outlets they controlled tried to suppress and downplay the crimes and atrocities being perpetrated in Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Spain, occupied Europe, and Japanese-dominated Far East in order to keep the U.S. out of World War II and thwart Franklin Roosevelt's obvious desire to aid an increasingly desperate Great Britain. And as for "showing America and its soldiers in the worst light," it's our very freedom to do exactly that that shows our society in its best light, since most Muslim cultures would not permit that, or any other, kind of overt dissent. When will your kind learn that this was a nation founded on the very concept of free dissent; that the Founding Fathers and all those ordinary people you like to think of in the bland, blind and rather ignorant abstract as "patriots" were determined to carve out a society divorced from the monarchic absolutism and despotism of the British Crown -- or die trying. Criminy.

I'm glad that I don't have to live on the same block with one of these narcissistic Christmo-terrorists.

Clark didn't "pass on"; he and his teenage son, Ariel, were killed by an unlicensed, drunk driver who crossed over the center divider on Pacific Coast highway in Malibu in April, and slammed into their car head-on. Clark was a really sweet man, with an interesting r?sum? of films to his credit (ranging from the undeservedly notorious PORKY's, to the undrerrated Sherlock Holmes film MURDER BY DECREE, to what most consider his masterpiece, A CHRISTMAS STORY. Everyone who came into contact with Clark liked him very much, and he is missed.

The story you describe has been filmed two or three times. Titles used include Paradise Lagoon and Male And Female. The origional source is a stage play, The Admirable Crichton, by J.M. Barrie (The "Peter Pan" guy). It was filmed under that title in 1957. Though nervous that audiences might mis-read the original title as "Admiral Crighton," and think it a naval story, Adolph Zukor was aghast that C.B. DeMille would change Barrie's title for his 1919 film, and terrified that Barrie would be so offended that he'd refuse to sell Famous Players-Lasky- Paramount the rights to any more of his plays. When Barrie learned what DeMille had done, he sent a cable to the director, saying that he wished he'd thought of Male and Female as a title, as he liked it better than his own, since it more succinctly captured the point of the play's story: the breakdown and reversal of long-enshrined social class distinctions when hidebound "civilized" people are confronted with the need to merely survive in primitive conditions.

Yup, that's Blore looking, as he said so memorably, very whumsical.

Word has come of the death of director-producer Frank Capra, jr, at age 73. A very lovely man; I remember meeting him at his father's memorial in late 1991 or early '92. Frank Capra Jr. dies; son of film legend, producer, studio boss By Dennis McLellan, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer HOLLYWOOD (LA Times) -- Frank Capra Jr., son of the legendary Hollywood director, who rose through the ranks to become a movie producer and for the last decade was president of EUE Screen Gems Studios in Wilmington, N.C., has died. He was 73. Capra died Wednesday of prostate cancer in a hospital in Philadelphia, his son Jonathan told The Times on Thursday. In a Hollywood career that began as a second assistant director on TV series such as "Dennis the Menace" and "The Rifleman," Capra became an associate producer on films such as "Play It Again, Sam," "Marooned" and three "Planet of the Apes" outings. He then produced films such as "Billy Jack Goes to Washington," "Born Again" and "An Eye for an Eye." And from 1981 to 1982, he served as president and chief executive of Avco Embassy Pictures. Capra first came to Wilmington in 1983 to scout locations for "Firestarter," a 1984 horror film starring Drew Barrymore that he produced for Dino De Laurentiis' company. De Laurentiis was so taken with the area that after the film was shot at the Orton Plantation in nearby Winnabow, he began building a studio complex near the town's airport. When the George Cooney family bought what by then had become Carolco Studios in a bankruptcy auction in 1996, Capra returned to Wilmington to become president of the renamed EUE Screen Gems Studios. He remained president of the studio, which has nine soundstages and is said to be the largest film production center east of California, until his death. "We saw the added benefit to have a producer who was simpatico with the needs of filmmakers and fellow producers in the production process," studio owner Chris Cooney told The Times on Thursday. "The Capra name was synonymous with brilliance and high quality, and he really brought that standard to our studios." Bill Vassar, the studio's executive vice president, said Thursday that Capra "was our ambassador to Hollywood." "He could open any door," Vassar said. "He knew his way in and out of the film industry; he knew the culture and he knew the people. And not just the people who ran it; he knew the producers, the directors, the directors of photography. And when people came here to work, he was out there roaming the lot." Describing Capra as "very giving," Vassar said that "he was a great teacher and taught film studies here at the University of North Carolina Wilmington." Cooney said Capra also was "a tireless advocate to get the legislation passed through the state to attract filmmakers to film in North Carolina. Because of those efforts, North Carolina is enjoying a robust economic boost due to the film activity in the state." Born in Los Angeles on March 20, 1934, he was one of Frank and Lucille Capra's three children. With a father who directed film classics such as "It Happened One Night" and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," young Capra could expect stars such as Clark Gable and Jimmy Stewart to drop by for dinner. It wasn't until he was 12, however, that he got to see his father at work. "My mother was very dead-set against us visiting the sets," he told the Star-News of Wilmington in 2006. "She didn't want us to become studio brats." But in July 1946, Capra, along with his brother and sister, were driven to a studio ranch in the San Fernando Valley, where their father was filming "It's a Wonderful Life," which became a Christmas classic. There, spread out before them in 90-degree summer heat, was the town of Bedford Falls -- 75 stores and buildings over four acres and all covered with artificial snow. "That," Capra recalled, "was when I realized my father could make magic." Movies were not on his agenda after graduating from high school, however. He studied math, geophysics and other sciences for a year at Caltech -- his father's alma mater -- before transferring to Pomona College, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in geology in 1955. His transition to film began when he started writing and directing technical documentaries for the Hughes Tool Co. He later spent three years in the Army Signal Corps making training films and teaching combat motion picture photography. Last December, Capra participated in what has been an annual tradition in Wilmington: a holiday screening of his family's own 35-millimeter print of "It's a Wonderful Life" at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where he introduced the film and shared his memories. "My father said he put more of himself in that film than in any other picture," he told the Star-News. "It spoke to his beliefs about the worth and value of the individual, how one guy discovers how much his life meant, no matter how modest it seemed to be." In addition to his son Jonathan, Capra is survived by his wife, Deborah; children Christina and Frank III; his brother, Tom; his sister, Lucille; and a granddaughter. Funeral arrangements are pending. Instead of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Frank Capra Jr. Film Studies Scholarship Fund, c/o Marla Rice Evans at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 S. College St., Wilmington, NC, 28403. Frank Capra Jr., Movie and TV Producer, Dies at 73 By MARGALIT FOX NEW YORK (NY Times) -- Frank Capra Jr., who never wanted to go into his father?s business but found in the end he could not resist its pull, died on Wednesday in Philadelphia. He was 73 and lived in Wilmington, N.C. The cause was prostate cancer, said Bill Vassar, the executive vice president of EUE/Screen Gems Studios in Wilmington, of which Mr. Capra was president. A film and television producer, Mr. Capra was a son of the noted Hollywood director Frank Capra, whose best-known film, ?It?s a Wonderful Life,? was released in 1946. In the last two decades the younger Mr. Capra was known for helping to make North Carolina into an important center for film, television and commercial production. In the mid-1980s, he helped to found EUE/Screen Gems there, becoming its president in 1997. Mr. Capra first came to the Wilmington area in 1983, when he was producing ?Firestarter? (1984), an adaptation of the Stephen King novel. He needed an antebellum mansion to burn down, and found one nearby in Winnabow, N.C. The owners, not surprisingly, demurred, so Mr. Capra built a replica on their property and burned that down instead. He was taken with the area and later persuaded Dino De Laurentiis, who had financed the film, to build a studio there. Among the projects filmed at EUE/Screen Gems during Mr. Capra?s tenure are ?Black Knight? (2001), ?Domestic Disturbance? (2001), ?Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood? (2002), ?A Walk to Remember? (2002) and the television shows ?Dawson?s Creek? and ?One Tree Hill.? Mr. Capra, who began his film career in the 1960s, was the associate producer of three ?Planet of the Apes? sequels and ?Play It Again, Sam? (1972), written by Woody Allen. He later produced ?Billy Jack Goes to Washington? (1977), ?Born Again? (1978), ?The Black Marble? (1980), ?Marie? (1985) and other films. Frank Warner Capra Jr. was born in Los Angeles on March 20, 1934, to Frank Capra and the former Lucille Rayburn Warner. His was a completely normal childhood, he often said in interviews ? if normal entails having Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart and Barbara Stanwyck round the family dinner table every now and then. Planning to be a scientist, Frank Jr. earned a bachelor?s degree in geology from Pomona College in 1955. Combining his education with the family trade, he got a job making technical documentaries for the Hughes Tool Company. (Owned by Howard Hughes, the company was the corporate parent of Hughes Aircraft.) He later served in the Army Signal Corps, where he made training films and taught combat filmmaking. Mr. Capra was a second assistant director on several television shows, including ?Hazel,? ?Dennis the Menace,? ?Gunsmoke? and ?The Rifleman.? He did the same job, uncredited, on ?Pocketful of Miracles? (1961), directed by his father and starring Glenn Ford and Bette Davis. Mr. Capra?s first marriage, to Priscilla Anne Pearson, ended in divorce. He is survived by his wife, Deborah, of Santa Barbara, Calif.; two sons from his first marriage, Frank III, of Studio City, Calif.; and Jonathan, of Wilmington; a daughter from his second marriage, Christina, of Santa Barbara; two siblings, Lucille Capra of Traverse City, Mich.; and Tom, of Palm Desert, Calif.; and one grandchild. Frank Capra Sr. died in 1991. As a boy, Mr. Capra was allowed to visit the set of ?It?s a Wonderful Life? to watch his father work, a rare treat. In recent years he screened the film each December at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. The screening was scheduled to go ahead on Friday as planned, Mr. Vassar said. Movie studio boss Capra Jr dies LONDON (BBC) -- Movie mogul Frank Capra Jr, whose father directed Christmas classic It's A Wonderful Life, has died aged 73. The producer, who helped build a major television and film studio, passed away at a hospital in Philadelphia after a long fight with prostate cancer. "He will be missed as a friend and a colleague," said Chris Cooney from North Carolina's Screen Gems Studios, of which Capra Jr was president. Screen Gems' credits include 28 Days and A Walk to Remember. "With his Hollywood pedigree and extensive experience as a producer, Frank was the perfect ambassador to Hollywood," added Cooney. Capra Jr was also was at the helm when teen soap Dawson's Creek was filmed at the studio, launching Katie Holmes' career. He worked alongside his father on the 1961 Bette Davis film Pocketful of Miracles and, for the last few years, has screened his family's personal print of It's A Wonderful Life at the University of North Carolina in Wilmington. Talking about his father's work on the film, he said: "He loved the idea of the story. He fell in love with that idea of the story about a man who could see the world the way it would have been had he never been born." He added that Capra, who died in 1991, described It's a Wonderful Life as "the picture I was born to make". Capra Jr's survivors include his wife Debra, daughter Christina, two sons - Frank and Jonathan - and a sister and brother.

In NOTHING SACRED, Walter Connolly's character's name is "Oliver Stone"; March's is "Wally Cook."

There is quite a nice writeup on Mohr in the TCM database. I didn't realize he was the voice of so many animated characters I watched. I remember him from RED PLANET MARS and INVASION USA (which is better left alone!). Peter Graves and Andrea King starred in THE RED PLANET MARS (1952); Mohr starred in THE ANGRY RED PLANET (1960).

Oh please. Olivier had no method. His acting lacked emotional connection. He could only do Shakespeare--most of Shakespear's plays require one thing from actors: EXAGGERATION. Brando had a method: REALISM And just what is "realism," anyway? If one subscribes to the notion that there is a objective definition of, and standard for, that term, then one would have to believe that there's only one way to play any scene or part, that deviating from that standard is hopelessly unrealistic, and that there's no point in anyone ever playing a part after some slob anointed the Next Great Realistic Actor has played it. Yikes. If you want real realism, I direct your attention to the Italian Neo-Realist school of filmmaking from the mid-1940s to the early-1950s that featured striking non-performances by largely amateur casts recruited from the street and fields of Italy by the likes of Vittorio DeSica and Roberto Rossellini. Still, since the non-actors were laboring to produce a piece of drama, rather than being surreptitiously filmed for a documentary, even that's not true realism, but it's the closest you're ever going to get. As for Brando, he was just as mannered in his way as Gielgud or Olivier, only with different (and not entirely welcome) mannerisms. What one could term hyper-Brandoism probably reached its apotheosis in the tic-encrusted, butt-scratching excesses of James Dean. And while the Metohd did bring a welcome sense of detail, and of characters actually seeming to think about the lives they're living before saying or dooing anything (as opposed to the previous three decades of studio-contractee hystrionics that valued star magnetism over talent or dedidcation, it also unfortunately has led to the sort of under-cooked, over-detailed style of acting that makes today's films less and less rewarding.

Brandon, the king of screen and Olivier, the king of stage. Sixty years later, Oliver?s name and reputation struggle to survive, whereas the opposite for Brando, whose impact in acting is regarded as the most profound for American as well as foreign actors. Why is that? What utter nonsense. While the two actors' approach to their craft was diametrically opposite, each was, and remains, the epitome of his craft and respective school of acting. PS: It's Laurence Olivier.

There's no advantage to the look of film made from three-strip camera negatives versus those made with the monopack color negative that became standard in 1954 when the three-strip cameras were retired. It's the dye-transfer printing process Technicolor used that distinguished their product from later, chemical processes. If anything, the registration problems inherent in the three-negative black-and-white separation masters were a hindrance to making good-looking prints.

It's the same thing that exists today at a studio like disney: some films go out under the Disney banner; others are Touchstone Pictures, and yet others are Hollywood Pictures. In the case of Warner's, some films on their schedule were deemed more suitable for release under the parent company's name, others as First National (and, until the early 1930s, some as Vitaphone).

None can hold a candle to those wonderful make-up artists of old! Hardly; the make-up artists of yore would be absolutely astonished by what's so commonplace today in the realm of make-up, latex appliances, animatronics, etc. (and if you did hold a candle to those old make-ups, they would run like an over-wound watch).

Bronwyn is named for Anna Lee's character in HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY. Maureen O. was buying a bed for her quite-grown daughter in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles when I ran into her in 1992 or '93.

When you think of all the bent-nosed goombahs Frank could've sent over to retrieve the watch, I'd say that you got off easy. A lot of people tell me that. However, he never asked for his watch back. It's funny but amazingly true. It doesn't sound at all like something he would do. He may not have asked for the watch's return (obviously, he could afford to buy them by the carload), but he probably did think to himself, "The guy I left it with knows whom it belongs to and where to find me; he might at least make the gesture of trying to return it." Had you tried, he most likely would've just said "keep it," as that's the way a man like him frequently shows gratitude (the gesture being more important than the material possession). It would've also prevented Nancy, thirty years later, from asking for it or, would have given you every right to refuse to hand it over.

There's no such thing as a good Chevy Chase movie. Beyond that, has anyone ever noticed that FOUL PLAY revolves around an attempted assassination of the Pope? By an assassin called The Albino? And that the real Pope John Paul I died thirty days into his pontificate? And that some think that he may have been assassinated? And that his real name was Albino Luciani? And that these events, and the movie's release, were both in 1978? Who needs the daVinci Code?

There's a character called Urbancic in Robert Altman's M*A*S*H.

Nancy forced me to return the watch as a final favor to him. And he is wearing right now in his grave. I am not making this up either. When you think of all the bent-nosed goombahs Frank could've sent over to retrieve the watch, I'd say that you got off easy.

As Walter Parks Thatcher, the Grand Old Man of Wall Street, exclaims (unhappily) on the cut in CITIZEN KANE that moves us from Mrs Kane's Boarding House in the snows of Colorado, to Thatcher's office as he lectures the grown-up Kane: "And a Happy New Year!"

They're all being withheld until the family can have Ozzie Nelson digitally inserted into them.

I am very familiar with the featurette TCM shows about letterboxing being closer to the intent of the director. Well, that may be true of directors who have never heard of television. What director intends that his grand vision should be seen on a 14 inch by 30 inch screen? The argument doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me if a film is going to be viewed on a TV or computer. I know I miss some things with pan-and-scan, but I can at least make out the actors' facial expressions. Don;'t look now, but what we call "television" is getting a lot bigger, and wider and sharper. And the units are flying off the store shelves. Telecasters and their program suppliers can no longer afford to cater to those who cling to their old 3x4 380-line NTSC or PAL sets that have been little changed since the dawn of commercial TV broadcasting.

Funny, all I see through the binoculars is Raymond Burr burying a little dog in my apartment building's courtyard...

Woof!

C-Sage, you are one twisted piece of work. You know all the words and how to use them, but you don't seem to know when and when not to. bOb. "When and when not to," by whose estimation? The words are chosen and employed to achieve a certain desired result. Since I usually get the results I'm after, they're exactly the right ones.

TCM's shown the film before, and it's always been the short U.S. version.