filmnoirguy

By the same token, Gregory Peck was offered the lead in High Noon, but he thought it was too similar to The Gunfighter, so turned it down. (Big mistake!) Of course, Gary Cooper was excellent in the role and won his second Academy Award.

Columbia studio chief Harry Cohen bought the hit Broadway play, Born Yesterday, for his contract star Rita Hayworth. But Rita had other plans and ran off with playboy Aly Khan. The Broadway star of the play had been Judy Holliday, but he was reluctant to cast an actress unknown to movie audiences. Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, who had just finished working with Holliday in the 1949 comedy Adam's Rib, met with Cohen and showed him a preview of the picture. He was sold, and Holliday won the part and the Academy Award.

Claudette Colbert had been cast as Margo Channing in All About Eve. But as she was wrapping up Three Came Home she ruptured a disc in her back so had to drop out. Bette Davis, who hadn't had a hit movie in several years, was offered the role and earned a Best Actress Oscar nod. Some critics call it the performance she's best remembered for. Bette said "It was a charmed production from the word go," and she thanked director Joseph L. Mankiewicz for "bringing me back from the dead."

Somewhere in the past I read that Reynolds had promised his old buddy Hal Needham that he would star in Stoker Ace (which Leonard Maltin rated as a BOMB) and both pictures were filming at the same time. Reynolds had a reputation for passing up the better films to work with his pals on whatever they were doing. Also Reynolds didn't want to accept a supporting role in Terms because he had worked too hard to become a star.

Joan Crawford was originally cast as Karen Holmes in From Here to Eternity. When she demanded that Irene create her designer clothes, she was told that it was unlikely her character would be wearing designer clothes at a military base on Pearl Harbor. She responded: "No designer clothes, no Crawford!" (Probably expecting the producers to cave.) So Cohn & company decided to "cast against type" and offered the role to Deborah Kerr, who earned an Oscar nod for Best Actress.

Columbia studio chief Harry Cohn and director Fred Zinnemann originally wanted Robert Mitchum for the role of Sgt. Milton Warden in their 1953 production of From Here to Eternity. But Mitchum was still under contract to RKO and studio head Howard Hughes refused to loan him out (despite having no films lined up for him). So the part went to their second choice, Burt Lancaster.

Clifton Webb was offered the supporting role of the egotistical director Jeffrey Cordova in MGM's The Band Wagon, but he was playing the lead in his home studio's (20th Century Fox) production of Stars and Stripes Forever and wasn't available. Webb recommended his Scottish actor friend Jack Buchanan and apparently that was good enough for MGM. Despite undergoing painful dental surgery (or maybe because of) Buchanan steals all of his scenes with his histrionics taking his character to a higher level of fun.

Originally Sam Goldwyn wanted Gene Kelly for the role of Sky Masterson in his production of Guys and Dolls, but MGM refused to loan him out, even though MGM ended up distributing the musical in 1955. Kelly never forgave MGM, stating "I was born to play Sky Masterson like Clark Gable was born to play Rhett Butler." The role went to Marlon Brando who couldn't sing or dance. Goldwyn had chosen Betty Grable to play Adelaide in the same film, but he wanted to meet with her first. As Grable was leaving her home, she discovered her dog was lying in the driveway breathing heavily, so she rushe

James Hong revealed the true colors of J. Carroll Naish. Naish's fake dialects of virtually every nationality except his own never appealed to me.

From Rocky Horror Picture Show: "Oh, no! Meat Loaf again?" Rest in peace, Rest in paradise, Meat Loaf.

Saw his stand-up show about 6 times. Rest in peace, Rest in paradise, Louie Anderson.

Meat Loaf also died on January 20, 2022.

Likewise, I wasn't familiar with his name, but I think I've seen all of the movies Jakeem mentioned above. Hardy Kruger died on January 19, 2022.

Yvette Mimieux died on January 17, 2022. Rest in peace, rest in paradise, beautiful Yvette.

After Dean Stockwell died in November, I watched, once again, Compulsion. Both Bradford and Dean were brilliant, as was the movie.