CelluloidKid

*Silent film star's estate becomes public beach club* By Daisy Nguyen, The Associated Press Updated: 04/25/2009 *SANTA MONICA - The former estate of silent film star Marion Davies where the rich and famous frolicked during Hollywood's Golden Age opened Saturday as the nation's first public beach club after more than 10 years of planning.* The 5-acre beachfront estate was built by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst for Davies in the late 1920s as they carried a long-term love affair. Together, they hosted lavish parties in the '20s and '30s, entertaining such stars as Clark Gable, Charlie Chaplin, Jean Harlow and Joan Crawford. The property was later sold and became a hotel, then a private beach club and at one point served as the backdrop of the television show "Beverly Hills 90210." It was shut down after being heavily damaged in the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. The new Annenberg Community Beach House, sandwiched between two private beach clubs on a stretch of sand off Pacific Coast Highway, is the only facility on the California coast that doesn't require membership. "We don't want to call it a club. It's a community beach house," said Leonard Aube, managing director of the Annenberg Foundation, which provided $27.5 million of the nearly $35 million cost to build and finish the attraction. "We want to create a place that's unconditionally welcoming for everyone." The facility features volleyball and tennis courts, a playground, cafe, garden and the same marble-tiled swimming pool where Davies and her famous friends splashed in. The restored pool is heated by solar power, providing a warmer option from the frigid Pacific waters. A modern structure with locker rooms and space for community events is on the former site of Davies' Georgian Revival mansion. Architect Julia Morgan, who designed the Hearst Castle in San Simeon for Hearst, supervised the design and construction. The facility will be operated by the city of Santa Monica. Fees to park and swim in the pool range from $3 to $10.

*Sat, May 2, 2009 @ 10:30 AM _That Darn Cat!_ (1965) on the HALMRK Channel.* *The film's writers, Mildred Gordon, Gordon Gordon, and Bill Walsh, were nominated by the Writers Guild of America for Best Written American Comedy. The film was also nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture, and a Golden Leaf nomination for Best Supporting Actress (Elsa Lanchester). Mills won the 1966 second place Golden Leaf award for Comedy Performance, Actress. The Sherman Brothers won the third place Golden Leaf award for Best Song.*

I thought _Nickelodeon_ (1976) was ok. Not the greatest film ever made by Peter Bogdanovich...but still worth a look. I love the fact that the DVD came with the B/W print of the film W./4 minutes of additional footage. I nice valentine to the early days of film, but by the end it just turns into something bland and well forgettable.

*Nurse Amy?s full of tender, loving care* Apr 30 2009 Skelmersdale Advertiser Ticket giveaway for classic show *THROUGHOUT the year, the Studio Theatre in Edge Hill University?s Centre for the Performing Arts screens a diverse body of carefully selected films.* *The last offering of the current season is the 1961 classic _Whistle Down The Wind_ featuring a young Hayley Mills alongside co-star Alan Bates. The screening will take place tonight, Thursday, April 30, 2009 at 7.30pm.* When an escaped criminal seeks refuge in a barn, the children who discover him believe him to be Jesus Christ. This nostalgic British film is redolent of a more innocent age ? and is a charming portrait of childhood in rural Lancashire. Nominated for four BAFTAs including Best Film, Whistle Down the Wind is a U certificate. The Short Cuts Film Society has three pairs of ticket to tonight?s screening to give away to the first lucky readers to call 01695 58 4480 quoting Hayley Mills. On their way to number 10 PRIME Minister Gordon Brown and Ed Balls, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, welcomed members of Edge Hill?s education team to Downing Street this week. The event was held to celebrate the successful launch of the Numbers Count Programme. Edge Hill University in partnership with Lancashire County Council has developed Numbers Count for the national Every Child Counts programme and is training 210 teachers across the country to give Numbers Count support to six-year-old-children who struggle with mathematics. The Prime Minister praised the ?tremendous work? of the team to change the lives of young children who struggled with mathematics or reading. Nick Dowrick, Head of Every Child Counts Programmes, was joined by Sylvia Dunn, Susie Nicholson, Kathy Secular, Louise Matthews, Rebecca Lewis, Andy Tynemouth and Yvonne Panteli, together with teacher leaders, teachers, children and their parents who all work together nationally on the Numbers Count programme devised and led by Edge Hill University. Research published recently showed that children taking part in the first term of Numbers Count across England have made an average of 12 months? progress over a three-month period with just 20 hours tuition. This means the children are progressing at four times the nationally-expected rate. Every Child Counts is a national partnership between the Department for Children, Schools and Families, the National Strategies, the Every Child A Chance Trust, and Edge Hill University. It aims to provide support for Year 2 children who struggle with mathematics. Numbers Count is the intervention programme that has been developed by Edge Hill University for teachers to use when working with children. Around 40 per cent of pupils on Numbers Count are on free school meals compared to less then 20 per cent nationally.

Thu, Apr 30, 12:30 PM *_Mildred Pierce_ (1945) - Eastern Standard Time.* Thu, Apr 30, 2:22 PM *_Short Film: From The Vaults_: Joan Crawford Biography (1962)*

*It's a picture from the 1970's of Bea Arthur, her husband Gene Saks, and their german shepherd dog. It came from a People Magazine article about Bea Arthur. It appeared in the November 17, 1975 issue of People Magazine on page 34.*

Hayley Mills meets a Beatle. On 20 March 1964, George Harrison escorted Mills and mother Mary Hayley Bell to a midnight matinee charity benefit showing of Charade at the Regal Cinema in Henley-on-Thames.*

I finally got to see _Nickelodeon_ (1976) directed by Peter Bogdanovich. Very interesting film. about the early days of making films before talkies. I have very mixed feelings about _Nickelodeon_ (1976), a movie by a director (Peter Bogdanovich) whom I find deeply self-indulgent. On the favourable side, 'Nickelodeon' is about the early days of film-making: a subject which passionately interests me ... and Bogdanovich makes clear that he shares that passion. Even more remarkably, 'Nickelodeon' makes considerable effort to get the historical facts straight. Much of the material here is adapted from personal experiences in the early film careers of Allan Dwan and Raoul Walsh, two directors unfortunately forgotten and whose work is often unfairly neglected. The critical "view" of this film is that it's a dog. But that's only true if you want to see films through the eyes of critics; and when this one came out, the critics were gunning for Bogdanovich. Why? Who knows. They were gunning for Spielberg when "1941" came out, the difference being that Spielberg bounced back. Bogdanovich never really did, but that doesn't make "Nickelodeon" a bad film. *I found the following review on the DVD's release.* *Enjoy!!* *Peter Bogdanovich had one of the great filmmaking runs of the 1970?s.* From _The Last Picture Show_ (1971), to _What's Up, Doc?_ (1972 )PAPER MOON, DAISY MILLER, AT LONG LAST LOVE, NICKELODEON and SAINT JACK, they were all very interesting, if not all entirely successful films. Of those films, the musical _At Long Last Love_ (1975) and _Nickelodeon_ (1976) have been MIA on any form of video. While they have turned up on cable (and both are better than the rumors would have you believe), they have been difficult to see. Seeing _Nickelodeon_ (1976) will now be easier. On April 21, 2009 Sony will release a double feature DVD of both the previously available _The Last Picture Show_ (1971)as well as _Nickelodeon_ (1976). The DVD will include both the color and black and white director?s cuts of _Nickelodeon_ (1976).. Peter Bogdanovich will have a new audio commentary on both films. *_Nickelodeon_ (1976)* Going from a lawyer to a writer, and then to a film director, is the career path on which we find the bashful Leo Harrigan. But Leo has problems as well, such as being hopelessly smitten with his leading lady, who chooses to reward his attentions by getting herself hitched to Harrigan's vulgar leading man, Buck Greenaway! This movie is based, extremely loosely, on the early career on Cecil B. De Mille. ;;;

*Although director Ken Annakin was not an aviator, he had always been interested in aviation from his early years when pioneering aviator Sir Alan Cobham had given him a first flight in a biplane. Along with co-writer Jack Davies, Annakin had been working on an adventure film about transatlantic flights, when the producer's bankruptcy aborted the production. Fresh from his role as director of the British exterior segments in The Longest Day (1962), Annakin pitched the idea of recreating an actual event from the dawn of aviation to Darryl F. Zanuck, his producer on the wartime opus.* *Zanuck agreed to bankroll an "epic" that would be faithful to the era, even deciding upon the name Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines. He had come up with the name after Elmo Williams, managing director of 20th Century Fox in Europe told him his wife had written an opening lyric* *Those magnificent men in their flying machines,* *They go up diddley up-up, they go down diddley down-down!* *for a song that Annakin complained would eventually "seal the fate of the movie". However, after being put to music by composer Ron Goodwin, the Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines song would become the "irresistible" jingle-style theme music for the film and go on to have a "life of its own", even released in singles and on the soundtrack record.* Thanks, Wikipedia!

*Directed by Ken Annakin (who directed all of the Huggett films)* *_SYNOPSIS_:* The Huggetts Abroad is the last and most contrived of Britain's "Huggetts" film series. The titular family members, first introduced in the 1947 film Holiday Camp, are played by Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, Susan Shaw and Petula Clark (the same). Mr. Huggett feels he's in a rut, so he quits his jobs and packs himself and his family off to Africa. In quick order, the innocents abroad (a) become involved with diamond smugglers and ( wind up in jail. When his job becomes available again, the chastened Mr. Huggett returns to his own back yard. Four writers were required to concoct this tired British Ma and Pa Kettle equivalent. Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

*RIP Bea Arthur!!!* Do not grieve at the passing of mortality,for life's but a thing of terrible gravity. And the planets gravitate around you, and the stars shall dance about you,and the angels in heaven adore you, and the saints all stand and applaud you. So faraway, so faraway and yet so close. Nick Cave, "Far Away, So Close"

*I know this isn't "Classic" film news...but this is special to me and all of us here in Phoenix,. Arizona!!* *?X-Men Origins: Wolverine? To Premiere Early In Tempe, AZ* *After weeks of fierce internet battling and viral campaigning, the epic competition to win an ?X-Men Origins: Wolverine? screening has ended. The dust has finally settled and the Top 10 cities have been whittled down to one ? and that lucky town is Tempe, Arizona.* Tempe narrowly edged out a pool of competitive cities from all across the nation, including Philadelphia, PA; Hastings, NE; and Austin, TX. In the end, it was Davis, California, that proved to be the Sabretooth to Tempe?s Wolverine ? but as the two cities duked it out head-to-head, Hollywood?s northerly neighbor found itself on the business end of Tempe?s clawed fist. The spoils of war are far more grand than a simple viewing of ?X-Men Origins: Wolverine.? In addition to screening the movie almost a week prior to its release, Tempe will see the arrival of Wolverine himself, actor Hugh Jackman. The onscreen Logan promised to bring several of his ?friends and enemies? from the upcoming superhero feature, though no names have been officially announced. Even though the proverbial X has officially landed on Tempe, the waiting game continues. Tempe?s special April premiere on April 27 is just a few short days away ? but for a city that has waged war across miles and miles of road and internet, that wait could feel like a lifetime. For everybody else, the more interesting date will be April 28th. That?s when the non-Arizonians will hear the fan perspective on just how good the new ?Wolverine? movie really is ? and how much it really differs from the leaked version of the film. Who out there plans on making the pilgrimage to Tempe, Arizona, for the ?X-Men Origins: Wolverine? premiere? Let us know your plans in the comments section!

*Thu, Apr 30, 12:30 PM _Mildred Pierce_ (1945) - Eastern Standard Time.* *_Production Notes_:* ? In production from December 1944 to May 1945. ? The film cost $1,453,000; the total domestic ($3,483,000) and foreign earnings ($2,155,000) totalled $5,638,000. ? The home used for Mildred's beach house was located at 26652 Latigo Shore Drive in Malibu. Built in 1929, the two-story house collapsed into the ocean in late January 1983 after an intense week of storms. *_Awards_:* 1946 Academy Awards: Best Actress, Joan Crawford. Nominated for Best Picture; Best Supporting Actress (Eve Arden and Ann Blyth); Best Screenplay (Ranald MacDougall); Best Cinematography, B&W (Ernest Haller). 1945 National Board of Review Best Actress. 1996: Placed in the US National Film Registry by the National Film Preservation Board. _Thomas M. Pryor in the New York Times_ (1945): Joan Crawford is playing a most troubled lady, and giving a sincere and generally effective characterization of same....It is a tribute to Miss Crawford's art that Mildred comes through as well as she does. . *_Memorable lines_:* Veda: "You think just because you made a little money you can get a new hairdo and some expensive clothes and turn yourself into a lady. But you can't. Because you'll never be anything but a common frump whose father lived over a grocery store and whose mother took in washing." Mildred: "Veda, I think I'm really seeing you for the first time in my life and you're cheap and horrible." Veda: "With this money I can get away from you. From you and your chickens and your pies and your kitchens and everything that smells of grease. I can get away fromthis shack with its cheap furniture. And this town and its dollar days, and its womenthat wear uniforms and its men that wear overalls." Mildred: "Get out, Veda...get out before I kill you!" Ida: "Personally, Veda's convinced me that alligators have the right idea. They eat their young." Ida: "When men get around me, they get allergic to wedding rings." Wally Fay to Ida: "I hate all women. Thank goodness you're not one."

*Hayley meets a Beatle. On 20 March 1964, George Harrison escorted Mills and mother Mary Hayley Bell to a midnight matinee charity benefit showing of Charade at the Regal Cinema in Henley-on-Thames.*

Jack Cardiff 1914 - 2009 RIP.! Life's but a thing of terrible gravity. And the planets gravitate around you,and the stars shall dance about you,and the angels in heaven adore you, and the saints all stand and applaud you. So faraway,so faraway and yet so close. Nick Cave, "Far Away, So Close" *_Filmography_* *_Cinematographer_* A Matter of Life and Death (1946) directed by Powell and Pressburger Black Narcissus (1947) directed by Powell and Pressburger The Red Shoes (1948) directed by Powell and Pressburger Under Capricorn (1949) directed by Alfred Hitchcock The Black Rose (1950) starring Orson Welles The Magic Box (1951) a biopic of William Friese-Greene Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951) The African Queen (1951) directed by John Huston The Barefoot Contessa (1954) War and Peace (1956) The Prince and the Showgirl (1957) directed by Laurence Olivier Legend of the Lost (1957) The Vikings (1958) Fanny (1961) Death on the Nile (1978) The Awakening (1980) Ghost Story (1981) The Dogs of War (1981) Conan the Destroyer (1984) Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) *_Director_* Web of Evidence (1959) Scent of Mystery (1960) ? the first production in Smell-o-vision My Geisha (1962) The Long Ships (1963) Young Cassidy (1965) The Mercenaries (1968) The Girl on a Motorcycle (1968) starring Marianne Faithfull The Mutations (1973) starring Donald Pleasence Penny Gold (1973)

*`Battle of the Bulge' director Annakin dies at 94* *Battle of the Bulge' director Annakin dies at 94* The Associated Press ‎Apr 22, 2009‎ By DAVID GERMAIN *LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Ken Annakin, the British-born director whose credits included the World War II epics "Battle of the Bulge" and "The Longest Day" and the family classic "Swiss Family Robinson," has died. He was 94.* Annakin died Wednesday night at his Beverly Hills home, said his daughter, Deborah Peters. His health had been failing since he had a heart attack and stroke within a day of each other in February, she said. Before he was stricken, Annakin had been in good health and always talked about making more movies, even though he had not directed since the early 1990s, his daughter said. "He was absolutely fine, other than old age," Peters said. "He was walking and mobile, chatting and working, still trying to get films made. I don't think anybody like that ever really stops." Annakin dabbled in many genres, from action comedies and family fare to crime drama and swashbuckling romance. He was best-known for his war sagas, 1965's "Battle of the Bulge" with Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Robert Shaw and Telly Savalas and 1962's "The Longest Day," which he co-directed with Andrew Marton and Bernhard Wicki. Adapted from Cornelius Ryan's D-Day best-seller, "The Longest Day" featured an all-star cast led by Fonda, John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Rod Steiger, Sean Connery and Peter Lawford. Annakin's other films include "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines," whose screenplay earned him an Academy Award nomination, and the similarly titled action comedy "Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies." He also directed "Call of the Wild," a 1972 adaptation of Jack London's adventure starring Charlton Heston; the 1957 crime thriller "Across the Bridge" with Steiger; and the 1982 musical romance "The Pirate Movie" with Kristy McNichol. Probably his most-beloved film was 1960's "Swiss Family Robinson," one of a series of family adventures Annakin made for Walt Disney Pictures starting in the 1950s. The film starred John Mills and Dorothy McGuire as parents of a family battling pirates and struggling to survive after they are shipwrecked on an island. "Ken was an important part of the Disney legacy and made several memorable films for my Uncle Walt," said Roy Disney. "`Swiss Family Robinson' remains one of the greatest family adventure films of all time, and a favorite for generations of moviegoers." Co-star James MacArthur recalled screening "Swiss Family Robinson" with Annakin for a family crowd at a film festival last year. "We had 900 kids in the program. It was a read-the-book, see-the-film thing. Ken and I came down and we were here with 900 kids having the time of their lives watching `Swiss Family,'" said MacArthur, who also worked with Annakin in "Battle of the Bulge" and an earlier Disney flick, "Third Man on the Mountain." MacArthur, who went on to co-star as detective Danny "Book 'em, Danno" Williams in TV's "Hawaii Five-O," said he remained good friends with Annakin and had been visiting the director every week or two since he was stricken. Annakin and his wife were godparents for MacArthur's daughter. "He was a wonderful storyteller and one of those people you just, the minute you get to know him, you like him. He had that wonderful outgoing personality, but he was very much the general on the set, as the director has to be," MacArthur said. Born Aug. 10, 1914, in Beverley, Yorkshire, England, Annakin traveled in his youth to Australia, New Zealand and the United States, then sold insurance, cars and advertising back in England. During World War II, he joined the Royal Air Force as a flight mechanic but was injured during the London Blitz. He worked as a camera operator for a company making RAF training films and documentaries, later directing war propaganda films himself. Annakin got his start as a feature filmmaker with 1947's "Holiday Camp," about the working-class Huggett family, whom he also featured in three other films over the next few years. In 2002, Annakin was honored with the Order of the British Empire. Besides his daughter, Deborah, Annakin is survived by his wife, Pauline, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

*25 April ? Wotton Electric Picture House will be screening the 1960s classic Sky West and Crooked, which was filmed in Gloucestershire, as part of the We Love Wotton celebrations.* SoGlos.com - ‎Apr 21, 2009‎ *The charming 1966 classic Sky West and Crooked will be screened at Wotton Electric Picture House on Saturday 25 April 2009, as part of the We Love Wotton celebrations in Wotton-Under-Edge.* . Starring a teenage Hayley Mills, Ian McShane in his pre-Lovejoy days and a cast of local extras plucked from the surrounding area, film buffs of all ages can catch the drama rated U when it shown at the independent cinema from 4.30pm. For first-timers, the plot sees Mills plays Bridie, a simple-minded girl growing up in the countryside, who has been involved in a tragic accident. When she runs away, and meets a handsome gypsy played by McShane, the local community are the first to cast aspersions. According to organisers of the special one-off screening, local people ? particularly the then young children used as extras in the film ? remember the making of the film in 1965 well. Sky West and Crooked, which was written and directed by Haley?s parents Mary Bell and John Mills, was was partly filmed in local locations ? including Badminton village and church ? so keep your eyes peeled on Wotton Electric Picture House?s big screen for sights you might recognise. Event: _Sky West and Crooked_ (1966) screening Venue: Wotton Electric Picture House Date: Saturday 25 April 2009 Times: From 4.30pm Tickets: Cost 5.80 for adults, and ?4.80 for concessions, available to book online at wottoneph.co.uk. Contact Wotton Electric Picture House on (01453) 844601 for more information. SoGlos.com 20 April 2009

*MARILYN MONROE - MOVIE LEGEND CARDIFF DEAD AT 94* MARILYN MONROE's favourite moviemaker JACK CARDIFF has died, aged 94. The Oscar-winning cinematographer and director was best known for his work on movies such as The African Queen and Sons & Lovers. He started his movie career as an actor in 1918 silent film My Son, My Son but made his breakthrough as a cinematographer 20 years later on Wings of The Morning - the first colour movie shot in Britain. He won an Oscar for his work on Black Narcissus in 1947 and teamed up with Monroe a decade later for The Prince and the Showgirl. Cardiff also directed the first film in Smell-O-Vision, Scent of Mystery in 1960 and cult movie Girl on A Motorcycle in 1968. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 2000 and was presented with an Honorary Oscar in 2001. 22/04/2009 Contactmusic.com

*Marilyn Monroe on TV - March 2009 - All Times Eastern - Check Local Times Schedule!* *_FOX MOVIE CHANNEL_:* Fri, Mar 20, 8:00 PM _The Seven Year Itch_ (1955) Fri, Mar 20, 10:30 PM _The Seven Year Itch_ (1955) Sat, Mar 21, 1:00 AM _The Seven Year Itch_ (1955) Sun, Mar 22, 8:00 AM _Monkey Business_ (1952) Thu, Mar 26, 10:30 AM _Monkey Business_ (1952) Sat, Mar 28, 10:30 AM _As Young as You Feel_ (1951) Sun, Mar 29, 11:00 AM _We're Not Married!_ (1952) *_Turner Classic Movies_ :* Sun, Mar 29, 8:00 PM _Niagara_ (1953) *_American Movie Classics_:* Thu, Mar 26, 3:00 AM Don't Bother to Knock (1952)

Another "Worst Best Picture" ..... 1976 _Rocky_ ..I still can't figure out why this film won an Oscar for "Best Picture"!?? Please! Another reall Zzzzz of a film. *_OTHER NOMINEES THAT YEAR_:* _All the President's Men_ - Warner Bros. - Walter Coblenz _Bound for Glory_ - United Artists - Robert F. Blumofe, Harold Leventhal _Network_ - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists - Howard Gottfried _Taxi Driver_ - Columbia - Michael Phillips, Julia Phillips

*_Forrest Gump_ (1994)* ...I hated this film...it was lousy. "Worst" film of 1994 I thought ..a real Zzzzzzzz!! *_Other Nominees were_:* _Four Weddings and a Funeral_ - PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Working Title Films - Duncan Kenworthy _Pulp Fiction_ - Miramax - Brandon Lands _Quiz Show_ - Hollywood Pictures - Michael Jacobs, Julian Krainin, Michael Nozick, Robert Redford _The Shawshank Redemption_ - Castle Rock Entertainment, Columbia - Niki Marvin

*_DON'T FORGET_:* *Tue, Apr 21, 8:00 PM _The Women_ (1939)* - Joan plays husband-stealer "Crystal Allen" in an all-star, all-female cast. *Thurs, Apr 30, 12:30pm _Mildred Pierce_ (1945)* - Joan's starring debut at Warners after leaving longtime studio MGM, in a role as a long-suffering mother/businesswoman that won her the Oscar for Best Actress.

*Happy Belated Birthday Ms. Hayley Mills - Born 18 April 1946!!!!!* Following her BAFTA-winning film debut in Tiger Bay, she was discovered by Walt Disney and cast as his Pollyanna. Her iconic performance won her a special Academy Award (the last of the "juvenile" Oscars) as well as a Golden Globe as "Most Promising Newcomer". - Her next big hit for Disney was The Parent Trap, wherein she co-starred with "herself" and received a Golden Globe nomination, as well as a hit record with "Let's Get Together". Subsequent Disney films included In Search of the Castaways, Summer Magic (another Globe nomination), The Moon-Spinners and That Darn Cat! She was named a Disney Legend in 1998. - Outside of the Mouse House, she starred in Whistle Down the Wind (based on the book by her mother, Mary Hayley Bell) and co-starred with her father, Sir John Mills, in The Truth About Spring. Other films include The Chalk Garden, The Trouble with Angels and The Family Way, which featured a brief but still controversial shot of her bare behind. - Stage roles have included Peter Pan in London, Anna Leonowens in touring versions of The King and I and an Off-Broadway run of No?l Coward's Suite in Two Keys. - On television, she has guest starred on the usual series (The Love Boat, Murder, She Wrote) and headlined a trio of Parent Trap made-for-TV sequels. She also starred as the title character in Good Morning, Miss Bliss, the short-lived precursor to Saved by the Bell. More recently, she has appeared on the British drama Wild at Heart.

*Vibrant community was the real star of Tiger Bay film* WalesOnline - ‎Mar 30, 2009‎ Mar 30 2009 *IF there is one film that captures the character, history and essence of Butetown and Cardiff?s docks, Tiger Bay is it.* Premiering 50 years ago almost to the day, it won an international critics? award and was so commercially successful it allowed its little-known director J Lee Thompson to break into Hollywood. The thriller follows a Polish seaman who kills his girlfriend and kidnaps a child. As police close in, an intimate friendship develops between the pair. It starred Horst Buchholz, who was later one of The Magnificent Seven, and Sir John Mills as a police officer, while Mills? daughter, Hayley, stole the film as the little girl. But while the film?s plot thrilled audiences across the globe, back in Cardiff it became best known for capturing the spirit of Butetown?s tight-knit community, which lives on today. Filming took place towards the end of 1958 in areas around Bute Street and Loudoun Square as well as Barry, Talybont Reservoir near Brecon, and Newport. As well as local settings, it also featured Cardiff faces, including Butetown historian Neil Sinclair who played a young boy who fights with the Hayley Mills character. A large number of the scenes weren?t staged ? the cameras were left on the streets to film the street culture in what was the closest thing to reality TV at the time. It also features hundreds of dockside shots, scenes in real pubs and in the area?s surrounding countryside. But the film?s success didn?t come without controversy, and in the weeks before and after its premier in Cardiff?s Gaumont Theatre, much was said about the possible negative impact such a lurid story could have on Butetown?s future. Former Prime Minister James Callaghan, who was the Cardiff South East MP at the time, even attempted to get the name of the film changed, so that it wouldn?t be associated with the area. And In 1959, the Echo reported in one article that the then town hall clerk Mr S Tapper-Jones was worried that the film would frighten off would-be developers from coming to Butetown. He said: ?I am glad of the opportunity to stress the profound concern of the city council collectively at the gross manner in which the impression of the type of life in this neighbourhood has been misrepresented merely for the depraved taste of people who like sensational pictures.? Meanwhile, ahead of the film?s first screening, the Echo also reported how it had ?stirred up more controversy than any other picture the Rank Organisation has made in years?. But whatever controversies it caused, the film has lived on in Cardiff?s memory until the present day. Now, on its 50th anniversary, the Wales Millennium Centre has launched a series of exhibitions and events to commemorate it. Jazz singer Patti Flynn last night kicked off celebrations, playing a sell-out concert at the theatre to 250 people alongside her fellow Bay divas, sisters Humie and Jacky Webbe. The singers said they wanted to bring live music back to Tiger Bay and organised their gig to take place in the heart of Butetown so as to remind the residents how the community spirit is alive now, just as much as it was in 1959. But Patti?s link to the film is stronger than most, as she auditioned for one of the lead roles when she was just 18 years old. Even though she was turned down for it by the producer, she had a small walk-on part as an extra and says the film will always have a special place in her heart. ?I auditioned for the role of Anya, who was the prostitute with whom one of the lead characters has an affair,? she said. ?I was taken to meet the producer, but she didn?t give me the part. ?I guess it was because I didn?t look quite like a prostitute. I was wearing a pretty, dainty skirt and I looked too young and innocent, I suppose. ?Instead I was given a walk-on part, and you can actually see me sitting in front of Horst Buchholz during one of the scenes in St Mary?s Church.? Grandmother Patti, who has a Welsh mother and Jamaican father, disagreed that the film portrayed Butetown in a bad light. Although she now lives in Fairwater, she grew up on North Church Street, Butetown, and remembers vividly the time when Tiger Bay was filmed. ?Everyone was up in arms about the film, thinking it was going to paint the community in a bad light,? she said. ?But when the production team arrived and they announced they would pay people ?10 a day to be an extra, everyone was queuing up around the block to take part. ?Whatever anyone says, it was a lovely film that showed the community spirit of Butetown.? The Wales Millennium Centre said they were looking forward to celebrating the film. Bet Davies, head of communications, said: ?The film Tiger Bay left a deep and lasting impression on many people across Wales. ?It?s remembered because it was one of the first cinematic attempts to reflect life in the docks and the rich diversity of Tiger Bay. ?I guess it also started Cardiff?s reputation as a hub for film location work, hugely expanded in recent years with productions such as Torchwood and Dr Who.? Do you remember when Tiger Bay was being filmed? We want to hear from you. Contact andrew.dagnell @walesonline.co.uk or call 029 2024 3627.