CelluloidKid

_Mildred Pierce_

pillow ... _Pillow Talk_ (1959) *NEW WORD: Wicked!*

*Quirk, James R.* - Longtime editor/publisher of Hollywood's Photoplay magazine.

*Lee, Gwen*

Jeremy Kemp WAS IN: _The Seven-Per-Cent Solution_ (1976) directed by Herbert Ross with Cinematography by Oswald Morris! *Cinematographer: Oswald Morris!*

*I just bought a new book on film called: _Tainted Goddesses, Second Revised Edition: Female Film Stars of the Third Reich_ by Cinzia Romani.* *Very interesting reading!* Each of the 18 chapters is devoted to one of the most popular actresses appearing in films under the Third Reich, ending with a detailed examination of a few of her best-known productions. The introduction, which describes how Joseph Goebbels controlled film production and used popular entertainment to prescribe a very specific and narrow role for women in the new Nazi society, is the most interesting part of the book. *_From Publishers Weekly_* This strange book, an Italian import, veers wildly between serious analysis of the Nazi-era German film industry and gushing fan magazine profiles of 18 of the period's female stars. Romani opens with a lengthy and intelligent essay on the Nazi takeover of filmmaking after 1933 and its transformation, under Joseph Goebbels's hands-on leadership, into an "Aryan" propaganda machine in which even light entertainment was considered "strategically important." Noting that "the phenomenon of the star system in the Third Reich achieved almost Hollywoodian proportions," Romani points out that only a small percentage of the films made under the Nazis were overt propaganda. Each of the actresses under discussion is represented by a short biography, complete credits and synopses for a couple of key films, including irritatingly redundant excerpts from mostly contemporary reviews. The opening essay suffers from a ghastly translation that either reproduces or amplifies a convoluted sentence structure. The book is handsomely produced and illustrated, but the subject matter and its treatment make it of marginal interest to an American audience. 160 black-and-white photos.

*Debbie Reynolds: At 77, still going strong, still talking about life and love and Liz* July 17 2009 Examiner.com Another openin', another show. This time ?round, the opening is the grand reopening of the newly refurbished Strand Theater in Zelienople, the borough outside Pittsburgh that bills itself as a "modern place with old fashioned grace." And the show will be the showy one-woman extravaganza put on by Debbie Reynolds, who graces the stage for four performances from July 23-26. For ticket information, call 724-742-0400 or visit thestrandtheater.org) And though Reynolds ain?t no spring chicken?she turned 77 on April 1, no fooling?she?s still here, nearly 60 years after she made her greatest film Singin? in the Rain, still dancing and singing and doing spot-on imitations of Zsa Zsa and Bette and Barbara. It?s been a long journey for Reynolds, who in 1948 won the local Miss Burbank beauty pageant. She was sweet 16, and her talent was lip-syncing to a record of Betty Hutton?s ?I'm a Square in the Social Circle.? Two of the pageant judges were talent scouts . . . and, well, the rest is Hollywood history. Hers has been a life and career riddled with much success and much sorrow. Most memorable were the headlines that screamed hubby Eddie Fisher left Debbie for Elizabeth Taylor . . . Reynolds? official bio puts it this way: ?It was shortly after her son's birth that Mike Todd, Elizabeth Taylor's husband and Eddie Fisher's best friend, died in a plane crash. Eddie spent much time comforting Elizabeth and they fell in love. A scandal ensued. The Reynolds-Fisher-Taylor triangle resulted in dissolution of Debbie's marriage in 1959.? Talk about an Aba Daba Honeymoon! *Here, Reynolds shares her thoughts on life, love, daughter Carrie, Bette Davis, her loyal gay audiences, even Liz and Eddie.* *On her long career . . .* I was a simple little girl from Texas. I wanted to be a gym teacher, but I won a contest at 16 and became Miss Burbank of 1948. Jack Warner changed my name to Debbie, I did Singin? in the Rain and I?ve adored staying Debbie Reynolds ever since. I?m living more dreams than I ever could have dreamed. *On why she loves about performing live . . .* I love the ?live-ness? of it . . . the fact that people are sitting there and what you are feeling from them is the truth, and they love you or they don't like you at all. I've been very lucky to have a good fan base for 60 years, and they still come and see me. They hold me up. They give me the courage to keep going on. They laugh. I laugh. I am happy when I am on the stage. It's my happiest time. *On her clean, wholesome image . .* . People think it's too corny, but there are still a lot of places where people are raised quite simply and innocently. They don?t use profanity, they don?t screw their neighbors, the sister doesn?t screw the brother. The garbage we see today on television is just so nauseating, so beyond words. It should be thrown off the air. I work all the time because I don?t wait for work. I create my own. And I don?t stay home and feel sorry for myself. I work for different salaries. I go with whatever the traffic will bear, because I love to perform, and I want to keep working. *On today?s Hollywood versus the daze of yesteryear . .* . There is no more Hollywood. It's a sign on a hill but there are no more studios, no more heads of studios. That's a life gone past that's going to stay in the past. And we didn't have that many paparazzi. We had only 100 in the front yard, instead of 200. Like Brad and Jennifer and Angelina, we had me and Eddie and Elizabeth Taylor. That was a big scandal, but we tried to let them take pictures of us, and we did the best we could with trying to include them. Now people are running around like chickens trying to suck all the strength out of the huge stars. It's really too much. They're much more brazen. Some of them should be shot. But, luckily for me, I'm not the big star I was in my twenties. I would hate the harassment. When Alec Baldwin hit that photographer, I said, "Good! Hit him harder!" They have way stepped over the bounds. *On Elizabeth Taylor . . .* Elizabeth has had a very dramatic life, and how she has made it we don't know. Somebody up there likes Elizabeth very much, because to overcome all these real illnesses. And these are real; brain tumors are not something you dream up. I think it's a miracle that she's still with us. Now all she wants to do is good. *On Bette Davis, whose daughter she played in A Catered Affair . .* . She would take me in her dressing room and say, ?Don't do the scene like that! Do it like this!? She?d read the scenes with me and help me out. *On Singin? in the Rain . . .* I think Gene Kelly knew it would be a hit, as he was the creative force. And Betty Comden and Adolph Green, the writers, and Stanley Donen, who worked with Gene. They cast Donald O'Connor, and then I think I was sort of thrust upon the whole thing because I was under contract to M-G-M, and Louis B. Mayer told Gene that I was going to be his leading lad. So Gene was kind of stuck with me. He really worked me very hard, which he should have, because I wasn't a trained dancer. I worked especially hard on that film. I was a courageous young talent, and God helped me get through it. I had blood in my dance shoes. Gene would shoot each take 40 times, and in those days you worked six days a week, and had Sunday to faint. I think it is a great picture and I'm proud that it lasted all these years. It seems to work for every generation. It's oh-so corny, and corny still works. It's a great musical with great numbers. *On the one thing she wishes she could change about herself . . .* I'll never learn patience. As much as I try, I still get too upset over things. I still I am still tenderhearted. I still get upset over things that are done to me that are unfair. I should just ignore it. *On why gays like her . .* . Because I adore them and understand their lifestyle and the situations that life has presented to them. I admire how well they handle it. I am for them. I am their "mother at large." I appreciate all the hardship they have had to go through just to convince somebody that they were wonderful ... and not to be put down because of a lifestyle. *On daughter Carrie Fisher?s fame . . .* I am very, very proud of her. She is extremely gifted and funny, and after all, she has manic-depressive bipolar disorder. So for her to be able to accomplish what she has, and is accomplishing, it's been a real battle for her. *On the problems of getting older . . .* Nothing. God has been really good to me?lets me stay healthy so I can travel, dance, sing and do my show. I don't have any physical problems. It's a walk in the park and it's great fun. I don't play golf and tennis and I don't want to play badminton. It's not what I want to do. What I want to do is entertain, and so far, I am being allowed to do that. I am very blessed. My life is a bit too full, but it's never boring. *On how she wants to be remembered . .* . I want to be like Sophie Tucker and Jimmy Durante and George Burns, onstage performing to the end.

_Candleshoe_ (1977)

Zucco, George

*Jeakins, Dorothy* - A three-time Academy Award-winning costume designer! Jeakins was unusual in that she freelanced, never signing a long-term contract with any one studio. She worked steadily for the next thirty-nine years, winning another two Oscars, for Samson and Delilah (1949, shared with Edith Head and others), and The Night of the Iguana (1964), and another 12 nominations. She was perhaps best-known for her period costumes, in such films as The Ten Commandments (1956), The Music Man (1962), The Sound of Music (1965), Little Big Man (1970), The Way We Were (1973), Young Frankenstein (1974) and The Dead (1987). Her modern-dress excursions included Niagara (1953), Three Coins in the Fountain (1954), South Pacific (1958) and On Golden Pond (1981).

Elsa Lanchester (Love her!!) was in: _Blackbeard's Ghost_ (1968) directed by Robert Stevenson! *NEW DIRECTOR: Robert Stevenson!*

I neglected to mention that when Michael released the remix album "Blood on the Dance Floor," that 1997 album was supported by a 38-minute short film entitled "Ghosts," in which Jackson performed a total of five roles. "Ghosts" was based on a short story written by Michael and Stephen King, and was directed by Oscar winner Stan Winston, the genius behind the creatures in films such as The Terminator, Aliens and Jurassic Park. In the film, Jackson plays the role of Maestro, a strange recluse who lives in a haunted mansion.

*Easy Rider, the original motorcycle road trip movie turns forty* July 16th, 2009 Clutch and Chrome - ‎Jul 16, 2009‎ *Popular media puts 40 as a notable age. Many consider it the earliest moment for a mid-life crisis while singer Jimmy Buffet has a pirate taking stock of his life at that particular moment.* *This week added another notable wrinkle, pun intended, to the age with July 14th marking the 40th anniversary of Easy Rider, the classic American road movie*. The movie, starring Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper, tells the story of two bikers who travel the country to experience the freedom of the open road from the saddles of their motorcycles. Not only did the film change the popular view of motorcycles and those who like to ride them, but it also brought a new era to movies. The 1969 American road movie was written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper. It was Hoppers first time on a motorcycle. Fonda played ?Captain America? and the bike he rode in the movie went onto become one of the most recognizable motorcycles in history. There were originally two ?Captain America? choppers used in the film which were created from Harley-Davidson FLH police bikes. One of the original choppers was destroyed in the filming of the movie, and the other mysteriously disappeared from the movie set Peter Fonda has remained a face of riding, volunteering his time for various charity rides all over the country and appearing on the silver screen as the leader of a motorcycle gang in Disney's Wild Hogs in 2007. A decade ago, to celebrate the film?s 30th and with the help of Fonda and those who created the original bikes, an exact replica was created and is now featured at the Harley-Davidson Museum as part of a hotbed of pop culture goodies with ties to the famous Milwaukee motorcycle manufacturer. The Museum also features a bike Elvis once owned, a replica of Evel Knievel?s bike from his attempt at jumping 13 buses at London?s Wembley Stadium, and owns bikes used in Lucasfilm?s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. ?Harley-Davidson motorcycles have inspired filmmakers since the beginnings of modern film,? said Curatorial Director, Jim Fricke. ?Our bikes have been featured in countless movies to portray the spirit of individualism, freedom and rebellion, and we have many examples of this at the Museum.? The success of Easy Rider helped spark the New Hollywood phase of filmmaking during the late sixties. *_Awards and honors_* Hopper received the First Film Award (Prix de la premiere oeuvre) at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival.[9] At the Academy Awards, Jack Nicholson was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and the film was also nominated for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Material Not Previously Published or Produced. The film appears at number 88 on the American Film Institute's list of 100 Years, 100 Movies. In 1998, Easy Rider was added to the United States National Film Registry, having been deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." The biggest recognition of the chopper was when a customized motorcycle was used in the 1969 film Easy Rider staring Peter Fonda bringing to light the cool look of these choppers. The actual designer and builder of the two famous motorcycles are not known to many, while the captain America chopper is world famous. The two men responsible for the building of the two customized motorcycles for the making of the film Easy Rider were Ben Hardy and Cliff Vaughs. After seeing the movie, more riders wanted to have a chopper, but some did not know how to customize their own motorcycle. Shops began to open where motorcycle owners could take their motorcycle to be customized and later as time went on these shops began to build custom motorcycles, choppers and bobbers.

Joey Heatherton WAS IN: Bluebeard (1972) with Richard Burton! *NEW STAR: Richard Burton!*

_Young Frankenstein_ (1974)

Van Doren, Mamie

Watch _Grey Gardens_ the 1975 documentary film which is alot better! The film depicts the everyday lives of the two Edith Beales, a reclusive socialite mother and daughter of the same name who lived at Grey Gardens, a decrepit mansion at 3 West End Road in the wealthy Georgica Pond neighborhood of East Hampton, New York.

it could have been better!

*Dassin, Jules.* - Director Dassin began his career as an actor in New York City's Yiddish Theatre, later writing radio scripts and eventually getting hired to direct by RKO, then MGM. He was blacklisted in the McCarthy era and moved to France, later settling in Greece after marrying actress/politician Melina Mercouri in 1966. Perhaps his most famous films are '48's The Naked City, '49's Night and the City, and '55's Rififi. He also directed Joan Crawford and John Wayne in '42's Reunion in France,

Here It Is -- Your $98 Blu-ray Player by Eric D. Snider Jul 11th 2009 Cinematical It's been about 18 months since Blu-ray officially defeated HD-DVD in the high-def format war, and while sales of Blu-ray players have surged since then, one thing has prevented a lot of people from taking the plunge: the &$*@ players are still too *#&@* expensive. There have been other factors too, of course -- we just converted to DVD a few years ago; the difference in picture quality over DVD isn't great enough to justify re-buying all those movies; etc. -- but obviously sales would skyrocket if the cost would come down. The general theory has been that $100 was the magic number, that once Blu-ray players dropped below that price everyone would buy them. As usual, Wal-Mart is the first to give it a shot. EngadgetHD reports that Wal-Mart has permanently reduced the price of a particular Magnavox Blu-ray player from $168 to $98. It's not the top-of-the-line player, of course, and Magnavox isn't a high-end brand for Blu-ray anyway -- but that doesn't matter to the average consumer. As one of Engadget's commenters points out, it was a huge boon to DVD sales when Wal-Mart first sold a crappy DVD player for less than $100. This could potentially do the same for Blu-ray, not just through Wal-Mart sales (although that's a great way to get the format into lots of American homes) but because this will inspire other retailers to do the same thing. Once one Blu-ray player is available for $98, people will start wondering -- even more than they already do -- why the others are so much more expensive. There is one problem, though. The average Blu-ray disc still costs about $25 -- one-fourth the cost of the player. That ratio is insane. I suspect that regardless of how cheap the player gets, a lot of people are going to resist switching over until the discs are comparable to DVDs in price. We're starting to see that, especially with online retailers, but there's still a long way to go. And the real technophiles aren't going to go for this $98 bare-bones Magnavox player anyway. Still, it's a start.

_Tashman, Lilyan_

Pearl .... _Girl with a Pearl Earring_ (2003) *New Word: Funeral!*

_When Ladies Meet_ (1941)

*Bern, Paul* - MGM exec and early Joan Crawford-booster. The German-born Bern came to the US as a child, attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and initially working as an actor before becoming a writer and director. By the 1920s, he'd become production assistant to MGM's Irving Thalberg (the two co-produced Grand Hotel) and supervisor of Garbo's silent films.

Julie Newmar WAS IN: _Mackenna's Gold_ (1969) directed by: J. Lee Thompson! *NEW DIRECTOR: J. Lee Thompson!*