kingrat Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 Best Musical Moment: Lee Remick sings "The Garden" in Wild River as the raft drifts across the river. That is also my favorite scene from a year with many great ones. Having complained about the misogyny of Some Came Running, I want to praise two films from 1960 for two of the warmest, healthiest, most natural, and most appealing portrayals of female sexuality Hollywood ever put on screen: Lee Remick in Wild River and Deborah Kerr in The Sundowners. Lee Remick, so good as the twisted, manipulative, unable not to be seductive wife in Anatomy of a Murder, is every bit as good, if not better, as the gentle but passionate young widow in Wild River. In his memoirs Kazan says that Lee Remick had not been married long, her marriage was very happy at the time, and he was able to use those feelings in the film. Kazan believed that Montgomery Clift might have difficulty playing the sexual aggressor, and the scenes were developed so that Remick could take the initiative. One of the finest scenes in The Sundowners has Deborah Kerr telling her teenage son that he had better not ask her to choose between him and his father, because she will choose her husband. Deborah Kerr and Robert Mitchum have great chemistry, as they did in Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison, and we never doubt that the strong sexual bond they share is what makes her willing to stay with her despite the hardships of the life he insists on living. Two other great moments from The Sundowners: 1) Deborah Kerr's silent anger as she observes the beautifully dressed woman on the train. According to Zinnemann's memoirs, the scriptwriter Isobel Lennart had written ten pages of dialogue and was upset that Zinnemann cut the dialogue and let Kerr's face make all the emotions clear; 2) the scene where Robert Mitchum comes close to realizing what his gambling away the money for a house means to his wife. He doesn't quite grasp how devastated she is, but he can sense something of her emotions. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJH Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 The Sundowners is also one of my favourite films of 1960. Shot on location in Australia (at least, the exterior shots), director Fred Zinnemann's film moves at a leisurely pace, sustained by its performances and, as kingrat pointed out, some lovely little slight of life vignettes, all with a touch of reality to them. The film has performances by both Deborah Kerr (what a contrasting role to so much of her earlier screen work) and Robert Mitchum that I think ranks among the very best of either actor's career. And I have to say that I love Mitchum's Aussie accent. Gary Cooper had originally been assigned to play the role of the father, but, if memory serves me correctly, couldn't get the health insurance necessary for a trip Down Under, thus Mitchum stepped in as a replacement. Lovely to watch the charm of the supporting players, too, with Peter Ustinov and an ebullient Glynis Johns (turning 93 next month, I'm happy to report) adding immeasurably to the film's enjoyment. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogie56 Posted September 6, 2016 Author Share Posted September 6, 2016 Robert Mitchum isn't usually regarded as a technical actor but he was quite adept at accents: Southern of course, Australian in The Sundowners and a good Irish accent in Ryan's Daughter (1970). I came close to working with him in 1991 but it was cancelled at the last minute. I was to drive to his home in Santa Barbara to record some lines for a voice-over for a film. That would have been something. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogie56 Posted September 6, 2016 Author Share Posted September 6, 2016 Here are some performances from 1960 that will be recognized in subsequent years … Sophia Loren will win the Best Actress Oscar in 1961 for Two Women (1960). She will also win the NY Film Critics Best Actress Award in 1961 and the Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Award in 1961 and the BAFTA Best Foreign Actress Award in 1961 Albert Finney will win the National Board of Review Best Actor Award in 1961 for Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960). Peter Finch will win the Best Actor Award at the 1961 Moscow International Film Festival for The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960). Gert Frobe will win the San Sebastian Film Festival Best Actor Award in 1961 for Crook and the Cross (1960). Philippe Leroy will be nominated for the BAFTA Best Foreign Actor Award in 1961 for Le Trou (1960). Deborah Kerr will be nominated for the BAFTA Best Actress Award in 1961 for The Sundowners (1960). Annie Giradot will be nominated for the BAFTA Best Foreign Actress Award in 1961 for Rocco and His Brothers (1960). Jean Seberg will be nominated for the BAFTA Best Foreign Actress Award in 1961 for Breathless (1960). Dean Martin was nominated for the Golden Globe Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical in 1959 for Who Was That Lady? (1960). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingrat Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 Robert Mitchum isn't usually regarded as a technical actor but he was quite adept at accents: Southern of course, Australian in The Sundowners and a good Irish accent in Ryan's Daughter (1970). I came close to working with him in 1991 but it was cancelled at the last minute. I was to drive to his home in Santa Barbara to record some lines for a voice-over for a film. That would have been something. Robert Mitchum also shows an fine Irish accent in another 1960 film, The Night Fighters. This can be seen in retrospect as preparation for his work in Ryan's Daughter. Mitchum's character is an ordinary bloke, not a hero or a leader. He's 35, living at home, and still the "O'Neill boy." I wonder if this is why David Lean cast him as the schoolmaster in Ryan's Daughter. The Night Fighters is quite interesting, as it follows some of the same ground as I See a Dark Stranger. If the English are fighting the Germans, and the Irish want to be rid of the English, then shouldn't the Irish work with the Nazis? The Irish atmosphere seems quite authentic, and we get a real sense of what village life is like. Richard Harris is effective in a small role as a hothead who wants to fight the English. Anne Heywood is an appealing love interest for Mitchum; she's so good in this film and The Fox that it's a shame she didn't have a bigger career. Dan O'Herlihy, such a drip in Home Before Dark, is about a hundred times more interesting here. Cyril Cusack is wonderful in a small role as the village shoemaker. Playing a genuinely good man is difficult, but Cusack makes him completely believable and ultimately moving. Hollywood veteran Tay Garnett directs; this is certainly one of his better films. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 1960 - The Housemaid and The Devil's Eye must be my outstanding favorites this year- as well as The Little Shop of Horrors (the whole cast of which is marvelous, but I singled out two favorites.) Another thing about my favorite Actor and Actress picks is that I've never seen either of these two actors in anything else. Both of them were marvelously entertaining; but Lee Eun-sim steals the year with her exceptionally unique performance as the eerie, malevolent maid who creates so much trouble for her new employer. It's a stunning, strange and (I find) unforgettable thriller- and she's the whole show. ActorSture Lagerwall - The Devil's Eye*** John Mills - Tunes of Glory Burt Lancaster - Elmer Gantry Ralph Bellamy - Sunrise at CampobelloFredric March - Inherit the Wind Alec Guinness - Tunes of Glory Anthony Perkins - Psycho Martin Stephens - Village of the Damned (juvenile) ActressLee Eun-sim - The Housemaid***** Sophia Loren - Two Women Melina Mercouri - Never on Sunday Jean Simmons - Elmer Gantry Greer Garson - Sunrise at Campobello Supporting ActorHume Cronyn - Sunrise at Campobello*** Nils Poppe - The Devil's Eye Dennis Price - Tunes of Glory Mel Welles - The Little Shop of Horrors Jack Nicholson - The Little Shop of Horrors Felix Aylmer - Never Take Candy From a Stranger Vittorio De Sica - The Angel Wore Red Supporting Actress Gertrud Fridh - The Devil's Eye*** 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swithin Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 Mel Welles - The Little Shop of Horrors I was flirting with Mel Welles for Little Shop..., but I had already listed him for 1957, for his even more brilliant performance as Smolkin the Gravedigger in The Undead. Many great horror films were produced in 1960. Top of my list would be City of the Dead (Horror Hotel), from which I listed two performers; Little Shop... of course; and also The Leech Woman; The Hypnotic Eye; Black Sunday; Village of the Damned; many others; all of which featured some great performances; for example, Estelle Hemsley as the 140 year old Malia in The Leech Woman: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogie56 Posted September 7, 2016 Author Share Posted September 7, 2016 Italy’s David di Donatello Awards for 1960 were … Best Actor Alberto Sordi, Everybody Go Home Best Foreign Actor Charlton Heston, Ben-Hur (59) Best Actress Sophia Loren, Two Women Best Foreign Actress Brigitte Bardot, La Verite/The Truth 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogie56 Posted September 7, 2016 Author Share Posted September 7, 2016 Italy’s David di Donatello Awards are the Italian Industry awards. The Nastro d’Argento Film Awards are Italy’s film journalist awards. They started in 1946 and were given to films from 1945. Most of these look well-worth trying to track down. There are so many good Italian films from the 1960’s I thought it interesting to look at what their journalists were thinking. Here is a recap and then the winners from 1960 … 1945 Best Actor - Andrea Checchi, Two Anonymous Letters 1945 Best Actress - Clara Calamai, The Adulteress (46) 1945 Best Supporting Actor - Gino Cervi, His Young Wife 1945 Best Supporting Actress - Anna Magnani, Rome, Open City 1946 Best Actor - Amedeo Nazzari, The Bandit 1946 Best Actress - Alida Valli, Eugenia Grandet 1946 Best Supporting Actor - Massimo Serato, Outcry 1946 Best Supporting Actress - Ave Ninchi, To Live in Peace (47) 1947 Best Actor - Vittorio De Sica, Heart (48) 1947 Best Actress - Anna Magnani, Angelina 1947 Best Supporting Actor - Nando Bruno, Flesh Will Surrender 1947 Best Supporting Actress - Vivi Gioi, Tragic Hunt 1948 Best Actor - Massimo Girotti, In the Name of the Law (49) 1948 Best Actress - Anna Magnani, L’Amore 1948 Best Supporting Actor - Saro Urzi, In the Name of the Law (49) 1948 Best Supporting Actress - Giulietta Masina, Without Pity 1949 Best Foreign Actor - Michel Simon, Beauty and the Devil (50) 1949 Best Foreign Actress - Olivia de Havilland, The Snake Pit (48) 1950 Best Actor - Aldo Fabrizi, First Communion 1950 Best Foreign Actor - Pierre Fresnay, God Needs Men 1950 Best Actress - Pier Angeli, Tomorrow Is Too Late 1950 Best Foreign Actress - Gloria Swanson, Sunset Blvd. and Ingrid Bergman, Stromboli 1950 Best Supporting Actor - Umberto Spadaro, Outlaw Girl 1950 Best Supporting Actress - Giulietta Masina, Variety Lights 1951 Best Actor - Toto, Cops and Robbers 1951 Best Foreign Actor - Fernandel, Don Camillo (52) and Alec Guinness, The Lavender Hill Mob 1951 Best Actress - Anna Magnani, Bellissima 1951 Best Foreign Actress - Bette Davis, All About Eve (50) 1952 Best Actor - Renato Rescel, The Overcoat and Gabrielle Ferzetti, La Provinciale (53) 1952 Best Foreign Actress - Ingrid Bergman, Europa ’51 1953 Best Actor - Nino Taranto, Easy Years 1953 Best Actress - Gina Lollobrigida, Bread, Love and Dreams 1953 Best Supporting Actor - Alberto Sordi, I Vitelloni 1953 Best Supporting Actress - Elisa Cegani, The Anatomy of Love (54) 1954 Best Actor - Marcello Mastroianni, Days of Love 1954 Best Actress - Silvana Mangano, The Gold of Naples 1954 Best Supporting Actor - Paolo Stoppa, The Gold of Naples 1954 Best Supporting Actress - Tina Pica, Bread, Love and Jealousy 1955 Best Actor - Alberto Sordi, The Bachelor 1955 Best Supporting Actor - Memmo Carotenuto, The Bigamist (56) 1955 Best Supporting Actress - Valentina Cortese, Le Amiche/The Girlfriends 1956 Best Actress - Anna Magnani, The Awakening 1956 Best Supporting Actor - Peppino De Filippo, Toto, Peppino e i Fuorilegge 1956 Best Supporting Actress - Marisa Merlini, Time of Vacation 1957 Best Actor - Marcello Mastroianni, White Nights 1957 Best Actress - Giulietta Masina, Nights of Cabiria 1957 Best Supporting Actor - Andrea Checchi, Honor Among Thieves 1957 Best Supporting Actress - Franca Marzi, Nights of Cabiria 1958 Best Actor - Vittorio Gassman, Big Deal on Madonna Street 1958 Best Supporting Actor - Nino Vingeli, The Challenge/La Sfida 1958 Best Supporting Actress - Dorian Gray, Mogli Perisolose 1959 Best Actor - Alberto Sordi, The Great War 1959 Best Actress - Eleanora Rossi Drago, Violent Summer 1959 Best Supporting Actor - Claudio Gora, The Facts of Murder 1959 Best Supporting Actress - Cristina Gaioni, And the Wild, Wild Women 1960 Best Actor - Marcello Mastroianni, La Dolce Vita 1960 Best Actress - Sophia Loren, Two Women 1960 Best Supporting Actor - Enrico Maria Salerno, It Happened In ‘43 1960 Best Supporting Actress - Didi Perego, Kapo 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogie56 Posted September 7, 2016 Author Share Posted September 7, 2016 Here are my choices of the 88 films I've seen from 1960 for… Best Actor of 1960 1. BURT LANCASTER (Elmer Gantry), Elmer Gantry 2. ALBERT FINNEY (Arthur Seaton), Saturday Night and Sunday Morning I'm just taking a moment for a nod to Albert Finney who in 1960 is embarking on a very illustrious film career. He is a favourite of mine and figures high up in my lists to come. In the dvd extras of Billy Liar, Tom Courtenay mentioned that everyone in London was picking up Finney's scraps as at this time he was being offered just about everything on stage and film. We know he turned down Lawrence of Arabia as he didn't wish to make the time commitment to the project. But I didn't know that he had such an in-depth classical theatrical background. And on a purely technical level I remember seeing Two For the Road (1967) and being bowled over by his proficiency at dubbing for almost every line was re-performed in the studio after shooting. His ability to re-capture his performance and in sync was phenomenal. Alberto Sordi was probably the very best at this. He plays a motor-mouth chatterbox in The Marquis of Grillo (1981) and every word was re-performed and is flawless. This is all the more impressive when you take into account that the Italians don't bother editing the looping to fit the lips as they do in English language pictures. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swithin Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 I'm just taking a moment for a nod to Albert Finney who in 1960 is embarking on a very illustrious film career. He is a favourite of mine and figures high up in my lists to come. I was quite young, but I remember being devastated when Albert Finney lost the Best Actor Oscar (for Tom Jones) to Sidney Poitier. Poitier was good, but Finney was brilliant as Tom! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogie56 Posted September 7, 2016 Author Share Posted September 7, 2016 Japan’s Blue Ribbon Awards for 1960 were … Best Actor Rentaro Mikuni, Oinaru Tabiji Best Actress Keiko Kishi, Her Brother/Younger Brother Best Supporting Actor Masao Oda, The River Fuefuki and Twilight Story Best Supporting Actress Tamao Nakamura, Satan’s Sword and Bonchi ————————————————————————————— Japan’s Mainichi Awards for 1960 were … Best Actor Keiju Kobayashi, Kuroi Gashu: Aru Saraiman no Shogen Best Actress Keiko Kishi, Her Brother/Younger Brother Best Supporting Actor Masayuki Mori, Her Brother/Younger Brother and The Bad Sleep Well Best Supporting Actress Kinuyo Tanaka, Her Brother/Younger Brother 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogie56 Posted September 8, 2016 Author Share Posted September 8, 2016 Here are the films from 1960 that were mentioned that I have not seen as yet. The Angel Wore Red with Vittorio De Sica Bonchi with Tamao Nakamura The City of the Dead with Valentine Dyall and Patricia Jessel The Criminal with Stanley Baker Crook and the Cross with Gert Frobe The Devil’s Eye with Sture Lagerwall, Nils Poppe and Gertrud Fridh Everybody Go Home with Alberto Sordi The Facts of Life with Bob Hope and Lucille Ball The Fair with Juliette Mayniel Home From the Hill with Robert Mitchum and George Peppard The Housemaid with Lee-Eun Shim It Started In Naples with Sophia Loren Kuroi Gashu: Aru Saraiman no Shogen with Keiju Kobayashi Le Trou with Philippe Leroy, Jean Karaudy and Raymond Meunier Let’s Make Love with Yves Montand, Marilyn Monroe and Tony Randall Midnight Lace with Doris Day Never Take Sweets From a Stranger with Felix Aylmer The Night Fighters with Cyril Cusack Oinaru Tabiji with Rentaro Mikuni The Plunderers with Ray Sticklyn The River Fuefuki with Masao Oda Satan’s Sword with Tamao Nakamura School For Scoundrels with Terry-Thomas Seven Days and Seven Nights with Jeanne Moreau Song Without End with Dirk Bogarde and Capucine Strangers When We Meet with Kirk Douglas and Kim Novak Too Hot to Handle with Jayne Mansfield Twilight Story with Masao Oda Where the Boys Are with Paula Prentiss Who Was That Lady? with Dean Martin Zazie dans le Metro with Philippe Noiret and Catherine Demongeot And I would like to see these again … Black Sunday for Barbara Steele Hand In Hand for Philip Needs and Loretta Parry Please Don’t Eat the Daisies for Janis Paige Pollyanna for Hayley Mills, Agnes Moorehead, Adolphe Menjou and Jane Wyman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawrenceA Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 The City of the Dead with Valentine Dyall and Patricia Jessel Home From the Hill with Robert Mitchum and George Peppard Le Trou with Philippe Leroy, Jean Karaudy and Raymond Meunier Let’s Make Love with Yves Montand, Marilyn Monroe and Tony Randall Midnight Lace with Doris Day The Night Fighters with Cyril Cusack Strangers When We Meet with Kirk Douglas and Kim Novak Too Hot to Handle with Jayne Mansfield Where the Boys Are with Paula Prentiss These are the ones that I've seen from your list, Bogie. Le Trou is the clear frontrunner for most recommended, followed by The City of the Dead and The Night Fighters. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingrat Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 Home from the Hill, if not up to the level of the best Douglas Sirk melodramas, is nonetheless worth seeing. Minnelli can turn out a decent melodrama, too. We're in the South, in an area with plenty of forests for hunting. (After all, the quote from the Robert Louis Stevenson poem is "And the hunter, home from the hill.") Robert Mitchum is the macho patriarch. Eleanor Parker is the ice queen wife unable to accept Mitchum's infidelities. George Hamilton, surprisingly good, is the sensitive son who isn't up to Mitchum's standards. George Peppard, also very good, is the illegitimate son who has all the manly virtues the legitimate son lacks. Naturally, the two boys are rivals for the same girl. The Criminal (aka The Concrete Jungle) is my favorite of the Joseph Losey films I've seen, even better than The Prowler, right up there with the remake of M. Stanley Baker is the thief who gets out of prison. He knows where the loot is stashed, so both the police and other criminals want to track him to the money. Subtitles might help for some of the thick British accents in the prison scenes. Great noirish visuals. It's odd that the career of a Welsh actor like Stanley Baker owes so much to two blacklisted American expatriates, Joseph Losey and Cy Endfield. Both know how to use Baker's hard-edged persona, or occasionally to play against it. The Criminal was shown on TCM a couple of years ago. Home from the Hill turns up with some regularity. Le Trou tops the list of the ones I'd like to see. By the way, a few years ago, someone posted a link to an article about the fashion styles of the different actresses in Where the Boys Are. The article was really well done, and is worth looking for if you are interested in fashion. Granted, that is not a major emphasis for most of us. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawrenceA Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 Here are the films I have not seen from your 1960 lists. All titles marked with "****" denote ones that I have taped but have not watched yet: The Angel Wore Red The Angry Silence**** Bells Are Ringing Bonchi Can-Can**** Cash McCall Conspiracy of Hearts The Criminal Crook and the Cross Devi The Devil's Eye**** Everybody Go Home The Facts of Life The Fair Hand In Hand Her Brother The Housemaid**** It Happened in '43 It Started In Naples**** Kapo A Killing In Yoshiwara Kuroi Gashu: Aru Saraiman noShogen La Verite Late Autumn The League of Gentlemen**** Les Bonnes Femmes Make Mine Mink**** Never Take Candy From a Stranger Oinaru Tabiji Oscar Wilde The Passionate Thief Pepe**** Please Don't Eat the Daisies**** The Plunderers Pollyanna The River Fuefuki Satan's Sword School for Scoundrels Sex Kittens Go to College**** Sink the Bismarck! Song Without End The Trials of Oscar Wilde Tunes of Glory Twilight Story Who Was That Lady? Zazie in the Metro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogie56 Posted September 8, 2016 Author Share Posted September 8, 2016 Here are the films I have not seen from your 1960 lists. All titles marked with "****" denote ones that I have taped but have not watched yet: The Angry Silence**** Bells Are Ringing Conspiracy of Hearts Devi Hand In Hand Her Brother A Killing In Yoshiwara Late Autumn The League of Gentlemen**** Les Bonnes Femmes Oscar Wilde The Passionate Thief Pepe**** Please Don't Eat the Daisies**** Pollyanna Sink the Bismarck! The Trials of Oscar Wilde Tunes of Glory Well, we've mentioned Anna Magnani's The Passionate Thief a few times. One other that is well worth tracking down is Tunes of Glory as it has marvellous parts for many of its cast: Alec Guinness, John Mills, Gordon Jackson, Susannah York and Dennis Price to name a few. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogie56 Posted September 8, 2016 Author Share Posted September 8, 2016 Before we hit 1961 I would like to mention that I am going with the December 1961 release date for Divorce Italian Style and not 1962 Oscar contention date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimpole Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 Comparing the poll of the winners with the actual Oscars, fifties version Supporting ActressHarvey defeated 2-1 vote 7 way tie for 3rdHunter winner 3-2Grahame No VotesReed defeated 5-2Saint defeated 5-1 four way tie for 2ndVan Fleet tied for winner 2-2Malone winner 3-2Umeki defeated 2-1 four way tie for 3rdHiller tied for winner 2-2Winters defeated 2-1 six way tie for 2ndSupporting ActorSanders winner 5-2 plus one vote for Best ActorMalden defeated 2-1 five way tie 3rdQuinn tied for winner 2-2Sinatra tied for winner 2-2-2O'Brien no votesLemmon tied for winner 2-2Quinn winner 3-2Buttons no votesIves 1 vote, eight way tieGriffith no votesActressHolliday no votesLeigh winner 5-2Booth winner 3-1Hepburn winner 3-2Kelly no votesMagnani defeated 2-1 seven way tie for 2ndBergman no votesWoodward defeated 5-1 three way tie for 2ndHayward winner 3-2Signoret defeated 3-1 three way tied for 3rd (note, ran in different year from award won)ActorFerrer no votesBogart defeated 2-1 seven way tied for 2ndCooper no votesHolden defeated 4-1 five way tie for 2ndBrando winner 5-1Borgnine no votesBrynner no votesGuinness winner 3-2Niven no votesHeston no votes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingrat Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 I liked Devi a good bit when I saw it in college these many years ago. A man has a dream that his daughter-in-law is a goddess. This clearly involves some sexual jealousy of his son. If you're only having one Oscar Wilde film, Trials of Oscar Wilde is the better choice, even though Peter Finch certainly does not resemble Wilde. It's a beautiful first-class production with color cinematography, costumes, and sets of award-worthy quality. John Fraser makes an excellent and despicable Bosie. Lionel Jeffries, only six or seven years older than John Fraser, is able to bring some sympathy to the angry-to-the-point-of-madness Marquess of Queensbury. Yvonne Mitchell makes a lovely Constance, and James Mason's marvelous voice makes him a good choice as Sir Edward Carson, Queensbury's lawyer. Oscar Wilde is a low budget black-and-white, not all that well directed by Gregory Ratoff. The cast is fine, however. Robert Morley had made his reputation as a young man by playing Wilde on stage. By now he's too old and too heavy, though he definitely has the right quality, and he delivers Wilde's witticisms in fine style. Ralph Richardson is even better as Sir Edward Carson than James Mason is. Les bonnes femmes is probably one of those films you will either love or hate. Maybe not the best choice for a first Chabrol movie, but if you really like his work, this is for you. Several young women work in a department store. One of them (Bernadette Lafont) sleeps around, even with men she doesn't much care for. Stephane Audran is a much more gentle soul. As for what happens to Clothilde Joano . . . . The League of Gentlemen assembles some fine British character actors to play former soldiers down on their luck who try to pull off a hesit. Each of these non-gentlemen has "blotted his copybook," as the Brits say. Script by Bryan Forbes, whose fingerprints are all over this film, and Basil Dearden directs. Richard Attenborough is terrific, as usual. Bryan Forbes plays a gigolo, and Kieron Moore, so inadequate as Vronsky in Anna Karenina, has a hilarious bit as he tries to pick up a rather dim-witted youth. To my mind, it lacks a slam-bang finale, but it's still most enjoyable. Richard Attenborough stars in The Angry Silence, and he's absolutely first-rate as a worker who doesn't want to go out on a wildcat strike and is subsequently shunned by his mates. Another good script by Bryan Forbes, and capable direction by Guy Green. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogie56 Posted September 8, 2016 Author Share Posted September 8, 2016 It's hard to beat Peter Ustinov's supporting performance in Spartacus but Peter Falk gave it a pretty good go in his break-out film, Murder, Inc. I love how he hesitates when reading the word buoyancy. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoraSmith Posted September 9, 2016 Share Posted September 9, 2016 Zazie in the Metro (Zazie dans le métro) must be the lightest film by French director Louis Malle. It shows that a good story doesn't always need a big hero with a great and noble goal. It's the story of a little girl (Catherine Demongeot) whose goal is to take a ride in the Paris metro. Philippe Noiret plays her uncle. He has the face of someone who couldn't hurt a fly - to stay in the 1960 theme. Some scenes are close to slapstick, others are touching and show the girl as someone who's wise beyond her age. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogie56 Posted September 9, 2016 Author Share Posted September 9, 2016 Oscar nominee, Chill Wills, The Alamo (1960) didn't get a single nod in our poll. Perhaps he did not campaign hard enough. I thought he had taken out Oscar ads invoking God and the spirit of the Alamo that even John Wayne tried to distance himself from. I did find this on the imdb ... While campaigning for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1960, Wills took out a series of ads with the declaration "Win, lose or draw, you're all my cousins and I love you."It was signed "Your cousin, Chill Wills". One member of the Academy placed a response ad stating: "Dear Mr. Chill Wills, I am delighted to be your cousin but I voted for Sal Mineo. "It was signed, Groucho Marx. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingrat Posted September 9, 2016 Share Posted September 9, 2016 One other that is well worth tracking down is Tunes of Glory as it has marvellous parts for many of its cast: Alec Guinness, John Mills, Gordon Jackson, Susannah York and Dennis Price to name a few. So glad to see all the love for Tunes of Glory. An intelligent script twists us back and forth in our sympathies for the hard-nosed military man (Alec Guinness) and the more humane John Mills. The cast is solid gold. The director, Ronald Neame, had worked on several of David Lean's earlier films, and Neame's The Horse's Mouth and Tunes of Glory continue this tradition admirably. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogie56 Posted September 10, 2016 Author Share Posted September 10, 2016 It’s time for 1961. We will be on 1961 for one week so plenty of time for everyone to respond. Here are Oscar’s choices for 1961. Winners in bold. Best Actor Maximilian Schell, Judgment at Nuremberg* + Charles Boyer, Fanny + Paul Newman, The Hustler Spencer Tracy, Judgment at Nuremberg Stuart Whitman, The Mark Best Actress Sophia Loren, Two Women* (60) Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany’s Piper Laurie, The Hustler Geraldine Page, Summer and Smoke Natalie Wood, Splendor In the Grass Best Supporting Actor George Chakiris, West Side Story* Montgomery Clift, Judgment at Nuremberg Peter Falk, Pocketful of Miracles Jackie Gleason, The Hustler George C. Scott, The Hustler (nomination refused) Best Supporting Actress Rita Moreno, West Side Story* Fay Bainter, The Children’s Hour Judy Garland, Judgment at Nuremberg Lotte Lenya, The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone Una Merkel, Summer and Smoke There was some debate in the Lead or Supporting thread as to which category Maximilian Schell’s performance in Judgment at Nuremberg fell. I have invoked my own ‘3 plus hours epic rule’ which allows for several stories and therefore several lead characters sharing time in the same film. I think there is no question that Schell’s role supersedes the others in the supporting category so for me it is a lead performance. On the other hand I think Charles Boyer’s role in Fanny is a supporting one. In more recent times producers would have seen the wisdom of putting a star like Boyer in the supporting category to increase his chances at a win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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