Our day with Doris: June 5 at Laemmle Anniversary Classics
Jun
1
2019
Doris Day (1922 – 2019) From our friends at Laemmle Theatres Anniversary Classics, a tribute to America’s most spirited sweetheart, Doris Day, who died on May 13 at the age of 97. A double feature of two of her very best musical films—the Western romp ‘Calamity Jane’ and the dramatic story of 1920s torch singer ...
Gwen Verdon sighting: ‘Drink your prune juice!’ 2
There’s our girl: Gwen Verdon You’re a contract dancer at Twentieth Century-Fox, and you’re lazing around the studio with the guys, killing time. No assignment. All of a sudden into the rehearsal hall strides Jack Cole, hurriedly. He impatiently assembles a sage bit of choreography on you. Growling orders at Matt Mattox and Frank Radcliffe ...
‘Wild Bill’ Wellman returns to Oakridge
May
8
2019
When men were men: William Wellman, director William Wellman, Jr. will introduce his award-winning documentary Wild Bill Hollywood Maverick (1995), a film about the life and career of his father, the legendary director William Wellman, at a cool event soon to happen at the Hollywood-historic home Oakridge. One can only guess that Wellman was among the ...
Rita Moreno, Ph.D.
She’s won two Emmys, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony, the so-called “EGOT.” Now she’ll adding missing letters to her alphabet soup of honors, when Rita Moreno receives a Ph.D. from The Juilliard School. She’s great with accents and has a distinctive voice, but even Moreno may struggle with this one: EGOTPhD. Moreno was ...
Remembering Rita Guerrero
RITA, THE DOCUMENTARY, an intimate and music-fueled documentary by Arturo Díaz Santana that captures the energy and artistry of the brilliant lead singer of Santa Sabina, Rita Guerrero (1964-2011), will screen at the Hola Mexico Film Festival on Thursday, June 6 at The Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood. Santa Sabina, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, will perform following the ...
Orpheus-themed event blends music, poetry, film @ The Edye
Black Orpheus (1959) dir Marcel Camus The tragic love of Orpheus for Eurydice has inspired poets, artists, and musicians—among them Rainer Maria Rilke, Christophe Willibald Gluck, and in our own time choreographer Mark Morris and composer Philip Glass, whose 1993 Orphee Suite was inspired by Jean Cocteau’s 1950 film. An interesting event exploring the Orpheus ...
It’s Jack Cole time Tuesday on FX’s ‘Fosse/Verdon’
Actor Christopher Tocco, above, plays Jack Cole in a backstage scene with the young Gwen Verdon in FX’s blockbuster eight-episode docu-drama, “Fosse/Verdon.” “Fosse/Verdon”‘s backstage scene between Verdon and her mentor Jack Cole is preceded by a Jack Cole jazz number vividly choreographed by “Hamilton” choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler, who is a co-producer of this series. Out with ...
Silent Movie Theatre before/after #metoo accusation
The disbanding of The Cinefamily at the end of December 2017 began with accusations of sexual predator behavior. It led to the unraveling of The Cinefamily’s clearly vulnerable organization which, despite miscreant behavior, managed to project movies onto the screen of the former Silent Movie Theater. The frothy group of followers, both guys and gals, ...
Clippings tour: ‘Dirty Dancing,’ original version 1
42nd Street (1933) choreography by Busby Berkeley This month’s edition of “Dirty Dancing: The Original” dates to the 1930s. If you think the McCarthy era saw the birth of the Hollywood black list you got that wrong. A work ‘lock-out’ took place during the Depression when chorus girls did not (ahem) ‘put out’ — and ...
The struggle to love, @ TCM Fest 2019
Apr
15
2019
HOLLYWOOD, CA – APRIL 11: Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal attend the 30th Anniversary screening of “When Harry Met Sally” at the 2019 10th Annual TCM Classic Film Festival on April 11, 2019. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for TCM) There was a happy feeling when hordes of classic film fans descended upon Hollywood Boulevard ...