Vincent Price: “Shock” … and art
A pretty decent selection of late-night movies — just what you need when you are strangely full of energy from about one till four am — is getting me through my post-China jet lag. Last night I whiled away the hours with “Shock,” a 1946 film noir starring horror guy Vincent Price as a dicey ...
Chatting with Chakiris today … 2
I’m interviewing the great actor/dancer George Chakiris today. I only can use a sound bite from him and, believe me, it’s going to be devoted to his memories of working for Jack Cole! Read Chakiris’s stellar curriculum vitae … He was one of the dancers in Marilyn Monroe‘s “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” number ...
My favorite brother of seven, Matt Mattox 3
Last night at TCM Fest: my first big-screen viewing of Stanley Donen’s “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.” Especially fun since Jacques d’Amboise was just in Los Angeles on a book talk. He spoke quite a bit about making the film. Indeed d’Amboise’s name, well-known considering he’s “just” a dancer, buzzed around the TCM Fest screening ...
Sara Karloff, daughter of Frankenstein 33
Apr
24
2011
Boris Karloff’s only daughter doesn’t like frightening movies. “The Wizard of Oz” scared me when I was seven. Now I leave the room during “Murder, She Wrote,” said Sara Karloff, an elegant woman of a certain age, born when her father was 51. The dark-skinned beauty’s coal-black hair sports an amazing white streak, reminiscent of ...
Happy Birthday, Charlie Chaplin! 1
Anyone who trolls mid-city Los Angeles will recognize the wonderful Tudor-style building at right (you can click on the photo). Creative dynamo Charles Chaplin, one of L.A.’s real go-getters, built it in 1917. And, there, leaning against the wall of his very own film factory stands the lovely Chaplin. It’s a pretty proud moment for ...
Karloff’s got a monstrous hold on arts·meme
Apr
14
2011
Why did arts·meme blog on Boris Karloff yesterday? Only the god-of-blogs knows for certain. I don’t know a thing about Boris Karloff, really. I just liked the photo of the monster Frankenstein and little Maria from Location Filming in Los Angeles. You can join me in catching up, by attending “A Night for Boris Karloff” ...
Doing the monster mash at Malibou Lake 1
This lakeside fol-de-rol is featured in the fun new book, Location Filming in Los Angeles, by arts·meme pals Mark Wanamaker, Karie Bible and Harry Medved. The book describes how Universal shot the controversial scene on location at a lake in Malibu State Park eighty years ago this September. We learned this on Frankensteinia: On this ...
TCM to broadcast “Fragments: Surviving Pieces of Lost Film” & “Unseen Cinema” 1
arts·meme friend Jeff Masino alerts us that next Sunday evening, April 3, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), cable’s outstanding classic film channel has an unusually interesting broadcast line-up. It’s a long evening starting at 5 pm LA time, 8 pm in NYC, so stock up on wine and cheese. Two “clips” programs of rarely seen early ...
Gene Kelly’s television broadcasts @ Hammer Museum 1
I’m looking forward to attending UCLA Film & Television Archive’s Gene Kelly event which comprises part of their film preservation festival . Event is called,“Gene Kelly On Television.” OMNIBUS: ‘Dancing: A Man’s Game NBC, 12/21/1958 (1958) Directed by Gene Kelly and William A. Graham In writing, choreographing and directing this program for the prestigious Omnibus ...
The second time ’round, Liz and Dick kept it simple
Mar
24
2011
I’m starting late, but undaunted, I still aspire to catch up with Elizabeth Taylor in the marriage department (sans Fortensky). Here’s Liz’s list: • Nicky Hilton (1950-51) • Michael Wilding (1952-57) • Michael Todd (1957-58) • Eddie Fisher (1959-64) • Richard Burton (1964-74) • Richard Burton (1975-76) • John Warner (1976-82) • Larry Fortensky (1991-96) ...