Yearly Archives: 2011
From The Warner Archive: Hollywood Party
The Warner Archive recently released a bizarre little pre-code gem called Hollywood Party. The film was a Jimmy Durante vehicle that supposedly had eight directors (including Alan Dwan and Sam Wood, though none were credited) and is basically a fantastic mishmash of MGM’s comedy stars. The film was released in on June 1st, 1934 – making it one of the last films before Hollywood its began strict enforcement of the Hays Code. On June 13th, 1934 an amendment to the Hays Code was adopted, establishing the Production Code Administration and requiring all films released on or after July 1, 1934, to obtain a certificate of approval before being released.
Movie Quote of the Day – D.O.A., 1950 (dir. Rudolph Maté)
Frank Bigelow: I want to report a murder.
Homicide Captain: Sit down. [beat] Where was this murder committed?
Frank Bigelow: San Francisco, last night.
Homicide Captain: Who was murdered?
Frank Bigelow: I was.
Movie Quote of the Day – This Is Spinal Tap, 1984 (dir. Rob Reiner)
Nigel Tufnel: It’s very, very special. As you can see the numbers all go to eleven. Look, right across the board, eleven, eleven, eleven and…
Marty DiBergi: Oh, I see. And most amps go up to ten?
Nigel Tufnel: Exactly.
Marty DiBergi: Does that mean it’s louder? Is it any louder?
Nigel Tufnel: Well, it’s one louder, isn’t it? It’s not ten. You see, most blokes, you know, will be playing at ten. You’re on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you’re on ten on your guitar. Where can you go from there? Where?
Marty DiBergi: I don’t know.
Nigel Tufnel: Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do?
Marty DiBergi: Put it up to eleven.
Nigel Tufnel: Eleven. Exactly. One louder.
Marty DiBergi: Why don’t you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder?
Nigel Tufnel: [beat] These go to eleven.
Movie Quote of the Day – Odd Man Out, 1947 (dir. Carol Reed)
Lukey: There’s something to be said about him before he dies.
Tober: And about all of us.
Lukey: I can see it, Tober.
Tober: Take care; you might find something you don’t understand that’ll frighten you.
Lukey: I understand what I see in him.
Tober: What is it?
Lukey: It’s the truth about us all.
Tober: Is that all?
Lukey: He’s doomed.
Tober: So are we all.
Seven Reasons Why The Muppet Oscars Should Happen
With the news breaking this morning that Eddie Murphy has exited as Oscar host after Brett Ratner resigned his post producing the show (due to his use of a gay slur earlier this week) there is much hubbub about who should take over the post.
I like the idea of previous hosts like Hugh Jackman or Billy Crystal, but I LOVE the idea of the Muppets. After the cut are a few reasons why this idea is fantastic
Eddie Murphy No Longer Hosting The Academy Awards
According to the statement released by the Academy, Murphy is no longer hosting because of Brett Ratner’s exit as the show’s producer earlier this year. I understand the whole loyalty thing, but this does not seem like the best move for him, career-wise.
Here’s the statement from the Academy:
Beverly Hills, CA (November 9, 2011) – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak announced that Eddie Murphy has withdrawn as host of the 84th Academy Awards. “I appreciate how Eddie feels about losing his creative partner, Brett Ratner, and we all wish him well,” said Sherak.
Commented Murphy, “First and foremost I want to say that I completely understand and support each party’s decision with regard to a change of producers for this year’s Academy Awards ceremony. I was truly looking forward to being a part of the show that our production team and writers were just starting to develop, but I’m sure that the new production team and host will do an equally great job.”
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar® presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.
[source]
Movie Quote of the Day – The Big Heat, 1953 (dir. Fritz Lang)
Vince Stone: Hey, that’s nice perfume.
Debby Marsh: Something new. It attracts mosquitoes and repels men.
Movie Quote of the Day – Scarlet Street, 1945 (dir. Fritz Lang)
Johnny Prince: And then you gave me a dirty look.
Kitty March: I didn’t give you a dirty look!
Johnny Prince: Listen, any girl that waits two hours in the rain for a guy is gonna give him a dirty look.
Discovering Jean Harlow
In March TCM celebrated Jean Harlow’s 100th birthday by showing Harlow’s films throughout the month. Prior to then I had only seen Platinum Blonde and Libeled Lady. During the month I watched all the films TCM showed: Red-Headed Woman, Three Wise Girls, Riffraff, Suzy, The Public Enemy, Bombshell, Reckless, Personal Property, Wife Vs. Secretary, Red Dust, Hold Your Man, China Seas, The Secret Six, Saratoga, Dinner At Eight, The Girl From Missouri and The Beast of the City.
It was quite a crash-course in Harlow. It was great to watch them all in such a confined amount of time because I could watch her progression as an actress. I firmly believe she would have been one of the great comediennes of the classic era had she lived. Since then I’ve also seen Hell’s Angels, which features her first performance (and what a stunning debut it was) and Iron Man, in which she plays opposite Lew Ayres. I’ve also seen Libeled Lady and Dinner at Eight on the big screen at the Castro Theatre. I think actually the only Harlow film I haven’t seen is 1931’s Goldie. If any of you dear readers can locate that one for me, I’d be ever so grateful.
Up until recently only a handful of her films were on DVD (visit our Jean Harlow store here), which is a real shame. It’s only by seeing someone’s work that you can ever truly begin to appreciate them. While I still wish someone would release Red Dust on DVD, I must say the new Jean Harlow 100th Anniversary collection that the Warner Archive released on October 25th is beyond amazing. Not only does it contain seven films that had previously not been released on DVD (including three remastered versions), but it also comes with gorgeous 5″ X 7″ portraits and a ton of special features. My favorite of the special features is the newly discovered trailer for Personal Property; I love that film oh so much.
What I like the most about the set is that it’s a nice cross-section of her career, starting with 1933’s Bombshell and ending with Harlow’s final film, 1937’s Saratoga (also her sixth pairing with Clark Gable). The other films included in the set are The Girl From Missouri (1934), Reckless (1935) – in which she co-stars with her real-life love at the time William Powell, Riffraff (1934) – featuring a wonderful performance from Spencer Tracy, Suzy (1935) – a strange wartime melodrama featuring Cary Grant and Franchot Tone and Personal Property – with Robert Taylor (this is my favorite Harlow film and one of my favorite films period). This set is definitely a must for anyone who loves Harlow, or really anyone who’s interested in this time period in film history.
I’m grateful that I’ve be able to become so familiar with Harlow’s work in the last year because I think she is utterly fantastic. She may well be my favorite actress and it’s funny to think I only really discovered her in the last year.
Disclaimer: This review is based on review discs given to me by the Warner Archive, though the opinions are all my own.
Oscar Vault Monday – Little Miss Sunshine, 2006 (dir. Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris)
2006 is one of my least favorite Oscar years in the last decade. Mostly because I think Children of Men was the best film to come out that year and although it got a few tech nominations, I think it deserved a Best Picture nod over several of the nominees that year. That’s why I’ve waited so long to write about this year. As it happens, I don’t love any of the nominees from 2006 (and actively dislike one of them, in fact.) But I do like Little Miss Sunshine, thus I am writing about it. I think this film is more about the performances than it is the story. I mean, it has a fun story, but it is weak in more places than people like to mention. The performances, however, I think are flawless. Although, I guess the Academy disagrees with me because it won for its screenplay. Go figure. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, winning two: Best Original Screenplay (won), Best Supporting Actor Alan Arkin (won), Best Supporting Actress Abigail Breslin, Best Picture. The other films nominated for Best Picture that year were: Babel, Letters From Iwo Jima, The Queen and winner The Departed.
the diary of a film history fanatic 