There was a time when Woody Allen and Manhattan went together like bread and butter. The quirky Oscar-winner shot virtually all of his movies in New York City, where he has resided his entire adult life. Like his best-loved character, Alvy Singer in Annie Hall, Allen was said to be like a fish out of water outside of Manhattan. That's all changed in recent years. Allen shot his acclaimed film Match Point in London and was enchanted by the city. He has since shot virtually all of his movies in Europe. Allen says it comes down to pure economics: he still loves New York but finds it too expensive to shoot movies on limited budgets. However, he does concede that Gotham has far less red tape to contend with. Click here for more

Tony Curtis photographed in London by Cinema Retro's Mark Mawston.

Very sad to hear about one of my favorite actors and another legend passing. I meet him about 4 years ago and he turned up in a big Stetson hat. When asked if that was what he normally wore he replied “No, I’m just here to promote my new film- Brokeback Mountain 2: The Later Years”!

Nobody talks like that! How many can say they were on the Sgt Peppers cover and dated Marilyn Monroe? A legend.- Mark Mawston

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By Lee Pfeiffer

When it comes to talent, style and class, few actors had the pedigree of the great Claude Rains. The consummate actor exudes sophistication in every performance from films ranging from The Invisible Man to Notorious, Lawrence of Arabia and Casablanca. Such actors are virtually non-existent today, which makes it all the more pleasing that author David Skal has teamed with Rains' daughter Jessica to write the first in-depth biography of the acting legend. The information was culled from substantial archives of materials Rains himself had amassed over the years when he was trying unsuccessfully to write his autobiography. In addition to being superbly researched, the book is also liberally illustrated with wonderful movie stills.

Here is more information from the official press release:

Born into the English working class, Claude Rains (1889-1967) overcame a severe speech impediment to become a fixture of the London theater scene. Rains's personal life was as dramatic as his work onstage: to end his second marriage while masking his wife's alcoholism, he staged an episode of infidelity, though the ensuing scandal made it difficult for him to find work. In 1926 he immigrated to America where, despite what Rains described as "the worst screen test of all time," he was hired by director James Whale to play the title role in an adaptation of H. G. Wells's The Invisible Man, a tour-de-force depending completely on his vocal skills.

In Claude Rains: An Actor's Voice, noted author David J. Skal illustrates how Rains's talents were well suited to Hollywood's studio system, allowing him to become one of cinema's best known character actors. He lent his commanding presence to such landmark films as Casablanca, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Notorious, and Lawrence of Arabia and was nominated for four Academy Awards. Bette Davis considered him her favorite acting partner.

Drawing on over thirty hours of newly released audio interviews with Rains and enriched by daughter Jessica Rains's contributions, Claude Rains is an intimate portrait and the first full biography of this gifted actor.

David J. Skal is the author of numerous books about film and popular culture, including Hollywood Gothic and The Monster Show. He is a frequent lecturer and talk-show guest and has produced several documentaries about Hollywood history, including documentaries about Claude Rains's The Invisible Man and Phantom of the Opera.

Jessica Rains, the only child of Claude Rains, is a producer and actress whose performance credits include The Sting, Pete and Tillie, Islands in the Stream, and Portnoy's Complaint.

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