Here we go again....envying Rod Taylor for having his own personal time machine. We can provide the next best thing for retro movie lovers. Feast your eyes on these ads from the entertainment section of the New York Times in January, 1969-- and keep in mind all of these films were currently showing in theaters simultaneously.
In these rare excerpts of a 1976 interview, Bobbie Wygant discusses John Wayne's career with the Duke himself. Wayne discusses being in on the advent of widescreen movies with the 1929 production of "The Big Trail" and also talks about the background of making his latest (and final) film "The Shootist", going into some details about how he wanted to make significant changes to the source novel. It's all rather tantalizing and we wish the entire interview was available.
Coming off their triumphant political thriller "Seven Days and May", Burt Lancaster and director John Frankenheimer went directly to France to begin filming another classic, the WWII adventure "The Train" (1964). Lancaster plays an everyday guy who is now a member of the French Resistance. The war is winding down and the Allies are closing in. Paul Scofield is the ruthless, elite German general with a fanatical obsession with "rescuing" the great works of art that had been removed from museums. He seeks to steal them for himself and has them loaded aboard a freight train in the hope to make it back to safer territory. Lancaster has been enlisted to stop him, as Scofield is stealing some of the nation's greatest art treasures. In the climax, shown here, the two men confront each other in a scene that is superbly played by Scofield, who made his feature film debut in "The Train".
Spolier Alert! If you haven't seen the film yet, better not watch this clip. It depicts the last scene of the movie.
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Here is a highly entertaining compilation of publicity photos and behind-the-scenes shots taken on the set of the 1959 Oscar winning classic "Ben-Hur". The photos show the cast and crew hard at work, joking around, attending the premiere and enjoying visits to the set from the likes of Audrey Hepburn and Kirk Douglas. Speaking of Douglas, the soundtrack music added to the montage inexplicably includes the famous main theme for Douglas's "The Vikings"!
Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone" remains a staple of popular culture. The show provided many poignant episodes and helped the careers of many rising young stars, as well as provided plum roles to industry veterans. Yet, we shouldn't view the series through rose-colored glasses. There were many episodes that fell short or were total misfires and this was apparent to Serling. In an article for Screen Rant, Gene Kosowan examines the flaws in the series that left Rod Serling frustrated. Click here to read.
Lucille Ball is very much back in the public eye due to the success of the acclaimed film "Being the Ricardos". Here's a blast from the past, provided by Shout! Factory- the complete Dean Martin Roasts program "honoring" Lucille Ball. The lineup of greats is almost surrealistic: Jack Benny, Dan Rowan, Don Rickles, Bob Hope, Ginger Rogers, Dick Martin, Totie Fields, Milton Berle, Henry Fonda, Nipsey Russell, Vivian Vance, Rich Little, Foster Brooks, Phyllis Diller, Gale Gordon, and, of course, Dino. This time capsule from 1975 is the epitome of what would now be called politically incorrect humor, but it thankfully preserves a period of time in which people could not only take a joke about themselves, but were honored to be the recipient of those pointed barbs. - Lee Pfeiffer
Thanks to Universal, you can enjoy "Eight on the Lam" (1967) starring Bob Hope, Phyllis Diller, Jill St. John and Jonathan Winters. If you subscribe to their YouTube channel, you'll get access to many other uncut feature films from the studio archives. (To watch the film using the "full screen" option, click here.)
Retro movie lovers know that George C. Scott told the Academy in advance that he wouldn't be on hand to accept the Best Actor Oscar if he won for "Patton". When he did win, Scott was home sleeping, having expressed his distaste for the competitive nature of the awards.The film's producer, Frank McCarthy, accepted the award. Just two years later, Marlon Brando was a "no-show" when he won Best Actor for his career-reviving performance in "The Godfather". Instead, he sent a young Native American woman to express why he was declining the honor. Brando, who was actively involved in social justice causes for Native Americans, was protesting the way they had traditionally been treated in Hollywood films. Unlike Scott, however, Brando gave no advance notice, thus leaving presenters Roger Moore and Liv Ullman somewhat confused about what was going on. For the record, years later Scott gave an interview to Playboy in which he criticized Brando's actions. He said that he felt it was ill-mannered to string the Academy along without telling them up front, as he had, that he intended to not accept the award. As related in Far Out Magazine, there was a third Oscar winner who refused the award: screenwriter Dudley Nichols who had won for John Ford's 1935 classic "The Informer". Nichols had refused the honor due to contentious problems relating to the Academy and industry unions. Click here to read.
One of the most bizarre and original crime movies of its era is director Michael Ritchie's "Prime Cut", released in 1972. Gene Hackman plays a magnate who presides over a mid-western beef manufacturing empire that serves as a cover for his real purpose: kidnapping and trafficking teenage girls into the sex trade. Things heat up when Chicago gangster Lee Marvin and his team are sent by the mob to collect an overdue debt from Hackman. In the process, he encounters a young victim of Hackman's sex slave business, played by Sissy Spacek. The mayhem that follows is violent and brutal and Ritchie places it all in the sun-drenched cornfields that look like the benign setting of an Andrew Wyeth painting. People are beaten, gored, shot, stabbed and occasionally ground into sausages. It's pretty rough going but it's also quite witty and humorous and Marvin and Hackman make terrific antagonists. If you haven't seen it, click here to buy the Kino Lorber Blu-ray from Amazon.
Elvis in "Charro!", released the same year as "True Grit"- 1969.
BY LEE PFEIFFER
When John Wayne was signed by producer Hal Wallis for the role of cantankerous marshal Rooster Cogburn in the film version of Charles Portis's bestseller "True Grit", there was immediate speculation as to who would be cast as the young Texas Ranger, La Boeuf. Wayne and Wallis agreed that Elvis Presley would be an ideal choice. In fact, Wayne had approached Elvis on several occasions over the years to appear on screen with him only to have the dictatorial Colonel Parker put the kabosh on any such dream teaming. Parker always insisted that Elvis get top billing, even when it was impractical. For example, in the mid-1950s when Elvis had just emerged as a music sensation, he had the opportunity to co-star with Burt Lancaster and Katharine Hepburn in "The Rainmaker". Yet, the Colonel insisted that Elvis get first billing despite the exalted status in the industry of Lancaster and Hepburn. The deal fell through, much to the dismay of Elvis who always wanted to stretch his acting abilities beyond the simplistic musicals that were his trademark on the big screen. Indeed, Parker told Wallis that the only way Elvis would appear in "True Grit" is if he got billing above John Wayne! Obviously, that wasn't going to happen and newly minted superstar Glen Campbell got the role opposite the Duke. He acquitted himself very well despite not having had any previous acting experience. The movie turned out to be a blockbuster that saw Wayne win the Best Actor Oscar and Campbell score a hit on the charts with the title song. Bruised by the collapse of the "True Grit" possibility, Elvis starred in his own western, "Charro!". It was his way of finally exerting independence from the Colonel. In fact, it's the only feature film in which Elvis doesn't sing on screen, though he does warble the title song. "Charro!" wasn't a bad movie, but audiences stayed away and Elvis would soon give up movies forever to concentrate on his concert and recording career, though he did star in a couple of very good feature length documentaries. As for his elusive pairing with John Wayne, the mind still reels at the possibilities that were never fulfilled.
(This article has been corrected from an earlier version that stated "Charro!" was filmed in Europe. Reader Angel Rivera pointed out that it's a misconception that the movie was made in Europe, given the fact that it has the style of a spaghetti western. In fact, the movie was filmed entirely in the USA.)
The legendary James Stewart was still alive when his friend and occasional co-star George Kennedy narrated this personal tribute to him for Turner Classic Movies. It's heartfelt and sentimental. Kennedy points out that he grieves Stewart's advanced age because he knows we'll never see his kind again. He was right, but ironically it can be argued that with Kennedy having passed away, we're unlikely to see his kind again. Two great stars who defined why retro cinema is so addictive.
These home movie clips shot by a tourist at Universal Studios in 1965 offer a nostalgic glimpse of what the tourist attraction was like in its early days. There are brief scenes of "The Munsters" and a film crew shooting a segment of "McHale's Navy".
Fans of Turner Classic Movies know that the channel always provides marvelous little featurettes that showcase famous actors paying tribute to their own screen idols. For example, here is Burt Reynolds' marvelous, heartfelt tribute to Spencer Tracy, who he befriended in 1959 on the studio lot. Reynolds was an up-and-comer starring in the TV series "Riverboat" and he would find time every day to visit the set where Tracy and Fredric March were playing antagonists in Stanley Kramer's classic "Inherit the Wind". Tracy noticed his young admirer and they took daily walks after filming. Reynolds remembers a key piece of advice from his idol: if your acting, don't let the audience catch you at it.
One of our favorite portmanteau-themed horror flicks is "The House That Dripped Blood". Released in 1971 by Amicus,the rival studio to Hammer Films, the movie is constructed of eerie short stories populated by a great cast: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, John Pertwee, Nyree Dawn Porter and Denholm Elliott. Shout! Factory has a terrific Blu-ray. Click here to order from Amazon.
Read Tim Greaves' in-depth story behind the film in Cinema Retro issue #47.
One of our favorite Duke Wayne/Howard Hawks flicks is the 1967 western "El Dorado", which memorably teamed Wayne with Robert Mitchum and up-and-comer James Caan. Here's the original cut of the trailer, which was created using a temp track for music, as Nelson Riddle's score obviously had not been completed yet.
Thanks to eagle-eyed Cinema Retro reader Ted Marsowicz for alerting to this video of vintage footage from the world premiere of "Dirty Harry" that took place at the Loews Theatre in San Francisco on December 22, 1971. The controversial film drew a large number of enthused Clint Eastwood fans along with some protesters who were less-than-enamored of the San Francisco Police Department.
Sir Alec Guinness receives an honorary Oscar for his distinguished career in 1980. Presenting the award is a somewhat nervous Dustin Hoffman (who can blame him?) Not surprisingly, Guinness is the epitome of class and grace.
When Robert Altman's "M*A*S*H" was released in 1970 it was a critical and boxoffice sensation. Audiences immediately recognized that, although the film was set in the Korean War, it was very obviously an analogy to the current controversial conflict in Vietnam. The film thrust Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould into the top tier of leading actors and the movie spawned the classic TV series that was a phenomenon in its own right. The film's success, along with the simultaneous triumph of the more traditional war film "Patton", helped stem the red ink that was plaguing 20th Century Fox and played a key role in making the studio solvent once again.
Duke Wayne sure didn't need any pointers when it came to throwing a punch, but even he wouldn't stand up to director John Ford. The behind the scenes photo is from one of Ford's most underrated films, his Civil War adventure "The Horse Soldiers" (1959). Co-star Constance Towers wisely keeps out of the way.
Writing on the Literary Hub web site, Adam Scovell presents a fascinating look at how Henry James's classic 1898 novella "The Turn of the Screw" came to inspire numerous film and television adaptations that continue to the present day. Understandably, Scovell devotes a good deal of background information on director Jack Clayton's brilliant and unsettling 1961 feature film version, which is titled "The Innocents" and starred Deborah Kerr in an Oscar-worthy performance. (Don't be put off by the over-the-top aspects of the trailer, which emulated a William Castle "B" schlock horror flick.) Click here to read.
Click here to order Criterion Blu-ray edition of "The Innocents" from Amazon.
Here is a rare 1969 documentary created by legendary producer Darryl F. Zanuck to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. Zanuck, of course, was the driving force behind Fox's 1962 epic blockbuster "The Longest Day", which had been a dream project for Zanuck. In this documentary, which is derived from a French print, Zanuck returns to the beaches with a film crew to discuss the monumental battle in which Allied forces from the U.S., Great Britain and Canada, along with Free French troops, defied formidable weather and heavy German resistance to breach Hitler's "Fortress Europe" and ultimately free the continent. The result, of course, was the beginning of the end of the Nazi regime and the eventual emergence of Germany as a free nation and thriving democracy. The documentary contains many clips from "The Longest Day". (Thanks to Cinema Retro reader Ted Marsowicz for alerting us to this video.)
A marvelous, underrated and intelligently scripted epic, the 1966 production of Cinerama's "Khartoum" seems be more appreciated by movie fans today than it was back in the day. Superb performances and fine direction by the equally underrated Basil Dearden, along with Frank Cordell's magnificent score, make it a marvelous cinematic experience.
When they say "They don't make 'em like that anymore", it might well be in reference to Bernardo Bertolucci's "Last Tango in Paris", one of the most controversial films of all time. Released by United Artists, the movie was basically an art house niche market production that became a major sensation thanks to the presence of Marlon Brando, who had just made one of the great Hollywood comebacks of all-time with his towering performance in "The Godfather". However, it was the raw sexual content of the movie that resulted in people standing in line for hours to obtain tickets to what was, in reality, anything but a populist film. Prior to the movie's American release in 1973, the Italian government issued arrest warrants for Bertolucci, Brando and female lead Maria Schneider on charges of obscenity- which, of course, only increased the public's desire to see it. United Artists' head of production David V. Picker wisely mandated that the movie initially only played at a limited number of small cinemas, therefore ensuring media coverage of frustrated movie-goers who complained they couldn't obtain a ticket for love or money. Some critics called the movie a masterpiece while others derided it as pretentious, high class pornography disguised as a "message" movie. One aspect all critics agreed on was that Brando gave one of the great performances of his career as a middle-aged American ex-pat living in Paris who tries to cope with his wife's suicide by initiating a series of kinky and anonymous sexual encounters with a young woman. Brando earned a well-deserved Oscar nomination for Best Actor despite having insulted the Academy by refusing to pick up his "Godfather" Oscar due to his disgust with how Hollywood portrayed Native Americans in films.
"Last Tango" has had its reputation damaged due to the late Maria Schneider's accusations that both Brando and Bertolucci took advantage of her naivete when she starred in the film at the age of 19. Much of the movie was improvised including some last minute scenes of a sexual nature that caught her off guard and which she said she would later regret having filmed. One thing is certain, however, the movie is unique in concept and execution. With today's sterilized film productions, adult sexual situations and nudity have generally gone the way of the dodo bird. Love or loathe "Tango", it represents a time when a major studio could release an "X"-rated title and have it find critical acclaim.
We're delighted that Joe Dante's addictive "Trailers from Hell" site has revisited Stanley Kramer's "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World". All comedy is subjective. It's pointless to try to convince someone they should find a film funny or not funny because it appeals to our basic instincts: if you find it funny, you can't help but laugh. Conversely, if you don't find it amusing, no amount of persuasion can convince you otherwise.
The trailer for this Cinerama comedy epic is narrated by the "Dean of Classic Film Distributors", Michael Schlesinger, who makes the argument that the film isn't just the greatest comedy of all time, the greatest movie of all time! We wouldn't quite go that far but we agree with Schlesinger that every frame of the film fills us with delight. Strangely enough, the late great David V. Picker, who greenlit the film as head of production at United Artists, always loathed the movie because it's excessive budget caused him to fall out with Stanley Kramer, a man he respected greatly and who he worked with on numerous occasions. He forced Kramer to make substantial cuts to the roadshow version before it went into wide release. Some of the missing footage was later found and restored for home video release. The rift between Picker and Kramer was unfortunate but David told us that he felt he had to insist on the trims for commercial reasons. He said the first cut Kramer showed him ran an astounding 4 hours and one minute! Regardless of the controversies surrounding the film, we agree it's certainly a triumph of widescreen cinema.
Lee Van Cleef traditionally kept a low profile and granted relatively few interviews. Filmmaker Mike Malloy has compiled some brief snippets of comments from those who worked with Van Cleef: Fred Williamson, Henry Silva and Dubbing Editor Ted Rusoff. They all share some anecdotes that reflect well on the man who played so many intimidating characters.
Here's a production featurette from the underrated 1968 Western "Guns for San Sebastian" which featured Anthony Quinn squaring off against Charles Bronson, under the direction of Henri Verneuil.
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In this clip from "The Dick Cavett Show", Cavett asks guest Henry Fonda to name his favorite movies. Fonda mentions "Twelve Angry Men" and "The Grapes of Wrath" but demurs when it comes to "Mister Roberts", despite the film's great critical and financial success. He explains to Cavett why her personally ended up hating the film.
Jerry Lewis always was- and remains- an acquired taste. When he was bad, he was awful but at his peak in "The Nutty Professor" (1963), a comedic take on Jekyll and Hyde, he provided some truly inspired moments and a great performance. The film, which Lewis also directed, is generally considered be the the highlight of his solo career following the breakup of his partnership with Dean Martin.
Director Nicolas Roeg's 1973 chiller "Don't Look Now" is without question one of the great achievements in the horror film genre. This original trailer shows why. If you do view it for the first time, do so without any interruptions....this is the kind of intense experience that can be compromised by taking a snack or bathroom break!
We don't usually cover the world of stand-up comedy on Cinema Retro but this is one for the ages: a late career burst of brilliance from George Carlin that reminds us of why his legacy is safe as one of the most innovative comic minds of his time. What is not generally remembered was that Carlin occasionally appeared in feature films. His first credited role was in the 1968 Doris Day/Brian Keith comedy "With Six You Get Eggroll". He also appeared in "Car Wash", "Outrageous Fortune", both "Bill & Ted" films and "The Prince of Tides" among others.
Castle Films were noted for licensing 8mm versions of famous movies that were sold commercially. The only problem was that the films were basically very short versions of the original movies with absurdly brief running times. Still, this was hot stuff for collectors in in the era of pre-home video. What makes this 7 minute condensation of "Psycho" unusual is that the person who posted it on YouTube says it was from a 16mm version of the film, which would have been outside of Castle's 8mm line. Not sure what the intended audience was for this version since very few consumers had access to a 16mm projector. Still, whoever edited this version did a fairly admirable job of including most of the key elements. In any event, if you ever wanted to watch a movie masterpiece but had only 7 minutes to spare, your ship has come in!
Writing on the Mental Floss web site, M. Arbeiter provides 17 interesting facts about Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove" that you may not have been aware of. If you want to know how John Wayne and Dan Blocker fit into the legacy, click here.
Cinema Retro celebrated the 50th anniversary of this classic film in issue #50 with Todd Garbarini's exclusive interview with director William Friedkin, actor Tony LoBianco and technical advisor and actor Randy Jurgensen. The film won the Best Picture Oscar, Best Actor for Gene Hackman and Best Director for Friedkin. Time has been kind to the film...in fact it plays as effectively now as it did back in '71.
We admit we're geeks when it comes to old film advertisements such as these New York print ads for "Let It Be" (1969) and a 1970s quadruple feature of all four Fab Four feature films released by United Artists.
Here's another very fine Western from the 1960's: director Henry Hathaway's "5 Card Stud" which offers Dean Martin, Robert Mitchum, Inger Stevens, Roddy McDowall and Yaphet Kotto. The film is unusual for the genre in that it is primarily a mystery involving the hunt for a serial killer. The film is available on DVD (click here to order from Amazon) but it deserves a Blu-ray release. C'mon, Paramount!
Shout! Factory presents the very first episode of "Danger Man" starring Patrick McGoohan. The show ran between 1960-1962 as a half-hour series before being revived in 1964 as one-hour episodes. It ran until 1968. CBS in America retitled the show "Secret Agent", spawning a smash hit opening theme song sung by Johnny Rivers. However, non-U.S. viewers never got to experience the song because the show had retained the title of "Danger Man" in the UK market and was also known as "Destination Danger" and "John Drake" in certain other territories. The show's popularity endures today. (Trivia note: portions of this episode were filmed in the village of Portmeirion, Wales, which McGoohan would later use as the main filming location for his classic TV series "The Prisoner".)
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It's hard to imagine in this age of digital media and instant gratification for movie lovers, there was a time when viewers would be excited when a favorite film was shown on broadcast television. In America, a top ratings draw was NBC's "Saturday Night at the Movies", which showed popular films including relatively recent titles. As YouTuber Fredflix points out in this entertaining and informative video, audiences had to make due with commercial breaks, edited content and "pan-and-scan" techniques that marginalized the splendor of widescreen film productions. Nevertheless, in the pre-home video age, once a film went to television, it was all but certain you wouldn't see it again in movie theaters unless it was a classic or cult title that might be shown in a big city art house venue. Today, you can get DVD editions for pocket change and very affordable upscale Blu-rays, not to mention the endless options for streaming. We can relish seeing films in their original content without edits or interruptions, which only makes it all the more amazing that there are still movie lovers who indulge in watching deplorable cable TV showings of classic movies on networks that present movies in the manner of days of old.
Treasure this classic scene from Stanley Kubrick's "Paths of Glory", perhaps the greatest anti-war movie ever made. Here, Kirk Douglas, in one of his greatest performances, has the unenviable task of defending ordinary soldiers in a court martial in which the men have been chosen at random to be executed to cover up a military mishap that resulted in the needless deaths of hundreds of troops in an unnecessary battle. Small wonder the French government prohibited the film being shown in France for many years.
In this early 1970s's interview with Dick Cavett, director Robert Altman discusses his personal demons, philosophy of filmmaking and a bit about "M*A*S*H".
Remember when the Oscar ceremonies considered it to be a highlight to present a lifetime achievement Oscar to a legendary veteran of the industry? Those were before such wonderful moments were excluded from the broadcast in favor of cramming in time-wasting comedy bits that would be more appropriate for the late-night talk shows. Today, the awards are presented at a separate ceremony and the broadcast treats viewers to a few cursory seconds of the recipient's acceptance speech. At least the great moments live on via YouTube, as evidenced by this wonderful presentation to Peter O'Toole in 2003. As Meryl Streep points out in her marvelous introduction, O'Toole had been nominated for the Oscar seven times, but never received one. O'Toole is the epitome of grace, humility and class in his acceptance speech, much to the delight of the legendary actors in the audience, including his old pals Sean Connery and Michael Caine. - Lee Pfeiffer
Here's a rarity: a behind-the-scenes production featurette for director Gordon Douglas's terrific 1966 remake of the John Ford classic "Stagecoach". There are some interesting views of the all-star cast including Van Heflin, who provides the narration for the featurette. You'll also see legendary American artist Norman Rockwell on the set, as he was enlisted to provide cast member paintings for the marketing campaign.
Blast from the past: here are some of the films playing in Canadian theaters in 1966. Whatta lineup: "The Silencers", "Our Man Flint", "The Sound of Music"....those were the days!
We always get a laugh out of the "conventional wisdom" that the Western film genre was all but dead in the 1970s. In fact, the decade produced some great Westerns including Clint Eastwood's hit "The Outlaw Josey Wales", which boasted a great score, impressive locations and a terrific supporting cast. Here is the original theatrical trailer.
Here's a real rarity from some years ago: an officially licensed Steve McQueen Virgil Hilts action figure sold only in Japan back in the 90s. The Great Escape packaging is enough to make a collecting nerd out of any retro movie fan, especially when you throw in the optional U.S Army jacket patterned after the one McQueen wore in the film. The bad news: these figures sell for hundreds of dollars whenever they periodically show up on the collector's circuit. Now if they'd only make that Donald Pleasence companion figure! (Image from UK-based Metropolis Toys, which has a cool catalog of toys based on classic TV shows and movies)
