Although these clips are tantalizing but brief, they are also rather interesting. The footage was taken at the Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. In one clip, Elvis Presley welcomes headliners Marge and Gower Champion in 1957 while another clip shows Clint Eastwood and fellow "Rawhide" cast members on stage in 1962.
In this Turner Classic Movies tribute to Cary Grant, Michael Caine hits all the right notes in whimsically defining the qualities that made Grant a screen icon.
It's been called the best Alfred Hitchcock movie not directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Stanley Donen's 1963 comedy thriller "Charade" has all the right ingredients. A great script, a sterling cast and that classic Henry Mancini score.
We can never get enough of Vincent Price...even when it's an audio-only production, you can still relish his "priceless" voice. Here is the original Lux Radio Theatre production of "1984" from 1955.
This sketch from "Saturday Night Live" aired in 1976 and is probably the very first spoof of "Star Trek" ever to be broadcast on a major T.V. program. At this point, "Star Trek" had already been off the air for seven years. However, the spoof indicates the kind of grassroots enthusiasm that still existed for the show. Ironically, Paramount was slow to embrace the fan movement or to back bringing the series back in any format. Ultimately, "Trek" would be revived with the 1979 big budget feature film "Star Trek- The Motion Picture". The rest, as they say, is history...
Enjoy watching the very first episode of "The Saint" from 1962, the series that would bring Roger Moore to international stardom as adventurer Simon Templar, presented courtesy of Shout! Factory.
Loren did receive equal line billing with Charlton Heston in print ads for El Cid (as indicated by this trade magazine advertisement for the film's reissue). However, she was appalled to find that the billing arrangement on a Times Square billboard had relegated her name to an area below Heston's.
By Brian Hannan
A row broke out in 2018 in Italy over promoters choosing to give Brad Pitt top billing for 12
Years A Slave, the Oscar-winning film that depicts the plight of an African-American man played
by Chiwetel Ejiofor. That reminded me of a lawsuit brought by Sophia Loren over
El Cid in January 1962.Although
contractually guaranteed equal billing with Charlton Heston, her name had been
featured below his on an electric billboard in Times Square in New York
promoting the Samuel Bronston roadshow presentation at the Warner Theatre. Her name
on the billboard was in equal size to Heston’s but she demanded it should be on
the same line. She sought a temporary injunction in the New York Supreme Court
to stop the sign being used and, in a drastic turn of events, then demanded her
name be removed entirely from all promotion to do with the film. She claimed
the action had damaged her prestige and reputation. The New York court
disagreed. Aggrieved at being denied the temporary injunction, she was set to
continue her lawsuit and there was a stalemate for several days in February until
common sense prevailed. Loren was no stranger to rows over billing and later
had a titanic tussle with Marlon Brando over who got top billing on The Countess
From Hong Kong. She lost that one, too.
Click here to read the original formal complaint filed by Sophia Loren's attorneys.
Stanley Kubrick's shocking film version of "A Clockwork Orange" was one of the most acclaimed films of the 1970s, impressing seemingly everyone except Anthony Burgess, author of the novel on which it was based.
What do J.D. Salinger, Anthony Burgess, Stephen King, Gore Vidal and Truman Capote have in common aside from the fact that they wrote bestelling novels? They were among the many famous writers who disdained certain film versions of their work. Writing on the Indiewire website, Ryan Lattanzio cites 17 specific movies that offended the authors of the source novels on which they were based. Some of these anecdotes are well known, such as Stephen King's disdain for Stanley Kubrick's version of "The Shining"...but some of the others may surprise you. Click here to read.
From
UA World, the house newsletter from United Artists in 1963. We learn Fred
Zinnemann was originally going to direct "Hawaii" and that Peter
Sellers was to co-star with Dean Martin and Kim Novak in "Kiss Me,
Stupid". Also, Roger Corman's "The Secret Invasion" was
originally titled "The Dubious Patriots".
It was an era when Oscar speeches were mercifully short, as evidenced by Burt Lancaster accepting his Best Actor win for his magnificent performance in "Elmer Gantry" (1960).
On Joe Dante's "Trailers from Hell" web site, John Landis analyzes the merits (or demerits) of the 1977 cheapo Universal horror flick "The Car", a "so-bad-it's-good" favorite of many film buffs.
Here's a rarity: original 1969 behind-the-scenes production featurette for "Paint Your Wagon". The quality is pretty lousy but it's still fun to watch and hear comments from the stars. Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood and Jean Seberg starred in the mega-budget musical that went down in flames at the boxoffice, but there's still plenty to like in the film including production designer John Truscott's amazing sets and Marvin's unexpectedly effective warbling of "Wanderin' Star".
There have been four big screen versions of the classic musical/tragic romance "A Star is Born"...and they have all been very good. The 1976 version starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson was not beloved by critics, but audiences embraced it and made it a major hit. Here is the original trailer.
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Relive this moment from the 1965 Oscar ceremonies in which Sidney Poitier presents the Best Actress award to Julie Andrews for "Mary Poppins". Her co-star Dick Van Dyke is on hand to cheer for her. This was also the era in which brevity and grace were the trademarks of acceptance speeches!
In this memorable segment from a 1976 broadcast of "The Tonight Show", Johnny Carson hosts Frank Sinatra, who makes a rare appearance on the show.Things are going well until Don Rickles makes a surprise appearance. Nothing more needs to be said....
Here's a highly watchable 1995 documentary about Sir Roger Moore (before he had earned the "Sir" title). Moore participated in the program, which traces his professional achievements as well as his extensive work on behalf of UNICEF.
Chances are that if you are a Cinema Retro reader, you're already familiar with Patrick McGoohan's 1960s TV series "The Prisoner", a true classic. It lasted only one season because McGoohan didn't feel he could extend the premise credibly beyond that point. It's esoteric, weird and completely compelling. What does it all mean? It's up to the individual viewer to form their own opinion. Here, Shout! Factory presents the uncut first episode of this landmark series, "Arrival".
RETRO-ACTIVE: THE BEST FROM CINEMA RETRO'S ARCHIVES
Singer Johnny Horton's Sink the Bismarck was a major hit when released in 1960. What many people don't realize is that the song was commissioned as the theme song for the film of the same name that was released the same year. It's pretty obvious why it wasn't used in the final cut of the movie: Horton specialized in catchy novelty songs with a country western theme. The film, directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Kenneth More, was notable for its ultra-realistic take on the British pursuit of the infamous German battleship. As good as Horton's theme was, it would have been completely out of place in the film. Interestingly, if you have the DVD of the movie, check out the bonus trailer - it features snippets of Horton's song, indicating that the decision to cut it was made at the last minute.
In 1966, with Batmania sweeping the world, everyone was trying to get a
piece of the action. Columbia Pictures came up with a novel idea. The
studio rereleased the 1943 Batman and Robin serials collectively under the title An Evening with Batman and Robin. Naturally,
this was more than twenty years before Adam West and Burt Ward slid
down the Batpoles for the first time. The gimmick turned a tidy profit,
though some of the more naive fans may have been stunned to see the
Dynamic Duo in black and white and attired in costumes that looked like
they came in last place in the local school Halloween contest. This rare
trade ad extols the regional grosses the film event was scoring across
America. Did you know that Lewis Wilson, who played Batman in these
serials, was the father of James Bond producer Michael G. Wilson?
We all know the cautionary tale: "Be careful what you wish for- you just might get it!" That certainly applies to those who seek fame and fortune in show business. Child stars are particularly vulnerable to the down side of the industry. One day they are lauded as major stars, the next they can be seen as washed-up has-beens. In many cases, they die young through tragic circumstances, many of which are self-imposed. The web site Ranker takes on a sobering journey through the lives of 30 child stars who died long before their time. Click here to view.
In days of old, there were precious few opportunities to see documentaries about the making of specific films. In 1960, John Wayne hosted "The Spirit of the Alamo", a one-hour publicity special for his epic film. In 1965, the James Bond film "Thunderball" was promoted with a one hour prime time TV special, a strategy that was repeated in 1967 for "You Only Live Twice". However, these were the exceptions. In most cases, "making of" documentaries were short featurettes lasting between five and ten minutes on average. Movie fans would only encounter them by accident. American viewers might catch one of them if a network needed something to fill some time gap, such as a rain delay in a live baseball game. The only way die-hard movie buffs could watch such films on demand required access to a 16mm film projector and the ability to know where to purchase them on the collector's circuit. Things were more liberal in the UK, where a thriving 8mm collector's market made it possible for fans to purchase full length feature films and occasionally production shorts. Today, of course, even the most inconsequential feature films generally have "making of" featurettes included on DVD and Blu-ray releases. If you're a John Wayne fan, you might like to know that buried in the thousands of unpromoted indie titles available for streaming on Amazon Prime is "John Wayne: Behind the Scenes", a mishmash compilation of featurettes pertaining to the Duke's films between 1967 and 1975.The quality ranges from awful to barely acceptable, but that doesn't diminish the pleasure of indulging in the short films.
The compilation isn't a documentary, per se. It's simply a group of individual promotional featurettes strung together without any narration. The shorts included pertain to the following films:
"The War Wagon" (1967): this rather lengthy featurette covers the making of the fun-filled Western that paired Wayne with Kirk Douglas. It remains one of the Duke's most popular films among fans. The featurette is primarily geared to showing the logistics involved in staging the film's centerpiece fight scene, a big barroom brawl and shows Wayne, Douglas and co-star Howard Keel working with the stunt crew to stage the elaborate scene. The narration is hokey but it does give a good idea of how much work and precise timing goes into filming a major action set piece.
"The Green Berets" (!968): Wayne's propaganda film in support of the Vietnam War was predictably quite controversial in its day but still grossed a sizable sum. Wayne, who starred and directed, is shown overseeing the staging of a major battle scene along with co-stars David Janssen and a young and unidentified George Takei.
"The Undefeated" (!969): is a relatively short featurette in which the movie's plot about a major drive of horse herds to Mexico is narrated by a horse! (Actually, the voice of Chill Wills, who had provided the voice of Francis the Talking Mule in the feature film series.) The movie shows glimpses of Wayne and co-star Rock Hudson, but most of the footage is dedicated to the challenge of working with hundreds of horses. (Stunt legend and future director Hal Needham can be seen in some scenes.)
"Chisum" (!970): John Wayne's first feature film following his Oscar win for "True Grit" is commemorated by a mere TV spot. It isn't a featurette at all, but does open with footage of Wayne at the Academy Awards showing off the Oscar to adoring crowds.
"The Cowboys" (972): One of Wayne's very best films. The featurette is excellent, too, as it shows director Mark Rydell working with trained young actors who didn't know how to ride horses and, conversely, boys who could ride horses but couldn't act!
"Cahill: U.S. Marshall" (1973): One of Wayne's few late career duds, "Cahill" is not generally fondly remembered by his fans. The featurette is unremarkable, as well.
"McQ" (1974): Wayne made a surprisingly good detective film with this title. Unfortunately, the "Behind the Scenes" relegates coverage of the movie to the theatrical trailer. A pity, since a featurette was made that showed how the film's spectacular car chase on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state was filmed. As a public service, we are presenting the featurette here.
"Brannigan" (1975): Wayne was back in detective mode, co-starring with Richard Attenborough in this fun romp set in London. The lengthy featurette shows Wayne enjoying the sights and sounds of the city and charming the locals. It also interviews Attenborough, who was not an action star, about his trepidation in squaring off against the Duke in a major pub brawl.
Considering how many other featurettes were available but left off this compilation is a bit frustrating but beggars can't be choosers and Wayne fans will enjoy this trek down Memory Lane.
Hepburn earned as Oscar nomination for the 1967 thriller "Wait Until Dark"- but her real life WWII exploits dwarfed anything she did on screen.
Most people think of Audrey Hepburn as the epitome of Hollywood glamour. But as a young girl, she came of age during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.The famous star said little about her experiences between the time in which her country was occupied and its ultimate liberation by Canadian troops. Reporting in Den of Geek, David Crow examines the dramatic secret life of Hepburn during the war years. It may well surprise you. Click here to read.
James Dean at his best in "Rebel Without a Cause" (1955). Curiously, he's sharing the scene with two future TV icons: Jim Backus, excellent as his milquetoast father and Edward Platt, who would go on to be a great comedy star in "Get Smart".
An underrated gem from 1970 is director Martin Ritt's "The Molly Maguires" which told the story of oppressed Irish coal miners in Pennsylvania and how they launched a violent resistance campaign in the quest for gaining livable wages and working conditions. The film was a major flop despite the presence of stars Sean Connery and Richard Harris but time has been kind to Ritt's thoughtful and engrossing film and its moral issues still resonate today.
In this 1972 clip from "The Dick Cavett Show", guest Michael Caine discusses the controversies surrounding both "Zulu" and his latest film, "X, Y and Zee" (UK title: "Zee and Company").
In this undated clip from "The Dick Cavett Show", Orson Welles is in top form: he's humble (or pretending to be), witty, jocular and a master ranconteur., and he relates marvelous tales all the while puffing on one of his signature Churchill cigars. Here, he reflects on the making of "Citizen Kane" and a chance encounter with publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, on whom the Kane character was partly based. Welles also explains about how his naivety and "dumbness" in terms of his knowledge of filmmaking helped ensure the artistic success of the movie. He also reflects on the great contributions of cinematographer Greg Toland. Welles claims he hadn't seen "Kane" since its premiere. That may be true, but keep in mind that Welles was, among many things, a master fabulist.
This 1970 film industry trade advertisement promotes forthcoming films for release from the now-defunct Cinerama Releasing company. A brief glimpse at the titles indicate that, with the exception of "Willard" and "The House That Dripped Blood", all of these titles were financial bombs. That doesn't mean some didn't have artistic merit, but it does indicate why Cinerama Releasing's days as a major film distribution company were winding down.
Writing on the Den of Geek web site, David Crow provides an in-depth and fascinating look at the origins and history of Universal's "Wolf Man" films- and how they became the forerunner of the "shared universe" concept that paired popular villains and/or heroes in the same movie. Click here to read.
Shemp Howard was born on this date in 1895. To commemorate the comedic genius of the great man, we can relish his 1947 Three Stooges short "Brideless Groom", one of the zany trio's best.
In this clip, Harrison Ford pays tribute to composer John Williams for his scores for the Indiana Jones films, as Williams is honored by the American Film Institute.
Walter Matthau pays tribute to his friend and frequent co-star Jack Lemmon at the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony for Lemmon in 1988. Lemmon's acceptance speech follows.
Retro movie historian Jonathan Baak looks back on the 1974 disaster blockbuster "The Towering Inferno" and provides interesting insights into the making of the film.
In an article for IMDB, Thomas Doherty presents a fascinating look at how Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 classic "Psycho" changed the patterns of behavior of moviegoers. Doherty points out that from the inception of cinema, audiences "dropped in" to movie theaters in a haphazard fashion, often after the feature presentation was well under way. They would then stay through the start of the film until they got to the scene they saw when they entered the theater. Studios and theater chains launched campaigns to convince movie fans that this behavior was self-defeating. Not only was a film often incomprehensible when seen under such circumstances, it also affected appreciation of the artistic manner in which movies were constructed. However, the campaigns flopped- until Alfred Hitchcock personally oversaw the marketing campaign for "Psycho" in 1960. This extended to the film's classic trailer which didn't reveal a single frame of the film itself. Click here to read how the master director successfully convinced moviegoers to become more sophisticated in enjoying the cinematic experience.
Here's an unusual trailer for the 1962 classic chiller "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?", which revived the careers of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford even though Jack Warner was skeptical about starring both of "those two old broads" in a new film. Davis and Crawford may have loathed each other personally but they both brought out the best in the other on the big screen. The trailer is carefully crafted to hint at the macabre nature of the plot without giving away any details.
Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather" won the Best Picture Oscar in 1972. Two years later, the first sequel "The Godfather Part II" also won Best Picture- and with good reason. Coppola overcame expectations and delivered a richly textured film that in many ways was even more impressive than the original movie. Watch this scene from the finale, with an impressive flashback cameo by James Caan as the doomed Sonny Corleone.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER "THE GODFATHER COLLECTION" ON BLU-RAY FROM AMAZON
Here is the trailer for John Frankenheimer's underrated 1969 film "The Gypsy Moths", which reunited Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr, who had previously co-starred in "From Here to Eternity" and "Separate Tables". The movie features a fine supporting cast that includes Gene Hackman and Scott Wilson.
Here's Rod Steiger and Marlon Brando in director Elia Kazan's 1954 Oscar-winning classic "On the Waterfront". The scene is still cited as a prime example of what brilliant screen acting is all about.
Dwight Chapin was the Appointments Secretary to President Richard M. Nixon when he helped arrange the now legendary, if bizarre, meeting between Elvis Presley and the President. Elvis had made an impromptu appearance at the White House entrance and presented a hand-written letter (on airline stationary), respectfully requesting an audience with the President. Chapin didn't automatically dismiss the request and sent it up through the chain of command, eventually getting approval for the King to visit the President on that December day in 1970. In a way, Nixon and Elvis had some things in common. Both of them had revived their flagging careers through remarkable comebacks. Nixon had been in the political graveyard before being elected to the presidency in 1968, thanks in no small part to the fractious state of the Democratic party. Elvis had been mired in mediocre movies before he decided to get back to the basics by honing his craft with the intention of playing before live audiences once again. The strategies proved to be successful for both men, giving them a common bond even though Nixon was hardly a fan of Elvis or rock 'n roll music in general. Nixon did love movies and had recently praised "Patton" and "Chisum" as examples of his kind of Hollywood productions. However, the President loathed the hippie culture and the youth-driven anti-Vietnam War movement. Thus, when Elvis offered to use his influence to bring a social message of healing to young people, Nixon felt he had nothing to lose.
Click here to read Chapin's first-hand account on Politico.
Here is a TV interview from the archives of "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" from May, 1968 that presents a rare chat show appearance by Marlon Brando, who was motivated to appear in order to discuss the recent assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Apparently only a B&W video exists of the appearance.) Brando discusses the fact that he had been looking forward to reuniting with director Elia Kazan to star in "The Arrangement". However, King's assassination motivated him to back out of his film career temporarily in order to launch a charitable drive with the goal of bringing about racial equality. He and Carson have a somber discussion about the state of race relations in America and both agree that if people don't learn to coexist peacefully, then extremists from both sides of the political spectrum will fill the void. Their observations are thoughtful and prescient, and unfortunately could easily be deemed as relevant for current day America. Looking at the video today, there is a haunting aspect to it. We know that as dire as the nation's situation was in May, 1968, it was about to get a lot worse with the assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy just one month later, something that Brando and Carson probably couldn't even conceive of in those dark days.
Dan Blocker was one of the most beloved TV stars of the 1960s. He played the gentle giant "Hoss" Cartwright on the long-running TV show "Bonanza". But there was much more to his life than most of his fans realized. He was a decorated war veteran and had a previous career as a schoolteacher. Also, he co-starred with Frank Sinatra in two hit feature films, "Come Blow Your Horn" and "Lady in Cement". Blocker died from medical issues in 1972 at age 43. This short documentary presents interesting facts about his life and career.
