To the dismay of his millions of fans, Cary Grant went into self-imposed retirement after the release of his final film "Walk Don't Run" in 1966. He made no statements about his decision, no dramatic appearances on TV programs to make the announcement. He simply and quietly just let it be known in the industry that he was no longer making films. Right up to the evening at which he was to receive his honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement at the 1970 ceremonies, it was expected by many that the award would accepted on his behalf by someone else, as Grant was adverse to speaking publicly. It was a real thrill when he walked out on stage and, despite having to contend with some bizarre inside jokes from Frank Sinatra, Grant went on to make an extremely gracious speech, sharing his honor with all of the colleagues he had worked with. No wonder the Cary Grant image is still the gold standard when it comes to style and dignity.
Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman in "The Avengers".
Writing on the Mental Floss web site, Jake Rossen bemoans the fact that in decades past, many of the great TV programs aired by the BBC were systematically destroyed or taped over with no regard for their artistic value. Among the lost gems: early episodes of the first season of "The Avengers" and early "Doctor Who" shows. Rossen examines how one woman's decades-long crusade to salvage the programing and find lost prints resulted in at least some of these treasures being located and saved for posterity's sake. Click here to read.
Writer Ralph Jones looks back on the debacle that was the 1999 big screen production of "Wild Wild West", based on the popular 1960s TV series "The Wild, Wild West". Despite an abundance of talent topped by superstar Will Smith, the film was a critical debacle. Thanks to Smith's boxoffice clout, it wasn't a boxoffice disaster, but even before the movie premiered, there were signs a turkey was about to be unveiled. In his article, Jones contacts some of the key participants in the botched attempt to turn yet another beloved TV series into a big screen franchise.
Writing on the Rolling Stone web site, David Epstein makes the case that director George Roy Hill's 1977 hockey comedy "Slap Shot" starring Paul Newman is the best sports movie of the decade. That certainly wasn't the opinion among critics or the public when it initially opened. The film's advocacy of violence in sports was derided by many who found it distasteful. Influential film critic Rex Reed denounced the characters as "Droogs on ice", a reference to the violent bands of young predators depicted in "A Clockwork Orange". However, like many films that were initially disparaged, "Slap Shot" grew in stature over the years and developed a cult of devoted fans.(Lee Pfeiffer)
Esquire has reprinted Gay Talese's legendary 1966 profile of Frank Sinatra. Esquire refers to it as "one of the most celebrated magazine articles ever published". Titled "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold", the piece covers some very intimate aspects of Sinatra's life both professionally and personally. Talese never got to interview Old Blue Eyes but was granted extraordinary access to his daily activities. Talese presents a masterfully written portrait of a controversial legend. The article isn't a hit piece on Sinatra, but it doesn't shy away from portraying him as occasionally ill-tempered, selfish and impulsive. On the other hand, while the article doesn't beatify Sinatra, it points out he was capable of acts of extraordinary kindness and a dedication to human rights. He was a complex man, to say the least. The article follows Sinatra around throughout the wee small hours of the mornings. He hated being alone and he was a creature of the night. Talese traces his carousing with Jilly, the famous New York restaurant owner whose name became legendary due in no small part to Sinatra's loyal patronage, Dean Martin, Joey Bishop and actor Brad Dexter, who is primarily remembered for being the one cast member of "The Magnificent Seven" who no one can remember by name. It's a remarkable (and very long piece) that represents American journalism at its finest.
Here's the trailer for Stanley Kramer's 1963 comedy epic "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" presented in "Smilebox" format that replicates the film's original roadshow presentation in Cinerama.
The avalanche of Batman-inspired toys that came with the surprise success of the 1960s TV series continues to this day but the prime prices for the rarest releases pertain to toys released in the 1970s as well- and some have some very bizarre stories attached to them, as chronicled in an entertaining article presented on the CBR.com web site. Click here to read.
Here's a nicely remastered Fox original trailer for 1971's Best Picture Oscar winner, "The French Connection", directed by William Friedkin. Keep an eye out for stunt driver/actor Bill Hickman, who accuses Gene Hackman's Popeye Doyle of being responsible for "a dead cop". Hickman did much of the driving in the classic car chase in "Bullitt" as the villain behind the wheel of the car pursued by Steve McQueen. The trailer also features real-life "French Connection" cop Eddie Egan as Hackman's boss, who went on to a successful acting career. Curiously, Roy Scheider doesn't even get billing in the trailer, but the Best Supporting Actor nomination he received for the film helped launch him to stardom. We enjoyed the appropriately New YAWK accent of the narrator!
When it came to playing Raymond Chandler's legendary private eye Philip Marlowe, it seemed that Humphrey Bogart came to own the part with his immortal portrayal of the private dick in Howard Hawks' "The Big Sleep", but thirty years later, Robert Mitchum received some of the best reviews of his career by playing Marlowe in the stylish 1975 film "Farewell My Lovely". He would go on to play the role again in director Michael Winner's somewhat underrated remake of "The Big Sleep". Here is the original trailer for "Farewell My Lovely", directed by Dick Richards.
The DJs on the Sirius XM satellite music service are especially informative on the channel dedicated to rock songs of the 1960s. You can not only learn fascinating tidbits about the rock artists of the day but also some ancillary information about other aspects of pop culture. For example, DJ Dave Hoffel played the 1963 Four Seasons hit "Big Girls Don't Cry" and informed listeners of its interesting origins. Seems the group had been watching a 1955 Western titled "Tennessee's Partner" starring John Payne, Ronald Reagan and Rhonda Fleming. In one scene, Payne slaps Fleming in the face, expecting her to break down in tears. Instead, she remains dry-eyed and tells him "Big girls don't cry!". So there you have it: Rhonda Fleming was the inspiration for a hit song by the Four Seasons.
Director William Friedkin recently Tweeted a link to an article that examines the hysteria that accompanied the initial release of "The Exorcist". In today's world, we've been numbed by so many imitations that it may be hard for younger readers to believe the initial impact the film had on movie-goers in 1973/74, but it's all true! Click here to read.
The short-lived 1960s TV series "The Green Hornet" was brought to ABC-TV by the producer of "Batman" in the hope the lightning would strike twice. It didn't. The show lasted but a single season. Whereas "Batman" was played for laughs, "The Green Hornet" was done as a serious adventure series and probably seemed too hokey even in 1966. Still, if one catches the re-runs on various networks today, it remains highly entertaining. The series afforded an early high profile role for Bruce Lee, who tended to occasionally overshadow top-billed star Van Williams. The show has never been released officially on video in the USA or UK, probably due to legal entanglements. (It took literally decades to get "Batman" released.) The dismal look of this rare ABC promo spot isn't much worse than the prints that are being telecast today. So let's hope someone, somewhere can give The Green Hornet and Kato a first-rate release on video in the near future.
Marilyn Monroe was among the aspiring actresses who found comfort and safety within the walls of the Hollywood Studio Club.
BY LEE PFEIFFER
In an interesting article for Vanity Fair, Cari Beauchamp explores a fascinating aspect of old Hollywood that most movie fans aren't aware of. It concerns the Hollywood Studio Club, a boarding house with style that was specifically designed to provide a safe haven for young women who had immigrated to Hollywood in the hope of finding stardom. From the earliest days of the motion picture industry, studio executives acted as sexual predators. They held all the cards in their hands. If a fresh, innocent beauty really wanted some good career breaks, they soon learned what the price was. In the silent era, Mary Pickford became the premiere champion of establishing a house where numerous young women could rent a shared room with the knowledge men would not be able to exploit them, at least in their living quarters. Pickford lobbied influential studio executives as well as notorious moralist Will Hays, the film industry czar who would impose draconian censorship standards on the entire industry that would last for decades, to support the concept. She got these powerful men to donate large sums of money to build a more upscale residence for the young women, which would become known as the Hollywood Studio Club. It was not without irony that much of the funding came from lecherous men who were known to sexually exploit women once they set foot outside of their "safe haven". Nevertheless, the concept lasted until the 1970s, by which time reticence to follow the strict rules inside the Club diminished the ranks of young women who were prospective boarders. The place closed in 1975 but left a lasting legacy as an early home to the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Rita Moreno, Nancy Kwan, Kim Novak, Barbara Rush, Barbara Eden and many other actresses who found solace within the walls of the Hollywood Studio Club.
Director Sergei Bondarchuk's 1970 epic "Waterloo" is rarely discussed and even more rarely screened today. However, in issue #46 of Cinema Retro, we delve into the massive logistics of bringing this epic historical event to the big screen in a production that starred Rod Steiger as Napoleon and Christopher Plummer as Wellington. The film was only made possible because the Soviet Union provided many thousands of military personnel to serve as extras in the magnificently- filmed battle sequences, the scope of which seemed to equal that of the real battle. Incidentally, the North American market has never enjoyed a DVD or Blu-ray release of this title. We hope this is rectified in the near future.
The character of Billy Jack, played by Tom Laughlin, was introduced in the 1967 biker movie "The Born Losers". In the 1971 film "Billy Jack", Laughlin's reappeared as the martial arts expert who defended the downtrodden while spouting progressive values. The film flopped badly at the boxoffice but Laughlin and his wife (and co-star) Delores Taylor secured the rights to the film and re-released it in 1974 with a creative advertising and distribution campaign. The movie struck boxoffice gold and paved the way for a 1975 sequel, "The Trial of Billy Jack". Young people responded to the liberal-leaning film, as it was released while the Watergate scandal and the resignation of President Richard Nixon were still foremost in the minds of the American public. It seemed natural that Laughlin would make another film in the series. "Billy Jack Goes to Washington", a modern remake of Frank Capra's "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", was to be released in 1976 but production delays ensued and the film received a only a few theatrical test screenings in April, 1977 and a three-week "pre-release" run in the Milwaukee area in November of that year. Poor word-of-mouth and critical notices dissuaded studios from offering distribution deals and the movie faded into oblivion. Writing in the Washington Post, columnist John Kelly explores some other obstacles the Laughlins had to contend with: namely barriers that were in place at the time that made it difficult to film politically-oriented movies in Washington, D.C. Laughlin would later become a political gadfly and espoused many different conspiracy theories demonizing big government and big business. But John Kelly posits that in the case of "Billy Jack Goes to Washington", Laughlin may indeed have been victimized by an effort to make life difficult for him in terms of filming on location. Kelly says other politically-themed movies of the era met the same fate, resulting in the formation of the Office of Motion Picture and Television Development, which was designed to be more accommodating to filmmakers. That aside, the primary reason for the film's fate appears to be the opinion in the industry that the series had simply run out of steam.
In an insightful article for the Hollywood Reporter, writer David Weiner revisits the production of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", which hit theaters 40 years ago this month. The film had a mixed reception from "Trek" fans and critics but the story behind the movie is a fascinating one. The article features extensive comments from William Shatner and visual effects wizard Douglas Trumbull who was dragooned into reluctantly saving the production when the special effects proved problematic. Director Robert Wise was an Oscar winner but he found that the new technologies called for him to step aside and let Trumbull conceive and direct the complex special effects-laden sequences. The result was a film that, although not the blockbuster Paramount had anticipated, proved profitable enough to launch more "Trek" films on the big screen. Click here to read the story.
When it opened in 1982, Martin Scorsese's "The King of Comedy" was not a hit. However, time has been kind to this brilliant, cynical take on how fame and celebrity can bring down a show business idol as well as fanatical fans. The film was far ahead of its time and would prove to be even more prescient as the years went by. The movie's oddball teaming of Robert De Niro and Jerry Lewis worked brilliantly and there was a superb supporting turn by Sandra Bernhardt. In this short tribute from 2009, New York Times film critic A.O. Scott celebrates this underrated gem.
The BBC has discovered an archive of photos and documents relating to the early days of the Monty Python comedy troupe which first appeared on the network in 1969. The BBC has overseen the restoration of the rare materials which have now been made available to the public. For more click here.
Brian Raftery, writing in the New York Times, has some positive news for those of you of a certain age who bemoan the fact that your favorite movie-themed amusement park rides have gone the way of the Bay City Rollers. The Times examines how some die-hard fans of the rides have allowed their legacies to live on through web sites and YouTube videos, some of which have been viewed tens of millions of times by grateful members of the public who can recall precious moments spent on these "extravaganzas" which were viewed as increasingly quaint in a world that introduces new technologies ever nano second. Yet, through the videos, rides from Universal Studios and Disney live on from "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" to "Jaws", "King Kong", "Jurassic Park", "Twister" and "Earthquake". Click here to read.
The very addictive web site www.in70mm.com presents a fascinating and exhaustive list of major films that were shot in standard 35mm format but presented (at least sporadically) in blow-up 70mm format. The list might surprise you. In addition to big budget epics, you'll find in the year-by-year listings such seemingly unlikely blow-ups as "Bye Bye Birdie", "The Cardinal", "The Chase", "Hellfighters" and "Shalako". Some of these 70mm presentations were only shown in limited areas. For example, a 70mm print of the 1967 James Bond film "You Only Live Twice" was apparently restricted to Japan. Click here to access the listings.
British kids had some cool collectibles that fans never got in the States: hardcover adventure books based on their favorite TV series and movies. These hardback "annuals" were all the rage in the 1950s and 1960s. The books featured original stories and artwork and some, such as The Man From U.N.C.L.E. , reproduced the Gold Key comic books that were sold in America. More elaborate annuals such as those based on the James Bond films offered full color photos as well. Illustrated here: two vintage adventure books based on Rawhide starring Eric Fleming and a young up-and-comer named Clint Eastwood.
Director Joe Dante's "Trailers from Hell" web site presents a daily dose of tributes to cult and classic movies. Here, John Landis goes ape over the joys of Ed Wood's schlock classic "The Bride and the Beast".
Thanks to eagle-eyed Cinema Retro reader Martin Sheffield for alerting to this rare production featurette from the Warner Bros. 1967 all-star production of "Hotel", based on Arthur Hailey's bestseller. The featurette covers a major press junket held in Miami Beach as well as the accompanying parties and actual premiere of the film. Those were the days when studios went all-out in terms of promotion.
There was a lot more to the gentle giant Ted Cassidy than you may have known. He soared to fame in the mid-1960s with his immortal portrayal of Lurch on "The Addams Family" classic sitcom. However, as this short film informs us, Cassidy had also been quite the academic and was an over-achiever in school. His acting career extended far beyond "The Addams Family". He guest-starred on many classic television shows and went on to become a familiar face in feature films as well. Sadly, he passed away in 1979 at only 46 years of age, but he remains beloved by his baby boomer fans.
In 1984, the comedy jungle adventure "Romancing the Stone" became a major boxoffice hit thanks in no part to its trio of popular stars: Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito. Not surprisingly, the studio immediately planned a sequel: "The Jewel of the Nile". This time, however, the stars were not aligned for Douglas, who was also producing. Trouble started in pre-production when Turner said she wouldn't do the film because of deficiencies in the script. Douglas had to exercise a contractual clause to force her to join the production in Morocco- not a good omen for the beginning of an expensive film. Then a tragic accident killed numerous members of the crew, followed by widespread illness on location. Douglas recalled the miserable experience recently, as presented in Deadline. (Click here to read.) Still, the sequel grossed more than "Romancing the Stone" and Douglas and Turner put aside their differences to go on to co-star in the battle of the sexes big screen hit, "The War of the Roses" with DeVito directing.
Writing in Variety, Joe Leydon outlines ten key retro films that feature in Quentin Tarantino's ode to 1969, "Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood". As one might expect from the director, the films range from boxoffice hits ("Valley of the Dolls", "Easy Rider", "The Wrecking Crew") to obscure titles the average viewer will not be familiar with ("Fort Dobbs", "Model Shop"). Click here to read.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of "Where Eagles Dare", director Brian G. Hutton's slam-bang WWII classic starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood and Mary Ure. Here is the original trailer.
CLICK HERE to order Cinema Retro's 116 page special edition "Where Eagles Dare" issue!
"Casablanca" symbolizes a great American film that has transcended being a popular hit to becoming an internationally loved classic film. Unlike many great films, it didn't take many years for audiences to appreciate its stature as a classic, as evidenced by the Hollywood Reporter's original review from 1942. Click here to read.
Here is a brief but informative look at the comic genius Marty Feldman, reflecting how he took a physical handicap and turned it into an asset only to fall victim to his own excesses. His legacy, however, is secure among audiences who treasure his contributions to classic comedy.
Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman in "Midnight Cowboy".
Writing on the Thrillist web site, Jennifer M. Wood presents an excellent article outlining 50 major films that were initially rated X but which were not pornographic. Her analysis dates back to the early days of the American ratings system when "X" initially just meant adult fare that children could not be admitted to view. Acclaimed films such as "Midnight Cowboy" and "Last Tango in Paris" were released under the "X" rating but ultimately the porn industry made the "X" synonymous with hardcore sex films. Eventually, the studios adopted the "NC-17" rating in the hope that it would revive interest in mainstream, adult fare that had an edge to it, but ultimately the strategy largely failed. Some of the classic movies initially rated "X" or "NC-17" were ultimately re-rated to "R" including a 1994 re-release of "The Wild Bunch"!
Click here to read the Hollywood Reporter's 1968 review of the feature film based on Neil Simon's Broadway smash, "The Odd Couple" starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, reunited after their previous hit, "The Fortune Cookie" in 1965.
Here's a rare CBS publicity photo of young Steve McQueen in his TV series "Wanted: Dead or Alive". The show ran from 1958 to 1961 and cast McQueen as bounty hunter Josh Randall. As with most of the Western shows of the era, the program was well-produced and written and featured an abundance of soon-to-be famous guest stars. McQueen, however, had his sights firmly on the big screen and didn't want to get pigeon-holed as a TV star. During production of the series, he had already landed a star-making role in John Sturges' 1960 classic "The Magnificent Seven". In 1963 he would team with Sturges again for "The Great Escape" which afforded McQueen his most prominent role to date. Stardom was assured and McQueen would never have to return to the medium of television again.
With the latest incarnation of "Shaft" about to hit theaters starring Samuel L. Jackson and the original star of the franchise, Richard Roundtree, the Hollywood Reporter's Bill Higgins looks back on how the 1971 release of the original film revolutionized the film industry and brought in the first major era for African-American action heroes. The film also established Gordon Parks as a bankable director. His first film, "The Learning Tree", released in 1969, won critical acclaim but it was "Shaft" that really broke the glass ceiling for black movie directors, though it would take many years before the opportunity was extended to other talented filmmakers. Click here to read.
The year was 1973 and Marlon Brando was enjoying a great career comeback on the basis of his performance in "The Godfather". On Oscar night, stunned presenters for the Best Actor award, Liv Ullman and Roger Moore, ceded the stage to a young Native American woman, Sacheen Littlefeather, who said she was representing Marlon Brando. She politely stated that Brando was refusing the honor on the basis of what he perceived to be the mistreatment of Native Americans by the film industry. Her shocking announcement was met with applause and a scattering of boos. Ms. Littlefeather then left the stage with no one claiming the Oscar. However, Roger Moore would tell Johnny Carson the following evening that, lacking any other direction, he took the Oscar home with him. When leaving the theater, he was greeted by cheering fans who thought he had won the coveted award! Brando was the second actor in three years to refuse the Oscar. At the 1971 ceremonies, George C. Scott had refused to appear to accept his Oscar for "Patton", leaving the producer, Frank McCarthy, to accept the award. Unlike Brando, however, he gave the Academy plenty of notice regarding his intentions. Curiously, the Academy didn't hold a grudge in either case because both men were nominated again for Best Actor in the year following their refusal to accept: Scott for "The Hospital" and Brando for "Last Tango in Paris".
Click here to read the Hollywood Reporter's original assessment of John Huston's 1941 classic "The Maltese Falcon". The sadly unacknowledged writer recognized immediately that the movie would be a major hit and hailed the contributions of all involved.
Film journalist Kimberly Lindbergs celebrates off-beat record albums cut by actors you probably didn't know could sing. Some had genuine hits (Richard Harris with MacArthur Park) while others saw their albums range from moderate success (Robert Mitchum) to almost immediate obscurity: Anthony Quinn, Eddie Albert, Anthony Perkins and many more. Click here to read
Here is the original U.S. radio spot promoting Alfred Hitchcock's 50th motion picture, the Cold War spy thriller "Torn Curtain" (1966) starring Paul Newman and Julie Andrews.
In the 1950s through 1970s, episodes of hit television shows were often turned into feature films. Here's one exploiting "Bonanza" that was used for European markets but which was never released in the USA.
This ad appeared in Boxoffice magazine in April 1968 extolling the longevity of Fox's three big roadshow presentations. For the unenlightened, "roadshow" films were big budget productions that played in grand movie palaces in select cities. It could often be many months before these films came to neighborhood theaters nationwide. What is remarkable about this ad is that it illustrates that even after such films went "wide" to hundreds of other theaters, people still paid top dollar to enjoy seeing them in the roadshow presentations. Consider that "The Sound of Music" opened in 1965 and "The Sand Pebbles" and "The Bible" both opened in 1966. Yet, years later, the roadshow venues were still showing these films. Today, even blockbuster movies aren't in theaters very long because so much of the profit comes from a quick turnaround onto video and streaming services. However, in those days when movie theaters provided the only forum in which to see favorite blockbusters, fans would patronize theaters to see them repeatedly. This afforded them the opportunity to see the movies in their original versions, as studios often cut considerable footage when releasing them to local theaters.
Click here to order Cinema Retro's Movie Classics edition devoted to Roadshow movies of the 1960s.
Here is the original trailer for David Lean's 1957 Oscar-winning masterpiece "The Bridge on the River Kwai" starring William Holden, Jack Hawkins, Alec Guinness and Sessue Hayakawa.
Writing on the web site syfy.com, Drew Turney relates the remarkable modern David vs. Goliath story of how a British prop maker became unwittingly ensnared in an international legal case when Lucasfilm filed suit against him and demanded $20 million in damages. His "crime"? Having provided helmets he had previously designed for use by the Storm Troopers in the original "Star Wars" then replicating his own designs for sale decades later as collectibles. Rather than spill the beans in this synopsis, just click here to read the fascinating case that ended up having a happy ending, though not for Lucasfilm.
A long time ago in our own galaxy, independent movie theaters prided themselves on creating unique promotional stunts, as evidenced from these photos from a March 1968 issue of Boxoffice magazine. In the parlance of the era, theater owners were "taking it to the streets" in order to drum up awareness of their latest showings. Sometimes models were employed and on other occasions, hapless theater employees were subjected to participating in rather bizarre and comical publicity stunts. These two photos show a model on the streets passing out leaflets to seemingly unimpressed passersby for the Joan Crawford thriller "Berserk!" and a mannequin dressed as Clint Eastwood's Man with No Name for "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." Those were the days!
Natalie cools off even as she heats up the audience in Splendor in the Grass.
Kimberly Lindbergs of the Movie Morlocks site presents her "Four Reasons Why I Love Natalie Wood" through analyzing Love With the Proper Stranger, This Property is Condemned, Rebel Without a Cause and Splendor in the Grass. (What? No West Side Story or Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice???) We concur that Natalie Wood's screen presence just seems to get better with time. Click here to find out why.
Those of us of a certain age can recall collecting movie pressbooks (called campaign books in the UK). These were sent by movie studios to theaters and served as a guide to the specific film, loaded with promotional ideas and alerting theater owners to merchandise they could tie into when showing the movie. Pressbooks are now a thing of the distant past, a casualty of the more cost-efficient method of providing publicity materials through on-line sites for which the press is given passwords. It may be more practical but there was great joy for collector's thumbing through these marvelous guides page-by-page. Here are some promotional blocks from the American pressbook for the 1969 comedy crime classic "The Italian Job" starring Michael Caine and Noel Coward. They recall a golden era when you could count on a vinyl soundtrack and paperback novel tie-in to accompany the release of a movie. It may surprise our readers to know that the film wasn't a hit in America but over the decades it has built a very loyal following in the UK where you can still buy a reproduction of the quad movie poster in souvenir stores in Piccadilly. As for the Americanized remake starring Mark Wahlberg, well, the less said the better.
The web site Looper provides some video evidence of mega-budget cinematic misfires that caused their studios and/or production companies to fold. With the benefit of hindsight, we can all say "What were they thinking???" but at the time these were deemed to be "can't miss" blockbusters.
