Postage Paid: In Defense of Elia Kazan
October 21, 2011 by Michael Mills · Leave a Comment
- Elia Kazan 1979
Between 1945 and 1957 Elia Kazan directed 10 critically acclaimed motion pictures. He won Academy Awards as best director for Gentleman’s Agreement (1947), and On the Waterfront (1954). He was nominated for best director for two other films during that period, A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), and East of Eden (1955). Kazan also directed two of the most profound and influential dramas in Broadway history, A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), and The Death of a Salesman (1948). His novel The Arrangement, published in 1967, became a best seller.
Kazan came to the fore during the post-World War II years, arguably the most controversial period in Hollywood history. His films of the period contributed much to the reputation of 20th Century Fox, and augmented further the luster and brilliance of Darryl F. Zanuck. Kazan, nicknamed “Gadge” was one of the great directors of his time. His post-war films remain as powerful and compelling as any produced in America. For a period of 12 years Elia Kazan had no peer! Read more
The Best Actor Never To Win The Oscar
October 5, 2011 by Michael Mills · Leave a Comment
Fred MacMurray, EGR, “Double Indemnity” 1944
That Edward G. Robinson never got the Oscar he so richly deserved, noting especially his chilling performance as Wolf Larsen in The Sea Wolf, is a pity! He must be regarded as one America’s finest film actors. In Caesar Enrico Bandello, he created the prototype for the modern American movie gangster. For the wonderful memories he gave me, this post if dedicated. Information about Eddie is extremely difficult to obtain. Any additional information on Edward G. Robinson is welcomed here.
Emanuel Goldenberg, forceful, authoritative character star of Hollywood films, memorable for his tough impersonation of gangster boss Rico Bandello in Little Caesar (1930) and many other characterizations of underworld types in Warner’s crime cycle of the 1930s. In the US from age–10, he grew up on New York’s Lower East Side and gave up plans to become a rabbi or a lawyer in favor of acting during studies at City College, where he was elected to the Elizabethan Society. He won a scholarship to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and, changing his name to Edward G. (the G. for Goldenberg) Read more
Stanley Kubrick & Marie Windsor
September 28, 2011 by Michael Mills · Leave a Comment
“I didn’t know I was doing film noir, I thought they were detective stories with low lighting! Even Kubrick, in 1955 during filming of The Killing, never used the term film noir to my knowledge.
Kubrick had all his shots laid out before he started, all sketched out by his wife, who was quite a good artist. He had them all around his office. I guess that’s why we made it in 21 days, with very few takes. The scene where I took my eyelashes off we did in two takes.
He didn’t direct in front of anybody else. He’d say, Marie. Come over here a minute. We’d go behind the scenery, and he’d say, In this scene I want you to be really tired and lazy. I’d had some stage training, and he was trying to get me not to use my big voice. Read more
Mystique: Humphrey Bogart, the Peak Years
August 4, 2011 by Michael Mills · 1 Comment
Humphrey Bogart 1941
From hard-boiled Sam Spade to cynical Rick Blaine, from wise cracking shamus Philip Marlowe to down-on-his-luck Fred C. Dobbs, Humphrey Bogart created a gallery of unforgettable characters. Appearing in over 75 films, spanning 26 years, Bogart left an indelible mark on American cinema.
Humphrey Bogart’s early career was hardly noteworthy. His roles ranged from rich playboys to seedy hoodlums. In the film The Petrified Forest (1936), Bogart, on the insistence of his Broadway co-star Leslie Howard, re-created his role of the cold-blooded killer Duke Mantee. The film was a huge success and gave a tremendous boost to his career. Although his immediate roles remained constrained to the hoodlums, and malcontents he had portrayed prior to The Petrified Forest , he remained steadfast in his pursuit of excellence.
By 1941 Humphrey Bogart was on the verge of cinematic prominence. His subsequent and now celebrated roles were about to garner Bogart the acceptance and adulation he so desperately craved. A recognition he relished, as he set out fortuitously to create the now famous “Bogart ” mystique, which would dominate the screen for the next decade. He was to remark later that there were few things about which he could feel genuine pride, and the 1941 classic The Maltese Falcon, was one of them. Read more
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