News

I heard the names of the trailblazers of Black film – Oscar and Lena and Paul and Hattie— long before I ever saw their work. I learned early on that despite the fact that Hollywood hadn’t been welcoming, Black people have been a part of American film since the dawn of the medium. What these pioneers accomplished and what they went through is endlessly fascinating. Their history is a privilege and a thrill to discover. But if we’re only reading the stories and looking at photos about Black filmmakers behind the scenes, the experience is incomplete. The art they made should be as well known as the change they brought.

Happily, more of these early works are now widely accessible. Hence the birth of IndieWire’s Black Pioneers Must-Watch List. This gallery captures some of the most memorable performances of pathbreaking actors and filmmakers from 1920 to 1950.

The Selection

In...

When you arrive at home on a Tuesday evening and have to double-check your own address because there is a line of valet parkers in front, one of whom hands you a ticket, and when you proceed into your home of find a crowd of well-dressed people, most of whom you do not know, and an orangutan sitting on your chair at the head of the table — when all of this happens and you’re not really that surprised, there is a better than average chance that you are married to Arleen Sorkin.

The occasion on that Tuesday was a hastily arranged fundraiser for a South African human (and animal) rights organization, and the orangutan was by no means the only luminary I was surprised to find sitting in my chair over the three decades I spent with my big-hearted wife.

Wasn’t it only six months earlier that I...

This weekend, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is hosting the Regeneration Summit: A Celebration of Black Cinema in honor of their ongoing exhibition Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971, which has been extended through July 16. The three-day festival, which runs Feb. 3-5, will feature live entertainment, workshops, panel discussions and screenings with guests including Julie Dash, Carla Hayden, Janaya Future Khan, Shola Lynch, Justice Maya Singleton and others.

“Our exhibition, Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971, is like no other museum exhibition in that it celebrates Black participation in American cinema from the turn of the 19th century all the way through the Civil Rights Movement in the early 1970s,” Amy Homma, Chief Audience Officer of the Academy Museum, tells The Hollywood Reporter. “We want visitors to understand, celebrate and uplift this history. So what better way to do that than to complement the exhibition with a weekend-long festival?”

Stars and Icons, ‘Regeneration: Black...

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on Wednesday detailed how its upcoming exhibit “Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971” will explore Black filmmakers from Oscar Micheaux to Melvin Van Peebles.

The Museum shared details of the exhibit, which will open on Aug. 21 and run through April 9, 2023 in the Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg Gallery. It is the second major temporary exhibit at the Academy Museum, after the current installation devoted to the work of Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki.

In a press release, the Academy Museum described the exhibition this way:

“The exhibition explores the achievements and challenges of both independent production and the studio system, from cinema’s infancy in the 1890s through the height of the civil rights movement. ‘Regeneration’ features rarely seen excerpts of films restored by the Academy Film Archive, as well as other narrative films and documentaries; newsreels and home movies; photographs; scripts; drawings; costumes; equipment; posters; and historical materials,...

Now for a real treat for musical fans, a core MGM dazzler with top stars, fully restored and looking incredibly good. Vincente Minnelli’s snappy, funny 1948 show isn’t ranked among producer Arthur Freed’s best but it ought to be. Silly farce gets a high-toned, technically amazing workout as Judy Garland’s demure señorita secretly lusts after the ruthless corsair of the title, Mack the Black! Gene Kelly’s slippery carny womanizer impersonates her piratical fantasy sex object, and it all ends in clowning and killer musical numbers. Cole Porter’s smart songs attest to the great orchestrators and arrangers in MGM’s world-class music department; the new full digital restoration makes the movie look and sound better than I’ve certainly ever seen it.

The Pirate

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1948 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 102 min. / Street Date November 24, 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Walter Slezak,...

Pictured (left to right): Kiri Hart, Richard Edlund, John Dykstra, Marcia Lucas, Dennis Muren and John Knoll.

On Thursday evening The Academy’s Science and Technology Council presented “Galactic Innovations: Star Wars and Rogue One” at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

Oscar-winning, Oscar-nominated and Scientific and Technical Award-honored panelists included Ben Burtt ,John Dykstra, Richard Edlund, Harrison Ellenshaw, Bill George, John Knoll, Marcia Lucas, Dennis Muren, Bruce Nicholson and Rachel Rose. The evening was hosted by “Rogue One” co-producer Kiri Hart.

These VFX pioneers shared the journey of creating the impossible with their breakthrough visual effects. They also shared rare images that compared the technology and visual results from both films.

Pictured (left to right): Rachel Rose, Bill George, John Knoll, Bruce Nicholson, Harrison Ellenshaw, Richard Edlund, Stormtroopers, John Bailey, Marcia Lucas, John Dykstra, Dennis Muren, Ben Burtt and Kiri Hart.

Check out some of the...

By Lee Pfeiffer

Time Life has released "Bob Hope: Entertaining the Troops", a priceless presentation of Hope's famous Uso shows for American troops serving overseas. The two programs, presented uncut, are a wonderful time capsule of the era. At the time the Vietnam War was raging and the only glimpses concerned Americans got of the fighting men were grim images squeezed into the half-hour evening news during this pre-cable TV era. Thus, Hope's merry band of entertainers allowed some welcome views of the servicemen getting a rare and well-deserved laugh from the songs, skits and stand up presented by Hope and his troupe. Not surprisingly, the biggest reactions are afforded to the sex symbols who traveled with him. In this case, they include Connie Stevens, Lola Falana, Romy Schneider and Ursula Andress. Admittedly, the humor creaks with age but the spirit and good will is timeless. One of the...

Just as there are films that shine bright in a star's history, there are also films whose histories are controversial at best. The Pirate is an odd contradiction of a movie. As one of Judy Garland's most expensive films, it was also her first MGM bust. Released two years after childrearing had put Judy on hiatus, it was nonetheless stuck in preproduction for five years before that. While it landed Judy another hit song, the knockoff written four years later would become a classic. Though The Pirate was the loudest, brightest movie Judy had made to date, its most interesting sequences were left on the cutting room floor. What to do with The Pirate?

The Movie: The Pirate (1948, MGM) 

The Songwriter: Cole Porter

The Players: Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, The Nicholas Brothers, directed by Vincente Minnelli

The Story: The Pirate must have seemed cursed from the start. By the time Vincente Minnelli started filming,...

This 1948 Vincente Minnelli musical could just as easily been titled The Technicolor Pirate, so blazingly vivid is the photography. The film itself, unfortunately, is not that blazing, the result of a troubled production history (it took four months to film) and on-set tension between Minnelli and his wife and star of the film, Judy Garland. It does have a fine score (including Be a Clown) and a great dance sequence with Gene Kelly and The Nicholas Brothers (a sequence that was cut in some theaters in the South due to the black performers dancing with the white Kelly).

Peter Andre is studying Fred Astaire videos ahead of his 'Strictly Come Dancing' appearance. The 'Mysterious Girl' hitmaker - who is favourite to win this year's show - has been preparing for the competition by watching old clips to learn some moves that were popular with audiences of their time. He explained: ''For the past 10 days I've been looking at clips of Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, the Nicholas Brothers and SammyDavis Jr. to see what they did to make the audience like their performances.'' Though 'Strictly' will require a lot of work for Peter - who has children Junior, 10, and Princess,...

We spend years viewing the world through the eyes of a child before abandoning it. Not the world, that is—but we grow into players in the game of Life, rub our heavy eyelids, and take to ever-trippy existence from a heightened perspective in which our formative fears and fantasies are filtered through a scope less blurry, unadulterated. And then in doing so we leave a little something behind. For a grown-up to be considered “childish” comes with more negative connotations than posi, but to retain one’s inner child is a paramount strength. So what is the difference?Theodore Geisel, also known under the pseudonym Dr. Seuss, authored the most celebrated children’s literature of his time. He presented generations upon generations whimsical visions which, in proper auteur style, require just a single glance to recognize as work of his. Geisel’s simply-worded fables were praised for encouraging youth...

Above: French poster by Boris Grinsson for You’ll Never Get Rich (Sidney Lanfield, USA, 1941).In the new edition of Film Comment, out this week, I write about British airbrush artist Philip Castle and his iconic poster for Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange. The other man behind that poster, aside from Kubrick himself, was producer, director and writer Mike Kaplan who, at the time, was Kubrick’s marketing guru.Kaplan, who has been collecting movie posters, as well as art directing them, for 35 years, is a tireless proselytizer for the art form and his latest project is a labor of love and a pure delight. Gotta Dance! The Art of the Dance Movie Poster, a book he wrote and curated, was born out of a touring exhibition of his own personal collection that he has been exhibiting around the country for the past few years. Its latest stop is...

Ah, the sweet sound of success! Even more relevant in this movie article is the sweet movement of success. Thus, Shake A Tail Feather: Top Ten Dance Moments in the Movies will highlight some of the top-notch dance steps where moving your feet to the music is essential. Now this does not have to necessary be exclusive to musical-oriented films or dance-related flicks but hey…it could not hurt either, right?

Nevertheless folks, how about we take a free-wheeling look at some of the selections that were memorable (some more than others) spotlighted here in Shake A Tail Feather: Top Ten Dance Moments in the Movies were your finger-snapping, feet-stomping urges overcome you. Perhaps you have your brand of acceptable dance moments not included in this group? Well, let your thoughts be known if you feel compelled to do so. In the meantime, sit back and check out some of...

Oscar bait performances by Reese Witherspoon, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Timothy Spall, a Tenacious Eats “Movies for Foodies” event, and a tribute to the St. Louis-born silent film star King Baggot are some of the many highlights of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. Cinema St. Louis announced the 2014 line-up today and it’s the usual hi-quality mix of independent films, foreign films, locally-made films, end-of-year studio awards product, and retro programming.

The 23rd Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival (Sliff) will be held Nov. 13-23. Sliff will screen 389 films: 89 narrative features, 76 documentary features, and 224 shorts. This year’s festival has 239 screenings/programs, with 69 countries represented. The fest will host more than 125 filmmakers and related guests, including honorees Doug Pray (Contemporary Cinema Award), Katie Mustard (Women in Film Award), and Timothy J. Sexton (Charles Guggenheim Cinema St. Louis Award).

The festival will open on Thursday, Nov. 13, with the...

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) has added an exciting roster of screen legends and beloved titles to the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival, including appearances by Maureen O’Hara, Mel Brooks and Margaret O’Brien, plus a two-film tribute to Academy Award®-winner Richard Dreyfuss. Marking its fifth year, the TCM Classic Film Festival will take place April 10-13, 2014, in Hollywood. The gathering will coincide with TCM’s 20th anniversary as a leading authority in classic film.

O’Hara will present the world premiere restoration of John Ford’s Oscar®-winning Best Picture How Green Was My Valley (1941), while Brooks will appear at a screening of his western comedy Blazing Saddles (1974). O’Brien will be on-hand for Vincente Minnelli’s perennial musical favorite Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), starring Judy Garland. The tribute to Dreyfuss will consist of a double feature of two of his most popular roles: his Oscar®-winning performance...

Entertain Me is a new feature for Digital Spy, where we find out the music, movies, books and tech that define people.

Diversity star Ashley Banjo, who returns to Sky1 tonight with his new series Big Town Dance, is the first celebrity to step up, revealing his personal heroes and inspirations in the world of dance, music and beyond.

What song would you want played at your funeral?

That's hard. Something happy. 'Celebration' by Kool and the Gang. Not to celebrate the fact I'm dead - ha, ha - but the whole vibe, 'celebrate, good times', everyone singing along. Either that or the Jackson 5, 'I Want You Back'. That was the Diversity theme tune when we won Britain's Got Talent.

Who are your dance heroes?

Michael Jackson. Fred Astaire. Gene Kelly. The Nicholas Brothers. You don't know the Nicholas brothers? Oh my.

There are so many great dancers these...

Top 10 Aliya Whiteley 28 May 2013 - 06:55

The 1930s to the end of the 20th century saw the release of some classic tap dancing movies. Here's Aliya's pick of the 10 best...

Either you love movies in which people suddenly break into tap dance routines to express their innermost desires, or you hate them. If you hate them, you’re in luck – they pretty much don’t exist in modern film any more.

Having said that, there have been some great dancing moments in the last few years, such as Amy Adams having a me party in The Muppets, or Meryl Streep bouncing up and down on the bed in Mamma Mia! But these aren’t tap dances, and they’re much more about enthusiasm than skill. Or High School Musical, Take The Lead and others give us great modern or ballroom dancing, but within the context of people putting on a show,...

Year after year, The Kennedy Center Honors remains the most entertaining awards show on the air — a reverent ceremony with unmatched warmth and appreciation radiating between the stage, the audience, and the box of eclectic honorees, which this year includes David Letterman, Dustin Hoffman, blues great Buddy Guy, prima ballerina Natalia Makarova, and Led Zeppelin. We spoke to producers George Stevens, Jr., who co-created the Honors 35 years ago, and Michael Stevens, who’s won four consecutive Emmys with his father for the variety special, to find out how they do it. The 35th Annual Kennedy Center Honors, taped earlier this month,...

Male impersonator Kitty Doner According to the Encyclopedia of Vaudeville press release, you interviewed a number of vaudeville stars. Could you share a couple of anecdotes? [See previous post: The Encyclopedia Of Vaudeville Q&A with Anthony Slide: Vaudeville History.] I had the good fortune to talk with a number of vaudevillians: Milton Berle, George Burns, Fifi D’Orsay, May Foy (of the Seven Little Foys), Nick Lucas, Ken Murray, Fayard Nicholas (of the Nicholas Brothers), Al Rinker (of the Rhythm Boys), Rose Marie, Virginia Sale, Joe Smith (of Smith and Dale), Arthur Tracy, Rudy Vallee, Nancy Welford, and the brilliant Senor Wences (photo). I was [...]...

If a reviewer decided to adhere to the old maxim about comparisons being odious in the case of the City Center Encores! series Gentlemen Prefer Blondes concert reading, he'd be obliged to say that Megan Hilty does a solid job as Lorelei Lee.

She gets her laughs on the lines Anita Loos and Joseph Fields supplied the deceptively savvy, supposedly dumb blonde Loos first immortalized in her 1920s Harper's Bazaar sketches and eventually published in novel form. Wearing a dazzling gown on which costumer David C. Woolard consulted, Hilty delivers an applause-reaping "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend." Indeed, throughout the show, she acquits herself as well as might be hoped and expected.

If, on the other hand, a reviewer admits it's impossible to sit through any Gentlemen Prefer Blondes iteration without flashing on the previous two attention-demanding Lorelei Lees -- Carol Channing on Broadway in 1949 (following her scintillating Great...

What better way to celebrate Black History Month than takein some vintage films about the black experience?

The folks behind the St. Louis Black Film Festival Presents a Classic Black Film Festival for Black History Month at Landmark’s Tivoli Theater (6350 Delmar in St. Louis. Loop) each Thursday in February. Last year the St. Louis Black Film Festival presented a series of new films by black filmmakers, but this year are going back into the vaults and digging out some vintage cinema for audiences with an interest in black history to enjoy on the big screen.

The event kicks off tonight, February 2nd, at the Tivoli Theater at 5pm with the 1943 classic Stormy Weather, about the relationship between an aspiring dancer (Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson) and a popular songstress (Lena Horne). Robinson was the world’s preeminent tap dancer of his day, and is remembered for his appearances with Shirley Temple...

George Kuchar‘s 1977 short film I, an Actress has been accepted as one of twenty-five films into the 2011 National Film Registry. This means that the film will be preserved for future generations due to its “enduring significance to American culture,” according to Librarian of Congress James H. Billington.

Sadly, this prestigious accomplishment comes several months after Kuchar’s passing back in September. I, an Actress was released on DVD in 2009 on the Treasures IV: American Avant-Garde Film, 1947 — 1986 box set put out by the National Film Preservation Foundation.

Two other underground films were also accepted into the National Film Registry this year: Jordan Belson’s Allures (1961) and Chick Strand’s Fake Fruit Factory (1986). Belson and Strand also passed away recently. Belson, on the same day as Kuchar (Sept. 6, 2011), and Strand on July 11, 2009. Fake Fruit Factory can be seen alongside I, an Actress on the Treasures IV box set.

The National Film...

Fake Fruit Factory from Guergana Tzatchkov on Vimeo.

"Every year, Librarian of Congress James H Billington personally selects which films will be added to the National Film Registry, working from a list of suggestions from the library’s National Film Preservation Board and the general public," reports Ann Hornaday for the Washington Post. This year's list of 25 films slated for preservation:

Allures (Jordan Belson, 1961) Bambi (Walt Disney, 1942) The Big Heat (Fritz Lang, 1953) A Computer Animated Hand (Pixar, 1972) Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment (Robert Drew, 1963) The Cry of the Children (George Nichols, 1912) A Cure for Pokeritis (Laurence Trimble, 1912) El Mariachi (Robert Rodriguez, 1992) Faces (John Cassavetes, 1968) Fake Fruit Factory (Chick Strand, 1986) Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis, 1994) Growing Up Female (Jim Klein and Julia Reichert, 1971) Hester Street (Joan Micklin Silver, 1975) I, an Actress (George Kuchar, 1977) The Iron Horse (John Ford, 1924) The Kid (Charlie Chaplin, 1921) The Lost Weekend (Billy Wilder, 1945) The Negro Soldier (Stuart Heisler,...

It's that time of year again and the National Film Registry has selected 25 more films for preservation. As usual, the titles range from mainstream to art house and from old to relatively new. They are all linked in that they've been deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant by members of the Library of Congress and the National Film Registry. Some of the picks include Best Picture winners such as Forrest Gump, The Long Weekend, and The Silence of the Lambs. There are also silent films represented with with efforts from Charlie Chaplin and John Ford making appearances. One particular highlight (for me, anyway) is John Cassavetes' Faces, which helped propel modern-day independent filmmaking. While plenty of these films are worthy of discussion, there's always a few that people debate the merits of. I could see some dismissing the inclusion of El Mariachi, especially since it isn't that old, but...

©Paramount Pictures

“My momma always said, .Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get..” That line was immortalized by Tom Hanks in the award-winning movie “Forest Gump” in 1994. Librarian of Congress James H. Billington today selected that film and 24 others to be preserved as cultural, artistic and historical treasures in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.

Spanning the period 1912-1994, the films named to the registry include Hollywood classics, documentaries, animation, home movies, avant-garde shorts and experimental motion pictures. Representing the rich creative and cultural diversity of the American cinematic experience, the selections range from Walt Disney.s timeless classic “Bambi” and Billy Wilder.s “The Lost Weekend,” a landmark film about the devastating effects of alcoholism, to a real-life drama between a U.S. president and a governor over the desegregation of the University of Alabama. The selections also...

Every year The Library of Congress selects, recognizes, acknowledges, and honors a group of films that will be inducted into the National Film Registry. As the year comes to a close, the organization has announced these another 25 movies, as they have been doing for the past 20 years, that will be preserved in the honorary library. There is no real set of rules when it comes to which movie can be preserved, just that it has to be ten years old. These films are also nominated by the public.

The Silence of the Lambs, Forrest Gump and Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid are just some of the Oscar wining films that were selected into the registary. The original War of the Worlds (yes there was one released in 1953), Stand and Deliver, Bambi, El Mariachi, and The Big Heat were also some of the biggest titles inducted into the Library of Congress.

When the entire world population is consumed by the unstoppable (and caffeinated) Starbucks Super-Flu pandemic in 2055, we can rest easy knowing our cinematic treasures have been carefully preserved by the National Film Registry, whose goal is to retain 25 "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant films" in the Library of Congress annually.

With more than 2,000 titles nominated in 2011 alone, the list of this year's crop of movies include Walt Disney's "Bambi," Robert Rodriguez's "El Mariachi," Charles Chaplin's "The Kid" and Robert Zemeckis' "Forrest Gump."

Just from those four films alone, you can see that the criteria for inclusion has cast its net pretty wide, with everything from Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull's "A Computer Animated Hand" (1972) whose significance we covered back in September, John Cassavetes' highly influential indie domestic drama "Faces" (1968), to Jonathan Demme's 1991 Best Picture winner "Silence of the Lambs," in which, incidentally, Anthony Hopkins' character takes people's faces.

By Sean O’Connell

Hollywoodnews.com: Each December, the Library of Congress adds new films to its preservation list. Today, they revealed the 25 selected titles that will be protected by the National Film Registry.

Walt Disney’s “Bambi,” Robert Zemeckis’ “Forrest Gump,” and Charlie Chaplin’s classic “The Kid” are among the movies selected for this year’s list.

“These films are selected because of their enduring significance to American culture,” Librarian of Congress James H. Billington said. “Our film heritage must be protected because these cinematic treasures document our history and culture and reflect our hopes and dreams.”

Annual selections are finalized by the Librarian, who reviews hundreds of titles nominated by the public. This year 2,228 films were nominated for consideration. The Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation then works to ensure that every film added to the Registry is preserved for generations to come.

Here...

I’m never one to put significant stock in the film-based choices made by any kind of committee — be it an awards group, critics circle, soup kitchen line, etc. — but the National Film Registry is a little different. Not that they’re any different than those aforementioned organization types, but because the government assemblage preserves works deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.” No small potatoes.

Their latest list — created for both public awareness and the opportunity to grumble, as I’ll do in a second — has been unveiled, and the selections are none too out-of-left-field. The biggest of these 25 would have to be Forrest Gump, a choice I fully understand but completely disagree with on an opinion and moral scale. The only other true objection I can raise is toward El Mariachi, film school-level junk from a director whose finest works are the direct result of working with those more talented.

Best Picture winners The Lost Weekend (1945), Forrest Gump, and The Silence of the Lambs (1991), along with the Walt Disney Studios' animated classic Bambi (1942), Charles Chaplin's silent comedy-drama The Kid (1921), and Howard Hawks' early screwball comedy Twentieth Century (1934) are among the 25 "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant movies just added to the Library of Congress' National Film Registry. Directed by Billy Wilder, The Lost Weekend earned Ray Milland a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of an alcoholic. Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs earned Oscars for both leads, Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster. A monumental box-office hit in the mid-'90s and a paean to idiocy and conformism, Forrest Gump earned Tom Hanks his second back-to-back Oscar (he had won the previous year for Demme's Philadelphia). As per the National Film Registry's release, Bambi was Walt Disney's favorite among his studio's films. (That's all fine,...

With Duke Ellington's music as the centerpiece, Cotton Club Parade reimagines one of the composer's Cotton Club floor shows. Ellington and his orchestra began a four-year residency at the Club in 1927 and continued making guest appearances throughout the 1930s. Legendary performers such as the Nicholas Brothers, Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters, Snake Hips Tucker, Peg Leg Bates and a 16-year old Lena Horne all performed at the Club.

The best of your comments on the latest films and music

Gotta sing! Gotta dance! So excuse me if I do quick soft-shoe shuffle as I write, for last week you joined David Thomson in his appreciation of the golden age of the MGM musical. Why can't they make them like that anymore, wondered swanstep: "Modern attempts at musicals such as Chicago and Moulin Rouge have many problems, but a big one is just that, well, who wants to see non-dancers like Kidman and Zellweger and Gere 'do their best'? (I don't want to hear them sing 'their best' either – dub them for God's sake!). In MGM's world with Astaire and Kelly and Powell and the Nicholas Brothers and Ann Miller and Charisse et al, you get the best dancers period." Doravale seconded that emotion: "All we need is directors of vision (and I don't mean Rob Marshall) to return...

Claudette Colbert, Alla Nazimova, Marion Davies, Charles Boyer: Cinecon 2011 Thursday September 1 (photo: Alla Nazimova) 7:00 Hollywood Rhythm (1934) 7:10 Welcoming Remarks 7:15 Hollywood Story (1951) 77 min. Richard Conte, Julie Adams, Richard Egan. Dir: William Castle. 8:35 Q & A with Julie Adams 9:10 Blazing Days (1927) 60 min. Fred Humes. Dir: William Wyler. 10:20 In The Sweet Pie And Pie (1941) 18 min 10:40 She Had To Eat (1937) 75 min. Jack Haley, Rochelle Hudson, Eugene Pallette. Friday September 2 9:00 Signing Off (1936) 9:20 Moon Over Her Shoulder (1941) 68 min. Dan Dailey, Lynn Bari, John Sutton, Alan Mowbray. 10:40 The Active Life Of Dolly Of The Dailies (1914) 15 min. Mary Fuller. 10:55 Stronger Than Death (1920) 80 min. Alla Nazimova, Charles Bryant. Dir: Herbert Blaché, Charles Bryant, Robert Z. Leonard. 12:15 Lunch Break 1:45 Open Track (1916) 2:00 On The Night Stage (1915) 60 min. William S. Hart, Rhea Mitchell. Dir: Reginald Barker. 3:15 50 Miles From Broadway (1929) 23 min 3:45 Cinerama Adventure (2002). Dir: David Strohmaier. 5:18 Discussion...

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

Normal 0 false false false En-Us X-none X-none MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

A Thief Catcher (Keystone, 1914), featuring a previously unknown performance by silent comedy star Charlie Chaplin, will have its west coast re-premiere during the 46th annual Cinecon Classic Film Festival at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood California over Labor Day Weekend, September 2-6, 2010

Chaplin is officially credited with appearing in thirty-five films during his year at Keystone in 1914, but he claimed in various interviews that he had also played bit roles as a cop and a barber while at the studio--but he did not name the films, and although there has been some speculation about the possibility of additional Chaplin-Keystone appearances, none has turned up until now. Film collector Paul Gierucki found a 16mm film print in a trunk at a Taylor, Michigan, antique store last year. "I could tell it was a Keystone comedy,...

After seeing Step Up 3D, I’ll second what Owen Gleiberman said in his review: “Step Up 3D isn’t, in dramatic terms, a very good movie, but it’s the first film in a while to use 3-D as more than a marketing ploy; it points toward an original way of making a musical.” So often we think of 3-D as things flying out at the audience, but really, it’s about bringing us into the action. You feel like you’re on the dance floor during the battles, and when a member of a crew steps out in front of the others,...

Most professional dancers performing today came of age during the era of the megastudio, those enormous dance training facilities—such as Edge Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles and Broadway Dance Center in New York—that feature a vast variety of instructors teaching many different kinds of classes under one roof. The convenience afforded by these studios is fabulous, and their wide array of offerings is certainly enticing and seemingly necessary for any dancer wanting to succeed in today's versatility-oriented commercial dance industry.However, before real estate costs and other economic factors forced many dance teachers to close their independently operated studios, professional dancers often received virtually all of their training at only one or two studios and with only one or two instructors. While the megastudios have certainly made it easy for dancers to access a greater diversity of classes and instructors, they also provide the temptation to jump around from teacher to teacher,...

American-born singer and actor who spent the war years in Britain

For those people for whom the words Itma, "Big-Hearted Arthur" and Ambrose conjure up fond memories, and the blitz less fond ones, the name of the American-born singer and actor Evelyn Dall, who has died aged 92, might ring a few syncopated bells. Dall spent the war years in Britain, during which time she co-starred with Tommy "It's That Man Again" Handley and Arthur Askey in a few musical-comedy films, and was a featured soloist with Bert Ambrose's dance band, performing at the Holborn Empire and the Mayfair hotel.

Billed as "The Blonde Bombshell", having filched the sobriquet from Jean Harlow, who had died some years before, the petite Dall, who was cute rather than sexy, gave chirpy support to the two cheeky comedians who traded on their radio fame for their lingering appeal. Dall ("doll" when pronounced by...

Alexandra Cheney Michael Moschen moves across the stage as he flips and twirls a baton and silver ring simultaneously.

His fingers resembled short, fat sausages, his hands wrought with thick calluses. He wore black and spoke softly. He refused to define himself, his craft, and his methodology.

He is Michael Moschen, the street performer-cum-MacArthur Fellow-cum-illusionist-cum-juggler. This weekend, Moschen appeared before a sold-out crowd at New York University’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts.

Kids leap-frogged down the auditorium stairs as all 860 spectators took their seats. The lights dimmed and Moschen sauntered onto the stage.

“Hello,” he said, pausing, “I want to make new things.”

Over the course of the next 90 or so minutes, Moschen drew gasps and claps from the crowd. He opened his act with a story about his history in juggling with his next-door neighbor in Connecticut, Penn Jilette, of Penn and Teller. He tapped his white...

Or if they weren’t then certainly in the top three of All time. I’m talking about the great Nicholas Brothers, Fayard and Harold. Very few dancers were truly brillaint or as unique as them and a lot dancers, such as Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly down to Michael Jackson were inspired by (or let’s be honest just plain stole from) them. In fact both Michael and sister Janet were actually were their tap dance students for a period. They appeared in several “race” movies during the 30’s and 40’s and a few Hollywood films during the 1940’s. Below is just an example of their work from the 1940 20th Century Fox musical Down Argentine Way. Just watch and be amazed…...

A few years ago the Austin Film Society showed the 1941 film Sun Valley Serenade as part of an anniversary series. Usually the programming director introduces the films, but this time it was one of the founders of Afs, Richard Linklater. This was a side of Mr. Linklater that I had not previously seen: the film buff who wants to tell you some interesting things about an obscure romantic comedy that isn't available on DVD. For the most part, this is a goofy featherweight movie about a big band that decides to adopt a little WWII orphan for publicity purposes ... who turns out to be Sonja Henie. They all end up in the Sun Valley resort in Idaho and hilarity ensues. The Glenn Miller Orchestra is the big band in question, which adds a bit of swing to the proceedings.

But Linklater told us that the most fascinating part of the...

Who wants to live for ever? Well, in cinema, many apparently do. So slap on the anti-ageing cream and enjoy Phil Hoad's roundup of enduring death-defying acts

Unmanageable taboos are usually checked in to the collective unconscious, where they look after themselves. It's for our own good. Take immortality, the arch-tantaliser with the greatest price – for gods and madmen, only.

But immortality got closer, courtesy of the vampires. Hit the 1890s, and living for ever seemed no more morally burdensome than a 300-page lifestyle glossy: apply eyeshadow and ennui, fast-forward any boring epochs. In the 2010s it just means RPattz won't shag you, and his yearbook photo never changes. Admit it, time now whispers, the immortals aren't them, but us: anti-ageing pledges, nip-and-tuck, mad DNA science, the embers of religion.

But perhaps the great hereafter is no closer at all. Perhaps it's still tantalising: the neverland where death's on hold,...

Tony Award-winning dancer Frankie Manning has died, aged 94.

A swing-era dance pioneer, Manning became a master of the Lindy Hop. He began his career in the 1930s in Harlem, New York's premier ballroom, the Savoy and was soon hired as a contract dancer at the famed Cotton Club. And his swift success took him on tours of Europe, New Zealand and Australia.

He also danced in Hollywood films including 1938's Radio City Revels and the film version of Broadway's Hellzapoppin' in 1941 and appeared in 1939 musical The Hot Mikado.

Manning took a hiatus from dance to serve with the U.S. Army in World War II, and was celebrated upon his return.

In 1989, he co-choreographed a Lindy routine for Alvin Ailey’s Opus McShann - the same year he shared the Tony for best choreography with Cholly Atkins, Henry LeTang and Fayard Nicholas for their contributions to the Broadway revue Black and Blue.

And in 1992, he returned to Hollywood, appearing in Spike Lee's Malcolm X - and was commissioned by the director to train Denzel Washington for a Lindy scene in the movie.

In addition to the Tony, Manning was also awarded the National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2000.

Manning's death was announced by his companion, Judy Pritchett. No cause of death had been disclosed as WENN went to press.

He is survived by two sons, Charles Young, Frank Manning Jr., a daughter, Marion Price, a half-brother, seven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

A swan dive into the dangerous human flotsam of an L.A. skid row hotel, with an ensemble cast of non-stars playing losers and psychos, the indie production "Night at the Golden Eagle" is both admirable -- for attempting to show everyday violence (usually against women) in all its sickening unavoidableness -- and a trial to sit through because of its unevenness and half-realized literary ambitions. Produced and released by Shangri-La Entertainment, "Night" is strictly art house fare, with potential post-theatrical buzz coming from critics and enthusiastic fans.

Writer-director Adam Rifkin ("The Chase", "Detroit Rock City") was inspired by the two most memorable male characters, who are played by newcomer (and real-life ex-mafioso) Donnie Montemarano and Vinny Argiro ("Molly"). Longtime friends in real life, the former is an oppressively menacing presence as just-out-of-prison Tommy, while Argiro, as longtime best friend Mic, deftly handles all the shifts of his character. One is reminded at times of Orson Welles and Joseph Calleia in "Touch of Evil", and it's natural to predict that bad things will happen in the end.

But for all the authentic-sounding patter and dingy atmosphere, "Night" veers into territory that Rifkin and crew struggle to make completely convincing. There's also not much of a theme or sense of justice. This amoral, cold universe can have its brief moments of warmth between characters, but through the impatient filmmaking and stark tone in general, one just waits grimly for the next shock without developing much attachment to the characters.

Natasha Lyonne and Ann Magnuson are thoroughly immersed in their roles as hard-living hookers who make use of the Golden Eagle Hotel, where aging small-time criminals Tommy and Vinny agree to stay one night and then leave on the bus for legitimate jobs and normal lives in Las Vegas. Dream on, boys. They'll get away only if Tommy can control his urges to be bad and the environment doesn't get them first.

Rifkin's take on human nature is bleaker than the surroundings, while fate is cruel to just about everyone. Condensed into a single day, the omnitragic story includes two cold-blooded murders and a fatal heart attack. There's also the brutal introduction to prostitution of a young runaway (Nicole Jacobs), with the help of Magnuson and Lyonne's abusive pimp (Vinnie Jones). James Caan appears for mere seconds at the beginning as a prison warden, while other auspicious supporting actors include singer Sam Moore, tap dancer Fayard Nicholas (of The Nicholas Brothers) and Kitten Natividad.

After her solid work as a working girl, Lyonne makes the most out of impersonating a corpse through half the film. Likewise, there's much to praise in the performances of Magnuson, Jacobs and secondary players like Miles Dougal, as the sleazy desk clerk. Nonetheless, too much rides on one embracing the performance of Montemarano, whose Tommy is pathologically unthinking in his struggle to survive. And overall "Night" can seem endless, while it's trying to give one nightmares.

NIGHT AT THE GOLDEN EAGLE

Shangri-La Entertainment

Credits:

Writer-director: Adam Rifkin

Producer: Steve Bing

Executive producers: Mindy Marin, Morgan Sackett

Director of photography: Francesco Varese

Editor: Peter Schink

Music: Tyler Bates

Casting: Mindy Marin

Cast:

Tommy: Donnie Montemarano

Mic: Vinny Argiro

Amber: Natasha Lyonne

Sally: Ann Magnuson

Loriann: Nicole Jacobs

Rodan: Vinnie Jones

Mr. Maynard: Fayard Nicholas.

Running time -- 91 minutes

MPAA rating R...

Monday, April 6

By Frank Scheck

This tribute to The Nicholas Brothers, two of the greatest, if not the greatest, dancers ever captured on film, was beautifully presented, lovingly produced and long overdue.

Would that the evening had been televised, as Ben Vereen remarked, to movie lovers around the world.

Fayard Nicholas and his younger brother Harold started performing 68 years ago, and they still have the style and charisma of born stars. As film clips during the evening reminded us, their dazzling routines in such films as "Stormy Weather" and "Down Argentine Way" have never been equaled.

The all-star cast of "From Harlem to Hollywood: A Tribute to the Nicholas Brothers" was led by the irreverent Bill Cosby. "This is your life", he announced to the beaming pair, "and I'm Ralph Edwards." The cast then paid tribute to the two dancers, who sat at a table on one side of the stage.

Of course there was plenty of dancing, from veterans (the ageless Jimmy Slyde), current stars (Savion Glover and the cast of "Bring in 'da Noise..".) and even children (Fayard's 10- and 12-year old granddaughters, who danced in front of a film clip of the brothers and brought down the house).

There was also great music, from such singers as Bobby Short, Kevin Mahogany (a smoky "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning") and Gail Nelson (a sultry "Here's to Life"). Christian McBride performed a version of "Night in Tunisia" that made that classic seem written for the bass.

There were moving verbal tributes from people like Maurice Hines, who remembered how much the brothers' work had influenced him and his brother Gregory, and Lena Horne, who reminisced about their days together at the Cotton Club. The brothers, too, performed; Harold sang a quiet and affecting version of "Mr. Bojangles" that received a standing ovation, and also performed "Everyday I Have the Blues" while Fayard "conducted" the orchestra.

Although both Fayard and Harold used canes, they still retain enough grace and charisma to garner huge applause with every dance gesture, however slight. The love these two veterans have for each other, and the adoration that radiated from the sold-out house, was enough to make everyone in the audience feel like dancing.