happy birthday, Elina Labourdette - she’s lovely in Jacques Demy’s Lola (1961, as pictured above); I also saw her in the Sophia Loren-Anthony Perkins thriller Five Miles to Midnight (1962). Some might also recognize her for her roles in Robert Bresson’s Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne (1945), Jacques Becker’s Edward and Caroline (1951), Robert Hamer’s To Paris with Love (1955) and Jean Renoir’s Elena and Her Men (1956). Happy 94th, Elina!
George E. Stone gets cuddly on the bed with Edward G. Robinson……
Little Caesar (1931)
365 Day Movie Challenge - #113: Little Caesar (1931) - dir. Mervyn LeRoy
I don’t like it as much as The Public Enemy or Scarface, but as pre-Code gangster films go, it’s certainly entertaining. It’s easy to see how Edward G. Robinson made his career playing the title role; also nice to see Sidney Blackmer and George E. Stone in supporting roles.
365 Day Movie Challenge - #112: Intolerable Cruelty (2003) - dirs. Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Can I be honest and say it sucked? At a number of points I nearly turned it off. Clooney was OK when he was being slick and suave in the beginning, but once he tries to pull off the vulnerable puppy dog thing (a la Ned from “Pushing Daisies”), the movie fails. The whole thing is hyper-literate but not in a good way.
365 Day Movie Challenge - #111: Three Loves Has Nancy (1938) - dir. Richard Thorpe
Sweet, slight comedy.
happy birthday, Alice Drummond - one of my favorite character actresses, she has been in many notable movies and TV shows, my favorite of which are her appearances as the librarian spooked at the beginning of Ghostbusters, Lucy in Awakenings, witness Zelda in the “Law & Order” episode “Mayhem” and as Clara in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. She was also in Hide in Plain Sight, Running on Empty, Nobody’s Fool, Walking and Talking and In & Out. Most famous, though, is probably her role in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, which I still have not seen. Happy 85th, Alice!
365 Day Movie Challenge - #110: She (1935) - dirs. Lansing C. Holden and Irving Pichel
It’s fun, though strange. Randolph Scott is likeable but a little dumb - par for the course in most of his films. Nigel Bruce and Helen Mack make for good sidekicks. Helen Gahagan… well, I guess she really was better suited to politics. Nice to see the excellently named Gustav von Seyffertitz in a juicy supporting role.
happy birthday, Timothy Olyphant - I’ve only ever seen him as Danny Cordray on “The Office” and as an upstart young director in The First Wives Club, but I love whenever he’s a guest on a talk show, preferably talking to Conan. This clip is a particular favorite. Happy 45th, Timothy!
happy birthday, Cher - in addition to her great acting in Moonstruck and Mermaids, she has had some of the best songs of the last half-century. Happy 67th, Cher!
Song: Boogie Wonderland
Artist: Earth, Wind & Fire feat. The Emotions
Album: I Am (1979)
Genre: Disco
DISCO. ‘Nuff said.
happy birthday, James Stewart - from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema to the modern era, he gave some really fine performances: Wife vs. Secretary, After the Thin Man, The Shopworn Angel, You Can’t Take It with You, Made for Each Other, It’s a Wonderful World, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Destry Rides Again, The Shop Around the Corner (his best performance), The Mortal Storm, The Philadelphia Story, Call Northside 777, Rope, Rear Window, The Man from Laramie, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Vertigo and The Mountain Road. Jimmy Stewart: often imitated, never duplicated.
