One of Ours...on Turner Classic Movies

Moira Neylon, aka/moirafinnie, blogger on TCM's Movie Morlocks site and member of the Classic Movie Blog Association, will be a guest programmer on Turner Classic Movies next month. Moira and three other Morlocks will be featured in segments with host Robert Osborne on Friday, November 30; each will discuss a film they've chosen to be screened that evening.


I was delighted to discover (thanks to the new issue of TCM's "Now Playing") that Moira selected the classic Jacques Becker crime drama, Touchez Pas Au Grisbi (1954), starring the incomparable Jean Gabin in what has been called his "comeback" performance.  It is one of his best. The film also features a young Jeanne Moreau.

Keep an eye out for Moira on TCM in November and, if you haven't already, check out her work at Movie Morlocks and on her blog, The Skeins. On Twitter, she's @moirathefinn.  She's also active at The Silver Screen Oasis.

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Many Thanks

It was nearly a year ago that I began to think about hosting a blog event focused on Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo. I had just read an English translation of the French noir novel the film was adapted from and wanted to blog about it. But to simply write a book-to-film piece didn't appeal. And a straight-ahead review struck me as not only daunting but - redundant - so much has been written on Vertigo by so many over the years, beginning with France's Cahiers du Cinema set 50+ years ago. So, I thought it might be interesting to try something different. What evolved was "A Month of Vertigo," a more-than-a-month-long meditation on the masterpiece from many angles by many bloggers. This turned out to be much more work than I ever anticipated - and much more rewarding than I ever imagined. The icing on the cake has been the honor of being voted a 2012 CiMBA for "Best Classic Movie Blog Event" by the Classic Movie Blog Association.

This award would never have come my way if not for the incredible contributions of the superb guest bloggers who joined me in celebrating Hitchcock's great masterwork (now, according to Sight and Sound, the best film ever). I owe a special debt of gratitude to Brandon Kyle Goco (of Brandon Kyle the Cinephile) who created this wonderful teaser/promo as the event prepared to launch:

I'd like to again thank each of the bloggers who participated - this award belongs to them as much as it does The Lady Eve:

• R.D. Finch of The Movie Projector, who kicked off "A Month of Vertigo" on January 1, 2012 with "Deadly Obsession: Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo," a reflection on the film's structure and themes.

• Whistlingypsy of Distant Voices and Flickering Shadows who offered her contemplation of "Bernard Herrmann ~ Composer of Haunting Music and Treacherous Dreams."

• Blogger and author Christian Esquevin (Silver Screen Modiste is his blog,  Adrian: Silver Screen to Custom Label is his book) who explored "The Costumes of Vertigo."

• Brandie Ashe of True Classics, who assessed Kim Novak's greatest role and performance with "Kim Novak in Vertigo: A Hypnotic Presence."

• Michael Nazarewycz of Scribe Hard on Film, who considered the film's iconic setting with "More Than Just the Streets of San Francisco."

• Author Steven DeRosa (Writing with Hitchcock), expert on the Hitchcock screenwriters and screenplays, who explored the story behind Samuel Taylor's best known screenplay with "An Inconsequential Yarn."

• John Greco of Twenty Four Frames, who had recently interviewed award-winning biographer Patrick McGilligan about his new Nicholas Ray bio - and interviewed him again for our event on the subject Alfred Hitchcock, about whom McGilligan had written a 2004 biography, and Vertigo.

• Allen Hefner of Bit Part Actors, a man who knows his supporting players well, who took a closer look at some of the film's unsung character actors (and more) with Vertigo, The Bit Players.

• Brian/Classicfilmboy of Classicfilmboy's Movie Paradise, who examined one of James Stewart's greatest performances with "James Stewart: A Walk on the Dark Side."

• Brandon Kyle Goco who contributed not only the promo but also the vlog (video blog), "Vertigo: Alfred Hitchcock's Edifice to Obsession."

• Vertigo authority Dan Auiler, author of the definitive VERTIGO: The Making of a Hitchcock Classic, who wrote of the film's mesmerizing impact with "Vertigo for Life."

• Joel Gunz aka/the Alfred Hitchcock Geek, who meditated upon one moment of the film with "Hitchcock's Most Beautiful Shot Ever; Or, A Single Frame So Good, 2,000 Words Don't Do it Justice."

(My own contribution, "A Month of Vertigo, The Final Chapter," contemplated the transformation of a genre novel into a cinematic work of art.)

Thank you to the members of CMBA for honoring the blog event, the contributors and Vertigo with this deeply appreciated award.

  Click here for the complete list of 2012 CiMBA award winners.

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Ticket Giveaway this Sunday for "Lawrence of Arabia 50th Anniversary Event" on October 4th

The 35^th Academy Awards ceremony, honoring the films of 1962, took place at Santa Monica's Civic Auditorium on April 8^th, 1963. Frank Sinatra, who nearly missed the event because he forgot his parking pass, hosted the festivities. The big winner that evening was David Lean’s epic production of Lawrence of Arabia, winner of seven golden
statuettes - for:

• Best Picture
• Best Director
• Art Direction/color
• Cinematography/color
• Film Editing
• Music Score
• Sound

The film also garnered nominations for Peter O’Toole in the Best Actor category, Omar Sharif as Best Supporting Actor and for its screenplay.

1962 was not a mediocre movie year - among other notable films that season were The Birdman of Alcatraz, Cape Fear, Days of Wine and Roses, Dr. No (the first James Bond film), Gypsy, How the West Was Won (one of only two dramatic feature films made using the three-strip Cinerama process), Jules and Jim, To Kill a Mockingbird, Knife in the Water, Lolita, The Longest Day, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Manchurian Candidate, The Miracle Worker, The Music Man and Ride the High Country. Lean’s sweeping tale, filmed in Super Panavision 70 and based on the legendary experiences of British Army lieutenant T.E. Lawrence in Arabia during World War I, became a legend in its own right and is today listed as #7 on the AFI’s “100 Greatest Movies of All Time.”

Now, in celebration of the 50^th anniversary of the film's release, Sony Pictures and Fathom Events presents Lawrence of Arabia 50^th Anniversary Event: Digitally Restored in theaters on Thursday, October 4. The 50^th anniversary restoration of the Director’s Cut was conducted with the latest digital imaging technology and went through a painstaking color grading and re-mastering process. This special event presentation features an introduction by Omar Sharif, newsreel footage of the film’s New York premiere as well as an interview with director and film preservation/restoration champion Martin Scorsese who talks about the film and its enduring influence.

Update: Congratulations to Lorraine in Illinois, winner of the ticket giveaway!

On Sunday, September 30, I’ll conduct a random drawing for a pair of tickets to the one-day-only screening. Please send your entry, including your name, mailing address (no P.O. boxes, please) and theater selection (for a list of participating theaters, click here) to ladyevesidwich@gmail.com. The winner will be notified immediately and tickets will be sent directly from Pure Brand Communications. This special presentation of Lawrence of Arabia screens at 7pm local time on October 4 in theaters nationwide.

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328 Credits and Counting...Happy Birthday, Mickey Rooney!

Mickey Rooney, who celebrates his 92nd birthday on September 23, has spent 90+ of those years in show business. Born into a family of vaudevillians, he came closer to actually being "born in a trunk" in the back of a theater than even his frequent MGM co-star and pal Judy Garland. His stage debut came before he was 18 months old.


Mickey's mom always thought her boy had star quality and hustled him to Hollywood in the mid-'20s in hopes that he might be selected for the "Our Gang" series. Though he auditioned, it didn't work out and he later ended up making his big screen debut in a short titled Not to be Trusted cast as a midget.

"Mickey McGuire"

Mickey has not always been Mickey. Originally Joe Yule, Jr., he took the name by which he became known for nearly nine decades from his first breakthrough movie role. In 1927 he was cast as comic strip character Mickey McGuire and starred in the part for a series of 78 comedy shorts from 1927 - 1934. He briefly changed his name to Mickey McGuire but for legal reasons was forced to drop the surname. It was then that he became Mickey Rooney.

The two 'Blackies'

One day in 1934 producer David O. Selznick happened upon young Rooney competing in a ping pong match - and putting on quite a show for the crowd. Taken with the boy's showmanship and charisma, Selznick arranged for him to be cast as "Blackie as a boy" in the MGM hit Manhattan Melodrama (1934), starring William Powell, Myrna Loy and Clark Gable (who portrayed "Blackie" as a man). Soon Mickey was signed to a long-term contract with the studio. In 1935 he was given a small part in the Jean Harlow vehicle, Reckless, appeared as "Puck" in the star-studded Warner Bros. production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and was cast in the MGM adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's Ah, Wilderness! as Lionel Barrymore's mischievous youngest son, Tommy.

Roles in the Jean Harlow hit Riffraff and the Freddie Bartholomew vehicle Little Lord Fauntleroy would follow in 1936, and in 1937 he would once more portray Lionel Barrymore's son - this time in A Family Affair, as Andy Hardy to Barrymore's Judge Hardy. The film was so successful that it begat 15 sequels. 

Beloved as the Hardy series was from the late '30s to mid-'40s, there was more to Mickey Rooney's filmography during this period than Andy Hardy. Among the other popular films that fueled his ascension to #1 box office star in America from 1939 - 1941 were Captains Courageous (1937), Boys Town (1938), The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939), Babes in Arms (1939) -  for which he received a Best Actor Oscar nomination, Strike Up the Band (1940) and Babes on Broadway (1941). In 1938, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences honored him with a "Juvenile" Oscar. From 1942 until he went into World War II service in early 1944, Rooney cranked out three more Andy Hardy sequels, received his second Best Actor nomination for his starring performance in the film adaptation of William Sorayan's The Human Comedy (1943) and co-starred with Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet (1944). During the war he entertained troops in the U.S. as well as in combat zones and worked for American Forces Network radio. 

  The Human Comedy (1943)

Like the other top male stars who left movies for the the war, Mickey Rooney returned to a changed Hollywood.  Many of the most successful films of the post-war era were markedly dark and serious -  The Best Years of Our Lives, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, All the King's Men, Sunset Blvd., A Streetcar Named Desire. And TV was on the near horizon, portending more change to come. Rooney's first film following his war service was Love Laughs at Andy Hardy (1946), with Bonita Granville. But audiences had moved on from that particular brand of Americana and he would struggle to keep his career afloat. He would do admirable if overlooked work in early '50s noir (Quicksand, The Strip, Drive a Crooked Road), and earn a Best Supporting Actor nod for his portrayal of an American soldier serving in Italy in The Bold and the Brave (1956). He ventured into live television, appearing on various anthology series of the time, and garnered an Emmy nomination for his performance in "The Comedians," a Playhouse 90 drama, in 1957.

Jeanne Cagney and Mickey Rooney in Quicksand  (1950)

Rooney would work primarily in TV through the '60s, but would also turn in a gritty performance in the 1962 film adaptation of Rod Serling's teleplay Requiem for a Heavyweight, a searing drama co-starring Jackie Gleason and Anthony Quinn. He also appeared, along with a boatload of great comedians (Sid Caesar, Milton Berle, Phil Silvers and Jonathan Winters), one Broadway diva (Ethel Merman) and a revered dramatic actor (Spencer Tracy) in the classic 1963 comedy It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.  And he had a supporting role in a premier romantic comedy of the early '60s, Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). Unfortunately, his over-the-top turn as Audrey Hepburn's Japanese-American neighbor, though performed exactly as director Black Edwards requested, did not age well; eventually Edwards apologized for the characterization.

Jackie Gleason and Mickey Rooney in Requiem for a Heavyweight  (1962)

Though the glory years at the top of the movie star pile were over, Mickey Rooney continued on as a journeyman character actor. In Carroll Ballard's stunningly beautiful The Black Stallion (1979), Rooney portrayed aging horse trainer Henry Dailey, a role for which he received his second Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. Both the film and his character recalled National Velvet, and footage of Rooney as jockey Mi Taylor in the earlier film was used in The Black Stallion to depict the trainer's previous career as a rider.

for "50 years of versatility in a variety of memorable film performances"

In October 1979, Mickey Rooney took to the stage with Ann Miller in the Broadway production Sugar Babies. For his performance he earned a Tony nomination and won the 1980 Theatre World Special Award. In 1981 he was cast in the title role of Bill, a TV-movie based on the true story of a mentally handicapped man, and won a Best Actor Emmy for his performance. He was Emmy-nominated for his portrayal in the 1983 sequel, Bill: On His Own, and was awarded a 1983 Academy Award in honor of his 50 year film career. Born to entertain, he says he fell in love with the spotlight before he could walk or talk, when he first crawled from the wings to center stage. He was a natural for movies and grew up in front of a camera. A whirlwind of energy onscreen, he could dance and sing and put on a one-man show. And he proved to be a fearless dramatic actor with a gift for naturally disappearing into character.

He has never stopped working - whether TV, voice or film work  - and has enjoyed the pleasure another hit movie, famously appearing with Dick Van Dyke and Bill Cobbs as one of a trio of aged and larcenous security guards in Night at the Museum (2006). He was interviewed by Turner Classic Movies' Robert Osborne for an early (1997) "Private Screenings" segment and appears at TCM-sponsored events (he'll be a special guest on TCM's 2013 Classic Cruise to Grand Cayman and Cozumel). He has also been outspoken on the subject of elder abuse and in 2011 testified before the Senate Special Committee on Aging.

What more can be said about a living legend? I'll leave the last word to Cary Grant, who described Mickey Rooney as "the most talented actor in Hollywood."

When James Montgomery Flagg finished this charcoal sketch of Mickey Rooney in October 1941, he showed it to his subject and cracked, "There's the brat!" Rooney grinned and agreed, "Yessir -- one hundred percent brat!"

Sources (click on title for link):

The Official Mickey Rooney website
"Fate Slaps Down Andy Hardy: Mickey Rooney After MGM" by Jake Hinkson

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Email From an Oscar Winner's Son...

Every now and then a delightful surprise arrives in the ladyevesidwich@gmail.com emailbox.

A few months ago I was contacted by British scholar Dr. Susan Smith, Senior Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of Sunderland in England and author of Hitchcock: Suspense, Humour and Tone, published by the British Film Institute. Dr. Smith was interested in getting in touch with Edna May Wonacott who portrayed young Ann Newton in Hitchcock’s 1942 masterwork Shadow of a Doubt for a paper she was working on. I’d originally gotten to know Edna in 2010 and an interview I conducted with her was published online, in the local newspaper of the Arizona city where Edna now lives -and in Films of the Golden Age. Dr. Smith had came upon my interview (and those that followed) with Edna online and asked if I’d put her in touch with the now 80-year-old former child actress. I did, and Dr. Smith later interviewed Edna for her paper.

The King and I (1956)

More recently – i.e., last week -  I received an email from Brooke Wheeler, son of legendary art director/production designer/set decorator Lyle Wheeler, winner of five Academy Awards (for Gone with the Wind, Anna and the King of Siam, The Robe, The King and I, The Diary of Anne Frank). Last year, in July, I’d published a piece by a young woman, Constance/aka/”Captain Gregg,” who was then primarily blogging at Turner Classic Movies’ Classic Film Union. The piece was entitled “Lyle Wheeler – Setting the Scene.”

For those unfamiliar with Lyle Wheeler, he not only won five Oscars but was nominated for an additional 24 - for his work on films including Rebecca, Laura, Leave Her to Heaven, All About Eve, Viva Zapata!, My Cousin Rachel, Love is a Many-Splendored Thing, Daddy Long Legs and Journey to the Center of the Earth. He also contributed as art director and/or production designer and/or set decorator on well over 300 additional films that weren’t (though many should have been) Oscar nominated – films like A Star is Born (1937), Nightmare Alley, The Snake Pit, A Letter to Three Wives, Niagara, Pickup on South Street, How to Marry a Millionaire, The Seven Year Itch, Carousel, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, No Down Payment, The Fly, South Pacific, The Long, Hot Summer, The Best of Everything and In Harm’s Way. Wheeler worked in movies during every decade from the 1930s through the 1970s, that’s five decades, and was inducted into the Art Directors Guild Hall of Fame (est. 2005) in 2008 (other illustrious inductees include Anton Grot, William Cameron Menzies, Van Nest Polglase, Hans Dreier, Cedric Gibbons, Henry Bumstead, Robert F. Boyle and Alfred Junge). Wheeler also worked in TV, most notably on the the noirish and iconic Perry Mason series.

Here is what Lyle’s son Brooke Wheeler wrote:

After doing some recent research on my father Lyle, I came across your excellent and well informed article…

I'm sure Lyle would have been appreciative of all the kind comments, as I am. Just an FYI, Lyle's career continued into the mid 1970's, renewing his relationship with Otto Preminger on IN HARMS WAY (1965) post 20th Century Fox, then with features through Columbia Pictures like MAROONED (1969) and his final feature, POSSE (1975) (with Kirk Douglas starring and directing). It is wonderful to hear younger audiences enjoying all the Classic "Golden Age of Hollywood" films…. Many Thanks,

W. Brooke Wheeler

To read the superb piece on his father that prompted Brooke Wheeler's email, click here.

Leave Her to Heaven (1945)

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Ticket Giveaway: "The Birds" is Coming!

The much-anticipated Turner Classic Movies/NCM Fathom Events presentation of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds screens in theaters nationwide next Wednesday night, September 19, and I'm happy to announce a random drawing for a pair of tickets to the event will be held here at Eve's Reel Life this Sunday, September 16.


Please send your entry, including your name, mailing address (no P.O. boxes, please), and theater selection (I need all three) to ladyevesidwich@gmail.com. The winner will be contacted immediately and tickets will be sent directly from a representative of  NCM Fathom. Click here for a list of participating theaters. Update: On Sept. 16, a winner was selected by random drawing - congratulations to Rebecca in Indiana (and thanks to everyone else who entered the drawing)!

This presentation of Hitchcock's 1963 classic thriller, Oscar-nominated for its special effects, will screen at 7pm local time. Special features include an introduction by TCM's Robert Osborne as well as his interview with the film's leading lady, Tippi Hedren. Co-stars Rod Taylor and Suzanne Pleshette will also share on-the-set stories via archival TCM footage. The film itself has been newly restored by Universal in celebration of its 100th anniversary.

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Celebrating Choreographer Jack Cole

Turner Classic Movies honors jazz-dance pioneer Jack Cole on Monday night, September 10, with a five-movie tribute to his film work. The choreographer, credited with playing a key role in defining the onscreen personas of Rita Hayworth and Marilyn Monroe, has been the subject of several articles by noted Los Angeles Times dance writer and critic, Debra Levine, who co-hosts TCM’s tribute with Robert Osborne.

If Jack Cole’s name doesn't ring a bell, here are a few examples of his choreography…

From Gilda (1946):

 

From Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953): 

From There’s No Business Like Show Business (1954):

From Designing Woman (1957):

 

From Les Girls (1957):

In all, Jack Cole worked on two dozen films from the ‘40s to the ‘60s. He had been in great demand from the beginning - Betty Grable and Rita Hayworth sought him - and, after she worked with him on Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Marilyn Monroe insisted on his participation for every film she made that included a musical routine.

Cole also worked in TV, in clubs and on Broadway and was nominated for a Tony Award in 1966 for Man of La Mancha(1965 – 1971).

Jack Cole and Marilyn Monroe rehearsing "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend"

Choreography by Jack Cole on TCM Monday, September 10
(all times Eastern/Pacific)

8pm/5pm - Tonight and Every Night (1945) starring Rita Hayworth
10pm/7pm - On the Riviera (1951) starring Danny Kaye and Gene Tierney
11:45pm/8:45pm - Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) starring Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell
1:30am/10:30pm - Les Girls (1957) starring Gene Kelly, Mitzi Gaynor and Kay Kendall
3:30am/12:30am - River of No Return (1954) starring Marilyn Monroe and Robert Mitchum

Debra Levine has written several detailed pieces on the life and work of Jack Cole. Click on titles for links:

Jack Cole Made Marilyn Monroe Move

Jack Cole (1911 - 1974)

American Master Choreographer Jack Cole Feted at Jacob's Pillow

"Amada Mio" from Gilda

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