Here’s a French documentary about John Cassavetes shot in two parts–in Hollywood in 1966 and in France in 1969. In the first section we see Cassavetes driving along Mulholland Drive to his house on Woodrow Wilson Drive in the Hollywood Hills. (The house will of course be familiar to any
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0Nu93kB-Y0 Here’s a very well-done tribute-doc to my favorite Hitchcock film ‘Notorious’ (I know I’m far from alone in this opinion–it’s the one that, in my opinion, is much more emotional, better scripted and capable of being revisited than many others). Misleadingly titled ‘The Making Of…’ it’s more of a
Here’s a nifty little doc about Alfred Hitchcock’s 1941 semi-masterwork ‘Suspicion’ starring Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine who won an Oscar for her role as the deeply suspicious wife who suspects her husband of planning on murdering her. Much has been made over the years about the ending of this
Here’s 50 seconds of black and white footage of the ‘Cleopatra’ set, specifically the moment where Liz Taylor is carried down from the Sphinx thingy. It looks awfully scary and shaky but Liz seems sanguine, posed regally and most likely heavily sedated. I have no clue as to how this
I knew that the beginnings of the 1963 Burton and Taylor ‘Cleopatra’ were a bit more murky than the famously catastrophic shoot itself (the making of the ill-fated behemoth has been well documented over the years in any of a number of books about Burton/Taylor/Mankiewicz/Zanuck/Fox etc.) It’s common knowledge (in
Behold a four minute clip of the restored Technicolor ‘Rhapsody In Blue’ sequence from 1930s ‘King Of Jazz’, a gigantic musical revue (they were all the rage in Hollywood at the time) featuring Paul Whiteman and his orchestra. This immaculate restoration shows us for the first time what audiences saw
Here’s a truly precious piece of footage. It’s a Technicolor screen test featuring Katherine Hepburn playing Joan of Arc. We know from the slate that it was photographed on May 22nd, 1934 on Stage 5 at RKO. The cameraman was Ray Rennahan. No director is listed–did Hepburn self-direct? Evern more
After yesterday’s post on the 3-Strip Technicolor process as demonstrated in the ‘before and after’ reel of scenes from ‘Becky Sharp’, I’ve begun a slow and pleasant dive into a rabbit hole of Technicolor history. Above is a series of ‘color tests’ from 1933-1936 made for Pioneer Pictures, a subsidiary
This past weekend we watched the restored version of Rouben Mamoulian’s 1935 ‘Becky Sharp’ which was the first feature shot and released in the beautiful and sadly long-gone Three-Strip Technicolor process. Old Three-Strip Technicolor films without restoration tend to look like bowls of multi-flavored bowl melted sherbet. If one didn’t
What the hell are Bette Davis, Dick Powell, Warren William, Joan Blondell, Ruth Donnely and Preston Foster doing in an informercial for General Electric products shot in 1933? The answer is: I haven’t the foggiest idea. I never heard of this little weirdie until stumbling upon it this afternoon, deep
An excerpt from 1958 of a melancholy Orson Welles bemoaning the fate of 'Touch Of Evil' will give your day a somewhat depressing start--unless something else has gotten their first which these days is more than likely. #Filmmaker #FilmTwitter #TCMParty https://raymonddefelitta.org/orson-welles-the-exhausted-years/
Saturday morning cartoons was/is a grand childhood tradition. To that end enjoy Tex Avery's 1941 'Hollywood Steps Out'. #cartoons #TCMParty #animation #FilmTwitter https://raymonddefelitta.org/saturday-morning-cartoons-hollywood-steps-out/
If you can't find anything to watch on your 5000 streaming services this weekend then blow them off and listen to my two-part interview with Mel Brooks on my Movies Til Dawn Podcast! You'll be glad you did...#comedy #Filmmaker #Filmmaking #TCM #ComedyGold https://www.moviestildawnpodcast.com/new-page-2
Dig the Cyd Charisse striptease (sort of) opening credits number from the Dean Martin/Matt Helm thingy 'The Silencers'. The lyrics may not reflect modern day standards for appropriateness so this may well be my last tweet. #FilmTwitter #TCMParty #Dance https://raymonddefelitta.org/cyd-strips/
Watch this astonishing Cyd Charisse dance number from Nicholas Ray's 'Party Girl' and enjoy the best four minutes of your day...or perhaps of your week...or month...or... #FilmTwitter #TCMParty #Dance #musicaltheatre https://raymonddefelitta.org/cyd-charisse-party-girl/
