https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMI4WAZnn24 Above is a ten-minute ‘doc’ about director William Dieterle, whose film ‘Jewel Robbery’ I posted about yesterday. Actually the above isn’t a doc so much as it is Dieterle’s Wikipedia entry as recited by a robot-voice. (The giveaway is when Mr. Robot says ‘David O. Selznick’ but puts a
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oicmvvec4q8 Last night I attended a screening at the TCM Film Festival in Hollywood of a 1932 pre-code William Powell/Kay Francis movie that I’d never heard of, the somewhat generically named ‘Jewel Robbery’. What an unexpected delight this perfectly preserved antique was. Smart, surprising, filled with the usual saucy pre-code
On April 21st, 1954, Garry Moore–host of the TV game show ‘I’ve Got A Secret’–welcomed one of the Marx Brothers as a special guest. The gimmick was that it was Chico but that he was dressed up as Harpo, with wig, trench coat, horn, the whole number. The panelists had
Mel Brooks has a number of set-piece story/anecdotes/routines that he’s perfected the telling and performing of over the years. (His marvelous one-man show, recorded at the Geffen Theater a few years ago, is essentially a compendium of a bunch of them). But for my money the greatest of them all
Peter Falk’s acceptance speech for his 1972 win for ‘Columbo’ is a delight. Did he write it? I don’t know. I do know that he lived next door to Jack Benny and two doors down from Lucille Ball. And across the street from Ira Gershwin and Rosemary Clooney. And what
‘Murder Inc.’, a semi-low-budget New York production shot in 1960, would likely not even be a cinematic footnote today had it not been for the presence of the young, then-unknown Peter Falk playing vicious psychopathic gangster Abe Reles (a real guy–‘Kid Twist’ they called him, for some reason). Falk’s off-kilter
He’s a very nice few minutes of Peter Falk discussing his fond memories of his friend and collaborator John Cassavetes. Falk is, as always, magnetic–hard to take your eyes off, insightful, articulate etc. Alas, I directed him in 2003 in a forgettable movie called ‘The Thing About My Folks’ and
Here’s a 1970 Dick Cavett show featuring the above three actors doing an an appearance to promote Cassavetes’ then-new film ‘Husbands’. This excerpt is only about half of the segment (the rest is lying around in tatters somewhere on Youtube) but it’s enough to give you the general idea of
Here’s one minute of sound effects from various Three Stooges movies. The fact that somebody actually contemplated doing this idiotic project and then willfully executed it is hilariously impressive to me. Props to them. I can’t exactly say that it will make you want to watch a Stooges short, but
Here’s a drive around Burbank in 1958 shot on 2 inch Quad Videotape. The quality is excellent and the subject matter–a look at the area around NBC–is probably the most glamorous you’ll find in the otherwise arid, desolate and quite frankly depressing wilds of Burbank. A very smart YouTuber–a hell
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/
