Continuing our theme of tough-ass action/noir directors being interviewed by soft, Omelette-making, Napoleon-eating, red-wine guzzling French guys (see yesterday’s Don Siegel interview) here is Sam Fuller describing the making of one of the seminal scenes in his oeuvre–the pickpocketing on the subway moment from ‘Pickup On South Street’ (1953). It’s
The fine director Don Siegel (‘Invasion Of The Body Snatchers’, ‘Dirty Harry’, ‘Escape From Alcatraz’) was a dryly amusing, self-deprecating fellow who was interviewed on camera far less often than he should have been. Here’s a short interview with him from 1984 in which he says he has no style
‘Loose Loot’ (1953/1947) was the 146th short comedy made by The Three Stooges for Columbia Pictures. No production dates are available but the film was released on Thursday, April 2, 1953 (the 92nd day of the year on the Gregorian Calendar). The first half of the film consists of a
Yesterday’s behind the scenes post featured Sidney Lumet directing ‘Dog Day Afternoon’. Today, Sidney is back as we take a look at the making of the catastrophic 1977 musical adaptation of ‘The Wiz’. The film was co-produced by Universal Pictures and Motown Records and starred Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Lena
As a young fellow wandering the streets of New York City in the late 70/early 80s I was always thrilled to stumble upon a movie shoot in progress. Since the New York filmmaking community was quite small then, it was more than likely to be either a Woody Allen or
‘Cuckoo On A Choo Choo’ (1952) was the 143rd short comedy made by The Three Stooges for Columbia Pictures. It was photographed from Monday, April 21 through Wednesday, April 23, 1952 and was released on Thursday, December 4th of that year (the 339th day on the Gregorian Calendar). The film
In December, 1929 the above remarkable footage was shot in the Times Square Theater during rehearsals of the Gershwin show ‘Strike Up The Band’. I’ve posted this before but every so often I rewatch it and am freshly amazed at what a rare and peculiar document it is. In it,
In 1931 George and Ira Gershwin went to Hollywood for the first time to compose the score for a Janet Gaynor/Charlie Farrell musical called ‘Delicious’. No popular songs of any particular note came out of this endeavor but, Gershwin being Gershwin, a symphonic masterwork somehow snuck its way into existence.
‘Don’t Throw That Knife’ (1951) was the 131st short comedy made by The Three Stooges for Columbia Pictures. It was photographed from Tuesday, June 20 through Thursday, June 22, 1950 and was released on Thursday, May 3rd, 1951 (the 123rd day on the Gregorian calendar). I think this is one
This Friday’s Ernie Kovacs entry is a guest appearance he made on ‘You Bet Your Life’. Kovacs and Groucho are an uneasy fit and this little segment is proof that comedians often sniff around each other, uncertain as to who has the power.in the dynamic. Ernie to his credit shows