Tag Archives: Oscars

CHINATOWN screened tonight at Ron Robinson Theater as part of Arkansas Times Film Series

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chinatownRoman Polanski’s 1974 film classic Chinatown will be shown tonight at the Ron Robinson Theater as part of the Arkansas Times Film Series. This is presented in conjunction with the Little Rock Film Festival.

Here is how the Arkansas Times describes the film:

The quintessential L.A. noir and the best role of Jack Nicholson’s career, the movie was named the greatest film of all time in a 2010 critics poll by The Guardian. Roger Ebert called it a “tour de force” and “not only a great entertainment, but something more, something I would have thought almost impossible.” An atmospheric, totally engrossing mystery involving water and sexual dysfunction, this is rare opportunity to see the classic on the big screen.

The screening will begin at 7pm (January 15). Tickets are $5.

In addition to a starring turn by Nicholson, the film features searing performances by Faye Dunaway, John Huston, Perry Lopez, John Hillerman, Darrell Zwerling and Diane Ladd. Nominated for eleven Oscars, it won the Best Original Screenplay for Robert Towne’s haunting tale.

12 Days of Christmas Movies: STALAG 17 and THE APARTMENT

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Wilder filmsToday’s Christmas movies take a darkly comic turn with Billy Wilder’s Stalag 17 and The Apartment.

William Holden won an Oscar for his heroic-anti-hero Sefton in 1953’s Stalag 17. Set in a German POW camp during World War II, it tells the story of a group of Americans who share a barracks.  Holden’s character is a black market profiteer who is disliked by most of his fellow prisoners.  Otto Preminger plays the iron-fisted commandant of the stalag.  Robert Strauss, Harvey Lembeck, Don Taylor, Richard Erdman, Neville Brand, Gil Stratton and Robert Shawley play other residents of the barracks.

Wilder’s movie was based on a play written by Donald Bevan and Edmund Trzcinski. The two playwrights had actually spent time in a Stalag during WWII.  The latter also had a bit part in the movie.  Once “Hogan’s Heroes” started airing on TV, the makers of Stalag 17 sued for plagiarism since they had pitched it as a TV series in the 1960s. The case was settled out of court.

Stalag 17 is a layered story with much humor in such a depressing setting. It is also a mystery as the barracks residents seek to determine who is sharing their secrets.

Wilder would return to Christmas Eve and a different type of hero in 1960’s The Apartment.  Jack Lemmon plays a rising corporate executive who tries to succeed by letting his superiors use his apartment for their assignations.  Complications arise when he falls in love with Shirley MacLaine, who is involved with his boss played by Fred MacMurray.  Others in the cast include Hope Holiday as a barfly who meets Lemmon in a bar on Christmas Eve, Ray Walston, Edie Adams, Jack Kruschen and David Lewis.  David White, better known as Larry Tate on “Bewitched,” plays a less honorable businessman in this movie.

This is definitely an adult comedy. It subtly shifts between comedy and drama.  Like Stalag 17, Wilder chose to shoot this movie in black and white to add to its mood.  These films serve as reminders that in the 1950s and early 1960s, the choice of filmstock really lent a tone to the movie.

The chemistry between Lemmon and MacLaine is palpable.  They both play lovable losers that the audience wants to root for.  MacMurray, who had starred in Wilder’s Double Indemnity, is unafraid to play an unlikable character. Interestingly he was just starting his run in “My Three Sons” when this film came out.

The Apartment won five Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director (Wilder), Best Original Screenplay (Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond), Black & White Art Direction and Film Editing.  It was also nominated for five other Oscars including Lemmon (Actor), MacLaine (Actress) and Kruschen (Supporting Actor).

Billy Wilder was a genius of a filmmaker.  These two films are testaments to that fact.

12 Days of Christmas Movies: POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES

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pocketfulYesterday’s movie featured Bette Davis cast against type as a frump.  Today’s movie marks her transition into character parts.  It is 1961’s Pocketful of Miracles which was Frank Capra’s final movie.  Davis plays Apple Annie, a homeless woman who shakes down the other panhandlers in NYC.

In the complicated plot (based on a Damon Runyan story) Ann-Margret plays Davis’ daughter who has never met her because she has been away at boarding school in Switzerland (paid for with proceeds from Davis and her cohorts).  Glenn Ford and Hope Lange play a friendly gangster and his moll. Thomas Mitchell, Peter Falk, Edward Everett Horton, Arthur O’Connell and Sheldon Leonard.

Ford, Lange and Mitchell help Davis pass herself off as a society matron during her daughter’s visit. But of course, mayhem ensues.  It is a witty story filled with its share of Capraesque moments as people do the right thing for the right reasons.

Peter Falk nabbed an Oscar nomination for his wise-cracking portrayal of Joy Boy, one of Ford’s henchmen.  The film was the last for Mitchell, who once again played a lovable Irish drunk as he had in Gone with the Wind, It’s a Wonderful Life, Stagecoach (winning and Oscar) and so many other films.  Ann-Margret is, well, Ann-Margret.  While Ford and Lange may simply walk through their parts, they are affable, relaxed performers who seem to be enjoying the company.

Davis would later become a caricature of herself. But in this movie there are still flashes of brilliance.  She spends much of the movie looking unglamorous. But when she emerges as a regal society grand dame, it is clear that she still can command a room.

The climax of the movie takes place on Christmas Eve. Capra’s message of hope and redemption fits well within this setting.

12 Days of Christmas: THE LION IN WINTER

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Lion_In_Winter1Ah, Christmas! A time for family reunions.  Things may, at times, get a bit tense as everyone is gathering together in confined quarters.  But few Christmas gatherings compare to Henry II of England and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine as they gather with their sons at the castle where she has been imprisoned by her husband.

Joining in the festivities are Henry and Eleanor’s three sons: Richard the Lionheart, Geoffrey and John. Also present are Alais Capet, Henry’s mistress who is not as vacuous as she appears, and Philip Capet, the King of France who is Alais’ half-brother.

Alliances and allegiances shift as both rapiers and rapier wits are on display.

The cast is masterfully led by Peter O’Toole and Katharine Hepburn, who snagged her third Oscar for this film.  Anthony Hopkins appeared as Richard the Lionheart and future James Bond Timothy Dalton played King Philip.  Geoffrey and John were played by John Castle and Nigel Terry, respectively.

Based on James Goldman’s 1965 play, Goldman picked up an Oscar for Adapted Screenplay.  The movie’s third Oscar went to John Barry for his musical score.  O’Toole, director Anthony Harvey, and costume designer Margaret Furse all earned Oscar nominations, as did the film for Best Picture.

This is not a fast paced film, but it pays dividends with the joyfully biting interplay between Hepburn, O’Toole and the rest of the cast.

12 Days of Christmas Movies: HOME ALONE & HOME ALONE 2: LOST IN NEW YORK

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home aloneJohn Hughes’ Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York combine the spirit of Christmas with Hughes’ own brand of safe anarchy.

While the original 1990 movie is by far superior, the 1992 sequel still has its charms.  I refuse to consider anything after that because they only weaken the franchise.

These movies nicely balance slapstick with messages of redemption. But they don’t veer too far in one direction or another.

Macauley Culkin (whose aunt Bonnie Bedelia stars in two of my other favorite Christmas movies – Die Hard) is certainly a key reason for the success. He is neither cloying or obnoxious (or obnoxiously cloying).

While the adults are meant to be more cartoonish, they still keep the film grounded.  Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern have wonderful chemistry as the Wet Bandits.  John Heard’s slightly befuddled father is an apt foil for Catherine O’Hara’s intense mother. The latter displays much warmth when needed, as well.

John Candy turns in a fun cameo in the first film. If you blink, you may miss future Tony nominee and The Newsroom actress Hope Davis as a French ticket agent.  The second film loads up on supporting players from Oscar winner Brenda Fricker, Tony nominees Tim Curry and Dana Ivey, SNL’s Rob Schneider and even a cameo from The Donald.  Former movie song and dance man Eddie Bracken plays the NYC toy store owner.

These are light-hearted films which still make me laugh out loud.  They are certainly enjoyable any time of the year, but especially at Christmas.

12 Days of Christmas Movies: HOLIDAY INN & WHITE CHRISTMAS

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Holiday WhiteToday’s Christmas movie(s) are combined because they share a star, a composer and a song.  The latter is often erroneously referred to as a remake of the former.

Irving Berlin’s 1924 black & white Holiday Inn tells the tale of a crooner (Bing Crosby) who retires from show business to start an inn which would only be open on holidays.  Fred Astaire plays his former song and dance partner who has a knack for stealing all of Bing’s girlfriends. The rest of the cast is largely forgettable, indeed most did not have extensive careers before or after this movie.  One exception is the underused Louise Beavers stuck in the role of Crosby’s domestic at the Inn.  She had leading roles in several movies, but due to her race and the time, would still find herself playing maids and cooks with little onscreen time too much of her career.

The real gem here is the score. Though there are some forgettable (“I Can’t Tell a Lie”) and embarrassing (“Abraham”) but this also features “Happy Holidays,” “Be Careful It’s My Heart,” and “Easter Parade” (which Berlin had written for a musical revue in the 1930s).  The knock-it-out-of-the-ballpark breakaway hit was “White Christmas,” which went on to win the Oscar for Best Song.

(As a side note, this movie was the inspiration for the name of the hotel chain when it started in the 1950s.)

Twelve years later, Crosby, Berlin and “White Christmas” reunited for the film White Christmas.  By now color movies were more common, and the powers that be wanted Crosby singing the song in a color movie.  This time Crosby is joined by Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen.  Oscar winner Dean Jagger and character actress Mary Wickes round out the leading roles.

For this film, Berlin supplied a new score, only repeating “White Christmas.” Though several of the songs were already popular in the Berlin songbook.  The main joy in this movie is to see Crosby, Clooney, Kaye and Vera-Ellen at the peak of their careers.

Though most of the songs work in this movie, there is one which doesn’t seem to fit. “Choreography” is a spoof of modern dance. It falls flat and drags the movie down. Though if you look at the chorus, you can see future Oscar winner George Chakiris of West Side Story fame.

It may be surprising that Michael Curtiz directed this film. He is often remembered today as the Oscar winning director of Casablanca (and justifiably so). But in his career he often bounded between light fare (Yankee Doodle Dandy, Life with Father) and heavier (Mildred Pierce, Angels with Dirty Faces) with some adventure films (The Adventures of Robin Hood, Captain Blood) thrown in.

Separately or together, Holiday Inn and White Christmas are fun Christmas movies.  White Christmas is the stronger of the two, partly because all of the characters are likeable.

WAIT UNTIL DARK at Arkansas Rep is focus of Clinton School lunchtime program today

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THEREP_WAITUNTILDARK (no credits)-page-001The Arkansas Repertory Theatre works in partnership with the Clinton School of Public Service to participate in the UACS’s Distinguished Speaker Series, hosting educational panel discussions on various Rep productions.

The latest in these takes place today, Thursday, October 23 at 12 noon at Sturgis Hall in Clinton Presidential Park.  It focuses on the Rep’s upcoming production of Wait Until Dark.

Written by Frederick Knott, Wait Until Dark was originally a play which inspired the 1967 Hollywood film of the same name.  The play and film garnered Tony, Golden Globe, and Academy Award nominations. In the story, a sinister con man and two ex-convicts are about to meet their match. They have traced the location of a mysterious doll to the Greenwich Village apartment of Sam Hendrix and his wife, Susy. With murder afoot, a deadly game of cat and mouse ensues, as Susy discovers the only way to play fair is to play by her rules. A panel of those involved in the production will talk about what it’s like to bring this thrilling production to life.

Join members of the production team as they discuss this chilling play selected for the Halloween season.

Wait Until Dark opens officially on Friday evening and runs through Sunday, November 9.