Caption it #7: Paul Newman and the bonfire

So, guys, tell me, what's Paul triyng to do here? How would you name this picture? You know, caption it!

Need some inspiration? Check the previous posts of this game.

Paul Newman: In memoriam

Paul Newman

January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008

I remember,

5. His blue eyes.

4. His movies.

3. His radiant personality.

2. The passion he had for the art he performed.

1. The great love he professed for his wife, Joanne.

0. His smile.

How do you remember him?

The 20 coolest on-screen couples from classic movies

'Cool' definition from Wordreference: fashionably attractive or impressive.

Here's my list of 20 couples that looked terrific together on screen, that complemented each other and had fun together all the movie (or until the script spoiled it all for them) or overcame difficult situations to be together and hopefully lived happily ever after.

In no particular order: 

Harry Morgan & 'Slim' Browning from To have and have not

Gilbert & Iris Henderson from The lady vanishes

Paul & Corie Bratter from Barefoot in the Park

Nicky Ferrante & Terry McKay from An Affair to Remember

Nick & Nora Charles from The Thin Man

Robin & Marian from The Adventures of Robin Hood

Sean Thorton & Mary Kate Danaher from The Quiet Man

Ben Quick & Clara Varner from The Long, Hot Summer

Capt. Daniel Craig & Lucy Muir from The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

Juan Herrera & Vance Jeffords from The Furies

C.C. Baxter & Fran Kubelik from The apartment

Joe Bradley & Princess Ann from Roman Holiday

Noah Praetorious and Deborah Higgins from People Will Talk

Leon and Ninotchka from Ninotchka

Longfellow Deeds & Babe Bennett from Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

Jane & Tarzan from the Tarzan movies with Johnny & Maureen.

Peter Joshua (or whatever his name is) and Reggie Lampert from Charade

Brian Hawke & 'Spitfire' Stevens from Against All Flags

Armand Duvall & Marguerite Gautier from Camille

Johny Case & Linda Seton from Holiday

What do you think?

Haikus # 11-13: "Cool Hand Luke", "Mildred Pierce" & "His girl Friday"

I haven't post a haiku since Tuesday, so here you are:

Cool Hand Luke (1967)

"Luke was that great guy,
with honest smile and blue eyes,
 shot for being...Luke."

Mildred Pierce (1945)

"I'll give my daughter
everything she wants: clothes, cash,
power...what? my man?"

His Girl Friday (1940)

"I got the scoop and
 I'm re-marrying my boss:
Hildy equals fuss"

This is an entry for the Best For Film Hollywood Haikus blogging competition. Enter now.

Three comedies from the 1960s: LOL

It seems that when you get in the mood for a comedy from the 60s, well, you just can't stop watching them. The other day I read over MC's blog about Come September (1961), a movie starring Rock Hudson and Gina Lollobrigida. I must confess something: when people talked about Miss Lollobrigida, I imagined she was a brainless actress, only famous because of her physical attractiveness.

I had never seen her on anything, so it was a great surprise to discover a fine performer with excellent comedy timing. I won't review Come September, you can read MC's post, but I will talk a bit about my second Gina Lollobrigida film. And then I'll review a classic I hadn't seen AND another Mitchumovie.

Buona sera. Mrs Campbell (Melvin Frank, 1968)

I wanted to check another movie from Gina, so I googled and someone mentioned Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell as one of his favorites. I watched it. Now, we're gonna make this post a little more interactive, OK? Guess the movie: a woman in a small European town had a daughter but doesn't know who is the father. There are three possibilities, all American guys, and they show up all at once.

Any idea? You're right, Mamma Mia is based on a musical based on this film. What do you know! Of course that the story has differences, as Mrs. Campbell said to the local people that the father was an American colonel who died; and also made the three guys believe the daughter was theirs, so they supported her; and they travel to Europe with their families; and...whatever. The guys --Telly Savalas, Peter Lawford, Phil Silvers-- are not really attractive like the men in Mamma Mia (well, maybe Peter is), but they're really funny, most of the times.

Besides it has more room for a more realistic and human point of view of this difficult situation, without losing the comedy aspect, for example, the fear of being criticized by the local society is one of Gina's character motives for hiding the truth; the daughter suffers and confronts her mother when she founds out; one of the dads thinks of her Italian daughter as his proof of not being infertile, so the end is really emotive in this character's case. Gina is fun to watch and the script was perfect for her, because it allows her to show her Italian power in the comedy parts, combining it with sensibility in the most dramatic scenes. A fun little movie.

The great race (Blake Edwards, 1965)

I won't talk much about this Blake Edwards film, I guess most of you have seen it. This movie is constructed based on stereotypes. First, the characters: the hero (Tony Curtis), the feminist independent woman (Natalie Wood), the bad guy (Jack Lemmon), the bad guy's assistant, etc. Then, the different stages of the car race around the world are a parody of the movie genres: adventure, comedy (including slapstick), musical (loved the "karaoke" scene and the song), swashbuckler, romance, epic, etc. The result is a very entertaining, well-acted film, with music by Henry Mancini, in which you just have to enjoy the ride without asking questions.

What a way to go! (J. Lee Thompson, 1964)

I'll develop a point here. I know there are early parody films, like comedies starring Abbot and Costello, Bob Hope, etc, but seems like in the 60s the movie industry started parodying the movie industry using super stars. The great race is a (very elaborated) example. Paris when it sizzles (1964; Richard Quine), one of the...how should I say it?...less appreciated movies from Audrey Hepburn and William Holden, is another. If you don't take them for what they are you're gonna probably hate them. But, if you watch them considering this point, you might enjoy watching legends laughing at themselves, laughing at the way the industry works, laughing at how the movies are constructed and how they try to appeal to the public, etc. Watch Paris when it sizzles again, it's a great parody film IMO (yeah, I'm like the only person in the world who likes this movie).

What a way to go! is an even more obvious parody film. Shirley Maclaine is so lucky! She worked with Dick Van Dyke, Dean Martin, Gene Kelly,  Robert Mitchum AND Paul Newman speaking French...I mean, c'mon! (watch the behind scenes with super interesting material). Shirley starts remembering the life with her different husbands and it seems that every time she married a guy he got rich and then died.That's the plot. Really.

The cool thing about this movie is that each memory correspond to a type of film: silent, musical (with splendid music and choreography by Gene), French cinema (my gosh, a very tongue-in-cheek hot sequence with...Paul Newman), glamorous Hollywood movies (you have to see this sequence, you get tired of watching Shirley with a different amazing Edith Head dress in every take).

Maybe the plot is pretty weak, maybe some of the parodies are not very elaborated, but it was a fun film with an all-star cast to watch once.

Note: I wanted to post this entry last Friday, but a Coca-Cola truck cut the telephone wire and just today I got it repaired. "Open Happiness" my @·#.

"Iconoclasts": Robert Redford & Paul Newman

"Hi, Joanne? It's Bob...Redford" :)

Please take a minute and watch. The other day I saw for the first time a TV commercial advertising this Sundance Channel show and of course the clip featuring Paul and Robert caught my attention. Luckily, I found the episode in Youtube. It's really amazing: Robert Redford visits Paul Newman and they talk about each other, their friendship, the beginnings of their careers, their projects, director George Roy Hill, aging, etc. You can see Paul's house, a theater that Joanne Woodward repaired, special footage (like Newman's Own "commercial" and Paul driving his cars) and lots of interesting photos. Enjoy:

Oh, I started reading the Jean Arthur biography, which won the poll the other day. I'm loving it!

The ten most handsome men from Classic Movies

...according to moi, of course. OK, here's the thing: some stars like Marlon Brando and James Dean are beautiful, obviously, but there's something about them that doesn't appeal to me. Maybe is the "rebel label", I don't know. To me, Robert Mitchum is more handsome because I feel that he attitude is more natural and real, not staged. I also tried to add some lesser known actors, just because they looked drop dead gorgeous in the one film I saw from them. Oh, I had to leave out people like Clark Gable and Laurence Olivier, sorry.

 Well, enjoy:

10. Robert Mitchum. He was just neat.

9. Gregory Peck.  A kind man.

8. John Justin. Looked gorgeous in The Thief of Bagdad. 

7. Burt Lancaster.  Great acting and physical skills.

6. William Holden. Beautiful man, great actor.

5. Jeffrey Hunter (The Searchers). Just saw him in 1 movie, never forgot him.

4. Cary Grant. A combination of looks and attitude.

3. Errol Flynn. The most beautiful rascal ever.

2. Paul Newman. For those who think he was mostly eyes.

1. Gary Cooper. Could he be more gorgeous?

What do you think? Oh, do you want more beautiful pics? Check Gary Cooper: Mercy or Good Genes.

 More lists :

Top 25 favorite classic actors
10 types of annoying people to watch a movie with
My Top 10 Billy Wilder movies
12 favorite things from It's a wonderful life including the board game

CMBA Hitchcock Blogathon: Torn Curtain (1966)

The event we all were looking forward to is finally here. Yay! At the end of this post I'll add all the links to the other reviews, try to check them all and comment, I'm sure you will be pleased. 

Let me start this review by saying that one of the reasons I became a Classic Movie lover was Mr. Hitchcock. You can read all about that in Hitchcock or how I became a Classic Movie Lover (duh). I've seen more than 30 of his films, even lesser known movies like Family Plot (I don't remember much about it though).

I decided to review Torn Curtain, a movie that critics didn't love and fans don't remember, but I really like. Probably, if it had been made by any other director, it would have a different reception, but hey, it has to compete with films that always are at the top of the lists of best films ever. It's not its fault that it was made by a genius. Maybe you've heard something about it because it marked the end of the collaboration between Mr. Hitchcock and the great composer Bernard Herrmann, but not because it was a correct suspense film.

My dissection of this underrated film, next:

The story:
I know you'll agree with me, Hitchcock was a romantic guy. In my opinion, all his movies are romantic films set in a suspense climate. This one is no exception. In the middle of the Cold War, an American scientist (Paul Newman) and his assistant (Julie Andrews) are in love. They're spending time together in cruise ship heading to Coupenhagen, where he has a scientific conference. She says that they should marry before honeymooning, but they don't seem to care because in the sixties the movie censorship was practically over. Anyway, Julie doesn't know about the "real" plans her fiancé has. He is going to East Berlin (tearing the Iron Curtain) to try to finish his super duper experiment, Gamma 5 aka The MacGuffin of this film, that was cancelled by the American government. With it, the Cold War would be over. The script had many writers and never completely convinced Hitchcock nor Newman.
 I overall liked it because it was never boring.

Suspense:

A lot. Warning, spoilers ahead. Like in every movie from Mr. Hitchcock, there are several sources of tension: the main relationship, the many situations that a normal man has to face in a unknown country, the people they meet, the music, the way Hitch shoots some scenes, etc. At the beginning, from Julie's point of view, we are intrigued by the way Newman starts acting, receiving strange phone calls, lying and being aggressive. Then, when the couple finally arrive to East Berlin (and we learn that Paul was working to steal a formula for the benefit of his own country), he has to face really dangerous situations, even killing a man in one of the most remembered scenes of this movie, plus trying to get vital information for his experiment. Finally Paul and Julie, now reconciled but number one on the most wanted list of the country, have to escape from East Berlin.

The last part is the best and contains my favorite scene in the whole movie: the bus scene. The couple is helped by an organization called "Pi", which has a fake bus in which Paul and Julie have to travel in their escape. To make things look real, "agents" of Pi travel in this bus. Well, the whole sequence is great: the real bus approaches and if the officers on the road notice it, they might suspect. It's one of the best examples of Hitchcock's work and just because of it I would recommend this movie.

Newman and Andrews were the studios' choice.

Leading actors:

When I think about improbable casting, I always remember this movie (and well Robert Mitchum + Katharine Hepburn + Robert Taylor in Undercurrent and some others). The thing goes this way: Hitchcock wanted Eva Marie Saint and Cary Grant, but Universal, "suggested"  Julie Andrews who had just released The sound of music and Paul Newman. So, there you have, four incredibly blue eyes put together for the first and only time in a movie. But not everything is great. I've thought a lot about this, and came to the conclusion that maybe some people don't like this movie because Paul and Julie don't seem to have a grrrreat chemistry. They look great together, they're even shown in bed together, but in my opinion their relationship was cold as the Cold War. But I really don't mind, because it works anyway, since they are arguing, being chased or just in different places most of the time. 

With Lila Kedrova who plays one of my fave characters of the movie.

Supporting Cast:

Terrific, they really stand out. We have Wolfgang Kieling as the German agent that follows Paul Newman everywhere. He's tough, solid, menacing, but has charisma. Then there's Tamara Toumanova, who plays a Russian ballerina who's jealous of Paul Newman because he's stealing her all the attention of the press. She's mainly a comic relief at some points, but also represents a menace. Also great was Lila Kedrova as the extravagant Polish woman that needs a "sponsor" to go to America. Lila gave her character such a pathetic quality, that I always remember her.

Plus Ludwig Donath who plays Professor Lindt, the guy who knows the formula and all the "Pi" agents are really great because all of them seem to have a background and not only a being a random character.

Music:

Hitchcock wanted a more commercial score for this movie and didn't like what Bernard Herrmann had done. So he fired him, ending one of the greatest collaborations between a director and a music composer. He hired English composer John Addison, who did a great job in my opinion and it even sounds like something Bernard would have composed. The main theme, a fast melody which features tense violins with some reliefs coming from the clarinets, is one of my favorites and it fits in a great way the bus scene. I also love the Love Theme. 

Some people say that Herrmann's score would have been a great addition to this film; some DVDs include bonus scenes with this score and even people in Youtube have made the experiment with the Intro, After Gromek's death, The Formula, etc. Well, I think it would have been great too, but I don't have problems with Addison's music. You can read more about Herrmann and Hitch in this great article.

Final Thoughts:
This movie should definitely be more appreciated. It contains all the signature elements from Mr. Hitchcock's movies and it's never boring. Maybe Paul and Julie didn't have the greatest chemistry ever but it's not a tremendous con; I've seen Torn Curtain many times and it has never bored me.
I like the fact that Hitch continued using his usual methods even in the mid sixties, like shooting in front of screens.
I don't mind it at all, because his works were from a parallel world, a wonderful world constructed entirely by him and with his own rules.

 CMBA Hitchcock Blogathon: The complete list 

(Updated with the published entries)

Official site: http://clamba.blogspot.com/

1. The Birds – Classic Film & TV Café 
2. Dial M for Murder – True Classics: The ABCs of Film 
3. The Lady Vanishes | North by Northwest | Under Capricorn – MacGuffin Movies 
4. Lifeboat – Classicfilmboy’s Movie Paradise 
5. The Man Who Knew Too Much – Reel Revival 
6. Mr. and Mrs. Smith – Carole & Co.
7. North By Northwest – Bette’s Classic Movie Blog 
8. Notorious – Twenty Four Frames 
9. The Pleasure Garden – Thrilling Days of Yesteryear 
10. Rear Window – Java’s Journey 
11. Rebecca­ – ClassicBecky’s Film and Literary Review 
12. Rope – Kevin’s Movie Corner 
13. Shadow of a Doubt - Great Entertainers Media Archive
14. The 39 Steps – Garbo Laughs 
15. Three Classic Hitchcock Killers – The Lady Eve’s Reel Life 
16. Torn Curtain - Via Margutta 51 
17. The Trouble with Harry – Bit Part Actors 
18. Vertigo – Noir and Chick Flicks 
19. The Wrong Man – The Movie Projector
20. Marnie - My Love for Old Hollywood