Remembering Tyrone Power

“There he was, dark-looking with black hair and eyebrows, and no man had a right to be that handsome.” So aviator Bob Buck remembered first meeting Tyrone Power. Buck, enlisted by his boss Howard Hughes, the owner of TWA, to pilot Power on a tour of South America, Africa and Europe, would spend three months with the actor and a small retinue on a trip that was set to begin in September 1947. The group would travel in Power’s plane, The Geek, named after a character in his latest film, Nightmare Alley.  At the time, at age 33, Tyrone Power was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, an adored “matinee idol,” but his straightforward, unassuming manner instantly disarmed the skeptical Buck.

Gene Kelly's Brief Sojourn, "Let's Make Love" (1960)

The Classic Movie Blog Association is sponsoring the Gene Kelly Centennial Blogathon from August 20 - 25 and this is my contribution to the event. Please click here for links to the other participating blogs.

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1960 was the year that

Echo I

• an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over Russia and its pilot, Francis Gary Powers, was imprisoned there
• young Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) won the gold medal in the light heavyweight competition at the Summer Olympics in Rome
• Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird and John Updike's Rabbit, Run were published
• NASA launched the first communications satellite, Echo I, into space
• the first working laser was built by American T. H. Maiman
• #1 hit songs of that year included the Everly Brothers' "Cathy's Clown," The Drifters' "Save the Last Dance for Me" and Percy Faith's version of the theme from A Summer Place
• on TV, Western series ruled the ratings, with Gunsmoke, Wagon Train and Have Gun Will Travel ranked one, two and three for the year
• Camelot, starring Richard Burton, Julie Andrews and Robert Goulet, debuted on Broadway
• John F. Kennedy was elected the 35th President of the United States

"The Misfits" and Me - by Christian Esquevin

Where does the first step begin on a journey to fate? For me it was sometime in August of 1960, just a kid on a camping trip with his parents and their friends. Lake Tahoe was the destination, with side trips to Squaw Valley, Reno, Carson City, and Virginia City, Nevada. Little did I know, nor anyone else in our little party, that we would run into the production of The Misfits, starring Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, and Montgomery Clift, as directed by John Huston. It was clear from the entourage around Gable and Marilyn that this was a very big deal. And my father reinforced this message with his excited exclamation, “there’s Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable!” although he probably uttered this in French, my parents’ and their friends’ native language. 

Ticket(s) Giveaway: "Singin' in the Rain" on the Big Screen

Singin' in the Rain returns to theaters nationwide on Wednesday, August 22, for an encore presentation of a stunning new print of the film.

Marilyn Monroe: Out of a Dream

photo by Jack Cardiff

One chilly winter morning in 1953, a 15-year-old boy took a bus from his home in New Jersey to New York City in search of adventure. Times Square epitomized his conception of the city at that time and so he roamed the neighborhood until daylight began to fade. As he made his way to the Port Authority Terminal and his bus trip home, he noticed a long black limousine driving slowly toward him. The limo came to a stop and its driver jumped out and opened the back door at the curb. As he did, he motioned the boy to stay where he was so his passenger would have a clear path across the sidewalk. Nearly 60 years later, the man who had been that boy remembered,"...a white-gloved hand reached out for help and it was given. Then came a face of dizzying beauty..." She was blonde and she wore a long gown that appeared to be made of "tiny white pearls seemingly flung at her in wild abandon and clinging to every pore. Around her neck, over her wrists and on her ears were brightly sparkling diamonds." The boy's heart was already pounding when, as she turned, the woman noticed him, smiled and whispered, "Hi."

A Different Star Every Day in August...

Every year in August, Turner Classic Movies presents its popular month-long salute to 31 stars, each honored with a full 24 hours devoted exclusively to their films. August 2012 marks the movie channel’s 10^th annual Summer Under the Stars celebration and among those being showcased for the first time this year are Marilyn Monroe, Tyrone Power, Anthony Quinn, Eva Marie Saint, Lionel Barrymore, Lillian Gish, Kay Francis and Warren William.

A TV Tour of Hitchcock Film Locations and Edna May Wonacott's First On-Camera Interview

Bodega School House

Eye on the Bay, a feature of KPIX, CBS’s San Francisco TV outlet, was recently on the trail of director Alfred Hitchcock, traveling around the Bay Area to take an up-close look at locations used in his films. The 20-minute piece, Hitchcock Step-By-Step, focuses on sites featured in Shadow of a Doubt (1943), The Birds (1963) and Vertigo (1958). Aaron Leventhal, co-author of the definitive Hitchcock-in-the-Bay-Area guidebook, Footsteps in the Fog, discusses the director’s work in the region, providing fascinating production background as well as information on many locations. Hitchcock’s granddaughter, Tere Carruba, talks about her grandfather from a personal point of view and Edna May Wonacott, the last surviving featured cast member of Shadow of a Doubt, speaks on television for the first time about how she was chosen for the film and what it was like to work with Alfred Hitchcock.

Woody Allen, Master of Suspense?

This post is my contribution to The Best Hitchcock Films Hitchcock Never Made blogathon hosted by Tales of the Easily Distracted and Classic Becky's Brain Food. Click here for more information and links to participating blogs.

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On the face of it, the only thing Alfred Hitchcock and Woody Allen seem to have in common is the distinction of being aknowledged as preeminent auteurs. As Michael Newton put it in The Guardian earlier this year, "Along with Alfred Hitchcock, Allen must be the most recognizable director in the history of cinema."

Singin' and Dancin' into a Theater Near You

Gene Kelly, "singin' and dancin' in the rain..."

In honor of the 60th anniversary of its original release, Singin’ in the Rain returns to theaters nationwide next Thursday, July 12, for one night only.

This perfect opportunity for classic film fans to see one of the great Hollywood classics on the big screen is presented by Turner Classic Movies, NCM Fathom Events and Warner Home Video. The festivities will begin with a special TCM original production hosted by Robert Osborne that includes behind-the-scenes footage and an interview with Debbie Reynolds, who starred in the film with Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor. Next, Stanley Donen's Singin’ in the Rain will screen, fully re-mastered and it promises to be more dazzling than ever.

 

To further celebrate Singin’ in the Rain’s milestone anniversary, Warner Home Video will release a special 60th Anniversary Edition on July 17. The three-disc set will include the re-mastered film on DVD and Blu-Ray and will feature a new documentary entitled Singin’ in the Rain: Raining on a New Generation.

This tribute marks the fourth classic movie anniversary event co-sponsored by NCM Fathom and TCM who have similarly commemorated the 70^th anniversaries of Casablanca (1942) and The Wizard of Oz (1939) as well as the 50^th anniversary of West Side Story (1961). 

First released in 1952 and nominated for two Academy Awards, Singin’ in the Rain ranks #1 on the American Film Institute’s list of the “25 Greatest Movie Musicals.” Tickets for the July 12 screenings are available online at the Fathom Events website and through participating theater box offices.