Platinum Blonde and Beyond

It was her trademark, her calling card and, in 1931, the name of a film for which she received third billing. Platinum Blonde had originally been intended as a vehicle for top-billed star Loretta Young but, by the time it was released, the film's title had changed and changed again until it was an outright reference to pale-haired co-star Jean Harlow. It was not Harlow's breakout picture, that had come with Hell's Angels (1930), nor is it generally cited as one of her great classics, but Platinum Blonde was pivotal - it proclaimed her stardom.

For the Love of Film (Noir): About Ida Lupino

This review was part of the For the Love of Film: The Film Preservation Blogathon to benefit the Film Noir Foundation.

One of the great dames of film noir, and quite a bit more, Ida Lupino was born in London in 1918. Her father was Stanley Lupino, a star of the West End stage who wrote many of the productions in which he appeared. Lupino Lane, an important British music hall star, was a cousin. And Ida's mother, Connie, was an actress. Of her father Ida Lupino once said, "I knew it would break his heart if I didn't go into the business," and so she did, even though her first love was writing.

For the Love of Film (Noir): Renoir, Ryan and a splash of vodka...

This review was part of the For the Love of Film: The Film Preservation Blogathon to benefit the Film Noir Foundation.

San Francisco's annual film noir festival, Noir City 9, ran for ten days at the end of January. From all reports the festival, an event that showcased 24 films, was a great success. I would say, from my own experience, it was a smash.

San Francisco Film Locations...a mini-tour on video

Huntington Park at the top of Nob Hill, San Francisco

One day not too long ago my friend Dave and I went on an excursion into three San Francisco neighborhoods to shoot video of classic film locations. I'd done some research and worked out a way to cover many films in just a few hours.


The Fairmont Hotel has appeared on film and TV many times

 We began our tour on Nob Hill where such sites as Huntington Park, Grace Cathedral, the Brocklebank Building, the Pacific Union Club, The Fairmont Hotel, the Mark Hopkins Hotel and steep cable car-tracked hills have long figured in films shot or set in the city...films like The Lady from Shanghai, DOA, Dark Passage, The Line Up, Vertigo, Bullitt, various of the Dirty Harry movies, etc. We moved on to North Beach and made three more stops in that colorful neighborhood to check on sites featured in films like Vertigo, Pal Joey, Play it Again, Sam, Basic Instinct and Foul Play. Our final destination was Pacific Heights where we shot just one building, a "mid-century modern" monolith used in Days of Wine and Roses that is no longer contemporary and is now a bit of an eyesore in an upscale part of town.

Dave edited the video, added a music track and recorded my narration. I then tried but was unable to upload the video to Blogger and eventually gave up...and forgot about it. Then, a few days ago,  a Twitter friend tweeted about a photo contest his site, Writing with Hitchcock, was sponsoring that involved posting personal photos of Hitchcock film locations. After I entered a still photo I'd taken of the building at 900 Lombard where Scottie Ferguson lived in Vertigo, I remembered the video.  Once I'd managed to post it on Facebook, I posted it on YouTube and, only slightly delayed...here it is...my mini-tour of San Francisco film locations. Dave and I hope to get back out there again one day. I'd love to venture into other neighborhoods as well as do a "Hitchcock tour" of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Marlene Dietrich...another facet of her legend



Marlene Dietrich is one of very few film stars whose career not only spanned 60+ years but who also enjoyed icon status for most of those years. Her life in film began in the early 1920s with silent pictures. It came to a close with Maximillian Schell's 1984 Oscar-nominated documentary, Marlene, in which she speaks but does not appear on camera.

SHADOW OF A DOUBT's "Ann Newton"...Today...

Edna and Hitch

While doing research for a blog on Shadow of a Doubt last year I unearthed information about Edna May Wonacott Green who portrayed Ann Newton, the younger sister in the 1943 film. I wrote a letter asking Edna if she'd be interested in being interviewed and a little while later received an email from her saying "yes." We had a lengthy telephone conversation soon after and on Edna's 78th birthday, February 6, 2010, the first part of our interview was posted at The Classic Film & TV Cafe as "Happy Birthday, Edna May." Part 2 posted a few days later (Part 1 link, Part 2 link). The blog also posted later at TCM's Classic Film Union fan site.

"Who's Crazy Now?" - Noir City 9, Opening Night

Stranger on the Third Floor

So…I paid my 10 bucks to park in the lot adjacent to Sullivan’s Funeral Home on Market Street in San Francisco and was heading for the Wells Fargo ATM near 16^th...I checked my phone and noticed a text message…my friend Dick, who I was to meet for dinner before attending opening night of San Francisco’s 9^th annual film noir festival.

THREE CLASSIC HITCHCOCK KILLERS

Alfred Hitchcock once remarked that, “in the old days villains had moustaches and kicked the dog.”  He resisted such clichés, preferring a different kind of heavy, the sort he called “an ordinary human being with failings.”  The director also said, referring to his own work, “the more successful the villain, the more successful the picture,” and though this was not always the case, it held true for some of his best films.

 Three villains who reflect his preferences and support his contention come quickly to mind:

• Charles Oakley, the “Merry Widow” killer in Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
• Bruno Antony, the “Criss Cross” strangler of Strangers on a Train (1951)
• Norman Bates, the identity-challenged slayer in Psycho (1960)

Shadow of a Doubt: Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotten

Focus on Film Noir: Barbara Stanwyck

Three films of legendary star to be screened at Noir City 9

Her childhood has been called Dickensian and the rags-to-riches trajectory of her life could easily have provided material for one of her films…

• She was the youngest of a hard-drinking Irish American bricklayer’s five children
• She lost her mother at age three when the woman was pushed, while pregnant, from a streetcar
• Her father abandoned his children (for the second time) and went to sea
• She lived in a series of foster homes
• She began working at age 13