Thursday, September 27, 2012

Ticket Giveaway this Sunday for "Lawrence of Arabia 50th Anniversary Event" on October 4th

















The 35th Academy Awards ceremony, honoring the films of 1962, took place at Santa Monica's Civic Auditorium on April 8th, 1963. Frank Sinatra, who nearly missed the event because he forgot his parking pass, hosted the festivities. The big winner that evening was David Lean’s epic production of Lawrence of Arabia, winner of seven golden

Saturday, September 22, 2012

328 Credits and Counting...Happy Birthday, Mickey Rooney!


Mickey Rooney, who celebrates his 92nd birthday on September 23, has spent 90+ of those years in show business. Born into a family of vaudevillians, he came closer to actually being "born in a trunk" in the back of a theater than even his frequent MGM co-star and pal Judy Garland. His stage debut came before he was 18 months old.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Ticket Giveaway: "The Birds" is Coming!



The much-anticipated Turner Classic Movies/NCM Fathom Events presentation of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds screens in theaters nationwide next Wednesday night, September 19, and I'm happy to announce a random drawing for a pair of tickets to the event will be held here at Eve's Reel Life this Sunday, September 16.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Celebrating Choreographer Jack Cole


Turner Classic Movies honors jazz-dance pioneer Jack Cole on Monday night, September 10, with a five-movie tribute to his film work. The choreographer, credited with playing a key role in defining the onscreen personas of Rita Hayworth and Marilyn Monroe, has been the subject of several articles by noted Los Angeles Times dance writer and critic, Debra Levine, who co-hosts TCM’s tribute with Robert Osborne.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Five More Film Classics Coming to a Theater Near You


Turner Classic Movies and Fathom Events are about to begin a film series in celebration of Universal's 100th anniversary with special movie theater presentations of four newly restored Universal classics.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

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.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

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

Monday, August 13, 2012

"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.