Had author Philip Van Doren Stern not self-published his short story, "The Greatest Gift," and sent it out to his friends and family as his Christmas card, we may never have got "It's a Wonderful Life." The irony is not lost considering the story's plot.
The author spent months trying to hunt down a publisher willing to take a chance on his story about a man encountering a guardian angel that shows him what the world would have been like if he'd never been born. That's when he took the route to publish 200 copies of the story to send out to his loved ones.
His daughter Marguerite Stern Robinson recalled (via Independent) being in the third grade and delivering a few of the cards off to her teachers and friends. Back then, her father explained to her the importance of the story: "My father, who was himself from a mixed religious background,...
The author spent months trying to hunt down a publisher willing to take a chance on his story about a man encountering a guardian angel that shows him what the world would have been like if he'd never been born. That's when he took the route to publish 200 copies of the story to send out to his loved ones.
His daughter Marguerite Stern Robinson recalled (via Independent) being in the third grade and delivering a few of the cards off to her teachers and friends. Back then, her father explained to her the importance of the story: "My father, who was himself from a mixed religious background,...
- 11/28/2022
- by Sarah Musnicky
- Slash Film
Constance Cummings: Actress in minor Hollywood movies became major London stage star. Constance Cummings: Actress went from Harold Lloyd and Frank Capra to Noël Coward and Eugene O'Neill Actress Constance Cummings, whose career spanned more than six decades on stage, in films, and on television in both the U.S. and the U.K., died ten years ago on Nov. 23. Unlike other Broadway imports such as Ann Harding, Katharine Hepburn, Miriam Hopkins, and Claudette Colbert, the pretty, elegant Cummings – who could have been turned into a less edgy Constance Bennett had she landed at Rko or Paramount instead of Columbia – never became a Hollywood star. In fact, her most acclaimed work, whether in films or – more frequently – on stage, was almost invariably found in British productions. That's most likely why the name Constance Cummings – despite the DVD availability of several of her best-received performances – is all but forgotten.
- 11/4/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Rex Ingram in 'The Thief of Bagdad' 1940 with tiny Sabu. Actor Rex Ingram movies on TCM: Early black film performer in 'Cabin in the Sky,' 'Anna Lucasta' It's somewhat unusual for two well-known film celebrities, whether past or present, to share the same name.* One such rarity is – or rather, are – the two movie people known as Rex Ingram;† one an Irish-born white director, the other an Illinois-born black actor. Turner Classic Movies' “Summer Under the Stars” continues today, Aug. 11, '15, with a day dedicated to the latter. Right now, TCM is showing Cabin in the Sky (1943), an all-black musical adaptation of the Faust tale that is notable as the first full-fledged feature film directed by another Illinois-born movie person, Vincente Minnelli. Also worth mentioning, the movie marked Lena Horne's first important appearance in a mainstream motion picture.§ A financial disappointment on the...
- 8/12/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
We Are Still Here was released today to theaters and on VOD services. I'm sure some of you have caught it already and others will be seeing it this weekend, and this second part of my interview with Ted Geoghegan is for you. We dive into discussion of the movie's backstory, practical effects, and what's next for the writer / director: [Spoiler Warning]
Something that really impressed me was how much thought you put into the backstory, which we get a good glimpse of during the end credits. How detailed did you get when building the history of this town?
Ted Geoghegan: We have a very detailed history of the town and what it did to the Dagmar family. The idea was that we needed to understand the history of the town even if it was never explained in the film. We created this extremely in-depth history about all of the characters...
Something that really impressed me was how much thought you put into the backstory, which we get a good glimpse of during the end credits. How detailed did you get when building the history of this town?
Ted Geoghegan: We have a very detailed history of the town and what it did to the Dagmar family. The idea was that we needed to understand the history of the town even if it was never explained in the film. We created this extremely in-depth history about all of the characters...
- 6/5/2015
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson on the Oscars' Red Carpet Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson at the Academy Awards Eli Wallach and wife Anne Jackson are seen above arriving at the 2011 Academy Awards ceremony, held on Sunday, Feb. 27, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. The 95-year-old Wallach had received an Honorary Oscar at the Governors Awards in November 2010. See also: "Doris Day Inexplicably Snubbed by Academy," "Maureen O'Hara Honorary Oscar," "Honorary Oscars: Mary Pickford, Greta Garbo Among Rare Women Recipients," and "Hayao Miyazaki Getting Honorary Oscar." Delayed film debut The Actors Studio-trained Eli Wallach was to have made his film debut in Fred Zinnemann's Academy Award-winning 1953 blockbuster From Here to Eternity. Ultimately, however, Frank Sinatra – then a has-been following a string of box office duds – was cast for a pittance, getting beaten to a pulp by a pre-stardom Ernest Borgnine. For his bloodied efforts, Sinatra went on...
- 4/24/2015
- by D. Zhea
- Alt Film Guide
Roundabout Theatre Company has announced that four-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe winner Jim Parsons 'The Big Bang Theory,' Roundabout's Harvey will be joined by Tony Award winner and four-time Emmy Award nominee Jane Krakowski '30 Rock,' Roundabout's Nine in a one-night-only reading of George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly's hilarious Merton of the Movies. This rollicking evening will be helmed by Roundabout's Adams Associate Artistic Director, six-time Tony nominee Scott Ellis Roundabout's Harvey, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, currently represented on Broadway with The Elephant Man and You Can't Take It With You. Final casting to be announced.
- 11/26/2014
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Billy Wilder movies, Johnny Carson interviews tonight on TCM Billy Wilder is Turner Classic Movies’ Director of the Evening tonight, July 8, 2013. But before Wilder Evening begins, TCM will be presenting a series of brief interviews from The Tonight Show, back in the old Johnny Carson days — or rather, nights. The Carson interviewees this evening are Doris Day, Charlton Heston, Tony Curtis, Chevy Chase, and Steve Martin. (See also: Doris Day today.) (Photo: Billy Wilder.) As for Billy Wilder, TCM will be showing the following: Some Like It Hot (1959), The Fortune Cookie (1966), The Spirit of St. Louis (1958), and The Seven Year Itch (1955). Of course, all of those have been shown before and are widely available. Some Like It Hot vs. The Major and the Minor: Subversive and subversiver Some Like It Hot is perhaps Billy Wilder’s best-known film. This broad comedy featuring Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis...
- 7/8/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Lumet with his honorary Oscar. Shockingly, he never won a competitive Academy Award.
By Lee Pfeiffer
Yesterday the family of the late legendary film director Sidney Lumet, in association with the Film Society of Lincoln Center, hosted a tribute to Lumet at Alice Tulley Hall. Cinema Retro contributing writer Doug Gerbino and I arrived at Lincoln Center not knowing exactly what the program would consist of. However, as we are both great admirers of Lumet's work, we could not pass up the invitation to attend. The tribute turned out to be one of the most extraordinary film-related events we had ever witnessed. An extraordinary number of diverse talents contributed their personal memories of working with Lumet through often hilarious anecdotes. Screenwriter Walter Bernstein said Lumet saved his career by hiring him to write TV productions even though he was blacklisted at the time. Christopher Walken recalled how Lumet gently guided...
By Lee Pfeiffer
Yesterday the family of the late legendary film director Sidney Lumet, in association with the Film Society of Lincoln Center, hosted a tribute to Lumet at Alice Tulley Hall. Cinema Retro contributing writer Doug Gerbino and I arrived at Lincoln Center not knowing exactly what the program would consist of. However, as we are both great admirers of Lumet's work, we could not pass up the invitation to attend. The tribute turned out to be one of the most extraordinary film-related events we had ever witnessed. An extraordinary number of diverse talents contributed their personal memories of working with Lumet through often hilarious anecdotes. Screenwriter Walter Bernstein said Lumet saved his career by hiring him to write TV productions even though he was blacklisted at the time. Christopher Walken recalled how Lumet gently guided...
- 6/28/2011
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Mel Ferrer, whose career as a performer, director, producer and writer spanned six decades, has died at age 90.
Ferrer died Monday at his ranch near Santa Barbara, family spokesman Mike Mena said.
"It's a sad occasion, but he did live a long and productive life," Mena said Tuesday.
He appeared in more than 100 films and made-for-television movies, directed nine films and produced nine more.
Ferrer's most impressive film role came in 1953 in "Lili." He played a disabled carnival puppeteer with whom a French orphan (played by Leslie Caron) falls in love.
On the big screen, Ferrer was most recognizable for his performance as Prince Andrei in "War and Peace" in 1956 with Audrey Hepburn and Henry Fonda. He was paid the then princely sum of $100,000. He appeared in "The Sun Also Rises" alongside Ava Gardner, Tyrone Power and Errol Flynn.
Ferrer was often cast in big pictures during the late '...
Ferrer died Monday at his ranch near Santa Barbara, family spokesman Mike Mena said.
"It's a sad occasion, but he did live a long and productive life," Mena said Tuesday.
He appeared in more than 100 films and made-for-television movies, directed nine films and produced nine more.
Ferrer's most impressive film role came in 1953 in "Lili." He played a disabled carnival puppeteer with whom a French orphan (played by Leslie Caron) falls in love.
On the big screen, Ferrer was most recognizable for his performance as Prince Andrei in "War and Peace" in 1956 with Audrey Hepburn and Henry Fonda. He was paid the then princely sum of $100,000. He appeared in "The Sun Also Rises" alongside Ava Gardner, Tyrone Power and Errol Flynn.
Ferrer was often cast in big pictures during the late '...
- 6/3/2008
- by By Duane Byrge
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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