'The Doll' with Ossi Oswalda and Hermann Thimig: Early Ernst Lubitsch satirical fantasy starring 'the German Mary Pickford' has similar premise to that of the 1925 Buster Keaton comedy 'Seven Chances.' 'The Doll': San Francisco Silent Film Festival presented fast-paced Ernst Lubitsch comedy starring the German Mary Pickford – Ossi Oswalda Directed by Ernst Lubitsch (So This Is Paris, The Wedding March), the 2017 San Francisco Silent Film Festival presentation The Doll / Die Puppe (1919) has one of the most amusing mise-en-scènes ever recorded. The set is created by cut-out figures that gradually come to life; then even more cleverly, they commence the fast-paced action. It all begins when a shy, confirmed bachelor, Lancelot (Hermann Thimig), is ordered by his rich uncle (Max Kronert), the Baron von Chanterelle, to marry for a large sum of money. As to be expected, mayhem ensues. Lancelot is forced to flee from the hordes of eligible maidens, eventually...
- 6/28/2017
- by Danny Fortune
- Alt Film Guide
Chicago – During the scourge of the AIDS epidemic, at its height in the late 1980s, a playwright lost her brother to the condition. Inspired by him, Paula Vogel wrote “The Baltimore Waltz,” a story about her and her brother’s travels through Europe – and filtered through the prism of fantasy and the movies. The Brown Paper Box Company presents a re-staging of the play in Chicago through February 19th, 2017.
Play Rating: 3.5/5.0
Using the modern tools of storefront theater – computerized music cues, slideshow presentation and creative use of space – Brown Paper Box Company takes us on a travelogue through Europe, with a brother and sister duo, trailed by the mysterious “Third Man.” The three person cast create a passionate show of madness and mystery, having symbolically to do with the suddenness of the AIDS crisis, and how loved ones were absorbed and lost so quickly. The “waltz” in the title is the dance of life,...
Play Rating: 3.5/5.0
Using the modern tools of storefront theater – computerized music cues, slideshow presentation and creative use of space – Brown Paper Box Company takes us on a travelogue through Europe, with a brother and sister duo, trailed by the mysterious “Third Man.” The three person cast create a passionate show of madness and mystery, having symbolically to do with the suddenness of the AIDS crisis, and how loved ones were absorbed and lost so quickly. The “waltz” in the title is the dance of life,...
- 1/29/2017
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – When a 13 year old African American teenager is suddenly put into the atmosphere of Germany – specifically Old Heidelberg – then a whole new adventure awaits for “Morris from America.” Craig Robinson (“The Office”) portrays the title character’s father, and the film is directed by Chad Hartigan.
Hartigan is doing his third feature film, after the recent “This is Martin Bonner” (2013). “Morris from America” is slightly autobiographical, as his Irish father and American mother were missionaries, and he had problems fitting in wherever they moved (see story below). The film was shot on location in Old Heidelberg, and was financed in part through Germany.
Craig Robinson Portrays Curtis in ‘Morris from America’
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com
Craig Robinson is familiar to fans of the TV series “The Office,” in his portrayal of Darryl. He was born in Chicago, and graduated from Illinois State University.
Hartigan is doing his third feature film, after the recent “This is Martin Bonner” (2013). “Morris from America” is slightly autobiographical, as his Irish father and American mother were missionaries, and he had problems fitting in wherever they moved (see story below). The film was shot on location in Old Heidelberg, and was financed in part through Germany.
Craig Robinson Portrays Curtis in ‘Morris from America’
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com
Craig Robinson is familiar to fans of the TV series “The Office,” in his portrayal of Darryl. He was born in Chicago, and graduated from Illinois State University.
- 8/22/2016
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Merle Oberon films: From empress to duchess in 'Hotel.' Merle Oberon films: From starring to supporting roles Turner Classic Movies' Merle Oberon month comes to an end tonight, March 25, '16, with six movies: Désirée, Hotel, Deep in My Heart, Affectionately Yours, Berlin Express, and Night Song. Oberon's presence alone would have sufficed to make them all worth a look, but they have other qualities to recommend them as well. 'Désirée': First supporting role in two decades Directed by Henry Koster, best remembered for his Deanna Durbin musicals and the 1947 fantasy comedy The Bishop's Wife, Désirée (1954) is a sumptuous production that, thanks to its big-name cast, became a major box office hit upon its release. Marlon Brando is laughably miscast as Napoleon Bonaparte, while Jean Simmons plays the title role, the Corsican Conqueror's one-time fiancée Désirée Clary (later Queen of Sweden and Norway). In a supporting role – her...
- 3/26/2016
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
'The Merry Widow' with Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald and Minna Gombell under the direction of Ernst Lubitsch. Ernst Lubitsch movies: 'The Merry Widow,' 'Ninotchka' (See previous post: “Ernst Lubitsch Best Films: Passé Subtle 'Touch' in Age of Sledgehammer Filmmaking.”) Initially a project for Ramon Novarro – who for quite some time aspired to become an opera singer and who had a pleasant singing voice – The Merry Widow ultimately starred Maurice Chevalier, the hammiest film performer this side of Bob Hope, Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler – the list goes on and on. Generally speaking, “hammy” isn't my idea of effective film acting. For that reason, I usually find Chevalier a major handicap to his movies, especially during the early talkie era; he upsets their dramatic (or comedic) balance much like Jack Nicholson in Martin Scorsese's The Departed or Jerry Lewis in anything (excepting Scorsese's The King of Comedy...
- 1/31/2016
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Ernst Lubitsch: The movies' lost 'Touch.' Ernst Lubitsch movies on TCM: Classics of a bygone era Ernst Lubitsch and William Cameron Menzies were Turner Classic Movies' “stars” on Jan. 28, '16. (This is a fully revised and expanded version of a post published on that day.) Lubitsch had the morning/afternoon, with seven films; Menzies had the evening/night, also with seven features. (TCM's Ernst Lubitsch schedule can be found further below.) The forgotten 'Touch' As a sign of the times, Ernst Lubitsch is hardly ever mentioned whenever “connoisseurs” (between quotes) discuss Hollywood movies of the studio era. But why? Well, probably because The Lubitsch Touch is considered passé at a time when the sledgehammer approach to filmmaking is deemed “fresh,” “innovative,” “cool,” and “daring” – as if a crass lack of subtlety in storytelling were anything new. Minus the multimillion-dollar budgets, the explicit violence and gore, and the overbearing smugness passing for hipness,...
- 1/31/2016
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Hal Roach looks on as technicians install Vitaphone equipment in his studio screening room, ca. 1928. (Click on the image to enlarge it.) 'A Century of Sound': Q&A with former UCLA Preservation Officer Robert Gitt about the evolution of film sound technology Long before multi-track Dolby stereo and digital sound technology, there were the Kinetophone and the Vitaphone systems – not to mention organ and piano players at movie houses. Much of that is discussed in A Century of Sound, which chronicles the evolution of film sound from the late 19th century to the mid-1970s. A Century of Sound has been split into two parts, with a third installment currently in the planning stages. They are: Vol. 1, “The Beginning, 1876-1932,” which came out on DVD in 2007. Vol. 2, “The Sound of Movies: 1933-1975,” which came out on Blu-ray in 2015. The third installment will bring the presentation into the 21st century.
- 1/26/2016
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Silent comedy rules! Harold Lloyd epitomizes 'twenties optimism while serving up the fun. Even better, he filmed this on the streets of New York, so we feel as if we stepped into a time machine. The great disc extras include input from New Yorker extraordinaire Bruce Goldstein. It's a great show for holiday viewing -- unless your family hates New York. Speedy Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 788 1928 / Color / 1:33 silent aperture / 86 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date December 8, 2015 / 39.95 Starring Harold Lloyd, Ann Christy, Bert Woodruff, Babe Ruth, Byron Douglas, Brooks Benedict. Cinematography Walter Lundin Film Editor Carl Himm Original Music Carl Davis Written by John Grey, Lex Neal, Howard Rogers, Jay Howe Produced by Harold Lloyd Directed by Ted Wilde
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Criterion's Blu-ray of Harold Lloyd's 1928 comedy Speedy is a double pleasure. First, it reminds us that Harold Lloyd is a flat-out delight, as funny...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Criterion's Blu-ray of Harold Lloyd's 1928 comedy Speedy is a double pleasure. First, it reminds us that Harold Lloyd is a flat-out delight, as funny...
- 12/12/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Norma Shearer: The Boss' wife was cast in 'The Divorcee.' Norma Shearer movies on TCM: Early talkies and Best Actress Oscar Note: This Norma Shearer article is currently being revised and expanded. Please Check back later. Norma Shearer, one of the top stars in Hollywood history and known as the Queen of MGM back in the 1930s, is Turner Classic Movies' Star of the Month of Nov. 2015. That's the good news. The not-so-good news is that even though its parent company, Time Warner, owns most of Shearer's movies, TCM isn't airing any premieres. So, if you were expecting to check out a very young Norma Shearer in The Devil's Circus, Upstage, or After Midnight, you're out of luck. (I've seen all three; they're all worth a look.) It's a crime that, music score or no, restored print or no, TCM/Time Warner don't make available for viewing the...
- 11/11/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
The gaudy MGM musical bio gets one last go-round, gathering an all-star cast to illustrate the songbook of composer Sigmund Romberg. Gene Kelly dances with his brother Fred, and Cyd Charisse does a hot number with James Mitchell, while star José Ferrer goes on stage to perform with his wife Rosemary Clooney. Deep in My Heart Blu-ray Warner Archive Collection 1954 / Color / 1:37 flat Academy / 132 min. / Street Date November 10, 2015 / available through the WBshop / 17.95 Starring José Ferrer, Merle Oberon, Helen Traubel, Doe Avedon, Walter Pidgeon, Jim Backus, Rosemary Clooney, Gene Kelly, Fred Kelly, Jane Powell, Ann Miller, Cyd Charisse, Howard Keel, Vic Damone, Tony Martin, Joan Weldon, Fred Kelly, Russ Tamblyn. Susan Luckey, Robert Easton, Barrie Chase, Douglas Fowley. Cinematography George J. Folsey Film Editor Adrienne Fazan Original Music Alexander Courage, Adolph Deutsch Written by Leonard Spigelgass from a book by Elliott Arnold Produced by Roger Edens Directed by Stanley Donen
Reviewed...
Reviewed...
- 11/3/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Honorary Oscars have bypassed women: Angela Lansbury, Lauren Bacall among rare exceptions (photo: 2013 Honorary Oscar winner Angela Lansbury and Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award winner Angelina Jolie) September 4, 2014, Introduction: This four-part article on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Honorary Awards and the dearth of female Honorary Oscar winners was originally posted in February 2007. The article was updated in February 2012 and fully revised before its republication today. All outdated figures regarding the Honorary Oscars and the Academy's other Special Awards have been "scratched out," with the updated numbers and related information inserted below each affected paragraph or text section. See also "Honorary Oscars 2014 addendum" at the bottom of this post. At the 1936 Academy Awards ceremony, groundbreaking film pioneer D.W. Griffith, by then a veteran with more than 500 shorts and features to his credit — among them the epoch-making The Birth of a Nation and Intolerance — became the first individual to...
- 9/4/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
BroadwayWorld just met the cast and you can check out an exclusive interview with Jacquelynne Fontaine and Frank Viveros, who play Carlotta Guidicelli and Ubaldo Piangi, belowJacquelynne's regional credits include The Student Prince Kathie, Pittsburgh Clo, A Little Night Music Charlotte, Indiana Rep Theater, The Sound of Music Elsa, North Shore Music Theater, A Room With A View Ragazza, The Old Globe. Opera La Traviata Violetta, Tacoma Opera and Rogue Opera, The King amp IAnna, Opera North, Le Nozze di Figaro Susanna, Rogue Opera, Don Giovanni Donna Elvira, Tuscia Opera, Italy, Die Zauberflote Pamina, Tuscia Opera, Italy. In Southern California Don Giovanni Donna Anna, Summer and Smoke Alma, Idomeneo Ilia, Candide Cunegonde,Antigone Antigone, Blood Wedding The Bride, A View From the BridgeCatherine.Frank originated the roles of Bloat The Blowfish in Disney's Finding Nemo The Musical, and Iron Chef in off-Broadway's Yellow Brick Road. Favorites includeCaroline, or Change BusDryer,...
- 11/17/2013
- by BroadwayWorld TV
- BroadwayWorld.com
Ann Blyth today: Light songs and heavy drama on TCM Ann Blyth, a 1940s Universal leading lady best remembered for her Oscar-nominated performance as Joan Crawford’s cute-but-sociopathic teenage daughter in Warner Bros.’ Mildred Pierce, is Turner Classic Movies’ "Summer Under the Stars" star on Friday, August 16, 2013. Note: Today, Ann Blyth, one of the earliest surviving Oscar nominees in the acting categories, turns 85 years old. (See: “Ann Blyth Movies: TCM Schedule.”) (Photo: Ann Blyth ca. 1955.) First, the good news: Ann Blyth is a likable, talented actress and singer, and it’s great that TCM is dedicating a whole day to her movies. The bad news: As mentioned above, Ann Blyth was mostly (1944-1952) a Universal star; TCM is presenting only one of Blyth’s Universal movies, Brute Force (1947), which has been shown before. In other words, not a chance of finally having the opportunity to catch Ann Blyth in B...
- 8/16/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Ramon Novarro and Greta Garbo in ‘Mata Hari’: The wrath of the censors (See previous post: "Ramon Novarro in One of the Best Silent Movies.") George Fitzmaurice’s romantic spy melodrama Mata Hari (1931) was well received by critics and enthusiastically embraced by moviegoers. The Greta Garbo / Ramon Novarro combo — the first time Novarro took second billing since becoming a star — turned Mata Hari into a major worldwide blockbuster, with $2.22 million in worldwide rentals. The film became Garbo’s biggest international success to date, and Novarro’s highest-grossing picture after Ben-Hur. (Photo: Ramon Novarro and Greta Garbo in Mata Hari.) Among MGM’s 1932 releases — Mata Hari opened on December 31, 1931 — only W.S. Van Dyke’s Tarzan, the Ape Man, featuring Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O’Sullivan, and Edmund Goulding’s all-star Best Picture Academy Award winner Grand Hotel (also with Garbo, in addition to Joan Crawford, John Barrymore, Wallace Beery, and...
- 8/9/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Ramon Novarro in one of the best silent movies: ‘The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg’ (photo: Ramon Novarro leapfrog) (See previous post: "Ramon Novarro Ben-Hur: First Big-Budget Hollywood Movie Saved by the International Market.") Ben-Hur also solidified Ramon Novarro’s international superstardom. In fact, moviegoers outside North America helped to keep Novarro working steadily at MGM up to the mid-’30s, several years after his domestic popularity had markedly diminished — and several years after fellow male silent era stars John Gilbert and William Haines had been gone from the studio. With the passing of the decades, especially since the release of William Wyler’s multiple Oscar-winning 1959 version of Ben-Hur, starring Charlton Heston, Ramon Novarro’s 1925 movie fell into oblivion. The following is from Beyond Paradise: The Life of Ramon Novarro: As the years passed, Ben-Hur, the motion picture that would “remain, as the Bible remains” became but...
- 8/9/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Ramon Novarro: Mexican-born actor was first Latin American Hollywood superstar Mexican-born actor Ramon Novarro, the original Ben-Hur and one of MGM’s biggest stars of the late ’20s and early ’30s, has his Turner Classic Movies’ "Summer Under the Stars" day on Thursday, August 8, 2013. First, The Bad News: TCM will not be presenting any Ramon Novarro movie premieres. And that’s quite disappointing. (Photo: Ramon Novarro ca. 1925.) There’ll be no The Midshipman (1925), the first time Novarro was billed above the title (back then the official recognition of True Stardom) and featuring one of Joan Crawford’s earliest film appearances, or Forbidden Hours (1928), a vapid but great-looking The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg redux, with the always charming Renée Adorée as the commoner loved by His Majesty, Michael IV — that’s Novarro. Excellent prints of The Midshipman and Forbidden Hours can be found in the Warner Bros. film...
- 8/8/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Deanna Durbin: Highest-paid actress in the world [See previous post: "Deanna Durbin in the '40s: From Wholesome Musicals to Film Noir Sex Worker."] Despite several missteps in the handling of her career, David Shipman states that Deanna Durbin was Hollywood’s (and the world’s) highest-paid actress in both 1945 and 1947. In 1946, Durbin’s earnings of $323,477 trailed only Bette Davis’ $328,000 at Warner Bros. Those are impressive rankings (and wages), but ironically Durbin’s high earnings ultimately harmed her career. By the mid-’40s, her domestic box-office allure was beginning to fade, a situation surely worsened by World War II closing off most of Hollywood’s top international markets. As a result, Universal, since 1947 a new entity known as Universal-International, was unwilling to spend extra money in their star’s already costly vehicles. That’s a similar predicament to the one faced by silent-era superstar John Gilbert at MGM in the early ’30s: the studio had to pay Gilbert an exorbitant salary that made his movies much...
- 5/5/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Screenwriter Frederica Sagor Dead at 111: Wrote Movies for Norma Shearer (photo), Clara Bow, Louise Brooks Now, whether Frederica Sagor's Hollywood Babylon-like tales bear any resemblance to what actually happened at studio parties and private soirees, I can't tell. But on the professional side, one problem with the information found in The Shocking Miss Pilgrim is that studios invariably used numerous writers, whether male or female, in their projects. Usually, in those pre-Writers Guild days, only two or three contributors received final credit, not because of the uncredited writer's gender but in large part because the final product oftentimes had little — if anything — in common with the original source. While doing research for my Ramon Novarro biography, I went through various drafts, written by various hands, of his movies. A Certain Young Man, for instance, went through so many changes (including director, cast, and title), that the final film...
- 1/7/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Ramon Novarro swimming in his Los Feliz Hills house Lloyd Wright's Samuel-Novarro House is back in the market, as per Curbed Los Angeles. Located in the Los Feliz Hills, the eastern section of the Hollywood Hills, the house was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright's son Lloyd Wright in the late 1920s. In order to pay for Wright's services, personal secretary Louis Samuel embezzled money from the financial holdings of his boss, Hollywood star Ramon Novarro (photo), to gamble in the stock market. Novarro had had such confidence in Samuel that he had given his former dance classmate/intimate companion power of attorney over his financial affairs. The market crash in late 1929 and the extended bear market that followed wiped out Samuel's investments. As I wrote in Beyond Paradise: The Life of Ramon Novarro, upon discovering he didn't have enough funds to buy a new car, "the star who had...
- 11/3/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Movie Star Ramon Novarro Brutally Killed Halloween Eve 1968 Paul Ferguson, in a letter he wrote me at the time I was working on Beyond Paradise, blamed his Catholic background for Ramon Novarro's death: "When [Novarro] kissed me, I reacted like a Catholic, what they call homosexual panic. Some old guy in the desert says, 'Kill homosexuals.' It's inbred. . . . I was too drunk to be civilized. Whatever my most primitive moral standings were, I reacted. It had nothing to do with Novarro, nothing to do with his being homosexual. It all had to do with how I saw myself. And the fact that my brother was there. And that he could see me in that homosexual act. It all had to do with my Catholic upbringing, with my five thousand years of Moses. And that's the only reason why this whole thing happened. Because that's what society teaches you. . . . I think after I hit Mr.
- 10/31/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Royal Albert Hall, London
For those of us who know our musicals from DVDs and Christmas TV, John Wilson's Hollywood Prom delivered a pleasurable shock. His orchestra, with its nine-piece percussion section and full-blown jazz big band, blasted out a surround-sound version of music that is usually squeezed through the tiny speakers of a telly.
Without the tap dances, chorus girls and (often flimsy) plots, the music had to stand up for itself. Wilson, who has brought a passion for authentic performance to movie soundtracks, shone a glittering spotlight on arrangers such as Ray Heindorf, Conrad Salinger and Lloyd "Skip" Martin. They were Hollywood's invisible men, who toiled behind the tinsel to stretch three-minute ditties into extended suites (This Heart of Mine) or craft subtle tone poems that became huge hits (Secret Love, sung beautifully by Clare Teal).
A tag team of vocalists interpreted familiar songs from movies made between...
For those of us who know our musicals from DVDs and Christmas TV, John Wilson's Hollywood Prom delivered a pleasurable shock. His orchestra, with its nine-piece percussion section and full-blown jazz big band, blasted out a surround-sound version of music that is usually squeezed through the tiny speakers of a telly.
Without the tap dances, chorus girls and (often flimsy) plots, the music had to stand up for itself. Wilson, who has brought a passion for authentic performance to movie soundtracks, shone a glittering spotlight on arrangers such as Ray Heindorf, Conrad Salinger and Lloyd "Skip" Martin. They were Hollywood's invisible men, who toiled behind the tinsel to stretch three-minute ditties into extended suites (This Heart of Mine) or craft subtle tone poems that became huge hits (Secret Love, sung beautifully by Clare Teal).
A tag team of vocalists interpreted familiar songs from movies made between...
- 8/30/2011
- by John L Walters
- The Guardian - Film News
Ramon Novarro, Norma Shearer in Ernst Lubitsch's The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg As a William & Kate tie-in, Turner Classic Movies is showing several royal weddings, romances, escapades, and heartbreaks this evening. Stanley Donen's Royal Wedding (1951), starring Jane Powell, Fred Astaire, and Peter Lawford, is just about over. The best thing about the film is Fred Astaire dancing on walls and ceilings, a scene that, as far as I'm concerned, looks much more impressive than the bit showing Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page walking on the "walls" of a folding Paris in Christopher Nolan's monumentally silly Inception. Roman Holiday (1953) is next, the William Wyler comedy-drama from a story by blacklistee Dalton Trumbo that earned Audrey Hepburn a Best Actress Oscar for being charming and pretty. That same year, also in the running were Deborah Kerr in From Here to Eternity, Ava Gardner in Mogambo, and Leslie Caron in Lili.
- 4/30/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
TCM cordially invites film lovers and royal watchers to celebrate next Friday the nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton with an evening of romance fit for a king and queen.
Friday, April 29
8 p.m. - Royal Wedding (1951)
Fred Astaire and Jane Powell find love in London
just as Queen Elizabeth II prepares to walk down the aisle.
10 p.m. - Roman Holiday (1953)
Audrey Hepburn won an Oscar® for her performance
as a spritely princess opposite Gregory Peck.
12:15 a.m. - The Glass Slipper (1955)
Leslie Caron stars in this lush adaptation of the Cinderella story
co-starring Michael Wilding and featuring the music of Bronislau Kaper.
2 a.m. - The Swan (1956)
Grace Kelly became a real princess the same year she starred
in this comedy with Louis Jourdan and Alec Guinness.
4 a.m. - The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927)
Ramon Navarro stars in the title role in this silent...
Friday, April 29
8 p.m. - Royal Wedding (1951)
Fred Astaire and Jane Powell find love in London
just as Queen Elizabeth II prepares to walk down the aisle.
10 p.m. - Roman Holiday (1953)
Audrey Hepburn won an Oscar® for her performance
as a spritely princess opposite Gregory Peck.
12:15 a.m. - The Glass Slipper (1955)
Leslie Caron stars in this lush adaptation of the Cinderella story
co-starring Michael Wilding and featuring the music of Bronislau Kaper.
2 a.m. - The Swan (1956)
Grace Kelly became a real princess the same year she starred
in this comedy with Louis Jourdan and Alec Guinness.
4 a.m. - The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927)
Ramon Navarro stars in the title role in this silent...
- 4/20/2011
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Norma Shearer, Ramon Novarro, Jean Hersholt in Ernst Lubitsch's The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg Turner Classic Movies' Hispanic Heritage Month celebration continues with the showing of one silent film starring Mexican heartthrob Ramon Novarro, The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927), and the Mexican period drama Mexicanos al grito de guerra (1943), starring Mexican cinema's superstar Pedro Infante. Deftly directed by Ernst Lubitsch, and co-starring Norma Shearer at her prettiest and most unaffected, The Student Prince is at turns funny, charming, moving, and ultimately heartbreaking. It's just too bad that Sigmund Romberg's music isn't used in the new score. Ramon Novarro managed to be as good in a few of his other MGM vehicles (e.g., The Pagan, which was shown last week on TCM, The Barbarian), but he was never better than in The Student Prince, even though a very Mediterranean-looking Mexican actor playing a very Teutonic prince...
- 9/13/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Ramon Novarro, Norma Shearer in Ernst Lubitsch‘s The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (top); Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, second husband Martin Arrouge (bottom) Norma Shearer may not be a household name today, but back in the late 1920s and throughout the 1930s all the way to the early 1940s, Shearer’s star shone brighter than most. Turner Classic Movies is dedicating Thursday, Aug. 12, to the actress then known as MGM’s First Lady — who would have turned 108 yesterday (Aug. 10). As part of its "Summer Under the Stars" series, TCM will be presenting thirteen of the actress’ films, in addition to Hugh Munro Neely‘s 2003 documentary Complicated Women, inspired by Mick Lasalle‘s book of the same name and in which Shearer is extensively featured. (Lasalle is a major Shearer aficionado.) [Full Norma Shearer schedule.] Now, Norma Shearer may take some getting used to. Her acting style may come across as coy [...]...
- 8/12/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Are you celebrating Mexico today?
Happy Cinco De Mayo!
I'm eating tacos for dinner because it's the least I can do. And I'm also perusing amazing photos of Mexican film stars of yore like the deliriously sexy Lupe Vélez and one star of the right now... Señor Bernal of course. Also deliriously sexy. Especially in closeups.
So I thought we'd drool on six of the earliest crossover sensations tonight with a few films of note (for one reason or another) for each of their careers. If you'd like to investigate further, click on the links. Enjoy!
Lupe Vélez The Gaucho, 1927 | Hot Pepper, 1933 | The Girl From Mexico, 1939
Ramon Novarro Scaramouche 1923 | Ben-Hur 1925 | The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg, 1927
These silent stars had volatile lives and careers, both ending with tragic deaths. Vélez career was a series of ups and downs and some say she was bipolar. She had several movie star affairs...
Happy Cinco De Mayo!
I'm eating tacos for dinner because it's the least I can do. And I'm also perusing amazing photos of Mexican film stars of yore like the deliriously sexy Lupe Vélez and one star of the right now... Señor Bernal of course. Also deliriously sexy. Especially in closeups.
So I thought we'd drool on six of the earliest crossover sensations tonight with a few films of note (for one reason or another) for each of their careers. If you'd like to investigate further, click on the links. Enjoy!
Lupe Vélez The Gaucho, 1927 | Hot Pepper, 1933 | The Girl From Mexico, 1939
Ramon Novarro Scaramouche 1923 | Ben-Hur 1925 | The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg, 1927
These silent stars had volatile lives and careers, both ending with tragic deaths. Vélez career was a series of ups and downs and some say she was bipolar. She had several movie star affairs...
- 5/6/2010
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg / Old Heidelberg (1927) Direction: Ernst Lubitsch Screenplay: Hans Kräly; titles by Ruth Cummings and Marian Ainslee; from Sigmund Romberg and Dorothy Donnelly’s operetta The Student Prince, based on Wilhelm Meyer-Förster’s novel Karl Heinrich and play Old Heidelberg Cast: Ramon Novarro, Norma Shearer, Jean Hersholt, Philippe de Lacy, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Edgar Norton, Bobby Mack, Edward Connelly Ramon Navarro, Norma Shearer The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg The theme of a prince who gives up the girl he loves in order to fulfill his royal duty has been tried many times, but Ernst Lubitsch’s The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg is the best. The plot is simple and predictable. After a brief opening of pomp and circumstance [...]...
- 4/7/2010
- by Danny Fortune
- Alt Film Guide
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