Classic and James Bond films unite
My late father was French-Mauritian, a distinction that he always made very clear to people. And I think that is perhaps why he was such a devotee of Agatha Christie’s famous Belgian detective. My father took great delight in the parts where British characters insulted Poirot by calling him a French so and so, and… Continue reading You’re the Top!: Diana Rigg in “Evil Under the Sun” (1982)
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that Jane Austen is one of the greatest, and most influential, authors to ever live. Her six completed novels have been translated into about thirty five languages, and Pride and Prejudice alone has sold some 20 million copies. In addition to being one of the best selling authors of… Continue reading Passion and Perseverance: Sense and Sensibility (1995)
The human soul is naturally inclined towards seeking comfort, that lovely feeling of reassurance that the world holds hope and wonder, that things once broken can be mended, that not all that is lost, is lost forever. As a child, my comfort film was Gone with the Wind. It was a film that filled me with the… Continue reading The Comfort of Classics: Five Favourites
Before my best friend suggested this film for our fortnightly movie night, I had never heard of it. I know, it's quite surprising, but like most people, I'd always associated Carole Lombard with My Man Godfrey and the other screwball comedies that she shone in. But the thing about To Be or Not To Be, is that it's like… Continue reading Shaking Up Shakespeare: Carole Lombard in “To Be or Not To Be” (1942)
Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant made four films together, the most famous of which is An Affair to Remember, but four years before they declared their love for one another on an ocean liner and immortalised the Empire State Building; they starred in a comedy called Dream Wife. The film is about an ordinary American couple (amusing seeing… Continue reading Nightmare Wife: Deborah Kerr in “Dream Wife” (1953)
Jeanne Craine has always been a classic film actress who I knew of, but who always flew under the radar for me. I've always mostly associated her with the part of evil Gene Tierney's sweet cousin in Leave Her To Heaven. I remember liking her in that, and thinking how lovely she was, which is… Continue reading Always integrity: Jeanne Craine In People Will Talk (1951)
Although choosing an Audrey Hepburn film is like choosing a favourite child, How To Steal A Million is right up there. It's the perfect vehicle for Audrey. While she's wonderful in everything, this film shows how brilliant her comedic timing was and also how sophisticated her image became in the late 1960s. With Breakfast… Continue reading Close Quarters: Audrey Hepburn in “How To Steal A Million” (1966)
William Holden was born to play David Larrabee, with his perfectly combed golden hair and that little smile that always bordered on a smirk. He has that whole likeable cad thing, like George Sanders, Basil Rathbone and Richard Widmark down to a tee. He looks louche and sunkissed (even though the film's in black and… Continue reading The Privileged Playboy: William Holden in ‘Sabrina’ (1954)
I am pleased to say that I will be participating in The Rosalind Russell Blogathon hosted by In The Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood, so please watch this space!
As most classic film fans know, Saratoga was, tragically, Jean Harlow's last film. It was her seventh film with her good friend, Clark Gable, with whom she had starred in such classics as Red Dust, Wife vs Secretary and Hold Your Man. Jean had suffered from ill health for much of her life, and had been ill for a fairly protracted… Continue reading Getting Love Back On Track: Jean Harlow in “Saratoga”
Pale Writer 