The Skeins

SCOTT EYMAN to Discuss "HANK & JIM" at the SSO on 12/16 & 12/17

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 13:03:00 +0000

SCOTT EYMAN TO DISCUSS "HANK & JIM" ON 12/16 & 12/17

We think we know them as they have flickered across the screen in black & white ever since we can remember in classics such as The Grapes of Wrath, Mister Roberts, Twelve Angry Men, and On Golden Pond; and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Destry Rides Again, The Philadelphia Story, It’s a Wonderful Life, Vertigo, and Rear Window.

Yet, Henry Fonda & James Stewart were flesh and blood, determined and uncertain, as well as boys and men who seem to stumble into acting, setting a standard for seamless naturalness in a series of matchless performances. The Guest Author series at The Silver Screen Oasis is delighted to have Scott Eyman as our guest on Sat. Dec. 16th & Sun., Dec. 17th, for an online Q & A about his latest book, HANK & JIM: THE FIFTY YEAR FRIENDSHIP OF HENRY FONDA & JAMES STEWART (Simon & Schuster).

Scott Eyman has brought his understanding eye and gift for choosing just the right anecdote to illustrate how human, contradictory, complex and endearing this pair of iconic actors were as individuals whose friendship began in their twenties and extended until death parted them. Scott brings Stewart and Fonda alive again on the page as he explores the thread of their bond over time in a moving and often funny chronicle that has been called "remarkably absorbing, supremely entertaining joint biography of two Hollywood legends"

Please join us this weekend at the link below to participate in the Q & A with Scott Eyman about this book. All are welcome!
http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewforum.php?f=127

Links to places to purchase this book are below as are links to Scott Eyman's previous visits to the SSO:

Hank & Jim Publisher:
http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Hank-and-Jim/Scott-Eyman/9781501102172

To read reviews & purchase a copy of Hank & Jim:
https://tinyurl.com/yc6gtw9v

Previous Visits to the SSO by Scott Eyman:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1092

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6684

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php…

Alan K. Rode to Visit The Silver Screen Oasis to Discuss Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film on Tues., Dec. 12th

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 02:28:00 +0000

A Christmas present that can be opened early comes to The Silver Screen Oasis on Tues., Dec. 12th! The classic film discussion group will be hosting an online visit with film historian Alan K. Rode, author of Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film (Univ. Press of KY) on on Tues., Dec. 12th. The Q & A thread is now open for questions at the SSO: http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=131&t=7015

Millions of us cherish films such as Casablanca, White Christmas, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Four Daughters, Mildred Pierce, Angels With Dirty Faces, and Captain Blood, but how much do we know about the protean figure of Michael Curtiz who directed these and over 170 other movies spanning every genre from the silents to the sixties?

Alan K. Rode, a film historian, the author of [i]Charles McGraw: Film Noir Tough Guy[/i], director-treasurer of the Film Noir Foundation host and producer of the annual Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in Palm Springs, California, has spent years researching and evaluating the complex and remarkably creative public and private life of Michael Curtiz. The wait for this biography has been worth it. Illuminating his formative years from his native Hungary to the flowering of his talent in the studio era on the soundstages of Warner Brothers, the author has created a biography worthy of its subject's range. Alan’s depth of research and compelling storytelling has brought a complex, brilliant man and a lost world to life on the page, creating a portrait of an individual who mastered filmmaking in many genres, building a career spanning moviemaking on two continents from the early silents to pre-code talkies to the height of the studio era.

Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film, has been described by Scott Eyman as:”exhaustively researched, well written and frequently witty,: and by others as “a wonderful read and an accurate source for future reference, [that] is thoroughly satisfying, highly intelligent, and a delicious, rich dessert for any serious lover of film and film history." More about the author and the book (including a discount on the cloth edition this month) may be seen here:

https://www.kentuckypress.com/live/title_detail.php?titleid=2584

As many longime Silver Screen Oasis members will recall, Alan was an engaging guest some time ago, discussing his moving and entertaining biography of the essential film noir actor, Charles McGraw. That lively discussion can be seen here:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1480

Please join us at the link below on Dec. 12th to ask the author everything you have always wanted to know about Curtiz the man and the filmmaker. All are welcome!

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewforum.php?f=127

John Philliber: Late Bloomer & Man of Mystery

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 14 Nov 2017 14:50:00 +0000

Character actors make many movies for me. None more intriguing for me is the character actor who played Pop Benson in Rene Clair's It Happened Tomorrow (1944) was John Philliber, who made only 8 movies, with 7 of them produced in 1944. Born in 1873, the five foot tall man had a wistful "foxy-grandpa" look in his sparkling blue eyes that was tempered by his wonderfully elfin yet slightly sinister presence in It Happened Tomorrow. As an actor in films, he appeared in only 8 movies in 1943 and 1944, including Double Indemnity and Summer Storm before his death at 72 in November of 1944. This late flurry of success came just after the elderly thespian had been reduced to earning an income of just $63 in 1941--mostly derived from mowing lawns and only $15 from theatrical work. However, his best known work seems to have been done well after he turned 50.

This mysterious actor had only nine Broadway plays credited to him between 1934 and 1942, but they included some fine artistic successes, High Tor and Winterset. In his film and theatrical roles, he's almost always given a name like Old Timer, Misty, Bum, or a countrified moniker like Abner. The son of a cooper who tried to follow in his father's steps in a dying industry, Philliber was a native of Elkhart, Indiana who had felt compelled to become an actor after joining a theatrical troupe in his hometown in 1893 at the age of 20, a career path that earned him just 45 cents during his first nine days in the glare of the footlights, appearing in the ironically named play, A Prisoner for Life, which the then neophyte actor claimed was good training since "nothing that followed could have been worse." His subsequent career spanned half a century of obscurity, touring with scant recognition through some 2,000 communities in medicine shows, legitimate shows in repertory such as the Will T. Hodge Stock Company and honing his skills in dramatic warhorses as The Rosary and eventually using his naturally puckish demeanor to become particularly adept at comic parts. This long career odyssey once prompted the trouper to comment drily that "I think that there are just about four places here and in Canada where I haven't been."

Appearing on the New York stage for the first time in 1903, it would be another three decades before Philliber became a regular Broadway player. In 1942, he was cast as the town gossip in the Theater Guild's Broadway production, Mr. Sycamore, by Ketti Frings, a fanciful play starring Lillian Gish and Stuart Erwin that was concerned with the tribulations of a tired postman who plants himself in a lawn and turns into a tree. One evening Rene Clair pushed his way through the throngs visiting backstage to present Philliber with a standing invitation to look him up if he ever came to Hollywood.

With the encouragement of Kurt Frings, the Hollywood agent who was the husband of the author of Mr. Sycamore, Philliber tried his luck in Los Angeles with considerable, unexpected success, eventually being paid $1,500.00 a week. Despite this breakthrough, John Philliber found much of Los Angeles bewildering, from the easy money to the relative paucity of mass transit system in the '40s puzzled the actor. Rather than buy a car, he walked several miles a day to whichever studio where the freelancer was working. "I like to walk," he explained with a laugh, "because at one time I got pretty tired riding trains...in the early days they wouldn't let me play in towns where there wasn't a train out after the night show. Theater managers, I guess, didn't want to take a chance."

Lynn Zook Q & A on Las Vegas History at The Silver Screen Oasis on 11/4 & 11/5

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 28 Oct 2017 15:26:00 +0000

The Silver Screen Oasis is pleased to announce that Lynn Zook will participate in an online visit on Sat., Nov. 4th & Sun., Nov. 5th at the message board to discuss GAMBLING ON A DREAM; The Classic Las Vegas Strip 1956-1973. For two days she will be answering our questions about her examination of Las Vegas's place in The American Dream. Lynn, an archivist, film editor and longtime member of the SSO and the TCM Forums, also regards Las Vegas as her hometown.

Lynn Zook's dynamic examination of Las Vegas history--including its relevance to film--continues with the release of her second volume of GAMBLING ON A DREAM; The Classic Las Vegas Strip 1956-1973. This engaging ebook tells the story of corporate and individual achievement in the fabulous desert resort city, illustrating this ever-changing story with nearly 30 videos that can be played in the book featuring the men and women who worked, played and entertained on the glamorous stages and behind the scenes. Maps of the area of casino development in the latter part of the era, and touch-screen galleries that feature rare and historical images have also been added to this volume.. The book, which also touches on how the neon-lit city affected the author as she grew up there is a heady blend of show business, adults at work and play, as well as the changing nature of American society in a remarkably tumultuous period.

In-depth histories of the Aladdin Hotel, Caesars Palace, Circus Circus, The Hacienda, Tropicana, Stardust, Landmark, and International Hotels as well as the singular, original MGM Grand Hotel enrich the tales told in these pages as well.

More can be learned by joining us here for this event.

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewforum.php?f=127&sid=7896a8afbae8491f57f689ed0feb576f

A video glimpse of the history of this entertainment mecca found in GAMBLING ON A DREAM 1930-1956 can be seen in this brief video as well:

Lynn's blog, Classic Las Vegas website can be seen here:

http://classiclasvegas.squarespace.com/

Please join us on Sat., Nov. 4th & Sun.,Nov. 5th at the Silver Screen Oasis for the Q & A with Lynn Zook. All registrants are welcome:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewforum.php?f=69

"The Magnificent Heel" Walks Our Way with Dan Van Neste Q & A about Ricardo Cortez

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 11 Aug 2017 20:27:00 +0000

The Silver Screen Oasis is pleased to announce an online visit by Dan Van Neste on August 26th & 27th to discuss his latest book, THE MAGNIFICENT HEEL: THE LIFE & FILMS OF RICARDO CORTEZ.

Well-researched and revelatory, that author has brought a very private individual and versatile actor out of the shadows. Van Neste's portrait of Ricardo Cortez has been greeted with appreciative reviews such as one noting that this "is a book based on many years of dedicated research in which Van Neste contacted not only the last surviving relative of the actor but also diligently explored newspaper and entertainment archives to provide as comprehensive a picture of this neglected actor."

"His Face Is His Misfortune" wailed a headline in a 1929 copy of Picture-Play magazine about the darkly handsome Ricardo Cortez. "A second-rate Valentino" was one of the labels pasted on the actor and "a magnificent heel" was the take of one perceptive reviewer in 1934, when Cortez began the phase of his career as an elegant heavy. Washed up, limited, and stereotyped as he was so often told during his bits, supporting roles and leading man periods of his career from Silents to the Sixties, Jacob Krantz aka Ricardo Cortez proved himself repeatedly to be more versatile and highly capable of negotiating the changing demands of a career in Hollywood. First chosen as one of a squad of actors with Mediterranean names in competition with Valentino, (his screen name was chosen by Jesse Lasky & his secretary), and blooming into a dangerous character in the Pre-Code era, Cortez's career was remarkable for its longevity and for his relative obscurity today..

In his new book, "The Magnificent Heel: The Life and Films of Ricardo Cortez" (BearManor Media), author Dan Van Neste weaves the story of this individual into a highly enjoyable read that limns a life and a period we may never see again. Remarkably, the author does this at a time when almost all who knew Cortez are gone, but his impeccable research and keen eye for a telling anecdote brings the life and times of a relatively forgotten professional actor into high relief.

The rich tale of Cortez harks back to a time when he co-starred with Garbo, Stanwyck, Mary Astor, Kay Francis, and Irene Dunne, among many others. His directors included such masters as D.W. Griffith, Frank Capra, Gregory La Cava, and John Ford, all of whom were generally acknowledged as astute individuals when casting their films. Dan's latest book has been described by Film International as "a significant achievement. . . " and a book that fills "a void in film history" by Silents Are Golden.

Dan Van Neste, the author of over 50 articles related to film history featuring figures from Aline MacMahon to Zachary Scott, published in the pages of Classic Images and Films of the Golden Age. He is also the author of The Whistler: Stepping Into the Shadows, a comprehensive account of the noir series, that features Dan's extensive accounts of each film in the series as well as biographies of the filmmakers.

Please accept this as your invitation to join us in this online event on August 26th & 27th at The Silver Screen Oasis where you can ask the author questions directly (simple registration is all that is required to post a query or comment).

The links below will lead you to the site, as well as to Dan Van Neste's website and places to purchase his books:

The Silver Screen Oasis Guest Authors' Index:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewforum.php?f=69

Dan Van Neste's Website:

http://www.danvanneste.com/

Where to Purchase The Magnificent Heel: The Life and Films of Ricardo Cortez:? See below:

https://tinyurl.com/yc7yqamh

ALL ABOUT AVA: Authors Kendra Bean & Anthony Uzarowski to Visit the SSO on 7/29 & 7/30

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 28 Jul 2017 20:13:00 +0000

In Kendra Bean & Anthony Uzarowski's new take on the life of movie icon, "Ava Gardner: A Life in Movies" (Running Press), the co-authors shift the focus from the publicity writers' descriptions of her as"the world's most beautiful animal" to her real life as a person who was an imperfect but vibrant human being and working actress. If you would like to learn more about Ava Gardner, the individual, please join us at The Silver Screen Oasis on Sat., July 29th & Sun., July 30th for an online Q & A about the actress' life and career. The link below will take you to the spot to post your question:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=128&t=6998&p=165336#p165336

She was an astonishing beauty when young (and a more interesting one when older). as well as a movie star, and a wife to three dynamic but rather wearying men. As Anthony Usarowksi explains, beyond all that, Ava Gardner “was a real person, and she was an actor as well. There is a legacy there that needs to be looked at. It’s not just image.” The pair have fashioned a beautiful coffee table book that celebrates Gardner's humor, friendships, and vulnerability as well as making a thoughtful inquiry into the contrast between how a woman looks and how she feels in society.

Described by critics as "a compelling, photograph-rich portrait of a complex, talented actress," the book can be found at the links below, as can a link to the Silver Screen Oasis Guest Authors Index where you are welcome to post a question (simple registration is required to post queries). All are invited on July 29 & 30. :Please join us in this celebration of all things Ava!

To Purchase a Copy of "Ava Gardner: A Life in Movies":

https://tinyurl.com/ybjf6as6

The Silver Screen Oasis Guest Authors Series:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewforum.php?f=69&sid=88d28be68ed8ecb3942bffcd910f46e5

The Authors:

Kendra Bean, who visited the Silver Screen Oasis in 2013 to discuss her book, "Vivien Leigh: An Intimate Portrait," is a historian and curator. She runs the popular classic film blog VivAndLarry.com. Her writing has also been published by the British Film Institute and Bright Lights Film Journal, and she has lectured on cinema at the National Portrait Gallery (London), Victoria and Albert Museum, the BFI, the San Francisco Presidio Officers' Club, and the Walt Disney Family Museum. She lives in London.

Anthony Uzarowski has an MA in Film Studies from University College London. He has written articles and essays on different aspects of classic and contemporary cinema, with his work published in The Guardian, Film International, and Queerty. He lives in London, where he works at the British Library.

A podcast with the authors can be heard here: http://ticklishbusiness.podbean.com/e/bonus-episode-6-interview-with-authors-kendra-bean-and-anthony-uzarowski/

SYLVIA SIDNEY BIOGRAPHER SCOTT O'BRIEN TO VISIT THE SSO ON 12/17 & 12/18 TO DISCUSS "SYLVIA SIDNEY: PAID BY THE TEAR"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 17:45:00 +0000

''There isn't a role that I wouldn't accept, provided it's good and has something to say..." - Sylvia Sidney

Her face was magnificent. In youth, middle age and as an elderly woman she wore it proudly, radiating intelligence, innocence, pain and joy--along with some acerbic humor and a stubborn feistiness--but Sidney's enduring spirit and professionalism might be even more impressive during her eight decade career.

That was Sylvia--a woman whose high cheekbones and magnetic, large eyes who could radiate an exquisite delicacy and toughness with the flick of an eye. Now we have an opportunity to learn more about this somewhat mysterious figure in classic film on Sat., Dec.17 & Sun., Dec.18 we have a chance to learn more about Sidney during an online visit at The Silver Screen Oasis. Scott O'Brien will be discussing his latest book,SYLVIA SIDNEY: PAID BY THE TEAR (BearManor), throughout the weekend.

Sylvia who? For far too long, many of this Oscar & Emmy-nominated actress' best films remained unavailable until recent years. Some only know her from her very funny turns on the television classic, WKRP in Cincinnati, or in Beetlejuice (1988) or Mars Attacks! (1996)--but fewer know her best Depression-era dramatic work in such films as Street Scene, Fury and You Only Live Once. Fewer still had the privilege of seeing Sidney on stage--despite a forty+ years career in live theater.

The Q & A with Scott O'Brien is now open at the link below. All are welcome to register and ask about Sylvia Sidney!:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewforum.php?f=36

As many know, Scott O'Brien has long made our Oasis a beacon for classic movie fans with his previous visits discussing his previous books on Kay Francis, Ann Harding, Ruth Chatterton and George Brent (linked below).

Please consider this your gilt-edged invitation to join us for this celebration this weekend at the link below. Also listed--links to learn more about Scott O'Brien and his biographies:

Scott O'Brien on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/scott.obrien.963

Scott O'Brien's Previous Visits to the SSO: http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewforum.php?f=36

A Sylvia Sidney Playlist:

https://www.amazon.com/Scott-OBrien/e/B002BLLB6I

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw04Z7_kdmdFApmxNIBZrG8dko6u3ggq5

BearManor Media Publishers of Scott O'Brien's books:

http://bearmanorblog.blogspot.com/search?q=scott+o%27brien

Scott O'Brien on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Scott-OBrien/e/B002BLLB6I

Thanks to All Our Guest Writers From The Silver Screen Oasis

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 17 Dec 2015 23:11:00 +0000

In appreciation for the generosity of our ongoing visiting guest writers at The Silver Screen Oasis from 2008-2015, we hope that everyone will consider giving one (or more) of their books over the holiday--and, if moved to do so, post a review on such sites as GoodReads, Amazon and Barnes & Noble to alert others to their hard work.

The gift of their time, their insights into the life and times of classic film contributors, and the kindness shown by these individual authors makes us truly thankful. Their work has deepened our appreciation of this American art form (we even learned some surprising things!).

An alphabetical list of all our visitors from 2008-2008 begins after the images of the book covers year by year shown below. Good reading in The New Year!

2015

2014

2013

2012

2008-2011

The A to Z of Guest Writers We Have Welcomed at the SSO:

Cari Beauchamp

Book(s):

My First Time in Hollywood (editor) (Asahina & Wallace)

Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Powerful Women of Early Hollywood {writer) (University of California Press)

More books here:

http://caribeauchamp.com/

Q & A with Cari Beauchamp:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6894

Kendra Bean

Book(s):

Vivien Leigh: An Intimate Portrait (Running Press)

More here:

http://kendrabean.com/

Q & A with Kendra Bean:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6379

John Bengtson

Book(s):

Silent Echoes - Buster Keaton (Santa Monica Press)

Silent Traces - Charlie Chaplin (Santa Monica Press)

Silent Visions - Harold Lloyd (Santa Monica Press)

More here:

https://silentlocations.wordpress.com/

Q & A with John Bengtson:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=5832

Karie Bible

Book(s):

Hollywood Celebrates the Holidays: 1920-1970 (Schiffer), co-authored with Mary Mallory

Location Filming in Los Angeles (Images of America), co-authored with Marc Wanamaker

More here:

https://www.facebook.com/karie.bible?fref=nf

Q & A with Karie Bible & Mary Mallory:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewforum.php?f=69

James Bigwood

Book(s):

Not Just Batman's Butler: The Autobiography of Alan Napier (McFarland)

The Films of Peter Lorre, co-authored by Mr. Bigwood with Stephen D. Youngkin & Raymond Cabana, Jr. (Citadel)

More here:

http://www.mcfarlandbooks.com/book-2.php?id=978-1-4766-6287-9

Q & A with James Bigwood:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6932

Steve Bingen

Book(s):

MGM: Hollywood's Greatest Backlot ( Santa Monica Press), co-authored with Stephen X. Sylvester & Michael Troyan

Warner Bros.: Hollywood's Ultimate Backlot (Taylor Trade Publishing)

More here: http://www.amazon.com/Steven-Bingen/e/B004K9236G

Q & A with Steve Bingen:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=5831&hilit=bingen

Robert S. Birchard

Book(s):

Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood (University Press of Kentucky)

Silent-Era Filmmaking in Santa Barbara (CA) (Images of America)

King Cowboy: Tom Mix and the Movies (Riverwood Press)

More here:

http://www.rsbirchard.com/

Q & A with Bob Birchard:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1189&hilit=birchard

Kevin Brownlow

Book(s):

The Parade's Gone By (Univ. of CA Press)

Hollywood: The Pioneers (Knopf)

More here:

http://www.amazon.com/Kevin-Brownlow/e/B000AQ48K2

Q & A with Kevin Brownlow:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=2002

Martha Crawford Cantarini

Book(s):

Fall Girl: My Life as a Western Stunt Double )McFarland) co-authored by Chrystopher J. Spicer

The Horse with the Brocade Mask (Amazon)

Never On a Loose Rein: Feel Good True Stories of horses, airplanes and the Golden Age of Films (Amazon)

More here:

http://www.secondrunning.com/Speaker.htm

Q & A with Martha Crawford Cantarini:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6371

Shannon Clute

Senior Media Manager for Turner Classic Movies

Book(s):

The Maltese Touch of Evil: Film Noir and Potential Criticism (Interfaces: Studies in Visual Culture) co-authored with Richard L. Edwards.

More here:

http://www.noircast.net/

http://moviemorlocks.com/author/shannonclute/

Q & A with Shannon Clute:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=5996

Lesley Coffin

Book(s):

Lew Ayres: Hollywood's Conscientious Objector

(Univ. Press of MS) (Hollywood Legends Series)

Hitchcock's Stars: Alfred Hitchcock and the Hollywood Studio System

(Rowan & Littlefield)

More here:

http://www.lesleycoffin.com/

Q & A with Lesley Coffin:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6053

Phillip Done

Book(s):

The Charms of Miss O'Hara: Tales of Gone With The Wind and the Golden Age of Hollywood from Scarlett's Little Sister (Gateway Pub.)

More here:

http://www.amazon.com/Phillip-Done/e/B001JS6538/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

Q & A with Phillip Done:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6784

Al Doshna

Book(s):

Richard Anderson: At Last, a Memoir

From the Golden Years of MGM & the 6 Million Dollar Man to Now (BearManor) by Richard Anderson, co-authored by Al Doshna

More here:

http://alandoshna.com/

& at BearManor Media: http://tinyurl.com/ov8vcm5

Q & A with Al Doshna:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6883

Dwayne Epstein

Book(s):

Lee Marvin: Point Blank (Schaffner Press, Inc.)

More here:

http://pointblankbook.com/

Q & A with Dwayne Epstein:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6214

Scott Eyman

Book(s):

John Wayne: The Life and Legend (Simon & Schuster)

Print the Legend: The Life and Times of John Ford (Simon & Schuster)

Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer (Simon & Schuster)

More here:

http://www.scotteyman.com/

http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Scott-Eyman/2388

Q & As with Scott Eyman

On John Wayne:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6684

On John Ford:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1092

Alexa Foreman

Book(s):

Women in Motion (Bowling Green State Univ. Press)

In the Picture: Production Stills From the TCM Archives,

co-authored with Robert Osborne (Chronicle Books)

More here:

http://ladailymirror.com/2015/01/05/alexa-foreman-available-for-research/

Q & A with Alexa Foreman:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6342

Eve Golden

Book(s):

John Gilbert: The Last of the Silent Film Stars (Univ. Press of Kentucky)

Platinum Girl: The Life and Legend of Jean Harlow (Abbeville Press)

More here:

http://www.evegolden.com/

Q & As with Eve Golden:

On John Gilbert:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6247&p=132886#p132886

On Jean Harlow, Theda Bara, The Castles & More:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1780&p=22415#p22415

Karen Burroughs Hannsberry

Book(s):

Bad Boys: The Actors of the Film Noir (McFarland)

Femme Noir: Bad Girls of Film (McFarland)

More here:

https://shadowsandsatin.wordpress.com/

Q & A with Karen Burroughs Hannsberry:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=3642

Monika Henreid

Projected Book & Documentary:

Paul Henreid Beyond Victor Laszlo: A Daughter’s Memoir

More here:

http://henreidbeyondlaszlo.com/

Q & A with Monika Henreid:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6322

Michael Hoey (1934-2014)

Book(s):

Elvis, Sherlock & Me: How I Survived Growing Up in Hollywood (BearManor Media)

Sherlock Holmes & the Fabulous Faces-

The Universal Pictures Repertory Company (BearManor Media)

More here:

http://www.amazon.com/Michael-A.-Hoey/e/B002YTLAVI/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1

Q & A with Michael Hoey:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6616

Noah Isenberg

Book(s):

EdgarG. Ulmer: A Filmmaker at the Margins (University of California Press)

Weimar Cinema: An Essential Guide to Classic Films of the Era (Columbia University Press)

More here:

http://noahisenberg.com/

Q & A with Noah Isenberg:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6520

J.R. Jones

Book(s):

The Lives of Robert Ryan (Wesleyan)

More here:

http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/ArticleArchives?author=866632

Q & A with J.R. Jones:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6896

Preston Neal Jones

Book(s):

Heaven and Hell to Play With: The Filming of Night of the Hunter (Limelight Editions)

Return to Tomorrow: The Filming of Star Trek - The Motion Picture (Creature Features)

More here:

http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Preston_Neal_Jones

Q & A with Preston Neal Jones:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6791

J.B. Kaufman

Book(s):

Pinocchio: The Making of the Disney Epic (Walt Disney Family Foundation Press)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Art and Creation of Walt Disney's Classic Animated Film (Walt Disney Family Foundation Press)

More here:

http://www.jbkaufman.com/

Q & As with J. B. Kaufman:

On Pinocchio:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6936

On Snow White, Silly Symphonies and other Disney Animated Films:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=4714

Matthew Kennedy

Book(s):

Roadshow! The Fall of the Film Musical in the 1960s (Oxford University Press)

Edmund Goulding's Dark Victory: Hollywood's Genius Bad Boy (Univ. of Wisconsin Press)

Joan Blondell: A Life between Takes (Univ. Press of Mississippi)

Q & A with Matthew Kennedy:

On Roadshow! The Fall of the Film Musical in the 1960s (Oxford University Press):

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6668

On Edmund Goulding, Joan Blondell (as well as Marie Dressler):

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=2126&p=27132#p27132

Casey LaLonde

Project(s):

The Restoration of the Reputation of Casey LaLonde's grandmother, Joan Crawford

More here:

http://joancrawfordma.tripod.com/askcasey.html

Q & A with Casey LaLonde:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=4557

Mick LaSalle

Book(s):

Complicated Women: Sex and Power in Pre-Code Hollywood (St. Martin's Press)

Dangerous Men: Pre-Code Hollywood and the Birth of the Modern Man (Thomas Dunne Books)

More here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mick_LaSalle

Q & A with Mick LaSalle:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1344

Jacqueline T. Lynch

Book(s):

Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star (CreateSpace Pub.)

Classic Films and the American Conscience

More here:

http://www.jacquelinetlynch.com/

Q & A with Jacqueline T. Lynch:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6882

Mary Mallory

Book(s):

Hollywoodland (Arcadia Publishing)

Hollywood Celebrates the Holidays: 1920-1970 (Schiffer), co-authored with Karie Bible

More here:

https://www.facebook.com/mary.mallory.7

Q & As with Mary Mallory:

On Hollywoodland:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6394

On Hollywood Holidays:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewforum.php?f=69

Brian McFadden

Book(s):

Republic Mysteries: The Serial Studio's Whodunits! (Kohner, Madison & Danforth)

Amicus Horrors: Tales From the Filmmaker's Crypt (Midnight Marquee Press)

More here:

http://www.amazon.com/Brian-McFadden/e/B00BH1USAS/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

Q & A with Brian McFadden:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6651

Scott McGee

Ongoing Project(s):

TCM Director of Program Prod., Programming & Studio Production.

Writing a book on great stunts in the movies.

More here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny8l9sce4mI

Q & A with Scott McGee:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6731

Genevieve McGillicuddy

Ongoing Project(s):

VP, Brand Activation & Partnerships, TCM: Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

More here:

http://www.emory.edu/EMORY_MAGAZINE/2010/summer/classic.html

Q & A with Genevieve McGillicuddy:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=4667&p=72389#p72389

Denny Miller (1934-2014)

Book(s):

Didn't You Used to Be What's His Name? (To Health With You Publishers)

More here:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/denny-miller-dead-tarzan-wagon-732535

Q & A with Denny Miller:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=5858

David Meuel

Book(s):

Women in the Films of John Ford (McFarland)

The Noir Western: Darkness on the Range 1943-1962 (McFarland)

More here:

http://www.mcfarlandbooks.com/book-2.php?id=978-0-7864-9452-1

Q & A with David Meuel :

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6906

Scott Nollen

Book(s):

Three Bad Men: John Ford, John Wayne and Ward Bond

Glenda Farrell: Hollywood's Hard-Boiled Dame (Midnight Marquee Press)

More here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Allen_Nollen

Q & As with Scott Nollen:

On Three Bad Men:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6561&p=146339#p146339

On Glenda Farrell:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6924

Scott O'Brien

Book(s):

Kay Francis: I Can't Wait To Be Forgotten (BearManor Media)

Ruth Chatterton: Actress - Aviator- Author (BearManor Media)

George Brent - Ireland's Gift to Hollywood and its Leading Ladies

More here:

http://www.scottobrienauthor.com/

Q & As with Scott O'Brien:

On George Brent

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6785&p=154820#p154820

On Ruth Chatterton

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6264&p=133986#p133986

On Ann Harding

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=4763&p=74433#p74433

On Kay Francis

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=2320&p=30220#p30220

Sheana Ochoa

Book(s):

Stella Adler, A Life In Art (Applause Theatre & Cinema)

More here:

http://www.sheanaochoa.com/

Q & A with Sheana Ochoa:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6859

Christina Rice

Book(s):

Ann Dvorak: Hollywood's Forgotten Rebel (Univ. Press of Kentucky)

More here:

http://www.anndvorak.com/cms/

Q & A with Christina Rice:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6419

Alan K. Rode

Book(s):

Charles McGraw: Biography of a Film Noir Tough Guy (McFarland)

More here:

http://alankrode.com/public2/

http://www.filmnoirfoundation.org/home.html

Q & A with Alan K. Rode:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1480

Carl Rollyson

Book(s):

Hollywood Enigma: Dana Andrews (Univ. Press of Mississippi)

A Real American Character: The Life of Walter Brennan (Univ. Press of Mississippi)

More here:

http://www.carlrollyson.com/

Q & As with Carl Rollyson:

On Dana Andrews

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6054

On Walter Brennan

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6926

Lisa Ryan

Ongoing Project(s):

As Robert Ryan's daughter, Lisa has generously shared her memories and commentary on her gifted father's life and career.

She kindly visited us and continues to enlighten others about her family, most recently when she and her siblings contributed a private letter

written to his children by Robert Ryan to J.R. Jones. "The Actor's Letter," (linked below), inspired J.R. Jones to complete a recent biography of her

father, "The Lives of Robert Ryan" (Wesleyan).

More here:

http://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/HOLLYWOOD-DAUGHTERS-They-inherited-marquee-2569605.php

http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/film-noir-icon-robert-ryan-his-chicago-childhood-the-ryan-construction-fire/Content?oid=1223003

Q & A with Lisa Ryan:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=2658

Lee Server

Book(s):

Robert Mitchum: "Baby I Don't Care" (St. Martin's)

Ava Gardner: "Love Is Nothing" (St. Martin's)

Sam Fuller: Film Is a Battleground (McFarland)

More here:

http://www.noirfilm.com/bc_lee_server.htm

Q & A with Lee Server:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1739&p=21738#p21738

David Shepard

Ongoing Projects:

Film Preservationist and Restorer whose Film Preservation Associates and Blackhawk Films are

instrumental in finding, archiving, restoring and distributing silent films.

More here:

http://www.silentera.com/index.html

Q & A with David Shepard:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1458

Jeffrey Spivak

Book(s):

Buzz: The Life and Art of Busby Berkeley (University Press of Kentucky)

More here:

http://www.kentuckypress.com/live/title_detail.php?titleid=2592#.VnMp4rYrLDc

Q & A with Jeffrey Spivak:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6917

Charlie Tabesh

Ongoing Project(s):

TCM, Senior Vice president of programming across all media platforms

More here:

http://www.kpbs.org/news/2014/apr/09/midday-movies-tcms-charles-tabesh/

Q & A with Charlie Tabesh:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=3540

Steve Taravella

Book(s):

Mary Wickes: I Know I've Seen That Face Before (Univ. Press of Mississippi)

More here:

http://www.upress.state.ms.us/books/1545

Q & A with Steve Taravella:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6330

Charles Tranberg

Book(s):

Fredric March (BearManor Media)

I Love the Illusion: The Life and Career of Agnes Moorehead (BearManor Media)

Fred MacMurray (BearManor Media)

More here:

http://www.amazon.com/Charles-Tranberg/e/B009EECH7C

Q & A with Charles Tranberg:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6509&p=143775#p143775

Ken Winokur

Ongoing Project(s):

Musician and a multi media producer Ken Winokur is a driving force behind the Alloy Orchestra, a group

that has created original music for silent films, producing scores and albums from such films as The Lost World, Nosferatu,

Metropolis and The Unknown.

More here:

http://www.alloyorchestra.com/

Q & A with Ken Winokur:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=2493

James Bigwood Q & A on Alan Napier at the SSO on 12/5 & 12/6

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 02 Dec 2015 00:34:00 +0000

"All through my life people have tried to foist the role of leader on me; a role that I can play on stage but have no will to assume in life." ~ Alan Napier

The Silver Screen Oasis is pleased to announce an online visit with James Bigwood, the editor and annotator of actor Alan Napier's autobiography, Not Just Batman’s Butler: The Autobiography of Alan Napier (McFarland) on Sat., Dec. 5th and Sun., Dec. 6th at the link below. All are welcome to participate in the Q & A there:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewforum.php?f=69

Almost 30 years after Napier’s death, writer and producer James Bigwood, who first read the versatile actor's manuscript in 1975 when interviewing him for a Films in Review profile, was allowed by the actor’s daughter to arrange for its publication. A bit facetiously but honestly, Napier described to Mr. Bigwood how, despite the fact that the actor had "written an autobiographical work full of fascinating stories"..."unfortunately, since I've never committed a major crime and I'm not known to have slept with any famous actresses, it's very difficult to get it published." That gentle, amused perspective on life and his career ups and downs comes across vividly in this charming book, allowing the reader to travel with him from an Edwardian boyhood to Hollywood in the '60s.

Supporting player Alan Napier (1903-1988) became a household name late in life thanks to the runaway success of the television series Batman (1966-1968), which spoofed comic books, pop art and the American penchant for heroics. It also allowed the severely myopic Napier to wear his own (much needed) spectacles, and to receive some of the attention he deserved for the droll elegance he brought to each of his scenes.

Long before this hit show the actor who became identified with the role of Alfred, the butler to Bruce Wayne/Batman had worked for decades with great actors and directors on stage and screen. Among those long remembered and sometimes sadly forgotten who shared the stage and screen with him during his forty+ years career were Gerard du Maurier, Marlon Brando, Ingrid Bergman, John Wayne, Laurence Olivier, George Bernard Shaw, Paul Muni, Sean Connery, Alfred Hitchcock, James Whale, Orson Welles, Douglas Sirk, Fritz Lang, Edmund Goulding, Otto Preminger, Val Lewton and Edgar Ulmer, among others!

Above: Three Faces from Alan Napier--Left: in Orson Welles' version of MacBeth (1948), Middle: in Hangover Square (1945), & The Invisible Man Returns (1940).

Fortunately for those of us who cherish the warmth, style and authority of an expressive character actor such as Napier in classic films, we will have a chance to explore the life and times of an actor who was an ensemble player--not a star--for much of his career. This new memoir presented by James Bigwood in this lively, touching and informative first person account with his annotations, is just one of the many projects that our guest has been involved in during his career. Mr. Bigwood has written articles for Films in Review, American Film, American Cinematographer, and Film Fan Monthly on topics as diverse as Salvador Dali's films and a profile of character actress Norma Varden. Our guest previously published The Films of Peter Lorre (Citadel) with Stephen D. Youngkin & Raymond Cabana (prior to Mr. Youngkin's publication of his seminal Lorre biography, The Lost One). The list of Mr. Bigwood's work as a film and television producer and production manager include films and series such as Bob Roberts (1992), A Bright Shining Lie (1998), Iron Jawed Angels (2004), Ugly Betty (2006), The Red Road (2014), & Being Mary Jane (2015).

In what is clearly a labor of love, our guest has also compiled several video clips of interviews with Alan Napier and posted them online. The actor discusses his first steps in Hollywood in We Are Not Alone (1939), The Invisible Man Returns (1940), House of Seven Gables (1940), the superb ghost story, The Uninvited (1944), and a few comments on becoming Alfred in Batman. Each of these can be seen on James Bigwood's Youtube Channel, found here:

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheLorrephile

Book Orders:

http://www.mcfarlandbooks.com/2015/09/newly-published-not-just-batmans-butler/

http://www.amazon.com/Not-Just-Batmans-Butler-Autobiography/dp/1476662878

Film & Animation Historian J.B. Kaufman to visit the SSO on 11/21 and 11/22

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 17:51:00 +0000

J.B. Kaufman, film historian and archivist.

The Silver Screen Oasis is proud to kick off the holiday season with film historian J.B. Kaufman, who will be joining us for an online discussion on Saturday, November 21st and Sunday, November 22nd. This weekend we will be exploring the historical and imaginative universe of animated Disney films in the 20th century. The thread devoted to the Q & A with our guest is found at the link below. All are welcome to participate and to visit during this visit:

The Q & A with J.B. Kaufman at The Silver Screen Oasis

Mr. Kaufman is a writer and film historian who has also been one of the film scholars who has contributed to the ongoing Griffith Project, an international retrospective held by the Pordenone Silent Film Festival in Italy devoted to research into and distribution of the work of the pioneering film director, D. W. Griffith. The innovative filmmaker's legacy of some 500 films is being systematically documented and, when possible, restored through this project, allowing more of us to see and understand how much we have inherited from the earliest films.

In addition to the Griffith Project, he writes about silent film at his website: http://www.jbkaufman.com.

But he may be best known for his work on Walt Disney. A few years ago, J.B. was in the news as he introduced the Blu-Ray restoration of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), commenting that the film "just looks spectacular" after the "dust-and-dirt removal as well as the brightening of the Technicolor picture to conform with the original intentions of Walt Disney's artists." Speaking about the restoration, Kaufman told the press that "As an historian and loving these films, one of my pet peeves is not being able to see them in a form that does justice to them -- and I think we're finally getting into a form that does."

The film historian has written several books related to his passion, among them the following:

South of the Border With Disney: Walt Disney and the Good Neighbor Program, 1941-1948

An examination of the complex cultural and political history of Walt Disney's cartoons set in Latin America as part of the Good Neighbor program initiated by Nelson Rockefeller during the early 1940s. As described by the publisher, the book begins "with the extraordinary research trip Disney undertook in 1941, leading a team comprising his top animators, artists, and writers from Mexico to Chile, renowned animation historian J. B. Kaufman reveals the story behind Disney's contribution to Rockefeller's program.

Walt in Wonderland: The Silent Films of Walt Disney

This examination of the early efforts of Disney to master his life work, was described by Linda Rosencrantz at The Miami Herald as an examination of the "whole fascinating 8-year period predating Mickey is chronicled in [this] meticulously researched book... The authors point out interesting links to the work of other animators (of such characters as Felix the Cat and Krazy Kat) and also demonstrate parallels to the routines of such silent clowns as Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and Charlie Chaplin."

Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series

As fellow film historian Leonard Maltin wrote when this book was released: "With perfect timing, Indiana University Press has taken on distribution of this valuable (and beautifully-printed) book, just as the second volume of Disney's Silly Symphonies cartoons has become available on DVD as part of my Walt Disney Treasures series. In truth, Merritt and Kaufman have been working on this definitive compendium for years... but it was well worth the wait...Every short is exhaustively chronicled, with information you will find nowhere else: when it went into production, who animated each individual shot, how much it cost to produce, where it debuted, and much, much more. No detail has gone unexplored...What's more, the book is beautifully designed and filled with rare illustrations in both black & white and color."

Snow White: The Fairest One of All

Divided into three sections, the book traces the history of the “Snow White” tale in folklore, theater and film; records the making of the film in intimate detail; and follows with the film’s impact on the Disney studio and the world, immediately after its release and in the decades that followed.

Pinocchio: The Making of a Disney Epic

Based on years of archival research and interviews with the surviving filmmakers, this book traces the history of Pinocchio from the story’s roots in 19th-century Italy, through the Disney studio’s historic, painstaking efforts to produce the film, through the surprising events that followed the film’s release to a wartime world.

He is also working with Disney on the release of a Silly Symphony music set that is in pre-order now and due to be released in the months ahead. The Silly Symphony Collection is a first-of-its-kind box set from Walt Disney Records and Fairfax Classics featuring the complete restored soundtracks from all 75 Silly Symphony shorts from 1929-1939, with more than 8 hours of music over 16 vinyl LPs.

So please join us this weekend as JB takes questions about Walt Disney, Snow White, Pinocchio, the Silly Symphonies, South of the Border and silent film.

Walter Brennan Biographer Carl Rollyson to Visit the SSO on Nov. 7th & 8th

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 01 Nov 2015 18:07:00 +0000

“Go ahead and learn how to act, but don't get caught at it.” ~ Walter Brennan

The Silver Screen Oasis is pleased to welcome Carl Rollyson, the author of A Real American Character: The Life of Walter Brennan (Univ. Press of Mississippi) for an online Q & A with us on Saturday, November 7th & Sunday, November 8th. All are welcome at the link below:

The Q & A thread for our visit with Carl Rollyson is now open. Questions are welcome here:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewforum.php?f=69

Walter Brennan, a consummate character actor of the studio era who stole scenes from the iconic likes of Gary Cooper, John Wayne, Spencer Tracy, Jimmy Stewart and Humphrey Bogart, was sought out by masterful directors such as Howard Hawks, John Ford, and Fritz Lang for the versatility and credibility he brought to each film. So, as one reviewer of Mr. Rollyson’s book asked, “How could an actor win three Oscars in five years yet be all but forgotten?”

In the first, full length biography of this now overlooked character actor, the author drew from archival material and with the full cooperation of the Brennan family to create a portrait of an authoritative actor as he journeyed from a Massachusetts town to the harrowing battlefields of World War One to journeyman actor and a remarkable career spanning six decades. Able to play endearing bums, brutal fathers, veteran military men, struggling con artists, gentle musicians or courageous college professors believably, Rollyson presents the reader with Brennan as a human being whose talent, work ethic and foibles make him a worthy subject for this engrossing book.

Our guest, who has visited the Oasis previously to discuss one of his many biographies, (the remarkably moving biography Hollywood Enigma: Dana Andrews ) is a noted biographer of everyone from Amy Lowell to Marilyn Monroe, limns Brennan’s development as a consummate actor who often hid his artistry, a fixture in a constantly shifting industry, and, in intriguing sidelights, the extremity of his politics as he grew older and wealthier (the actor reportedly even wondered if John Wayne might be a crypto-communist). In reading this biography, the the actor’s skill at playing both sympathetic and negative characters takes on even more compelling complexity in light of his beliefs and long life, while the author avoids drawing easy answers about the mystery of an individual and his lasting impact on his family and film.

Please join us for this opportunity to discuss a giant among character actors this Nov. 7th & 8th!

Carl Rollyson's video about Walter Brennan:

“Unsung character actors finally get a long-overdue close-up in A Real American Character, Carl Rollyson’s authoritative portrait of Walter Brennan. A real Hollywood success story, Brennan and his extraordinary career, which included winning three Oscars, are presented with great sympathy, sensitivity, and admiration.”

—Marion Meade, author of The Unruly Life of Woody Allen and Buster Keaton: Cut to the Chase

Reviews:

Turner Classic Movies Book Spotlight

Wall Street Journal

Classic Movieman

The Author’s Website:

http://www.carlrollyson.com/

The University Press of Mississippi:

http://www.upress.state.ms.us/books/1808

Walter Brennan Films on Youtube

Scott Nollen, Author of Glenda Farrell: Hollywood's Hard-Boiled Dame to Visit the SSO on 9/26 & 9/27

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 00:31:00 +0000

The Silver Screen Oasis is pleased to welcome Scott Nollen to the site this weekend on Saturday, Sept. 26th and Sunday, Sept. 27th. Our guest author will participate in an online Q & A about his latest book, Glenda Farrell: Hollywood's Hard-Boiled Dame (Midnight Marquee Press). In the hectic '30s this character actress broke all the rules--she tempted Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. away from a life of crime with Edward G. Robinson in Little Caesar (1931), she thought motherhood might cramp her style in Life Begins (1932), she jockeyed with Ruth Donnelly over unlikely boy-toy, Frank McHugh in Heat Lightning (1934), and she got the story first (and the marital commitment later) in several Torchy Blane films. In the '40s, Glenda could be found as a world weary gal in Johnny Eager (1941), sharing the screen for a few choice moments with Ronald Colman in Talk of the Town (1943), and stole the movie from several marquee names in I Love Trouble (1948) with her snappy way with a line and a raised eyebrow. In her five decade career, Glenda Farrell worked on film with every director from Mervyn Le Roy to George Stevens and actors as varied as Spencer Tracy (Man's Castle in 1933) and Elvis Presley (Kissin' Cousins in 1964), making her mark in every type of role and every medium.

As many of our members know who delighted in his 2014 visit to discuss Three Bad Men: John Ford, John Wayne, and Ward Bond (McFarland), Scott is a research historian with a gift for blending hard facts with humanizing detail and an abiding love for the studio era and the too-often neglected figures who gave it such zest and the lasting qualities we cherish in classic cinema. One such individual is Glenda Farrell, an actress of considerable range and warmth, whether cast as one of a series of fast-talking dames, a hard-working reporters, brassy mob dolls or--as she proved on stage in in several memorable dramatic roles on screen--a singular actress.

Off-screen, as the author describes, the polished performer Farrell was an intelligent, independent woman who eluded the fatal traps of the Hollywood system and managed to find monetary and artistic rewards in her career, while consistently seeking a balanced home life. Please consider this your invitation to visit the world of Glenda Farrell for a time with Scott Nollen this weekend! All are welcome.

Links to More about Glenda Farrell and Scott Nollen:

Scott Nollen Facebook Page for this book:

https://www.facebook.com/hardboileddame?ref=nf

Scott Nollen on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Scott-Allen-Nollen/e/B000APV7M0

Midnight Marquee Press:

http://www.midmar.com/biofarrell.html

Glenda Farrell on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=glenda+farrell

Glenda Farrell In-Depth Quotes & Timeline from SSO Member Hardwicke Benthow:

https://thoughtsandramblingsofhardwickebenthow.wordpress.com/

Jeffrey Spivak, Author of Buzz: The Life and Art of Busby Berkeley to Visit the SSO on 8/22 & 8/23

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 20:57:00 +0000

"In an era of breadlines, depression and wars, I tried to help people get away from all the misery...to turn their minds to something else. I wanted to make people happy, if only for an hour."

- Busby Berkeley

Jeffrey Spivak, the author of "Buzz: The Life and Art of Busby Berkeley," will be our guest for an online Q & A at The Silver Screen Oasis on Aug. 22nd and 23rd. Drawing on personal letters, interviews, studio memoranda, and Berkeley’s private memoirs, our visiting author created a nuanced portrait of this natural talent, whose development of the kinetic aspects of film continues to influence filmmakers to this day.

This thoughtful book reveals Busby Berkeley as a person without formal dance training but exceptional drive and ability who could never describe exactly how his creativity worked. Without whitewashing or indulging in unnecessary speculation, the author touches on Berkeley's intense closeness to his mother, Gertrude Berkeley, his six marriages, and the tumult in his personal life that nearly cost him everything. After reading his book, the reader can see the real life sources that inspired "The Lullaby of Broadway" in all its variations over the decades of his career at various studios.

Please join us here to post your own questions about Busby Berkeley and his films or to enjoy reading the exchanges. All are welcome.

For detailed information on this book and our visitor, please visit the following links:

Jeffrey Spivak's publisher, The University Press of Kentucky:

http://www.kentuckypress.com/live/title_detail.php?titleid=2592#.VdOORLJVikp

Jeffrey Spivak at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Buzz-Busby-Berkeley-Screen-Classics/dp/0813126436

Facebook Page for Buzz: The Life and Art of Busby Berkeley:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Buzz-The-Life-and-Art-of-Busby-Berkeley/108096302558741?fref=ts

The Hollywood Reporter on Ryan Gosling's purchase of the rights to our guest's book for a biopic:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ryan-gosling-produce-possibly-star-689801

David Meuel To Visit The Silver Screen Oasis on 7/24 & 7/25

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 16:28:00 +0000

The Silver Screen Oasis welcomes David Meuel, the author of the new book, The Noir Western: Darkness on the Range 1943-1962 (McFarland, 2015) for a discussion of this intriguing development in film during the mid-20th Century. The dates are Friday July 24 and Saturday July 25 (which, incidentally, has also been designated the 11th Annual Day of the Cowboy). I am particularly pleased to see David making this guest appearance, since, as a former guest blogger in 2012 on this site, he celebrated and analyzed the power of Shirley Temple, this month's Star of the Month at TCM, drawing on his insights into John Ford's women in his previous book,Women in the Films of John Ford (McFarland, 2014).

You can post your own questions and read the Q & A with our Guest Author at the Silver Screen Oasis at this link this weekend:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewforum.php?f=69

Beginning in the mid-1940s, the bleak, brooding mood of film noir began seeping into that most optimistic of film genres, the western. Story lines took on a darker tone and western films adopted classic noir elements of moral ambiguity, complex anti-heroes and explicit violence. This “noir western” helped set the standard for the darker science fiction, action and superhero films of today, as well as for acclaimed TV series such as HBO's Deadwood and AMC's Breaking Bad.

Since TCM's Summer of Darkness project screens films noir every Friday in June and July this summer, 12,000 students have signed up for the online film noir course taught by Richard Edwards from Ball State University on Canvas, and the free course has sparked much renewed interest in the genre. Perhaps a series on Meuel's The Noir Western: Darkness on the Range 1943-1962 might be the next logical step in further focusing on film noir.

Blending scholarship with an abiding love for both genres, Meuel was a featured speaker at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco for its film series, Dark Horse: Film Noir Westerns, a program that was well-received as a popular and critical contribution to definitions of noir.

A lifelong student of films, David Meuel lives in Menlo Park, California, and has also published two volumes of poetry among other works.

Links:

David Meuel Online:

http://www.davidmeuel.com/works/Fresh_Takes.html

David Meuel's Books Online:

http://tinyurl.com/nhxr8tp

David Meuel on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZlr98hMAqVJaaz2H4RqUCg

Immortal Ephemera: Review of Women in the Films of John Ford:

http://immortalephemera.com/53655/women-in-the-films-of-john-ford/
Review of The Noir Western: Darkness on the Range, 1943-1962: http://immortalephemera.com/57851/tcm-preview-april-2015/

The Evening Class Blogspot has an excerpt from The Noir Western:

http://theeveningclass.blogspot.com/2015/04/book-excerpt-noir-western-darkness-on.html

The National Day of the Cowboy:

http://nationaldayofthecowboy.com/wordpress/

Christy Putnam's review of Women in the Films of John Ford:

http://www.examiner.com/review/women-the-films-of-john-ford

TCM and Ball State's Online Film Noir Course:

https://www.canvas.net/browse/bsu/tcm/courses/film-noir

David Meuel at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3ADavid%20Meuel

Robert Ryan Biographer J.R. Jones to Visit The Silver Screen Oasis on 7/10 & 1/11

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 12:57:00 +0000

This is the forum where questions for our guest author, J.R. Jones can be posted on Friday, July 10th and Saturday, July 11th. All are welcome!

On Friday, July 10, and Saturday, July 11, The Silver Screen Oasis is looking forward to talking with J.R. Jones, author of THE LIVES OF ROBERT RYAN (Wesleyan Film). The Q & A thread for you to post your questions is now open:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewforum.php?f=118

Notice the plural in the title: This new biography deals with both the public and private lives of the great film actor Robert Ryan.

Robert Ryan never became a star of the magnitude of Cary Grant or Humphrey Bogart, but most lovers of classic film come to admire his work, whether he's playing the hero or the villain, the leading man or a supporting actor. Some of his best films, like ACT OF VIOLENCE and ON DANGEROUS GROUND, let him play aspects of both the villain and the hero in the same role.

Ryan excelled in a variety of genres. Film noir was a great fit for him, but westerns like THE NAKED SPUR and THE PROFESSIONALS also showcased his talent well. And then there's Ryan in domestic melodrama (CLASH BY NIGHT), Ryan in romantic drama (ABOUT MRS. LESLIE), Ryan in serious drama (THE ICEMAN COMETH). On stage he played Shakespeare's Coriolanus.

J.R. Jones is an award-winning film critic and editor for the Chicago Reader, and his writing has appeared in many publications, from New York Press to Kenyon Review to Noir City. He did an outstanding job of introducing ON DANGEROUS GROUND at the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in Palm Springs this May, and as SSO member kingrat can attest, he enjoys chatting with fans about our classic films.

What would you like to know about Robert Ryan? How he got interested in acting, what his favorite films were, how his politics affected his career? Unlike most Hollywood stars, he was only married once, and the marriage lasted until his wife Jessica died of cancer.

J.R. Jones has written an informative, easy-to-read biography which I strongly recommend. It should be a lot of fun to talk with him about Robert Ryan."

Please note:

In 2008 we had the pleasure of hosting Robert Ryan's daughter, Lisa as our memorable guest at the SSO as well. That Q & A is now available in our Archive here: http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=2658

Below are links to explore this essential biography and obtain your own copy of this critically hailed book:

J.R. Jones published interview:

http://chicagoist.com/2015/05/21/jrjones_explores_the_lives_of_rober.php

J.R. Jones video interview:

J.R. Jones publisher's site:

http://www.upne.com/0819573728.html

Writer Cari Beauchamp to Visit The Silver Screen Oasis 6/27 & 6/28

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 26 Jun 2015 02:05:00 +0000

Writer, speaker, producer and world traveler Cari Beauchamp will join us at The Silver Screen Oasis on Saturday, June 27, and Sunday, June 28, to discuss her latest book, My First Time in Hollywood: Stories from the Pioneers, Dreamers and Misfits Who Made the Movies. The online discussion is your opportunity to ask this distinguished film historian and writer a question online. All are welcome and more about this event can be seen here:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewforum.php?f=69

Academy Award-winning film preservationist, historian, and author Kevin Brownlow revealed that Beauchamp's latest book is “what every film fan yearns for––first-hand, eyewitness accounts of a Hollywood none of us can remember and all of us wish we’d known. Completely fascinating.”

Cari Beauchamp is the award-winning author of "Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and The Powerful Women of Early Hollywood." She also edited and annotated "Anita Loos Rediscovered: Film Treatments and Fiction by the Creator of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and co-wrote "Hollywood on the Riviera: The Inside Story of the Cannes Film Festival."

Her book, "Adventures of a Hollywood Secretary: Her Private Letters from Inside the Studios of the 1920s," was published in 2006 and has been optioned for television. Joseph P. Kennedy Presents: His Hollywood Years, was published by Knopf and Vintage. Her books have been selected for “Best of the Year” lists by the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and Amazon.

Cari wrote the 2003 Emmy nominated documentary film The Day My God Died which played on PBS and concerned the horrific abuses of the child sex trade in Nepal and India. She was nominated for a Writers Guild Award for Without Lying Down: The Power of Women in Early Hollywood which she wrote and coproduced for Turner Classic Movies.

She has also been interviewed in over a dozen documentaries including Turner Classic Movie’s Moguls and Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood and Mark Cousin’s The Story of Film.

She has written for Vanity Fair, Architectural Digest, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and various other magazines and newspapers. She has twice been named the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Film Scholar and is currently serving as resident scholar of the Mary Pickford Foundation.

She has appeared as a featured speaker at venues throughout the United States and Europe including The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, The British Film Institute, the Museum of Modern Art, The Edinburgh Film Festival, the Cannes Film Festival, the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, The Women’s Museum of Art in Washington D.C. and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Before turning to writing on a full time basis in 1990, she worked as a private investigator, a campaign manager and served as Press Secretary to California Governor Jerry Brown. She lives in Los Angeles.

At this year's TCM Film Festival, Cari Beauchamp moderated the interview with Oscar-winning editor Anne Coates in Club TCM, and introduced the presentation of Calamity Jane with Doris Day, remarking that it was time for Day's honorary Oscar "whether she shows up to accept it or not." (Beauchamp got my vote for "Best Introduction To A Classic Film 2015" for that remark!)

Blog link to an excellent account of Cari Beauchamp's interview with Oscar-winning editor Anne V. Coates on Saturday, March 28, in Club TCM during the TCMFF 2015:
http://www.theblackmaria.org/2015/03/30/tcm-film-fest-conversation-anne-v-coates/

One of the most interesting articles I've ever read in Vanity Fair was also co-authored by Beauchamp, "Cary in the Sky With Diamonds" : http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2010/ ... ood-201008

And another Vanity Fair article solely authored by Beauchamp about Joseph Kennedy and Hollywood, "The Mogul in Mr. Kennedy": http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2002/04/joekennedy200204

TCM partners with Women in Film to Spotlight Gender Inequality in the Film Industry: http://deadline.com/2015/06/turner-classic-movies-tcm-gender-inequality-film-women-in-film-1201445747/

Cari Beauchamp's Amazon author page:
http://www.amazon.com/Cari-Beauchamp/e/B001IXROKW

You can access Cari Beauchamp's web page here:
http://caribeauchamp.com

Ann Blyth Biographer Jacqueline T. Lynch to Visit The Silver Screen Oasis

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 08 Jun 2015 17:05:00 +0000

Ann Blyth has had a long career and noteworthy life off-screen. She played on Broadway and became a movie star and an Oscar nominee before she was eighteen. She developed into a remarkably versatile performer in dramas, comedies, fantasies and musicals. She worked with actors as storied as Gregory Peck, Joan Crawford, Tyrone Power, Donald O'Connor, Claudette Colbert, Robert Mitchum, Charles Boyer and Paul Newman, as well as directors from Michael Curtiz to Douglas Sirk. Despite her many accomplishments, (or because of them?) the actress remains an elusive figure in some ways. She managed to maintain a public reserve and private life that includes many friends, a marriage of over fifty years, and five children. Jacqueline T. Lynch, the author of Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star (CreateSpace Pub.), is visiting The Silver Screen Oasis on June 19th and 20th to explore the life and career of this vibrant lady who still participates in occasional public events celebrating classic movies.

Jacqueline, who has maintained Another Old Movie Blog about classic film for several years, has written and published fiction, history, plays and insightful film reviews for several years, gathering many of her devoted readers to her on a weekly basis. In the last year, as she embarked on a project to review each of Ann Blyth's films, Ms. Lynch received repeated requests from readers asking her to put her analysis of Blyth's versatility and singular path through Hollywood into print as a biography. Heeding that request, the author has produced this first full length biography of the actress.

Please consider this your invitation to attend and participate in the online Q & A with Jacqueline T. Lynch on Friday, June 19th and Saturday June 20th at The Silver Screen Oasis. All are welcome.

As Jacqueline put it in Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star:

"If you know Ann Blyth only through her frothy MGM musicals, you don’t know Ann Blyth. In dramas she has morphed into the epitome of hateful, sensual, heartbroken and shamed.

If you know her only as the demon teen in Mildred Pierce, you don’t know Ann Blyth. The same colossal greedy train wreck of a girl who spit invective at Joan Crawford and smacked her in the jaw also performed a night club act to enthusiastic crowds in Las vegas, bringing them to tears with the sentimental ‘Auld Lang Syne.’

If you know her from The Helen Morgan Story or melodramas, you are missing her genuine gift for screwball comedy.

Sinking herself intellectually, just as much as emotionally into these roles,she swam against the powerful and unrelenting current of studio typecasting."

Below are links to The Silver Screen Oasis, Another Old Movie Blog, a playlist of Ann Blyth links on youtube, and places to purchase this book (and others by our guest):

The Silver Screen Oasis Guest Author Forum:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewforum.php?f=69&sid=cd826172f026ef2f6d0c4d143a982750

Another Old Movie Blog:

http://anotheroldmovieblog.blogspot.com/

Jacqueline T. Lynch Author Page at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Jacqueline-T.-Lynch/e/B004583B4U/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

An Ann Blyth Playlist from Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhW_nBbUj8dd51OVpkSTVMStNnTGWl00s

Author Al Doshna to Visit the Silver Screen Oasis on 6/6 & 6/7

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 20:53:00 +0000

"When people ask me where I received my education, I tell them it was at MGM-U. The biggest lessons I learned is that acting is a talent. You can't teach it. And even if you have the talent you have to get a part." - Richard Anderson

The Q & A about this book is now ongoing here:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=114&t=6875

Author Al Doshna, whose background as an actor and writer make him an apt choice to co-write a memoir by veteran actor Richard Anderson, will be joining us Saturday, June 6th and Sunday, June 7th at the Silver Screen Oasis. His latest book was written with an actor of exceptional range, whose life on and off the set is explored in Richard Anderson: At Last, A Memoir From to the Golden Years of MGM and The Six Million Dollar Man to Now (BearManor). The book, described by one reviewer as a "fascinating treasure trove of anecdotes from throughout Richard’s amazing life," has been hailed by more than one reader as a book in which "every page [is] like a cozy fireside visit with friends."

Al Doshna covers Anderson’s humble beginnings as a young contract actor at that most fabled of dream factories, MGM to his early roles including FORBIDDEN PLANET, SCARAMOUCHE, ACROSS THE WIDE MISSOURI, and THE BUSTER KEATON STORY. Such legendary figures as Spencer Tracy, Clark Gable and Cary Grant are part of his life in each chapter, along with exceptional directors such as John Sturges, William Wellman, John Frankenheimer, and Stanley Kubrick.

Anderson was also there for the classic era of television with stints on everything from Disney’s take on Zorro to The Rifleman to The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. And he starred as Oscar Goldman in the classic series, The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman. The actor, whose debonair style blends nimbly with a natural gravitas, offers his own insights into the changing nature of the entertainment business as he also comments on the artistry and craftsmanship he has witnessed in a career that has spanned over half a century.

Please join us on June 6th and June 7 to discuss with Al Doshna this distinctive actor's travels from stage, screen, and television and to explore the wide-ranging interests of the author into the world of entertainment. All are welcome!

Links to explore more about Al Doshna and Richard Anderson:

Al Doshna:
http://www.alandoshna.com/producer.html

Richard Anderson:
http://www.bionik.com/index.html

For copies of Richard Anderson's Memoir:

http://www.bearmanormedia.com/richard-anderson-at-last...-a-memoir-from-the-golden-years-of-m-g-m-and-the-six-million-dollar-man-to-now

http://www.amazon.com/Richard-Anderson-Memoir-Golden-Million/dp/1593938039/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1433120945&sr=1-1&keywords=richard+anderson+memoir

An Conversation with Richard Anderson & Al Doshna:

So I hope you will be able to join us!

Stella Adler Biographer Sheana Ochoa to Visit the SSO 4/24-4/25

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 17:36:00 +0000

Sheana Ochoa, author of STELLA!: Mother of Modern Acting (Applause Theatre and Cinema), visits The Silver Screen Oasis to answer your questions about this legendary acting teacher from Friday, April 24, through Sunday, April 26. Ask about Stella Adler's relationships with Lee Strasberg, Marlon Brando, Shelley Winters, Warren Beatty, Salma Hayek, Benicio del Toro, Mark Ruffalo, The Actor's Studio, the Group Theatre, and more!

Ms. Adler, whose all too brief classic film credits as an actress include Shadow of the Thin Man (1941), was a complex individual whose colorful and artistic family background, influence on the theater and acting, and her dynamic personality make her worthy of exploration by cinephiles and acting aficionados of all kinds. Won't you join us in discovering more about Stella Adler at the link below? All are welcome!:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewtopic.php?f=90&t=6857

More about this eagerly anticipated Silver Screen Guest Author can be seen here:

http://sheanaochoa.com/

Rose Stradner (1913-1958)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 13 Dec 2014 00:20:00 +0000

The Last Gangster (1937), which airs today on TCM, is one of only three films made in America by Rose Stradner. The Austrian actress, born Rosa Stradner, had a high strung presence and refined beauty in her role as hoodlum Edward G. Robinson's naive wife. The vulnerability she played in her portrayal of a woman who unwittingly marries a criminal seemed a bit more credible thanks to the steeliness she gave the character after discovering the true nature of her husband and her tenderness toward her son by him. Stradner caught my eye as quite a distinctive actress when I first saw her in this MGM film and I was puzzled that the studio did not use her in more movies.

A bit of research revealed that this beautiful, statuesque blonde had been among the more gifted stars of Max Reinhardt's theater in Vienna in the '30s. Among those who were influenced by her there were Peter Lorre, whom she encouraged to play Hamlet if he longed to, despite his physical limitations. In the audience, a boyish Oskar Werner also knew her work and formed an adolescent crush on her that he later reported (in bluntest terms) to her younger son. Leaving her successful life behind, Rosa Stradner lost her father, who was killed by the Nazis and her brother, who became an SS officer who was executed by the Allies at the end of the war. The contrast between the tragedies of both a personal and continental scale must have seemed even more painful in contrast to the sumptuous, high-wire life she embarked on in America.

Above: Rose Stradner with James Stewart in The Last Gangster (1937).

After a blandly written role in the psychological drama Blind Alley (1939) as Ralph Bellamy's wife, Stradner's other, better known American film was The Keys of the Kingdom, (1944) in which she played an aristocratic nun languishing in China and taking a long time to learn a lesson in humility from noble priest, Gregory Peck. Frankly, I always found her portrayal of an educated, rather neurotic nun, quite realistic when compared to most Hollywood sisters, based on my own experiences with nuns who were trying to educate me and drub some piety into my pagan soul over the course of a 12 year stint in Catholic schools. In any case, Stradner created an interesting portrait of a highly disciplined figure who struggled to keep her soul in turmoil well hidden. The intelligence of the actress and her characterization of a person who refused to be simple or likable as she went about doing what she saw as her duty helped to give this story some dramatic depth.

Escaping from Europe just before the Anschluss might have made leaving impossible, the star of the Viennese stage and several German language movies had signed a contract with MGM to the delight of Louis B. Mayer. Working there, she also caught the eye of producer-writer Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who married the lady in 1939, with the couple becoming parents of Christopher and Thomas Mankiewicz eventually. Both of their sons enjoyed long careers in the entertainment industry as writers, producers and occasional actors.

Sadly, as eloquently described in the late Tom Mankiewicz's memoir, "My Life as a Mankiewicz: An Insider's Journey Through Hollywood" (University Press of Kentucky), her life as the spouse of one of the most talented individuals who ever made a movie was long on artistic frustration, guilt over her children, pain, illness and tragedy in the end. Rose Stradner, suffering from what now appears to have been a form of schizophrenia, killed herself in 1958.

Above: Tom Mankiewicz (center), age 11, with his mother, father and brother Christopher in 1953, the year his father, Joe (right), filmed 'The Barefoot Contessa.' Collection of Tom Mankiewicz

According to Tom Mankiewicz, despite her problems, she did love her sons, and "Mother was an extremely intelligent woman and capable of great warmth. She had a unique ear for languages and spoke English and later Italian fluently, without a trace of accent. She was a tremendous help to Dad as an in-house critic of his screenplays. He routinely solicityed her opinion and acted on it." Given his father's drive to succeed and to conquer every aspect of Hollywood, her increasing illness in the '40s & '50s must have made life difficult for the family, despite occasional periods of relative peace and stability.

Finally, Tom Mankiewicz concluded, the "most lasting and life-altering effect [his mother] had on me, however, was putting me in an endless quest to find her again somewhere and cure her. I developed a strange form of radar that could immediately recognize a troubled woman (almost always an actress) and elicit an instant, receptive, silent reaction from her signifying that she recognized me too."

Another Hollywood tragedy or a victim of history and the slowness of medicine to help the mentally ill? Perhaps, but I can't help wishing things had been different for her.

A DVD-r from the Warner Archive of The Last Gangster (1937) is readily available for those who are interested in this movie. The Keys of the Kingdom (1944) DVD is available from 20th Century Fox.

Sources:
Mankiewicz, Tom, My Life as a Mankiewicz: An Insider's Journey Through Hollywood, University Press of Kentucky, 2012.
Youngkin, Stephen, The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, The University Press of Kentucky, 2011.

TCM Remembers 2000-2014

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 11 Dec 2014 17:00:00 +0000

As ever, TCM Remembers was beautifully composed by the staff at Turner Classic Movies, who have noted the passing of so many familiar "members of the family" cinematically speaking this year with their customary grace. I am sure that there will be revisions as there have been most years and I'll post any additions asap.

TCM Remembers 2014

I am so grateful to all the individuals who left us in the last year who have given us such a rich legacy with their work.

The Revised TCM Remembers 2013:

(Please note: The music is "In the Embers," by Sleeping At Last)

TCM Remembers Eleanor Parker:

Peter O'Toole, TCM Remembers:

Joan Fontaine, TCM Remembers:

Turner Classic Movies puts together one of their very best features each December in honor of those filmmakers in front of and behind the camera who have passed away in the previous twelve months. 2013 includes many visually eloquent moments in tribute to all those who have died, leaving a legacy for us on screen and off. As often occurs when those who pass on are familiar, and sometimes beloved, such as contemporary actors such as James Gandolfini as well as studio era artists such as Eleanor Parker have gone to their rest, it feels as though some endearing "friends of the family" have gone away.

Since many readers have asked me how they can see certain years, I thought it might be helpful to compile those that are currently available online via the TCM website, Youtube and other sources. I have tried to put these videos in one posting here on this blog for those who enjoy them. Below are the video tributes from 2000 and from 2003-2013 with the identification of what is, optimistically, the correct music and performer for the music used in each year, whenever available to me. I have not been able to find any other years for posting here.

Many of the beautifully done separate TCM Remembers spots broadcast just after the death of an individual film notable are available for viewing on youtube here.

Of interest to those connoisseurs of these gems:

Many, though not all, of the spots seen on TCM over the years have been created by Raygun, a media marketing firm whose work for Turner Classic Movies (and others) can be seen here. There are, of course, other ad firms which have contributed to the collection of exceptionally interesting, touching and entertaining interstitials seen on TCM over the years. Some examples of their work can be seen here. If TCM ever decides to market a DVD collection of these TCM Remembers memorials or any of their best spots, I think they might be pleasantly surprised to realize how many people would welcome such an idea.

Requiescat in Pace to all of those included and especially those who may have been overlooked.

TCM Remembers 2012:
(Please note: The music is "Wait" by M83)

TCM Remembers 2011:

The song that plays throughout this video is "Before You Go" by OK Sweetheart, with the lilting voice of Erin Austin evoking so much yearning and affection for those who have gone before us.

Earlier TCM Remembers Tributes Below...

_______________________________

TCM Remembers 2010:

The accompanying song for the 2010 tribute is "Headlights," written and performed by Sophie Hunger. Felt a definite pang when they showed Jean Simmons, John Forsythe and many of the other familiar faces and those who worked behind the scenes.

_______________________________

TCM Remembers 2009:

The music is Steve Earle's "To Live Is to Fly" sung by Townes Van Zandt

_______________________________

TCM Remembers 2008:

The accompaniment is the song "God Only Knows" by Joe Henry.

_______________________________ TCM Remembers 2007:

The music for this video is "Promises" sung by Badly Drawn Boy.

_______________________________

TCM Remembers 2006:

The song for this year is "Press On" by Robinella.

_______________________________

TCM Remembers 2005:

The song is "Flesh and Blood" sung by Joe Henry.

_______________________________

TCM Remembers 2004:

The music accompanying this is "Goodnight Hollywood Boulevard" sung by Ryan Adams.

_______________________________

TCM Remembers 2003:

The music for this video is Sarah McLachlan singing "I Will Remember You."

_______________________________

TCM Remembers 2000:

_______________________________

(Please note: No infringement of copyright of any images or videos is intended by this posting or on this blog. If anything needs to be amended or removed, please contact me and I will be glad to comply.)

Happy Thanksgiving--From the Publicity Department!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 27 Nov 2014 02:28:00 +0000

[John Held Jr. Engraving]

I wish everyone reading this post the warmth of friendship and family, the delight of good food, and a day filled with conviviality on Thanksgiving--and everyday, really. To give us some holiday cheer that is film-oriented, I have discovered some interesting advertisements aimed at theater owners preparing fare to get the crowds into their cinemas in holidays past in November. I was not able to reproduce it properly here, but my favorite discoveries were from motion picture industry magazines in which managers were encouraged "to avoid turkeys" on the screen but to drum into the staff to "use the holiday as a sales device!" There were suggested promotions featuring live turkey giveaways ("budget how many you can afford ahead of time") whose feathers could be "dyed various festive colors." (No advice was given about where the poultry might be kept in the theater). Other suggestions were similar to this one in Motion Picture Herald in 1940 in which a theater's staff was exhorted to dress in Halloween costume the month before and then to deck themselves out as Pilgrims and Indians as they served customers popcorn, took tickets, ushered guests to their seats. (Hope they were paid well, but I doubt it).

It was particularly interesting, since many of us see studio era films through an affectionate, glamorous lens, that there were some remarkably frank comments in manager's round tables rating the business of films in their cinemas. For instance, a manager from a Hermine, PA theater commented that I Love You Again (1940) with William Powell & Myrna Loy, was a "...much heralded production fell flatter than a glass of beer left on the bar all night." I also found it amusing to see some rather grisly or non-family fare movies being promoted as holiday fare for the Thanksgiving crowd!

I hope these make you smile:

From 1911--nothing says "Happy Thanksgiving" like a prison flick:

In 1922, before his name became synonymous with memorable creepiness, Tod Browning directed an adventure story that most of us remember from a later version with Ronald Colman and Claudette Colbert as "Cigarette." A copy of the '22 film is said to be archived in the UCLA Film and Television Archives, so there's still hope that someday we may see if the movie lives up to this dashing graphic touted Turkey Day treat here:

In 1941--when you would think most people would want some escapism, I Wake Up Screaming (1941) is touted as warm, wholesome entertainment but hey, who knew if Laird Cregar might have been a festive fellow before he clapped eyes on Carole Landis? I love the suggestion in this ad that a girl be hired to sit in a trailer outside the theater where this was playing and scream into a microphone. The other businesses in the area must have loved that form of ballyhoo:

This turkey-ridin' trio in the 1936 ad is just a little freaky for me--though it's great fun to see Frank McHugh center stage:

This 1951 ad seems to be using Mitzi Gaynor as a pepper mill to season the "turkey" (I'm not sure if that was a subliminal reference to Golden Girl, which has its charms...like dashing Dale Robertson!!)

Whoever was making up titles at Pathe in 1931 must have been a bit out of touch with the spirit of the season (and the desperation of their economically pressed clientele).

1937 saw another trip to prison (and the chair) presented as fine festive fare (and boy, it was some show!):

Submarine Patrol (1938) was allegedly packin' 'em in around Thanksgiving, but this now rather obscure film may be of mostly of interest to us because it was John Ford at work just before he launched into a golden period beginning with Stagecoach (1939).

Here's a compendium of odd if intriguing press agent ideas of tying in clients with holidays:[/u]
Silent and sound film actress Ruth Hiatt (seen in everything from Douglas Fairbanks' Robin Hood to The Three Stooges shorts was captured in this slightly undignified pose for Film Weekly in 1924 with the guest of honor:

At the height of his popularity as a child actor, Jackie Coogan (1914-1984) was pictured in Exhibitors Trade Review in the mid-'20s addressing his turkey and an anonymous cook. The fawning caption for this image read "The king is to die--'Long Live the King.' But what turkey wouldn't be glad to give his life to grace the feast of a movie king like Jackie Coogan? This one is telling the world that he considers himself lucky. In fact everyone is lucky who has had anything to do with this young star. Showmen all over the country are giving thanks because they booked his latest Metro release. It is going to be a grand Thanksgiving."

Colleen Moore (1899-1988) must have been pretty game for anything suggested by a publicity department in 1924 since she agreed to appear with this bird!

Dorothy Jordan (1906-1988) is pictured in a Photoplay image for Thanksgiving in the late '20s...I wonder if Lillian Gish's name was sewn into those pilgrim duds?

Sources:
Exhibitors Trade Review, Motion Picture Daily, Motion Picture Herald, Movieland, Photoplay, Screenland, Universal Weekly, 1911-1957.

Halloween in Context?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 14:40:00 +0000

Other than genre movies about the supernatural, there are only a few classic films that incorporate Halloween into a more generalized story quite well. Can you think of any other pre-1965 non-horror movies that include Halloween?

Here are three I can think of right now:

1.) "Meet Me in St. Louis" (1944), when Tootie (Margaret O'Brien) fearfully makes her way to the dreaded Mr. Braukoff's house, Vincente Minnelli created one of the most brilliant sequences on film, perfectly capturing the way the world sometimes looks from a child's POV.

2.) "All This and Heaven, Too" (1940) when the Praslin kids (June Lockhart, Virginia Weidler, Ann E. Todd, Richard Nichols) get to visit the country with their Papa (Charles Boyer) and Governess (Bette Davis), escaping the tensions of their Paris household, but with the ominous woodsmoke from the burning leaves and the fog around them making it feel as though they are alone in a dark world, foreshadowing the family's fate.

3.) "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962) when Scout (Mary Badham) and Jem (Phillip Alford) take a shortcut through the woods coming home from the school Halloween pageant. Unfortunately, Scout is still wearing her cumbersome ham costume.

Two more recent films that used Halloween as an underpinning to the story but really were about familial ties and troubles while growing up were "Mermaids" (1990) with Bob Hoskins, Cher, Wynona Ryder & Christina Ricci and "Jack the Bear" (1993) with Danny DeVito & Gary Sinise.

Are there others that use Halloween settings well within the context of a larger story?

The Night of the Hunter Author Preston Neal Jones to Visit the SSO on 11/1 & 11/2

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 01:25:00 +0000

The Silver Screen Oasis is pleased to announce an online visit with Preston Neal Jones, the author of Heaven and Hell To Play With: The Filming of Night of the Hunter (Limelight) on Saturday, Nov. 1st & Sunday, Nov. 2nd.

If you have ever wondered about the filming of Director Charles Laughton’s Night of the Hunter, you might want to read Preston Neal Jones’ Heaven and Hell to Play With: The Filming of Night of the Hunter if you haven’t already, perhaps you have heard Mr. Jones' commentary on the Criterion DVD of the iconic 1955 film, a remarkable, visually and psychologically vivid movie that is now being required viewing in some freshman college classes.

If you are a Star Trek fan, you might enjoy Jones' latest book, Return to Tomorrow: The Filming of Star Trek, TMP.

Background of the Author:

Author Preston Neal Jones, originally from Connecticut, calls himself a producer-writer-actor-director-teacher-artist-lyricist-poet-raconteur-bon vivant. "In New York, a producer is someone who has a show running. In Hollywood, a producer is anybody who knows a writer. I know myself, and that's why I call myself a producer."

In high school, Jones produced and directed Masters' Spoon River Anthology at the University of Bridgeport and acted onstage in Death of a Salesman as Willy Loman opposite future troubadour Loudon Wainwright III as his son Biff.

Jones has studied directing, writing, and acting at Carnegie Mellon University alongside future thespic luminaries including Judith Light, Francesca James, Sonya Monzano and William Atherton, and production notables including producer Paula Wagner, composer Stephen Schwartz and playwright John Michael Tebelak. He originally came to Hollywood after being an early winner on The 10,000 Pyramid, and calls his relocation funds, "a grant" courtesy of the game show. He also worked as a Columbia Pictures Television executive, a free-lance script analyzer, and a play doctor making minor contributions to Godspell.

As a production assistant in Connecticut, Jones worked on the films The Swimmer with Burt Lancaster and Man on a Swing with Cliff Robertson and Joel Grey.

Jones has also hosted and introduced screenings at UCLA and American Cinematheque, as well as lecturing on film music at UCLA in Society of Film Music events.

His brushes with greatness include encounters with baseball immortal Jackie Robinson, actors Fred Astaire, Peter Sellers, Joan Rivers, Hans Conried, Barney Miller cast members, composers David Raksin, Miklos Rozsa, Ernest Gold, Henry Mancini, John Barry and Elmer Bernstein, sci-fi authors Theodore Sturgeon, Fritz Leiber, musician/comedían Victor Borge, and actor Hal Holbrook during his appearance as Mark Twain, as well as the muscial group, The Manhattan Transfer. His list of celebrity contacts also include the casts and crews of NIght of the Hunter and Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Jones was also befriended by actor Raymond Massey and Hans J. Salter, composer of Universal Monsters fame, about whom he authored the Cinefantastique cover story, "The Ghost of Hans J. Salter."

In the 1970s, he served two years as a conscientious objector as noted in Sherry Gottlieb's oral history entitled Hell No, We Won't Go, which also includes comments from Actor Richard Dreyfuss, who was recently a guest at the Turner Classic Film Festival, and the TCM Cruise.

Jones' liner notes appear on soundtrack albums for classic film scores by Alfred Newman, Cyril J. Mockridge, and Hans J. Salter, and he has also corresponded with writer Ray Bradbury and director John Huston.

His current book projects include interviews with various movie crew members in Los Angeles and other áreas of the country.

Preston Neal Jones’ Interview with Dan Gunther of Trek Core on Return to Tomorrow: The Filming of Star Trek, TMP

The Criterion Collection: Nightof the Hunter

To purchase Return to Tomorrow: The Filming of Star Trek-TMP, follow the link: http://creaturefeatures.com/product-tag/preston-neal-jones/

To purchase Heaven and Hell to Play With: The Filming of Night of the Hunter, follow the link: http://www.amazon.com/Heaven-Hell-Play-With-Filming/dp/0879109742

Please welcome Preston Neal Jones, author of Heaven and Hell to Play With-The Making of NIght of the Hunter, and his current release, Return To Tomorrow: The Filming of Star Trek-The Motion Picture. The Q & A with this author can be seen here this weekend on 11/1 & 11/2.

A George Brent Weekend with Author Scott O'Brien on 10/25 & 10/26

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 14 Oct 2014 19:22:00 +0000

The thread for questions for Scott O'Brien at The Silver Screen Oasis is now open! Let the revels begin: http://tinyurl.com/okhsb4z

Save the dates for the weekend of Oct. 25th and 26th--Scott O'Brien, author of the recently published "George Brent: Ireland's Gift to Hollywood and its Leading Ladies" (BearManor), will be welcomed back to The Silver Screen Oasis to answer your questions about his most recent book. The Q & A with Scott O'Brien will take place here.

An actor in 89 feature films, Brent was especially in demand for his ability to support a series of leading ladies in the studio era, showcasing everyone from Bette Davis to Greta Garbo to Hedy Lamarr and even Diana Dors. Occasionally, when given the opportunity to tackle a role with a good script or an inspiring director, the actor also proved himself a capable performer on his own merits in such films as Dark Victory and The Spiral Staircase. His off-screen adventures, while padded by erroneous studio-padded biographies, were also notable. Born George Brendan Nolan in Ireland, Brent's early life was part of the Irish diaspora as his family dispersed across the ocean. Prior to emigrating permanently, he was involved with Irish revolutionary Michael Collins as a youth, but was reluctant to discuss the details of his experiences. While often credited with appearing at the Abbey Theater in Dublin and pursuing a university education, the truth of this is far more complex and poignant. Eventually the young actor emerged even found his way to Broadway, sharing the stage with Alice Brady, Glenda Farrell and a certain Mr. Gable in a 1930 play, Love, Honor and Betray, which opened just before he turned 31.

Married five times (among his wives were actresses Ruth Chatterton and Ann Sheridan), he also romanced Bette Davis and Greta Garbo off-screen, and pursued a variety of hobbies, which included flying, hunting, fishing and other fairly solitary pursuits--though these all seemed to take second place to his lifelong interest in horses and thoroughbred racing. Despite a lifetime in the public eye, Brent remains a bit of an enigma, in part because of his ability to blend into a cast as part of an ensemble.

As those familiar with Scott O'Brien's past books know, he uncovered facts about his subjects and has an even-handed but honest approach to writing about the lives of such noted figures as Kay Francis, Virginia Bruce, Ann Harding, and Ruth Chatterton. As a result, the portrait he created humanized and helped to revive interest in their contributions to classic film--and now will undoubtedly help to reassess George Brent's interesting career and life with this new book.

Below are links to purchase Scott O'Brien's new book about George Brent and to past discussions with Scott O'Brien at the SSO. Please plan on visiting the message board to participate in the Q & A on Sat. evening, Oct. 25th and all day Sunday, Oct. 26th. All are welcome!

George Brent: Ireland's Gift to Hollywood and its Leading Ladies Links:

BearManor Media

Amazon

Barnes & Noble and other online vendors

Below are links to past conversations with Scott O'Brien about his books on such topics as Kay Francis, Ann Harding and Ruth Chatterton at The Silver Screen Oasis:

2008:
A Conversation about Kay Francis: I Can't Wait To Be Forgotten

2010:
A Conversation about Ann Harding - Cinema's Gallant Lady

2013:
A Conversation about Ruth Chatterton: Actress - Aviator- Author

Please note: Virginia Bruce - Under My Skin (BearManor) was also written by Scott O'Brien (and is highly recommended).