Latest MM memorabilia

We have found a treasure trove of Monroe memorabilia including some "Vanity Fair" magazines I had not seen, and photographer Lawrence Schiller's memoir MARILYN & ME (see post below) covering that shoot on SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE in 1962 when he took those pool photographs which made the cover of LIFE magazine and are still fascinating now. 

This year too VANITY FAIR ICONS appeared, a choice glossy magazine for MM fanatics, with great text and photographs, including appraisals of the Strasbergs, De Maggio, Miller; excerpts from Tony Curtis's memoir, and Lawrence Schller's. and reports on those MM documents and possessions which were stored away after her death, and inherited by Lee Strasberg's third wife, who did not even know MM. 

The first serious writing on Monroe was probably that nice feature by David Robinson in that October 1962 issue of TOWN magazine, which I had when I was 16 - it was great to find it again recently on a vintage magazine site, it costs quite a lot now!  There was also that early fan mag, covering the MM years.

Back in the early sixties, we liked those early MM books, before the avalanche of them followed: that early one by George Carpozi; MARILYN, THE TRAGIC VENUS by Edwin P. Hoyt (first published in 1967),  and NORMA JEANE by Laurence Guiles with that silvery Beaton cover shot. THE FILMS OF MARILYN MONROE of course, Then the 1973 Norman Mailer tome certainly brought Marilyn into the mainstream, collecting as it did those major photographs by Milton Greene (which a lot of us had not seen before), and the pool pictures by Schiller, and some Eve Arnold shots, and that Mailer text cementing Monroe as the American Icon. Schiller, now 79, and a writer/producer, shot those pool pictures when he was 25. 

Eve Arnold's book on MM contains a wealth too, as does the Barris, Stern, Schiller books on those late photoshoots. The best of the later books is the enormous MARILYN IN THE FLASH, reviewed last year, covering her many public appearances. A lot of the other MM books are not worthwhile and just rehash the usual stuff or try to seek a new angle on her death. 
The books by her maid Lena Pepitone and by Susan Strasberg are worth reading though for different facets on the Monroe persona and life, James Spada's 1982 MARILYN:  A LIFE IN PICTURES is another nice one, and Donald Spoto's huge biography seems to get everything right

(No, Marilyn was not killed by the Kennedys. Her 'suicide' may have been accidental, after being fed all those barbiturates by different people over the years; and her psychiatrist Ralph Greenson and her housekeeper, Eunice Murray, may have had a hand in it.).

So, the Monroe industry goes on and on ..... 

Marilyn by the pool

Its been fascinating reading once again about those final months of Marilyn Monroe's life in 1962, which contained some of her best photo sessions and images. MARILYN & ME by Lawrence Schiller, a nice pocked size memoir, is a particular treat though it includes none of his colour shots of MM and that blue pool and  blue bathrobe. "Vanity Fair" though has printed a lot of them, and they are included in several of the MM books, particularly the Norman Mailer 1973 opus. The black and white shots are terrific though. 

So, in March 62 Marilyn had that trip to Mexico (meeting the likes of director Luis Bunuel - there is a photo of them in the MARILYN IN THE FLASH tome (along with pictures of her with Garland, Callas, and more). 

In May she was filming SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE, and looked great in the surviving footage, as per previous reports. This was when Schiller shot the pool images and other shots of her at that time, and later he took that photo of Joe De Maggio at her funeral.  His text is interesting too on meetings with her showing her determination to oust Elizabeth Taylor from the world's press. This was also when she sang Happy Birthday to the President at Madison Square Gardens, before the film was cancelled. 

In June she did the Bert Stern THE LAST SITTING images, containing some great shots.

In July she did the George Barris beach photos at Malibu, generally regarded as the last pictures of her - lots more on these too at MM label. And she also gave that final interview to LIFE magazine - here is a link to that text of her interview with Richard Meryman. 

http://www.marilynmonroe.ca/camera/mags/life62.htm

As Schiller (who first worked with her on LETS MAKE LOVE in 1960, when he was 23) says in his book, each photographer captures a different Marilyn - from the early shots by Andre De Dienes, though the great pictures by Milton Greene, Cecil Beaton, Jack Cardiff, Eve Arnold, Bob Willoughby, Stern, Barris, Avedon, Sam Shaw, and himself - each captures a different facet and look of hers. 

Then the events of August 4/5 unfolded. There was one final picture, which journalist Anthony Summers thought fit to include in his GODDESS book "investigating" her death, rehashing all the supposed rumours - a hot topic then fascinating the conspiracy nuts - that morgue shot, which once seen, is hard to unsee.
This 1992 Bonhams auction catalogue is a rich trove of all the MM photos from those early and final shoots. 

Showpeople: favourite fotos

Part of our Showpeople strand here - see label for previous - focusing on some fascinating snaps of Marilyn, Marlon and Sir Larry .....

I like this shot of MM with Olivier and Susan Strasberg, taken in 1956 when Strasberg was playing in THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK on Broadway, and before Monroe and Olivier had started THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWGIRL in London. Marilyn looks marvellous here but Olivier and Strasberg seem to have eyes only for each other - the young Miss Strasberg (a friend of MM's due to Marilyn being at her father Lee's Actors' Studio) was it seems already romancing Richard Burton, so maybe had a thing for British actors ....

Marlon and Marilyn have been snapped together several times too, here at the premiere of EAST OF EDEN in 1955, and photographed by Milton Greene (who did those great mid-50s shots of Monroe) and also on the set of DESIREE in 1954, where MM is wearing a dress from THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS, being filmed by Fox at the same time.

Coming Up: several more on Monroe, after reading Lawrence Schiller's memoir on shooting those pool pictures from the uncompleted SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE, and some new Monroe magazines, like the VANITY FAIR ICONS issue on her, 

Friday treat

With thanks to Martin. I really must watch Vincente's under-cherished BELLS ARE RINGING again ("I have the dvd/blu-ray so can watch it anytime" as Martin always says), with the heartbreakingly wonderful Judy Holliday. 

RIP, continued ....

Jimmy Perry (1923-2016), aged 93.  Another stalwart of the golden age of BBC television, Perry was the co-scriptwriter (with David Croft) and creator of those immortal hit series DAD'S ARMY, IT AIN'T HALF HOT MUM, HI-DE-HI and more. They will continue to be watched as long as we watch television, He was actually a Butlins redcoat himself, which must have provided a wealth of material, as did his stint in Burma during the war; and his 25 year writing partnership with Croft was rich indeed.

Pierre Etaix (1928-2016), French comedian, actor, director, clown, almost he French Buster Keaton?. I remember his hit from 1964, YO YO. A lot of his work was unseen for years due to legal tangles. He worked with Tati, Bresson and even Jerry Lewis. 

Bobby Vee (1943-2016), aged 73. The almost impossibly cute Bobby Vee was one of those popular singers of the early sixties (like Bobby Rydell, Frankie Avalon, Fabian, Tommy Sands etc) until the arrival of The Beatles and the British Invasion, though he remained popular in the UK till the mid-60s, Vee, at 15, got his start stepping in for the late Buddy Holly in 1959. leading to his 6 gold singles. We kids liked those hits like "Rubber Ball", "The Night Has A 1000 Eyes", "Take Good Care Of My Baby", "Run To Him" etc.. He continued touring until 2011 and the onset of Alzheimers. 

Pete Burns (1959-3016) aged 57. Another music legend departs. It was impossible to escape from Burns's "You Spin Me Around" by his band Dead Or Alive, back in 1985. He later developed, in /Boy George's words, into "a great English eccentric", with all his cosmetic surgery and reality TV appearances. 

Evening, 2007

A drama exploring the romantic past and emotional present of Ann Grant and her daughters, Constance and Nina. As Ann lays dying, she remembers, and is moved to convey to her daughters, the defining moments in her life 50 years prior, when she was a young woman. Harris is the man Ann loves in the 1950s and never forgets.

Yes, EVENING sounds like one of those nauseatingly soppy afternoon tv movies for the home audience, not suitable for us trendy folk. We avoided it at the time, but seeing it was on telly we had to look it, if only for that cast. One way - the only way? - of jazzing up a story like this is to make it look good and pile in the names, thats what they did here, as directed by Lajos Koltai.

The dying woman is Vanessa Redgrave, and also popping in are Meryl Streep, Glenn Close and the great Eileen Atkins. Add in Vanessa's daughter Natasha Richardson, plus Toni Collette and Claire Danes (as the younger Vanessa). The men, including Patrick Wilson and Hugh Dancy, barely get a look it. It all looks terrific too, Rhode Island in the 1950s .... all those seascapes. 

The grand dames all get their moment with Vanessa, as the memories keep piling up and colliding with the present. It's a deliberately paced, visually gorgeous meditation on real life issues, and you can cry at it and not feel like you're being manipulated too much.

Till The End Of Time, 1946

Here's a doozy - another 1940s dream factory product - see SINCE YOU WENT AWAY below - and also featuring Guy Madison, here in the lead (as opposed to the minute or two of his debut as the marine in SINCE YOU WENT AWAY in 1944). This one, by Edward Dmytryk, is another about soldiers returning from the war and settling into civilian life, but is a lighter version of THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, also 1946

Three former marines have a hard time readjusting to civilian life. Perry can't deal with the loss of the use of his legs. William is in trouble with bad debts. And Cliff can't decide what he wants to do with his life, although he gets encouragement from war widow Pat Ruscomb.

Here we have Guy, Robert Mitchum and Bill Williams (sans legs). I like that perfectly Californian Spanish style home Guy returns to, showing that comfy Forties California middle-class milieu - dig those automobilies!- and the film focuses on him a lot - we see him in bed quite a bit, he jitterbugs with the girl next door, and tries to help his buddies, though his parents get annoyed at his lack of direction and choosing a career to settle in, but hey, he's a young hunky ex-marine. 

Dorothy McGuire is ideal (apart from smoking a lot) as the war widow he falls for. She was later the perfect wife and mother in FRIENDLY PERSUASION, SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON, THE DARK AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS, A SUMMER PLACE, SUSAN SLADE etc). Mitch doesn't have much to do here. More Guy at label. 
As a 2003 review on IMDB put it: I would make the case that Guy Madison may be the best-looking young man to ever star in a feature film, and this is his best one. There are moments where his totally unselfconscious looks are just jaw-dropping. His acting, on the other hand, can be described charitably as "natural"; but I wasn't expecting Lawrence Olivier. Guy was an early find of legendary Hollywood agent Henry Willson, who would later "discover" a tall young man whom he renamed Rock Hudson.

Tab Hunter Confidential

The book "Tab Hunter Confidential" was a fascinating read some years ago, as Tab took us through his career as that Fifties heart-throb with a secret - he was gay. It is now a film, with a wealth of clips and interviewees from that Fifties Golden Age. 

Tab, now in his mid-80s, is still fit, busy with his horses, and comes across as a man of integrity. He does not dish any dirt needlessly, and unlike some (Rock) he did not do the usual marriage of convenience for a year or two to put off the newshounds. He was genuinely friends with those girls he dated: Natalie, Debbie, Venetia Stevenson, Terry Moore etc. The survivors are all here, plus Robert Wagner, Clint Eastwood, Mother Dolores Hart, Rex Reed and more.

The clips show what a big deal he was then - I liked him in ISLAND OF DESIRE, BATTLE CRY, the two with Natalie - her dark looks complementing his blonde - and with Sophia Loren in Lumet's under-rated THAT KIND OF WOMAN in 1959. Pity he never got that main role that defined him (unlike his pal Tony Perkins), perhaps his best role now is in DAMN YANKEES in 1958, with that Fosse choreography. 

Tab also had a go at singing and had some top ten hits and albums, but he got tired of all that and bought out his Warner Bros contract, so Jack Warner replaced him with the manufactured Troy Donahue - another of gay agent Henry Willson's boys (as was Tab, plus Guy Madison, Rory Calhoun and of course Rock) while Elvis, Ricky Nelson and Fabian were also hitting the movies. It was though the cusp of the 1960s with a new breed of new guys emerging like the young Warren Beatty and Robert Redford who were able to parlay their looks into enduring careers. Other '50s hunks like Jeff Hunter and Robert Wagner had similar career problems. 

Tab was soon old hat, despite a surfing movie and some European cheapies. But he kept going, with smaller roles and guest appearances, as in THE LOVED ONE in 1965. He was also into figure-skating and horse-jumping, and did a lot of dinner theatre. He was also in that short-lived first production of Tennessee Williams' THE MILK TRAIN DOES NOT STOP HERE ANYMORE with Tallulah Bankhead - one of those productions that has passed into legend (it later became the Burtons' BOOM!).  Then of course he was re-discovered by John Waters for POLYESTER and LUST IN THE DUST with bombshell Divine. 

Lots of fascinating stories here, including his relationship with Tony Perkins (a very ambitious actor, who managed to get Tab's television role in FEAR STRIKES OUT to film for himself) and how Tab had to look after his mother and brother, who did not survive Vietnam. 

Tab now seems a contented man, well-liked and respected as the later generation of gays find his story fascinating and how he handled it during that closeted time. Tab is a Hollywood blonde who has endured; like the books by Michael York and John Fraser, Tab's shows how actors keep going once the initial limelight fades ... 

Ingrid Bergman in her own words

A fascinating insight into the life and times of Ingrid Bergman (1915-1982) , her stardom and the toll it imposed. The film follows Bergman’s extraordinary successful Hollywood career in the 1940s, her VOYAGE TO ITALY with neo-realist director Roberto Rossellini, and her return to respectability in the 1950s, after that marriage and several films with Rossellini, after their child was born outside wedlock, causing that scandal of the time. It dives deep into the life of this beautiful and endlessly determined actress, indulging in a rich archive of Bergman’s life with photos (her father in Sweden had photographed her regularly as a child growing up) , home movies and letters on display. Her allure seeps through the entire film, revealing “a woman who was able to "subtly combine the noble and the carnal” (according to critic Roger Ebert).

The letters are read by Alicia Vikander, music by Michael Nyman, directed by Stig Bjorkman. 

As per label reports, we like Ingrid a lot here at The Projector, and I met her a few times (when I was  teenage autograph hound), and saw her on the stage twice, in London, and a few times at the BFI as well. I saw her in A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY in 1966 when I was 20, and then in 1971 in the Shaw comedy CAPTAIN BRASSBOUND'S CONVERSION, with none other than Kenneth Williams. She also attended a screeing of CASABLANCA at the old BFI, the NFT, when she was telling us about the making of the film, which was regarded as just another wartime potboiler then, and I can picture her mixing with and recognising people she knew. Another time she was sitting there and stating how the Rossellini films were finally being recognised as being so influential. They were not really available then, but are now on disk and we love VOYAGE TO ITALY from 1953. I actually saw this as a child at the time, and remember being fascinated by those chalk figures at Pompeii. Its certainly a forerunner of those Italian classics by Antonioni & Co. 

NOTORIOUS is still a key Hitchcock, and it was good to see her back in Hollywood too. She was always very pleasant to meet and chat to, and comes across perfectly here, as the film follows her from early days in Sweden, to Hollywood, Italy, France, Sweden and those final years in London, Her biography, written with Alan Burgess (author of the book that became INN OF THE SIXTH HAPPINESS) captures her final night in the theatre (at the Theatre Royal Haymarket) and her final time in front of the camera at the end of GOLDA. Its a very affecting book.

Ingrid had a lot of humour too, as evident in CACTUS FLOWER, THE YELLOW ROLLS ROYCE, and oddly, GOLDA when she was seriously ill. The home movies are fascinating here, focusing on the woman as opposed to the career, though we get a lot of that too, with her children commenting, and also interviews with Sigourney Weaver (who worked with her as a young actress) and Liv Ullmann, her co-star from AUTUMN SONATA.

Time I think to dig out INTERMEZZO, ELENA ET LES HOMMES,  DR JECKYLL & MR HYDE, GOODBYE AGAIN, AUTUMN SONATA etc. About the only of her major films I have not seen are THE VISIT from 1964 and 1969's A WALK IN THE SPRING RAIN, both with Anthony Quinn. Anyone seeing this documentary will want to go back to the movies where she reigned supreme. Fascinating extras on the dvd too, and lots more on Ingrid at label.

RIP, continued ....

Andrzey Wadja (1926-2916), aged 90. The venerable Polish director whose ASHES AND DIAMONDS was an international arthouse sensation in 1958, as successful as those early Fellini and Bergman classics. He won  awards like an Honorary Oscar and the Palm D-Or, A GENERATION and KANAL were also early films, and his later films included MAN OF MARBLE, MAN OF IRON, DANTON among his extensive credits in that long career. Another of the great European directors departs ....

Jean Alexander (1926-2016), aged 90. The veteran British actress who was a mainstay on television's CORONATION STREET for decades as the busybody Hilda Ogden, complete with her hair in curlers, a turban and a pinny as she cleaned the Rovers Return pub, and berated her workshy husband Stan, a role she played from 1964 to 1987. She later did a long stint in LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE from 1988 to 2010. The extensive tributes show how well-loved she was. We always relied on Hilda for a laugh among the ongoing drama on the cobbles, Jean's creation was the equal of those other great Northern Women who dominated CORRIE in its Golden Age; Vera Duckworth, Annie Walker, Ena Sharples, Elsie Tanner, Bet Lynch, Rita and Mavis etc. and dare one say Ivy Tilsley. Now we are stuck with the endless sagas of the boring Platts, Steve McDonald et al. At least Mary and snobby Sally and fab Tim provide some relief. Ta ra chuck, as Hilda would say. 

Peggy Spencer (1920-2016), aged 95. For decades the doyenne of ballroom dancing, Perhaps the current hit STRICTLY COME DANCING would not exist without her laying the groundwork through her dance competitions and ballroom teaching. She also choreographed a video for The Beatles ("Your Mother Should Know") and for Nureyev in VALENTINO. Her formation dance teams were often on television and danced for royalty and all those years of the earlier COME DANCING television shows.

Vintage Magazine Shop. We are sad to see the demise of another London legend, Brewer Street in Soho is certainly falling to the developers with a vengance. This massive store was a marvellous place to browse, buy current movie memorabilia, and their basement held an incredible stock of vintage movie and fashion magazines, (Thanks again Colin, for finding a 1959 number of "Films & Filming" which I needed to complete my collection). The shop is continuing on line, Here are some comments:

This is one of the most unusual shops in London. Perfect if you want to get a quirky gift.
As its name suggests, this is a shop selling vintage stuff but it doesn't just stop at magazines. You'll find posters, books, music, mugs and little gifts. The shop is a slightly messy treasure trove and you can lose yourself just browsing. 
It is with serious regret that on Thursday, 29-September-2016 that this Soho gem has finally closed down their doors for good. It has become yet another causality for independent shops in central London, due to the landlords obviously increasing rents, which go up every year.      

The Vintage Magazine shop will be missed immensely, and I have to say it had quite a few interesting things on offer for film fans, cinema goers and media & arts researchers, and people who simply browsing.

Nina by Langston, 1965

I have had this Nina Simone EP (thats an Extended Play, 4 track 45rpm record, 2 tracks each side, for any new kids who never know vinyl records) since I was a teenager in 1965. 
We loved Nina back then, particularly her "I Put A Spell On You" which hit the charts, and this title track: "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood") as per my recent post on her, see label. The other tracks are "The Laziest Gal In Town" (a Marlene Dietrich classic), "Don't Take All Night" and "Nobody". 

Looking at it now, the sleeve notes by Langston Hughes capture it all perfectly, even now, 50 years later.....

"She is strange. So are the plays of Brendan Behan, Jean Genet, LeRoi Jones, and Bertholt Brecht.

She is far-out, and at the same time common. So are raw eggs in Worcestershire and The Connection.

She is different. So was Billie Holiday, St Francis, and John Donne. So in Mort Sahl. She is a club member, a coloured girl, an Afro-American, a homey from Down Home. She has hit the Big Town, the big towns, the LP discs and the TV shows – and she is still from down home. She did it mostly all by herself. Her name is Nina Simone.

She has a flair, but no air, she has class but does not wear it on her shoulders. Only chips. She is unique. You either like her or you don’t. If you don’t, you won’t. If you do – whee-ouuu-eu!  You do!

Why should one like Nina Simone because she sings a song differently? Plenty of singers sing songs differently. But many singers strain so hard to be different, pay arrangers so much money to make their songs sound different, but have no convictions themselves about what they are singing, and so seem hollow, artificial, fake, and wrong when they sing a song. Nina Simone is as different as beer is from champagne, crackers from crepes suzettes, Eastland from Adam Powell, Houston from Paris – each real in their way, but oh! how different – and how fake it is if it is not Houston you want, but the “city of light”.

The letters l-i-v-e that spell LIVE mean exactly the same as the letters N-i-n-a that spell NINA. As for that word SIMONE, be cool Jack, be cool! And listen to this record." 

Hughes (1902-1967) was a well known  poet, activist, novelist and playwright, who ticked all the boxes: black and gay (like James Baldwin or Billy Strayhorn, also popular at that time). He died aged 65 in 1967, 

Jeanne and the perfect guy

Another French flick we had not heard of here in the UK, as presumably it never played here. I would have heard of it or read about it and would have wanted to see it. Well, better late than never. It crossed me radar as being a previous film of the team behind the current THEO & HUGO, another highly praised gay romance. 

Directed in 1998 by the duo Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau, JEANNE AND THE PERFECT GUY fascinates on several levels. The perfect guy is Mathieu Demy, son of French directors Jacques Demy and Agnes Varda - favourites of ours here at The Projector, see labels. Jeanne is Virginie Ledoyen (of THE BEACH and Ozon's 8 WOMEN).  The blurb puts it nicely:

"Only France could have produced a charmingly eccentric bonbon like JEANNE AND THE PERFECT GUY, In its heart and soul its a direct descendant of UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG and THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT, one thing that distinguishes it is its sexual candour The sight of the young lovers cuddling in bed and singing sweet nothings gives the movie a jolt of romantic heat!" says the New York Times.

Always in a hurry, Jeanne is a beautiful young woman with a profusion of boyfriends, Then one day she meets Olivier the true love she has been searching for. When Olivier tells Jeanne that he is HIV positive, she refuses to get upset. Her devotion to Olivier is intense and unswerving. 

I can't begin to say how much I liked this, its delightful and with those resonances of Demy's father's films. (Demy senior in fact did die of HIV complications in 1990).  It covers gay issues, aids, sex, love, and compassion; pity though the score isn't by Demy regular Michel Legrand ...
We will now be looking forward to Ducastel & Mathie's THEO & HUGO, and I am going back for their COTE D'AZUR, another comedy of manners from 2006 ...

Two Bosie's ....

Interesting for us theatre folk to see two actors who have played Lord Alfred Douglas in David Hare's THE JUDAS KISS, together in a new revival of Tom Stoppard's TRAVESTIES, currently a sell-out at London's Menier Chocolate Factory, hopefully it will get a west end transfer. The witty play features wordplay on Oscar Wilde and dialogue from his THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST. 

Tom Hollander was Bosie in the 1998 original production, with Liam Neeson, as Oscar, which I enjoyed back then, Tom was a very petulant Bosie, as was Freddie Fox in the Rupert Everett version a couple of years ago, which was brilliant too (more on that at Oscar, Rupert labels). They must have had a lot to talk about the part ... Busy year for young Fox - that recent CUCUMBER and PRIDE, and also Romeo this summer in that recent ROMEO AND JULIET, reviewed recently (Shakespeare label). Tom of course also also been very busy with THE NIGHT MANGER and DR THORNE,

Since You Went Away, 1944

This perfect wartime drama was never on my radar or never showed up on television in the decades I have been watching, so seeing it or the first time is rather good now. Another perfect 1940s Hollywood Dream Factory creation, by producer David Selznick and directed by John Cromwell, shot by Lee Garmes and music score by Max Steiner; it really showcases Jennifer Jones (soon to be Mrs Selznick) after her success in THE SONG OF BERNADETTE in 1943. 

Like MRS MINIVER in '42 about those plucky Brits, this one focuses on the American home front and those women left at home (it starts with a closeup of those home fires burning) while their menfolk are overseas, some will not return ....

Plucky wife Claudette Colbert tries to hold it all together for her daughters Jennifer and teenage Shirley Temple (rather endearing here). 
Of course she has the requisite large comfy home (as in A LETTER TO THREE WIVES) and the married folk have single beds, and a devoted black maid/housekeeper/cook - yes, its Hattie McDaniel. Theres Agnes Moorehead as a bitchy neighbour - a stretch for Agnes - and the great silent star Nazimova too. The grumpy paying guest is none other than Monty Woolley (THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER) and sterling Joseph Cotton is the family friend and ex-beau of Claudette's Anne. No extra-marital shenanigans here! 

Two young guys stand out: Robert Walker plays Monty's nephew who is shipped overseas and has a lot of screen time with Jennifer (they were married then..., their son Robert Walker Jr became an actor too, popular for a while in the 1960s)  and just for a minute or two, Guy Madison - a real marine - as a marine here who certainly makes an impression, it launched his career after the war. (See my main post on him, below, or at label). 

Walker went on to that other perfect '40s  wartime romance, Minnelli's THE CLOCK with Judy, in 1945; his other standout role being Bruno in Hitchcock's STRANGERS ON A TRAIN in 1951 (the year he died aged 32, one of Hollywood's sadder stories,).      .

Its emotional and compelling and overlong, and you may require a hanky to wipe away a tear or two - there may be rather too many lush close-ups of Jennifer (one of the few stars who did not appeal to me). Its a great Hollywood creation from that Golden Age, up there with MRS MINIVER and MEET ME IN ST LOUIS.  I liked the cutaway shots of the two cats watching the humans too. 
What is fascinating now is how these wartime dream factory creations create such a cosy glow at a terrible time where dreadful things were happening in Europe with the concentration camps in full swing .....

RIP, continued ...

George Barris (1922-2016) at the grand age of 94. The uninitiated may wonder who, but Barris was maybe the last of those those great photo-journalists from the Golden Age - check Eve Arnold and Bob Willoughby, labels below, and like them he too took some amazing photographs of Marilyn Monroe. I have lived with Barris's pictures since the '60s, and had some good prints, and like Arnold he also did a book of them. He was also good friend with MM and captures her nicely in his writings on her, He later moved to Paris. 

He of course took those final pictures of her in July 1962 on the beach at Mailibu and also at a house, showing that new sleek radiant Marilyn - who only had a month more to live .... so here's one or two of them again .... 
(lots more at MM label).



Rod Temperton (1949-2016) aged 66. Surprisingly the British songwriter and musician from Cleethorpes wrote those massive hits for the Michael Jackson albums OFF THE WALL and THRILLER, due to his association with Quincy Jones, as Temperton was part the funk band Heatwave in the '70s. I particularly liked his "Love Is In Control" and others for Donna Summer in '82, and George Benson's "Give Me The Night", James Ingram's "Yah Mo B There" as well as hits for Patti Austin and Herbie Hancock, and Quincy's THE DUDE and BACK ON THE BLOCK albums. We need to replay them.