Search Results for: joan bennett

December 13, 2014 By iluvcinema Leave a Comment

Meta ….

I mean there is a LOT of movie related news that has come across in the past couple of weeks. I mean LOADS. So instead of creating separate posts for each, I decided to aggregate those that piqued my interest the most. So here they go – in no particular order. Enjoy!

Sony Pictures Hacking Scandal

Many suspect that this is a cyber attack courtesy of North Korea, in ‘retaliation’ for the The result has been the trickling release of some very interesting emails that are equal parts, embarrassing, illuminating and hilarious. I suspect the overall impact will be minimal, save leaving a few tactless executives a little red-faced. Pro-tip: if you are using company email, it is not private. Save potentially incendiary commentary for the face-to-face meeting.

TCM Remembers …

The folks over at Turner Classic Movies get me every time. Their touching tribute is a wonderful homage to those in the world of cinema that have passed. Very classy as always TCM, very classy.

NYC Classic Film Retrospectives

Starring Joan Bennett @ MoMA. Started earlier this month and running through the end of January, the films featured will cover Bennett’s transition from ingenue to smoldering femme fatale.
Orson Welles at Film Forum. Ring in the new year with a five week retrospective on the filmmaker. Films in the series include Citizen Kane (of course), The Magnificent Ambersons, Touch of Evil (release and restored version) and many many other over the auteur’s decades-long career.

Sundance 2015

This past Monday, the films selected for narrative and documentary premieres (out of competition) were announced. Just looking through the list, ones to look out for include:

Brooklyn
I Am Michael
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution

As it is still early days, stay tuned to this space for more updates.

Its Awards Nomination Season (Again)

It is now at the point where there are too many awards out there to count, so I will keep my general observations based on the SAGs and GGs. My reaction? Pretty meh for the moment, because I look at the list I see a few notables that I did have the pleasure of catching but then also a couple of films that regardless of the praise heaped upon them, I will very likely be a “miss” for me, film snobbery be damned. I am personally at the point where it is becoming fairly predictable which films/performances will be highlighted at year’s end and subsequently rewarded with awards recognition.

Speaking of Which …

Going to see Selma this Monday; look out this upcoming week for my thoughts.

Thoughts on any of the topics covered in this post? Hit the Comments section.

February 27, 2013 By iluvcinema 2 Comments

Happy Birthday (Times Two)!

Just wanted to dedicate a little space to extend birthday felicitations to two leading ladies of the silver screen, who ironically enough, shared the screen in the classic films, Father of the Bride and Father’s Little Dividend.

First, there was …

The Mother of the Bride (Joan Bennett)

Ms. Bennett is unfortunately not well renowned for her work nowadays by large swaths of movie lovers, but in her time she sure did leave a mark – for my money at least – in some great classic film noirs. One that I particular liked was Woman in the Window, having previously written about the film on my blog.

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… and there is the Bride herself (Dame Elizabeth Taylor), who I have also covered on this site on the sad occasion of her passing a couple of years ago. She is also personal favorite of my Mom, who singled out her performance in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof as one of her all-time favorites (Mom has taste).

What are some of your favorite films featuring one (or both) of these actresses? Share your picks below

December 27, 2011 By iluvcinema 6 Comments

Tuesday’s Overlooked Film: Woman in the Window (1944)

Hope everyone had a restful and enjoyable holiday weekend. Well I am back with my latest edition of the weekly series, Tuesday’s Overlooked Film. Again, special thanks to Todd Mason of Sweet Freedom for collecting all the contributions.

This week, I thought I had a film all lined up, but then I read a post by frequent commenter to this site, ‘Jack Deth,’ on the website, Front Room Cinema. His post was about the Top Ten Femme Fatales. As one may have guessed, many of them came from the film movement/genre known as film noir. That immediately put me in a noir-ish mood, having also just recently sat through TCM’s ‘Noir Christmas.’

This inspiration lead me to the 1944 feature, The Woman in the Window, directed by Fritz Lang. It starred Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett and Dan Duryea. It is based on J. H. Wallis’ novel Once Off Guard.

At the beginning of the film, our protagonist, the milquetoast Professor Wanley (Robinson) is headed towards his gentlemen’s club while his family is away. He passes a shop window and sees an oil painting of the lovely Alice Reed (Bennett). After a night in the club, Wanley departs only to run into the subject of the painting in the flesh. This chance encounter leads Wanley and the audience on an unexpected journey that comes to a shocking conclusion.

At the time of its release, The Woman in the Window was a minor critical and commercial success. But as with many things, over time, this film became forgotten by the masses – with the exception of the most ardent of noir fans.

This principle cast and director would collaborate again in 1945’s Scarlet Street.