After discussing John Ford, Janet Gaynor and Lee Tracy, we reach Wendy Hiller. I’m a Wendy Hiller fanboy, and I’m about to explain why… Who? One of the most distinctive actresses of the 20th Century, with an inimitable, tremulous voice, arrestingly unusual features and an irresistible presence, guaranteed to wrench your attention away from everything else on screen. She sounds good. Why haven’t I heard of her? The Cheshire-born actress… Read More »
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And Introducing… 3. Lee Tracy
Welcome to the third in a series of beginner’s guides to some of my favourite people in movies. So far, I’ve profiled a great director (John Ford) and an extraordinary actress (Janet Gaynor), now it’s time to focus on one of the coolest actors ever to grace a movie screen: Lee Tracy. Who? The electrifying, motormouth comedian whose career came to a sudden and dramatic halt in the mid-1930s. How… Read More »
And Introducing… 2. Janet Gaynor
Welcome to the second in a series of beginner’s guides to some of my favourite people in movies. Last week’s was all about legendary director John Ford. This week, I’m talking about Janet Gaynor. Who? The diminutive, subtle, uber-expressive leading lady who walked off with the very first Best Actress Oscar, for Sunrise and a couple of Frank Borzage movies: 7th Heaven and Street Angel. She won it for three… Read More »
And Introducing… 1. John Ford
Welcome to the first in a series of beginner’s guides to some of my favourite people in movies. First up is John Ford. If you don’t recognise the name, then this article is for you (don’t worry, there will be jokes). If you do, then why not read on and see if we agree on his high-spots, low marks and career oddities? Who? The great American director. Asked which filmmaker… Read More »
The 10 best films-within-films: Part 2
Last week, we began counting down our favourite films-within-films (FwaFs), those made-up movies that we wish were real. We left you with a cliffhanger. Now here are the finest five FwaFs we’ve ever seen: 5. Another Dawn – from A Star Is Born (Vincente Minnelli, 1954) A sense of “anything you can do…” pervades Minnelli’s remake of the 1937 classic, and the film-within-a-film is a case in point: a 14-minute,… Read More »
The 10 best films-within-films: Part 1
A film-within-a-film (FwaF) can be something very special. It’s a chance for filmmakers to get all postmodern about their job: to pay homage to a hero, indulge a pet passion or poke fun at some deserving target. Always popular, the FwaF has seen something of a resurgence in recent years. Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse project famously featured fake trailers, which have now started to be turned into features,… Read More »
I Wish I Had a River – The Legacy of River Phoenix
As River Phoenix’s final film receives a belated release 19 years after his tragic demise, I thought it fitting to celebrate, arguably, the finest actor of a generation. There is a natural tendency, when somebody famous dies tragically young, to lionise them, to overstate their accomplishments, exaggerate their potential. When they’re also a soulful-eyed, walking pair of cheekbones, the temptation to canonise and eulogise the deceased becomes ever stronger. James… Read More »
