RIP Mario Adorf. From Peckinpah and Argento, to Minnelli and Wilder, to Fassbinder and Chabrol, he alternated popular hits like Ten Little Indians and auteur films like Io conoscevo bene throughout his long career.
If you want to see a tour de force performance by Nathalie Baye, don’t miss Le petit lieutenant. Her portrayal of a hard bitten police commander is superb. She will be missed.
Nathalie Baye’s powerful screen presence suited beautifully her role in La fleur du mal, where she played a seasoned local politician in the midst of a deliciously intiguing criminal investigation.
Nathalie Baye’s presence was a seal of international quality in big productions such as Catch me if you can, where she played Leonardo DiCaprio’s mother.
My favorite Nathalie Baye performance might be Une liaison pornographique. Love her commanding sensuality and elegant frankness in this adult depiction of sexual attraction.
It took Nathalie Baye’s serene appeal to portray a likeable character in the very controversial Beau-père. A ray of light in the strained atmosphere of the film.
Nathalie Baye’s elegant beauty suited perfectly François Truffaut’s universe in films like L’homme qui aimait les femmes, where she was the embodiment of French casual chic.
Love Nathalie Baye’s disarming naturalness in early small roles like Catherine in Mado. She always seemed confident in front of a camera.
RIP Nathalie Baye. One of the greatest in an outstanding generation of French actresses. From her very start as the script girl in La nuit américain (“I’d never drop a film for a guy!”), she worked with some of my favorite directors, from Truffaut & Sautet to Spielberg & Chabrol.
A very intense aesthetic experience. When you visit Toledo, try not to miss El Greco Museum Farran. It houses his apostles, gorgeous work.
Happy Joan Lorring centennial! She played vivacious characters in two dark, mysterious films I love, The lost moment and Three strangers.
Happy Jane Withers centennial! From cheeky child stars to character actress in films like Giant, you could always tell she was having a ball being in front of a camera.
Happy Roger Corman centennial! He directed some of the most beautifully crafted horror films, such as The tomb of Ligeia. Every time I see him in The Godfather Part II, I think about his role in launching the careers of the greatest new Hollywood directors, Coppola included.
RIP Mary Beth Hurt. She was great as the wounded daughter of an impossibly snob woman in Interiors. Loved her also in The age of innocence, where her character served as a warning to Countess Olenska on the dangers of falling from NY elite’s grace.
Cobb was terrific. Love the whole cast in Lumet’s version.
The actress on a nighttime film set
Marie Laforêt by Sam Lévin
Charenton-le-Pont
Did he play Lee J. Cobb’s part? When I started watching Hollywood classics, I tended to confuse Cobb and Scott.
Happy Francisco Rabal centennial! From international star in films like L’eclisse, to dean of Spanish character actors in films like Los santos inocentes, to auteur films like L’homme qui a perdu son ombre, he was a titan of European cinema.
Happy Andrzej Wajda centennial! I still haven’t recovered from watching Katyn some years ago. While honoring his father, killed in Katyn, and his mother, who searched for the truth for years, he left us an overwhelming depiction of the atrocities of war.
Happy Cesare Danova centennial! His playboy looks and manners were tailor made for the decadent sophistication of films like Tender is the night. It was great to see him at the top of his game in Mean streets.
From the inmortal consiglieri Tom Hagen in The Godfather saga, to mysterious conspirator in The conversation, to villainous TV executive in Network, Robert Duvall graced the screen in several era-defining films. An acting titan has left us.
RIP Robert Duvall. From innocent Boo Radley in To kill a mockingbird, to loathsome cuckold husband in The chase, to sanctimonious Army Major in M.A.S.H., he was one of the game-changing actors in the transition from classic to new Hollywood.
Happy John Schlesinger centennial!!! From swingin’ 60s London in Darling to late 60s sleazy NY in Midnight cowboy to America’s 70s conspiracy atmosphere in Marathon man, he was an era-defining director.
The actress poses, head to one side, smoking a cigarette.
Danielle Darrieux by Boris Lipnitzki, 1935
Darrieux is only 18 here. Her 80+ year career is the longest in film history. She died at 100 in 2017.
Absolutely classic.
RIP Bud Cort. From M*A*S*H, to Pollock, to The life aquatic with Steve Zissou, he created distinctive characters (besides Harold) throughout his interesting career.
Happy Leslie Nielsen centennial! From disaster films like The Poseidon adventure to king of parody and slapstick in films like The naked gun: from the files of police squad!, his deadpan delivery was his trademark in several box-office hits.
RIP Catherine O’Hara. This hurts bad. Thinking about her performances in films like Home alone, humanity is the quality that first comes to mind. No matter how nutty, her comic characters were relatable human beings. It might had to do with her warm gaze… She will be missed.
Happy Ingrid Thulin centennial!!! She was one of the breed of mid-century international stars who alternated Bergman’s masterpieces as Wild strawberries, Hollywood superproductions as The 4 horsemen of the Apocalypse and auteur film maudits as The damned. Fascinating career.
Happy Dolores Moran centennial! Her claim to inmortality has to be her role as the sultry, adventurous woman in trouble helped by Bogart and Bacall in To have and have not.
From Broadway to Hollywood, Simone Signoret’s memories of her visits to the US are captivating. From meeting Henry Fonda, Katharine Hepburn or Vivien Leigh, to befriending Marilyn and Arthur Miller, to irking Hedda Hopper, to winning the Oscar… Just enthralling.