And now it's the Cream of Oaters, mosey doats and oats and the best little house on the Texas prairie. Rory Calhoun ever the box office draw in this unremembered title Dawn at Socorro (1954) The young Piper Laurie who a grew up an orthodox Jew broke into show biz in her teenage years and got her first big break securing a substantial role in 1950's Louisa. And go west young 'maam indeed here she is in this George Sherman ditty.
And like those infamous works of Hogarth, the Rake is perpetually progressing. Not that Rex Harrison himself was, tut tut @ the affair he had with Carole Landis that ended in quote brackets - suicide. Still have respect from him on the ol' silvers and he did grow into his looks if not his emotional intelligence. This stands the test of the time thanks to the Laundering of Gilliat.
The Rake's Progress (1945)
Garner but never forgotten, here is our James in a made-for HBO picture that seldom sees the light of television day. Now what makes this one of particular interest is that frenemy Angel of The Rockford Files, or as his birth certificate calls him- Stuart Margolin, directed this film, did the whole kit and kaboodle including the complete musical score and he even put aside a little window to star in this 1984 curio that was based on a Joseph Wambaugh story - The Glitter Dome.
Margot Kidder is here too, and I ain't joking.
And she was one half of the power couple Cassavetes, the one the only genial genius Gena Rowlands. Whether her roles require her to be subtle or frenetic, it is unequivocal the dame could act, act, act, and did I mention what a tremendous thespian Gena is? In this made for Showtime film from 2003, The Incredible Mrs Ritchie she is seasoned and reasoned, and in this warm and tender film lends further testament to the fact she has serious versatility in her craft. And I j'adore her as much as I j'adore the once yin to her yang Cassavetes.
Jean-Pierre Melville, had an unwavering allegiance to making French noir. His was an unlikely universe, one that was a veritable synthesis of American archetypes - Melville worshiped America's cinema and this passion was cultivated in his own poetic vision, and essentially what we have here is a man's world, a world where the protagonist donned in raincoat and a felt fedora, is highly image conscious. I give you the other side of the auteur with 1950's The Terrible Children
We begin our broadcasting day with That 70s Movie :
Shirley Schrift or as her friends in the Actors Studio referred to her - Shelley Winters, and in all weathers, Shelley was putting out the fire with gasoline, and she was she ever the matriarch of movie of the week. This is an earlier entry from the year 1971 - A Death of Innocence and she is in very capable company with the recently late character actor great; Arthur Kennedy in this that was based on Zelda Popkin's eponymous novel.
