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New Photos Added: Humphrey Bogart, Johnny Depp, David Cronenberg, THE LADIES’ MAN, Jaclyn Smith, Michael Curtiz, Jerry Lewis, etc.

May 4th, 2008 by Scott Marks

Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall in Howard Hawks\' THE BIG SLEEP (1946)


Milton Berle - Ad for The Milton Berle Private Archive Collection

Humphrey Bogart - 12 Photos

Celebrity Endorsements
Wilford Brimley for Quaker Oatmeal
Tommy Lasorda for Slim-Fast
Jaclyn Smith for Max Factor 2nd Nail, 1988

Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby & William Holden in The Country Girl

David Cronenberg


David Cronenberg - 12 Photos

Michael Curtiz - 2 Photos

Johnny Depp - 3 Photos from John Waters Cry-Baby

The Eddie Murphy MDA Telethon


The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon - 9 Parade Magazine covers and 3 Ads

The Ladies’ Man - Lobby Card Set

Jerry Lewis - 8 Photos

George Lucas, Enemy of Cinema - 1 Photo directing American Graffiti

S.C.T.V - 1 Photo

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THE BELLS OF ST. MARY’S / Leo McCarey (1945)

December 22nd, 2007 by Scott Marks

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The Bells of St. Mary’s
Directed by Leo McCarey
Written by Dudley Nichols from a story by Leo McCarey
Starring: Bing Crosby, Ingrid Bergman, Henry Travers, Joan Carroll & Rhys Williams
Running Time: 126 min.
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1

Rating: ★★★★★

When people ask if a sequel has ever surpassed its original, Godfather II and The Bells of St. Mary’s are always the first that come to mind. (Gremlins II runs a close third.) Long before the second installment of the Corleone family trilogy, Bell’s had the distinction of being the first sequel to be nominated for a best picture Oscar, and coincidentally makes a stellar cameo appearance on the Radio City Musical Hall marquee in The Godfather.

Fancy yourself a contemporary filmmaker hired to tell the story of Father O’Malley (Matt Damon in the role originated by Bing Crosby), a showbiz priest assigned a position at an urban Parochial school following the former Pastor’s mental breakdown brought about after spending years “up to his neck in nuns.” Once established, Father O’Malley falls in love with Sister Mary Benedict (sinful Angeline Jolie as Saintly Ingrid Bergman), a tubercular nun, all the while helping a prostitute’s daughter (Mylie Cyrus substituting for Joan Carroll) get an education. In addition to a earning a compulsory G rating, the final cut has to be sprinkled with a handful of musical numbers.

Nowadays, it would probably be easier to film The Bible in real time, but for Leo McCarey the success of The Bells of St. Mary’s seemed preordained. The story had been with him since childhood. His aunt, Sister Mary Benedict helped build Hollywood’s Immaculate heart Convent and died of typhoid fever. This was also a follow-up to the the director’s Paramount smash Going My Way. McCarey wrote the story before Going My Way which was originally intended to be Bells’ sequel.

Normally, films about nuns leave me cold. Who wants to see Audrey Hepburn in The Nun’s Story when it’s made clear by the title that sparkling romance will never enter into it? Only Leo McCarey, the man whom, according to Jean Renoir, understood people better than any Hollywood director, could have slipped this material past the censors.

It should come as no surprise that McCarey, the man who first teamed Laurel with Hardy, is able to find delicate humor in the most unlikely of places. O’Malley’s arrival at St. Mary’s is shown as a calamitous series of sight gags capped off by the original, and funniest, cat-in-the-hat. Other laughs come from a yawning dog in church and a performance of the nativity story by an all-toddler cast.

I know how crazy this must sound to you. Am I actually recommending a film rife with puppy and kitty cutaways, cute kids and Bing Crosby? You bet! Not Der Bingle’s biggest fan, he’s actually superb in the role. For two hours I believed that Bing Crosby was a munificent soul. That’s acting! In Going My Way, Bing is up to his big ears in a vat of sentimental goop almost on par with either visit to Boy’s Town. The Bell’s of St. Mary’s is anything but cloying. It’s insightful, heartfelt and in many ways more uplifting than It’s a Wonderful Life. It even features Henry Travers one film before gaining winged immortality as Capra’s Clarence.

An unsuccessful attempt at explaining the gray box grafted over the studio name and copyright date on both the feature and trailer: Even though Going My Way brought Paramount needed recognition and bushels of cash, they chose not to pop for the sequel. Made under the banner of McCarey’s Rainbow Productions, Inc., the film was distributed by R. K. O. In 1957, National Telefilm Associates (NTA) obtained the theatrical rights and for years, all prints bore their logo. The U. S. video rights are controlled by Republic Pictures, and while their otherwise immaculate copy not only lacks the introductory R. K. O. tower, the telecine operator was instructed to obliterate all studio mentions.

Finally, this from imdb.com to further underscore the director’s intention of making his film a romantic love story. “The production was overseen by a Catholic priest who served as an advisor during the shooting. While the final farewell sequence was being filmed, Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman decided to play a prank on him. They asked director Leo McCarey to allow one more take, and, as ‘Father O’Malley’ and ‘Sister Benedict’ said their last goodbyes, they embraced in a passionate kiss, while the offscreen priest-advisor jumped up roaring in protest. “

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Remember when a carton of cigarettes made the perfect Christmas gift?

December 18th, 2007 by Scott Marks

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Bob Hope wasn’t much of a cigarette smoker, but he never turned down a chance to pick up a paycheck from the American Tobacco Growers. Arthur Godfrey belonged to restricted country clubs and publicly berated friend of THE Telethon Julius LaRosa. No great loss when he finally checked out. Bing’s dreaming of a white Christmas and black lungs, and as for Perry Como, he was cool even without a smoke.

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ROAD TO BALI / Hal Walker (1952)

December 27th, 2006 by Scott Marks

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Road to Bali (1952)
Directed by: Hal Walker
Written by: Frank Butler & Hal Kanter
Genres: Comedy, Musical
Cast: Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Murvyn Vye, Peter Coe, Ralph Moody, Leon Askin, Michael Ansara, Herman Cantor, Sue Casey, Larry Chance, Leslie Charles, Jack Claus, Jean Corbett, Harry Cording, Bob Crosby, Roy Gordon, Bernie Gozier, Carolyn Jones, Jan Kayne, Richard Keene, Al Kikume, Donald Lawton, Bunny Lewbel, Judith London, Charles Mauu, Patti McKay, Allan Nixon, Betty Onge, Satini Pualoa, Jane Russell, Kuka Tuima, Douglas Yorke
Aspect Ratio: 1.37 : 1

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

The sixth ‘Road’ picture was the last to be produced by Paramount and the only one budgeted for color (Technicolor, no less!). Not unlike later-period Elvis vehicles, the writers assumed that audiences knew exactly what to expect, and completely dispensed with any pretense of an opening. The musical passages, particularly Bing’s flaccid, rear-screen rendition of To See You, also have something in common with The King:they fail to reach the visual sophistication of any of the numbers in Follow that Dream.

The picture kick-starts in backlot Melbourne with the boys performing a buck-and-wing to the spirited Chicago Style, and it’s pretty much downhill from there. At one point during the opening, Hope, who is positioned stage left, is pulled into the wings by a soon-to-be-spurned fiancé and her father. The cut to Hope offstage is clearly taken from the perspective of stage right. Hey, how ’bout that violently insane screen direction, huh? Continue reading ROAD TO BALI / Hal Walker (1952)

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