EPISODE 59 - "POLITICS: THROUGH THE LENS OF CLASSIC CINEMA" - 10/28/2024
As we all get ready to go to the polls and vote in what might be the most important election of our lives, we wanted to take a look at politics in the films of old Hollywood. This week, we explore the movies that reflected the politics and the issues of the day and left an indelible mark on cinema. From labor wars in New Mexico to a mayor’s race in New England to the early years of Abraham Lincoln, join us as we take a look at some great political movies.
SHOW NOTES:
Sources:
Hearst Over Hollywood (2002), by Louis Pizzitola;
Pictures at A Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of a New Hollywood (2008), by Mark Harris;
Hollywood’s White House (2010), by Peter C. Rollins and John E. O’Connor;
The Great Depression on Film (2022), by David Luhrssen;
“The Best Man Took On Cutthroat Campaigning,” August 21, 2024, The Hollywood Reporter;
“How Blacklisted Hollywood Artists Joined Forces to Make a Truly Subversive film,” June 6, 2024, forward.com;
“Subversives: Salt of the Earth,” UCTV
TCM.com;
IMDBPro.com;
IBDB.com;
Wikipedia.com;
Movies Mentioned:
Gabriel Over the White House (1933), starring Walter Huston, Karen Morely, Franchot Tone, Dickie Moore, David Landau, Arthur Byron, Jean Parker, and C. Henry Gordon;
Salt of the Earth (1954), starring Juan Chacón, Rosaura Revueltas, Mervin Williams, Henrietta Williams, and Virginia Jencks;
The Great McGinty (1940), starring Brian Donlevy, Muriel Angelus, Akim Tamiroff, William Demarest, Allyn Joslyn, Louis Jean Heydt, Thurston Hall, Jimmy Conlin, and Arthur Hoyt;
The Best Man (1964), starring Henry Fonda, Cliff Robertson, Edie Adams, Margaret Leighton, Ann Sothern, Lee Tracy, Shelley Berman, Kevin McCarthy, and Gene Raymond;
The Last Hurrah (1958), starring Spencer Tracy, Jeffery Hunter, Dianne Foster, Pat O’Brien, Basil Rathbone, Donald Crisp, James Gleason, John Carradine, Willis Bouchey, Ricardo Cortez, Ken Curtis, Frank Albertson, Anna Lee, and Jane Darwell;
The Parallax View (1974), starring Warren Beatty, Paula Prentiss, William Daniels, Walter McGinn, and Hume Cronyn;
Three Days of the Condor (1975), starring Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson, Max von Sydow, John Houseman, Addison Powell, Tina Chen, Walter McGinn, Michael Kane, Carlin Glynn, and Hank Garrett;
Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940), starring Raymond Massey, Ruth Gordon, Gene Lockhart, Mary Howard, Minor Watson, Howard Da Silva, and Alan Baxter;
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EPISODE 58 - "CLASSIC CINEMA'S HORROR HEROES: BELA LUGOSI & BORIS KARLOFF" - 10/21/2024
When you think of the classic Universal Studios monster movies of the 1930s and 1940s, the two names that come to mind are always BORIS KARLOFF and BELA LUGOSI. These two titans of the horror film genre gave us endless hours of chills and thrills in their portrayal of such iconic movie monsters as Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, and The Mummy. This week’s Halloween episode pays tribute to the films and lives of these two incredible actors.
SHOW NOTES:
Sources:
Karloff: The Life of Boris Karloff (1972), by Peter Underwood;
The Films of Boris Karloff (1974), by Richard Bojarski;
Lugosi: The Forgotten King (1986), Documentary;
Boris Karloff: More Than a Monster (2011), by Stephen Jacobs;
No Traveler Returns: The Lost Years of Bela Lugosi (2916), by Gary D. Rhodes & Bill Kaffenberger;
Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff (2017), by Gregory William Mank;
Boris Karloff: A Gentleman’s Life (2018), by Scott Allen Nollen;
Lugosi: The Rise and Fall of Hollywood’s Dracula (2023), by Koren Shami;
“Actor Bela Lugosi, Dracula of Screen, Succumbs After Heart Attack at 73, August 17, 1956, Los Angeles Times;
“Boris Karloff Dead: Horror-Movie Star,” February 4. 1969, New York Times;
“Boris Karloff Dies In London Hospital at 81,” February 4, 1969, Los Angeles Times;
“In ‘The Black Cat,’ the Titans of Terror, Karloff and Lugosi, Face Off,” Oct. 26, 2018, New York Times;
BelaLugosi.com
RogerEbert.com
TCM.com;
IMDBPro.com;
IBDB.com;
Wikipedia.com;
Movies Mentioned:
BELA LUGOSI:
The Silent Command (1923);
The Thirteenth Chair (1929);
Dracula (1931);
Freaks (1932);
Mark of the Vampire (1935);
Murder In the Rue Morgue (1932);
Island of Lost Souls (1932);
The Black Cat (1934);
The Raven (1935);
Ninotchka (1939), starring Greta Garbo;
Son of Frankenstein (1939), starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi;
Black Friday (1940);
You’ll Find Out (1940);
The Devil Bat (1940);
The Saint’s Double Trouble (1940);
The Wolf Man (1942);
The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942);
The Corpse Vanishes (1942);
Bowery At Midnight (1942);
Ghosts on the Loose (1943);
Zombie’s on Broadway (1945);
The Body Snatcher (1945);
Genius At Work (1946);
Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948);
Plan 9 From Outer Space (1957);
BORIS KARLOFF:
The Lightning Raider (1919);
The Hope Diamond Mystery (1920);
The Deadlier Sex (1920);
The Hellion (1923);
Omar The Tentmaker (1922);
Dynamite Dan (1924);
Tarzan and the Golden Lion (1927);
The Criminal Code (1930);
Frankenstein (1931);
Scarface (1932);
The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932);
The Mummy (1932);
The Ghoul (1933);
Gift of Gab (1934);
The Invisible Ray (1935);
The Raven (1935);
The Bride of Frankenstein (1935);
The Son of Frankenstein (1939);
Mr. Wong, Detective (1938);
Black Friday (1940);
You’ll Find Out (1940);
House of Frankenstein (1944);
The Body Snatcher (1945);
Isle of the Dead (1945);
Bedlam (1946);
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947);
Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (1948);
The Strange Door (1951);
The Black Castle (1952);
The Island Monster (1954);
The Raven (1963);
The Terror (1963);
Die, Monster, Die! (1965);
Caldron of Blood (1968);
How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966);
Targets (1968);
The Crimson Cult (1968);
Fear Chamber (1968);
House of Evil (1968);
Isle of the Snake People (1971);
The Incredible Invasion (1971);
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EPISODE 57 - “Old Hollywood’s Unlikely Casanova: Gene Markey” - 10/14/2024
GENE MARKEY was an interesting character. He was a Hollywood writer and producer who had a decent, but not spectacular career. But what makes him so fascinating is the company he keeps. This man was once married to three of the most beautiful and fascinating women in the world: JOAN BENNETT, HEDY LAMARR, and MYRNA LOY. He later left Hollywood behind and married a wealthy Kentucky horsewoman and lived happily ever after. This week we explore the life, career, and loves of this most unlikely Casanova.
SHOW NOTES:
Sources:
Ecstasy and Me (1966), by Hedy Lamarr
Myrna Loy: Being and Becoming (1987), by James Kotsilibas & Myrna Loy
The Bennetts: An Acting Family (2004), by Brian Kellow;
Hollywood at the Races: Film's Love Affair With The Turf (2019), by Alan Shuck;
Hedy Lamarr: The Most Beautiful Woman in Film (2021), by Ruth Barton;
“Gene Markey, Author, Screenwriter, Producer, and Breeder of Horses Dies,” May 2, 1980, New York Times;
TCM.com;
IMDBPro.com;
IBDB.com;
Wikipedia.com;
Movies Mentioned:
The Floradora Girl (1930), starring Marion Davies;
The Great Lover (1931), starring Adolphe Menjou & Irene Dunne;
She Wanted A Millionaire (1932), starring Joan Bennett & Spencer Tracy;
As You Desire Me (1932), starring Greta Garbo;
Baby Face (1933), starring Barbara Stanwyck;
Little Women (1933), starring Katharine Hepburn, Frances Dee, Joan Bennett, & Jean Parker;
Midnight Mary (1934), starring Loretta Young;
Fashions of 1934 (1934), starring Bette Davis;
Champagne Charlie (1936), starring Paul Cavanaugh;
Private Number (1936), starring Loretta Young & Robert Taylor;
Girl's Dormitory (1936), starring Ruth Chatterton;
Wee Willie Winkie (1937), starring Shirley Temple;
On The Avenue (1937), starring Dick Powell, Madeleine Carroll & Alice Faye;
Suez (1938), starring Tyrone Power & Loretta Young;
Kentucky (1938), starring Loretta Young, Richard Greene, & Walter Brennan;
The Little Princess (1939), starring Shirley Temple;
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939), starring Basil Rathbone;
Lillian Russell (1940), staring Alice Faye;
Algiers (1938), starring Charles Boyer & Hedy Lamarr;
Lady of The Tropics (1939)
Boom Town (1940), starring Clark Cable, Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr & Claudette Colbert;
The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946), starring Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews & Teresa Wright;
Moss Rose (1947), starring Victor Mature & Peggy Cummins;
The Bachelor and The Bobby-Soxer (1947), withCary Grant, Myrna Loy, & Shirley Temple;
The Song Of The Thin Man (1947), starring William Powell & Myrna Loy;
Mr. Blanding Builds His Dream House (1948), starring Cary Grant & Myrna Loy;
Cheaper By The Dozen (1950), starring Clifton Webb, Myrna Loy, & Jeanne Crain;
Glory (1955) starring Margaret O’Brien;
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EPISODE 56 - “MARJORIE REYNOLDS: CLASSIC CINEMA STAR OF THE MONTH” - 10/07/2024
Most film fanatics agree that after the Paramount Picture’s holiday classic “Holiday Inn” (1942), actress MARJORIE REYNOLDS, who gave a star-turn as struggling actress Linda Mason who gets a break singing and dancing in the seasonal nightclub run by BING CROSBY, should have been a big star. However, for reasons not quite clear, she didn’t rise into the stratosphere. While she had a very respectable and long career, she just didn’t soar to the top, as expected. As our Star of the Month, we will take a look into Marjorie Reynolds’ life and career and explore our theories on why “Holiday Inn” did not make her a major star.
SHOW NOTES:
Sources:
Christmas In the Movies (2023), by Jeremy Arnold;
Whatever Became of…10th Series (1986), by Richard Lamparski;
My Heart Belongs (1976), by Mary Martin;
Scarlet Fever (1977), by William Pratt (including the collection of Herb Bridges);
The Film Lovers Companion (1997), by David Quinlan;
Biography of Marjorie Reynolds, July 25, 1942, Paramount Pictures;
“Super Cinderella,” November 1942, by William Lynch value, Silver Screen magazine;
“Marjorie’s Horse Comes In,” November 7, 1942, by Kyle Crichton, Collier’s Magazine;
Versatility Pays Off for Marjorie Reynolds,” March 10, 1944, by Hedda Hopper, Los Angeles, Times;
“Divorce Plans Discussed by Miss Reynolds,” July 23, 1951, by Hedda Hopper, Los Angeles, Times;
“Marjorie Reynolds to Be Wed to Film Editor,” May 16, 1952, Los Angeles, Times;
“Marjorie Reynolds Weds Film Editor,” May 18, 1953, The Sedalia Democrat (Missouri);
“Marjorie Reynolds: Sixty Years in the Film Business,” April 1984, by Colin Briggs, Hollywood Studio Magazine;
“Marjorie Reynolds, 79, Actress, In Classic Films and on Television,” February 16, 1997, The New York Times;
TCM.com;
IMDBPro.com;
IBDB.com;
Wikipedia.com;
Movies Mentioned:
Holiday Inn (1942), starring Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds, & Virginia Dale;
Wine, Women, and Song (1933), starring Lilyan Tashman;
Murder In Greenwich Village (1937), starring Richard Arlen & Fay Wray;
Tex Rides With The Boy Scouts (1937), starring Tex Ritter;
The Overland Express (1938), starring Buck Jones;
Western Trails (1938), starring Bob Baker;
Six Shootin’ Sheriff (1938), starring Ken Maynard;
Star Spangled Rhythm (1942), starring Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Veronica Lake, & Alan Ladd;
Dixie (1943), starring Bing Crosby & Dorothy Lamour;
Up In Mabel's Room (1944), starring Dennis O’Keefe & Gail Patrick;
Ministry of Fear (1944), starring Ray Milland;
Three Is A Family (1944), starring Charles Ruggles & Fay Bainter;
Bring On The Girls (1945), starring Veronica Lake & Eddie Bracken;
Monsieur Beaucaire (1946), starring Bob Hope & Joan Caulfield;
The Time Of Their Lives (1946), starring Bud Abbott & Lou Costello;
Meet Me On Broadway (1946), starring Fred Brady & Spring Byington;
Heaven Only Knows (1947), Bob Cummings & Brian Donlevy;
Badmen of Tombstone (1949), starring Barry Sullivan & Broderick Crawford;
That Midnight Kiss (1949), starring Mario Lanza & Kathryn Grayson;
The Great Jewel Robber (1950), starring David Brian;
Home Town Story (1951), starring Jeffry Lynn, Alan Hale Jr, & Marilyn Monroe;
Models, Inc (1952), starring Howard Duff & Coleen Gray;
His Kind of Woman (1951), starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell, & Vincent Price;
The Silent Witness (1962), starring Tristram Coffin & George Kennedy;
Pearl (1978), starring Angie Dickinson, Dennis Weaver, & Robert Wagner;
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EPISODE 55 - “Favorite Classic Films of the 1950s ” - 09/30/2024
** This episode is sponsored brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BENEATH and get on your way to being your best self.” **
The 1950s was a real transitional decade for classic films. As we got further away from WW2, and the Cold War began to rise up prominently, there was a cynicism across the land that influenced the content of many Hollywood movies. Films took on a grittier, more realistic feel, and the subject matters were darker and more controversial. It was the decade that sparked masterpieces like “Sunset Boulevard,” “All About Eve,” “From Here To Eternity,” “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof,” “A Streetcar Named Desire,” “Anatomy of a Murder,” “ Strangers on a Train,” “Shane,” and “High Noon.” Listen as Steve and Nan talk about some special 1950s films that inspire them.
SHOW NOTES:
Sources:
TCM.com;
IMDBPro.com;
Wikipedia.com;
NewYorkTimes.com
RogerEbert.com
Movies Mentioned:
No Man of Her Own (1950), starring Barbara Stanwyck, John Lund, and Richard Denning;
In A Lonely Place (1950), starring Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame;
A Place In The Sun (1951), starring Montgomery Cliff, Elizabeth Taylor, and Shelley Winters;
Pick Up On South Street (1953), starring Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Thelma Ritter, and Richard Kiley;
Witness For the Prosecution (1957), starring Charles Laughton, Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, and Elsa Lanchester;
A Face In The Crowd (1957), starring Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, Lee Remick, Walter Matthau, and Anthony Franciosa;
Big Country (1958), starring Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Burl Ives, Charles Bickford and Charlton Heston;
Indiscreet (1959), starring Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman;
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EPISODE 54 - "SPECIAL GUEST: PERI GILPIN TALKS OLD HOLLYWOOD" - 09/23/2024
** This episode is sponsored brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BENEATH and get on your way to being your best self.” **
We all know her as the hilarious and acerbic radio producer Roz Doyle on the iconic sitcom “Frasier,” and on the reboot currently airing on Paramount Plus. This week, we have a sit-down interview with actress PERI GILPIN. Peri discusses her love of classic films, the films that inspired and influenced her, and the classic film stars who she has had the good-fortune to work with. Tune in to this very special episode.
SHOW NOTES:
Sources:
TheStudioTour.com;
TCM.com;
IMDBPro.com;
IBDB.com;
Wikipedia.com;
Movies Mentioned:
Shell (2024), starring Elizabeth Moss and Kate Hudson;
Please Don’t Eat the Daisies (1960);
Pillow Talk (1959);
Move Over Darling (1963);
The Thrill of It All (1963);
Switch (1991);
The Importance of Being Earnest (1952);
Tootsie (1982);
Bringing Up Baby (1938);
The Philadelphia Story (1940);
All About Eve (1950);
Star Wars (1977);
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969);
North By Northwest (1959);
The Godfather (1972);
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956);
Sense and Sensibility (1995);
The Sound of Music (1965)
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EPISODE 53 - “Tribute to Gena Rowlands” - 09/16/2024
** This episode is sponsored brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BENEATH and get on your way to being your best self.” **
When screen legend GENA ROWLANDS passed away last month at the age of 94, she left behind a film and TV legacy that will undoubtedly influence artists for decades to come. She was an acting titan who changed the way modern audiences looked at acting. From her historic independent movies with husband JOHN CASSAVETES to mainstream Hollywood to powerful performances in iconic television films, Rowlands’ performances were always honest, complicated, and emotionally raw. There was just no one like her; and there never will be again. This week, we pay tribute to her endearing legacy on and off the screen.
SHOW NOTES:
Sources:
Cassavetes on Cassavetes (2001), by Ray Carney;
In The Moment: My Life As An Actor (2004), by Ben Gazzara;
“Family First, Says Pretty Blonde,” November 16, 1963, The Tribune (South Bend, IN);
“I Want It All…Husband…Children…Career!” June 1975, by Ronald Bowers, Photoplay;
“NBC Offers Drama About AIDS,” November 11, 1985, by John J. O’Connor, The New York Times;
“To Mom With Love: Gena Rowlands’ Son Directs Her Latest Film,” February 23, 1997, by Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press;
“Idol Chatter: Gena Rowlands,” 1999, by Al Weisel, Premiere Magazine;
“Shop Talk: Actress Gena Rowlands, Not Much of a Shopper, Tells Tales,” February 15, 2002, by Gwen Davis, The Wall Street Journal;
“Gena Rowlands On Pioneering The Indie Film Movement With Her Late Husband John Cassavetes,” November 13, 2015, by Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter;
“Oscar Goes To Gena Rowlands,” November 14, 2015, by Susan King, Los Angeles Times;
“And The Honorary Oscar Goes To…” November 20, 2015, by Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter;
“The Notebook’s Gena Rowlands Has Alzheimer’s, Is in Full Dementia,” June 25, 2024, by Cara Lynn Shultz, People Magazine;
“Gena Rowlands, Actress Who Brought Raw Drama To Her Roles, Dies at 94,” August 14, 2024, by Anita Gates, New York Times;
TCM.com;
IBDB.com;
Movies Mentioned:
The High Cost of Loving (1958), starring Jose Ferrer;
Lonely Are the Brave (1962), starring Kirk Douglas;
The Spiral Road (1962), starring Rock Hudson;
A Child is Waiting (1963), starring Burt Lancaster, Judy Garland;
Tony Rome (1967), starring Frank Sinatra;
Faces (1968), starring John Cassavetes;
Minnie and Moskowitz (1971), starring Seymour Cassel;
A Woman Under the Influence (1974), starring Peter Falk;
Opening Night (1977), starring John Cassavetes, Ben Gazzara;
A Question of Love (1978), starring Jane Alexander;
The Brink’s Job (1978), starring Peter Falk;
Gloria (1980), starring John Adams;
Tempest (1982), starring John Cassavetes;
Love Streams (1984), starring John Cassavetes;
Thursday’s Child (1984), starring Don Murray;
An Early Frost (1985), starring Aidan Quinn, Ben Gazzara;
The Betty Ford Story (1987), starring Josef Sommer;
Another Woman (1988), starring Mia Farrow;
Once Around (1991), starring Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter;
Night On Earth (1991), starring Winona Ryder;
Face of A Stranger (1992), starring Tyne Daly;
Crazy In Love (1992), starring Holly Hunter;
The Neon Bible (1995), starring Jacob Tierney;
Unhook The Stars (1996), starring Marisa Tomei;
She’s So Lovely (1997), starring Sean Penn;
Hope Floats (1998), starring Sandra Bullock;
Hysterical Blindness (2003), starring Uma Thurman;
The Notebook (1999), starring Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams;
Broken English (2007), starring Parker Posey;
Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks (2014), starring Cheyenne Jackson;
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EPISODE 52 - "BIG SCREEN TO SMALL SCREEN: CLASSIC CINEMA'S TV REMAKES." (052) - 09/09/2024
** This episode is sponsored brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BENEATH and get on your way to being your best self.” **
Sometimes, a classic film is primed for being turned into a successful television series — think “M*A*S*H*,” “Alice,” “In The Heat of the Night,” or “Peyton Place.” But this isn’t always the case. There have been many classic films turned into TV shows with less-than-stellar results. Does anyone remember the “Casablanca" TV show on ABC with Starsky & Hutch star DAVID SOUL filling in for HUMPHREY BOGART? Don’t worry, nobody else does either! This week, we take a look at a few of the TV series that were based on classic movies that didn’t quite hit the mark.
SHOW NOTES:
Sources:
Television Series of the 1950s (2016), by Vincent Terrace;
Encyclopedia of TV Shoes: 1925 - 2010 (2011), by Vincent Terrace;
The Complete Directory To Prime Time Network TV Shows (1988), by Time Brooks and Earle F. Marsh;
TCM.com;
IMDBPro.com;
Wikipedia.com;
Movies Mentioned:
Operation Petticoat (1959), starring Cary Grant, Tony Curtis, Dina Merrill, and Arthur O’Connell;
Halloween (1978), starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence;
Topper (1937), starring Cary Grant, Constance Bennett, Roland Young, and Billie Burke;
How To Marry A Millionaire (1953), starring Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell;
The Third Man (1949), starring Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles, Trevor Howard, and Alida Valli;
My Sister Eileen (1942), starring Rosalind Russell and Janet Blair;
My Sister Eileen (1955), starring Janet Leigh, Betty Garrett, and Jack Lemmon;
Please Don’t Eat The Daisies (1960), starring Doris Day and David Niven;
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), starring Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison;
Casablanca (1942), staring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Peter Lorre, and Sydney Greenstreet;
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EPISODE 51 - “Richard Conte (Star of the Month) ” - 09/02/2024
** This episode is sponsored brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BENEATH and get on your way to being your best self.” **
In the great film noir classic Thieves Highway, a gripping drama that takes on the dirty underbelly of the trucking industry, the spectacular RICHARD CONTE plays Nick Garcos, a world-weary, jaded, World War II vet who returns home. After finding his family's produce business in shambles and his father crippled, he seeks revenge against the crooked rival produce dealer who caused his father's accident. In his gripping portrayal, Conte shows his strengths as an actor. With his square shoulders, cleft chin, and intense eyes, Conte gives the impression that he means business. Conte was just as comfortable playing mobsters and street hoods as he was playing charming, sympathetic leading men. He always projected manly strength, and you knew he was no one you wanted to mess with. So say hello to our Star of the Month, RICHARD CONTE.
SHOW NOTES:
Sources:
Bad Boys: The Actors of Film Noir (2003), by Karen Burroughs;
“Conte In the Sun,” March 3, 1946, by Thomas M Pryor, New York Times;
“A Star Comes Home,” March 3, 1950, by Louis Berg, Los Angeles Times Magazine;
“The Role I Liked Best…” May 20,1950, by Richard Conte, Saturday Evening Post;
“Richard Conte: Official Biography,” June 14, 1951, Universal Pictures;
“Conte Forms Indie Pix, TV Company,” January 21, 1960, Variety;
“Conte Has His Own Method,” February 14, 1960, by Don Albert, Los Angeles Times;
“Actor Conte, Wife Reveal Divorce,” July 12, 1962, by Harrison Carroll. LA Herald Examiner;
“Richard Conte Getting Offers He Can’t Refuse As Ideal Mafia Type,” March 14. 1973, Variety;
“Richard Conte, Cold-Eyed Movie Gangster, Dies at 61;” April 16, 1975, by Jack Jones, Los Angeles Times;
“Richard Conte Dies In Hollywood at 65,” April 23 1975, Variety;
TCM.com;
IMDBPro.com;
Wikipedia.com;
Movies Mentioned:
Heaven With A Barbed Wire (1939), starring Jean Rogers and Glenn Ford;
Guadalcanal Diary (1943), Starring William Bendix, Lloyd Nolan, and Anthony Quinn;
The Purple Heart (1944), starring Dana Andrews and Farley Granger;
Captain Eddie (1945), starring Fred MacMurray and Lynn Bari;
A Bell For Adano (1945), starring Gene Tierney and John Hodiak;
A Walk In The Sun (1945), starring Dana Andrews. Lloyd Bridges, and John Ireland;
The Spider (1945), starring Faye Marlowe;
13 Rue Madeleine (1947), starring James Cagney;
The Other Love (1947), starring Barbara Stanwyck and David Niven;
Call Northside 777 (1948), starring James Stewart and Helen Walker;
House of Strangers (1949), starring Susan Hayward;
Thieves Highway (1949), staring Lee J. Cobb and Valentina Cortese
Big Jack (1949), starring Wallace Beery and Marjorie Main;
Whirlpool (1950), starring Gene Tierney and Jose Ferrer;
The Sleeping City (1950), starring Coleen Gray
Under The Gun (1951), starring Audrey Totter;
The Blue Gardenia (1953), starring Anne Baxter;
Highway Dragnet (1954), starring Joan Bennett;
The Big Combo (1955), starring Cornel Wilde;
I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955). Starring Susan Hayward;
New York Confidential (1955), Starring Broderick Crawford;
Full of Life (1956), starring Judy Holiday;
The Brothers Rico (1957), starring Dianne Foster;
They Came To Cordova (1959), starring Gary Cooper and Rita Hayworth;
Ocean's 11 (1960), starring Frank Sinatra;
Who's Been Sleeping In My Bed? (1963), starring Dean Martin;
Circus World (1964), starring John Wayne and Rita Hayworth;
The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965);
Tony Rome (1967);
The Lady In Cement (1968);
Hotel (1967);
Operation Eagle Cross (1968);
The Godfather (1972);
Shoot First, Die Later (1974);
Evil Eye (1975);
Violent Rome (1975);
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EPISODE 50 - “Birthday Tribute to Classic Film star Vera Miles” - 08/26/2024
** This episode is sponsored brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BENEATH and get on your way to being your best self.” **
After placing 3rd runner up to Miss America in 1948 as Miss Kansas, VERA MILES soon embarked on a long and illustrious career in Hollywood and was soon working with great directors like ALFRED HITCHCOCK (“Psycho” and “The Wrong Man”) and JOHN FORD (“The Searchers” and “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”). This week, we pay tribute to Miles as she turns 95 on August 23rd. Listen as we celebrate this beautiful, talented, and somewhat underrated star.
SHOW NOTES:
Sources:
Hitchcock’s Heroines (2018), by Caroline Young;
Women In The Films of John Ford (2014), by David Mevel;
“Vera Miles: Country Girl in Hollywood,” May 13, 1956, by J.D. Spiro, Los Angeles, Times;
“Vera Miles: She’s Alfred Hitchcock’s Newest Acting Find,” January 13, 1957, Parade Magazine;
“Vera Miles Says: I’m Glad I Was Poor,” May 1959, by Amy Francis, Screenland Magazine;
“Vera Miles: Official Biography,” September 1961, Paramount Pictures;
“The Loser Who Became A Star,” May 15, 1973, by Earl Wilson, The New York Post;
“Fighting Trim Vera Miles Still A Doer,” February 20, 1981, by Mark Hemeter, The Times-Picayne (New Orleans);
“Psycho Actress Defends Hitchcock,” June 25, 1983, by Richard Freedman, The Spokesman-Review, Newhouse News Service;
“Vera Miles: Hollywood Walk of Fame,” June 29, 2010, by Carina MacKenzie, Los Angeles Times;
TCM.com;
IMDBPro.com;
Wikipedia.com;
Movies Mentioned:
For Men Only (1952), starring Paul Henried;
The Rose Bowl Story (1952), starring Marshall Thompson;
The Charge At Feather River (1953), starring Guy Madison and Helen Westcott;
Pride of the Blue Grass (1954), starring Lloyd Bridges;
Tarzan’s Hidden Jungle (1955), starring Gordon Scott;
Wichita (1955), starring Joel McCrea;
The Searchers (1956), starring John Wayne and Jeffrey Hunter;
The Wrong Man (1956), starring Henry Fonda;
Beau James (1957), starring Bob Hope;
Web Of Evidence (1959), starring Van Johnson;
The FBI Story (1959), starring James Stewart;
A Touch Of Larceny (1960), starring James Mason and George Sanders;
5 Banded Women (1960), starring Jeanne Moreau;
Psycho (1960), starring Anthony Perkins, Janey Leigh, and John Gavin;
Back Street (1961), starring Susan Hayward and John Gavin;
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), starring John Wayne and James Stewart;
A Tiger Walks (1964), starring Brian Keith;
Those Calloways (1965), starring Brian Keith, Brandon De Wilde, and Linda Evans;
Follow Me Boys! (1966), starring Fred MacMurray;
The Spirit Is Willing (1967), starring Sid Caesar;
Gentle Giant (1967), starring Dennis Weaver and Ralph Meeker;
Hellfighters (1968), starring John Wayne and Katharine Ross;
The Wild Country (1970), starring Steve Forrest;
One Little Indian (1973), starring James Garner;
The Castaway Cowboy (1974), starring James Garner;
Run For The Roses (1977), starring Stuart Whitman;
Smash Up On Interstate 5 (1976), starring Robert Conrad, Buddy Ebson, Sue Lyon, Terry Moore, and Tommy Lee Jones;
Psycho II (1983), starring Anthony Perkins;
The Initiation (1984), starring Clu Galugar and Daphne Zuniga;
Separate Lives (1995), starring Linda Hamilton and Jim Belushi;
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EPISODE 49 - “Birthday Tribute to Classic Cinema Star Ann Blyth ” - 08/19/2024
** This episode is sponsored and brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BENEATH and get on your way to being your best self.” **
With her crystal clear soprano voice, porcelain doll face, and fierce acting talent, ANN BLYTH became a much-in-demand star in the 1940s and 1950s. While known mostly as a romantic musical comedy star in films such as “Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid” (1948), “Rose Marie” (1954), and “Kismet” (1955), she was also a deft dramatic actress when given the chance. Who can forget her as Veda, the daughter who made JOAN CRAWFORD’s life a living hell in “Mildred Pierce” (1945), or as the downtrodden alcoholic singer in “The Helen Morgan Story” (1957)? Blyth turns 96 on August 16th and is truly a living legend. Listen this week as we pay tribute with an episode about Ann Blyth’s remarkable life and career.
SHOW NOTES:
Sources:
Ann Blyth: Singer, Actress, Star (2018), by Jacqueline T. Lynch;
“Ann Blyth: Official Biography,” July 1956, Paramount Pictures;
“Film Actress Breaks Back in Accident,” March 10, 1945, LA Examiner;
“Actress Ready to Work After Skiing Accident,” January 18, 1946, LA Examiner;
“Ann Blyth’s Mother Dies,’ July 23, 1946, Los Angeles Times;
“Bright Future Visioned For Youthful Ann Blyth,” September 10, 1949, by Hedda Hopper, Los Angeles Times;
“Angelic Annie,” September 27, 1952, by Richard G. Hubler, Collier’s Magazine;
“The Blyth Spirit,” October 12, 1952, by William Brownell, New York Times;
“Ann Blyth: Bride of the Year,” June 1953, Photoplay Magazine;
“A Blyth Spirit From An Earlier Error,” February 28, 1985, by Jack Hawn, Los Angeles Times;
“She’s Still Singing Just As Beautifully,” March 19, 1989, by Mitchell Smyth, Toronto Daily Star;
“Looking Back: Ann Blyth” June 5, 1990, by Ann Blyth, The Hollywood Reporter;
“Playing Thier Songs,” October 14,1994, by Libby Slate, Los Angeles Times;
“Little Bit of This, Little Bit of That,” September 29, 1997, by Candace A. Wedlan, Los Angeles Times;
“Not Like Veda,” August 12, 2013, by Susan King, Los Angeles Times;
TCM.com;
IMDBPro.com;
Wikipedia.com;
Movies Mentioned:
Chip Off The Old Block (1944), starring Donald O’Connor, and Peggy Ryan;
Babes On Swing Street (1944), starring Peggy Ryan;
Mildred Pierce (1945), starring Joan Crawford, Ann Blyth, Zachary Scott, Jack Carson, and Eve Arden;
Swell Guy (1946), starring Sonny Tufts;
Brute Force (1947), starring Burt Lancaster, Yvonne DeCarlo, and Ella Raines;
Killer McCoy (1947), starring Mickey Rooney;
A Woman’s Vengeance (1948) starring Charles Boyer;
Another Part of The Forest (1948), starring Fredric March, Florence Eldridge, Edmond O’Brien, and Dan Duryea;
Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948), starring William Powell and Irene Hervey;
Top O’ The Morning (1949), starring Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald;
Once More My Darling (1949), starring Robert Montgomery;
Free For All (1949), starring Robert Cummings:
Our Very Own (1950), starring Farley Granger;
Katy Did It (1951), starring Mark Stevens;
The Great Caruso (1951), starring Mario Lanza;
Thunder On the Hill (1951), starring Claudette Colbert;
All The Brother’s Were Valiant (1953), starring Robert Taylor, Stewart Granger;
Rosie Marie (1954), starring Ann Blyth;
The Student Prince (1954), starring Mario Lanza;
Kismet (1955), starring Howard Keel;
Slander (1957), starring Van Johnson and Steve Cochran;
The Buster Keaton Story (1957), starring Donald O’Connor;
The Helen Morgan Story (1957), starring Paul Newman;
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