BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: FILM #26

TV LISTING FOR SUEZ IN THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE (1986)

Suez••• (1938) - Tyrone Power, Loretta Young. Story 
based on the monumental effort to build the 
Panama Canal.

end of column item in The New Yorker (November 3, 1986)
**

WATCHING PATRICIA NEAL GRIN

"Watching Patricia Neal grin is like tasting ice cream for
the veryv first time."
Rex Reed in Conversations in the Raw
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CHARLIE CHAPLIN'S FLEA ROUTINE & KAY BALLARD

The classic flea routine that Chaplin performs in his 1952 film "Limelight" was taken verbatim from Ballard's cabaret act, an idea she had hired a young Mel Brooks to script for her.

iMDb Trivia for Kay Ballard
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WATCHING ROMAN POLANSKI DIRECTING YVONNE FURNAUX IN REPULSION,
or arrogant director as God

"To maintain the film's tension, the director constantly
needled cast members, trying to maintain a low hum of resentment 
while the cameras were rolling.
  "Ms. Furneaux eventually complained to Michael Klinger, an
uncredited producer. 'Tell that little bastard to leave me alone,' she was said to have remarked.
  "When Mr. klinger confronted him, Mr.Polanski responded:
'Michael, I know she's a nice girl. She's too bloody nice.
She's supposed to be playing a bitch. Every day I have to 
make her into a bitch.'"

Alex Williams. "Yvonne Furnaux, 98, Actress Who Found Fame
With Fellini," obituary in The New York Times (August 5,2024)
**


THE CHARACTER OF COLONEL SAITO IN THE BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER KWAI

Colonel Saito was inspired by Major Risaburo Saito, who, unlike the character portrayed in this movie, was said by some to be one of the most reasonable and humane of all of the Japanese prison camp commandants, usually willing to negotiate with the P.O.W.s in return for their labor. Such was the respect between Saito and Lieutenant Colonel Toosey (upon whom Colonel Nicholson was based), that Toosey spoke up on Saito's behalf at the war crimes tribunal after the war, saving him from the gallows. Ten years after Toosey's 1975 death, Saito made a pilgrimage to England to visit his grave."

iDMb Trivia
**
THE FIRST GREAT WESTERN MOVIE STAR

Hart went on to become one of the first great stars of the motion picture Western. Fascinated by the Old West, he acquired Billy the Kid's "six shooters" and was a friend of legendary lawmen Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson. He entered films in 1914, and after playing supporting roles in two short films, he achieved stardom the same year as the lead in the feature The Bargain. Hart was particularly interested in making realistic Western films. His films are noted for their authentic costumes and props, as well as Hart's acting ability, honed on Shakespearean theater stages in the United States and England.Beginning in 1915, Hart starred in his own series of two-reel Western short subjects for producer Thomas Ince, which were so popular that they were supplanted by a series of feature films. Many of Hart's early films continued to play in theaters, under new titles, for another decade. In 1915 and 1916 exhibitors voted him the biggest money making star in the United States."
Wikipedia

THE WILLIAM S. HART MUSEUM IN SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA

The Hart Museum showcases Hart's personal belongings and art collection, while the park is home to a herd of American Bison, a vast picnic area, and a series of hiking trails.
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LAURETTE TAYLOR, WHO PLAYED AMANDA IN THE ORIGINAL PRODUCTION OF TENNESSEE WILLIAMS' THE GLASS MENAGERIE, MAKES A SCREEN TEST

"She was so natural that you forgot she was acting. It was as if they had pulled some woman directly off the street and onto the stage. A screen test that Miss Taylor did for one of the major studios in Hollywood is included in Rick McKay's documentary Broadway: the Golden Age (2003). The performance is brilliant, but the studio turned her down because they didn't feel she was acting."
           Kaye Ballard

Kay Ballard, with Jim Hesselman. How I Lost 10 Pounds in 53 years (New York: Backstage Books, 2006)

The First Star Added to the Walk of Fame Belonged to Filmmaker Stanley Kramer

To get the Hollywood Walk of Fame off to a strong start and to drum up excitement, the creators made a sample walk in 1958, which included stars for Olive Borden, Ronald Colman, Louise Fazenda, Preston Foster, Burt Lancaster, Edward Sedgwick, Ernest Torrence, and Joanne Woodward. Although Woodward is often cited as the first recipient, the inaugural star laid at today’s Hollywood Walk of Fame belonged to director/producer Stanley Kramer (It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, The Defiant Ones, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner); it was laid on March 28, 1960, near Hollywood Boulevard and Gower Street. However, Kramer was soon only one among many — 1,558 stars were installed in just the first year alone."

Interesting Facts (August 9, 2024)
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzQVxtwrcnhsGqHRzNQjsVmgLVCT
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WHO'S ON FIRST?

 In the film Arrival the alien creatures are nicknamed Abbott and Costello, who are the Bud and Lou (respectively).
**
MOVIE DIALOGUE

Whenever somebody in a movie says "Don't worry. Nobody's going
to get hurt." you know right away that somebody is going to get hurt
**
PLAYING ME 

Olivier, Barrymore, Brando
Threw up their hands:
“No way! Impossible.” 

Surrounded
By a supporting cast
Of thousands, 

Perhaps 10,000,
I auditioned
For the starring role.

Why shd I always be
The heavy?
Call Cary Grant!

Women
Seated in the front row
Rolled their eyes. 

I forgot my lines,
Stumbled over the good parts.
I cd not sing nor dance, 

Nor get a handle
On what
The Director wanted. 

Went home,
Reread the script.
Not much sex or violence. 

Many good laughs.
I demanded
That the ending Be changed.   

Louis Phillips