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- 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- “I don’t represent anything.” — Liz Phair
- “I don’t really know why, but danger has always been an important thing in my life – to see how far I could lean without falling, how fast I could go without cracking up.” — William Holden
- “Some syllables are swords.” — Metaphysical poet Henry Vaughan
- “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- “All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl.” — Charlie Chaplin
- “As a cinematographer, I was always attracted to stories that have the potential to be told with as few words as possible.” — Reed Morano
- “Even though I’m writing about very dark material, it still feels like an escape hatch.” — Olivia Laing
- “It’s just one of the mysteries of filmmaking that sometimes you do something that you don’t even think it’s important, then it turns out to be.” — Lili Horvát
- “Ballet taught me to stay close to style and tone. Literature taught me to be concerned about the moral life.” — Joan Acocella
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Tag Archives: Irene Dunne
My Ideal New Year’s Eve Party … Is Fictional
I’m not much for New Year’s Eve (I have already covered this), and I’m not much for big parties anymore, nor am I into people who can’t hold their liquor. My friend Ann Marie calls New Years Eve “open mic … Continue reading
December 2015 Viewing Diary
Christmas, Again (2015; d. Charles Poekel) So good. I reviewed for Rogerebert.com. Back Street (1932; John M. Stahl) Back Street is the story of a woman who allows herself to be a “back street” woman: a long-time mistress to a … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Alfred Hitchcock, Belfast, dance, England, Greta Gerwig, Hal Ashby, Howard Hawks, Hungary, Ingmar Bergman, Iran, Iranian film, Ireland, Irene Dunne, Jennifer Lawrence, Joan Crawford, John Wayne, Kentucker Audley, Poland, Rocky, Star Wars, Supernatural, Sweden, Truffaut, Turkey
63 Comments
September 2015 Viewing Diary
I got a pretty big writing assignment this past month, with a deadline of October 5. So I’ve been working hard, researching, as the below list will probably show. Not ready to talk about it yet, still working on the … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies
Tagged Agnes Varda, Alan Ladd, Anna Karina, Canada, Charles Vidor, Charlton Heston, Claude Chabrol, Dana Andrews, documentary, Doris Day, Elizabeth Taylor, England, France, Fred Astaire, Fritz Lang, Gilda, Gloria Grahame, Guillermo del Toro, Iran, Iranian film, Irene Dunne, J. Miller Tobin, Jafar Panahi, James Cagney, Jean-Luc Godard, John Wayne, Laura Dern, Maggie Smith, Marilyn Monroe, Mélanie Laurent, Mexico, Otto Preminger, Out of the Past, Paul Thomas Anderson, Ramin Bahrani, Rita Hayworth, Robert Mitchum, Supernatural, Terrence Malick
159 Comments
Happy Birthday, Archie Leach
I first saw the light of day — or rather the dark of night — around 1:00 a.m. on a cold January morning, in a suburban stone house which, lacking modern heating conveniences, kept only one step ahead of freezing … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, On This Day
Tagged Cary Grant, Gene Wilder, Howard Hawks, Irene Dunne, Katharine Hepburn, Peter Bogdanovich, Rosalind Russell
23 Comments
“Me Jujitsu Too!”
In a movie full of great scenes, the scene that starts this clip is my favorite. First, we have Cary Grant’s confrontation with the butler at the door. He wants to go in, the butler will not let him. Cary … Continue reading
Trains In Cinema
Another breathtaking montage (it’s part of a series). I get really excited when he posts a new installment. Just beautifully put together, I think. I love the train sequence in Penny Serenade – right after Cary Grant and Irene Dunne … Continue reading
Archie Leach day: “Me jujitsu too!”
The Awful Truth has been described as a “tuning fork” for other comedies, and it’s obvious why. The tone of this film is so light, so crazed, so assured – the laughs come like clockwork – you know you are … Continue reading
Archie Leach day: The Awful Truth
Sylvia Scarlett was the first inkling of the success that was to come – but the movie itself was a flop. The Awful Truth was an enormous success and it made Cary Grant a huge star.
Posted in Actors, Movies
Tagged Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Leo McCarey, Sylvia Scarlett, The Awful Truth
Comments Off on Archie Leach day: The Awful Truth
Penny Serenade (1941): An Appreciation
A sweet (sometimes saccharine) and wonderfully acted movie, directed by George Stevens, starring Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. It was the first time Cary Grant was nominated for an Oscar, mainly because of the one scene where he goes before … Continue reading