Tag Archives: Joan Fontaine

“I hope I’ll die on stage at the age at 105, playing Peter Pan.” — Joan Fontaine

Posted on October 22, 2024 by sheila

A re-post of the tribute I wrote about Joan Fontaine when she died in December of 2013. She almost made it to her goal. She was 96 years old. It’s her birthday today. While filming “The Women”, in 1939, Joan … Continue reading →

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September/October 2023 Viewing Diary

Posted on December 3, 2023 by sheila

I moved in late September. Again. I found a little cozy apartment, the second floor of a little house, with slanted ceilings, little cubbyhole-eaves everywhere, and a big yard. It’s a 10 minute walk to the beach. I found it … Continue reading →

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Mirrors #16

Posted on September 28, 2023 by sheila

Joan Fontaine’s chilling “mirror moment” in the astonishing Ivy (1947). (Joan Fontaine? Playing an evil woman? Really?? YES.) In this moment, dressed in mourning for her husband – who died somewhat mysteriously – hmmm – she avoids looking in her … Continue reading →

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January 2022 Viewing Diary

Posted on February 14, 2022 by sheila

Crossfire (1947; d. Edward Dmytryk) Went on a little Robert Mitchum kick, thanks to the Criterion Channel. Crossfire came out the same year as Gentleman’s Agreement, and both films deal with anti-Semitism, which was very much on American minds at … Continue reading →

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October 2020 Viewing Diary

Posted on November 3, 2020 by sheila

American Murder: The Family Next Door (2020; d. Jenny Popplewell) Very amateurish. Perhaps interesting to those who weren’t following the case as closely as I was. I’m STILL following the case. Chris Watts seems to think he’s going to be … Continue reading →

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February 2015: Viewing Diary

Posted on March 1, 2015 by sheila

Two Days, One Night (2014; Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne). My friend Dan referred to the movie as a “Sunday school lesson” and, you know, I can see his point. But I found it absolutely riveting, one of the best portraits … Continue reading →

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Year in Review: Running my mouth in 2013

Posted on December 31, 2013 by sheila

Some of the things I’ve written in 2013, for my own site, and also other outlets. Thoughts on Memphis. “Memphis is wounded, and Memphis is obviously depressed. There are a lot of sad ghosts here. But Memphis does not forget. … Continue reading →

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The Books: “Orson Welles: Volume 2: Hello Americans” (Simon Callow)

Posted on November 19, 2008 by sheila

Daily Book Excerpt: Entertainment Biography/Memoir: Orson Welles, Volume 2: Hello Americans, by Simon Callow The second volume of Callow’s huge Orson Welles project (excerpt and discussion of the first volume here), this takes us through a chaotic (or, more so … Continue reading →

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Suspicion

Posted on November 7, 2006 by sheila

Yet another photo of that “ordinary chap“. Yeah, you know. Totally ordinary. Uh huh. Reguluar dude. Hitchcock saw something different in him. Suspicion (that’s him with Joan Fontaine) was Hitchcock’s first attempt to tap into the darkness beneath the gleam. … Continue reading →

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The Glass of Milk in Suspicion

Posted on August 9, 2004 by sheila

Hitchcock put a small light in the glass of milk, so it glowed as Cary Grant ascended the stairs – drawing the attention of the audience – making us wonder: “What the hell is in that glass??” It’s very jarring … Continue reading →

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