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Tag Archives: Lon Chaney
Present Tense: Female Comedians
For my next column at Film Comment, I wrote about actresses who come from a comedy/improv background, and the special gifts they bring to bear in dramatic material. Featuring a couple of interviews I did with circus people, and also … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies
Tagged Catherine O'Hara, Kristen Wiig, Lily Tomlin, Lon Chaney, Meryl Streep, Present Tense, Robert Altman
2 Comments
Happy Birthday, Lon Chaney
Like so many great clowns, Lon Chaney had a huge and tragic soul, at the heart of his persona was an abyss of sadness. He plays a clown, but he gives deeply tragic performances of towering stature. He’s overwhelming to … Continue reading
Year in Review: Running my mouth in 2014
I may write some magnum opus in the next two days, you never know, but here are links to some of the things I’ve written in 2014, here and elsewhere. I have worked hard to keep my site an eclectic … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Movies, Music, Personal
Tagged Alfred Wertheimer, Anna Magnani, Austria, Carroll Baker, Christopher Hitchens, Claude Rains, Eli Wallach, Elvis Presley, Eminem, France, friends, Gena Rowlands, Germany, Harry Potter, Howard Hawks, Inherent Vice, Iran, Iranian film, Israel, Italy, Jafar Panahi, Japan, Jim Jarmusch, Joan Crawford, John Cassavetes, Juliette Binoche, Kristen Wiig, Kwik Stop, Lars von Trier, Lauren Bacall, Lester Bangs, Liv Ullmann, Lon Chaney, Love Streams, Mark Twain, Martin Scorsese, Nicolas Cage, Orpheus Descending, Palestine, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Poland, Richard Linklater, Romania, Russia, Seth Rogen, Seymour Cassel, Sudden Fear, Supernatural, Sweden, Tennessee Williams, The Beatles, The Everly Brothers, Tommy Lee Jones, Trotsky, war, year in writing, Zac Efron
14 Comments
Ebertfest 2014: He Who Gets Slapped (1924)
One of the highlights of Ebertfest this year (and we’re not even done yet) is getting a chance to see the 1924 silent film He Who Gets Slapped on the gigantic Virginia Theatre screen, surrounded by a packed house, and … Continue reading
Laugh, Clown, Laugh (1928)
Starring Lon Chaney as Tito the clown and Loretta Young as Simonetta, the young orphan-girl Tito rescued when she was a baby, who now is a tightrope-walker in his act. Chaney’s heartbreaking performance has always reminded me of my friend … Continue reading