Tag Archives: Raoul Walsh

“A good director must be able to inspire whoever he was coaching so that the actor would live the scene. Make-believe must become reality.” — Raoul Walsh

It’s his birthday today. Raoul Wash directed a number of great films (in a career as vast as his, the names stick out), but one also thinks of the great PERFORMANCES in these great films, often from actors who were … Continue reading

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January 2023 Viewing Diary

Friday Night Lights No time like the present. I binged this entire series in a couple weeks. This took commitment, and a couple days of sick leave, while trapped in my hotel room in Memphis, too sick to move. I … Continue reading

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September 2022 Viewing Diary

The Deep End (2022; d. Jon Kasbe) I’m into cults but I actively avoid woo-woo, so somehow Teal Swan escaped my radar. Well, she’s on my radar NOW. This Netflix doc is extraordinary because Teal Swan participated in it, she … Continue reading

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Present Tense: Death Scenes

William Holden, “Sunset Boulevard” For my next “Present Tense” column at Film Comment, I wrote about a long-time obsession – which I have covered from time to time here on my site: Actors performing death scenes. And a tribute to … Continue reading

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June 2016 Viewing Diary

Homeland Season 3, Episode 4 “Game On” (2013; d. David Nutter) Hey, Nutter, what’s up? Thanks for the Supernatural pilot. Going on 12 seasons now, you set it up real good. I have now watched up until Season 5 of … Continue reading

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Mapping Raoul Walsh

A fantastic piece on director Raoul Walsh by my friend Dan Callahan. I’ve seen many, but not all, of Walsh’s films (the man started in the silents), and Dan’s piece has made me eager to see more.

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“The Animal Died In A Slow and Amazed Way.”

Peter Bogdanovich, in his essay on James Cagney in Who the Hell’s in It: Conversations with Hollywood’s Legendary Actors, writes: One of the guests asked [Cagney] how he had developed his habit of physically drawn-out death scenes, probably the best … Continue reading

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James Cagney Appreciation Day

From Who the Hell’s in It: Conversations with Hollywood’s Legendary Actors: One critic wrote of White Heat that only a hard-boiled director like Raoul Walsh could get away with having Cagney — during a terrible migraine attack — sit on … Continue reading

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James Cagney Appreciation Day

From Peter Bogdanovich’s marvelous book, Who the Hell’s in It: Conversations with Hollywood’s Legendary Actors: The year before I had run for Orson Welles a 16mm print of Raoul Walsh’s devastating gangster film starring Cagney, White Heat (1949); Welles had … Continue reading

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