Categories
Archives
-

-
Recent Posts
- “I prefer a national film to an international film.” — Jean-Paul Belmondo
- “Sometimes I can sing it when I can’t say it.” — Carl Perkins
- “I never wanted to be this famous. I never imagined this life for myself.” — Kristen Stewart
- 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Henry IV, Part 2
- “I never was good at sightseeing yet it must be done.” — William Wordsworth
- “It sounds like something from a Woody Guthrie song, but it’s true; I was raised in a freight car.” — Merle Haggard
- 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Henry IV, Part 1
- “There won’t be another Bette Davis. There can’t be.” Mitchell and I discuss Bette Davis
- “I’d marry again if I found a man who had fifteen million dollars, would sign over half to me and guarantee that he’d be dead within a year.” — Bette Davis
- In the Criterion Closet
Recent Comments
- Bryce on The Books: “Nine Stories”- ‘The Laughing Man’ (J.D. Salinger)
- sheila on March 2026 Snapshots
- Troy on March 2026 Snapshots
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Henry IV, Part 1
- Ian on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Henry IV, Part 1
- sheila on Happy Birthday, Dean Stockwell
- jeanie laub on Happy Birthday, Dean Stockwell
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Henry IV, Part 1
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Henry IV, Part 1
- Bryan Summers on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Henry IV, Part 1
- sheila on In the Criterion Closet
- DBW on In the Criterion Closet
- sheila on Coming soon …
- sheila on March 2026 Snapshots
- Maddy on Coming soon …
- Maddy on March 2026 Snapshots
- sheila on March 2026 Snapshots
- Dan on March 2026 Snapshots
- Sheila on “Life was bitter and I was not. All around me was poverty and sordidness but I refused to see it that way. By turning it into jokes, I made it bearable.” — Max Shulman
- Robert McCarville on “Life was bitter and I was not. All around me was poverty and sordidness but I refused to see it that way. By turning it into jokes, I made it bearable.” — Max Shulman
-
Tag Archives: Richard Widmark
November 2018 Viewing Diary
Mr. Soul! (2018; d. Melissa Haizlip) The opening night film of Indie Memphis, which already feels like it was 20 years ago. I wrote about it briefly in my recap of the festival for Ebert. It’s a gorgeous film. Supernatural, … Continue reading
January 2016 Viewing Diary
“30 for 30” Chasing Tyson (2015; d. Steve Cantor) I love the 30 for 30 series on ESPN but had never seen this one, the story of Evander Holyfield’s pursuit of Mike Tyson. I’ve got a Tyson thing. I loved … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Abbas Kiarostami, Bill Murray, Channing Tatum, France, Iranian film, Italy, J. Miller Tobin, Japan, Rebecca Hall, Richard Widmark, Sofia Coppola, Supernatural, war
23 Comments
Don’t Bother to Knock (1952); Director: Roy Ward Baker
Yesterday, June 1, was Marilyn Monroe’s birthday. Here is a look at an under-rated performance, that of the babysitter in “Don’t Bother to Knock”, co-starring Richard Widmark. “I rather think that had she endured, had she come ten years later, … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies
Tagged Anne Bancroft, Don't Bother to Knock, Marilyn Monroe, Richard Widmark
10 Comments
20 Favorite Actors
Joining the fun that’s been going on, and to quote Nathaniel who started this whole thing: “In no particular order and extremely subject to change.” For example: where the hell is Robert Mitchum? And William H. Macy? And Sean Penn … Continue reading
Posted in Actors
Tagged Cary Grant, Dean Stockwell, Ewan McGregor, Gary Cooper, Gene Hackman, George Sanders, Humphrey Bogart, Jack Nicholson, James Cagney, Jeff Bridges, John Wayne, Johnny Depp, Kurt Russell, Marlon Brando, Mickey Rourke, Paul Newman, Richard Widmark, Robert Duvall, Russell Crowe, Thomas Mitchell
32 Comments
Don’t Bother To Knock (1952); Dir. Roy Baker
“I rather think that had she endured, had she come ten years later, maybe it would have been different. But at that time – I mean, she came in at the height of the Hollywood system – and she was … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged Anne Bancroft, Don't Bother to Knock, Marilyn Monroe, Richard Widmark
26 Comments
“Why Must Women Have To Be So Normal?”
The wonderful Kim Morgan has a piece up about Don’t Bother to Knock with Marilyn Monroe and Richard Widmark (rest in peace). I remember Alex telling me I HAD to see this movie, somehow I had missed it, although I … Continue reading
Trains, criminals … beauty …
oh … and a glimpse of Richard Widmark in a crowd: One of the Art of Memory’s gorgeous train travel posts. (Here’s another in that ongoing series).
Richard Widmark: tributes
A terrific in-depth obituary in The Washington Post. David Thomson had this to say about Widmark in his awesome The New Biographical Dictionary of Film: Widmark came into movies a little later than most male stars, already in his early … Continue reading Continue reading

