Gangster Chic & Patriarchy Toppling? Tell Me About It, Stud.
Monday, September 26, 2016 at 9:30AM On this day in history as it relates to the movies...
1877 Edmund Gwenn is born. Wins the Oscar seventy years or so later as Kris Kringle, helping adults to believe in Santa Claus again in Miracle on 34th Street (and yes, that's one of the all time best wins in Supporting Actor. Do you agree?)
1888 T.S. Eliot, one of the 20th century's great poets, is born. Though few movies are made from his work he did lead to Cats on Broadway. He was played by Willem Dafoe in the movie Tom & Viv (1994)
1898 A true musical genius George Gershwin is born in Brooklyn. Movies and TV shows still use his music today.
gangsters and musicals after the jump
1901 George Raft is born in Hell's Kitchen. Later plays memorable coin flipping gangsters in the movies (Scarface, Some Like It Hot) and was too friendly with real gangsters in life. Joe Mantegna played him in the movie Bugsy ninety years later
1948 Olivia Newton John is born. Without her we don't have movie musicals Grease or Xanadu and the world is an empty barren place
1956 Linda Hamilton is born. Later battles robot assassins from the future; they just keep coming long after Hamilton taps out!
1957 West Side Story opens on Broadway. The next summer it wins only two Tony Awards (scenic design & choreography) losing the big prizes to The Music Man. Positions reverse when the two classics become movies in the early 60s with West Side Story (1961) sweeping the Oscars and The Music Man (1962) winning only one statue.
1960 The very first televised US Presidential debate happens between JFK vs Nixon. They still make movies about both of them. Fifty-six years later it's Clinton vs Trump. Will they be making movies about them in fifty-six years?
1962 "The Beverly Hillbillies" premieres on TV, an instant hit that runs for nine years.
Topple the patriarchy!
1965 Transparent creator and two time Emmy winner Jill Soloway is born in Chicago. Have you watched Season Three yet?
1973 The fine Scandinavian actress Maria Bonnevie (Reconstruction, I Am Dina, Insomnia) is born
1984 Yaniv Schulman who has made an entire career from his breakthrough doc Catfish
1985 "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe," Lily Tomlin's classic one woman show
1986 Crocodile Dundee opens in theaters becoming a huge sleeper hit
2014 Gone Girl opens in theaters. Narrowly misses my personal top ten list and now I regret it because it's kind of essential to its year and endlessly rewatchable, flaws and all
Reader Comments (18)
So many terrific people all born on one day!
Yes Edmund Gwenn's win is one of the best wins.
My top 10 top best supporting actors:
Charles Coburn-The More the Merrier
Edmund Gwenn-Miracle on 34th Street
George Sanders-All About Eve
Gig Young-They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
James Dunn-A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Javier Bardem-No Country for Old Men
Joel Grey-Cabaret
Kevin Kline-A Fish Called Wanda
Melvyn Douglas-Hud
Peter Ustinov-Topkai
Hopefully the repulsive orange man all his loathsome spawn and his odious minions will be forgotten in the dusts of time.
GONE GIRL is indeed essential to its year. Just a great movie and words just can't describe Rosamund Pike's perfect performance. She should have won if it wasn't for a carer honor.
Ugh, I'm not a fan of Grease, but I do like ONJ -- even in that movie. It's always so strange when that happens.
you forgot me! sometime movie goer. but i'm not telling you what year i was born
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAR -- what are you six favorite things about your special day?
thanks nathaniel
1-6: sharing it with olivia
par -- lol. good one.
Happy 54th birthday to the famous Clampett clan. I can recall watching this show in that first season and enjoying it quite a bit. I was 12 years old. The novelty of their situation was very creative, interesting and always hilarious.
Recently, I have been thinking a lot about the show's history. Unfortunately the Hillbillies were never a hit with critics and was only a massive ratings bonanza. The audiences really loved it.
Somehow, there is little in print or online regarding the details surrounding the show and it's cast, crew and creation. Oh sure there is stuff out there but not on a major scale of other TV classics.
The creators and stars of the Beverly Hillbillies have been highly short changed over the years and never received the recognition they deserved. The casting was amazing. The four principles were outstanding and even Miss Jane and Drysdale were terrific. Neither the show nor its cast and crew ever won an Emmy!
OK, the show was never sophisticated and was considered low comedy and farce but for what it was it certainly succeeded on many levels.
I can't praise the cast enough. Irene Ryan was truly amazing, the complex role of Granny was so central to the heart and soul of the story and yet she pulled off this feisty character magnificently. Granny may have been over the top but could slide easily from all around the emotional spectrum. It worked thanks to Irene's talents Apparently from what little I have read Miss Ryan was quite the humanitarian. How I wish I would have somehow know her back int he day.
Then there was Jethro. His body language, expressions and delivery were outstanding Max Baer Jr was the best casting choice to bring Jethro to life. I can't imaging anyone else in that pivotal role. Plus he was great to look at. Elly May (also great to look at) and Jed were most excellent. Their characters fit like a glove and they were consistent and lovable. I believe that the four leads are up there with the rest of greatest TV characters of all time. And poor Paul Henning who created all those rural 1960's TV shows never won an Emmy either.
Long live the Clampett clan! With a special shout out to Miss Irene Ryan!
And....Thanks to Nathaniel for not forgetting The Beverly Hillbillies.
Thanks Craver for saying all I wanted to say! I was indeed surprised when neither Pike nor Gone Girl made your top lists in 2014 Nathaniel, so I'm glad you're coming around to it!
@ Max: And The Beverly Hillbillies started the spin-off phenomenon: Petticoat Junction, Green Acres. Ah, Hooterville. Sam Drucker (Frank Cady) appeared on all three shows.
Am I in the minority that thought Pike as miscast.
MARK - I'm with you. I think she has her ups and downs in the part.
Mike -- i always liked it. It was my 17th favorite of that year and even at the time i kept waffling between anywhere from 20-10.... so the fact that it was that hard to pin down but was definitely always in play and that i watched it more times than most of the higher ranked films shoulda convinced me to put it higher.
The "problem" with Pike's performance is that in the book you LOVE Amy in the first part so it is shocking when she flips. Pike played her as a bitch from the get-go.
Shocked that WEST SIDE STORY only won two Tony awards! Was it too radical at the time for voters?
steve g [and nathaniel] - it was up against my fair lady; the music man was the following tony year
apologies, i've misremembered my tony facts. don't worry, i'm handing in my show queen card
Steve G - while the stage version is good, the film is the rare occurrence that actually improved it - they rearranged the placement of some songs so it made a LOT more sense.