Curio: The Storied Career of Alec Guinness

Alexa here to wish a Happy Centennial to Alec Guinness. Born 100 years ago today to a single mother in London, Guinness' theatre career began in his 20s. It wasn't until after he served in the Royal Navy in World War II that his film career began in earnest, and soon he was playing eight roles in one movie (Kind Hearts and Coronets).  One of his six famously tempestuous collaborations with David Lean, The Bridge on the River Kwai, got him his Oscar for Best Actor, although he was nominated four other times (even for Best Screenplay) and he received an honorary Oscar in 1980. The geeks know him as Obi-Wan, but for me he will forever be Professor Marcus from The Ladykillers (a little obsession of mine).

Here are some vintage curios to celebrate his career in film

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Morning Confession: I've Never Seen an Ali MacGraw Movie

Happy 75th birthday today to Ali MacGraw. "Who?" Some of you might be asking, which is telling.

My first and only significant memory of Ali MacGraw, who was quite famous when I was a child, was seeing her face on the sheet music to the theme from Love Story (1970) that my sister used to play on the piano when I was tiny. I have no idea why I remember this so vividly but I do. I also remember my mom grumbling about the movie's tagline which she said was 'TOTALLY UNTRUE'.

love means never having to say you're sorry

My sister had quite a few movie theme songs on sheet music and the other ones I remember looking at were Ice Castles, Jaws and Star Wars. The only one that I had actually seen was Star Wars. I don't remember seeing it in theaters. My true movie memories don't start until the following year in 1978 with Superman and Return From Witch Mountain. (If you're curious here are two of my earliest movie memories in comic book form)

Ali MacGraw was, in the late 70s / early 80s something of a symbol of flash in the pan movie stardom for complicated but, as I'd come to understand it much later, totally normal celebrity reasons: addictions, tough marriage, unlucky film choices, you name it. But this morning as I went to type this up I made the horrifying realization that I've never seen ANY of her films, no not even Love Story (1970). That's a significant gap in my Oscar viewing since it was nominated for 7 Oscars including Best Picture.

Have you seen Love Story. And have you ever played a movie theme on the piano? 

"monday morning, you're history"

Happy 25th birthday this very day to the daring, hilarious, and utterly classic Heathers (1989). It's one of the greatest high school movies of all time and the most shamelessly ripped off. (See also: Mean Girls, classic in its own right don't get me wrong but the debt it owes cannot be overstated. It's "very". My guess is Tina Fey (who was 18 when it came out) must've watched it a million times.

Growing up this was the bit my friends and I quoted all the f***ing time.

Heather: You stupid fuck

Veronica: You goddamn bitch 

Heather: You were nothing before you met me. You were playing Barbies with Betty Finn. You were a bluebird. You were a brownie. You were a girl scout cookie. 

I got you into a Remington party. What's my thanks? It's on the hallway carpet. I got paid in puke.

Veronica: Lick it up, baby. Lick it up.

[Great Moments in Screen Bitchery #9, Winona Ryder in Heathers]

While we're on the topic of Heathers, I'll report on the new Off Broadway musical tonight but I have two questions for you in the comments.

1. What lines have you quoted most often?

2. Which Oscar nominations do you think it was robbed of (since Oscar don't touch high school comedies). I am very serious when I say I would have nominated it for three that year: Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actress. But 1989 is one of the years where Oscar and I have been least sympatico - none of the Best Picture nominees even made my top ten list. (If you're curious to know my top tens from years past there's a pull down menu up at the top of the blog)

25 Years Ago Today... Marquise & Madame

These pictures were literally shot 25 years ago today - Michelle Pfeiffer & Glenn Close at the Governor's Ball for the 1988 Oscars on March 29th, 1989.  

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Superheroes Have Birthdays, Too

Batman
Did you know that May marks Batman's 75th birthday? The billionaire in the cowl was introduced in Detective Comics #27 May 1939 edition (a comic that sold a few years ago for over a million dollars). He's aged well but trust funds will help that way. And Bruce Wayne had more money than God even before Batman was a cultural icon and DC and Warner Bros figured out how to make billions from trotting him out consistently. Warner Bros is planning a year-long celebration as well they should since their ownership of DC's superheroes on screen probably accounts for a nice sliver percentage of their profits. 

I'd suggest a theme week here but after the past 25 years of movie blockbusters featuring the caped crusader, maybe I need a break. What say ye? Celebrate or Ignore? Or somewhere inbetween?

Quicksilver
One of the sexiest of superheroes (saith I), Magneto's son, the sometimes evil sometimes good super speed silver haired young fox turns 50 this very month. He's never been visualized onscreen but due to complicated rights issues we'll get him twice over in the fourteen months with Fox's X-Men Days of Future Past (played by Evan Peters in a terrible wig in 2014) and Marvel Studio's Avengers: Age of Ultron (Aaron Johnson with silver hair despite earlier awful suggestions he'd stay brunette in 2015). [Long story short: Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver as spawn of Magneto are connected to The X-Men mythology but more often connected to The Avengers in terms of regular appearances so both studios can use them provided they never mention their other heroic connections.]

Next month Daredevil and The Black Widow both turn 50. They were once lovers in the comics but due to rights issues they aren't really in each other's orbits onscreen.

The Black Widow is back very very quickly in Captain America: Winter Soldier and the latest incarnation of Daredevil will arrive whenever Netflix gets around to their planned series. That one is certain to be the most satisfying simply because it can't be worse than the movie version. I only pray they make him a redhead this time like he's supposed to be. Male gingers deserve their proxy heroes, too.

Namor turns 75 in April, the Green Goblin turns 50 in Julym, Scott Pilgrim (not really a superhero I know) turns 10 in 2004, and Hawkeye turns 50 in September