Thursday
Jul132017
It's Too Darn Hot!
Thursday, July 13, 2017 at 5:00PM 
It's almost 90 degrees in NYC today. How do you stay cool on a day like this?
tagged Ann Miller
Ann Miller Entries in Ann Miller (11)
Thursday, July 13, 2017 at 5:00PM Wednesday
Oct052016
George Sidney Centennial: "Kiss Me Kate"
Wednesday, October 5, 2016 at 7:30PM 
Our centennial tribute to MGM mainstay George Sidney continues with the director's 1953 musical Kiss Me Kate, and such a curious beast it is. Adapted with a slightly free hand from Cole Porter's hit 1948 musical, it's a musical version of The Taming of the Shrew that's also a backstage comedy about the staging of a musical version of The Taming of the Shrew, in which the actors playing Kate and Petruchio are recently feuding exes.
Don't let the plot worry you, though. Since this is a 1950s MGM musical the focus is obviously one one thing first and foremost, and that's big, heaving SPECTACLE.
Saturday
Jul042015
Beauty Break: What a Firecracker!
Saturday, July 4, 2015 at 9:00AM Happy Fourth of July !!! Party safely. Here's Ann Miller, and 20 other beautiful firecrackers to celebrate with you (who would you like to set off sparks with?) after the jump...
Sunday
Jun282015
Podcast: More 1948 Smackdowning. Which Films Have Aged Well?
Sunday, June 28, 2015 at 9:00PM 
You've read the new Supporting Actress Smackdown. Now here is it's companion podcast. This month there wasn't an obvious theme as in 1979's gender politics, but we had fun discussing the films and genres presented from noir to Shakespeare to soggy memoirs.
Host: Nathaniel R
Special Guests: Abdi Nazemianset, Catherine Stebbins, Joe Reid, and Tim Robey
Contents
- 00:01 Introductions and how 1948 is new to us
- 04:20 I Remember Mama is a George Stevens film? And how about those accents in Mama and Johnny Belinda
- 18:00 Why did Key Largo only get one nomination -was it the noir thing?
- 21:00 Stage & Cinema - they're all play adaptations but Key Largo and Hamlet both have an Ophelia! Shakespeare archetypes and Orson Welles
- 33:00 Claire Trevor in Raw Deal (1948)
- 36:00 Alternate nominees plus other 1948 films we like: Easter Parade, Cry of the City and Red River.
- 40:00 Goodbyes and remake/recasting pitches from 1948
You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Please continue the conversation in the comments. Who would you have nominated in 1948 for the big categories -- particularly in supporting? Which of the four main films we discussed is your favorite?
And how about that Ann Miller in Easter Parade?
P.S. Further reading. During our 1948 month we looked at five additional films ICYMI: The Red Shoes, Letter From an Unknown Woman,the animated shorts of the year, Treasure of the Sierra Madre and Sorry Wrong Number
P.P.S. The next smackdown at the end of July is 1995 so make sure to watch Sense & Sensibility, Mighty Aphrodite, Georgia, Apollo 13, and Nixon this month for a refresher.
Wednesday
Jun032015
Ten Movies To Watch (To Play Along With Tony Awards At Home)
Wednesday, June 3, 2015 at 9:09AM 
Gene Kelly and Ann Miller are unofficial Tony Players this yearGiven that not everyone can live in or even visit New York regularly and even those of us who do, can't see all the Tony nominees given our budgets, here's a list of ten plus smart movie choices if you'd like to feel tangentially invested in the upcoming Tony Awards (Sunday night! - should we live blog?) without actually having seen any of the shows! If you only have time for one movie make it an Ann Miller, Leslie Caron, or Gene Kelly movie as they're the unofficial mascots of this Tony season each having starred in two of the movies related to current Broadway hits.
TEN MOVIES
If you can't make it to Broadway
Congratulations! You've already won. You don't have to watch the super dull Finding Neverland (2004) again because it's Broadway adaptation didn't earn a single nomination! On a sadder note if you want to play along at home and you love good movies, the Doctor Zhivago (1965) adaptation has already shuttered since the Tony voters shunned it (yeah, it wasn't good) so you don't get to watch that classic again at home ...at least for this project.
10 Saved! (2004) + Meet the Feebles (1989)
If you can't make it to NYC to see the blasphemous/hilarious Hand To God about a confused young man living with his religious mother who believes his hand puppet is possessed by the devil, try a religious satire and a filthy puppet movie instead. For maximum effect play these movies simultaneously side by side. (You may substitute any preferred religious comedy in place of Saved but dirty puppet movies are hard to come by)
Nine more movies (and Tony thoughts) after the jump...
