Forgotten Hollywood

Manny P. here…

“`Simply said… Gene Hackman was the greatest actor of his generation. That is saying a lot, considering the careers of Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman and Robert Duvall, among others. But it is not hyperbole when you consider his body of work with his many roles in westerns, drama, and comedy.  He was natural in his approach, much like Spencer Tracy, generations before. On screen, he was an everyman!

“`The two-time Oscar-winning actor studied journalism and television production at the University of Illinois under the G. I. Bill. He joined the Pasadena Playhouse in California and was a classmate of Dustin Hoffman. Both moved to New York City and they joined Robert Duvall, sharing New York apartments.

“`Any Wednesday with actress Sandy Dennis was a huge Broadway success in 1964. It opened the door to film work. His initial credited role was in Lilith, with Jean Seberg and Warren Beatty in the lead roles. After taking guest-starring parts on television, Hackman would embark on arguably one of the finest career paths in cinematic history.

“`He starred (or co-starred) in  Bonnie and Clyde, Downhill Racer, I Never Sang for My Father, Marooned, The French Connection (Best Actor), The Poseidon Adventure, The Conversation, Young Frankenstein, Bite the Bullet, Red,  the Superman series of films, Hoosiers, No Way Out, Mississippi Burning, Crimson Tide,  The Quick and the Dead, Postcards From the Edge, Unforgiven  (Best Supporting Actor),  The Firm, Get Shorty, Absolute Power, Enemy of the State, Runaway Jury and Welcome to Mooseport.

“`Hackman was honored with a Cecil B. DeMille Award from the Golden Globe Awards for his outstanding contribution to the entertainment field a year before he officially retired, in 2003. He  came out of retirement to narrate two documentaries related to the United States Marine Corps: The Unknown Flag Raiser of Iwo Jima and We the Marines.

“`As legendary filmmakers line up to pay homage, including Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Tom Hanks, Viola Davis, Alec Baldwin, Gwyneth Paltrow, Josh Brolin, Nathan Lane and Francis Ford Coppola, we remember the legendary star for his body of unmatched work.

“`Gene Hackman was ninety-five.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`I am thrilled to be visiting the Los Feliz Branch Library this Wednesday, February 12th at 6p as part of the LA Made series. I lived in this beautiful community back in the 1980s.

“`LA Made is a cultural series featuring free music, dance, theater and conversations with local entertainers at libraries throughout the city.  LA Made is possible with the generous support of the National Endowment for the Humanities.  I plan on sharing stories written in my Forgotten Hollywood book series.

“`The Los Feliz Branch Library is located at 1874 Hillhurst Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027, at the corner of Hillhurst and Franklin. Consider this my personal invitation!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`The Celebrating Act 2 / Forgotten Hollywood Top 3 genres continues! Art Kirsch and John Coleman looks at the finest Courtroom Dramas of the Studio Era. The three I selected are among my Top 10 favorite movies of all-time!

“`Enjoy!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`It is time for me to submit my SAG Awards ballot, highlighting celluloid roles in 2024. This was a so-so year in films; some great, some just ok.  Here are my selections with comments added for opinion and context:

~ ~ ~

OUTSTANDING MALE: Ralph Fiennes (Conclave)

“`It is a competitive category!  Most likely, Adrian Brody will win for The Brutalist. His role was solid in a movie that is way too long! Ralph Fiennes, Colman Domingo (Sing Sing) and Timothee Chalamet (A Complete Unknown). Fiennes gives a subtle performance opposite an amazing collection of talent, including John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci and Isabella Rosellini. And truth be told, Ralph Fiennes is one of my favorite actors of his generation. Not a fan of Daniel Craig’s performance in Queer. The movie has more to do with drugs than lifestyle. It could have starred quarterback Aaron Rodgers as the lead!

OUTSTANDING FEMALE:  Cynthia Erivo (Wicked)

“`A brutally tough call. I LOVED Karla Sofia Gascon (Emilia Perez), Mikey Madison (Anora) and Pamela Anderson (The Last Showgirl). Cynthia Erivo’s measured role is bittersweet and tender. It ain’t easy being green. As for Demi Moore’s performance in The Substance, she is a solid addition to any flick.  That said, this is the first time since The Blair Witch Project I have walked out of a movie before its completion. Hated it! There are much better witches in Wicked. One more thing… Gascon is a wonderful Trans actor; she is in the correct category. But, I’m afraid older Academy voters may be old-fashioned in their way of thinking and keep the talented actress from actually winning! Fernanda Torres was snubbed for her riveting role in I’m Still Here.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING MALE:  Edward Norton (A Complete Unknown)

“`Clarence Maclin, the co-star and writer of Sing Sing, provided the best performance of the year in a supporting role. But he is not nominated. Instead, all critical love is going to Kieran Culkin for A Real Pain, a cute buddy movie. And Culkin is one of the lead performers, not a supporting role. Given the choices for me, it comes down to Norton or Yura Borisov (Anora). Norton never gives a bad performance, and he should have won years ago. But his last name isn’t Culkin. Jonathan Bailey (Wicked) and Jeremy Strong (The Apprentice) round out the field.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING FEMALE:  Monica Barbaro (A Complete Unknown)

“`I have selected the actor in the field that is likely to come in last in voting. Not because her performance is lacking. Rather, she is up against two lead performances, which is completely not fair; Ariana Grande (Wicked) and Zoe Saldana (Emilia Perez),  either of which I would have voted for in the lead category over Cynthia Erivo. Last season, Lily Gladstone declined a chance to play in this political parlay and it cost her an Oscar. However, I do respect her more for the decision. Jamie Lee Curtis is also fabulous for her role in The Last Showgirl.

OUTSTANDING CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE:  Conclave

“`Conclave is iconic storytelling created by top talent. It has the earmarks of epic filmmaking without showing off the way The Brutalist does (“We are so big, we have an intermission!”). The other nominees are worthy choices:  A Complete Unknown, Anora, Emilia Perez  and Wicked. I’m Still Here, Sing Sing and September 5 were snubbed.

~ ~ ~

2024 TOP 10: 1. Conclave  2. September 5  3. I’m Still Here  4. A Complete Unknown  5. Saturday Night  6. Sing Sing  7. Wicked  8. Emilia Perez  9. The Blitz 10. Anora (tie) 10. The Last Showgirl (tie)

“`The SAG Awards airs on February 23rd on Netflix. Let us see how I do this year.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`John Coleman, Art Kirsch and I continue our multi-part series on  Forgotten Hollywood’s Top 3, this time in the genre called: screwball comedies! Celebrating Act 2 honors the outrageously silly movies of the 1930s and the 1940s, often featuring Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Irene Dunne, Ralph Bellamy and others who made magic on the silver screen.

“`Enjoy!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Part 4 in our Forgotten Hollywood Top 3 movies in specific genres continues as we delve into the best War Pictures during Hollywood’s Studio Era. Join Art Kirsch, John Coleman and me on Celebrating Act 2…

“`Enjoy!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`136th Rose Parade® presented by Honda features modern and classic film representation on floats traveling down Colorado Boulevard on New Year’s Day. For the kids, there will be a Wicked participant. And a silent film tribute is also slated honoring Charlie Chaplin.

“`The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has designed a float celebrating the 100th anniversary of his classic 1925 film, The Gold Rush. AHF float honors and celebrates Chaplin and his iconic Little Tramp character. The Chaplin family and Charlie Chaplin ™ © Bubbles Incorporated SA graciously authorized AHF’s use of its The Gold Rush imagery for no royalty fee.

“`Chaplin’s classic adds to AHF and its Healthy Housing Foundation message on affordable housing and homelessness. The concept of AHF’s Home Sweet Home float was designed by Jason Farmer, Vice President of Marketing for AHF, and finalized by John Ramirez, designer with Artistic Entertainment Services, the company creating AHF’s float.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Celebrating Act 2, with Art Kirsch and John Coleman, continues our celebrated Forgotten Hollywood Top 3 series. This time, we honor Best Picture Oscar winners of  the Studio Era.

“`Enjoy!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`The 2024 selections of Library of Congress’ National Film Registry have been announced. This year’s selections are exceptional, including Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), The Pride of the Yankees (1942),  Invaders from Mars (1953), The Miracle Worker (1962), Dirty Dancing (1987) and The Social Network (2010). Unfortunately our campaign to get Robert Youngson’s documentaries, Golden Age of Comedy and When Comedy was King, proved unsuccessful this year. The effort continues…

“`Let us look at the Golden Age of Hollywood selections:

~ ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES (1938) –  The collaborative efforts by James Cagney, Pat O’Brien, Humphrey Bogart and director Michael Curtiz makes a Depression-era crime drama that reinforces the notion that cities were born in streets of immigrant neighborhoods.  The work may have been considered Cagney’s signature role if not for The Public Enemy made seven years earlier. The Dead End Kids are symbolic of the kind of grit youths needed after they grew up to become the greatest generation determined to rid Axis aggression.

~ THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES (1942) – Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright and Walter Brennan shine in this bio-pic.  This film is a Hollywood tribute to the New York Yankees iron man first baseman Lou Gehrig, who had recently died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS aka Lou Gehrig’s disease). Babe Ruth appears in the movie, adding to its authenticity and poignance. The beloved classic culminates with Cooper’s re-enactment of Gehrig’s famous 1939 farewell speech at Yankee Stadium and a heart-wrenching: Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.

~ INVADERS FROM MARS (1953) – The 1950s produced many science fiction films, ignited by post-World War II paranoia over the hydrogen bomb, growing technological advancements, fear of Soviet expansion and Communist infiltration of American society.  Directed by William Cameron Menzies, with cinematography by John Seitz, the movie features stunning sets and photography in Supercinecolor. Recently restored by Ignite Films in collaboration with George Eastman Museum, National Film and Sound Archive of Australia and UCLA Film and Television Archive.

~ THE MIRACLE WORKER (1962) – This celebrated early work from director Arthur Penn tells the incredible true-life story of Helen Keller and her determined teacher Anne Sullivan, chronicled in remarkable performances by Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke, both fresh from a Broadway triumph on stage. Keller was still alive when the story was adapted to the screen. This production allowed the iconic activist to make peace with Hollywood and their previous attempts to categorize Keller as a curiosity.

“`The Library of Congress National Film Registry annually inducts twenty-five movies that are considered culturally, historically or aesthetically significant. These films must be at least ten years old.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`We continue our series of Forgotten Hollywood’s Top 3 in various genres of the Studio Era. This time around, it is those sagebrush sagas we regard as The Western. Art Kirsh and John Coleman from Celebrating Act 2 have their own ideas of what belongs on this list and that is what makes this conversation so fun!

“`Enjoy!

Until next time>                              “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Earl Holliman was a busy actor in many of Hollywood’s top movie productions for over six decades. He won a Golden Globe Award for the film The Rainmaker, co-starring with Katharine Hepburn and Burt Lancaster. Holliman was also an activist and was an honorary chairman for Toys for Tots and president of Actors and Others for Animals for twenty-five years.

“`Wanting to become an actor, he traveled to Hollywood on money he earned as an usher and as a news boy. He joined the military despite his being too young to enlist. Holliman spent most of his free time at the Hollywood Canteen.

“`While performing at the Pasadena Playhouse, he sneaked to the Paramount Pictures  lot by claiming to have an appointment with the studio barber. Holliman eventually became friends with studio executives. He receuved a small bit part opposite Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in Scared Stiff. Other movie roles include Broken Lance, The Bridges at Toko-Ri, The Big Combo, I Died a Thousand Times, Forbidden Planet, Giant, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and The Sons of Katie Elder.

“`On television, Holliman had the distinction of appearing on the pilot episode of The Twilight Zone. He landed a starring part on Police Woman, and a recurring role on The Thorn Birds and Caroline in the City.

“`Columnist Louella Parsons once referred to the soft-spoken actor as dedicated as though he were Marlon Brando and Anthony Perkins combined,  high praise considering his unassuming presence on screen.

“`Earl Holliman was ninety-six.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Celebrating Act 2, with my friends Art Kirsch and John Coleman, is helping me present and 11-part series called:  Forgotten Hollywood’s Top 3. Each episode, I choose my favorite films of a particular genre. Today, we examine my favorite in film noir.

“`This should be fun… Enjoy!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here

“`Art Kirsh, John Coleman and I are close pals. On Celebrating Act 2, we discuss the close friendships during Hollywood’s Golden Age.

“`Enjoy!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`The Detective genre were popular as “B” movies in the 1930s and 1940s. John Coleman, Art Kirsch and I provide some of the more obscure series of movies, such as  Bulldog Drummond, Michael Shayne, Torchy Blaine, Boston Blackie and Ellery Queen.

“`Enjoy!

Until next time>                               “never forget” 

Manny P. here…

“`Love em or Hate em, Ward Bond was prolific in his craft, and he appeared in more Oscar-nominated movies than any other movie star during Hollywood’s Golden Age. Art Kirsch and John Coleman join me on Celebrating Act 2 for a frank discussion on the durable actor.

“`Enjoy!

Until next time>                              “never forget”