François Truffaut was never properly suited to film noir. His enthusiasms were too childish and his outlook too optimistic to ever be properly gloomy or cynical for that most nihilistic of genres. His male characters […]
Oscar night was always a tradition for my family when I was growing up. Dad would throw some chicken wings in the oven to bake, I would run to the garage to grab the fold-up […]
At first, the studio wanted Bette Davis. But no, that wouldn’t have worked; audiences could expect cruelty and hysteria from an actress who had proven herself both bitch and beauty queen. After seeing her sit […]
His images are grand, sweeping, yet intimate. Personal, provocative and poignant. You can always tell when you’re watching one of his films – because the frame, no matter the subject, is alive with possibility. Synonymous with some […]
In a not too distant past, let’s say, 1987 – eons ago for some of you kids, Mickey Rourke was considered an “actor’s actor,” a hunk and an A-list celebrity. Things have sure changed in […]
From Vivien Leigh to James Cagney to Paul Robeson, Hattie McDaniel out-shined every single person around her in every scene she played. THAT is the definition of a star. She was born 121 years ago […]
What a ghastly little cretin lives on the ground floor of 10 Rillington Place. Short, fat, and balding, the little round spectacles complete the mousey persona of John Christie, one of the most notorious post-World […]
If you’re looking for a realistic depiction of the violent struggle between itinerant boxcar riders and the railroad men who fought to throw them off by any means during the Great Depression, you’ve come to the […]
There’s nothing very appealing about Henry Orient. Wispy, coiffed, and falconic in countenance, this notorious concert pianist spends his days hounding after married women and his afternoons avoiding dress rehearsals. He carries himself with the […]
There’s only one scene in Fred Zinnemann’s A Man For All Seasons that might be properly described as “cinematic.” It happens early on the first 30 minutes or so when King Henry VIII pays a […]
© 2017 The Retro Set