Leslie Nielsen and Anne Francis Meet Sci-Fi Immortality on Forbidden Plant

 

               One of the most intelligent and enjoyable science fiction epics of the 1950’s, with class MGM production values that also place it as the most lavish otherworldly adventure of the period, 1956’s Forbidden Plant imaginatively retells Shakespeare’s The Tempest in galaxy far away, casting a spell over viewers of all ages as the scenario concerning spacemen in the 23^rd century on an expedition to the planet Altair to search for survivors from a previous journey 20 years before unfolds in riveting fashion. Helmed with impressive skill by director Fred Wilcox, and a far cry from the Lassie films that made his name at the studio, the various elements of suspense, romance, fantasy and comedy found in the creative, engrossing screenplay by Cyril Hume from Allen Adler/Irving Block story concerning , are dexterously interwoven with a top cast of players, including Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis and newcomer Leslie Nielsen,  lending individual flair and sincerity to their choice assignments, including the introduction of a true sci-fi icon, vivid lensing in Eastmancolor by George J. Folsey that, along with ace special effects and choice art and set direction by Cedric Gibbons and Arthur Lonergan, helps create a colorful and fascinating alternative universe, and one of the cinema’s most eerily impactful scores, with composers Bebe and Louis Barron working wonders in producing their famous electronically driven score.

                For director Wilcox, Planet afforded him the outlet to oversee a big budget, challenging project, after he had spent over a decade at MGM, starting with 1943’s Lassie Come Home, then helming three more Lassie films before ending the decade with another child-oriented movie, The Secret Garden. Switching to dramatic fare in the 1950s with moderate success, Planet provided Wilcox the means to exhibit his talent for investing the opulently staged set designs and fantastic plotline with a childlike sense of wonder that, even with the film’s frightening elements, serves as ideal viewing for sci-fi fans of all ages. Specifically impressive is the manner in which Wilcox puts Joshua Meador’s astounding animation of the terrifying Id monster front-and-center after building the tension for the raging destructive force of the Id. Similarly, early on Wilcox sagely offers an attention-getting introduction for the film’s breakout star, Robby the Robot (expertly voiced by Marvin Miller in appropriately monotone, automated fashion), as the space crew notice a dust formation rapidly coming closer. After this debut, Wilcox focuses ample time on providing the audience with more info on what exactly makes Robby tick, adding much humor to the proceedings and ensuring Robby his spot among the most beloved figures in 1950’s movies.  Following the peak of Planet, Wilcox would direct one more film, 1960’s intriguingly titled I Passed for White before his passing at age 56 in 1964.

                As Dr. Edward Morbius, the sole survivor of the first trip to Altair, top billed Walter Pidgeon utilizes his confident, stoic and distinguished demeanor and deep, resounding voice to create a calm-yet-commanding, forceful presence. Starting his career in films in 1926 during the silent era, the handsome, reliable Pidgeon slowly progressed as a leading man during the 1930s, before becoming a major star and box-office draw in the 1940s, first as the hero of 1941’s Oscar-winning Best Picture, How Green Was My Valley, then via a series of ideal pairings with Greer Garson, including one of the decade’s biggest hits, Mrs. Miniver (making it two Best Pictures in a row for Pidgeon) and Madame Curie, both of which gained him Best Actor Oscar nominations. Continuing into the 1950s as something of an elder stateman at MGM in top fare such as The Bad and the Beautiful and Executive Suite, Pidgeon would gain his richest role in years as the complex Morbius, driven by internal passions beyond his control as he attempts to guard his beautiful young daughter from the advances of several of the romantically inclined crewmen while also protecting the durable advanced technological empire (the depiction of which really gives the art and set designs a chance to shine in overwhelming manner) created centuries before by the ingenious Krell Race from the crew’s intrusiveness. Pidgeon does a fine job in illustrating the doctor’s unwillingness to welcome the members of starship C-57D and indicating mysterious circumstances are involved in Morbius’ mindset, allowing him to become a character the audience can both sympathize with and, as events unfold, grow leerier of as some unhinged aspects of the doctor’s nature arise. After his imposing appearance in Planet Pidgeon would continue in films for the next two decades, with highlights including Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Advise and Consent and strong work as Florence Ziegfeld in 1968’s smash Funny Girl, making his final film opposite the equally indomitable Mae West in 1978’s Sexette, before passing away in 1984 at age 87.

Gaining film immortality in her icon role as Altaira, Morbius’ alluring, naïve daughter curious to discover more about the crewmen and their customs, the stunning Anne Francis invests the role with the proper innocence and moxie in a thoughtful, skillful performance indicating the experience young veteran Francis had already gained in her impressive screen career. Born in 1930, Francis started in films as a teen via a debut in 1947’s This Time for Keeps, then slowly worked her way up the Hollywood ladder, first in bit parts (she can be glimpsed at the end of Portrait of Jennie), then moving on to leads and second leads in some top early-mid 1950’s films, including Bad Day at Black Rock (wherein, similar to Planet, she is the only female cast member) and two major 1955 hits, Battle Cry and Blackboard Jungle. The professional poise and affinity with the camera Francis exhibits in Planet assures audience attention stays on Altaira (aided by some daring, revealing and gorgeous costumes by Helen Rose), even in scenes wherein she has little or nothing to say. Also, she capably shows Altaira’s increasing strength of character, as she becomes more knowledgeable of her and Morbius’ circumstances. Following Planet, Francis would continue in films (including a brief reunion with Pidgeon in Funny Girl) and score strongly on television, starring in the famous “The After Hours” episode of The Twilight Zone before winning a Golden Globe for her stint as a private eye on the Honey West series. Continuing through the 1980s and 1990s as a guest star on many top t.v. shows, Francis would make her final appearance on two episodes of Without a Trace in 2004 before passing away at 80 in early 2011.

                In his first major role after appearing in Ransom! earlier in 1956, Leslie Nielsen established himself as a low-keyed, persuasive screen actor of note. Although fitting the requirements for the squared-jawed, virile matinee idol type of star, Nielsen hints at the lighter, mock-serious aspect of his playing that would make him a huge star in comedies in the 1980s and beyond. As John J. Adams, the commander of the C-57D, Nielsen forthrightly demonstrates the strength and focus needed to convince as the leader, but he also finds moments of bemusement as Adams interacts with his colleagues, bringing both dramatic heft and levity to the role. In his romantic sequences with Francis, the statuesque Nielsen displays a charmingly boyish quality as Adams awkwardly attempts to get closer to the attentive maiden. The sturdy leading man would solidify his place among Hollywood’s new talent in the following year’s Tammy and the Bachelor opposite Debbie Reynolds, then spend the next two decades as a stalwart figure in films and television, including a memorable turn (literally) as the unlucky Captain Harrison, placed in charge of the title vessel in The Poseidon Adventure, before a hilarious role of a very different sort as the somber, but masterfully tongue-in-cheek doctor in 1980’s Airplane! garnered his career a whole new life as a major star of zany fare, including The Naked Gun (first on television, then in three movies) and Scary Movie series, among many others. Nielsen’s work in this satirical comedy genre continued in fairly unbated fashion, until his passing in 2010 at 84.

                A constant presence on films and television during the 1950s and 1960s, the hardy Warren Stevens has possibly his best-remembered screen role as Lt. “Doc” Ostrow, the staunchly loyal cohort of Adams. Starting in films as a pre-teen in 1939’s The Story of Alexander Graham Bell, Jack Kelly also has his signature big screen role as crewman Jerry, who vies with Adams for Altaira’s attentions and has a few amusing exchanges with Francis early on, just before Kelly gained major stardom on television as Bart Maverick. Another who went on to higher-profile stardom after a memorable showing in Planet, Richard Anderson is briefly onboard as Quinn, the crew’s Chief Engineer, years before his best-known work in the hit television sci-fi series The Six Million Dollar Man and its spinoff, The Six Million Dollar Woman. Finally, experiencing a great year in films with the blockbuster Giant and an endearing, Golden Globe-winning performance in The Rainmaker also to his credit before going on to greater television fame (via Police Woman), the ingratiatingly comic Earl Holliman scores heavily in Planet’s most entertaining and lightest subplot, wherein his cook befriends Robby, leading to a most un-sobering endeavor.

With its March 1956 release, the vastly entertaining, though-provoking Forbidden Planet was justifiably praised by critics for reaching a quality of filmmaking seldom seen in most sci-fi movies. Audiences also took to this Planet immediately, with the film eventually ending up with a profit despite the large production costs for the ambitious, risky undertaking. Unnoticed during most of the award season (possibly due to genre bias against sci-fi), at the Academy Awards Planet reaped a well-deserved nomination for Best Special Effects. The film has resonated strongly with subsequent generations as one of sci-fi cinema’s greatest undertakings, with re-releases (including kiddie matinees), showings on television and constant output on physical media exposing the classic to new Planet fans. The National Film Registry included the film on its 2013 list, while the fame of the movie took on a life of its own as Robby the Robot became one of the most lasting and recognizable film fabrications and pop icons ever, with a wealth of further appearances on films and television, while the movie and Ms. Francis were further etched in cinema history via homage to them during the opening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Sci-fi aficionados and movie lovers in the mood for seeing one of the most artfully conceived films of the fantastical genre, with class production values across the board and a cast and crew fully committed to selling the premise in highly compelling and entertaining fashion, will find a rich and unforgettable viewing experience by making a star trek to the inventively bewitching world of Forbidden Planet.

A Fond Farewell to a True Screen Original, Diane Keaton

 

                A vibrant, original, multitalented and complex presence in films from her 1970’s heyday onward, Diane Keaton lent truth and perception to a variety of memorable roles, granting individuality, grace humor and dramatic heft to some of the most indelible portrayals in the annals of film. Throughout a rich filmography spanning several decades, Keaton managed to constantly offer relevant and relatable work, brining a modern sensibility and believability to her roles that allowed audiences to identify with and admire her strong, independent heroines, with Keaton proving equally dexterous in both comedic and dramatic parts in such diverse work as The Godfather, Sleeper, Looking for Mr. Goodbar, Shoot the Moon, Baby Boom, Father of the Bride, The Family Stone, Academy Award nominated work in Reds, Marvin’s Room  and Something’s Gotta Give and her iconic, Oscar winning performance as the title character in Annie Hall, while branching out to develop her talents as a writer, director, photographer and editor of style and taste.

                Starting her career on Broadway in 1968 visa the smash Hair, Keaton would score another stage success and gain a Tony nomination for Play It Again, Sam, starting a highly fruitful collaboration with Woody Allen, before debuting in films via 1970’s Lovers and Other Strangers. 1972 would prove a pivotal year in her career, with Keaton showing finesse for playing in both lighter mode via a screen reprisal of her breakout Sam role, while plunging more dramatic depths as the put-upon Kay in The Godfather, a trend she would follow in her subsequent films with remarkable effectiveness as she artfully maneuvered through and balanced comedies and dramas. Reaching superstar status in 1977 with the formidable one-two punch of the delightful Hall and the disturbing Goodbar, Keaton would thereafter maintain her place among the top leading stars of her generation, continuing her association with Allen via the likes of Manhattan, Radio Days and Manhattan Murder Mystery, reaching other comic highs via Baby Boom, Father, a wonderful teaming with Goldie Hawn and Bette Milder in the hit First Wives Club and a triumph pairing with Jack Nicholson for 2003’s Something’s, while delving into forceful dramatic work with Allen’s Interiors, especially impactful alongside the equally compelling Albert Finney in Moon, The Little Drummer Girl and The Good Mother, while honing her directorial skills with the documentary Heaven, then Unstrung Heroes and Hanging Up.

                Perhaps Keaton’s most enduring and endearing work came via 1977’s Annie Hall, wherein her zany, heartfelt embodiment of the semiautobiographical title role, a young woman trying to find her voice (literally) and place in the world as she deals with and on-and-off romance proved remarkably popular with both audiences and critics, while also launching a fashion trend with the “Annie Hall Look.” Keaton adds great comic spontaneity to her scenes while also adding a touching truth and sensitivity to the more profound moments as Annie evolves into a more liberated spirit, with a viewer standing in awe at how adeptly and singularly Keaton is able bring Annie to life in a fully rounded, definitive manner. Take for example Annie’s first meeting with Alvy (Allen), wherein Keaton lends a bravura dizziness and intense likability to the nervous, open Annie, as she laments over her spacy demeanor and awkwardness with famous “la-de-da” comments and a beguiling forthrightness that make the character sing with truth, instead of becoming annoyingly cute and phony with her offbeat antics and stream of conscience ramblings. Keaton is also impressive in Annie’s more serious moments as she faces conflict via the fading nature of her relationship with Alvy, or her insecurity concerning her desires for a singing career, with the dramatic aspects of the role setting up Keaton’s trenchant, stark career 180-degree turn later in the year with her deep dive into the dark world depicted in Goodbar.

                A dynamic talent of seemingly unlimited artistic resources, Diane Keaton forged her own path during a revolutionary period in movies, with the outcome being a fantastic array of thoughtful, sincere and entertaining work both in front of and behind the camera. Rest in peace to a lovely, gifted star of rare merit and appeal, Diane Keaton. 

Horror Anthology Cinema Comes to the Fore in the Chilling Dead of Night

 

                A prime bet as the most influential and accomplished of the early suspense films centered around a multi-story format, 1945’s nail-biting Dead of Night from Britian’s Ealing Studios offers five eerie tales helmed by a top roster of esteemed directors, including Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer. A deft, unnerving screenplay by John Baines and Angus MacPhail (based on stories by Baines, MacPhail, E.F. Benson and H.G. Wells), coherently ties all the scenarios together via a truly ingenious linking narrative featuring all the main characters, including the dazed protagonist, meeting at a country house to share their unusual scenarios, leading to a justly famous jarring, unforgettable finale. A foreboding score by Georges Auric and top-flight list of thespian talent partake of their choice sequences with skill and the proper amount of queasiness, particularly Michael Redgrave in one of the most emotionally complex and disturbing performances found in films, allowing an audience to suspense disbelief and become completely caught up in the web of mounting intrigue emanating from the screen. Overall, even with its brief moments of levity, this trendsetting Michael Balcon production accounts for some of the tensest, scariest 103 minutes found in film.

                The Dearden-directed opening and interlocking segments present travails faced by the befuddled architect Walter Craig, who at the outset has a funny feeling regarding a day’s trip to an unfamiliar cottage he senses he’s been to before. Relating his thought to the cottage’s guest allows for each member to relate an unexplainable event from their past. Dearden sets up this premise with simplicity and precision, bringing each identifiable player into the scene with clarity and believable ease. As Walter, Meryvn Johns, a veteran of British films since the 1930s, does an expert job of illustrating this befuddled everyman’s distracted state as he struggles to understand the mystery behind his déjà vu, helping to beautifully set up the closing scenes. After this preliminary meeting of the key characters, the action moves into the recounting of the first story, also directed by Dearden, which aids in a smooth tonal transition from the cottage intro.

                Based on a truly spine-tingling 1906 short story by Benson entitled “The Bus-Conductor,” the updated, revised version related by racecar driver Hugh Grainger (played with proper intensity and apprehension by Anthony Baird) tells of a post-accident hospital stay by Grainger wherein, in the middle of the night, he encounters a hearse driver below (a perfectly cast, cheerfully ominous Miles Malleson), seen in broad daylight beckoning the shocked driver to come inside. Dearden’s colorful emphasis on the story’s creepy elements and Auric’s sinister scoring allows for a maximum sense of dread as the rest of the tale unfolds, serving as an ideal first offering of the macabre, with more off-kilter anecdotes to be unveiled by the other guests. The enduring appeal of Benson’s original story would live on in other iterations, including a memorable 1961 Twilight Zone episode with Barbara Nichols which moved the final “punchline” from bus to airplane, and a terrifying Scholastic Books version (for children!) done circa the 1970s entitled “The Elevator Operator” (aka “Lord Dufferin’s Story”) that, with an illustration of a deformed coffin carrier (subbing for the hearse driver), gave this author nightmares for years to come.

                Following this edgy yarn, “The Christmas Party,“ directed by Cavalcanti, provides a mellower scare quotient, but still offers some haunted house brand of shivers as teenager Sally O’Hara (competently played by young Sally Ann Howes, who is interesting to see a couple decades before her most famous screen appearance as the female lead, Truly Scrumptious in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) recalls a holiday celebration at a manor, wherein a game of hide-and seek leads Sally to an encounter she finds hard to explain or forget post-party. This episode is relayed in a simple, fairly serene manner, but the next, the Hamer-directed effort entitled “The Haunted Mirror,” really puts Auric’s ominous score to its maximum pulsating effect. Googie Withers, on the rise as a top leading lady of English films after starting as a child actor, then toiling in the 1930’s cinema, with a part in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1938 masterpiece The Lady Vanishes possibly her best effort, before raising her profile just prior to Night with 1942’s One of Our Aircraft is Missing and the following year’s On Approval, portrays the urbane Joan Courtland, who offers up the strange circumstances surrounding the gift of an ornately crafted mirror to her husband Peter (Ralph Michael), and the mysterious effect the new reflection has on Peter. Withers and Michael do a nice job interacting in a nonchalant fashion at the beginning of the piece, before turning to high drama as Haner’s forceful direction and Auric’s tense strains convey the mounting danger at hand for the overwhelmed couple.

                The penultimate tale, “The Golfer’s Story,” based on a Wells short story and directed by Crichton, warming up for the comic flavor he would bring helming The Lavender Hill Mob and The Titfield Thunderbolt, takes a whimsical approach not seen in the other offerings. Cottage host Eliot Foley (played by British screen mainstay Roland Culver) presents to his guests an account concerning two buddies vying for the hand of a lovely maiden via a winner-take-all golf game, the consequences of which leads to ghostly apparitions and some dire-yet-amusing actions. The light manner maintained as the story unfolds allows a viewer to relax a bit after some of the pronounced suspense on display during the film’s first hour or so. As the combative slicers, Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne perform with a deft comic chemistry carefully honed in several pre-Night entries, starting with their initial pairing in Lady Vanishes, the team’s most famous work this side of Night. Crichton, keeping Radford and Wayne front-and-center, manages to keep a frivolous style generating through the romp, resulting in a pleasant diversion in the middle of the film, if one out-of-sorts with the more intense aspects surrounding the humorous venture.

The breezy tone of the fourth piece gives way to the most disturbing and frightening recollection, “The Ventriloquist’s Dummy,” directed by Cavalcanti with a superbly spinetingling touch.  Michael Redgrave, going about as far into a role as possible, is shatteringly effective in depicting the tortured mindset of Maxwell Frere, an expert ventriloquist sure his dummy, Hugo, is controlling the act and his master. Redgrave holds nothing back dramatically as he plunges the depths of despair to enact Maxwell’s tortuous, terror-ridden mindset, making a viewer uneasy with the naked emotionalism Redgrave utilizes in his brilliant illustration of a soul unhinged. With Cavalcanti’s uncompromisingly stark direction and Redgrave’s masterful performance, this justifiably renowned look at the how edgy the ventriloquist/dummy dynamic can be depicted on the screen is impossible to put out of mind, with visions of Frere’s increasingly paranoic state as his hold on sanity erodes, mixed with shots of the singularly sinister Hugo by his side, lingering in a viewer’s memory and serving as a basis of more than one Twilight Zone episode, as well as Magic, the 1978 Anthony Hopkins/Ann-Margret starred take on a similar theme, which may not cause the same trepidation as the Cavalcanti/Redgrave version, except for a trailer for the film that raised the hackles of many television viewers (“Abracadabra I sit on his knee. . .”) including a young, impressionable author that did not see the film for many years, even when old enough to do so, for fear of encountering “Fats,” an odious cousin to Hugo, for sure (only my love for Ann-Margret, who gives a lovely performance, finally made me succumb to a Magic watch). Following this ultra-fearsome episode, the film reaches an equally blood-curling climax as the panicked Walter comes face-to-face with his worst nightmares, followed by an unforgettable spooky twist to close an exceptionally engrossing cinematic look at several facets of the dark side. 

With its London release in September of 1945, Dead of Night created significant buzz as one of the strangest and most nerve-wracking films ever released, a stir which was replicated once the film made its way to American cinemas, even though for the initial U.S. release, “The Christmas Party” and “The Golfer’s Story” portions were omitted from prints, a situation rectified by physical media releases, including a current Kino Lorber Blu-Ray featuring the uncut film, an audio commentary and a documentary. The legacy of this spellbinding classic extends to the aforementioned Twilight Zone episodes and, specifically, other excursions into horror anthology such as Black Sabbath, Tales from the Crypt, Creepshow and beyond. However, few movies of the genre can match the lasting power to cause shivers aplenty than Dead of Night nearly 80 years after it first premiered. Even the staunchest of horror fans may want to invite a friend over and leave the lights on to keep their wits while viewing the indelible outing into the surreal, suspenseful world that encompasses Dead of Night.

Hitchcock’s Mesmerizing Vertigo Finds James Stewart and Kim Novak in a Web of Intrigue

 

                Comprising perhaps the most personal and complicated work in Master of Suspense Alfred Hitchcock’s film canon, 1958’s Vertigo contains strong elements of mystery often associated with Hitchcock, but delves much deeper into the nature of love and relationships, specifically how obsession can turn fatal. The surprising twists involved in the premise concerning retired detective Scottie Ferguson and his interactions with two women, the haunted Madeleine Elster and her twin alter-ego, shopgirl Judy Barton, could have read as far-fetched in less skillful hands. However, by 1958 Hitchcock was at the top of his game and clearly invested all his considerable talents into a project that, in some respects, possibly hit too close to home, taking the incisive screenplay by Alec Coppel and Samuel Taylor (based on D’entre les morts by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac) and weaving a potent and fascinating cinematic tale that will cause many viewers to desire (at least) a second look at the masterfully crafted film. Aided by artful Saul Bass titles that immediately draws one into the dreamy world of Vertigo, a hypnotic score by Bernard Herrmann that deftly alternates between tense and tranquil to set the appropriate tone of each sequence, Paramount VistaVision that offers a gorgeous viewing format for the lush Robert Burks Technicolor cinematography and rich portrayals by a top cast who bring distinction and dramatic flair to their roles, Vertigo stands among the most creative and impactful movies made by Hitchcock, or any other director.

                In prime position to take on his most challenging effort to date after achieving phenomenal success in the 1950’s with a string of quality entertainments such as Strangers on a Train, Dial “M” for Murder, Rear Window and To Catch a Thief, then becoming even more of a recognizable cultural icon with weekly appearances on televisions The Alfred Hitchcock Hour starting in 1955, Hitchcock unfolds the amply layered tale with all the precision and talent he had honed since his early work starting in 1920’s British film industry. After such classics as The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes, Hitchcock would smoothly transition to Hollywood where, under contract to David O. Selznick, he’d debut with the Best Picture Oscar winner Rebecca, before amassing several more esteemed 1940’s hits, such as Shadow of a Doubt (Hitchcock’s favorite of his films, which also features complex themes and relationships) and Notorious. For Vertigo, Hitchcock forgoes much of the sly comedic material he often employed in his suspense hits to focus on the central, highly involved and serious personal connections Scottie forms with Madeleine, then Judy. Hitchcock, aided by Herrmann’s score and ace editor George Tomasini, explicitly shows true virtuosity in illustrating thought-provoking dream or dream-like sequences, including a stylized nightmare that includes animation, and a seemingly 360 shot featuring an embrace by Scottie and Judy, or possibly his beloved Madeleine. Two exciting passages (one mid-film, one during the finale) at a bell tower also demonstrates Hitchcock’s gifts to generate tense, riveting scenes in a manner unlike any other filmmaker. Following Vertigo, Hitchcock would reach the peak of his commercial appeal, with plenty of critical hosannas to boot, with North by Northwest, Psycho and The Birds, before gaining uneven reactions for his final few films, with 1972’s Frenzy a highlight that proves Hitchcock could handle an R-rated murder mystery with the same finesse, wit and thrills found in his other chief works, before finishing his career with 1976’s Family Plot.

As the tormented Scottie Ferguson, James Stewart takes on one of the most emotionally demanding portrayals of his career, and is interesting to watch in a change-of-pace role far from the often genial, idealized All-American male persona that placed him among the top stars of his era as a leading box-office draw with a heap of critical praise for excellent work in a series of classic dramas and comedies such as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Shop Around the Corner, an Oscar for The Philadelphia Story and Harvey. After serving in the military with distinction as a pilot during WWII and beyond, Stewart returned to screens with his now-iconic work as George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life which, along with gritty work in some exciting 1950’s Anthony Mann-directed Westerns such as The Naked Spur and The Man from Laramie, offered Stewart an opportunity to explore more mature, psychologically unsettled characters in his work, leading to his stark work as Scottie in his final collaboration with Hitchcock, after appearing in Rope, Rear Window and 1956’s The Man Who Knew Too Much. Although the nature of the role has Scottie in a benumbed state during portions of the film, as he displays more overbearing and selfish traits in his relationship with Judy, the audience empathy usually a given for Stewart onscreen is subdued as darker aspects of Scottie’s controlling behavior rise up, while Stewart enlivens the part with an aggression and bitterness rarely seen in his work. Following this central performance, Stewart would finish the decade strongly with his perceptive, deftly played work as a  shrewd lawyer in director Otto Preminger’s adult and engrossing hit drama Anatomy of a Murder (gaining his fifth and final Best Actor Oscar nomination, as well as the NYFC Award and British Academy Award) , followed by 1960’s hits such as The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance opposite John Wayne and Shenandoah, then becoming beloved as a folksy, fatherly figure on television talk shows in his later years, before his passing in 1997 at age 89.

Given the most multi-faceted and formidable role of her career, Kim Novak uses her contemplative, ethereal presence to bring exactly the right enigmatic air to the part of the dreamy Madeleine, while also revealing a coarse, more emotionally direct acting style as the tough and vulnerable Judy. Discovered by Columbia and given a big build up by the studio in the mid-1950s, the remarkably beautiful Novak quickly established herself as a top screen goddess of the era in major hits such as Picnic, The Man with the Golden Arm, The Eddy Duchin Story and Pal Joey. Although audiences had no hesitation in embracing Novak as a favorite, her sensitive, intuitive and individual acting made her a much-maligned target of some critics, who were familiar with stars emoting in a much more overt fashion. Fortunately, Novak and her calm, fragile playing style proved an ideal fit for the complex, secretive nature of Vertigo’s twin female leads, and she’s a viable-yet-ambiguous force throughout the film, illustrating accomplished screen acting of the highest order, whether detailing Madeleine’s distance, forlorn persona or Judy’s needy desperation as she attempts to change her destiny and find love with Scottie. Novak would continue for another ten years in Hollywood with films of various quality before largely walking away from films for a quieter but rewarding life, occasionally returning to the screen, perhaps most gloriously trading bitchy barbs with Elizabth Taylor as rival cinematic divas in 1980’s the Mirror Crack’d. With her magnificent turn in Vertigo leading the way, a re-assessment of Novak’s substantial onscreen thespian gifts by modern critics who now view her as one of the most distinct and watchable of the stars created during the reign of the Hollywood Studio System has brought interest and appreciation of her filmography to newer fans happy to see Novak om screen, as well as her public return, specifically at events honoring Vertigo and her bravura work therein, including a recent Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 2025 Venice Film Festival.

Barbara Bel Geddes, a star of stage (with Cat on a Hot Tin Roof a major 1950’s success) and film (Oscar-nominated for her 1948 debut in I Remember Mama) is very likable as Midge, Scottie’s available girlfriend. Bel Geddes, who had already made a mark in one of Alfred Hitchcock Presents most well-regarded episodes, the wryly morbid “Lamb to the Slaughter,” invaluably brings some warmth and humor to the often-dire plot structure with her playing of Midge, while also movingly depicting Midge’s heartbreak as the traumatized Scottie withdraws from her and everyone. Tom Helmore cuts an urban and opaque figure as Gavin Elster, a former college colleague who hires Scottie to follow his troubled wife. Henry Jones makes a potent impact as the passive-aggressive coroner who in a calm-yet-sadistic manner cuts Scottie down in a brief but key scene, and Ellen Corby paints a highly interesting figure as a hotel manager Scottie questions, especially on repeat viewings of the film wherein a viewer has to gauge how direct she is being with Scottie. Konstantin Shayne also has a significant, well-played moment as Pop Liebel, a bookstore owner and friend of Midge, who recounts a story concerning Carlotta Valdes after Scottie (literally) spies Madeleine at Carlotta’s grave. Finally, well-known character player Lee Patrick pops up in a bit as a woman who queries Scottie, and the director himself can be glimpsed early on walking across the screen.

                Upon release, Vertigo appeared to puzzle critics and moviegoers accustomed to lighter and/or more direct storylines in Hitchcock fare on the big or small screen. However, countering popular opinion that Vertigo was one of Hitchcock’s biggest flops, based on rentals of $3,200,000 (according to Variety) which placed the movie just outside the top twenty box-office hits of the year, the director was able to gain a solid if not massive audience for his labor of love. Critics have done a bigger 1-80 than perhaps with any other classic in re-assessing the merits of the film, with Vertigo consistently rising on lists of the great movies, specifically a mid-1980’s re-release of the film after it had been largely unseen for about twenty years along with other Hitchcock Paramount titles (Rope, Rear Window, The Trouble with Harry and 1956’s The Man Who Knew Too Much), and eventually placing at #1 on the 2012 Sight and Sound poll and #2 on the most current Sound poll from 2022. Vertigo also has a unique, lasting history in regards to one of the film’s most famous filming locations, as the serene Mission San Juan Bautista, which is an integral locale in the plot, can be visited today looking nearly identical to how it is seen in Vertigo, sans the tower that was never there anyway (it had to be created via Tinseltown magic). Although a must for cinephiles studying the history of films and the most highly regarded works therein, Vertigo is sure to grant a surprising, gripping viewing for anyone interested in diving into its vortex and discovering one of filmdom’s most stunningly contrived, enthralling mysteries.

Federico Fellini Scores a Cinematic 10 with 8 1/2

 

           One of the most personal, honest and experimental self-portraits by a major filmmaker, 1963’s 8½ allows Federico Fellini the platform to explore his art and personal life in semi-autobiographical fashion, providing viewers with insight into how the legendary director’s relationships and actions influenced his artist path. Detailing a critical juncture in the life of Fellini’s alter-ego, Guido Anselmi, who is taking a rest cure at an upscale resort to rejuvenate his creative facilities in order to attempt to oversee his latest project involving a spaceship built to take a large populace to outer-space safety during the atomic age, the multi-layer, non-linear screenplay by Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano and Brunello Rondi ingeniously combines the use of flashbacks, dreams and a more straightforward narrative design to convey the many demands and inner conflicts inhabiting the mindset of a talent of Fellini’ stature. A playful score by Nino Rota enlivens many scenes as comic moments are frequently inserted to grant a light touch and offset the more introspective themes concerning the nature of art, religion and politics. Truly phenomenal black and white cinematography by Gianni Di Venanzo, showing a masterful knowledge of shadow and light to create unforgettable cinematic images, impactfully highlights the equally astounding art direction and costumes by Piero Gherardi, who utilizes black and white design as brilliantly as even seen on a screen. A top cast, led by Marcello Mastroianni at his most charmingly urbane and weary, captures the many moods of a rich collection of players who coexist in the chaotic and fascinating world surrounding Guido.

          At the height of his abilities after getting his start in Italian films as a screenwriter in the 1940’s, with an Oscar nomination as co-writer of Roberto Rossellini’s landmark of neorealistic cinema, Open City, before rising to prominence as one of the most gifted filmmakers with the moving, enduring classics La Strada and Nights of Cabiria, which allowed wife Giulietta Masina a Best Actress Cannes award for her indelible portrait of the title character and a Best Foreign Film Oscar for each film, before starting the new decade with the worldwide success of La Dolce Vita, which placed a spotlight on the idle upper-class. After these three seminal works, Fellini was clearly prepared to dive deep for an internal look into his life and career, pushing his distinct talents to the limit in bringing this highly original and entertaining work to the masses, with Fellini carefully balancing an array of diverse plot elements and personalities while unfolding his uniquely surreal tale.

Fantasy sequences add much flavor to the involving storyline, with Fellini showing the full range of his imaginative gifts from the outset of the film, wherein Guido appears trapped in a car filling with smoke as other passengers in nearby vehicles look on with detachment, before Guido escapes and floats heavenward. A later sequence concerning Guido controlling his “harem,” which consists of nearly all the women in the cast, shows Fellini fearlessly poking fun at his chauvinistic tendencies as Guido’s matter of fact, condescending behavior comes face-to-face with rebellion from the fairer sex. In another revealing passage, Guido’s wife claims he is painting an altruistic image of himself with his project, while a viewer is being shown through this scene and others Guido has many flaws to weigh against his more understanding and likable traits, providing Fellini was willing to grant the audience a full-bodied take on his complicated persona. After 8½ Fellini would continue to put his individual mark on films often featuring increasingly bizarre content, while gaining two more competitive Oscars and a 1992 honorary Academy Award for his unsurpassed contributions to the cinema.

            Mastroianni, who started in films as a teen, then after two decades in the business gained international superstardom with La Dolce before cementing his position with an Oscar-nominated, Golden Globe-winning comic turn in Divorce, Italian Style, scores again with an ennui-laced portrayal as the blasé, forlorn Guido, while also using his comic gifts to add a sophisticated bemusement to Guido in the character’s more playful and imaginative moments. Also, Fellini must have been pleased to have himself represented onscreen in such a glamourous manner as, with wavy, peppered locks and his chiseled movie star countenance, Mastroianni is one of the most attractive ruminators ever caught on film. He incorporates a likeable low-key, urban quality to Guido that allows a viewer to connect with the sometimes detached and self-centered catalyst as he works his way through a myriad of setbacks, instilling the role with humane aspects that make Guido more relatable than off-putting. Following 8½, Mastroianni would remain a leading light in Italian cinema, with several fruitful collaborations opposite ideal costar Sophia Loren to his credit, gaining acclaim with two more Best Actor Oscar nominations, two Cannes Best Actor wins, two British Academy Awards, two Venice Film Festival acting prizes, and five David di Donatello Best Actor awards, including one for his reunion with Fellini, 1986’s amusing Ginger and Fred, opposite Masina. Mastroianni would pass in December of 1996 at 72, leaving behind one of the most formidable lists of film credits, with his work for Fellini aiding in ensuring his legacy. 

            As the image of Guido’s idealized woman for his film, the elegant, serene Claudia Cardinale, who just passed away on September 23rd at age 87, holds the screen with a dreamy magnetism in her brief appearances, leading to a more pronounced sequence with Guido as her radiant same-named star arrives to take part in the film. 1963 would prove to be a banner year for Cardinale, with 8½ preceding her work in Luchino Visconti’s equally-esteemed epic The Leopard, before her successful move, after five years of honing her craft in Italian films, into international stardom via The Pink Panther, leading to more success during the decade in major films, specifically The Professionals and Sergio Leone’s terrific 1968 Once Upon a Time in the West. Anouk Aimée was also witnessing a period of career highs in the 1960s, after making a film debut at 14 in 1947 and establishing herself in the French Cinema during the 1950s, before breaking out alongside Mastroianni as his paramour in La Dolce, then finding an iconic role as the alluring, bewitching title character of Jaques Demy’s Lola. With 8½ Aimée intelligently brings a knowing jadedness to her portrayal of Guido’s conflicted, bitter wife Luisa, who understands her husband’s faults and assets as well as anyone, while memorably sporting ultra-chic specs in a movie featuring top eyewear across the board. After 8½ Aimée would reach her film apex with Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe and British Academy Award winning work via director Claude Lelouch’s 1966 critical and box-office smash A Man and a Woman, then reunite with Demy at the close of the decade for Model Shop, working periodically thereafter, including more collaborations with Lelouch for the Man and a Woman sequel in 1986 and her final role in a 2019 Man and a Woman follow-up, The Best Years of a Life, before passing at age 92 in 2024.

Barbara Steele, in perhaps her best role outside of the horror genre wherein she made her greatest claim to fame via 1960’s Black Sunday, brings her singular screen presence, angular offbeat looks and a perverse sensibility to her role of Gloria Morin, the mysterious young girlfriend of Guido’s close friend Mario (Mario Pisu, happily sweating through the character’s midlife crisis as he seeks to hold onto some semblance of youth through his affair with Gloria). In one of the film’s most entertaining set pieces, Gloria twists and sensually undulates with and then perplexedly away from Mario at an outdoor dance forum in joyful rhythm with the music’s upbeat tempo. Sandra Milo also lends highly original shadings to the movie as Carla, Guido’s spirited, impish mistress who seeks to get her husband a job with Guido amid her trysts with the powerful director. Madeleine Lebeau is tellingly on point as Madeleine, the alert, desperate actress cast in the project and looking for more attention from Guido, along with an expanded role. Rossella Falk has cosmopolitan flair and an appropriately caustic tone as Luisa’s loyal friend Rossella, while Eddra Gale possesses one of the most unforgettable visages in a Fellini picture as the robust, lustful La Saraghina, who puts over a few lively dance moves of her own on a beach in possibly the richest and most entertaining flashback sequence. Additionally, providing takes of their actual roles in Fellini’s moviemaking endeavors, Mario Conocchia, Bruno Agostini and Cesarino Miceli Picardi offer insightful takes on certain colorful types of moviemaking production figures.

Wide acclaim and high audience interest in Fellini’s most innovative and flamboyant work to date allowed 8½ to rank with the top praised and highest profile of the 1963 cinematic crop. During awards season 8½ was often cited, with Best Foreign Film awards from The National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Circle, a nomination for Fellini from the Director’s Guild of America and inclusion on The New York Times list of 1963’s top ten films. Five Academy Award nominations (rare at the time for a non-American film) were allotted to 8 ½, including a Best Director nod for Fellini, who would go home with another Best Foreign Film Oscar and one of the most warranted Best Costume Design (Black and White) wins for Gherardi. The lasting legacy of the film has led to a hit, Tony Award-winning 1982 Broadway musical adaptation, Nine, and regular placement of the imposing work on “All-Time” list of the greatest movies ever lensed, including regular placement inside the top ten on the Sight and Sound poll of the greatest films, conducted every ten years (achieving its highest rank of #4 in 1972, and coming in at #32 on the 2022 poll). For a stunning behind-the-scenes take of an artist seemingly at the peak of his career and abilities, but at a professional and personal crossroads simultaneously stunting his progress, film connoisseurs looking to be rewarded with a rich, funny and provocative viewing experience need only stop at 8½.

Humphrey Bogart Seeks Cinematic Gold via John Huston’s Peerless Treasure

 

                Allowing a resourcefulness and intensity seldom see on the screen, writer/director John Huston’s stark 1948 drama The Treasure of the Sierra Madre details a parable of greed with stunning precision. With on-location shooting in Mexico bringing a realism to the tale rare to find in a classic Hollywood production, Huston translates his screenplay (based on the B. Traven 1927 novel) to film with a skill and depth that ensures the colorful characters and their adventurous trek to find gold in the title locale reach the audience with maximum effectiveness. Featuring Humphrey Bogart in possibly his most demanding role as Fred C. Dobbs, the down-on-his-luck anti-hero desperate to find and lay his claim on the gold at any cost, Huston unfolds the story with an admirable straightforwardness and dramatic force in scenes of overwhelming potency, aided by Ted D. McCord’s B&W cinematography, one of Max Steiner’s tensest, most rousing scores and a first-rate cast surrounding Bogart, including Huston’s esteemed father, Walter, in one of his signature roles as Howard, the sage old prospector who accompanies Dobbs on his quest, and Tim Holt as a third party in the expedition, the earnest young Bob Curtin.

Treasure represented an exceptional return to form for the adventurous John Huston who, after gaining solid ground as a screenwriter in the 1930s, announced himself as a director of skill and style with Falcon, before leaving Hollywood to make films for the Army Signal Corps during WWII. With Treasure, Huston perfectly captures the uneasy tone of the piece, as alliances shift among the main characters and jeopardy constantly looms for Dobbs and his colleagues. Unfolding the dark tale with straightforward honesty and without a trace of sentimentality or slickness normally found in films of the period, Huston crafts one of the most mature and intelligent works from Hollywood’s Golden Age. After this powerful, insightful picture, Huston would continue experimenting with the film medium with ample success as a director and writer, including one of the great noirs with 1950’s Asphalt Jungle, gaining commercial and critical success with the prime entertainment of The African Queen and an intriguing take on Toulouse-Lautrec via 1952’s Moulin Rouge, ambitiously tackling one of his biggest productions with 1956’s Moby Dick, helming 1961’s interesting The Misfits, the swansong for both Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe, then proving his sure touch was undiminished in the new 1970’s cinema era with enjoyable, potent fare such as Fat City and the rousing The Man Who Would Be King. Huston also scored a degree of merit as a character actor, with an Oscar nomination for 1963’s The Cardinal and one of filmdom’s most notable villains as the lecherous Noah Cross in 1974’s Chinatown. Just before his passing in 1987 at 81, Huston again witnessed major directorial success, artistically triumphing with Prizzi’s Honor (bringing an Oscar to daughter Anjelica) and The Dead.

Bogart, reuniting with director Huston for a dramatic assignment that ranks among his most indelible and rewarding work after a beneficial association that included Falcon and, later in 1948, a hit with Key Largo, fully commits to the challenging role, lending a riveting conviction to Dobbs that intensifies as the prospector becomes progressively more desperate concerning the idea of gaining life-altering fortune and keeping it for himself. Having carefully built a career as an action hero with a romantic edge since his 1941 breakthrough via High Sierra and The Maltese Falcon to become one Warner Brothers and Hollywood’s most respected and profitable talents, in Treasure Bogart daringly goes against type while pushing his thespian abilities to the limit to display the nervous paranoia and avarice that propels a man to drop any semblance of scruples, as well as his grasp on sanity. After Treasure, Bogart’s filmography would continue to experience unabated highlights, including another classic endeavor with Huston for Bogart’s Oscar win as the unkempt captain of The African Queen, in a perfect pairing with Katharine Hepburn, as well as further striking, emotionally revealing dramatic work in 1950’s top noir In a Lonely Place and as the sweaty and paranoid Captain Queeg in 1954’s The Caine Mutiny,  which provided Bogart with one of his biggest hits and best reviews, as well as a final Best Actor Oscar nomination in a competitive year that saw Marlon Brando finally winning for On the Waterfront, before Bogart’s passing in early 1957.

Stage and screen veteran Walter Huston is granted one of the juiciest roles of his revered career, and he devours the choice assignment with a greedy gusto befitting the central theme of the movie. Bearing a cheerful but sage attitude and a slyness that allows the audience to judge Howard as no one’s patsy, Huston invaluably brings a liveliness and humor to the otherwise intense storyline that enriches the action and provides some needed levity from the grim outlook facing the team, while also showcasing his dramatic finesse in scenes of conflict with the increasingly edgy Dobbs. Starting his stage work as a teen in 1902, Huston would ply the boards in vaudeville and theater until a Broadway debut in 1924, followed by an enriching move into films at the start of the Sound Era in 1929, wherein for the rest of his life he remained one of the most sought-after actors in the business, with Oscar nominations for his enduring, deft work as the title character of 1936’s Dodsworth, an excellent adaptation of his Broadway triumph, All That Heaven Allows and Yankee Doodle Dandy preceding Treasure. Following Treasure, Huston would make a couple films before going out on a high note onscreen opposite Barbara Stanwyck in another imposing, meaty role as a sinister cattle baron in the florid, noir-tinged Western The Furies, released posthumously in 1950 after his passing.

As Bob, Tim Holt combines an earnest everyman quality with a believable ruggedness Holt honed from his experience during the decade as a top star of B Westerns, after starting in films as a child and alternating his low-budget endeavors with classics such as Stella Dallas, Stagecoach, My Darling Clementine and, memorably, as the spoiled George in Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons. By nature of his boyishly honest demeanor Holt allows for a strong identification figure the audience can follow as events develop and one fears more and more for Bob’s safety. Portraying James Cody, who arrives on the scene mid-film to join the trio in their gold-digging exploits, the handsome, lanky Bruce Bennett (also known as Olympic Herman Brix, and thereafter a screen Tarzan before working his way up in movies to one of the male leads in 1945’s Mildred Pierce) in one of his best performances brings  a weary decency to the role that ranks Cody, along with Bob, as the most sympathetic characters on screen.

Alfonso Bedoya aligns with Huston’s Noah Cross as one of the screen’s most sinister characters as the malevolent “Gold Hat,” a bandit without a trace of benevolence in him. Bedoya imposingly portrays the dangerous nature surrounding Gold Hat’s careless-yet-aggressive, spontaneous actions, indicating the volatile evilness at his core, specifically while uttering one of the cinema’s most famous lines concerning his thoughts on displaying badges. Supreme character player Barton MacLane relishes in conveying an oily underhandedness as the sneaky contractor Dobbs unfortunately encounters, while the adolescent Bobby Blake makes a charming impression as the boy trying to sell Dobbs a lottery ticket at the film’s outset. Finally, John Huston makes one of the best directorial cameo appearances as the wary gentleman twice accosted for a handout by Dobbs early in the film, fully suggesting the passerby’s disgust with Dobbs with a sour glance and brief chastising of the downtrodden wanderer.

                Released in January of 1948, Treasure managed to gain solid box-office returns (grossing just over $4,000,000 worldwide, according to Variety) despite the bleak nature of the story, which was so powerfully depicted that, unlike many early year releases that fade from favor come awards season, Treasure collected a trove of prizes to match a wealth of initial critical praise. Among other honors, the film placed among the ten best on The New York Times and The National Board of Review lists, with Huston also winning for Best Screenplay and father Walter winning for Best Supporting Actor, while the Golden Globes bestowed Best Picture (in a tie with Johnny Belinda), Best Director and Best Supporting Actor wins on the movie. The New York Film Critics’ Awards cited the film as the year’s best, with another Best Director prize for Huston, while the Writer’s Guild gave Huston a nod for Best Written American Drama and a win for best scripted Western. On the international film festival circuit, Max Steiner gained a Best Original Music prize from Venice. Come Oscar night, Treasure won John Best Director and Screenplay Academy Awards, with Walter taking home a richly deserved Best Supporting Actor win. Time has found Treasure’s status as one of Hollywood’s most influential and absorbing classics undiminished, witnessed by the film’s inclusion on the initial 1990 National Film Registry list of films for preservation, followed by placement at #30 and #38 on the AFI’s 1998 and 2007 lists of the 100 greatest American films. Illustrating the dangers of greed as artfully and profoundly as any other cinematic endeavor, Treasure of the Sierra Madre is sure to thrill anyone seeking out a superior viewing experience loaded with a wealth of dramatic riches.

Bidding Adieu to Robert Redford, a Golden Icon Onscreen and Off

 

One of the most influential and beloved figures in cinema for his notable achievements both in front and behind the cameras, Hollywood’s most renown fair-haired male superstar Robert Redford passed September 16^th at 89. Starting his career in the late 1950’s on stage with Tall Story, Redford would thrive in the early 1960s on television, including “Nothing in the Dark,” one of the best Twilight Zone episodes, and gaining an Emmy nomination for “The Voice of Charlie Pont,” while making his film debut in a bit via the 1960 screen adaptation of Story, which coincidentally also featured Redford’s future and most frequent costar Jane Fonda in her first film. Gaining momentum and a Theater World Award for Sunday in New York, Redford would raise his career bar substantially as the male lead in the 1963 Broadway smash Barefoot in the Park, then make an impression opposite Natalie Wood in 1965’s Inside Daisy Clover (which one Redford a Golden Globe as best new male star) and This Property is Condemned before his first real teaming with Fonda in the all-star potboiler The Chase.

 Those three weren’t hits, but Redford soon broke through as a leading man of great charm, allure and comic deftness with the smash 1967 screen version of Barefoot opposite Fonda, wherein Redford plays one of his most relatable, likeable heroes as newlywed Paul Bratter, generating a beguiling, believable chemistry with Fonda to create an ideal, lively romantic couple of genetic perfection. Redford may look like a million bucks, but as Paul he conveys a decency and down-to-earth appeal audiences can relate to, while delivering his lines with ace comic brio for an endearingly funny, handsome and affable hero. Following this, Redford would reach the pantheon of top male box-office stars teaming with the current king in that area, Paul Newman, as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The rare camaraderie the two possess during the unfolding of this breezy Western helped Butch become one of the blockbusters of its era, and set Redford up for a run as one of the most bankable and admired stars of the 1970s, while also winning the British Best Actor Academy Award for Butch and his other two 1969 releases, Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here and Downhill Racer.

This breakthrough year promising greater things ahead for the newly-minted megastar indeed panned out, with successes such as Jeremiah Johnson and his 1973 one-two punch consisting of smoothly reteaming with Newman for The Sting (which won Best Picture and gained the suave, sly Redford his sole Best Actor nomination at the Oscars) and The Way We Were opposite Barbra Streisand, who wanted no one but Redford as her costar, such was his status in the movie industry as the preeminent male star of the period, made evident by the resounding popularity of both films. Following this astounding year, Redford possibly hit a snag with the big-budget, highly publicized 1974 rendering of The Great Gatsby, but recovered nicely with Three Days of the Condor and The Great Waldo Pepper, both  hits, then another critical and financial smash opposite Dustin Hoffman in All the President’s Men, before closing the decade out in another all-star endeavor, A Bridge Too Far, and a successful romantic comedy reunion with Fonda for The Electric Horsemen.

                The end of the 1970s also brought a shift in Redford’s career focus, with the establishment of the Sundance Film Festival in 1978, which became and remains one of the biggest venues for independent filmmakers to showcase their works, and his switch behind the camera to helm 1980’s profoundly moving and skillfully crafted Ordinary People, which enabled Redford the chance to display his talent as a sensitive, thoughtful director capable of drawing great performances from an exceptional cast. Following this triumph, which won several Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Redford, Redford would focus more on Sundance and Director/Producer duties with The Milagro Beanfield War, the serene A River Runs Through It and the riveting Quiz Show, which brought Redford nominations as producer and director, while still bringing his calm, sage persona to major productions as Brubaker, The Natural, involved in another Best Picture endeavor and top female costar with Meryl Streep in Out of Africia before convincingly moving into more mature roles with 1993’s Indecent Proposal, Up Close and Personal and The Horse Whisperer, his first starring feature wherein he also served as producer/director.

                In his later years, Redford became an elder stateman for American cinema, particularly through his continued dedication to Sundance. He continued in front and behind the camera, with distinct recognition for his acting in indies, including 2013’s All is Lost, which offered Redford a Best Actor win from the prestigious New York Film Critics, a touching final pairing with Fonda in Our Souls at Night before another imposing performance as The Old Man & the Gun and returning to the mainstream for Disney Studios’ Pete’s Dragon and, for Marvel, as Alexander Pierce in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and his final film appearance in another mammoth money spinner, 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. For his many significant contributions to cinema, Redford also gained several major awards, including the Cecil B. DeMille Award from the Globes in 1994, an honorary Oscar in 2002, a 2005 Kennedy Center Honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama in 2016 and a 2017 Lifetime Achievement Golden Lion from the Venice Film Festival. Rest in Peace to one of the most important, virtuoso and classy figures in motion pictures, Robert Redford.