August 29th marks both the birth (in 1915) and death (in 1982) of Ingrid Bergman.  I happen to be in a very “Ingrid” state of mind because, coincidentally, I’m a guest on Pia Lindstrom’s Sirius XM radio show on Monday, September 3rd, at 10:30pm on channel 80 (repeated on Friday, the 7th, at 3:30pm).  Lindstrom [...]

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Unlike Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly made quite a few non-musical pictures during his MGM heyday as a singing and dancing superstar, clearly hoping for some recognition as a serious actor to go with the praise he received whenever he put on tap shoes or choreographed a ballet.  Aside from Inherit the Wind (1960), which came after the demise of [...]

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Director and writer Sam Fuller died at age 85 in 1997, and Oscar-winning English actress Wendy Hiller died at age 90 in 2003.  Both would have turned 100 this week, Fuller on August 12th and Hiller on August 15th.  Among Fuller’s better-known films are Pickup on South Street (1953), Forty Guns (1957), and Shock Corridor (1963).  Hiller [...]

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Last week we lost Tony Martin (on July 27) and Gore Vidal (on July 31).  Mr. Martin was 98; Mr. Vidal a mere 86.  They have absolutely nothing to do with each other, joined momentarily by the coincidence of when they happened to leave us.  Neither was a major force in movies but both made their mark with some shining [...]

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