María Félix 100 -- April 8, 2014

Happy 100th birthday to Golden Age Mexican actress María Félix.  La Doña won three Ariel Awards.  One of her Ariels was for Enamorada. 

The photo of María Félix and the poster are from www.listal.com.

Francis Ford Coppola 75 -- April 7, 2014

Francis Ford Coppola was born 75 years ago, on 07-April-1939.  I think the first movie of his that I saw was Dementia 13 on Creature Features, a late night horror show on KTVU Channel 2. 

I was too young to see The Godfather when it came out, but I read the Mad Magazine version over and over again. 

The first movie of his that I saw in a theater was The Conversation.  It was on a double bill with something totally unrelated.  I can't remember where I saw it. 

I saw Apocalypse Now  at the Strand, a Market Street house that was very popular with homeless people.  It seemed appropriate, especially when a character mentioned the unspeakable things going on in Kurtz's compound. 

I saw Hammett, which Coppola mostly reshot after Wim Wenders left the project, at the Metro on Union, I think.  I liked the book better. 

We saw The Cotton Club at the Bridge on Geary.  I liked it.  My then-fiancée, who tap dances, liked it.  Critics did not like it. 

I don't know how many times we saw "Captain EO", with Michael Jackson, at Disneyland. 

I've seen his other movies, including the three Godfathers on television.  I would like to see Godfather and Godfather Part 2 in a theater. 

We went to see Abel Gance's Napoleon, with a score by Coppola's father Carmine, at the Opera House. 

Coppola opened a restaurant in the Sentinel Building in North Beach.  Boss Abe Ruef had his office in the building. 

The photo of Coppola with his Godfather Academy Awards and the poster are from www.listal.com.

Mickey Rooney, RIP -- April 7, 2014

I came home from a rosary for my father-in-law and learned that Mickey Rooney had died.  I was recently thinking about how he was one of the last living people who had starred in a silent movie, in his case a series of Mickey McGuire short comedies.  He may also have been the last person alive who starred in a movie with Tom Mix.  The poster for My Pal, the King is from Listal (www.listal.com), 

I remember seeing  him on television when I was a kid and having trouble relating him to the young boy I saw in old movies. 

He was widely talented.  His career had a lot of ups and downs, but more ups.  I'm sorry to see him gone. 

Bessie Love #16 -- April 6, 2014

I have always been fascinated by the career of actress Bessie Love.  She was born in Texas.  Her name was Juanita Horton.  Her family moved to Los Angeles and she went to Los Angeles High School.  Looking for work, she met director  DW Griffith and got a small part in Intolerance.  She appeared in movies with William S Hart and Douglas Fairbanks.  She was a 1922 WAMPAS (Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers) Baby Star.  She played many leading roles, most famously in The Lost World, but never broke through until the talkies came, when she starred in The Broadway Melody.  Her career was hot again for a few years, but then tailed off.  She continued to appear in small parts in movies until the early 1980s.
Here is nice photo of Bessie Love.  That is a nice composition with the mirror. 

Scene in a Modern Motion Picture Studio -- April 4, 2014

This image of a stage in the Jersey City studio of Pathé Freres is 11-July-1914 Moving Picture World.  The cameraman is Lefty Miller, "ex-professional baseball player."  He must not be Elmer "Lefty" Miller, a pitcher, who would have been only eleven that year.  John McGraw was manager of the New York Giants from 1902 to 1932 

Alec Guinness 100 -- April 2, 2014

Sir Alec Guinness, CH CBE (Companion of Honor, Commander of the British Empire) was born on 02-April-1914.  He studied acting and appeared on the stage before World War II.  During the war, he served as an enlisted man in the Royal Navy, with time on leave to appear in a Broadway play. 

After the war, he appeared in many movies.  He could play almost anything, from military officers (Bridge on the River Kwai) to to Dickens characters (Oliver Twist, Great Expectations), Popes (Brother Sun, Sister Moon) to Father Brown to Obi-Wan Kenobi.  I think of him in association with the Ealing comedies.  I think the first one I saw was Kind Hearts and Coronets on PBS.  Guinness played eight characters.  I love The Man in the White Suit and The Lavender Hill Mob, but my favorite is The Ladykillers. 

The photo of Alec Guinness as the Professor and the poster are from www.listal.com.

Will Greta Garbo Be Mrs Ben Turpin? -- April 1, 2014

Sorry Miss Garbo, he's taken. 

From the July, 1928 Motion Picture Magazine.