Dean Smith, who won a gold medal as a sprinter at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics before becoming a top-notch Hollywood stunt performer who worked on a dozen films starring John Wayne, has died. He was 91.
Smith died Saturday at his home in Breckenridge, Texas, after a battle with cancer, his friend Rob Word told The Hollywood Reporter.
Smith, who got into the business with help from James Garner, appeared in seven Paul Newman films, including Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), The Sting (1973) and The Towering Inferno (1974).
The tough Texan, who loved to say he could “ride, run and jump,” doubled for good friend Dale Robertson on the 1957-62 NBC series Tales of Wells Fargo, the 1964 film Blood on the Arrow and the 1966-68 ABC series Iron Horse.
He also did the dirty work for Ben Johnson...
Smith died Saturday at his home in Breckenridge, Texas, after a battle with cancer, his friend Rob Word told The Hollywood Reporter.
Smith, who got into the business with help from James Garner, appeared in seven Paul Newman films, including Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), The Sting (1973) and The Towering Inferno (1974).
The tough Texan, who loved to say he could “ride, run and jump,” doubled for good friend Dale Robertson on the 1957-62 NBC series Tales of Wells Fargo, the 1964 film Blood on the Arrow and the 1966-68 ABC series Iron Horse.
He also did the dirty work for Ben Johnson...
- 6/25/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Veteran actor and frequent scene stealer Bruce Davison joins Josh Olson and Joe Dante to discuss a few of his favorite films.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Extra School (2017)
Gone With The Wind (1939)
Willard (1971) – Joe Dante’s review, Lee Broughton’s Blu-ray review
Fortune And Men’s Eyes (1971)
Short Cuts (1993) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Longtime Companion (1989)
Last Summer (1969) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary
Short Eyes (1977)
The Manor (2021)
Ulzana’s Raid (1972) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review and All-Region Blu-ray review
King Solomon’s Mines (1950) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937)
Them! (1954) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentary
Tarantula (1955) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1954) – Mick Garris’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Spartacus (1960) – Larry Cohen’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Ben-Hur (1959) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Psycho (1960) – John Landis’s trailer commentary,...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Extra School (2017)
Gone With The Wind (1939)
Willard (1971) – Joe Dante’s review, Lee Broughton’s Blu-ray review
Fortune And Men’s Eyes (1971)
Short Cuts (1993) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Longtime Companion (1989)
Last Summer (1969) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary
Short Eyes (1977)
The Manor (2021)
Ulzana’s Raid (1972) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review and All-Region Blu-ray review
King Solomon’s Mines (1950) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937)
Them! (1954) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentary
Tarantula (1955) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1954) – Mick Garris’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Spartacus (1960) – Larry Cohen’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Ben-Hur (1959) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Psycho (1960) – John Landis’s trailer commentary,...
- 2/8/2022
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Our 75th guest! The legendary filmmaker John Sayles joins Josh and Joe to explore some of his favorite movies.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Ulzana’s Raid (1972)
Django (1966)
The Birth Of A Nation (1915)
City Of Hope (1991)
Return of the Secaucus 7 (1980)
The Challenge (1982)
Avalanche (1978)
Eight Men Out (1988)
Piranha (1978)
The Howling (1981)
The Wizard Of Oz (1939)
The Killers (1964)
The King And I (1956)
Time Without Pity (1957)
The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964)
Ben-Hur (1957)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
Two Women (1960)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Citizen Kane (1941)
Spartacus (1960)
Fixed Bayonets! (1951)
The Steel Helmet (1951)
Merrill’s Marauders (1962)
Targets (1968)
Touch Of Evil (1958)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Woodstock (1970)
Crime In The Streets (1956)
The Bad Seed (1956)
The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)
Fedora (1978)
Dune (1984)
The Cotton Club (1984)
Choose Me (1984)
Raising Arizona (1987)
El Norte (1983)
Yellow Sky (1948)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
The Irishman (2019)
A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood (2019)
The Thing (1982)
Chinatown (1974)
Manhattan (1979)
Duck Amuck (1953)
Goodfellas (1990)
Humanoids Of The Deep (1980)
Cockfighter (1974)
Dynamite Women a.k.a. The Great Texas Dynamite Chase...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Ulzana’s Raid (1972)
Django (1966)
The Birth Of A Nation (1915)
City Of Hope (1991)
Return of the Secaucus 7 (1980)
The Challenge (1982)
Avalanche (1978)
Eight Men Out (1988)
Piranha (1978)
The Howling (1981)
The Wizard Of Oz (1939)
The Killers (1964)
The King And I (1956)
Time Without Pity (1957)
The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964)
Ben-Hur (1957)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
Two Women (1960)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Citizen Kane (1941)
Spartacus (1960)
Fixed Bayonets! (1951)
The Steel Helmet (1951)
Merrill’s Marauders (1962)
Targets (1968)
Touch Of Evil (1958)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Woodstock (1970)
Crime In The Streets (1956)
The Bad Seed (1956)
The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)
Fedora (1978)
Dune (1984)
The Cotton Club (1984)
Choose Me (1984)
Raising Arizona (1987)
El Norte (1983)
Yellow Sky (1948)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
The Irishman (2019)
A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood (2019)
The Thing (1982)
Chinatown (1974)
Manhattan (1979)
Duck Amuck (1953)
Goodfellas (1990)
Humanoids Of The Deep (1980)
Cockfighter (1974)
Dynamite Women a.k.a. The Great Texas Dynamite Chase...
- 4/7/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Bernard Herrmann music + weird landscapes = Nirvana. This big-star western tale has an unbreakable story but terrible dialogue and weak characters... yet for fans of adventure filmmaking it's a legend, thanks to a thunderous Bernard Herrmann music score that transforms dozens of uncanny, real Mexican locations into something other-worldly. Garden of Evil Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1954 / Color / 2:55 widescreen / 100 min. / Ship Date May 10, 2016 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Gary Cooper, Susan Hayward, Richard Widmark, Hugh Marlowe, Cameron Mitchell, Rita Moreno, Víctor Manuel Mendoza. Cinematography Milton R. Krasner, Jorge Stahl Jr. Art Direction Edward Fitzgerald, Lyle Wheeler Film Editor James B. Clark Original Music Bernard Herrmann Special Effects Ray Kellogg Written by Frank Fenton, Fred Freiberger, William Tunberg Produced by Charles Brackett Directed by Henry Hathaway
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
"The Garden of Evil. If the world was made of gold, I guess men would die for a handful of dirt.
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
"The Garden of Evil. If the world was made of gold, I guess men would die for a handful of dirt.
- 5/14/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
What would seem the perfect project for tough-guy director Robert Aldrich still commands a high reputation with some. Ambitious top-dog hobo Lee Marvin squares off against Ernest Borgnine's nearly demonic railroad conductor who routinely murders bums that dare to hitch a ride. The mayhem culminates in a battle on a moving flat car, between Ernie's log chain and Lee's fire ax. But the poetic dialogue and allegorical pretension may be more lethal. Emperor of the North Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1973 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 120 min. / Ship Date September 8, 2015 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Keith Carradine, Charles Tyner, Malcolm Atterbury, Simon Oakland, Harry Caesar, Hal Baylor, Matt Clark, Elisha Cook Jr., Joe Di Reda, Liam Dunn, Diane Dye, Robert Foulk, Sid Haig, Vic Tayback, Dave Willock, Lance Henricksen. Cinematography Joseph Biroc Art Direction Jack Martin Smith Film Editor Michael Luciano Original Music Frank De Vol...
- 9/29/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Lancaster in director Robert Aldrich's superb 1972 Western Ulzana's Raid, one of many films to be screened in tribute to the Oscar-winning screen legend.
In-person:
Joanna Lancaster, Susie Lancaster, actor Ed Lauter and author James Naremore (4/5); actress Terry Moore (4/8); author Alan K. Rode (5/4).
Burt Lancaster was an American original. Born in 1913 in the melting pot of East Harlem, he first acted on the stage of the Union Settlement House before his natural athleticism drew him to a successful career as a circus aerialist. The strapping, blue-eyed, blonde with the legendary grin later referred to Hollywood as “nothing more than a big circus” and when fate brought him into the big top, he seized center ring. A chance meeting with a theatrical agent in 1945 (while picking up his future wife, Norma, for lunch) led to an appearance on Broadway and a contract with producer Hal Wallis who planned to introduce him...
In-person:
Joanna Lancaster, Susie Lancaster, actor Ed Lauter and author James Naremore (4/5); actress Terry Moore (4/8); author Alan K. Rode (5/4).
Burt Lancaster was an American original. Born in 1913 in the melting pot of East Harlem, he first acted on the stage of the Union Settlement House before his natural athleticism drew him to a successful career as a circus aerialist. The strapping, blue-eyed, blonde with the legendary grin later referred to Hollywood as “nothing more than a big circus” and when fate brought him into the big top, he seized center ring. A chance meeting with a theatrical agent in 1945 (while picking up his future wife, Norma, for lunch) led to an appearance on Broadway and a contract with producer Hal Wallis who planned to introduce him...
- 4/3/2013
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Swashbuckling screenwriter behind Rob Roy, Ulzana's Raid and Night Moves
Alan Sharp, who has died of brain cancer aged 79, once claimed that as a screenwriter he was most interested in "moral ambiguity, mixed motives and irony", all of which are applicable to two of his best movies, the western Ulzana's Raid (1972), directed by Robert Aldrich, and the thriller Night Moves (1975), directed by Arthur Penn. Most of his screenplays were written in the 1970s and reflect the era in which America was suffering the effects of the Vietnam war and post-Watergate paranoia. This goes some way to explaining the bleakness and cynical sense of destiny in Sharp's films, which he called "existential melodramas".
He was born in Alyth, near Dundee. Although the majority of his scripts were set in the Us, where he lived for many years, Scotland remained pre-eminent in his character and culture. His script for Rob Roy (1995), a...
Alan Sharp, who has died of brain cancer aged 79, once claimed that as a screenwriter he was most interested in "moral ambiguity, mixed motives and irony", all of which are applicable to two of his best movies, the western Ulzana's Raid (1972), directed by Robert Aldrich, and the thriller Night Moves (1975), directed by Arthur Penn. Most of his screenplays were written in the 1970s and reflect the era in which America was suffering the effects of the Vietnam war and post-Watergate paranoia. This goes some way to explaining the bleakness and cynical sense of destiny in Sharp's films, which he called "existential melodramas".
He was born in Alyth, near Dundee. Although the majority of his scripts were set in the Us, where he lived for many years, Scotland remained pre-eminent in his character and culture. His script for Rob Roy (1995), a...
- 2/14/2013
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
I had the pleasure of meeting novelist/screenwriter Alan Sharp while preparing the production notes for the 1983 Sam Peckinpah movie "The Osterman Weekend," which was to be the director's last. While that film did not mark either man's finest hour, Sharp was one of Hollywood's most respected screenwriters; he specialized in muscular western noir. He died last weekend at the age of 78 after a long illness. Born in Scotland, after writing a series of novels, Sharp wrote the screenplays for Peter Fonda's 1971 follow-up to "Easy Rider," "The Hired Hand," co-starring Fonda and Warren Oates; Robert Aldrich western "Ulzana's Raid" (1972), starring Burt Lancaster; Arthur Penn's iconic private eye thriller "Night Moves" (1975), starring Gene Hackman and Melanie Griffith; and Michael Caton-Jones' 1995 Highland outlaw epic "Rob Roy," starring Liam Neeson and Jessica Lange. Sharp also directed the...
- 2/13/2013
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Gregory La Cava and Irene Dunne
"An extraordinary movie is being screened at Anthology Film Archives [today] through Sunday," writes the New Yorker's Richard Brody: "Unfinished Business, a bitterly passionate romantic drama with a relentless comic tone, from 1941, starring Irene Dunne and Robert Montgomery and directed by Gregory La Cava. It's part of the ongoing series Stuck on the Second Tier: Underknown Auteurs, programmed by Miriam Bale, and you can't get it on home video." And it's "a minor masterwork of performance, direction, and screenwriting."
Unknown Auteurs is actually a set of series running at various locations in New York, with Anthology focusing on La Cava; the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum of the Moving Image, for example, will have other editions soon, but for now, Michael Rawls has an overview of the La Cava selections in Cinespect and David Cairns wrote about Unfinished Business here in the Notebook yesterday.
"An extraordinary movie is being screened at Anthology Film Archives [today] through Sunday," writes the New Yorker's Richard Brody: "Unfinished Business, a bitterly passionate romantic drama with a relentless comic tone, from 1941, starring Irene Dunne and Robert Montgomery and directed by Gregory La Cava. It's part of the ongoing series Stuck on the Second Tier: Underknown Auteurs, programmed by Miriam Bale, and you can't get it on home video." And it's "a minor masterwork of performance, direction, and screenwriting."
Unknown Auteurs is actually a set of series running at various locations in New York, with Anthology focusing on La Cava; the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum of the Moving Image, for example, will have other editions soon, but for now, Michael Rawls has an overview of the La Cava selections in Cinespect and David Cairns wrote about Unfinished Business here in the Notebook yesterday.
- 1/27/2012
- MUBI
Mexican star Joaquin Martinez has lost his battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 81.
The actor passed away at his home in Everdingen in the Netherlands on 3 January. Details of his death have only just emerged.
Martinez left Mexico for Los Angeles after making his breakthrough in the 1967 movie Pedro Paramo, and went on to work in film, TV and onstage for more than 30 years.
He starred in a number of Western TV shows, including Gunsmoke and Bonanza, and also appeared on Dynasty, L.A. Law and Ironside.
Martinez also appeared onstage with Christopher Reeve in Tennessee Williams' Summer and Smoke in 1988, as well as in the James Bond thriller Die Another Day in 2002.
The star is best remembered for his part in Sydney Pollack's Jeremiah Johnson and for playing the title role in Ulzana's Raid.
The actor passed away at his home in Everdingen in the Netherlands on 3 January. Details of his death have only just emerged.
Martinez left Mexico for Los Angeles after making his breakthrough in the 1967 movie Pedro Paramo, and went on to work in film, TV and onstage for more than 30 years.
He starred in a number of Western TV shows, including Gunsmoke and Bonanza, and also appeared on Dynasty, L.A. Law and Ironside.
Martinez also appeared onstage with Christopher Reeve in Tennessee Williams' Summer and Smoke in 1988, as well as in the James Bond thriller Die Another Day in 2002.
The star is best remembered for his part in Sydney Pollack's Jeremiah Johnson and for playing the title role in Ulzana's Raid.
- 1/27/2012
- WENN
From Touching the Void to State of Play, Kevin Macdonald's directing career has veered between fact and fiction with ease. He tells Steve Rose why he likes to mix things up
Not so long ago, it looked as though we'd lost Kevin Macdonald to Hollywood for good. His last movie, State of Play, gave a British TV thriller a slick American makeover, and it seemed only natural that Macdonald would do the same to his career, like so many before him. But a Hollywood ending was never on the cards, it turns out. "I didn't really understand that place," Macdonald says now. "I don't really understand the mentality. I don't understand why people made the decisions they made. Actually, I'm much more European than I thought."
He looks back on the two years making State of Play as a fraught experience, which was not helped by the departure of his original star,...
Not so long ago, it looked as though we'd lost Kevin Macdonald to Hollywood for good. His last movie, State of Play, gave a British TV thriller a slick American makeover, and it seemed only natural that Macdonald would do the same to his career, like so many before him. But a Hollywood ending was never on the cards, it turns out. "I didn't really understand that place," Macdonald says now. "I don't really understand the mentality. I don't understand why people made the decisions they made. Actually, I'm much more European than I thought."
He looks back on the two years making State of Play as a fraught experience, which was not helped by the departure of his original star,...
- 3/18/2011
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
After years of ambiguous anti-war movies, HBO's TV epic gives audiences a familiar, clear-cut bad guy
When the first episode of Band Of Brothers, HBO's 10-part saga of a parachute infantry company's progress from D-Day to the German surrender and beyond, was broadcast on American television on 9 September, 2001, the United States had not participated in a full-scale, open-ended shooting war for 25 years, since the withdrawal from Vietnam. Episode two aired five days after the 9/11 attacks, and one suspects many Americans watched its depiction of the D-Day landings with a far greater sense of involvement and gravity than they otherwise might have.
The Pacific, made for HBO by the same team of Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, airs by contrast at a time when America is deeply involved in two distinct and socially divisive wars.
Band Of Brothers had an idealistic, uplifting side along with all the violence and bloodshed. In...
When the first episode of Band Of Brothers, HBO's 10-part saga of a parachute infantry company's progress from D-Day to the German surrender and beyond, was broadcast on American television on 9 September, 2001, the United States had not participated in a full-scale, open-ended shooting war for 25 years, since the withdrawal from Vietnam. Episode two aired five days after the 9/11 attacks, and one suspects many Americans watched its depiction of the D-Day landings with a far greater sense of involvement and gravity than they otherwise might have.
The Pacific, made for HBO by the same team of Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, airs by contrast at a time when America is deeply involved in two distinct and socially divisive wars.
Band Of Brothers had an idealistic, uplifting side along with all the violence and bloodshed. In...
- 4/3/2010
- by John Patterson
- The Guardian - Film News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.