There is no evidence that the late Angela Lansbury ever led airlifts to liberate emaciated orphans or helped rescue newborn kittens from burning buildings, but in her own way it seemed the woman was something of a saint all the same.
In the wake of the beloved entertainer’s death Tuesday at 96, evidence has surfaced that tied Lansbury to numerous benevolent acts while starring in the CBS series “Murder, She Wrote” during the show’s original run between 1984 and ’96 and while filming a series of four “Murder”-themed made-for-tv movies between 1997 and 2003. She made it a practice to lean on casting to hire guest actors and cameo performers of a certain age who were no longer steadily working and had failed to financially qualify for their Screen Actors Guild medical/dental benefits.
SEE10 reasons why we loved Angela Lansbury
“I can confirm this happened on numerous, if not dozens, of occasions,...
In the wake of the beloved entertainer’s death Tuesday at 96, evidence has surfaced that tied Lansbury to numerous benevolent acts while starring in the CBS series “Murder, She Wrote” during the show’s original run between 1984 and ’96 and while filming a series of four “Murder”-themed made-for-tv movies between 1997 and 2003. She made it a practice to lean on casting to hire guest actors and cameo performers of a certain age who were no longer steadily working and had failed to financially qualify for their Screen Actors Guild medical/dental benefits.
SEE10 reasons why we loved Angela Lansbury
“I can confirm this happened on numerous, if not dozens, of occasions,...
- 10/14/2022
- by Ray Richmond
- Gold Derby
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“Brosnan Before Bond”
By Raymond Benson
In 1986, Pierce Brosnan almost became James Bond, nearly a decade before he actually did so. He had been cast to replace Roger Moore as the iconic 007, but at the last minute, NBC waved his contract for the television series Remington Steele at him, exercising the option to make another season. Brosnan was out, and Timothy Dalton was in.
And then… Remington Steele’s new season ended up consisting of only six episodes, finishing its run in early 1987. So, Brosnan had been baited and switched. Nevertheless, in the interim years between then and his appearance in GoldenEye (1995), the actor set about establishing himself as a leading man in feature films.
One of these early starring roles was in the 1988 production, The Deceivers, a British picture made by the elite Merchant Ivory Productions, and it was produced by Ismail Merchant himself.
“Brosnan Before Bond”
By Raymond Benson
In 1986, Pierce Brosnan almost became James Bond, nearly a decade before he actually did so. He had been cast to replace Roger Moore as the iconic 007, but at the last minute, NBC waved his contract for the television series Remington Steele at him, exercising the option to make another season. Brosnan was out, and Timothy Dalton was in.
And then… Remington Steele’s new season ended up consisting of only six episodes, finishing its run in early 1987. So, Brosnan had been baited and switched. Nevertheless, in the interim years between then and his appearance in GoldenEye (1995), the actor set about establishing himself as a leading man in feature films.
One of these early starring roles was in the 1988 production, The Deceivers, a British picture made by the elite Merchant Ivory Productions, and it was produced by Ismail Merchant himself.
- 12/19/2021
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Nicholas Meyer’s ‘other’ fantastic film project was ignored for all the wrong reasons; Pierce Brosnan fills a heroic leading role in a revisit of The Stranglers of Bombay, but filmed on location with great attention to authentic details. An officer of the East India Company detects an incredibly murderous cult of Kali-worshipping Thugs, a criminal underclass of thieves that practice ritual mass murder. The story has roots in history, snarled in colonial injustice and xenophobia. It’s a period picture unafraid to be controversial. Also starring Saeed Jaffrey and Helena Mitchell.
The Deceivers
Blu-ray
The Cohen Film Collection / Kino
1988 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 103 min. / Street Date November 16, 2021 / Available from Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Saeed Jaffrey, Shashi Kapoor, Helena Michell, Keith Michell, David Robb.
Cinematography: Walter Lassally
Art Directors: Gianfranco Fumagalli, Ram Yedekar
Film Editor: Richard Trevor
Original Music: John Scott
Written by Michael Hirst from the novel by John Masters
Produced by Ismail Merchant,...
The Deceivers
Blu-ray
The Cohen Film Collection / Kino
1988 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 103 min. / Street Date November 16, 2021 / Available from Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Saeed Jaffrey, Shashi Kapoor, Helena Michell, Keith Michell, David Robb.
Cinematography: Walter Lassally
Art Directors: Gianfranco Fumagalli, Ram Yedekar
Film Editor: Richard Trevor
Original Music: John Scott
Written by Michael Hirst from the novel by John Masters
Produced by Ismail Merchant,...
- 11/9/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Though the Continental Congress severed political connections with Great Britain on July 4, 1776, with the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. has never detached with their obsession with the British Royal Family. Just look at 2021 Emmy nominations.
The fourth season of Netflix’ “The Crown” reaped 24 bids — the show has already won 10 Emmys — including series, for leads Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II, Emma Corrin as Diana, the Princess of Wales and Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles and for supporting players Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher, Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret and Emerald Fennell as Camilla Parker Bowles. And Oprah Winfrey’s blockbuster interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was nominated for best hosted nonfiction series or special.
There has been a lot of Emmy love over the years for the British monarchs. So make yourself cup of tea, heat up your scone or crumpet — with lemon curd, natch — keep...
The fourth season of Netflix’ “The Crown” reaped 24 bids — the show has already won 10 Emmys — including series, for leads Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II, Emma Corrin as Diana, the Princess of Wales and Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles and for supporting players Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher, Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret and Emerald Fennell as Camilla Parker Bowles. And Oprah Winfrey’s blockbuster interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was nominated for best hosted nonfiction series or special.
There has been a lot of Emmy love over the years for the British monarchs. So make yourself cup of tea, heat up your scone or crumpet — with lemon curd, natch — keep...
- 7/20/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Keith Michell, best known for his Emmy-winning portrayal of the 16th century King of England in the acclaimed 1970 miniseries Six Wives of Henry VIII, has died. He was 89. A veteran of the stage, Michell died Friday at his home in the Hampstead area of London, his family told the Chichester Observer. From 1974-77, the Australian-born Michell served as artistic director of the Chichester Festival Theatre in a post once occupied by Laurence Olivier. “Keith was amongst the first company of actors to perform at the theater in its inaugural season, when he appeared in the opening production of
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- 11/20/2015
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Emmys cliffhanger: Will 'Wolf Hall' star Damian Lewis be latest to win award for playing Henry VIII?
The entertainment industry is fascinated by the life of King Henry VIII, and for good reason. One of the most famous monarchs in world history, he had an outsize personality, established a new church and married six times. So it's no wonder he's been depicted so often on stage and screen: his story is ripe with drama. That has to be good news for Damian Lewis, who plays him in "Wolf Hall" and is nominated for an Emmy as Best Movie/Mini Supporting Actor. -Break- Could 'Wolf Hall' pull off another British upset for Best Miniseries Emmy? This rich role of Henry VIII is a triple crown acting winner, having won an Oscar for Charles Laughton ("The Private Life of Henry VIII," 1932), a Tony for Rex Harrison ("Anne of a Thousand Days," 1949) and an Emmy for Keith Michell ("The Six Wives of Henry VIII," 1972). Just a few months ago,...
- 8/5/2015
- Gold Derby
Ron Moody in Mel Brooks' 'The Twelve Chairs.' The 'Doctor Who' that never was. Ron Moody: 'Doctor Who' was biggest professional regret (See previous post: "Ron Moody: From Charles Dickens to Walt Disney – But No Harry Potter.") Ron Moody was featured in about 50 television productions, both in the U.K. and the U.S., from the late 1950s to 2012. These included guest roles in the series The Avengers, Gunsmoke, Starsky and Hutch, Hart to Hart, and Murder She Wrote, in addition to leads in the short-lived U.S. sitcom Nobody's Perfect (1980), starring Moody as a Scotland Yard detective transferred to the San Francisco Police Department, and in the British fantasy Into the Labyrinth (1981), with Moody as the noble sorcerer Rothgo. Throughout the decades, he could also be spotted in several TV movies, among them:[1] David Copperfield (1969). As Uriah Heep in this disappointing all-star showcase distributed theatrically in some countries.
- 6/19/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
We consider the controversies surrounding BBC Two's sumptuous Wolf Hall adaptation, feat. Damian Lewis, Mark Rylance and Claire Foy...
2015’s roster of prestige dramas is particularly dense, but the BBC’s take on Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall might just have already claimed its crown as the most controversial. It arrived freighted with the baggage always attached to adaptations of acclaimed novels, and further burdened by some thorny controversies all of its own. Mantel’s spirited attack on philosopher-saint Thomas More and equally fervent defence of his nemesis and her hero, Thomas Cromwell, was always bound to ignite debate. That, of course, is before we even touch on the subject of that rogue c-word and the choice to film night-time scenes by candlelight. We want accuracy, but only on our terms; when it jars with our perceptions of the past, out it goes.
Despite its name, Wolf Hall is...
2015’s roster of prestige dramas is particularly dense, but the BBC’s take on Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall might just have already claimed its crown as the most controversial. It arrived freighted with the baggage always attached to adaptations of acclaimed novels, and further burdened by some thorny controversies all of its own. Mantel’s spirited attack on philosopher-saint Thomas More and equally fervent defence of his nemesis and her hero, Thomas Cromwell, was always bound to ignite debate. That, of course, is before we even touch on the subject of that rogue c-word and the choice to film night-time scenes by candlelight. We want accuracy, but only on our terms; when it jars with our perceptions of the past, out it goes.
Despite its name, Wolf Hall is...
- 3/3/2015
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
Jean Kent: ‘The Browning Version’ 1951, Gainsborough folds (photo: Jean Kent in ‘The Browning Version,’ with Michael Redgrave) (See previous post: “Jean Kent: Gainsborough Pictures Film Star Dead at 92.”) Seemingly stuck in Britain, Jean Kent’s other important leads of the period came out in 1948: John Paddy Carstairs’ Alfred Hitchcock-esque thriller Sleeping Car to Trieste (1948), with spies on board the Orient Express, and Gordon Parry’s ensemble piece Bond Street. Following two minor 1950 comedies, Her Favorite Husband / The Taming of Dorothy and The Reluctant Widow / The Inheritance, Kent’s movie stardom was virtually over, though she would still have one major film role in store. In what is probably her best remembered and most prestigious effort, Jean Kent played Millie Crocker-Harris, the unsympathetic, adulterous wife of unfulfilled teacher Michael Redgrave, in Anthony Asquith’s 1951 film version of Terence Rattigan’s The Browning Version — a Javelin Films production...
- 12/4/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Kurt Kasznar, Charles Boyer, Bobby Driscoll, Marsha Hunt, Louis Jourdan, The Happy Time Louis Jourdan, Letter From An Unknown Woman on TCM While I’m at it, make sure to catch Richard Fleischer’s nostalgic 1952 comedy-drama The Happy Time, which stars Louis Jourdan, Charles Boyer, Bobby Driscoll, and Marsha Hunt, right at the time her film career was ruined by the anti-Red hysteria of the 1950s. Julie (1956), with Jourdan as a total psycho and Doris Day piloting a plane, is as entertaining as it sounds. (I guess that could go both ways.) I haven’t watched Dangerous Exile, but considering its cast — Jourdan, Belinda Lee, Keith Michell — it should be worth a look. Right after that there’s a non-Louis Jourdan [...]...
- 3/28/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
The B Noir festival is a hit! It's always a delight to hear about retrospective programming doing well. There are still people out there interested in and trying out old movies in theaters. Or maybe the San Francisco noir crowd is just that strong. I'd written about "I Wake Up Dreaming" a couple of weeks back (read it here); I have since went and saw some of the movies they're playing.
If you're in the Bay Area and you haven't spared the time, there's good news. The festival was supposed to end this Thursday, but I have just been informed that since it is selling out so well, they've decided to add another week of showings!
The list of extra screenings is at the bottom, but before that, I want to recommend trying to get to this Friday's showing of The Devil Thumbs a Ride, which I managed to catch on the fest's opening night.
If you're in the Bay Area and you haven't spared the time, there's good news. The festival was supposed to end this Thursday, but I have just been informed that since it is selling out so well, they've decided to add another week of showings!
The list of extra screenings is at the bottom, but before that, I want to recommend trying to get to this Friday's showing of The Devil Thumbs a Ride, which I managed to catch on the fest's opening night.
- 5/27/2009
- by Arya Ponto
- JustPressPlay.net
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