More Hollywood Stalwarts
Last night Movies!, channel 5–2 on OTA in NYC, ran Joe Macbeth (1955), a gangster epic based on the Shakespearean tragedy, starring Paul Douglas and Ruth Roman. Set in a city a lot like Chicago, shot noir style in black and white, it has none of the immortal Bard’s language, no “Out, out, brief candle…” soliloquy. The one reference I noted was the imaginary blood on the wife’s hands. There were probably others, but I haven’t read or seen the play in years, so I’d only be guessing. Most of the killing occurs off-screen, which in one instance was necessary, as it likely wouldn’t be allowed even in this permissive era. I was unfamiliar with the supporting players. I did not recognize the director’s name but should have. Born in Liverpool, Ken Hughes co-wrote the screenplay with Philip Yordan. The former won an Emmy in 1959 for Best Writing of a Single Program of a Dramatic Series — Less Than One Hour, Alcoa Theatre. The latter, born in Chicago, a three-time Oscar nominee, won an Academy Award for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story, Broken Lance (1955). He wrote 69 screenplays and has 22 credits as a producer. He passed away at 88 in 2003… Hughes has 49 credits as a writer, 36 as director. His most recognizable effort at the helm is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), which he “didn’t enjoy making.” He passed away at 79 in 2001… As for the supporting cast of Joe Macbeth, I’ll concentrate on two: Sidney James, who looked familiar, and Bonar Colleano, who did not. James was the star of the British Carry On comedy films. Born in South Africa, he served in WWII. There are 148 titles under his name at IMDb, career spanning 1948-’76, the year he passed away at 62… Born in NYC as Sullivan, Colleano took the name of his family’s acrobat troupe. He’d amassed 36 credits when he was killed in a car accident at 34 in ‘58… A word about Paul Douglas, one of those actors gifted with uncanny naturalism. Born in Philly to an affluent family, a direct contrast to his screen persona, he was big in radio, calling sports, co-hosting a music program, and acting as straight man for Jack Benny, Fred Allen and Burns and Allen. He made his Broadway debut in 1936 in Double Dummy, a satire. He broke big in 1946, the original Harry Brock in Born Yesterday. He’d logged 57 screen credits when he was taken by a heart attack in 1959 at 52, a big loss to the world of cinema. Married five times, he was a father of one… Here are the leads in character. Photo from Google Images:
Here are James & Colleano:
Ken Hughes, from GI:
Yordan, from GI:
I hadn’t cited anything about Vlad’s folly in a while. Headline from newsmax.com: “US Approves Sending F-16s to Ukraine Via Denmark, Netherlands.” It feels so strange to agree with a Biden initiative.
Nice return for the floating book shop on this gorgeous day. My thanks to those who bought and donated stuff, and to Daniel, who delivers for the Jewish version of Meals on Wheels, who gave me a chicken dinner. Here’s what sold: five books in Russian, an illustrated copy of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll; City Slickers (1991) on DVD; and What Everyone Should Know About Triglycerides: The Missing Link in Heart Disease by Dennis Sprecher. The best part of the session was seeing old Mike for the first time in ages. He’s in his mid-80’s. I’d assumed the worst. Great to see you, Sir.
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