I recently rediscovered my copy of The Groucho Letters: Letters from and to Groucho Marx, a hilarious volume which contains exactly what it says on the tin. Among the many missives is this gem, addressed to Warner Bros. executive Ben Kalmenson. (Something of a studio major-domo, Kalmenson was a year away from being promoted to […]
A Treasury of George Sanders
George Sanders, the epitome of screen rakes and scoundrels, was born on this day in St. Petersburg, in 1906. Nonchalant, sophisticated and never dull, Sanders didn’t look, sound or act like anyone else on screen. A gifted actor who never took acting seriously, he also had a talent for maths and engineering, could play the piano, […]
David Niven Makes a Scene
Merry Christmas! Preparations have been well under way in the Retro Movie Buff household for several days. In between movie marathons and mince pies, I’ve been dipping into David Niven’s autobiography, The Moon’s a Balloon—a book practically brimming with good cheer. The star of Around the World in 80 Days, A Matter of Life and […]
A Few Words on Anthony Bourdain
Yesterday I awoke to the news that Anthony Bourdain had died at the age of 61—he had apparently committed suicide. This was inexplicable. How could a man so wonderfully alive possibly be dead? I was a latecomer to Bourdain’s world; it helped that he was a film buff. A few years ago, I bumped into […]
Through the (Feminist) Looking-glass
And now for something completely different: a review of one of my favourite film books. Enjoy! “A woman’s intelligence was the equivalent of a man’s penis: something to be kept out of sight.” So writes Molly Haskell in From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies: a fusillade of feminist film criticism that’s […]