Mr. Holden is back... William Holden had a long career right up until his death in 1981, and one of his very late credits is 21 Hours at Munich, which chronicles the fateful Munich Massacre on September 5, 1972, right in the middle of what were being called Die heiteren Spiele or Die fröhlichen Spiele, which … Continue reading That Day In September
The Play’s the Thing
Mr. Holden's back... By 1943 William Holden had been in films for five years, and his roles were steadily growing in size and importance. It's ironic that one of his movies from that year was Young And Willing, about green-as-grass hopefuls trying to break into show business. The movie feels like something we've seen before, only … Continue reading The Play’s the Thing
The Tower By the Bay
Are you prepared? The seventies were a weird time in Hollywood. Studios were operating on tighter budgets, so the high output of a couple of decades earlier was unheard of. Instead, studios opted for fewer films with big ensemble casts and higher octane production values, and one of these was 1974's The Towering Inferno. Like … Continue reading The Tower By the Bay
The Trouble With Joe Gillis
Mr. Holden is back, and he's going to a familiar place... Sunset Boulevard is well-trod territory for film buffs, film students, and film lovers in general. It's quoted, imitated, and referenced constantly. Who hasn't heard, "I'm ready for my closeup." at least once? The 1950 film is not only important to movie aficionados, but for William … Continue reading The Trouble With Joe Gillis
Fun(!) With Eschatology
Lee's getting scary today... I read a book in college, The Thirteenth Generation, that said Hollywood produced a glut of anti-child horror movies during the nineteen-seventies as a way of telling Gen-Xers we weren't wanted. Rosemary's Baby. Children Of the Corn. It's Alive. Poltergeist. All featuring evil murderous poppets who annihilate anyone standing in their way. In the … Continue reading Fun(!) With Eschatology
Unintended Consequences
And now we present Mr. William Holden... William Holden worked with Billy Wilder five times, whether Wilder was directing or writing, and one of the most classic is the 1954 film, Sabrina. Costarring Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, the film is a sweet, graceful story with a healthy amount of Wilder's trademark bite. The Larrabees live on … Continue reading Unintended Consequences
Taking Up Room 