Edith Head Movies
Along with composer Max Steiner and cinematographer James Wong Howe, American costume designer Edith Head was one of the few behind-the-scenes movie technicians that the general public knew by name. Holding a BA from the University of California at Berkeley and an MA from Stanford, Ms. Head spent her early professional years as a language and art teacher. Reportedly, she also tried her luck as a movie starlet in 1923. While attracted to films, Ms. Head was more at home designing for them than appearing in them. She joined the costume department of Paramount in 1932, graduating to head designer in the late '30s. Her name was attached to virtually every prestige production turned out by the studio over the next thirty years, including the autonomously-produced films of Cecil B. DeMille; Ms. Head gained DeMille's lifelong respect by being one of the few Hollywoodites who refused to kowtow to him. Many of Ms. Head's movie designs gained popularity in the public sector, notably Dorothy Lamour's formfitting sarong, Veronica Lake's peekaboo haircut, and Bette Davis' off-the-shoulder evening gown for All About Eve (1950). Nominated for 40 Academy Awards (all after 1947, the first year of the Best Costume Design category) Ms. Head won the prize for All About Eve, The Heiress (1949), Samson and Delilah (1949), A Place in the Sun (1951), Roman Holiday (1953), Sabrina (1954), The Facts of Life (1960) and The Sting (1973). She also designed many of the gowns worn by the other Oscar recipients. After 35 years at Paramount, Ms. Head was signed by Universal in 1967, where she remained until her death. Because of her first-hand experience with four decades' worth of changing fashions, Ms. Head was indispensible to such period films of the '70s as The Sting, Gable and Lombard (1976) and W.C. Fields and Me (1977). In 1980, she deliberately copied many of the creations of her Hollywood rivals for the Steve Martin comedy Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, in which Martin interacted with clips from classic films of the '40s. Ms. Head died shortly after finishing this assignment; when Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid was released in 1982, it carried a dedication to Edith Head. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this post-modernist exercise, star/writer Steve Martin and director Carl Reiner spoof the film noir yarns of the '40s with Martin playing gumshoe Rigby Reardon, who interacts with a legion of Hollywood greats -- including Humphrey Bogart, Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Edward Arnold, Barbara Stanwyck, Ingrid Bergman, Veronica Lake, Bette Davis, Lana Turner and Joan Crawford -- in a succession of intercut clips from seventeen vintage Hollywood films. Rigby is a low-rent detective (his fee is $10 per day) sitting in his office, waiting for something to happen. That something happens when the voluptuous Juliet Forrest (Rachel Ward) arrives in his office and faints dead away at the sight of a newspaper that reports on her father's death in a car accident. Juliet is convinced that her father was murdered and offers Rigby $200 to investigate. Upon searching Mr. Forrest's office, he comes upon a list of names under the headings "The Friends and Enemies of Carlotta." As the two delve deeper into the mystery and its requisite deceptions, they encounter an "exterminator," Juliet's surly Nazi butler, Field Marshal Von Kluck (Carl Reiner) and an overly helpful Mexican friend, Carlos Rodriguez (Reni Santoni). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Martin, Rachel Ward, (more)
- 1980
- R
Natalie Wood and George Segal star in this labored and old-fashioned sex farce, directed by Gilbert Cates. Wood and Segal play Mari and Jeff Thompson, a happily married couple who are thunderstruck when they see all their friends and acquaintances are headed for divorce court. Eventually their own marriage is put in jeopardy by their obsession with staying together. Seeing all the marital discord around them, Mari and Jeff begin to question the stability of their own relationship. Furthering their uneasiness is the arrival of Barbara (Valerie Harper), to whom Jeff is attracted. Barbara and Jeff have an affair and Mari decides to go out and have an affair of her own. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Segal, Natalie Wood, (more)
Katharine Hepburnplays a spunky old junk dealer who makes the acquaintance of two adventurous young boys. Through Katharine's intervention, the boys are able to take a long and exciting ride in a hot air balloon over California's Napa Valley. The kids are played by Kevin McKenzie and Dennis Dimster. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Katharine Hepburn, Kevin McKenzie, (more)
The third filming of Louisa May Alcott's novel is this made-for-TV effort, which follows the hardships faced by the March family during the Civil War. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Meredith Baxter-Birney, Susan Dey, (more)
Mae West (1892-1980) was perhaps the original comic sex goddess of American cinema. Originally a vaudeville performer, she became a national sensation following her 1926 Broadway show Sex, which she wrote, produced, directed and starred in. She continued to outrage the sensibilities of her time on Broadway before coming to Hollywood and doing the same there throughout the 1930s. She perfected her double entendre humor onscreen and gradually fell out of favor with an increasingly prudish film-going public, though her career underwent several brief revivals. Even as an extremely old woman, she affected the manners and dress of a reigning sex queen. The 1978 release of Sextette, based on her own original scenario, marked her final screen appearance. It was not well received by critics nor the public, and was an undignified note on which to end her sensational career. In this farcical and star-studded film, West plays the fading movie star Marlo Manners, whose attempts to consummate her marriage to Sir Michael Barrington (Timothy Dalton), her sixth husband, are humorously interrupted by the preceding five. Marlo is also dictating the unexpurgated story of her life, and when one of the tapes goes missing, it threatens to cause an international incident, as well as ruining a number of reputations (including her own). ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mae West, Timothy Dalton, (more)
- 1978
- PG
Richard Dreyfuss plays Moses Wine, an ex-Sixties radical who pays the bills as a private eye. Wine is hired to stem a smear campaign against a popular political candidate. Gradually the plot thickens into a murder case, involving a hippie leader whose values, like Wine's, have been severely compromised over the years - and who plans to blow up a major LA freeway as a protest. Susan Anspach provides a great deal of dramatic (and sexual) tension as Wine's boss. Among the minor players are future stars Mandy Patinkin and F. Murray Abraham. The Big Fix was adapted by Roger L. Simon from his own novel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Anspach, (more)
- 1977
In this drama, a widower takes his adopted daughter for an old-fashioned Texas-style Christmas at his parent's house. While back home, the father meets his childhood love and romance ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Stretching the Airport concept as far as it will go, this third film in the series sticks a jet full of old actors 50 feet underwater in the Bermuda Triangle. Oxygen (and credibility) grows short, and Jimmy Stewart plays an art collector targeted for a heist. Jack Lemmon is the unfortunate pilot, and Christopher Lee shows up along with Brenda Vaccaro, Joseph Cotten, and Olivia de Havilland. Jerry Jameson, auteur of The Bat People, was selected to helm this entry featuring that film's star, Michael Pataki. George Kennedy, the only man to appear in all four Airport films, is along for the ride as well. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Lemmon, Lee Grant, (more)
- 1977
Sex and the Married Woman stars Joanna Pettet as a housewife and Barry Newman as her liberal-minded husband. Encouraging his wife to find her "inner self," Newman has no notion that Pettet will translate this invitation into writing a book based on the sex habits of her friends and neighbors. The book becomes a best-seller, Pettet becomes a celebrity, and Newman seethes with envy. When first telecast in 1977, Sex and the Married Woman was advertised on the basis of its large cast of celebrity cameos (Jayne Meadows, Keenan Wynn, etc.) Virtually ignored was the fourth-billed F. Murray Abraham, seven years away from his Oscar win as Salieri in 1984's Amadeus. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
- PG
W.C. Fields and Me is the film version of the Fields biography written by the comedian's former mistress Carlotta Monti. W. C. Fields was a great comedian in vaudeville and early talking films, who was noted for his ability to say the most hilariously cutting and mean things in a cheery, bright tone of voice. He had amazing skills in the manipulation of objects, from pieces of paper to crooked cue sticks. Rod Steiger plays Fields, while Valerie Perrine portrays Ms. Monti. Jack Cassidy is also on hand as Fields' close friend and drinking crony John Barrymore. The film is not above sacrificing facts for a good story, notably in its recreation of Fields' celebrated "dentist" routine which. W. C. Fields and Me depicts the great juggler/comedian as a straightforwardly mean-spirited man, whereas he is generally believed to have been more complex than that. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Steiger, Valerie Perrine, (more)
- 1976
Susan Clark, the queen of the made-for-TV biopic (in 1976, at least), stars as legendary aviator Amelia Earhart. The story begins in 1921, with Amelia's first biplane flight. In 1928, she becomes the first woman ever to fly the Atlantic, albeit not at the controls. She gains international fame with a daring cross-country flight. The film refuses to speculate on the cause of Ms. Earhart's disappearance during a round-the-world trip in 1937, though the clues that do exist are presented in full. Co-starring with Susan Clark are John Forsythe as Amelia's publisher husband (and "exploiter") George Putnam, and Stephen Macht as her purported lover, stunt pilot Paul Mantz. Nearly two decades after Amelia Earhart was first telecast on October 25, 1976, Diane Keaton portrayed Earhart in a made-for-cable biography. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The love affair between two of Hollywood's greatest stars of the 1930s and '40s is recounted in this biopic. Clark Gable (James Brolin), the tough but quick-witted leading man often called "the King of Hollywood," meets tart-tongued comic actress Carole Lombard (Jill Clayburgh) at a party, and while the attraction between them isn't immediate (in fact they hate each other at first), as fate keeps bringing them together, they fall deeply in love. Gable is married at the time, and studio chief Louis B. Mayer (Allen Garfield) is afraid that his affair with Lombard will lead to a scandal that will destroy the career of his most valuable star, but Gable and Lombard weather the storm of negative publicity, and after Gable's wife grants him a divorce, he marries Lombard. However, their happy marriage is cut short by Lombard's tragic death as she was selling defense bonds during World War II. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Brolin, Jill Clayburgh, (more)
- 1976
In 1926, flamboyant evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson disappeared for six weeks. At first feared drowned (she'd been vacationing on a California beach at the time she vanished), Aimee finally showed up, wandering barefoot in the Mexican desert. For the benefit of the press, Aimee related a fantastic story of being kidnapped and held for ransom, a story given "credence" by a ransom note which popped up at her Four Square Gospel headquarters. Aimee's tale was full of holes; as more facts became known, it was apparent (to everyone but "true believers") that Aimee had spent those six weeks on a romantic idyll with Kenneth Ormiston, a married radio technician. This made-for-TV movie takes no sides in the controversy, offering generous space to both theories; still, Aimee does not come off as being particularly saint-like. Faye Dunaway stars as Aimee, Bette Davis co-stars as her domineering mother, and William Jordan is man-in-the-middle Ormiston. Written by John McGreevey, The Disappearance of Aimee was the November 17, 1976, presentation of NBC's Hallmark Hall of Fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Alfred Hitchcock's final film was adapted from Victor Canning's novel The Rainbird Pattern by Ernest Lehman, who previously wrote the screenplay for Hitchcock's North by Northwest. Barbara Harris plays Blanche, a phony psychic, hired by wealthy Julia Rainbird (Cathleen Nesbitt) to trace the whereabouts of her nephew, who'd been given up for adoption years earlier and who is now heir to a fortune. Blanche's cohort is "investigator" Lumley (Bruce Dern), who is fully prepared to milk the last dollar out of Julia before locating the long-lost nephew. Meanwhile, we are introduced to elegant kidnappers Adamson and Fran (William Devane and Karen Black). The fates of the two couples are inextricably intertwined by the search for the missing heir. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karen Black, Bruce Dern, (more)
- 1975
- PG
Robert Redford plays Waldo Pepper, a former World War I pilot who exaggerates his accomplishments in order to impress the rabble. After a brief rivalry with air-show entrepreneur Axel Olsson (Bo Svenson), Pepper teams with Axel to barnstorm all over the Midwest; later, after a series of unexpected (and calamitous) events, Pepper gets a job as a movie stunt pilot. On the set, he meets the film's technical advisor: former German ace Ernst Kessler (Bo Brundin), a man whom Pepper has been claiming falsely to have fought during the war, thereby advancing his own reputation. He is as disillusioned with civilian life as Pepper is, and ignoring the entreaties of the film's director, stages a genuine dogfight (sans live ammo) with his old "opponent." The Great Waldo Pepper represented the third filmic collaboration between star Robert Redford and director George Roy Hill. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Redford, Bo Svenson, (more)
John Wayne returned to the role that won him an Oscar in this sequel to the western classic True Grit. Rooster Cogburn (Wayne) has once again been stripped of his badge after some questionable behavior with his gun, but he's given the chance to earn it back after an especially appalling crime demands an experienced lawman. A gang of violent and ruthless criminals, led by Hawk (Richard Jordan) and Breed (Anthony Zerbe), have stolen a shipment of explosive nitroglycerine and cut a swath through a village led by a preacher and his flock. The preacher died, along with many others, and his daughter, Eula Goodnight (Katharine Hepburn), is determined that the outlaws will be brought to justice. Cogburn is given the task of tracking down the criminals, but he's less than enthusiastic about the fact Goodnight insists on tagging along. Rooster Cogburn marked the first (and last) time John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn would work together on screen; it was also the final film from noted producer Hal Wallis. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Katharine Hepburn, (more)
The Man Who Would Be King opens with author Rudyard Kipling (Christopher Plummer) working in his study. His solitude is broken by the arrival of a tattered, half-mad derelict, who is soon revealed to be his old acquaintance Peachy Carnahan (Michael Caine). As Kipling listens in rapt fascination, Peachy relates the incredible adventures of himself and his partner-in-chicanery Daniel Dravot (Sean Connery). Serving as military officers in India, Carnahan and Dravot have masterminded all sorts of underhanded money-making schemes, the most elaborate of which takes them to a remote city in the hills of eastern Afghanistan. Here, through methods both foul and fair, Daniel passes himself off as the incarnation of Alexander the Great, the better to lay his hands on the vast riches all around him. Unfortunately, Daniel begins to believe his own lies, and the results are disastrous for both himself and Peachy. Inadvertently exposing Daniel's scheme is his native wife, played by Shakira Caine (Michael Caine's real-life wife). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Connery, Michael Caine, (more)
In the wake of the 45-million-dollar gross of the original Airport (1970), Universal was all but required by an act of Congress to produce Airport '75. Charlton Heston heads the all-star cast as Alan Murdock, the former test pilot who must keep a disabled 747 from crashing in flames. The crisis begins when a businessman (Dana Andrews), flying his small private plane, suffers a fatal heart attack and the plane smashes into the cockpit of the 747. Following Murdock's radioed instructions, stewardess Nancy Pryor (Karen Black) takes over the controls. The special-guest passenger lineup includes Helen Reddy as a singing nun (a character wickedly satirized in the 1980 parody Airplane!), Myrna Loy as an alcoholic, and Sid Caesar as a garrulous passenger. While Airport '75 yielded only 25 million dollars at the box office, the franchise continued, spawning Airport '77 a few years later and Airport '79 two years after that. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlton Heston, Karen Black, (more)
- 1973
A woman undergoes a surgeon's scalpel in a last-ditch attempt to win back her husband in this drama. Barbara Sawyer (Elizabeth Taylor) has been married to her husband, Mark (Henry Fonda), for 30 years, and she's afraid the spark has gone out of their relationship. Barbara is convinced the problem is her appearance -- the years have taken a heavy toll on her, and her haggard, saggy appearance is a far cry from the beauty she possessed in her youth. Determined to save her marriage, Barbara checks into a clinic in Switzerland for extensive plastic surgery, and arranges to meet Mark at a nearby ski lodge once she's recovered. After having her face, breasts, and bottom lifted, Barbara leaves the hospital looking as beautiful as Elizabeth Taylor, and as she waits for Mark to arrive in Switzerland, she allows herself to be seduced by Erich (Helmut Berger), a handsome young playboy, to prove to herself she has regained her allure. However, her new face and figure isn't enough to save her marriage when Mark informs her he's decided to leave her for another woman. Ash Wednesday features detailed footage of actual plastic surgical procedures, some of which were far too bloody for the comfort of most audiences. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Taylor, Henry Fonda, (more)
- 1973
- PG
In this Western comedy, Billy (Dean Martin) and Chuck (Rock Hudson) were the best of friends until Chuck married the girl they were both courting. Now they have drifted apart. Chuck has since become a sheriff and must hunt down Billy, now a robber. As the chase proceeds, each of them reminisces about their past together. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dean Martin, Rock Hudson, (more)
In this organized crime drama (one of many that came in the wake of The Godfather, Tony (Frederic Forrest) and Vince (Al Lettieri) are two brothers whose father is a high-ranking Mafia kingpin; they've followed him into the family business, operating a profitable drug ring. While waiting for a delivery of a large supply of heroin, the pair are ambushed, which leads them to suspect their associate Frank (Robert Forster) is a snitch. They soon realize that the corruption within their organization runs deeper than expected when they discover that their father has been assassinated. Don Angelo (Anthony Quinn) is chosen to be the new boss in a tense meeting of the Mafia brass, but Tony and Frank refuse to follow his leadership. Meanwhile, Orlando (Charles Cioffi), a mob accountant whose boss, Don Bernardo (J. Duke Russo), is behind bars, has a plan to bring himself to a position of power in the mob; he engineers a situation that will put Frank's fiancée Ruby (Angel Thompkins) into the arms of Don Angelo, thereby sending Frank into a murderous rage. Cult figure Sid Haig has a supporting role as The Arab. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Quinn, Frederic Forrest, (more)
Henrik Ibsen's oft-filmed play A Doll's House was adapted for the screen in this Anglo-Canadian production. Claire Bloom stars as Nora, the child-like "trophy bride" who matures rather rapidly when her husband is threatened with blackmail. Even after extricating her block-headed hubby from his dilemma, he refuses to take her seriously, whereupon Nora, in a burst of pre-feminist pique, literally slams the door on her hothouse existence. Supporting Ms. Bloom are Anthony Hopkins, Sir Ralph Richardson, Denholm Elliott and Dame Edith Evans. Held out of general release when it was first made in 1973 when it was squeezed off the marketplace by the competing Jane Fonda version, A Doll's House enjoyed its widest distribution upon its 1989 reissue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claire Bloom, Anthony Hopkins, (more)
Four years after setting box offices ablaze in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and director George Roy Hill re-teamed with similar success for The Sting. Redford plays Depression-era confidence trickster Johnny Hooker, whose friend and mentor Luther Coleman (Robert Earl Jones) is murdered by racketeer/gambler Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw). Hoping to avenge Luther's death, Johnny begins planning a "sting" -- an elaborate scam -- to destroy Lonnegan. He enlists the aid of "the greatest con artist of them all," Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman), who pulls himself out of a drunken stupor and rises to the occasion. Hooker and Gondorff gather together an impressive array of con men, all of whom despise Lonnegan and wish to settle accounts on behalf of Luther. The twists and surprises that follow are too complex to relate in detail -- suffice to say that you can't cheat an honest man, and that you shouldn't accept everything at face value. The Sting became one of the biggest hits of the early '70s; grossing 68.5 million dollars during its first run, the film also picked up seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Adapted Score for Marvin Hamlisch's unforgettable setting of Scott Joplin's ragtime music. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Robert Redford, (more)
- 1973
- G
This Joseph Losey-directed 1973 version of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House marks one of two cinematizations of the story released during the same year. Here, Jane Fonda plays Nora Helmer, the mousy Norwegian wife who eventually turns on her insensitive husband Torvald (David Warner). At the time of its release, A Doll's House was castigated for allowing Ms. Fonda to espouse her "feminist dogma" in the role. In truth, what Losey and Fonda give us is not the traditional mindless "hothouse rose" who finally comes to her senses in Act Three, but instead a woman who knows she is trapped in a stereotype, but is willing to play along as long as her husband loves and trusts her. Only when Torvald proves to be a thick-headed jerk by condescendingly forgiving his wife for entering into a potentially scandalous but household-saving financial arrangement, does Nora reject his values and slam the door on him. Trevor Howard plays the slimy Dr. Rank, who assumes that his monetary hold over Nora grants him certain intimate privileges. A Doll's House was exquisitely photographed on location in Norway by Gerry Fisher. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Fonda, David Warner, (more)
- 1972
- PG
- Add The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean to QueueAdd The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean to top of Queue
Paul Newman plays the title role in John Huston's surreal, revisionist western as the infamous Texas hanging judge. Upon arriving in the tiny West Texas town of Vinegaroon, Roy Bean draws a moustache on a wanted poster of himself, marches into a saloon, and declares his presence. He is immediately robbed, beaten within an inch of his life, tied to a horse and dragged out into the prairie, then left to die. Rescued by a young Mexican girl, Maria Elena (Victoria Principal), Roy Bean heads back into town and murders everyone in the local saloon, declaring that he'll kill anyone of the same sort who turns up. He also sets himself up as the sole arbiter of law and order and renames the town Langtry, in honor of the legendary actress Lily Langtry (Ava Gardner). The community prospers as Judge Bean dispenses his own brand of frontier justice upon strangers passing by, robbing or killing anyone who tries to make their way through the town. But when Maria dies, Bean's old associates begin to turn on him, one at a time (in response to his constant harping on their wives, many of whom were former prostitutes) and Bean is forced to leave. Years later, Bean rides back into town, called back to the place to save his daughter from trouble - and finds that the community has been taken over by a shady character called Frank Gass (Roddy McDowall) - a circumstance that requires Bean to dispense his own unique brand of justice once again. Stacy Keach lends a neat comic turn to the film as Bad Bob, an albino gunslinger whose dining habits consist of chowing down on raw onion, drinking hot coffee from a pot, and demanding that an entire horse be cooked for his supper. John Milius (Red Dawn) scripted.
~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Victoria Principal, (more)
