Tag: michael curtiz

Bring Your Mittens – The Academy Is Predicting A WHITE CHRISTMAS On December 6 & 7 In Hollywood


© Paramount Pictures

Even though it’s Southern California, you’ll need to dress warm for one of the BEST Christmas movies ever. In celebration of actor Danny Kaye’s centennial, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will screen the holiday classic WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954) at Oscars Outdoors in Hollywood on Thursday, December 6, and Friday, December 7, at 7 p.m. Special guests include Dena Kaye, Mary Crosby and Monsita Ferrer Botwick, the daughters of Kaye, Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney, respectively.

And get this – Hollywood special effects wizards are predicting a 100 percent chance of snow at the open-air theater on the Academy Hollywood campus, bringing the evening to a dramatic conclusion. December marks the start of the celebration of Danny Kaye’s centennial, a year of festivities across the country spotlighting the legendary entertainer and humanitarian.

Directed by Michael Curtiz with songs by Irving Berlin, WHITE CHRISTMAS tells the story of song-and-dance team Bob Wallace and Phil Davis (Crosby and Kaye), two World War II veterans who team up with sister act Betty and Judy Haynes (Clooney and Vera-Ellen) to raise money for a struggling Vermont inn run by Bob and Phil’s former commanding general. The film earned an Oscar® nomination for the original song “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep,” music and lyrics by Berlin.

Tickets to WHITE CHRISTMAS are $5 for the general public, free for children 10 years and younger, and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Seating is unreserved. Tickets for Friday’s screening are sold out, and tickets for Thursday night are available online at oscars.org/outdoors. Gates open at 6 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring low lawn chairs, blankets and warm clothing. Hot chocolate and holiday treats will be available for sale from some of Los Angeles’s most popular food trucks. Picnic baskets, beer and wine are permitted.

The Academy Hollywood campus is located at 1341 Vine Street in Hollywood (between De Longpre Avenue and Fountain Avenue, and between Vine Street and Ivar Avenue). The campus is accessible via the Metro Red Line train and the Metro Local 210 bus.  Free parking is located behind the Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study. Enter from Homewood Avenue off Vine Street, one block north of Fountain Avenue.  The lot opens 90 minutes prior to the event and closes 30 minutes afterwards. For additional information, visit oscars.org/outdoors or call (310) 247-3600.

The Academy’s Science and Technology Council will also present a special screening of WHITE CHRISTMAS on Sunday, December 9, at 1 p.m. at the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael.  Hosted by Academy member Rob Hummel, the program will feature a discussion with Academy Award®-winning visual effects supervisor Craig Barron on VistaVision, the widescreen film format that was first used to create this holiday favorite and subsequently used on more than 90 films in the 1950s and beyond.  The Smith Rafael Film Center is located at 1118 4th Street.  For ticket information, visit cafilm.org.


© Paramount Pictures

Classic Revival: ‘Angels With Dirty Faces’ (1938)

Angels With Dirty Faces ends up being a tale of redemption through the sacrifice of one’s selfish ego to benefit a greater good. While the execution of this moral conclusion may seem dated by today’s standards, the story leading up to the ending is still very much enjoyable. Director Michael Curtiz made this film with a trio of fine actors, still not fully appreciated in their craft. James Cagney plays Rocky Sullivan, a kid who gets a bad break and spends a chunk of his young years living the life of a penned-up criminal. His friend Jerry, played by Pat O’Brien, managed to skirt the cops after the two fled from the authorities. Rocky slipped up and was caught, getting himself tossed in and out of the slammer.

Years pass, and Rocky finally gets his discharge from prison and pays a visit to his old pal Jerry, who’s taken a different path as a man of the cloth. Jerry has high hopes for Rocky, believing at first that Rocky is a changed man. Meanwhile, Rocky is tying up loose ends with Frazier, played by Humphrey Bogart, his lawyer and former partner in crime. As it turns out, Frazier’s got a different idea of how to deal with Rocky’s return. Here begins a twisting chain of events, as Rocky continually outsmarts both his rival cons and thugs as well as the authorities, regaining control over the city.

After Rocky makes friends with a group of young hoodlum boys, Jerry begins to fear Rocky will have too strong of an influence on the boys. He decides to take matters into his own hands by publicly exposing the corruption at the hands of Rocky Sullivan. The crooks want to take Jerry out, but this is one friendship Rocky will not break. After taking care of his own dissenters, Rocky attempts to flea once more, but is caught and now is sentenced to die for his crimes. Jerry’s final, and most important favor of Rocky, is that he lay down his ego and show fear and cowardice in the face of death, as to tarnish the boys’ heroic image of Rocky as a fearless criminal icon.

I am still amazed by the natural acting instincts and versatility of James Cagney when I see his films. At times, it feels as though he’s a greatly under-appreciated actor. The cinematography of this era is always a favorite element of mine, when done well. I think part of the appeal for me is that its a look into a past era that’s real. Its not re-manufactured, because it took place in that era and what you see is what there was. Some will claim this as a favorite Bogart film, but I give the credit to Cagney. Bogart was fine, but it just wasn’t his show. If you get an opportunity, rent the official Warner Bros. DVD. There is a great special feature option that allows you to watch the film in its original presentation, led by a newsreel, a musical short, a Porky and Daffy cartoon short and a theatrical trailer. The DVD also includes an introduction by film critic Leonard Maltin and an audio commentary by film historian Dana Polan.