Milos Forman Flies the Coop

April 13, 2018 | Posted by Peter Jakobsen | Classic Film, FILM, LIFE |

(18 February 1932 to 13 April 2018) An exemplar of Eastern European new wave, he got out of his native Czechoslovakia just before the Soviets brought Winter into the Prague Spring. He’ll be remembered in particular for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), Hair (1979), Amadeus (1984)* (filmed in Prague, under the wary eyes of Comintern flunkies), The People vs Larry Flint (1996) and Man on the Moon (1999). [* We shouldn’t forget that his film, and Schaffer’s play on which it is based, is pretty harsh and unfair on Antonio Salieri.] A number of his projects never got off…

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James Coco

March 21, 2018 | Posted by Peter Jakobsen | Classic Film, Comedy Film, FILM |

Born March 21 1930 James has a fairly ho-hum ‘hagiography’ but he was sensational in A New Leaf as Henry Graham’s Uncle Harry, who regards his late brother’s appointment of him, as Henry’s guardian, to be an act of spite. Whilst TVC‘s favourite moment in the film comes when Henry (Walter Matthau) is having ‘capital’ (and ‘income’) explained to him by his attorney, Mr Beckett (William Redfield), Coco, as Uncle Harry, is priceless when Henry calls, in order to negotiate a tide-over loan till he can marry a rich heiress.  You can put the link below into your search engine…

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Moanin’ Low

March 8, 2018 | Posted by Peter Jakobsen | Classic Film, FILM |

We remember Claire Trevor on her birthday (8 March, 1910) for that great scene in Key Largo (1948), as “Gaye Dawn,” remembering old times with former boyfriend Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson), who requires her to perform an old torch song to his satisfaction before she can have that much-needed drink.  Gaye sings about as well as this writer, unfortunately for her.  It doesn’t get much more touching than this. There’s a nice little back-story to that scene, courtesy of Wikipedia, quoting from an article by Dennis McLellan in the Los Angeles Times of 28/5/1995: “Trevor was nervous about the scene,…

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Valentine’s Day

"The Morning of St Valentine" by John Callcott Horsley

TVC will, as usual, celebrate St. Valentine’s day with a fancy dinner and a private viewing of Picnic at Hanging Rock.  Unlike the poor sainted martyr, the idea on his day is to lose one’s heart, not head. Here’s a little from Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto that featured so sweetly in “Picnic” to enliven the day…  

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“Beady-Eyed Sneer”

January 9, 2018 | Posted by Peter Jakobsen | Classic Film, FILM, Uncategorized |

Lee Van Cleef (9 January 1925 – 16 December, 1989) In The Fifty Worst Films of All Time (1978), the authors, citing Return of Sabata (1972), quote Van Cleef as stating: “being born with a beady-eyed sneer was the luckiest thing that ever happened to me.”           His was not a filmography to commend itself to posterity.  However, we respectfully suggest the following to the canon: In bit parts: High Noon (1952), Gunfight at OK Corral (1957), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962): As a spaghetti anti-hero / villain: For a Few Dollars More (1965),…

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