Michelangelo Antonioni 1912-2007

Michelangelo Antonioni’s films gave his actors a chance to breathe. Performers such as Jack Nicholson and Monica Vitti, who were known for their strong personas and alluring charisma, showed new depth when given the opportunity to wander through his universe. Antonioni could give you a mystery, as in Blow-up (1966) and L’avventura (1960), and smoothly push it into the background as he found larger riddles which could never be solved and which overwhelmed the traditional concept of plot and story. His instinctive style was inimitable and wholly his own. The perfect farewell to this master of filmmaking is in the final scenes of L’Eclisse (1962); a montage of empty streets, buildings and objects which once formed a background for a pair of lovers, but now seem to deny that they ever existed. It is bleak, serene and beautiful, and it is pure Antonioni.

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Ingmar Bergman 1918-2007

Though the films of Ingmar Bergman are famous for their Nordic melancholy, it is a mistake to confine his work to this quality. His films evoked myriad emotions, from the wistful nostalgia in Smultronstället/Wild Strawberries (1957) to the carnal comedy of Sommarnettens leende/ Smiles of a Summer Night (1955). He experimented fearlessly with images and storytelling, challenging the concept of how a narrative should unfold in masterpieces such as Persona (1966). In Ansiktet/The Magician (1958) and Jungfrukällan/ The Virgin Spring (1960), he reminded us how brutal a fairy tale could become as one marveled at its beauty. These few titles, from a career that lasted over a half century, are only a small sample of Bergman’s best works, but they point to the fact that his genius reflected a rich span of human emotion.

Quote of the Day

I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph.

-Shirley Temple

Quote of the Day

They used to photograph Shirley Temple through gauze. They should photograph me through linoleum.
-Tallulah Bankhead

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Boom Town

This glossy, boisterous MGM production is a happy home for its slightly odd, but somehow, nicely matched group of stars. Cranky, stocky Spencer Tracy and athletic, rambunctious Clark Gable are Texas oilmen who work their way up from the bottom and fight and make up plenty along the way. Claudette Colbert and Hedy Lamarr are the love interests, but the most profound relationship is between Gable and Tracy. Still, the women attract their share of attention: Colbert manages to be both a practical and glamorous mother and wife; Lamarr’s small role is just the right size for her somewhat intriguing personality and overwhelming beauty. It is easy to see why Boom Town was one of the most successful movies of 1940, though it has not risen to be a classic of the time.

Charles Lane 1905-2007

Often, Charles Lane played the kind of characters that made you scowl: uptight, cranky, and certainly not the matinee idol you came to see. Despite all that, he would grow on you, partly because he showed up in so many movies and television programs (over 300) that he became "that one guy" from "that one movie". In a way, he would became somewhat more familiar and comfortable than the star of the moment.


Lane is perhaps most famous for his television bits. He had a memorable role as a unimpressed man in the maternity ward waiting room in the classic episode of I Love Lucy where Lucy goes into labor. He also made his mark as J. Homer Bedloe on Petticoat Junction. However, he did appear in many movies, including, It's a Wonderful Life, Twentieth Century, and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. Lane completed his final role, as a narrator for the holiday short The Night Before Christmas, in 2006 at the age of 101. He was 102 when he passed away on July 9.

The clip is from the Marx Brothers movie The Big Store. In it, Lane is in fine, grouchy, form.

Quote of the Day

I improve on misquotation.
-Cary Grant