‘Progressive’ Hollywood Fails Women Where Old Studio System Did Not

Oscar season approaches, which means that once again it’s time for the annual cry of … There-Are-No-Good-Roles-For-Women! Maybe “cry” isn’t the best word. ”Whine” is more suitable — from a self-inflicted wound. Here’s a taste of this year’s first-whine from a Hollywood Reporter story titled: Shallow Pool for Oscar’s Actress Contenders:

How shallow is the pool? Some are talking about performances such as Sandra Bullock’s in the feel-good film “The Blind Side

The lack of depth has led to a slew of awards-season chatter, from the expected downplaying — all categories are cyclical — to blanket explanations about studios making fewer awards movies in general. …

But it also highlights that, for all the strides made by the women behind the camera, the women in front of them can still be subject to the old prejudices. Indeed, the more cynical in town — including at least one actress awards-contender — say that the director and actress trends are hardly a coincidence. Many female directors, they argue, can feel pressure to cast a preponderance of strong male leads to negate the perception that theirs is a female-oriented film.

The article is simply wrong on one very important point. These aren’t “old prejudices,” these are new prejudices. (more…)

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Tags: Alice Faye, Barbara Stanwyck, Bette Davis, Bette Grable, Claudette Colbert
Posted Nov 18th 2009 at 2:55 pm in Classic Hollywood, Politics | 26449889 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2009/11/18/progressive-hollywood-fails-women-where-old-studio-system-did-not/%27Progressive%27+Hollywood+Fails+Women+Where+Old+Studio+System+Did+Not2009-11-18+22%3A55%3A48John+Nolte

40’s Movie Stars: Better in Bed, Better on the Battlefield

I have been watching a lot of 40s movies lately. Being radically anti-celebrity, I was taken aback by how easily mesmerized I was by the movie stars of that period. 

After all, why wouldn’t any man (straight or gay) imitate Cary Grant’s walk up the stairs to save Ingrid Bergman at the end of Hitchcock’s “Notorious?”

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And why wouldn’t any honest woman try to talk and look like Barbara Stanwyck? 

I was at a pool party in the Hollywood Hills once where agressive supermodels were trying to seduce fake producers. That entire pack of semi-nude nymphs had less seductive power than the play of the anklet on Barbara Stanwyck left leg in Wilders’ “Double Indemnity.”  (more…)

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Tags: Barbara Stanwyck, brad pitt, Car Grant, Clark Gable, James Stewart
Posted Sep 17th 2009 at 8:26 am in Classic Hollywood, Politics | 22530268 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ykochar/2009/09/17/40s-movie-stars-better-in-bed-better-on-the-battlefield/40%27s+Movie+Stars%3A+Better+in+Bed%2C+Better+on+the+Battlefield2009-09-17+15%3A26%3A40Yervand+Kochar

‘Meet John Doe’ and the Old Fakearoo

Dear Reader,

Do you have a little time to sit back and examine a classic movie that will absolutely shock you when seen through the prism of now? This is not my typical short article or essay. This is my own argument that what occurs in the 1941 picture “Meet John Doe” is exactly what has come to pass in America today with the Democratic Congress and their Presidential puppet. All the players and plays are clearly represented here and I was lucky enough to find the entire movie available on YouTube in small 7-10 minute scenes. I have selected only the scenes that I feel you must watch. But please, by all means, Netflix this movie before someone bans it.

“Meet John Doe” was released in 1941, written by Robert Riskin and based upon a treatment titled “The Life and Death of John Doe,” written by Richard Connell and Robert Presnell.  The film was directed by Frank Capra. The plot of the movie clearly shows how a media conspiracy could get a President elected and use him to “turn out the lights on freedom.” The similarity between the movie’s plot and today’s political situation is surreal. Add in the fact that Gary Cooper’s “John Doe” is modeled after Jesus Christ and you’ll be even more chilled at how a power hungry, ruthless political party figures out how to use a fake version of Him for their own gain. The claim by liberals that this is the practice of the religious right will be shattered once you’ve watched all the clips posted here. (more…)

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Tags: Barbara Stanwyck, Capra Corn, conservative hollywood, D.B. Norton, Edward Arnold
Posted Jun 30th 2009 at 11:10 am in Classic Hollywood | 860382 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/mmcgruther/2009/06/30/the-old-fakearoo/%27Meet+John+Doe%27+and+the+Old+Fakearoo2009-06-30+18%3A10%3A19Michael+McGruther