#Hume Cronyn

[retropopcult]

Batteries Not Included was released on December 18th, 1987

[haveyouseenthismovie-poll]

[citizenscreen]

Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn in the Broadway play “The Fourposters” in 1952. Photo by Frances McLaughlin-Gill for Vogue.

[gregorygalloway]

Cocoon was released on 21 June 1985.

Robert Zemeckis had been hired to direct and had spent a year on pre-production, but when studio executives saw a pre-release version of Romancing the Stone (directed by Zemeckis), they fired him and hired Ron Howard as his replacement (Romancing the Stone, released in March 1984, would go on to be a huge hit, the first of many for Zemeckis).

While many of the stars were seniors (Don Ameche was 76, Hume Cronyn was 63, Jessica Tandy was 75, Maureen Stapleton and Gwen Verdon were both 60), Wilfred Brimley turned 50 during filming.

Cocoon was a commercial and critical success, and received 2 Academy Awards - Best Supporting Actor (Don Ameche) and Best Visual Effects.

[filmap]

Cleopatra Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Rouben Mamoulian. 1963

Alexandria Torre Astura, 00048 Nettuno, Rome, Italy See in map

See in imdb

[letterboxd-loggd]

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) Tay Garnett

February 12th 2025

[m0viediaries]

"12 Angry Men" (1997) dir. William Friedkin

[old-hollywood-smash-or-pass]

[tavoit]

A few of my favorite things

A young Hume Cronyn wearing my favorite combo

[byneddiedingo]

Twelve Angry Men (William Friedkin, 1997)

Cast: Courtney B. Vance, Ossie Davis, George C. Scott, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Dorian Harewood, James Gandolfini, Tony Danza, Jack Lemmon, Hume Cronyn, Mykelti Williamson, Edward James Olmos, William Petersen, Mary McDonnell. Screenplay: Reginald Rose. Cinematography: Fred Schuler. Production design: Bill Malley. Film editing: Augie Hess. 

William Friedkin's Twelve Angry Men, which was made for cable television, is not so easily dismissed as an unnecessary remake of Sidney Lumet's classic 1957 film, itself a remake of Reginald Rose's 1954 television drama. Forty years of change have taken place, and although such a jury today would almost certainly have women on it, at least Friedkin's version includes four Black men. One of them, strikingly, is the most virulent racist on the panel: a former Nation of Islam follower played by Mykelti Williamson, who delivers a vicious diatribe against Latinos. Which incidentally brings up another anomaly: There are no Latinos on this jury, even though it is impaneled in New York City, which certainly has a significant Latino population. Oddly, one of the actors, Edward James Olmos, is Latino, but he plays an Eastern European immigrant. The rant of the juror played by Williamson has perhaps even more significance today than it did in 1997, after an election campaign tainted by racist taunts against immigrants: The speech sounds like it might have been delivered at Donald Trump's infamous Madison Square Garden rally. As for the film itself, it retains the 1954 movie's power to entertain, if only the pleasure of watching 12 good actors at peak performance (and in George C. Scott's case, a bit over the peak). It also retains the tendency to preachiness, like a dramatized civics lesson, though maybe we need that more than ever.  

[alexhorrorfilms]

Cocoon (Кокон)

[somelocusts]

SomeLocusts's Movie Game

My family and I have this game we've been playing this year. We started with a movie, then picked our favorite actor from that movie, then watch another movie that actor was known for, then pick another actor and so on and so forth.

Here's our path so far.

Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) -> Sir Michael Caine ->

Sleuth (1972) -> Laurence Olivier ->

Rebecca (1940) -> George Sanders ->

All About Eve (1950) -> Bette Davis ->

The Little Foxes (1941) -> Patricia Collinge ->

Shadow of a Doubt (1943) -> Hume Cronyn ->

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) -> Lana Turner ->

Imitation of Life (1959) -> Juanita Moore ->

Ransom! (1956) -> Glenn Ford ->

3:10 to Yuma (1957) -> Van Heflin

Stats so far

Favorite movie: Sleuth

Favorite performances: Glenn Ford

Least favorite movie: Shadow of a Doubt (I can see the appeal but it's not for me. Not a big Hitchcock guy in general tbh.)

The path continues to Act of Violence (1949). In the meantime, try the game yourself and see where you end up (and if you can escape the inexorable vortex that is the Hollywood Golden Age). See you soon!

[citizenscreen]

Remembering Hume Cronyn (July 18, 1911 – June 15, 2003)

[oldshowbiz]

Stayed Tuned for London, Ontario born actor Hume Cronyn

[erstwhile-punk-guerito]

[motionpicturelover]

"Top o' the Morning" (1949) - David Miller

Films I've watched in 2024 (88/95)