#william 'brooks' clift

[claireneto]

"That's been my family's attitude for a generation. Monty [sic] sexuality got framed as a destructive force in his life instead of a mere fact of it. And as far as anybody could tell, that happened on my father's watch, he had worked with Patty Bosworth and urged everyone else to do the same". 

Robert Clift on his uncle, Montgomery Clift's sexuality in Making Montgomery Clift (2018)

Just a reminder that it's Bisexual Visibility Day 💖💜💙 and I hope all my bi mutuals are having a great day!!! I wanted to touch on how media uses biphobia and bi-erasure for monetary gain. I'll briefly mention some BIPOC examples as well, but since I'm very white I won't go into detail since it's not my place to. If you're BIPOC reblog or comment so I can boost your stories about bisexual BIPOC experiences. Now onto this shortish essay, I promise!!!

So, the quote above is taken from the documentary Making Montgomery Clift (2018) by Robert Clift and Hillary Demmon (Robert's Wife). Robert is Monty's nephew through his older brother Brooks. This documentary is a great lens to look at how Hollywood and various other media portray sexuality or gender identity as an illness or the "root" of the problem.

The quote starts at minute 43:00 in the documentary, Robert is explaining how his father Brooks on a phone call with Patty Bosworth, Monty Clift's biographer and family friend, went wrong. Brooks tried to clear his brother's name of how his substance abuse addictions were not caused by his sexuality, but by the infamous car accident or the painful surgeries he went through as a child and young adult.

Brooks was trying to make Patty understand that Monty's bisexuality wasn't the "root" of his problem. As Robert says in the quote Brooks "urged" family members to get the record right since biographers just like Robert LaGuardia, who ignored editorial notes or the advice from the Clift family.

Patty Bosworth would end up doing the same thing with Monty's "tormented" sexuality and that was the "cause" of his problems. Despite Brooks trying to help re-edit some of Patty's word choices, i.e., when Monty was got having sex with a young man. Patty said it was a young "boy", which enraged Brooks, who knew his brother wasn't a p*dophile because of his bisexuality.

Because Patty ignored Brook's advice, Monty's reputation was tarnished after his death (Bosworth made her book years after Monty died). Brooks even noted to his family that despite the car accident that Monty was in, Monty on record believed his best performances were post-car accident despite the ongoing substance abuse. It had nothing to do with his sexuality.

When Monty died it was discovered that he had an underactive thyroid, which meant he could appear sluggish or drugged even though he was sober at the moment. This illness could've made people believe Monty was not mentally there on set that day when he was actually mentally there. Montgomery Clift's story is a reminder to treat people with respect flaws and all when comes to their bisexuality or gender identity. Monty was also comfortable in his sexuality which was such a rare exception for Hollywood at the time (see Lavender Scare) and he paved the way for more queer actors to have prominence in the entertainment industry.

Despite Monty's story, he is not the only one that has had a reputation tarnished or has an important detail in their life misconstrued. The list of previous people, who's lives has been littered with bi-erasure/biphobia include Anna May Wong, Billy Holiday, Sammy Davis Jr., Cary Grant, and David Bowie.

Since the new century, other people have been erased from the bisexual umbrella or had biphobic remarks made toward them. Some of these people are Lady Gaga, Megan Thee Stallion, Evan Rachel Wood, Alia Shawkat, Frank Ocean, Leslie Cheung, etc. This gross habit made by the media and Hollywood has caused these people to deal with these false narratives about them and have their lives tarnished.

In conclusion, we need to stop people from exploiting one's bisexuality or sexuality/gender expression for monetary gain. Listen to bisexual people about their personal experiences especially if they're a person of color. Bisexuality just like homosexuality is not a disease. Be proud of yourself and how far you've come. Similar to what Magneto said in X-Men 2: United, be yourself and "never let anyone tell you different".

(Note: if there are any errors that you notice feel free to correct me. You can also watch the documentary Making Montgomery Clift on Tubi for free.)

[pastorsperspective]

Honoring the Saints

Hello again. This past Sunday was All Saints Sunday. A time to reflect on the people we have lost in the last year. If you missed the service, you watch it here: https://fb.watch/oei63bHY6e/

Different cultures honor their dearly departed in different ways. Typically, here in the western culture, we have funerals or memorials to honor a person’s life and to say good bye. Usually followed by a potluck where people sit around eating and sharing memories of their loved one.

In the Hawaiian culture it is traditional to wear a maile lei or an orchid lei to funerals or memorial services to celebrate the beautiful life of the deceased.

In some Native American cultures, it is customary to tie feathers around the head as a form of prayer.

In China, it is unacceptable to wear red to a funeral or while in the mourning period. However, if the person lived to be over the age of 80, then it is acceptable to wear white with pink or red as their long life is cause for celebration.

In every culture, death is painful. We miss those we’ve lost. We think of them often and it’s hard to fill the void they leave behind.

This week we remember:

Paula Jean (Curtner) Bowen, age 82, passed away Monday, November 7, 2022, at her home in Jacksboro, Texas. She was born on June 9, 1940, in Shawnee, Oklahoma to Paul and Veda Bernice (Breashears) Curtner. Paula married Brooks L. Bowen and were married for over 20 years. Together they raised two great sons, Brady and Blake Bowen. Throughout her life Paula was a former Miss Jack County, a member of the First United Methodist Church of Jacksboro, and a member of the National Cutting Horse Association. Paula was a very loving, caring, generous person and will be missed by all. Paula is preceded in death by her parents and sister Neta Jo Yates. Those left behind to cherish her memory are her children, Brady Bowen and wife Laura of Jacksboro and Blake Bowen and wife Michelle of Runaway Bay; grandchildren, Scarlett Bowen and Weston Bowen; brother, P.D. Curtner; along with many extended family members and friends.

Beverly Ann (Black) Shoun went to be with her Heavenly Father on Thursday, October 5, 2023, surrounded by her loving family. Beverly was born to William James Black and Florence Almarine (Parsons) Black on September 1, 1945. She grew up in Jacksboro, Texas and graduated from Jacksboro High School in 1963. She and her husband James Shoun were united in marriage on August 15, 1964, in the First Baptist Church of Jacksboro. She was a very devoted wife and mother and loved caring for her family. Beverly spent many years working in daycare. She loved children and they brought her much joy. Her mother established the first nursery for the First Baptist Church of Jacksboro and Beverly spent many years serving in the Church daycare. She could point out a child she cared for out of a crowd and immediately tell you how amazing and unique they were. Beverly was a proud grandmother to her one and only granddaughter, Macon Joi. She was Macon’s biggest cheerleader and found so much joy in watching her grow. Beverly was a longtime member of the First Baptist Church of Jacksboro and was a Past Matron of Jacksboro Order of Eastern Star Chapter No 390 and also a Deputy Grand Matron in 2011-2012. She was preceded in death by her parents, Bill and Almarine Black; her brother William (Bill) Black and her brother-in-law, Jimmy Williams. Beverly is survived by her husband James Shoun; son Brent Shoun; daughter Brenda Shoun; son Brian Shoun; and granddaughter Macon Shoun. Also, her sisters Shirley Johnson and Lorraine Williams, and sister-in-law Barbara Black. Nephews Don Johnson, Ron Johnson, Eddy Williams, and Brad Black. Nieces Sheryl Wiles, Jennifer Williams Ansel, Belinda Black Clift, and several great nieces and nephews.

Laurendee Leigh Hearn (Fowler), lovingly known as Laurie, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Monday, September 18, 2023, in Plano, Texas. She was born on May 6, 1960, in Breckenridge, Texas to Larry Laverne Phariss and Bertha Gladys (Bayne) Pharris. Laurie was a Live Oak Baptist Church member for many years and loved to sing in the church choir. In her spare time, Laurie enjoyed spending time outdoors with her family, crocheting and making afghans, reading mystery novels, and watching John Wayne movies when she wasn’t recording her many TV shows. Most of all, she had a love for people and making them smile whenever she could. She will truly be missed by those who loved and knew her. Laurie is preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Michael and Dennis; and son, Buddy Joe Fowler. Those left behind to cherish her memory include her children, Lacy Westbrook and Billy Fowler and wife Ashley; grandchildren, Brenton, Parker, Tripp, Kaden, Cohen, Kyle, Savannah, Aiden and Connor; siblings, Melissa Farris and husband Clinton and Keith Phariss and wife Becky; along with her nieces (who lovingly called her Aunt Poncho), nephews, extended family and friends.

Jennifer Lynn Miller, age 38, passed away Wednesday, April 26, 2023, in Jack County, Texas. She was born on October 13, 1984, in Dublin, Texas to Larry Floyd Miller Sr. and Norma Ann Lopez. Jennifer was a hard-working mom of 4. She loved her family. She had a big personality and was full of life. She loved to cook and serve others. She always had a smile on her face and truly enjoyed helping other people. She made an impact on the lives she encountered and will never be forgotten. Jennifer is survived today by her children, Jessarae and Jasmine Soria, and Jacob and Jonathan Garza; parents, Larry Floyd Miller Sr. and Norma Ann Lopez Miller; siblings, Sherri Miller, Terri Miller, Larry Miller Jr., Pete Miller, and Chrissy Bennett; along with many extended family and friends.

Charlotte Sue Reynolds, affectionately known as Meemee, went to be with her Heavenly Father on Friday, September 8, 2023, at the age of 81. Sue was born on July 3, 1942, in Bowie, Texas to Ila Faye Cozart-Hankins and Joe Burton Hankins. At just the age of 14, she met the love of her life, Marvin Leon Reynolds Jr. They were married on July 9, 1961, at the First Baptist Church in Bowie, Texas, and were happily married until his passing in 2022. Sue and Marvin’s love story was like none other, their dedication to one another, unconditional love, and resilience are examples that will live on in the lives of the people they touched and the families they leave behind. Shortly after being married, they moved to Jacksboro, Texas in 1962 and became devoted members of the First Baptist Church in 1965. Members of First Baptist could always count on Marvin and Sue sitting in their back pew holding hands. Sue’s heart overflowed with love for God's people. She was steadfast in her calling to serve the youth of Jacksboro through her volunteer work at the First Baptist Church nursery and 20-plus years of working at Jacksboro Elementary. As a mother Sue would do anything she could for her children. From creating extravagant doll houses from cutouts of magazines, leading Girl Scout Troops, baking for every event, and holding them through their nightmares, she assured her kids had an abundance of care and love. Her devotion to care for her children was amplified through her love for her grandchildren. From sick days at Meme’s to spending every holiday at her house, her family cherishes all the memories that she made special. Sue was also a longtime supporter of all Jacksboro ISD sporting events, usually having a child, grandchild, or great-grandchild playing. Rain or shine, cold or hot, you could always find her there rooting for the Tigers and Tigerettes until her health would not allow her to attend. Although she will be so missed, her family and friends find comfort in knowing she is back in the arms of her loving husband and holding her baby boy. She is preceded in death by her husband, Marvin Leon Reynolds Jr., her son, Cody Joe Reynolds, and her parents; brothers in law, Jerry Richardson and Howard Reynolds. Those left behind to cherish her memory are her children, Dondi Leonetta Sanders and husband Billy, Tina Tyann Ward and husband Mike, Marvin Leon (Trey) Reynolds III and wife Sandra, all from Jacksboro; grandchildren, Kizzie Sanders-Bogle and husband Ryan, Bo Ward and wife Windi, Chanz Sanders and wife Tyrissa, Blaze Mathis and husband Josh, Bailey Francis and husband Cal, Ranczy Johnson and husband Bubba, Trinity Reynolds, Teagan Reynolds, Tradyn Reynolds, Tessa Reynolds, Dominic Marquez & Elijah Reynolds and Lana Reynolds; great-grandchildren, Macie and Kylie Karnes, Collynz, Eazton, and Steele Sanders, Lilly, Tripp, and Mollie Francis, Bo Monroe and Penn Ward, Tula Belle Mathis; brother, Ronnie Hankins and wife Jackie Sue Hankins; Sister in law, Patrica Richardson; brother in law, Roger Reynolds and wife Sandy; Sue is also survived by many extended family members, close friends, and neighbors.

Floyd Donald Mathis went to be with his Heavenly Father on Monday, October 23, 2023, surrounded by his loving family after a brief battle with cancer. He was born on February 12, 1938, to Floyd Lee and Juanita (Bottoms) Mathis. Donald was raised in Jack County, Texas, and graduated from Jacksboro High School in 1956. He worked as an oilfield mechanic, farmer, and rancher for many years. He was also a 64-year member of the Fort Richardson Masonic Lodge and was a Past Master. Donald is preceded in death by his parents, Floyd and Juanita Mathis, and his brother, Rex Mathis. Those left behind to cherish his memory include his son Tim Mathis and wife Patricia; two granddaughters, Kalyn Qualls and husband Michael of Jacksboro, Texas, and Kassie Davis and husband Blake of Bellevue, Texas; four great-grandchildren, Carter, Emma, Kameron, and Blake; sister-in-law, Joan Mathis; along with numerous nieces and nephews.

I know these are just a few of many that have gone on to glory. These aren’t even all the names that were mentioned in the service, these were just all the obituaries that I could locate. Hug your loved ones close and say a prayer for them. I am so thankful for the time I had with people who are no longer with me…

[astrognossienne]

the star analyses...so far

the actors

ira aldridge

eddie “rochester” anderson

fatty arbuckle

humphrey bogart

marlon brando

charlie chaplin

montgomery clift

gary cooper  

sammy davis, jr.

james dean

errol flynn  

clark gable

cary grant

william haines 

juano hernández

rock hudson

rex ingram

canada lee

harold lloyd

robert mitchum  

tom neal

ramón novarro

laurence olivier

gregory peck

lincoln perry

sidney poitier

anthony quinn 

paul robeson

frank sinatra 

rudolph valentino

john wayne

orson welles

the actresses

lauren bacall

josephine baker

theda bara

brigitte bardot

ingrid bergman  

clara bow

louise brooks

diahann carroll

joan crawford

dorothy dandridge

bette davis

doris day

dolores del río

marlene dietrich

peg entwistle

maría félix

greta garbo

ava gardner

lillian gish 

gloria grahame

jean harlow

susan hayward  

rita hayworth

audrey hepburn 

lena horne

grace kelly

eartha kitt

veronica lake

hedy lamarr

carole landis

vivien leigh

carole lombard

jayne mansfield

hattie mcdaniel

marilyn monroe

mabel normand

merle oberon

barbara payton  

gail russell

norma shearer

barbara stanwyck

olive thomas  

gene tierney

lupe vélez

fredi washington

natalie wood 

loretta young     

the couples

annabella + tyrone power

bogie + bacall

frank + ava

frida kahlo + diego rivera  

gable + lombard 

john + yoko

oj + nicole brown simpson

viv + larry

the rivalries

bette davis vs. joan crawford

inspirations + muses

joyce bryant

gia carangi

coco chanel  

beloved public figures

jacqueline kennedy onassis

john f. kennedy  

princess diana

the notable + infamous

david bacon

susan cabot

shauna grant

dorothy hale

hugh hefner

athalia pondsell lindsley

donyale luna

anjette lyles

marquis de sade

niccolo machiavelli

evelyn mchale

evelyn nesbit

adam clayton powell, jr.

philippa schuyler   

literary figures

jack kerouac

musicians + artists

louis armstrong

syd barrett

maria callas

katherine dunham

duke ellington

ella fitzgerald

marvin gaye

jimi hendrix

billie holiday

whitney houston

frida kahlo

john lennon

keith moon

edith piaf  

hazel scott

selena

tupac shakur

tammi terrell 

yoko ono 

special analyses

cancer men and suicide

[stay-young-look-young-blog]

Celebrity Circumcised List (1982)

Here’s a piece of worthless information. An excerpt from “Men’s Magazine 1982”

Who is circumcised and who isn’t?

NAME                     CUT/UNCUT

AAMES,WILLIE             CUT

ABDUL-JABBAR,KAREEM      CUT

    ADAMS,NICK               UNCUT

    AGENSO,ANDERS            UNCUT

    ALI,MUHAMMAD             CUT

    ALLEN,PETER              CUT

    ALLEN,WOODY              CUT

    ALLMAN,GREG              CUT

    ALLMAN,WAYNE             CUT

    ALOU,FELIPE              UNCUT

    ALOU,JESUS               UNCUT

    ALOU,MATTY               UNCUT

    ALPERT,HERB              CUT

    AMSTERDAM,MOREY          CUT

    ANDRETTI,MARIO           UNCUT

    PRINCE ANDREW            CUT

    ARKIN,ALAN               CUT

    ARNESS,JAMES             UNCUT

    ARTHUR,ROBERT            CUT

    ASNER,ED                 CUT

    ATKINS,CHRISTOPHER       CUT

    BAER,MAX SR.             UNCUT

    BAIO,SCOTT               UNCUT

    BALSAM,MARTIN            CUT

    BARYSHNIKOV,MIKHAIL      UNCUT

    BARRY,GENE               CUT

    BATES,ALAN               CUT

    BEAN,ORSON               UNCUT

    BEATTY,WARREN            CUT

    BEGIN,MENACHEM           CUT

    BENJAMIN,RICHARD         CUT

    BENNETT,TONY             CUT

    BENNY,JACK               CUT

    BENSON,ROBBY             CUT

    BERGER,HELMUT            UNCUT

    BERLINGER,WARREN         CUT

    BERRY,KEN                UNCUT

    BIKEL,THEODORE           CUT

    BISHOP,JOEY              CUT

    BLAKE,ROBERT             CUT

    BLOCKER,DAN              UNCUT

    BLODGETT,MICHAEL         CUT

    BLUE,VIDA                UNCUT

    BOONE,PAT                CUT

    BOTTOMS,JOSEPH           CUT

    BOTTOMS,SAM              CUT

    BOTTOMS,TIMOTHY          CUT

    BOWIE,DAVID              UNCUT

    BOYLE,PETER              CUT

    BRADBURY,RAY             CUT

    BRADY,SCOTT              CUT

    BRANDO,CHRISTIAN         CUT

    BRANDO,MARLON            UNCUT

    BRAVOS,PETER             UNCUT

    BRIDGES,BEAU             CUT

    BRIDGES,JEFF             CUT

    BRONSON,CHARLES          CUT

    BROOKS,MEL               CUT

BROWN,JERRY              CUT

    BROWN,PETER              CUT

    BRUCE,LENNY              CUT

    BRYNNER,YUL              UNCUT

    BUCHOLZ,HORST            UNCUT

    BUCHWALD,ART             CUT

    BURR,RAYMOND             CUT

    BURTON,DREW              CUT

    BURTON,RICHARD           UNCUT

    BUTTONS,RED              CUT

    BYERG,PETER              UNCUT

    BYRNES,EDD               UNCUT

    CAAN,JAMES               CUT

    CALHOUN,RORY             CUT

    CALLAN,MICHAEL           CUT

    CANARY,DAVID             CUT

    CANTOR,EDDIE             CUT

    CAPOTE,TRUMAN            UNCUT

    CAREY,MCDONALD           CUT

    CARPENTER,CARLTON        CUT

    CARSON,JOHNNY            CUT

    CARTER,JACK              CUT

    CARTER,JIMMY             CUT

    CASH,JOHNNY              UNCUT

    CASSIDY,DAVID            CUT

    CASSIDY,SHAUN            CUT

    CAVETT,DICK              CUT

    CEY,RON                  CUT

    CHAKIRIS,GEORGE          UNCUT

    PRINCE CHARLES           CUT

    CLAY,NICHOLAS            UNCUT

    CLIBURN,VAN              CUT

CLIFT,MONTGOMERY         UNCUT

    COBURN,JAMES             CUT

    COLE,MICHAEL             UNCUT

    COLLINS,GARY             UNCUT

    CONRAD,ROBERT            CUT

    CONRAD,WILLIAM           UNCUT

    CONWAY,GARY              CUT

    COOGAN,JACKIE            CUT

    COOPER,ALICE             CUT

    COOPER,GARY              CUT

    COOPER,JACKIE            UNCUT

    COPPOLA,FRANCIS FORD     UNCUT

    CORBETT,GLEN             CUT

    CRAIG,MICHAEL            CUT

    CRANE,BOB                UNCUT

    CRAWFORD,JOHNNY          UNCUT

    CRENNA,RICHARD           CUT

    CROSBY,BING              UNCUT

    CROSBY,HARRY             CUT

    CROSBY,NATHANIEL         CUT

    CROWE,LYNDON             UNCUT

    CRUZ,BRANDON             UNCUT

    CURRY,JOHN               UNCUT

    CURTIS,TONY              CUT

    DALLESANDRO,JOE          CUT

    DALTRY,ROGER             UNCUT

    DANA,BILL                CUT

    DANZA,TONY               UNCUT

    DARIN,BOBBY              CUT

    DAVIS,ANTHONY            UNCUT

    DAVIS,BRAD               CUT

    DAVIS,SAMMY JR.          CUT

    DEACON,RICHARD           CUT

    DEAN,JIMMY               CUT

    DELON,ALAIN              UNCUT

    DEMPSEY,JACK             UNCUT

    DENVER,JOHN              UNCUT

    DEPARDIEU,GERARD         UNCUT

    DEWLDE,BRANDON           CUT

    DIAMOND,NEIL             CUT

    DIMAGGIO,JOE             UNCUT

    DONAHUE,PHIL             CUT

    DONHUE,TROY              CUT

    DOUGLAS,KIRK             CUT

    DOUGLAS,MICHAEL          CUT

    DRAMER,JOEL              CUT

    DREYFUSS,RICHARD         CUT

    DUELL,PETE               CUT

    DUFFY,PATRICK            CUT

    DULLEA,KEIR              CUT

    DYLAN,BOB                CUT

    EBSEN,BUDDY              UNCUT

    EDDY,DUANE               UNCUT

    PRINCE EDWARD            CUT

    EDWARDS,STEVE            CUT

    EDWARDS,VINCE            UNCUT

    EISENMANN,IKE            CUT

    ELY,RON                  CUT

    ESTRADA,ERIK             UNCUT

    EVERLY,DON               UNCUT

    EVERLY,PHIL              UNCUT

    FALK,PETER               UNCUT

    FASSBINDER,RAINER WERNER UNCUT

    FERRIGNO,LOU             UNCUT

    FIRTH,PETER              UNCUT

    FISHER,EDDIE             CUT

    FONDA,PETER              CUT

    FORD,GLENN               CUT

    FORREST,BOB              CUT

    FORSTER,TERRY            UNCUT

    FORTE,FABIAN             CUT

    FOWLER,CRAIG             CUT

    FRAMPTON,PETER           CUT

    FRANCIOSA,TONY           UNCUT

    FRANCISCUS,JAMES         CUT

    FRANK,GARY               CUT

    FREUD,SIGMUND            CUT

    FREY,LEONARD             CUT

    FULLER,ROBERT            CUT

    GABLE,CLARK              UNCUT

    GARAGIOLA,JOE            UNCUT

    GARFUNKEL,ART            CUT

    GARVEY,STEVE             CUT

    GAVIN,JOHN               UNCUT

    GAZZARA,BEN              UNCUT

    GEFFEN,DAVID             CUT

    GELLER,URI               CUT

    KING GEORGE V            CUT

    GEORGE,CHRISTOPHER       UNCUT

    GETTY,J. PAUL III        CUT

    GIBB,ANDY                CUT

    GIBB,BARRY               CUT

    GIBSON,JOHN              CUT

    GIFFORD,FRANK            UNCUT

    GILFORD,JACK             CUT

    GLASER,PAUL MICHAEL      CUT

    GOLDBLUM,JEFF            CUT

    GORMAN,CLIFF             UNCUT

    GOULD,ELLIOTT            CUT

    GOULET,ROBERT            UNCUT

GRANGER,STEWART          UNCUT

    GRANT,CARY               CUT

    GRAVES,PETER             UNCUT

    GREENBERG,HANK           CUT

    GREER,MICHAEL            UNCUT

    GREER,ROSIE              UNCUT

    GRETZKY,WAYNE            CUT

    GREY,JOEL                CUT

    GRIFFITH,ANDY            UNCUT

    HACKETT,BUDDY            CUT

    HALL,MONTY               CUT

    HAMILTON,GEORGE          CUT

    HAMLIN,HARRY             CUT

    HAMMOND,NICHOLAS         CUT

    HARDIN,TY                CUT

    HARMON,MARK              CUT

    HARRISON,GEORGE          UNCUT

    HARRISON,RICHARD         CUT

    HARVEY,LAWRENCE          CUT

    HAUER,RUTGER             UNCUT

    HEFNER,HUGH              UNCUT

    HEIDEN,ERIC              CUT

    HESTON,CHARLTON          CUT

    HICKMAN,DWAYNE           CUT

    HILL,BENNY               UNCUT

    HIRSCH,JUDD              CUT

    HOCKNEY,DAVID            UNCUT

    HOFFMAN,DUSTIN           CUT

    HOOK,DR.                 UNCUT

    HOWARD,CLINT             UNCUT

    HOWARD,RON               UNCUT

    HUDSON,ROCK              UNCUT

    HUMPERDINK,ENGELBERT     CUT

    HUNTER,JEFFREY           CUT

    HUNTER,TAB               CUT

    IRONS,JEREMY             UNCUT

    JACOBI,DEREK             CUT

    JACOBY,SCOTT             CUT

    JAECKEL,RICHARD          CUT

    JAGGER,MICK              CUT

    JANSSEN,DAVID            CUT

    JESSEL,GEORGE            CUT

    JOEL,BILLY               CUT

    JOHN,ELTON               UNCUT

    JOHNCOCK,GORDON          UNCUT

    JOHNSON,DON              CUT

    JOHNSON,VAN              UNCUT

    JONES,SAM                CUT

    JONES,TOM                CUT

    JOURDAN,LOUIS            UNCUT

    KALINE,AL                CUT

    KAPLAN,MARVIN            CUT

    KAYE,DANNY               CUT

    KAZNAR,KURT              UNCUT

    KELLY,GENE               UNCUT

    KENNEDY,JOHN F.          CUT

    KENNEDY,ROBERT F.        UNCUT

    KENNEDY,TED              UNCUT

    KERR,JOHN                CUT

    KILEY,JEAN CLAUDE        UNCUT

    KING,ALAN                CUT

    KING,HARRY               UNCUT

    KING,PERRY               CUT

    KIRK,TOMMY               CUT

    KISSINGER,HENRY          CUT

    KLICKSTEIN,AARON         CUT

    KLINE,KEVIN              CUT

    KNIGHT,CHRISTOPHER       CUT

    KOPAY,DAVID              CUT

    KOUFAX,SANDY             CUT

    KRIZA,JOHN               CUT

    LADD,ALAN JR.            CUT

    LADD,ALAN SR.            UNCUT

    LADD,DAVID               CUT

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    LANDON,MICHAEL           CUT

    LANE,FRANKIE             CUT

    LANZA,MARIO              UNCUT

    LAROSA,JULIUS            UNCUT

    LASSISTER,JIM            CUT

    LAW,JOHN PHILLIP         UNCUT

    LEE,BRUCE                CUT

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    LEWIS,JERRY              CUT

    LEWIS,JERRY LEE          UNCUT

    LIEBMAN,RON              CUT

    LINDEN,HAL               CUT

    KING LOUIS XVI           CUT?

    LUPTON,JOHN              CUT

    LUPUS,PETER              CUT

    LYNDE,PAUL               CUT

    MACARTHUR,JAMES          UNCUT

    MACLAREN,MALCOLM         CUT

    MAJORS,LEE               CUT

    MARCELLINO,JOCKO         CUT

    MARVIN,LEE               UNCUT

    MASSIE,ROBERT            CUT

    MATHIS,JOHNNY            UNCUT

    MATTHAU,WALTER           CUT

    MATURE,VICTOR            UNCUT

    MAUPIN,ARMISTEAD         UNCUT

    MAZZILLI,LEE             CUT

MCCALLUM,DAVID           UNCUT

    MCCARTNEY,PAUL           UNCUT

    MCCLURE,DOUG             CUT

    MCCLUSKEY,ROGER          UNCUT

    MCCORD,KENT              CUT

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    MCKAY,GARDEN             CUT

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    MCRANEY,GERALD           CUT

    MEADER,VAUGHN            UNCUT

    MELLENCAMP,JOHN COUGAR   CUT

    MESSING,SHEP             CUT

    MILNER,MARTIN            UNCUT

    MINEO,SAL                UNCUT

    MOORE,DICKIE             CUT

    MOORE,ROGER              CUT

    MORRIS,GREG              UNCUT

    MORSE,ROBERT             CUT

    MOSLEY,ROGER             CUT

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    MURRAY,DON               CUT

    MUSANTE,TONY             UNCUT

    NAMATH,JOE               CUT

    NOVARRO,RAMON            UNCUT

    NEIKRO,JOE               CUT

    NELSON,DAVID             CUT

    NELSON,RICK              CUT

    NEWHART,BOB              UNCUT

    NEWLAND,MIKE             CUT

    NEWLEY,ANTHONY           CUT

    NEWMAN,PAUL              CUT

    NEWMAN,RANDY             CUT

    NIJINSKY,WASLAW          UNCUT

    NIMOY,LEONARD            CUT

    NOLTE,NICK               CUT

    NORTH,JAY                CUT

    NORTON,KEN               CUT

    NUREYEV,RUDOLF           UNCUT

    O'BRIAN,HUGH             UNCUT

    O'BRIEN,DAVID            CUT

    O'CONNOR,CARROLL         CUT

    O'TOOLE,PETER            UNCUT

    OCHS,PHIL                CUT

    ONTKEAN,MICHAEL          CUT

    OSMOND,DONNY             CUT

    OSMOND,JIMMY             CUT

    PACINO,AL                CUT

    PALANCE,JACK             UNCUT

    PARKER,JAMESON           CUT

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    PEPPARD,GEORGE           CUT

    PERKINS,ANTHONY          CUT

    PERLMAN,ITZHAK           CUT

    PETER THE GREAT          CUT

    PHILBIN,REGIS            CUT

    PHILLIPS,LEE             CUT

    PLUMMER,CHRISTOPHER      CUT

    PLUNKETT,JIM             UNCUT

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    PREVIN,ANDRE             CUT

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    PRICE,VINCENT            UNCUT

    PRIDE,CHARLIE            UNCUT

    RAMONE,JOEY              CUT

    RANDALL,TONY             CUT

    RASHAD,AHMAD             CUT

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    REED,ROBERT              CUT

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    REINER,ROB               CUT

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    RETTIG,TOMMY             CUT

    RICHARD,LITTLE           UNCUT

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    RITTER,JOHN              CUT

    RITTER,WILLIAM F.        UNCUT

    ROBERTS,PERNELL          CUT

    ROBERTSON,CLIFF          UNCUT

    ROBINSON,EDWARD G.       CUT

    ROCK,MONTY III           UNCUT

    ROMERO,NED               CUT

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    RUBENSTEIN,JOHN          CUT

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    SAXON,JOHN               UNCUT

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SHATNER,WILLIAM          CUT

    SHELTON,REID             UNCUT

    SHERMAN,BOBBY            UNCUT

    SIEMAN,JEFF              CUT

    SILVERS,PHIL             CUT

    SIMMONS,GENE             CUT

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    SOUL,DAVID               UNCUT?

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    ST. JACQUES,RAYMOND      CUT

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    WAYNE,PATRICK            CUT

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    PRINCE WILLIAM           UNCUT

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    ZIMBALIST,EFREM JR.      CUT

[classicmollywood]

A Brief Biography on Montgomery Clift

Montgomery Clift’s 100th birth anniversary is October 17th,2020. There are probably a great deal of bios on Monty, but I felt like it was only fair to start my celebration of him with a brief biography. I plan to talk about his individual films in later posts which is why his filmography isn’t super descriptive, but don’t worry, I will get to these later on. I believe knowing the Clift off-screen will help us understand his art better... or maybe that’s just me. Either way, stick with me and you will learn all you need to know about the one and only Montgomery Clift. 

Photo via Top Hollywood Actresses and Actors

Edward Montgomery Clift was born on October 17th, 1920 in Omaha, Nebraska. His parents were William Brooks Clift, a Wall Street Stockbroker, and Ethel Anderson Clift aka Sunny, who was a stay at home mom. He had an older brother named Brooks, and a twin sister named Roberta aka Ethel. The three of them would have an upbringing that is best described as unique, due to the fact that their mother would take them and their private tutors on travels across the world. It is safe to say that in Clift’s earlier years, his family was well off. The children got to go places and enjoy experiences that some people can only dream about.

Monty and his twin sister, Roberta aka Ethel, via The Hollywood Scrapbook

However, after the stock market crash, the Clift family lifestyle changed. The nomadic life of the Clifts was abruptly put to a halt. They had less money and had to root themselves in one place. During this unfortunate rooting, after living what some might call a normal life, Monty caught the acting bug at age 13. He joined a local youth theatrical club, which helped Sunny realize her son had natural talent thus resulting in her encouragement for him to pursue an acting career. His professional theatrical debut was in 1935, in the play Fly Away Home. He was only 14. Monty got to hone his craft with help from some of the best on Broadway, working with famous names such as Fredric March, Tallulah Bankhead, Lynn Fontanne, Alla Nazimova and Alfred Lunt. He credits them, and not the Actor’s Studio, for helping him become a great actor. Their guidance and his training paid off - he had his first leading role on stage at the age of 17. 

Monty with Alla Nazimova in a still for the Broadway Play “The Mother” circa 1939 via Martin Turnball

 By the time he was 18, Hollywood started calling, but he wasn’t interested. In 1938, he was offered the lead role in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - but turned it down. This would not be the only role he would turn down though. Monty seemed to have a set of standards that if complied with, would bring him to Hollywood. If his checklist demands weren’t met - he wasn’t interested because he wanted to be free. 

Monty with Tallulah Bankhead and cast for a Playbill for the Plymouth Theatre via Amazon

The main reason Clift turned down roles for movies is because he didn’t want to sign a contract, which would cause him to be loyal to one studio. He wanted to take roles that he thought were the best and even went as far as turning down 14 films in one year. Some of his most famous declines are Mrs. Miniver, East of Eden, and On the Waterfront. Monty turned down these roles because they just didn’t feel right for his Hollywood debut. However, there is one film he turned down that probably wasn’t 100 percent his idea. Clift was in a relationship with Libby Holman, who was a much older actress, when the script for Sunset Boulevard came his way. It has been said that the storyline, of an aging actress having an affair with a younger man, was a bit too close for comfort for Holman, and that’s why he turned down the role. Who knows if that is true, but that decision helped William Holden finally become the star he felt destined to be, all thanks to Monty. 

Clift with Libby Holman via Pinterest

Once Clift finally got a studio to agree with his terms of script and director approval, the ability to work at rival studios, and the ability to be a creative collaborator, he went to Hollywood, at the age of 28. His first film was 1948’s Red River, even though The Search was released first. 

Clift with child actor Ivan Jandl via Worthpoint

When Monty started making films, his acting style, along with James Dean and Marlon Brando, helped recreate the leading man. The new leading man wasn’t afraid to mumble, show a range of emotions, and have a focus on their beauty. The world was ready for Clift and his new leading man, and after Red River and The Search, most of his films were hits. He got four Oscar nominations for acting but unfortunately never won a statue. 

The tabloids were obsessed with him. He lived modestly in New York and rarely talked about his personal life. Monty was some sort of enigma that kept the press wanting more - especially when it came to his love life. They wanted to know who Monty was dating but he would never share those details. 

A magazine clipping about Clift via Making Montgomery Clift’s Twitter

Before we dive into the subject of his sexuality, I want you to watch a clip from a rare interview from the early 60s with Hy Gardner. Gardner asks Monty about his link to some of his female co stars, and I think it is interesting to hear him talk about this. (Clip section with question about co-stars starts at about 5:12)

Monty doesn’t say his sexual preferences in this clip. He seems to be going every way he can around the question without giving an explicit answer .But keep in mind, this is probably more about his privacy than being worried people will find out his true sexuality. How do I know this?

Because after watching the documentary film, Making Montgomery Clift, I learned how his sexuality and personal life was twisted and contorted into a Hollywood melodrama and of course, this was done after he wasn’t here to defend himself. It was just so easy to make him a tortured gay man because wasn’t that what every closeted gay man in the mid twentieth century was supposed to be? 

But that wasn’t Monty. His brother, Brooks Clift, is quoted saying that Clift’s sexuality “never seemed to bother him at all”. Clift’s companion Lorenzo James, said that he “wasn’t closeted at all and he wasn’t affected by his sexuality.” Clift had issues in his life, but his sexuality wasn’t one of them. He was a private guy who didn’t like giving interviews, so the press had a field day when they found out something he hid from the public, but not necessarily everyone in his life. Thus began the tragic gay man myth surrounding Monty.

The assumption that he was a tragic gay man may stem from the fact that he was moody and had drug and alcohol abuse. Yet, the Hollywood gossip columns and his own biographers portrayed his sexuality as something destructive in his life as opposed to being a part of him. 

Monty did have substance abuse issues, and it was assumed that this all started after his 1956 car accident, which he was constantly in pain from for the rest of his life. However, Clift’s brother blames the film Freud and the lawsuit between Clift, John Huston, and the producers as the reason Monty went into a downward spiral. Brooks explains that after this lawsuit, Monty couldn’t work and that depressed him, thus causing his substance dependency. 

Montgomery Clift died of a heart attack on July 23, 1966 at the age of 45. There are rumors that Clift was murdered, but the fact is, his heart just gave out

[tasksweekly]

[TASK 179: PALAU]

There’s a masterlist below compiled of over 130+ Palauan faceclaims categorised by gender with their occupation and ethnicity denoted if there was a reliable source. If you want an extra challenge use random.org to pick a random number! Of course everything listed below are just suggestions and you can pick whichever faceclaim or whichever project you desire.

Any questions can be sent here and all tutorials have been linked below the cut for ease of access! REMEMBER to tag your resources with #TASKSWEEKLY and we will reblog them onto the main! This task can be tagged with whatever you want but if you want us to see it please be sure that our tag is the first five tags, @ mention us or send us a messaging linking us to your post!

THE TASK - scroll down for FC’s!

STEP 1: Decide on a FC you wish to create resources for! You can always do more than one but who are you starting with? There are links to masterlists you can use in order to find them and if you want help, just send us a message and we can pick one for you at random!

STEP 2: Pick what you want to create! You can obviously do more than one thing, but what do you want to start off with? Screencaps, RP icons, GIF packs, masterlists, PNG’s, fancasts, alternative FC’s - LITERALLY anything you desire!

STEP 3: Look back on tasks that we have created previously for tutorials on the thing you are creating unless you have whatever it is you are doing mastered - then of course feel free to just get on and do it. :)

STEP 4: Upload and tag with #TASKSWEEKLY! If you didn’t use your own screencaps/images make sure to credit where you got them from as we will not reblog packs which do not credit caps or original gifs from the original maker.

THINGS YOU CAN MAKE FOR THIS TASK -  examples are linked!

Stumped for ideas? Maybe make a masterlist or graphic of your favourite faceclaims. A masterlist of names. Plot ideas or screencaps from a music video preformed by an artist. Masterlist of quotes and lyrics that can be used for starters, thread titles or tags. Guides on culture and customs.

Screencaps

RP icons [of all sizes]

Gif Pack [maybe gif icons if you wish]

PNG packs

Manips

Dash Icons

Character Aesthetics

PSD’s

XCF’s

Graphic Templates - can be chara header, promo, border or background PSD’s!

FC Masterlists - underused, with resources, without resources!

FC Help - could be related, family templates, alternatives.

Written Guides.

and whatever else you can think of / make!

MASTERLIST!

F:

Brenda Bari (1979) Palauan, Chamorro, Italian - model and bodybuilder.

Sha Merirei / C. Merirei Ongelungel (1983) Palauan - radio host, podcast host, Miss Palau LGBTQ 2014, and artist.

Geana Stark (?) Palauan, Mexican, Unspecified White - model and makeup artist.

Sistah Lubei / Lubei Cavin (?) Palauan - singer.

Jenelle Iwang (?) Palauan - singer.

Lisa Sandei (?) Palauan - singer.

Christy Sakaziro (?) Palauan - singer.

F - Athletes:

Jennifer Anson (1977) Palauan - judoka.

Peoria Koshiba (1979) Palauan - sprinter.

Carissa Subris (1982) Palauan - high jumper.

Ngerak Florencio (1983) Palauan - sprinter.

Nicole Hayes (1984) Palauan - swimmer.

Avon Grace Mazo (1987) Palauan - sprinter.

Anastasia Kikuharu (1988) Palauan - weightlifter.

Evelyn Otto (1989) Palauan - swimmer.

Amber Yobech (1991) Palauan - swimmer.

Maria Gibbons (1993) Palauan - swimmer.

Ruby Joy Gabriel (1994) Palauan - sprinter.

Marina Toribiong (1994) Palauan - canoeist.

Keesha Keane (1995) Palauan - swimmer.

Osisang Chilton (1996) Palauan - swimmer.

Dirngulbai Misech (1997) Palauan - swimmer.

Ayana Rengiil (1999) Palauan - tennis player.

Roylin Akiwo (2000) Palauan - swimmer.

Maura Ngirmechaet (?) Palauan - sprinter.

Joy Kukumai Ueki Uong (?) Palauan - canoeist.

Hila Asanuma (?) Palauan - volleyball player.

Jacqualine Ngirdimau (?) Palauan - canoeist.

Maleah Umerang Tengedik (?) Palauan - javelin thrower.

Zoya Renguul (?) Palauan - table tennis player.

Debra Ann Toriboing (?) Palauan - canoeist.

Ikelau Misech (?) Palauan - swimmer.

Pkngey Otobed (?) Palauan - canoeist.

Barbara Gbewonyo (?) Palauan - triple jumper.

Holly Yamada (?) Palauan - volleyball player.

Jaqueline Keri Telli (?) Palauan - sprinter.

Pauleen Kumangai (?) Palauan - canoeist.

Christina Wicker (?) Palauan - sprinter.

Felicia Saburo (?) Palauan - long jumper.

Elsei Diane Tellei (?) Palauan - canoeist.

Corrine Hideos (?) Palauan - hammer thrower.

Dannette Ricky (?) Palauan - sprinter.

Chandis Cooper (?) Palauan - shot putter and discus thrower.

M:

Halley Eriich (?) Palauan - singer.

Kendall Titiml (?) Palauan - singer.

Tim Sameke (?) Palaun, Fijian, I-Kiribati, New Caledonian - singer.

DJ Darxide (?) Palauan, Tongan, Papuan New Guinean, Solomon Islander, Fijian - DJ.

Walker Miner (?) Palauan - model.

Darren Clift (?) Palauan, Japanese, Unspecified White - singer.

M - Athletes:

John Tarkong (1965) Palauan - wrestler.

Toni Illilau (1969) Palauan - footballer.

Mohoshin Miah (1973) Palauan - footballer.

Russel Roman (1975) Palauan - sprinter.

Malakai Bitu (1976) Palauan - footballer.

Christopher Adolf (1976) Palauan - sprinter.

Edward Kenic (1978 or 1979) Palauan - archer.

Brandon Giramur (1981) Palauan - archer.

Charles Reklai Mitchell (1982) Palauan - footballer.

Jesse Tamangrow (1982) Palauan - sprinter.

Leif Toribiong (1984) Palauan - footballer.

Elgin Loren Elwais (1985) Palauan - wrestler.

Armando Canseco (1985) Palauan - footballer.

Florian Skilang Temengil (1986) Palauan - wrestler.

Nicholas Mangham (1986) Palauan - weightlifter.

Sergio Ngiraingas (1988) Palauan - footballer.

Leon Mengloi (1989) Palauan - sprinter.

McGee Mereb (1989) Palauan - footballer.

Robert Victor Bishop Jr. (1990) Palauan - footballer.

Scott Skebong (1990) Palauan - footballer.

Christopher Ongrung (1991) Palauan - archer.

Stevick Patris (1991) Palauan - weightlifter.

Edson Ngiraiwet (1991) Palauan - volleyball player.

Dougwin Franz (1991) Palauan - javelin thrower.

Youri Ito (1992) Palauan - footballer.

Dims Tewid (1992) Palauan - footballer.

Joe Carlos (1992) Palauan - footballer.

Francis Tkel (1992) Palauan - sprinter.

Mac Sasao (1992) Palauan - footballer.

Jimmy Jonas (1992) Palauan - footballer.

Cristian Nicolescu (1993) Palauan - wrestler.

Shawn Dingilius-Wallace (1994) Palauan - swimmer.

Mechesengel Roman (1994) Palauan - footballer.

Skarlee Renguul (1994) Palauan - wrestler.

Christian Etpison Nicolescu (1994) Palauan - footballer.

Rodman Teltull (1994) Palauan - sprinter.

Mavrick Faustino (1994) Palauan - weightlifter.

Dexter Decherong (1995) Palauan - footballer.

Bligh Madris (1996) Palauan - baseball player.

Jarvis Tarkong (1996) Palauan - judoka.

Gwynn Uehara (1997) Palauan - sprinter.

James Dydasco (1998) Palauan - wrestler.

Paulus Ngirngesechei (1998) Palauan - footballer.

Noel Keane (2002) Palauan - swimmer.

Reagan Sidoi (?) Palauan - baseball player.

Conrad Rdechor (?) Palauan - sprinter.

Kalson Dulei (?) Palauan - baseball player.

Donovan Helvey (?) Palauan - high jumper.

Ryon Gaines (?) Palauan - sprinter.

Antonio Ngiralmau (?) Palauan - baseball player.

Marcus Hangaripai (?) Palauan - sprinter.

William Mgirakelau (?) Palauan - triple jumper.

Tutii Chilton (?) Palauan - archer.

Lantz Ngiramengior (?) Palauan - baseball player.

Elias Aguon (?) Palauan - table tennis player.

Melngis Andre Uchel (?) Palauan - baseball player.

Shaquille Teltull (?) Palauan - sprinter.

Avery Amos Olkebai (?) Palauan - baseball player.

O'Quinn Sakuma (?) Palauan - canoeist.

Blaluk Conseko Anthony (?) Palauan - baseball player.

Texxon Taro (?) Palauan - volleyball player.

Lieb Kubek Bells (?) Palauan - baseball player.

Malcolm Gaymann (?) Palauan - judoka.

Rodrick Aquino Blanco (?) Palauan - baseball player.

Kingsley Ngirmidol (?) Palauan - volleyball player.

Joab Kanai (?) Palauan - sprinter.

Herman Alfonso (?) Palauan - baseball player.

Galileo Saiske (?) Palauan - hammer thrower.

L'Amour Lansang Arurang (?) Palauan - baseball player.

Jacques Stills (?) Palauan - sprinter.

O'leary Wataru Ise (?) Palauan - baseball player.

Richard Madrekewet (?) Palauan - sprinter.

Dillon Meriang (?) Palauan - table tennis player.

Anthony Singichi (?) Palauan - sprinter.

Carter Smau Kahue (?) Palauan - baseball player.

John Stills (?) Palauan - sprinter.

Royce Elbuchel Sadang (?) Palauan - baseball player.

Filomena Ngirabedul (?) Palauan - pole vaulter.

Samuel Saunders (?) Palauan - table tennis player.

Christopher Kenty (?) Palauan - hurdler.

Raynold Bkudasu Sadang (?) Palauan - baseball player.

Joynal Mize (?) Palauan - sprinter.

Dmitri Villanueva (?) Palauan - weightlifter.

Brook Kinz (?) Palauan - sprinter.

Isimang Tillion Smus (?) Palauan - baseball player.

Douglas Schmidt (?) Palauan - sprinter.

Christopher Carlos (?) Palauan - volleyball player.

Jersey Lyar (?) Palauan - sprinter.

[elizasvintagemoviesblog]

Montgomery Clift: the untold story of Hollywood's misunderstood star

In a new documentary, myths and assumptions about the Oscar-nominated heartthrob who struggled with his sexuality are replaced with the little-known truth

Jim Farber

 Mon 29 Oct 2018 08.00 GMT

or over 30 years, scripts have floated around Hollywood promising to tell the story of Montgomery Clift, one of the most innovative and handsome actors in history. Tellingly, they’re always pitched under working titles like ‘Beautiful Loser’ and' ‘Tragic Beauty’. Guided by the key biographies of Clift, they reliably parrot a narrative which paints the actor as a startlingly attractive and prodigiously gifted man who, according to one notably overheated tabloid TV show “became a drug-addicted alcoholic living in a self-imposed hell because he had a secret he couldn’t live with”.

That “secret” – that Clift was gay during an impossible era (the 1930s through the 60s) – led many interpreters to conclude that the actor must have led a life riddled with fear and shame. It hardly helped lend nuance to that reading that Clift was a well-known and long-time abuser of pain killers and alcohol, actions which likely sped his death from a heart attack at 45 in 1966. Yet, according to a new documentary, titled Making Montgomery Clift, the star’s substance abuse had nothing at all to do with his sexuality. In fact, the attitudes he and his family held towards his relationships with men were strikingly modern.

The movie, which plays at the LGBTQ movie festival NewFest in New York, refutes scores of oft-repeated assumptions about Clift’s life, from his motivations as an actor, to his relationship with his mother to the characterization of his later years. It also stresses Clift’s crucial role in changing the power balance between actors and studio chiefs in Hollywood, as well as the advancements he brought to film acting. More, it analyzes the new view of masculine beauty he helped introduce to the screen.

To help build their case, the film-makers had rare access to the actor’s archives, as well as to the family’s story, courtesy of a special connection: the doc was co-directed by the star’s nephew, Robert Clift, and his wife, Hillary Demmon. “For us, it seemed there was this big difference between what people thought about Monty in the public sphere and what people that knew him would say,” said Clift. “I wanted to figure out why there was such a difference.”

A deep trove of never-before-revealed evidence makes that disparity bracingly clear. For somewhat mysterious reasons, Robert Clift’s father Brooks taped endless conversations with his famous brother, as well as with their mother and other figures relevant to the story. (The director himself never met his famous uncle, having been born eight years after his death). In one tape made by his father in the 1960s, we hear the star’s mother tell him, with untroubled candor, that “Monty was a homosexual early. I think he was 12 or 13.”

https://youtu.be/4vD1dsBm5K8

“It’s obviously a non-issue for her,” co-director Demmon said. “That’s not what people would expect from a mother in that period.”

Then again, nothing about Clift’s life was expected. Born in 1920 in Omaha, Nebraska, Clift was raised like an aristocrat, with a private tutor and frequent trips to Europe. While he never excelled at school, his extraordinary abilities as an actor showed early. By 15, Clift made his Broadway debut in Cole Porter’s Jubilee. Over the next 10 years, he earned prominent roles in plays by Tennessee Williams and Thornton Wilder, opposite stars like Fredrick March and Tallulah Bankhead. Hollywood repeatedly came courting, but he put off offers for nearly a decade, even turning down roles in classic films like East of Eden and the co-lead in Sunset Boulevard.

Taped interviews with his brother reveal that the actor felt those roles weren’t quite right for him and he didn’t want to make the wrong first impression. He also didn’t want to sign a contract with a studio, then the only viable way into the business. “He didn’t want the studios to dictate the kinds of roles he would play,” his nephew said. “He wanted to be a free agent, and he did it successfully. The old Hollywood system was breaking apart and he was a major part of that.”

{John Wayne and Montgomery Clift in Red River}

The first role Clift took, opposite John Wayne in Red River in 1948, offered a stark contrast in masculine presentations. Clift detested Wayne’s antiquated male constraints. He also detested the man. “Monty brought a different masculinity to the screen,” said Demmon. “Here was someone who was vulnerable and sensitive - and who actually listened to women.”

He wasn’t the only one who challenged such norms at the time. Contemporaries like James Dean and Marlon Brando also did. Like them, Clift was comfortable with the full contours, and consequences, of his beauty, playing “the object” in a way previously preserved for female stars. He also helped bring a more natural acting style to film. “That’s why his work doesn’t feel dated,” Demmon said.

He advanced a collaborative approach with his directors, working over scripts and making suggestions for edits. “He wasn’t solely an actor,” she said. “He had a holistic view.”

A fellow actor asserts that Clift was equally confident in his sexuality. Jack Larson, famous for playing Jimmy Olsen in the hit 1950s TV series Adventures of Superman, recalled how Clift gave him a full mouth kiss the first time they casually met. “He was not worried [about being gay],” Larson asserts in the film.

Another confidant said “his personal life didn’t bother him”.

{Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in A Place in the Sun}

Observers also point out that Clift had sexual relationships with women. But, in general, his relationships with men had more to do with sex than with a deep emotional connection. A seeming exception was one in his final years with a man named Lorenzo who had been hired to help him. “They went to London to see Laurence Olivier together, ate together, sat in front of the fire together,” Clift said. “Lorenzo came into the picture when Monty was at his lowest. He got him going again. He still drank, but not as heavily. Lorenzo was one of the reasons.”

Clift asserts that the actor’s use of alcohol and prescription drugs stemmed, primarily, from a near-fatal car accident in 1956. He used them to numb his physical pain. The accident changed his appearance, and many biographers assumed Clift felt ruined by it and, so, drank more. But the documentary notes Clift made as many movies after the accident as before, and that those projects included some of his most acclaimed performances. Ex-lover Larson said in the film that Clift actually preferred his work after the accident to his performances before.

Many of the myths surrounding Clift sprang from two biographies: a salacious one by Robert Laguardia and another flawed work by Patricia Bosworth, titled A Life. The film-makers interviewed Bosworth extensively for the movie, but they contrast her words with old taped conversations she had with the actor’s brother. He pleaded with her to make changes to her book to correct the mischaracterizations. While she sounds apologetic, the changes were never made.

As to why Bosworth drew on the gay-self-hate narrative, and why that view took hold, the directors blame the homophobia of the time the book was written, in the 1970s. “The view then about queer people was that they would be inherently conflicted or tormented about their sexuality,” said Demmon. “If you have a story that tracks along that line, that will feel true to people. Which gives that narrative a lot of traction. Now we’re at a historical point in mainstream queer discourse where that story seems less viable.”

Though the film aims to update, and to fairly contextualize, the actor’s story, the directors stress that they don’t want to simply swap one image of Montgomery Clift for another. “We’re not trying to give a definitive version of who Monty was,” added Clift. “Part of honoring someone is being open to that person not being just one, reductive thing.”

source: theguardian

[oldhollywoodholla]

For the movie ask: 4,5, 6, 27 and 28

4. Top 5 directors?

George Cukor

Billy Wilder

Stanley Donen

Richard Brooks

and the biggest title of "Love their work, Hate them" goes to Elia Kazan

5. Favorite dead actor/actress?

Natalie Wood

Elizabeth Taylor

Eartha Kitt

Fred Astaire

James Dean

6. Favorite movie from the 90’s?

Jawbreaker (1999)

27. Top 5 actors?

Sidney Poitier

Paul Newman

Cary Grant

Montgomery Clift

William Powell

28. Top 5 actresses?

Natalie Wood

Bette Davis

Marilyn Monroe

Sophia Loren

Jean Harlow

[tuckinpodcast-blog]

EPISODE 2: THE HAYS CODE AND OTHER BAD IDEAS.

LISTEN: SOUNDLCOUD / ITUNES / GOOGLE PLAY (coming soon!)

NOTES: minimal note-shuffling, I promise. Google Play is reviewing the podcast as we speak, so we should be up soon!

SOURCES: listed at end of transcript

TRANSCRIPT:

Hi! I'm Jack, and this is Tuck In, We're Rolling: Queer Hollywood Stories. This week's episode is titled 'The Hays Code and Other Bad Ideas'. This is gonna be a long episode, but it's a really important one, because it lays down the basis for a lot of our future discussions.

Let's start off with the basics. The Hays Code came about in 1930 but it wasn't really enforced until 1934. Basically, what happened was way back in 1915, the Supreme Court heard a case called “Mutual Film Corp. V. Industrial Commission of Ohio”, and voted 9-0 that free speech didn't extend to films. The courts kind of reasoned that, as a form of mass media, movies could literally be used “for evil”, and for some reason this decision also applied to circuses? I don't know, not entirely relevant, but I thought it was a weird aside. The decision by the court was what drove the studios to more closely regulate their content, and the decision was eventually overturned in 1952 with the hearing of the “Joseph Burstyn Inc. V. Wilson”, also known as the “Miracle Decision” because of the short film “The Miracle” that the case was heard over, and it really kind of marked a decline in movie censorship in the US, but by this time, the damage had already been done.

So, what was the Hays Code?

The Hays Code was basically the theaters and the studios agreeing to self-censor in order to avoid losing money from religious-led boycotts or local governments refusing to show so called “immoral” films. As I've mentioned, times were kinda tough in Depression era Hollywood, and a lot of studios went under or cut their contract stars to save money or try to cut costs somehow. The Code is actually called “The Motion Picture Production Code”, but it's known as the Hays Code after William H. Hays, who was the head of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, and it's basically the racist grandfather of the MPAA ratings system we all known and love today.

How does this come back to queer history? Thanks for asking, all six of my followers on SoundCloud! Let me read the entire section of the Hays Code pertaining to what it calls “impure love”:

“In the case of impure love, the love which society has always regarded as wrong and which has been banned by divine law, the following are important:

Impure love must not be presented as attractive or beautiful.

It must not be the subject of comedy or farce, or treated as material for laughter.

It must not be presented in such a way to arouse passion or morbid curiosity on the part of the audience.

It must not be made to seem right and permissible.

It must not be detailed in method or manner.

I've included a link to a copy of a Hays Code pamphlet and the transcript of it that I just read from so you can go check out the kind of stuff it talks about. And it talks about a lot. No interracial marriage or romance, no adultery, no white slavery. No boobs, no disrespecting the American flag, no dissing the clergy. It's kind of intense, and it explains some of the weird wholesomeness and out-of-left-field endings you get with a lot of the movies from the 30's and 40's.

Now, there were, obviously, stereotypes and stigma around being queer before the Hays Code, but it really cemented this feeling of “othering” – extending beyond queer people as well.

Pre-code, you had a lot of movies that used drag or gender role reversal for laughs. In 1915, Charlie Chaplin dressed in drag for his movie A Woman, and so did Fatty Arbuckle in Miss Fatty. Early films used the “sissy” or “pansy” stereotype – you know, and you've seen it today, the flamboyant, effeminate gay man who had no real humanity to speak of but was only there for a laugh. It was kind of the beginning of that stereotype, and even if it wasn't harmful – and still is – it wasn't as overtly hateful as some of the things we'll see later on.

I've done a lot of digging into what was going on with pre-code lesbians, and I found some movie titles and a few references, but not a lot. Lesbians weren't shown nearly as much as their gay “pansy” counterparts – but if they were shown, they were butch crossdressers for the audience to laugh at, or they were weirdo older spinsters who were dead by the end of the movie – huge surprise, right? Some notable portrayals of lesbians, overt or implied, include Louise Brooks in the 1929 German film Pandora's Box, this is one where the romantic relationship is implied. There's Marlene Dietrich in Morocco in 1930 – and we're gonna talk about in detail in a later episode. There's a girl-on-girl dance scene in 1932's Sign of the Cross, and a butch lesbian in 1933's Women They Talk About. And of course, there's Greta Garbo kissing another woman in Queen Christina in 1933. Of course, it's kind of difficult to find these references, so I want to point out that people have been dismissing lesbians and women who love women as just 'gals bein' pals' for a really, really long time.

After the Hays Code, a lot of this overt sexuality got swept under the rug and buried in subtext. Culturally, you're looking at a time – again, going back to what we talked about with masculine panic – when men are looking at homosexuality as a direct attack on their masculinity. During the Depression, men were already feeling emasculated because they were losing their jobs and they couldn't afford to take care of their families. They're looking at effeminate men and masculine women, and they start to freak out even more. So even though pre-code movies were using shock value – things like queer people or prostitution and violence – to get butts into seats and boost ticket sales, there was still this pervasive anxiety from men getting scared about their masculinity, and from religious groups that were worried about the effects of on-screen sinning on polite society.

The Code essentially killed the pansy, and buried queer people in hints and subtext. So in the 1930's and 40's, if you were queer in a movie, you were either really vaguely defined like Joel Cairo in The Maltese Falcon, who is explicitly gay in the source material, or you're a villain, also like Joel Cairo in The Maltese Falcon. Censorship evolved a little to say, basically, you can show perversion of almost any kind, but you can't show it in a positive light. And this sort of gels with the feelings of the time. You have characters running around committing crimes because of their sexuality, because back then people thought that being gay drove you insane as well as being a sin. People thought of being gay as being a disease or a defect and police were running around raiding gay bars and harassing women dressed in men's clothing, and it's really not a great time to be queer.

In 1948, Hitchcock's Rope comes out, and he's very obviously skirting the censors with the two antagonists. It's very thinly veiled that they're in a romantic relationship, but they're also still murderers. But that kind of moves us along into the 50's, when that 'Miracle Decision' has the courts saying that, no, films are protected by the first amendment and they're an art form, and this is really when censorship in film starts to decline. This is also about the time that its ruled that the studios can't own the movie theaters that distribute their films, so the monopoly on the film industry is broken up and the power of the old studios is drastically reduced.

There's still a censorship code at this point, of course, but it's really loosening up in the mid-50's. The code at that time allowed for hints of queerness as long as it was used for humor or if the person was punished for their “deviance”, which eventually led to 1959's Suddenly, Last Summer, starring big names like Liz Taylor, Katherine Hepburn, and my favorite actor Monty Clift. This movie is a landmark because it has what's considered to be the first movie with a named, explicitly gay character.

Now, that's great and all – but the shitty part comes from the plot. Basically, this guy is murdered violently and his cousin, played by Katharine Hepburn, sees it and goes nuts, so the mom – played by Liz Taylor – tries to bribe Monty Clift's character into giving her niece a lobotomy so that no one finds out that her son was gay. And don't worry, I'm going to talk a lot about Monty in a later episode and we'll talk about what kind of effect the movie had on him as closeted gay man, but this movie basically proved to the public that being a “mama's boy” or being controlled by your mom led to being gay, and it was sort of implied that violent murder was the inevitable fate of gay men, and that they kind of deserved it.

This is sort of a trend, moving into the 60's. You've got a lot of subtext in the 1959 remake of Ben-Hur, a lot of covert themes and implications. But at the same time, audiences aren't so interested in boycotting a film because of religious leaders, and movies with “questionable content” didn't really need production code or religious approval anymore. But even though we've got the code loosening to compete with television and the rise of the indie studio after the break-up of the old studio monopoly, you've still got a lot of queer characters who are miserable and depressed, or suicidal and homicidal. A lot of them are still dead by the time the credits roll.

In 1965, a movie called Inside Daisy Clover comes out, and there's a gay man in it. He isn't miserable or struggling, and he survives the entire movie – but he's never really explicitly named as gay. It's all still buried in subtext. In 1967, we get Marlon Brando and Liz Taylor in Reflections in a Golden Eye, starring Brando as a repressed gay Army major – a role that was supposed to be Monty Clift's, but he turned it down due to his declining health, supposedly. This is kind of an interesting, weird movie about sexual repression, both heterosexual and homosexual, and the violence it can spark. I'm going to talk in detail about this movie when I do my Brando episode, so I'm gonna put a pin in this discussion for now.

The sixties also brought us the beautiful weirdness of Andy Warhol, Kenneth Anger, and other people like them who were giving us fully realized and complex queer characters, but we don't see any movies marketed towards a gay audience until the 1970's. In 1968, the final death knell of the Hays Code came with the introduction of the MPAA rating system we're all familiar with today.

So, why the long history lesson? I wanted to talk about this bit of film history for several reasons.

First of all, chronologically it makes sense in the context of the show. Last week, we talked about noted vampire Rudolph Valentino – I finished American Horror Story: Hotel, by the way – and he died before the Hays Code was even written, a whole year before, to be exact.

Second of all, it's important to talk about all of this to give context to our future discussions about Hays-era movies and about the environment that actors were working in. Next week, we're going to be talking about some ladies I mentioned this week – Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, and Katherine Hepburn, women who's work snapped from pre to post-code, and we're going to pick this thread of queer representation post Hays Code in a few episodes, but for now, you have some background on the subject.

And third of all, and most importantly, now you can look at some of the stereotypes that we still have today and be able to trace them back to their origins. You see these harmful stereotypes all the time, on TV and in the movies. So we have like, Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs, and we can draw a straight line back to Joel Cairo in The Maltese Falcon. None of this is an excuse or anything – it was wrong then and it's wrong now – but now we have context. We can ask Hollywood, “Why haven't you changed? Why do these offensive things still happen?” You know, back in the 1950's, it was playing into toxix masculinity and that same fear of independent women that was driving criticism of Valentino in the 20's. And for whatever reason, we still have caricatures of queer people on screen as well as this same pervasive toxic and performative masculinity. We have a lot of trouble finding fully realized queer characters that don't end up dead or alone, or even still hidden in subtext.

There's this great moment in the last season of True Blood, maybe the only great moment other than Ryan Kwanten and Alexander Skarsgaard's sex scene – when Lafayette lashes out at Jessica after she catches him and her current boyfriend hooking up, and it's so good and sums up what I want to say so well, that I'm going to leave you with it:

“Everybody else in this fucking town is falling in love and getting engaged and having babies! Has it ever occurred to you that Lafayette – that queen that makes all you white heterosexuals laugh and feel good about yourselves – has it fucking ever occurred to you that maybe I want a piece of that happiness too?”

Thank you for listening to Tuck In, We're Rolling: Queer Hollywood Stories. This episode was researched, written and recorded by me, Jack Segreto. You can find a transcript of this episode and all of our episodes, along with some fun facts and photos, on our tumblr, tuckinpodcast.tumblr.com. You can also give us a like on Facebook at facebook.com/tuckinpodcast. We accept messages on both of those platforms, so feel free to shoot us suggestions for future shows and comments. We upload new episodes every Wednesday and you can find us on iTunes, Soundcloud, and now Google Play. Don't forget to rate and subscribe so more people can find us! Thanks for listening. We'll see you next time.

SOURCES:

The Motion Picture Production Code (PDF)

The Hays Code - Arts Reformation

From Sissie to Secrecy: The Evolution of the Hays Code

The Hays Code: Censorship, Sexism, and the Code that Built Pop Culture

Homosexuality in Film

Gay and Lesbian Characters in Pre-Code Film

History of Homosexuality in Film (yeah, I got lazy and used Wikipedia. SUE ME, OKAY, I WORK 40+ HOURS A WEEK)

True Blood Wiki: ‘Lost Cause’ Synopsis & Quotes

OKAY BYEEEEEE

[cinephiled-com]

New Post has been published on Cinephiled

New Post has been published on http://www.cinephiled.com/seven-surprising-discoveries-2017-tcm-classic-film-festival/

Seven (Surprising) Discoveries at the 2017 TCM Classic Film Festival

My eyes are still recovering from watching back-to-back movies from 9 am to midnight for days on end at the eighth annual TCM Classic Film Festival last week in Hollywood. But, eye strain aside, it is an exciting, joyous event for the thousands of classic movie lovers who come to town from all over the world for the festivities. I can’t even tell you how much I look forward to this four-day festival. Taking place in two historic 1920s movie palaces, Sid Grauman’s stunning Chinese and Egyptian theaters on Hollywood Boulevard, as well as the neighboring TCL Chinese Multiplex and a few presentations at the nearby Cinerama Dome, there are up to five concurrent presentations taking place in every time slot (totaling more than 100 films) over the course of the festival. Choosing what to see when there are so many great options is part of the agonizing fun.

I’ve attended every TCM Festival since it began in 2010 and this year’s was especially poignant following the death last month of the beloved TCM host and father figure Robert Osborne at the age of 84. Getting a chance to meet Osborne at the festival and hear him introduce films and interview the actors and filmmakers he knew so well was every bit as exciting as meeting our favorite stars. This year, the entire festival was dedicated to Robert Osborne and there were many tears at various remembrances. Also many laughs, as this year’s overall theme was comedy in the movies. Sadly, many of the people who attended the festival in years past are no longer with us. I have so many wonderful memories of hearing stars such as Debbie Reynolds, Tony Curtis, Maureen O’Hara, Luise Rainer, Mickey Rooney, Betty Garrett, Esther Williams, and so many others talk to us about their work. This year’s special guests included incredibly talented folks such as Carl and Rob Reiner (who became the first father and son to get their footprints immortalized in cement in the famous Grauman’s Chinese forecourt), Sidney Poitier, Genevieve Bujold, Michael Douglas, Peter Bognonavich, Lee Grant, Buck Henry, Keir Dullea, Richard Dreyfuss, Dick Cavett, Ruta Lee, and Mel Brooks. Taking up hosting duties in Robert Osborne’s absence were movie experts and TCM family members Ben Mankiewicz, Illeana Douglas, Cari Beauchamp, and Leonard Maltin, among others.

In addition to seeing great movies the way that should be seen and meeting some of the people who made them, one of the best parts of the festival is getting a chance to hang out with fellow movie lovers of all ages and from all walks of life. I have made many friendships at the festival which continue online throughout the year as we share notes and gab about our hopes for the next year’s offerings. The night before the festival, the online TCM group I am a part of gets together at the historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel (site of the very first Academy Awards and the festival headquarters) and we often bring in a special guest. This year I interviewed the glamorous and talented Barbara Rush who regaled us for over an hour with stories of her amazing films and co-stars including Frank Sinatra, Rock Hudson, Paul Newman, Marlon Brando, James Mason, Montgomery Clift, Richard Burton, Kirk Douglas, and many others. Barbara, who turned 90 in January, was so full of energy she was still going strong hours later across the street at Musso & Frank’s, holding court with an adoring crowd over dinner and sharing poignant stories of her close longtime friendship with Robert Osborne. I also got the chance to spend some time at our gathering with Cora Sue Collins, renowned child star of the 1930s who was handpicked by Greta Garbo to play Garbo as a child in Queen Christina (1933) and also appeared with the great Swedish star in Anna Karenina (1935). As a young girl, Cora Sue acted in many other well-known films such as Treasure Island (1934) with Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper and  Evelyn Prentice (1934) in which she played the daughter of Myrna Loy and William Powell. She so enjoyed visiting with us two years ago that she came back to see us this year and had a mini-reunion with Barbara Rush (Cora Sue had appeared in the 1935 version of Magnificent Obsession with Irene Dunne and Robert Taylor while Barbara was in the 1954 Douglas Sirk version of the story with Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson).

Sitting in movies from early morning until midnight for several days in a row is a thrilling treat that requires stamina and an understanding family, but I wish I could do it all over again just to see some of the films I missed at this year’s festival. Films such as Jezebel (1938), Born Yesterday (1950), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1967), Broadcast News (1987), Laura (1944), Twentieth Century (1934), The China Syndrome (1979), The Last Picture Show (1971), David and Lisa (1962), The Great Dictator (1940), Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Theodora Goes Wild (1936), King of Hearts (1966), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Postcards from the Edge (1990), Casablanca (1942), and so many others. Oh, the pain! And yet I don’t regret ANY of my choices, from the films I’ve seen dozens of time to the new discoveries. Despite being a classic movie fanatic, there are some surprising holes in my movie repertoire — I can’t tell you how many times I heard my TCM friends exclaim, “You’ve NEVER seen The Awful Truth or The Palm Beach Story? What the hell is wrong with you?!” I can’t explain why I’ve missed some of the classics, especially when I’ve seen so many other films such as The Philadelphia Story, Meet Me in St. Louis, and All About Eve at least 50 times each. Here’s a rundown of seven films I saw at the festival this year for very first time (in alphabetical order so I don’t play favorites):

1. The Awful Truth (Columbia, 1937). Such utter joy with Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, and Ralph Bellamy at their screwball best. Leo McCarey won his first of three Oscars for this film (although he personally felt that he deserved it more for his drama that came out earlier that year, Make Way for Tomorrow, that screened at the 2014 festival). I have no idea how I missed The Awful Truth all these years but seeing it with a big audience on a huge screen was a great introduction and we all laughed ourselves silly at the story of Jerry and Lucy Warriner — a loving couple that splits up early in the film and then keep sabotaging each other’s relationships before their final divorce kicks in. Grant was reportedly very unhappy with McCarey’s directing style during this film, which included a fair amount of improvisation (rare for the 1930s), and tried to get off the film. Thank goodness he didn’t succeed since his performance set the stage for many of his best comedies to come including three more films (The Philadelphia Story, His Girl Friday, and My Favorite Wife) that featured divorced couples who rediscover each other and fall back in love. The best screwball comedies always include a bunch of perfectly played smaller roles and here I’d like to call out Egyptian actor Alexander D’Arcy as Irene Dunne’s questionable companion, Armand Duvalle, and Joyce Compton as Cary Grant’s showgirl squeeze, Dixie Belle Lee. My favorite part of The Awful Truth may be when Irene Dunne crashes a party at the home of Grant’s new fiancée, heiress Barbara Vance, and poses as his gum-chewing sister, performing one of Dixie Lee’s risqué nightclub numbers we saw earlier. The film also features Nick and Nora Charles’ dog Asta in the key role of the Warriners’ pooch, Mr. Smith. Grant and Dunne would go on to co-star in two more great movies, My Favorite Wife (1940), and Penny Serenade (1941).

2. The Court Jester (Paramount, 1955). Danny Kaye seems to be an acquired taste, I’ve spoken to many classic movie fans who are lukewarm on Kaye and his films. As a young kid I loved Kaye’s TV variety show, and I remember enjoying him in perennial broadcasts of White Christmas and Hans Christian Anderson. But I approached this film with a fair amount of trepidation myself, I really didn’t know what to expect, and have to admit I was flabbergasted by how much I loved it. Seeing a glorious Technicolor restoration on the huge Grauman’s Chinese screen didn’t hurt, nor did the fascinating discussion of the film and Danny Kaye’s work between Illeana Douglas and actor Fred Willard (a huge Danny Kaye fan) before the screening. Kaye is just brilliant in the triple role (sorta) of Hubert Hawkins and his masquerade as Giacomo the Jester in order to gain entry into the royal palace so that he and his friends can reinstall the rightful heir to the throne, a baby with a telling birthmark on his butt, the “purple pimpernel.” Confused? Don’t worry, it’ll all make sense when you watch the crazy fun, including Kaye’s “third” role as a much more menacing Giacomo after he’s hypnotized by Griselda (Mildred Natwick). With beautiful Glynis Johns as Kaye’s fellow rebel and eventual love interest, Maid Jean, and a young and gorgeous Angela Lansbury as the recalcitrant Princess Gwendolyn who falls in love with the hypnotized Kaye, the film provides lots of color, music, and howls from beginning to end, especially with great actors such as Basil Rathbone, Cecil Parker, and John Carradine playing it completely straight during the nonsense. Danny Kaye’s particular style of wordplay is at its peak here: “The pellet with the poison’s in the vessel with the pestle; the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true!”

3. Lady in the Dark (Paramount, 1944). Introduced by actress Rose McGowan, the final film I saw at the festival on Sunday night was a rare screening of the nitrate Technicolor print of Mitchell Leisen’s Lady in the Dark starring Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland, Warner Baxter, and Jon Hall. To say that this is one CRAZY-ASS film is an understatement. Loosely based on the successful Moss Hart-directed Broadway musical of the same name with songs by Ira Gershwin and Kurt Weill, the film stars Ginger Rogers as the no-nonsense editor-in-chief of Allure, a successful fashion magazine. The repressed Ginger is dating her older publisher (Baxter) despite the fact that his wife won’t give him a divorce and she is constantly battling with one of her top editors (Milland) in such an irritated way that you KNOW they will ultimately end up together. But poor overworked Ginger is plagued by strange nightmares (which we see in all their bizarre Technicolor glory) and is finally persuaded to visit a shrink (Barry Sullivan) who convinces her that something traumatic from her past is responsible for her decision to eschew all glamour and femininity (a ridiculous assertion given Ginger’s beauty and her allegedly “plain” clothes that any woman I know would kill for). Enter visiting hunky movie star Randy Curtis (Hall) who everyone in the magazine’s office (except for Ginger, of course) goes GAGA for, including the openly gay photographer (Mischa Auer in the part that made Danny Kaye a star on Broadway) and the male assistants at the magazine (I guess in 1944 it was okay to show male-to-male attraction in the context of employees at a fashion magazine). But Curtis only has eyes for Ginger, and her dreams take an even odder turn. The costumes in this film (by Edith Head, Raoul Pene du Bois, and Barbara Karinska) are miles over-the-top, including a bejeweled mink-lined number (now in the Smithsonian) that was so heavy Ginger needed a second, lighter version of it made for the dance sequence. What this movie says about psychotherapy, femininity, and relationships is so outrageous and politically incorrect that one friend of mine at the screening immediately pronounced the film “monstrous.” But it is fascinating time capsule of another time and place, and definitely worth seeing even though it’s so weird I now feel like I may need a visit with Rogers’ psychiatrist.

4. Love Crazy (MGM, 1941). This was the first film I saw at this year’s festival, introduced by the wonderful actress Dana Delany who is a classic movie lover and has appeared with Robert Osborne on TCM. And what’s a comedy-themed film festival without William Powell and Myrna Loy? This was the tenth of fourteen films the two made together (including the six Thin Man films) and one of the few I’d never seen. In true screwball style, Powell and Loy play the married Steve and Susan Ireland, a deliriously happy couple celebrating their fourth wedding anniversary until Susan’s overbearing mother (Florence Bates) arrives to mess up everything. Next thing we know, Powell runs into his old girlfriend (the beautiful and snide Gail Patrick, a favorite of mine in Stage Door and My Man Godfrey) who has just moved into their swanky apartment building. Alas, a series of zany misunderstandings involving Patrick, her husband, and a random neighbor who is a world champion archer (Jack Carson) lead to Powell and Loy’s impending divorce. After a few additional escapades, the hapless Steve ends up being committed to a sanitarium by the City Lunacy Commission who mistakenly believe he is a homicidal maniac. We even get to see Powell in drag when, hiding from the police, he disguises himself as his own sister (which forced the actor to temporarily shave off his signature mustache). I know I don’t need to tell you that Powell and Loy eventually come to their senses and continue on in wedded bliss. The film, directed by underrated MGM director Jack Conway, includes some funny inside jokes such as a drunken William Powell singing “It’s Delightful to Be Married” at the beginning of the film,  a song sung by his on-screen wife Luise Rainer several years earlier in The Great Ziegfeld.

5. The Palm Beach Story (Paramount, 1942). Of all of my discoveries at this year’s festival, it’s especially hard to believe that I had never seen this film, given my love of Preston Sturges and every single member of the glittering cast. I’m happy to say that the movie surpassed my high expectations and immediately leapfrogged to my list of all-time favorites. Preceded by a discussion between film scholar Cari Beauchamp and Wyatt McCrea, star Joel McCrea’s oldest grandchild, we were also introduced to several of Mary Astor’s great-grandchildren who were present at the screening, including Andrew Yang who wrote the foreword to the fascinating book I just finished reading, The Purple Diaries: Mary Astor and the Most Sensational Hollywood Scandal of the 1930s by Joseph Egan. In the brilliant comedy, McCrea and Claudette Colbert play Tom and Gerry Jeffers, a married couple in New York that is down on their luck financially — way down. I don’t even want to explain the rest of the plot because if you’ve never seen the film it will be fun to come to it fresh as I did, but let’s just call out a few of the crazy folks that McCrea and Colbert come into contact with during their adventures, from the Wienie King (Robert Dudley) to clueless zillionaire John D. Hackensacker III (Rudy Vallee) who wants to shower Colbert with riches, to Hackensacker’s eccentric sister, The Princess Centimillia (Mary Astor) who wants to do the same to McCrea. Carole Lombard was originally slated for this film before her tragic death in a plane crash that year, but Colbert does a brilliant job in the role. Astor was apparently insecure about her comedy chops and terrified that she wasn’t giving Sturges what he wanted, but as far as I’m concerned, she’s one of the best things in the film. The Palm Beach Story is a delightful antidote to Palm Beach’s current place in our consciousness as the home of Mar-a-Lago.

6. Rafter Romance (RKO, 1933). It’s always great fun to see pre-code films at the festival, those films that were made in the early 1930s before the Motion Picture Production Code put an end to many of the risqué plot lines that were once commonplace in the movies. The rarely seen Rafter Romance starring a young Ginger Rogers (just before she was first teamed with Fred Astaire in Flying Down to Rio) was a wonderful example of all that pre-codes have to offer. Caught up in a copyright battle for decades, our host Leonard Maltin explained that this was one of the first public screenings of the film since its release in 1933. Ginger plays a young woman who moves to New York to find a job but is having a terrible time making ends meet. Her landlord, Max Eckbaum (George Sidney, a Jewish immigrant from Hungary who was the uncle of the younger George Sidney, a director of many musicals including another of this year’s festival offerings, Bye Bye Birdie), suggests a solution. Ginger can share an apartment with another tenant in his building, a man she doesn’t know who is an artist but works as a night watchman so they will never be around at the same time. But that doesn’t keep the two from endlessly fighting via sharply worded notes left around the apartment. Of course confusion and hijinks ensue when the two meet, unaware that they are each other’s hated co-tenant. Added to the mix are Robert Benchley as Ginger’s lecherous boss and Laura Hope Crews (years before she appeared in Gone With the Wind as Scarlett’s Aunt Pittypat) as Foster’s sex-starved art patron. One interesting thing that Maltin pointed out to us was how, in addition to changes in language and depictions of sex, the dreaded Production Code also curtailed the existence of ethnic characters in mainstream movies to a large extent, such as the character of Ginger’s Jewish landlord and his Yiddish-speaking wife (played by Ferike Boros who nevertheless appeared in small parts in several subsequent Ginger Rogers films including Bachelor Mother, Fifth Avenue Girl, and Once Upon a Honeymoon).

7. Red-Headed Woman (MGM, 1932). Historian and author Cari Beauchamp introduced us to another delicious pre-code that I’d never seen, the fabulous Jean Harlow vehicle, Red-Headed Woman, directed by Love Crazy’s Jack Conway. This one is so out there and provocative it makes Rafter Romance look like Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. With a sizzling screenplay by Anita Loos (Gentleman Prefer Blondes), Jean Harlow plays “Lil” Andrews, a woman who will do anything to get ahead — and I mean anything. She seduces her married boss (Chester Morris), causing him to divorce his devoted wife (Leila Hymans) who he really loves only to eventually throw him over for one of her new husband’s even richer clients (Henry Stephenson). The beloved character actress Una Merkel (whose opening credit elicited as much applause as Harlow’s in our classic movie-obsessed crowd) stands by Jean throughout the film, even during Lil’s dangerous affair with her poor but sexy French chauffeur (a young and almost unrecognizable Charles Boyer). Only someone with the incredible warmth, charm, beauty, and screen presence of 21-year-old Jean Harlow could make us root for a character that, when you think about it, is completely devoid of any human decency. Once the Production Code took full effect, someone who caused such destruction to so many lives would never be allowed to get away with it. But in 1932, she does, and I found myself cheering the surprising happy ending for the unrepentant but hugely charismatic Harlow. So tragic that the actress would die just five years later at the age of 26. Considering she’s been gone for a whopping 80 years, her impact on audiences, even today, is pretty remarkable.

Lots more great films this year, I could go on indefinitely. Is it too soon to start obsessing about next year’s festival? Being the total movie geek that I am, one of my proudest moments this year was realizing the close family connection between actors in two wildly different films that were made decades apart. Remember the Jewish landlords in 1933’s Rafter Romance? Their son, Julius Eckbaum, was played by young actor Sidney Miller. Sidney is the father of actor Barry Miller who I saw as Bobby C. in the screening of 1977’s Saturday Night Fever (with director John Badham and actress Donna Pescow in attendance). Can you believe the close resemblance between father and son? See you next year at the movies!