Bonnette

Yes, I saw the notice about Ms. Allen and thought it a very sad synchronicity. I agree with you about the strange beauty of those last scenes in Bonnie and Clyde...the otherworldly picnic/reunion scene strikes me in the same manner, and many instances in real life remind me of it.

Thank you for that information, rg...I will order through Amazon UK right away. Best wishes, and again thanks.

I can't believe it, either...according to Amazon US, the book is out of print, with limited availability! I think I might order it from Amazon UK and pay extra for the shipping, though that will really be an expensive proposition. Amazon US went right from putting people on a notification list, to saying it is out of print...as far as I know, it has never even been stocked! Enjoy the new Roca book, too...that's another one that sounds fascinating.

Drew, this is very stirring. The more I learn about Tony Curtis through the posts in this thread, the more I admire him on many more levels than just the cinematic. Thank you for bringing this aspect of his character and spirit to light.

Oh, my, Natalia, that is such an informative and mouth-watering review - I so hope that Amazon will come through! That you read the book in one epic session speaks volumes. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

Thank you for that link, Mashinka...it really is a lovely photo tribute. Tony Curtis was a tremendously likeable fellow, and probably a lot of that had to do with the way he owned up to his flaws and failings. He retained an almost childlike delight in the Hollywood he helped to shape, always eager to dish in interviews and air his opinions. That sort of genuineness is rare in today's world and might account for the unexpected wistfulness many of us feel with his death. Yes, photo #6 is stunning. Curtis was quite photogenic as a young man! Parenthetically, I'm struck by how much Olivier looks like Daniel Craig in #23.

Hi Papeetepatrick. Gloria Stuart was quite the pistol in her day...vivacious and avant-garde. Her early films (especially the original "The Invisible Man") are sometimes shown on Turner Classic Movies. I think she had more range than she she was allowed to demonstrate - her look was in the cookie-cutter stamp of her time (pretty, blonde, shapely) and she was not given roles that allowed her to shine. I doubt that anyone was more surprised by her success late in life than she, herself.

Mashinka, what a lovely idea! I agree, Tony Curtis was the antithesis of the "cut and paste" movie star. He was quite a character, interested in everything and honest about his foibles and strong suits.

Oh, we have lost so many great ones this year. The world is poorer for Mr. Penn's loss.

Can't wait to hear what you think, Pamela! I don't understand what's going on with Amazon - first they offered a notification list, and now I see that the book is listed as "Out of print - limited availability."

Yes, that's marvelous! Thanks from me, too.

Though Mirren is four years older than Lange, she's definitely a fascinator...but Lange bought the property for herself, so our only real hindsight options involve the co-stars. If Deneuve had bought the rights, I somehow doubt that producers and backers could/would have stalled production...it makes me verklempt to think about it!

I was thinking of Johnny Depp (be still, my heart).

Oh, I so agree with you about Lange's plastic surgery! She really does put one in mind of Doris Duke now. And I like your substitution of Joan Plowright for Judi Dench - she would have given Charlotte just the right amount of dry wit and sparkle. Rounding out the cast, Lange wanted Hayden Christensen to play Cheri. Another good choice, I think.

Yes, indeed, to this day the age/gender issue is fraught. I just read on International Movie Database that Jessica Lange had originally obtained the film rights for Cheri...many years ago, when she would have been the right age to have played Lea. Her intention was for Judi Dench to play Charlotte. Now, that would have worked beautifully, I think! There was so much political wrangling and professional in-fighting with production companies, backers and so on, that by the time Lange could have started the film, she and Dench were too old for the parts. Such a shame! Edited to add: One of the wags at IMDB said that we should begin to prepare ourselves now for a future remake starring Angelina Jolie and one of the Jonas Brothers.

I enjoyed the book very much, as well. And weren't the photographs wonderful!

Re Deneuve: Yes, and that is more a comment on the direction than on Pfeiffer's portrayal; only Deneuve could have extracted Lea from Frears' concoction. Re Pfeiffer and current casting options: You're probably right. Juliette Binoche would have been too young, and Lena Olin too old (and not a major box-office draw, either). Alas, even I - who would have had perfect chemistry with Friend - am too old and obscure to have played Lea.

This film has been on cable all month and I've watched it several times because I love the era and its ambience. Each time I see it, I am more dismayed by Frears' wooden and unnuanced direction, and its (to me) really awful casting. Michelle Pfeiffer, in particular, is so miscast that I almost think Kathy Bates would have made a better Lea. All of the actors are wonderful in roles that suit them, but here I feel as if I'm watching an elegantly mounted high school drama club production. Pfeiffer substitutes a winking kitschiness for sensuality, and to show heartache she fidgets, fusses and purses her lips; Friend is locked into a projection of sullen entitlement so rigid that the audience is given no reason to care what actually happens to him - or what, indeed, Lea sees in him. And he would have looked a lot better without that dyed black mop (a wig?) and matching eyebrows. But worst of all - as Dirac has said - there is no chemistry whatsoever between Pfeiffer and Friend, whose love scenes vacillate between slap-and-giggle and perfunctory. In place of sensitive characterization, believable dialogue and a flowing storyline, we are given a voiceover. Courtesans of that era didn't have to be beautiful, but they did have to be interesting. Pfeiffer doesn't pull it off. One wishes that Catherine Deneuve had been young enough to play Lea, as she could have wrested something wonderful, even from Frears' dreary direction. I so wanted - and expected - to like this film, especially in view of the participants' work in other projects.

I couldn't agree more. What a disappointment this film was to me, almost from beginning to end! Even the credits were stiff and unwieldy. But yes, the costumes were fine!

Yes, I agree with you about Kevin McCarthy's having been more an unsuccessful lead than a character actor - an important distinction! Gene Hackman is, indeed, an excellent example of a character actor who "crossed over." One of my favorite character actors of McCarthy's era is the late J. T. Walsh (Sling Blade, House of Games, Pleasantville, and so many more). Richard Farnsworth was another of my favorites who could (I believe) have crossed into the territory of the lead, had he wanted to; his leading roles (The Grey Fox, The Straight Story) were not mainstream, and he liked it that way. We have lost so many brilliant actors in recent years!

That's an interesting piece. I have watched some films many, many times in order to reexperience brief brilliant performances by actors whose names one learns only from the credits. Some have gone on to become major stars, occasionally crossing over into the (to me) less interesting land of the romantic lead - but most simply "keep on keeping on," bringing context, nuance and flavor to small pivotal roles. I raise a glass to those artists.

Oh, I am so sorry to learn this. He was one of my favorite actors and such an urbane, sophisticated, witty man in the David Niven mold. RIP, indeed.

I liked him very much, too. He worked right up until the end of his life, doing dinner theater. We've lost many wonderful actors in 2010.

Lovely, lovely videos - thank you. I am especially pleased to see these right now, as I'm reading Julie Kavanagh's biography of Ashton. He does seem to be a bit hard on Sibley at times, but not in an unkind way; and, oh, the quality of movement he elicits from her!

Simon, try this. On the Big Ballet website, this performance is labeled "a comedy ballet of weighty proportions"...so I don't think that it is intended to be taken seriously as ballet, proper. Does anyone remember the old Red Skelton Show? Features like this were typical of the variety show genre in the 50s and 60s.