Alternate Best Actor 1968

And the Nominees Were Not:

Walter Matthau in The Odd Couple

Zero Mostel in The Producers

Henry Fonda in Once Upon a Time in The West

Boris Karloff in Targets

Leonard Whiting in Romeo and Juliet

Jezebel (1938).

Jezebel (1938). Drama film directed by William Wyler. Cast: Bette Davis and Henry Fonda, George Brent, Margaret Lindsay, Donald Crisp, Richard Cromwell, and Fay Bainter. The film was adapted by Clements Ripley, Abem Finkel, John Huston and Robert Buckner, from the play by Owen Davis, Sr.

The story is about a headstrong, spirited young woman named Julie Marsden, who is engaged to a successful banker, Preston Dillard. Wanting to get even with Preston, for putting his work ahead of her to shop for a dress, she orders a beautiful red dress to wear to ball. It was the custom for all the proper unmarried women to wear white dresses. Although, no one could say or do anything to change her mind.

Once at the ball Preston and Julie's, entrance is met with shock and then disapproval by everyone. She is embarrassed and begs Preston to take her home, angry he forces her to dance with him. All the other dancers leave the floor, leaving them alone. When, the orchestra stops playing, Preston orders them to continue and they finish the dance.

Preston breaks off their engagement, not before Julie slaps him in the face. Aunt Belle Massey, tells her to go after Preston and beg his forgiveness, but.. she refuses, believing that he will come back to her. He leaves town and heartbroken Julie, closes herself off from the world.

A year later, Preston returns, to help Dr. Livingstone, try to prevent an outbreak of yellow fever. Julie goes to him and begs for his forgiveness. That is when Preston, introduces her to his wife Amy. Heartbroken, Julie has a skilled duelist Buck Cantrell, challenge Preston, but the plan backfires. Preston's brother Ted, is the one who accepts the challenge. In a twist of fate, Ted wins.

 

A epidemic of yellow fever hits the city and Preston becomes ill and is quarantined on an island. While Amy, is making plans to go to care for him, Julie stops her and begs to go in her place. Will her plan work?

This maybe one of Bette Davis' best and most memorable performances. Fay Bainter, also gives a wonderful performance as Aunt Belle. Henry Fonda, gives a strong early performance of his career.

 Fun Facts:

Has been called a black-and-white version of Gone with the Wind (1939), which was in its pre-production stages at the time.

Some scenes were filmed around Henry Fonda, to allow him to be with his wife as she gave birth to their daughter Jane Fonda, including scenes with the sometimes-prickly star, Bette Davis. As the star of the film Davis was within her rights to insist that Fonda remain until their scenes were finished, but she allowed him to complete his shots and leave.

Margaret Lindsay (September 19, 1910 - May 9, 1981). She was best known for her supporting work in films of the 1930s and 1940s such as: Jezebel (1938) and Scarlet Street (1945) and her leading roles in "B movies" such as the, Ellery Queen series in the early 1940s. She is best known for her performance in the film, The House of the Seven Gables(1940).

Alternate Best Actor 1957: Results

5. Andy Griffith in A Face in the Crowd- Despite an effective beginning to his performance Griffith never quite matches the ambition of his character, even though he does try.

4. Henry Fonda 12 Angry Men- Fonda gives a good performance consistently portraying the steadfast conviction of his part.

3. Toshiro Mifune in Throne of Blood- Toshiro Mifune gives an effectively brutal turn as his version of Macbeth. He holds no bars physically or mentally in his towering performance.

2. Tony Curtis in Sweet Smell of Success- Tony Curtis gives a strong performance that portrays well the abilities of his amoral press agent, and only shows a glint of conscience in the most powerful moments.

1. Kirk Douglas in Paths of Glory- Douglas gives the second best performance that I have seen this year, and gives one of the very best performance as almost entirely moral character. Douglas never gives a hint of sanctimony, or falseness, but instead powerfully and honestly portrays the deep of concern of his character believably throughout the film. 

Overall Rank:

1. Alec Guinness in The Bridge on The River Kwai
2. Kirk Douglas in Paths of Glory
3. Tony Curtis in Sweet Smell of Success
4. Toshiro Mifune in Throne of Blood
5. Charles Laughton in Witness for the Prosecution
6. William Holden in The Bridge on the River Kwai
7. Henry Fonda 12 Angry Men
8. Anthony Quinn in Wild Is the Wind
9. Van Heflin in 3:10 to Yuma
10. Andy Griffith in A Face in the Crowd
11. Glenn Ford in 3:10 to Yuma
12. Gary Cooper in Love in the Afternoon 
13. Marlon Brando in Sayonara
14. Rock Hudson in A Farewell to Arms
15. Lee Philips in Peyton Place
16. Don Murray in A Hatful of Rain
17. Anthony Franciosa in A Hatful of Rain

Next Year: 2008 Supporting

Alternate Best Actor 1957: Henry Fonda in 12 Angry Men

Henry Fonda did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying juror number 8 in 12 Angry Men.

12 Angry Men is an effective drama about how one juror of 12 tries to convince the other 11 than the man charged may not be as guilty as the evidence seems to say. Although it is well directed film by Sideny Lumet, I do have to say some of the writing in regards to treatment of the evidence by the jurors is quite absurd at times. I mean juror 8 takes a few too many assumptions.

Henry Fonda portray the lone juror who says not guilty in the initial roundup of votes. I will keep the fact that in all honesty that the character is somewhat misguided, as he really commits quite the injustice in his approach in the room, and really the obviously best juror in the room is number 4, until that is he falls into the insanity of everyone else. Well really before I get to this performance I can't help but espouse with problems with some of the writing of the film, even though it does form into a compelling piece of cinema in the end anyways.

Firstly the disregard of the eye witnesses basically only on their appearance. As we all know one can only possibly give good testimony if you are young, good looking, and entirely well dressed. Also the fact that 8 and the others continually use testimony they denounce as reason as fact. One should also not forget that the boy's failure in his alibi really is not properly thwarted by the others as 4 could still recount far more of his films four days than the boy could the same night. I especially love it when 4 gets one adjective wrong and they act like it is a big deal.

All in all really they did a pretty bad job especially since at the end of the day if the son did not kill the father than just who did. The son had the motivation, and the murder weapon was obviously his. Fell out of his pocket is an unlikely story, and so there were other knifes like his, that still made it no less likely that it was his knife. I just love though when they say no one would ever use a knife a certain ways, or ever have their glasses on in bed, or near a bed to quickly put them on, or who knows maybe she wore reading glasses and that was completely immaterial, but either way they all put these down as scientific fact.

Anyway I really should get off that and get to Fonda, but I did want to state my problems with the reasoning, because it does actually stop me from really getting entirely behind this performance as well simply because of these flaws. Fonda I should say is quite good in the role that is fairly typical Fonda fare as the steadfast moral man who will not let anger or hatred sway his emotions, even if he will be swayed by over sentimentality, alright I really should stop with that. Anyway though Fonda has a quiet but strong presence here that is always made known in from his first moment in which he decides to vote not guilty in front of all the others.

There is no wonder why Fonda was as popular as he was in these sorts of roles because he is terrific in playing a real down to earth wisdom, that never is over or underwhelming. This is most certainly true here as he is not especially loud in his portrayal but he has a particular passion that cannot be ignored by anyone. He is able to portray the sensibility behind this man who will stand for what he believes no matter what others will say against him clearly. Fonda proceeds through the film with an incredible force of will really that never lets up during the film, and he is honestly allows it to be believable that he would be able to sway the opinion as he does.

I would say what are just as important as his own self assured speeches are his moments where he supports the other men who come up with an idea or two to question the evidence. These moments are pretty short reactions but very effectively used by Fonda. They are usually a small smile or a pat on the arm, but they are quite well handled. Fonda in these moments is able to show both that 8 gains genuine happiness as he pulls each juror over to his more humane way of thinking. Fonda in these moments as well though is able to really show through his gentle positive support how he is able to keep the others on his side.

This is a performance that certainly does not have twists or turns, but nor should it. It is rightfully a consistent performance as a morally righteous man (at least in the film's view) than refuses to falter in the slightest when it comes to his beliefs. In comparison to Kirk Douglas in Paths of Glory I would say that Fonda does not quite match up perfectly though. That is not to say Fonda is not good, he is, but juror number 8 never brings nearly as much power to the role as Douglas does, as well Douglas never for a moment has even a hint of sanctimony, I can't quite say the same about Fonda. Even though this is not the greatest performance of its kind, I must stress this is still strong work from Fonda nevertheless.

Alternate Best Actor 1957

And the Nominees Were Not:

Henry Fonda in 12 Angry Men

Andy Griffith in A Face in The Crowd

Kirk Douglas in Paths of Glory

Tony Curtis in Sweet Smell of Success

Toshiro Mifune in Throne of Blood

Henry Fonda's Early Years.

The Fonda's were among the first Dutch population to settle in what is now upstate New York, establishing the town of Fonda, New York.

By 1888, most of the Fondas had relocated to Nebraska. Henry Fonda was born in Grand Island, Nebraska,  to advertising-printer William Brace Fonda and his wife, Elma Herberta.

Fonda was brought up as a Christian Scientist, though he was baptized an Episcopalian at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church  in Grand Island.

They were a close family and avoided doctors due to their religion.

Fonda was a shy, short boy who avoided girls, except his sisters, and was a good skater, swimmer, and runner.

He worked part-time in his father's print plant and wanted to be a journalist. Later, he worked after school for the phone company. He also enjoyed drawing.

Fonda was active in the Boy Scouts of America and reached the rank of Eagle Scout.

When he was about 14, his father took him to watch a lynching, from the window of his father's plant, of a young black man accused of rape.  This so enraged Fonda that he kept a keen awareness of prejudice for the rest of his life.

By his senior year in high school, Fonda had grown to more than six feet tall, but remained a shy teenager. He attended the University of Minnesota, majoring in journalism, but he did not graduate. He took a job with the Retail Credit Company.

The Male Animal (1942).

The Male Animal (1942). Cast: Henry Fonda, Olivia de Havilland and Joan Leslie. The film was based on a hit 1940 Broadway play of the same name written by James Thurber and Elliott Nugent. The screenplay was written by Stephen Morehouse Avery, Julius J. Epstein, and Philip G. Epstein, based on Nugent and Thurber's play. The film was also directed by Elliott Nugent.



This very charming story begins during homecoming weekend at Midwestern University, when English professor Tommy Turner and his wife Ellen host a cocktail party for Dean Frederick Damon and his wife Blanche, Ed Keller and his wife Myrtle and former football hero Joe Ferguson.

Damon, stops by during dinner to tell them that student Michael Barnes, has written an editorial calling the trustees fascists and reporting that Tommy is the only professor in favor of freedom of speech. Michael, also mentions that the following Monday during class, Tommy will read a letter by Bartolomeo Vanzetti, an anarchist executed for murder along with his associate, Nicola Sacco, in 1927. Damon and Ellen, are worried that the trustees will think that Tommy, is a Communist and fire him. Tommy, does not understand why he should not read the letter to his class.

Later Joe, arrives with flowers for Ellen's birthday, which Tommy has forgotten, and says that he and his wife are divorcing.

Later that evening, Keller learns about the letter and can not believe that Tommy would expose his students to something so un-American. Insulted, Tommy decides to read the letter to spite him.

 When Joe and Ellen dance together to an old song, Tommy is over come with jealousy. After the rally, Joe invites Tommy and Ellen to dinner, but.. Tommy says he is not feeling well and tells Ellen to go ahead without him.

The next day, the entire campus is in an uproar over Michael's editorial, and Tommy, believing that Ellen is still in love with Joe, decides she is better off without him. Even though, Joe does not really want to marry Ellen, he feels obligated to marry her if she leaves Tommy.

While Joe and Ellen are at the game, Tommy and Michael get drunk. Tommy says, if another male lion threatens to take away a lion's mate, he tears him apart. When Ellen and Joe return from the game, Tommy tells them that he wants to knock Joe out.

On Monday morning, Tommy, having been knocked out by Joe, must read Vanzetti's letter before the entire university. Will Michael be expelled from the university and will Tommy lose his job and his wife?



I'm writing this review as I'm  watching the film for the first time. I guess this a comedy, but I'm not sure.. It seems to have a serious story line. Fonda, does what he does best when standing up for what is right, while his reading of the letter to the crowd.  Carson, who was perfect in the roll as an ex-footballer and ex-boyfriend to Olivia de Havilland, who is always good.. 

Fun Facts:

Gene Tierney starred in the Broadway production as Patricia Stanley, she was to be loaned out to Warner Bros. but was cast in Tobacco Road instead.

Two of the "college students" in the cast went on to be well-known TV dads in the 1960s: Herbert Anderson (Dennis the Menace) and Don DeFore (Hazel).

Joan Agnes Theresa Sadie Brodel (born January 26, 1925), was known professionally as Joan Leslie. She began performing as a singer at the age of nine as part of a vaudeville act with her two sisters: Betty and Mae Brodel. She later began her Hollywood acting career while still a child, performing under her real name in several movies, beginning with her debut in the MGM movie Camille (1936) with Greta Garbo and Robert Taylor. She soon signed a contract with Warner Bros. In 1941, Leslie got her first major role in the thriller High Sierra with Humphrey Bogart, playing a crippled girl under her new billing as "Joan Leslie". She also starred in Sergeant York and The Wagons Roll at Night in that same year. Later in 1942 she appeared as James Cagney's wife in Yankee Doodle Dandy, and at the age of 18 in 1943, she starred in The Sky's the Limit with Fred Astaire. She starred in many more movies until 1950, when she married Dr. William Caldwell. Her last movie role was in The Revolt of Mamie Stover in 1956, and she eventually retired from acting altogether to look after her identical twin daughters Patrice and Ellen. She has appeared in several television commercials since then, and also made guest appearances in the TV shows Murder, She Wrote and Charlie's Angels. She also provided commentary as extras on the Yankee Doodle Dandy, Sergeant York, and High Sierra DVDs. Joan was a regular volunteer at the Hollywood Canteen where she danced with the servicemen and granted hundreds of autographs. In 1944, she starred with Robert Hutton in the Warner Bros. film, Hollywood Canteen.

That Certain Woman(1937).

That Certain Woman(1937). Drama film written and directed by Edmund Goulding. It is a remake of Goulding's 1929 film The Tresspasser, Gloria Swanson's first sound film. Cast: Bette Davis, Henry Fonda and Anita Louise.

Young widow of gangster Al Haines, Mary Donnell.. is now working under an assumed name as a secretary for a well known wealthy attorney Lloyd Rogers. When a journalist Virgil Whitaker, threatens to expose her past. Rogers and Mary, ask Whitaker not to print the story. Although, she is still worried that the story will still be printed. Mary, thinks it would be best, to turn down wealthy Jack Merrick's marriage proposal.

He eventually, changes her mind and on their wedding night, Jack's father wants the marriage annulled. Mary leaves, hoping that Jack will come after her. She moves in with her friend Amy and hides her son Jackie, from the Merrick family.

Jack, then marries society girl Florence "Flip" Carson, but on their honeymoon, Flip is crippled in an car accident.

Needing help, Mary accepts Rogers financial support, hoping that Mrs. Rogers will not be hurt. Hunter doesn't really care because he's in a loveless marriage. One day, Rogers dies in Mary's apartment and it gets out that Jackie is Jack's child.

Jack visits Mary, to see if the rumors are true and learns that he is Jackie's father. Merrick, Sr. takes legal action to adopt Jackie, but it is Flip, who talks Mary into giving Jackie up.

Years later, Virgil, who has befriended Mary during her troubles, finds her in Monte Carlo and tells her that Flip is dead, leaving Jack free to return to Mary.

What I loved most about the film, was how the women all seemed to care about doing the right thing.

Anita Louise (January 9, 1915 – April 25, 1970), made her acting debut on Broadway at the age of six, and within a year was performing regularly in Hollywood films. By her late teens she was being cast in leading and supporting roles in important film, and was best known for her delicate features and blonde hair.

As her stature in Hollywood grew, she was described as one of cinema's most fashionable and stylish women. Her reputation was further enhanced by her role as Hollywood society hostess, with her parties attended by the elite of Hollywood, and widely and regularly reported in the news media.

Among her film successes were Madame Du Barry (1934), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935), The Story of Louis Pasteur (1935), Anthony Adverse (1936), Marie Antoinette (1938), The Sisters (1938), and The Little Princess (1939).

By the 1940s, she was reduced to minor roles until television gave her more opportunities. In middle age she played one of her most widely seen roles as the gentle mother, Nell McLaughlin, in the CBS television series My Friend Flicka from 1956–1957, with co-stars Johnny Washbrook, Gene Evans, and Frank Ferguson.

Sex and the Single Girl(1964).

Sex and the Single Girl(1964). Comedy directed by Richard Quine. Cast: Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Henry Fonda, Lauren Bacall and Mel Ferrer. The film was inspired by the title of the 1962 non-fiction book Sex and the Single Girl by Helen Gurley Brown.

Bob Weston, editor of a scandal magazine writes an eye opening article about research psychologist, Helen Gurley Brown, who wrote the book, Sex and the Single Girl. Wanting to meet her, Bob impersonates one of his neighbors and goes to Helen for marriage counseling.

Eventually, Bob suggests to Helen that they start dating, to get her attention he threatens to drown himself. When she arrives she accidentally causes them to fall into the water. They go to Helen's apartment to dry off and while Bob mixes martinis, Helen tells him, that she is in love with him and he fesses up that he is not really married.

Helen doesn't believe him and asks to see his wife, Sylvia. The next day, Bob sends both his secretary, Susan, and his former girl friend, Gretchen, to Helen to convince Helen that he really is single.

Helen calls the real Sylvia and the three women all show up for the appointment. How will this romantic entanglement get resolved?

Natalie Wood, was a lot of fun to watch in a comedy about the battle of the sexes. When Tony Curtis talks about Jack Lemmon (Curtis' co-star in Some Like It Hot) will make anyone smile, who has seen the classic film.

Fran Jeffries (born May 18, 1937), had a cameo in the 1963 film, The Pink Panther, in which she sang a song called, It Had Better Be Tonight," while she danced provocatively around a fireplace. She had a minor role in, Sex and the Single Girl. She sang on, The Tom Jones Show in 1969 doing a duet of, You've Got What it Takes. She was featured in Playboy Magazine a couple years later, in 1971 at the age of 35, in a pictorial entitled "Frantastic!". Ten years later she posed a second time for Playboy at the age of 45. This second pictorial was titled "Still Frantastic!". Photos reveal that, at some point in her career, she perform onstage with Bob Hope.

All Aboard: Part 4 of 5.

Rich and Strange(1931). A British romantic comedy, directed by Alfred Hitchcock during his time in the British film industry. It was adapted by Hitchcock, his wife Alma Reville and Val Valentine from a novel by Dale Collins. The film is best known for the recreation of a full sized ship in a water tank used in the film.

The story begins one night, after a young couple receive an early inheritance and decide to take a cruise around world and live the good life. Fred, falls into alcoholism, philandering and seasickness. In spite of all this.. the over the top acting is very entertaining.

There are some wonderful Hitchcock's moments, like when two main characters are walking/talking to and a social event on a cruise ship, while the camera follows their feet and Emily's dragging her dress behind her.

Please click here to learn more about the film The Rich and Strange.

Abandon Ship(1957). The story begins as a luxury liner is destroyed by a mine, which has all the survivor's boarding a lifeboat equipped to handle 12 or 14 people. There are 27 surviving passengers, weight, rations, sanity and control are all problems that Tyrone Powers, must struggle with. Only dark/deep waters for the next 1200 miles a head of them. Will these survivors be floating out to their death, or will they be saved from their watery grave?

Tyrone Powers, performance is amazing and you will never forget him making the final decision on those that he considers "dead weight". This movie will have you sitting on the edge of your seat!

Video: The credits are a little scratchy but not the entire film.

Life Boat(1944). As a freighter is attacked by a German submarine, the passengers try to board the lifeboats. After both vessels have been sunk, journalist Connie Porter, finds herself alone in a lifeboat, it is not long after when Kovac, pulls himself aboard. Kovac, accidentally knocks Connie's camera into the sea, while pulling Stanley Garrett, into the boat. Then both men pull in nurse Alice Mackenzie, wounded Gus Smith and C. J. Rittenhouse into the lifeboat. Next to come aboard, is Connie's old friend Ritt, she is also happy to see the steward Joe Spencer, who put her in the lifeboat, who is now trying to save Mrs. Higley and her baby.

After Joe and Mrs. Higley are aboard, Alice realizes that the baby is dead. Just as everyone becomes distracted by a German, who they believe does not speak any English. Connie, translates as he claims that he is an only a seaman and is sorry for the attack. Kovac, wants to throw the German overboard, but Gus, a German-American, talks them out of it.

Soon after, Joe says a prayer as they bury the baby at sea. The next morning, they discover that Mrs. Higley has jumped overboard into the dark sea after her baby. Ritt, tries to lighten the mood by seeing what they have in the way of sea rations and handing out jobs for everyone.

When Ritt follows the German's advice about setting a course, everyone becomes suspicious who the German really is. Connie tricks the German, into revealing his true identity when she calls him Captain. Although, the German is best qualified to run the lifeboat, Kovac orders them to follow the course to Bermuda, which is the opposite of the German's. Gus's wounded leg becomes infected and after the German says that he was also a surgeon, Alice helps him as he amputates the leg. After, having gained their trust, the German, tells the others to change direction.

That night, as Sparks is steering the lifeboat, the stars show him that they are heading away from Bermuda. The next morning, Joe finds a compass that the German had secretly been using to steer them toward a German supply ship. Kovac, is about to kill the German when a huge storm hits and the German, tells them that he speaks English, brings the lifeboat safely through the storm. Unfortunately, they have lost all of their food and water and with the boat's mast gone, the German rows them toward the German ship. Gus, catches the German drinking water and he pushes Gus overboard to keep him quiet.

Later, the group realizes that Willi is sweating, Joe grabs a water bottle from the Germans shirt. The German admits that he has been drinking water. They all attack the German except Joe, who can not believe what he is seeing as they force the German overboard.

The survivors have hit a low point when Connie, who has become less selfish yells at them for being quitters. She gives Kovac her diamond bracelet to use as a lure and just as they are pulling the fish in, Joe spots a ship. The ship turns out to be German, but before it can pick them up, it is attacked by an American warship. The German ship is sunk and as the survivors wait to be rescued by the Americans. A young German sailor climbs aboard the lifeboat pointing a pistol at them. Will the American War ship get there in time?

This is an amazing film about, six people with different personalities and backgrounds. The cast includes: Tallulah Bankhead as a self centered photo-journalist, Hume Cronyn, who finds love on the lifeboat, Canada Lee as a brave steward, Walter Slezak as the German and John Hodiak, who has to keep one step ahead of Tallulah's advances.

Fun Facts:

Director Alfred Hitchcock Cameo: in "before" and "after" pictures in a newspaper advertisement for Reduco Obesity Slayer. The pictures were genuine, as he had just been on a crash diet (although not with the fictional Reduco) from 300 to 200 lbs. However, the so-called "Reduco Obesity Slayer" diet pill or potion ad seemed so real that audience called the studio and wrote letters to Alfred Hitchcock asking where could they get this product. (In Rope, a neon sign advertising "Reduco" with Hitchcock's famous silhouette is seen outside the Manhattan apartment where the film takes place.)

Seasickness hit the entire cast at one point or another, and much of the cast caught pneumonia after constant exposure to cold water, Tallulah Bankhead having suffered twice from it. Hume Cronyn almost drowned in a storm scene when he got caught under a large metal water-activator, used for making waves. Joe Peterson, a lifeguard hired especially for the production, saved him in the nick of time. Hume Cronyn also suffered from cracked ribs during the course of filming.

After she caught pneumonia, Tallulah Bankhead was given a puppy by Alfred Hitchcock for being such a good sport during the film. He had already named the dog Hitchcock. I wonder if one of these puppies is the little.. Hitchcock.

The Lady Eve(1941). After wealthy Charles Poncefort Pike, leaves a zoological expedition in the South American jungle, he boards an ocean liner headed for the East Coast.

Con artist Jean Harrington, wanting to get to know him better trips him as he leaves the dining room. Jean seduces Charlie and despite the warnings of Muggsy, they fall in love. Jean, tries to intervene in her father's card game that night, but Harrington wins $32,000 from the clueless Charlie.



Charlie, breaks off his engagement to Jean, when he learns that she and her father are famous con artists. Heartbroken, Jean wants revenge and is happy when her father shows her Charlie's check that she thought he had ripped up..

After the ship docks, the Harringtons run into another con artist Pearly at a horse race. They, come up with a plan to have her pose as Pearly's niece, Lady Eve Sidwich of England. Then the Pikes throw a party for Lady Eve, at which a socially awkward Charlie attends and is amazed how much she looks like Jean. Even though Muggsy, truly believes that Lady Eve and Jean are the same person, Charlie, insists that they are different women.

Jean and Charlie, become engaged and she continues her revenge through their wedding. She finally shares a fictional history of love affairs to her husband. Not wanting to accept his new wife's colorful past, Charlie gets off their honeymoon train, still in his pajamas and sues her for divorce. Jean, realizes that she is still in love with Charlie and wants to speak with him, but he refuses.

Jean, books passage on the same ocean liner on which Charlie is traveling and again trips him. Charlie is thrilled to see Jean, still unaware that she is also Lady Eve and when he tries to explain that he is married, she tells him that she is too...

The Lady Eve, is one of those wonderful comedies of the golden era. Some of the best scenes is when Stanwyck, shares her life story with Fonda, as they go under the train tunnel and the scenes where food keeps spilling on Fonda. Barbara Stanwyck, looks amazing in her little black, bare-midriff dress.

The Wrong Man (1956).

The Wrong Man (1956). Alfred Hitchcock film which stars Henry Fonda and Vera Miles. The film is based on a true story of an innocent man charged for a crime he did not commit. The story was based on the book The True Story of Christopher Emmanuel Balestrero by Maxwell Anderson and the article "A Case of Identity" (Life magazine, June 29, 1953) by Herbert Brean. It was one of the few Hitchcock films based on a true story, and unusually for Hitchcock, the facts of the story were not changed much.

The story begins when Manny, a Stork Club bass fiddle player, returns home to find his wife Rose still awake, with a toothache. Manny suggests, that they borrow against her insurance, to pay for the dentist.

Knowing, that he has to be home at 5:30 to give his two sons music lessons, Manny visits the insurance company to see about the loan. There, the clerks believe that he looks like the man who robbed them a month ago. They call the police, who wait outside Manny's home to pick him up and drive him to the station. After.. asking Manny about his finances, the police believe that he has a motive to steal money.

They drive him to the places that have been robbed and ask the clerks if he is the man who robbed them. Many of the victims are not sure if Manny, is the thief, so the police ask the insurance clerks to identify him.

Because Manny's printing is similar to the robber's, they ask him to print out a note. Manny, misspells the word "drawer" as "draw," which is the same way the robber spelled the word and they take him into custody.



Rose, worries that he has been in an accident, because has never been late before. By the time the police notify Rose, Manny's mother and sister and brother-in-law, Gene are waiting with her.

The next morning, Manny is taken to the felony court where a trial date is set. Even with his attorney's request for leniency, the judge sets the bail at $7,500. After she raises the money for Manny's bail, Rose calls lawyer Frank D. O'Connor, who has been recommended to Manny's mother.

O'Connor, asks Manny, to try to remember where he was on the dates of the robberies. The Balestreros, remember that they were vacationing in Cornwall, New York playing cards with three men.

Rose and Manny, try to track down the three men with no luck. Manny, then remembers at the time of the second robbery, he was at his dentist, who confirms that he was there. They hope to use the information in court.

Rose, becomes extremely depressed and when her behavior deteriorates, Manny takes her to a doctor, who admits her to a sanitarium for her own good.

As Manny's trial begins, one of the jurors, who has already made up his mind about the case, asks the judge if they "have to sit and listen to this?", the judge calls for a mistrial.

Soon after, a man holds up a delicatessen. The owner signals to her husband, who holds him, while she phones the police. The robber is arrested and brought into the police station, where, in the hallway, he passes a detective working on Manny's case. The robber looks a lot like Manny and the detective follows up on his hunch. Will The charges against Manny be dropped and the right man be charged with the crime?

Henry Fonda, gives one of his grimmest performance and Bernard Herrmann's score is very effective building on the suspense.

Fun Facts:

When Manny (Henry Fonda) is taken to prison was filmed in a real prison...as he is led to his cell , you can hear one of the inmates shout, "What'd they get ya for, Henry?" and several of the other prisoners laughing.

Alfred Hitchcock: narrating the film's prologue. The only time he actually spoke in any of his films.

Sir Anthony Quayle (7 September 1913 – 20 October 1989). His first film role was a uncredited Italian wigmaker in the film, Pygmalion(1938). Other film roles include: Alfred Hitchcock's The Wrong Man, The Battle of the River Plate (both 1956), Ice-Cold in Alex (1958), Tarzan's Greatest Adventure (1959), The Guns of Navarone (1961), H.M.S. Defiant, David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia (both 1962) and The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964). He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1969 for his role as Cardinal Wolsey in, Anne of the Thousand Days.

12 ANGRY MEN

Written by Reginald Rose

Directed by Sidney Lumet

Starring Henry Fonda, Martin Balsam, Jack Ward and Lee J. Cobb

Take twelve grown men and stick them in a room with no fans in the middle of a sweltering heat wave and you’re darn right, they’re going to get angry. Lock them in there while they debate an accused murderer’s guilt, potentially sending him to his own death, and that anger is bound to get blistering. As these twelve men sit opposite each other and the time wears on, patience wears even thinner. Soon, it becomes difficult to decipher whether it’s the heat or the pressure that is making everyone sweat. The room itself could implode from the amount of palpable tension in the air but yet somehow it doesn’t. Take all of this and put it on film in 1957 and you have 12 ANGRY MEN, an unlikely triumph from a then unknown director.

You would think only a finely honed director could maintain the kind of intensity 12 ANGRY MEN requires in order to be successful, but it is actually the work of a first time filmmaker. Sidney Lumet had worked in television for six years behind the camera when the producers insisted they would only go ahead with this project with Lumet in charge. (Incidentally, the producers are writer, Reginald Rose, and star, Henry Fonda.) Lumet would go on to helm such influential classics as NETWORK and DOG DAY AFTERNOON, but he started his illustrious film career with this incredibly daunting task of a project. To increase the tension in the room as well as make viewers feel as if they were actually in it, Lumet shot the film’s earlier scenes with wider lenses but the later scenes with much tighter framing. This draws the viewer in subtly and eventually claustrophobia is rampant. It is this kind of thinking that would earn him his first of four Academy Award nominations for direction and deservedly so.

Rose’s screenplay, based on his own original teleplay, is concise and calculated from the very start. He chooses not to divulge the trial details to the audience ahead of time. Instead, we learn about the trial at the same time as the jury picks it apart. The case at hand will decide the fate of an 18-year-old African American boy, who in 1957 was simply referred to as “one of those people” by a couple of the choice jurors. He is accused of stabbing his allegedly abusive father four times and leaving him for dead. A man upstairs heard a fight and the thud of a body hitting the floor while a woman in a building across the street saw the boy do it through her bedroom window. The evidence seems convincing and the boy’s history seems to point toward violent tendencies but it is the colour of his skin that connects all of these dots and proves his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt for every juror in the room but one.

The sole holdout is Juror #8 (Fonda). He seems to be the only person of any true character in the room, or perhaps the only one brave enough to stand behind it. His inclination is leaning toward guilty but he knows something that no one else in the room does. He knows that everyone there accepted every supposed fact that was handed to them by the prosecution because the man on trial has black skin. He also knows that everyone had essentially made up their minds the moment they first saw the boy enter the courtroom. It becomes his personal mission to wake each individual juror up from their own prejudice without calling them directly out on it. To do so, he sheds light on each of the major points offered into evidence at trial and allows each person the opportunity to see that their judgment may have been unknowingly clouded. It’s only an open and shut case after all if you just shut it right away without opening it any further.

12 ANGRY MEN was not a success theatrically when it was initially released but is now considered by many to be one of the greatest American films of all time. The fact that it endures so well is a testament to its delicate craftsmanship and to the ideals it boldly stands for. Rose’s words are brave and resonate still to this day while Lumet’s approach allows for his audience to enjoy and participate in an experience not often had at the movies, a cerebral one. Sadly, 12 ANGRY MEN also still endures because if you were to take another twelve men and stick them in that same room today, I’m not sure the conversation would go so differently.

Firecreek

In any discussion of Sergio Leone’s “Once Upon A Time in the West” (1969) there is mention how shocked audiences must have been to see Henry Fonda’s outlaw character gun down a family in cold blood.

But audiences who saw “Firecreek” the year before probably weren’t surprised at all. In “Firecreek” Fonda plays another outlaw who shoots an unarmed James Stewart in the street and lynches a man in a barn. But “Firecreek” is no “Once Upon A Time in the West.”

“Firecreek” was the first pairing of long-time friends James Stewart and Henry Fonda, not counting a short skit in “On Our Merry Way” (1948). It’s odd that it took long for the two American icons to be cast together and even odder that they were cast as adversaries here.

Firecreek is the name of the title town, one of the saddest western towns I’ve ever seen. It’s more a collection of shacks and fallen down buildings – I’m not sure you can even call them buildings. The town doesn’t have a regular sheriff but farmer Johnny Cobb (James Stewart) takes over lawman responsibilities when needed, for an additional $2 a month.

He’s needed when a gang of outlaws led by Larkin (Henry Fonda) ride into town and rest for bit while Larkin recovers from a bullet wound. His gang includes familiar faces like Jack Elam, James Best and Gary Lockwood. They take great interest in the town’s women, and for such a small town, the town of Firecreek is home to more than a few attractive ladies, including Inger Stevens, Barbara Luna and Brooke Bundy.

There’s a lot of discussion about what worth’s fighting for. Sheriff Cobb elects to stand up to the outlaws to the dismay of several of the townspeople. Dean Jagger is the most cynical of the neighbors, calling Firecreek’s inhabitants losers, and such an unattractive town that it only attracts losers and no one else. To his credit, Jagger’s character includes himself in the loser category.

But in the great western tradition of a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do, a tentative Cobb straps on his guns and orders the Larkin gang out of town or else.

It’s all pretty cynical, and it makes for a long 104 minutes. Despite my love of the stars and the genre, I had never seen “Firecreek.” It didn’t get good reviews when it came out, with many critics saying it was just another western. Sometimes time has a way of making the once ordinary seem extraordinary today, but alas, for me, “Firecreek” reeks of the routine.

It’s not a total washout. The supporting cast is strong. In addition to the fine folk above, there’s also Ed Begley and Jay C. Flippen, who are always a pleasure to watch. Cinematography is by the great William Clothier who always makes his westerns look gritty while still highlighting the great natural beauty of the countryside.

I was fascinated by that town though. I had to rack my brains to think of a drearier western town than this one, and it came to me, and to my surprise it was another Henry Fonda film. Burt Kennedy’s “Welcome to Hard Times” (1967) offers one of the most depressing looking western towns in movie history, but it’s a much better film than “Firecreek.” Fonda made both a year apart, and I wonder what he thought, going from one decrepit western set to another?

Director is Vincent McEveety, best known for his work on various live action Disney films. There was nothing here that made me notice his contributions. It’s adequate, nothing more.

I guess that’s the word for “Firecreek” – adequate. It passes the time adequately enough, but nothing more. I don’t think I’ll be returning to this one too often.

Stewart and Fonda would fare together a little better with “The Cheyenne Social Club” (1970), a moderately entertaining western comedy where cowboy Stewart inherits a bordello.