BMP Actor Spotlight: Luise Rainer...

Luise Rainer is a German film actress, the first woman to win two Academy Awards, and the first person to win them back to back. She was born in Düsseldorf, Germany on January 12, 1910.

She was discovered by MGM talent scouts while acting on stage in Austria and Germany and after appearing in Austrian films.

Her training began in Germany from the age of 16 by leading stage director Max Reinhardt. After a few years, she became recognized as a "distinguished Berlin stage actress", acting with Reinhardt's Vienna theater ensemble. Critics "raved" at her stage and film acting quality, leading MGM to sign her to a three-year contract and bring her to Hollywood in 1935. A number of filmmakers anticipated she might become another Greta Garbo, MGM's leading female star.

Her first American role was in the film Escapade (1935), which was soon followed with a relatively small part in the musical biopic The Great Ziegfeld (1936). Despite her limited appearances in the film, she "so impressed audiences" that she won the Oscar for Best Actress. For her dramatic telephone scene in the film, she was later dubbed "the Viennese teardrop". In her next role, producer Irving Thalberg was convinced, despite the studio's disagreement, that she could play the part of a poor uncomely Chinese peasant in The Good Earth (1937), based on Pearl Buck's novel about hardship in China. The subdued character she played was such a dramatic contrast to her previous, vivacious character, that she won another Academy Award, even with Greta Garbo as one of the nominees.

However, she would later remark that by winning two consecutive Oscars, "nothing worse could have happened to me", as audience expectations from then on would be too high to fulfill. She was then given parts in a string of unimportant movies, leading MGM and Rainer to became disappointed, and she ended her brief 3-year career in films, soon returning to Europe.

She was once married to playwright Clifford Odets. Her second husband was Robert Knittel, a publisher, to whom she was married for 47 years (until his death). Rainer and Knittel had one daughter, Francesca Knittel-Bowyer (born on June 2, 1946).

She currently lives in London. On 12 January 2010, she celebrated her centenary in London. Actor Sir Ian McKellen was one of her guests.

She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6300 Hollywood Boulevard.

Best Motion Picture Association:
Rainer appeared in only one Best Motion Picture.
The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

Academy Awards and Nominations
During her career as a motion picture actor Luise Rainer was twice nominated for the Best Leading Actress Academy Award.

Won Award for Best Actress:
The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
The Good Earth (1937)

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Film Focus: The Great Ziegfeld (1936)...

Notable Film Fact(s):
The Great Ziegfeld (1936) is a musical film produced by MGM.

A fictionalized biography of Florenz Ziegfeld from his show business beginnings to his death, it showcases a series of spectacular musical productions.

The film includes original music by Walter Donaldson and Irving Berlin. Berlin's work was featured in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1918, 1919, and 1920.

The film, which premiered in Los Angeles at the elegant Carthay Circle Theatre, was the first musical film in history for which one of its cast members won an Academy Award - Luise Rainer received the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Ziegfeld's first wife, Anna Held.

This film also won the Academy Award for Best Dance Direction - Seymour Felix - For "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody".

The number "Pretty Girl" was written for the 1919 Follies, not the first edition of the revue, as shown in the film.

The film also gives the impression that the successful original production of Show Boat, which Ziegfeld produced, closed because of the Great Depression, when in fact Show Boat ended its original 1927 run in the spring of 1929 (the stock market crash did not occur until October of that year). It was the 1932 revival of the show, not the original production, that was affected by the Depression.

Film Synopsis:
The son of a highly respected music professor, Florenz "Flo" Ziegfeld, Jr. (William Powell) yearns to make his mark in show business. He begins by promoting Eugen Sandow (Nat Pendleton), the "world's strongest man", at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, overcoming the competition of rival Billings (Frank Morgan) and his popular attraction, belly dancer Little Egypt, with savvy marketing (allowing women to feel Sandow's muscles).

Later, on an ocean liner to England, Flo runs into Billings again and discovers that he is on his way to sign a beautiful French star, Anna Held (Luise Rainer), to a contract. Despite losing all his money gambling at Monte Carlo, Flo charms Anna into signing with him instead.

At first, Anna is not a success. However, Flo manages to generate publicity by sending many gallons of milk to Anna every day for a fictitious milk bath beauty treatment, then refusing to pay the bill. The newspaper stories soon bring the curious to pack his theater. Flo and Anna then get married.

However, one success is not enough for the showman. He has an idea for an entirely new kind of show, one that will "glorify" the American woman. Thus, the Ziegfield Follies is born, a lavish production filled with beautiful women. This makes Anna very nervous, as she is still performing in her own show and will be unable to keep an eye on her husband. It is a smash hit, and is followed by more versions of the Follies. Soon Flo hires Fanny Brice (playing herself) away from vaudeville and gives stagehand Ray Bolger (himself) his break as well.

He also tries to make a star out of Audrey Dane (Virginia Bruce), but alcoholism turns out to be her downfall. However, before then, Anna becomes jealous of the attention Flo pays to Audrey and gets a divorce. Afterward, Flo meets Broadway star Billie Burke (Myrna Loy) and marries her. When she hears the news, a heartbroken Anna telephones Flo and pretends to be glad for him.

Flo has more hits, but after a while, the public's taste changes, and people begin to wonder if the times have not passed him by. Stung, he vows to have four hits on Broadway at the same time. He achieves his goal, but then the stock market crash of 1929 bankrupts him, forcing Billie to go back on the stage. Ever self-confident, he is planning his comeback when he dies.


Director:
Robert Z. Leonard

Producer:
Hunt Stromberg

Screenplay:
William Anthony McGuire

Cast:
William Powell
Myrna Loy
Luise Rainer
Frank Morgan
Fanny Brice
Virginia Bruce
Reginald Owen
Ray Bolger
Ernest Cossart
Joseph Cawthorn
Nat Pendleton
Harriet Hoctor

Distributor:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Release Date(s): April 8, 1936 (U.S)

Running time: 185 minutes

My View Rating: **
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82nd Annual Academy Awards Nominees: Best Picture...

The 82nd Annual Academy Awards will take place at The Kodak Theatre, Hollywood, CA on Sunday, March 7th, 2010 at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET.

Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will team up as co-hosts of the Awards.

The Nominees for Best Picture are:



1. Avatar
James Cameron and Jon Landau
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2. The Blind Side
Gil Netter, Andrew A. Kosove and Broderick Johnson
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3. District 9
Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham
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4. An Education
Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey
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5. The Hurt Locker
Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Nicolas Chartier and Greg Shapiro
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6. Inglourious Basterds
Lawrence Bender
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7. Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness
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8. A Serious Man
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
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9. Up
Jonas Rivera
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10. Up in the Air
Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman
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BMP Actor Spotlight: Clark Gable...

William Clark Gable was an American film actor, nicknamed "The King of Hollywood" in his heyday. He was born in Cadiz, Ohio on February 1, 1901 and died in Los Angeles, California on November 16, 1960.

Gable's most famous role was Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh. Later performances were in Run Silent, Run Deep, a submarine war film, and his final film, The Misfits (1961), which paired Gable with Marilyn Monroe in her last screen appearance.

In his long film career, Gable appeared opposite some of the most popular actresses of the time. Joan Crawford, who was his favorite actress to work with, was partnered with Gable in eight films, Myrna Loy was with him seven times, and he was paired with Jean Harlow in six productions. He also starred with Lana Turner in four features, and with Norma Shearer in three. Gable was often named the top male star in the mid-30s, and was second only to the top box-office draw of all, Shirley Temple.

In 1999, the American Film Institute named Gable seventh among the greatest male stars of all time.

Best Motion Picture Association:
Gable appeared in four Best Motion Pictures.
It Happened One Night (1934)
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
You Can't Take It With You (1938)
Gone With the Wind (1939)


Academy Awards and Nominations
During his career as a motion picture actor Clark Gable was thrice nominated for the Best Leading Actor Academy Award.

Won Award for Best Actor:
It Happened One Night (1934)

Nominated for Best Actor:
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
Gone With the Wind (1939)

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BMP Trivial Fact: Best Motion Picture with Character name in film title...

Over the past 81 years, there have been many films which won Best Motion Picture, that have a [Lead] Character's name in the title. These are the ones that I have come up with.

1. Rebecca (1940)
2. The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
3. The Life of Emile Zola (1937)
4. Mrs. Miniver (1942)
5. Hamlet (1948)
6. All About Eve (1950)
7. Gandhi (1982)
8. Marty (1955)
9. Gigi (1958)
10. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
11. Tom Jones (1963)
12. Rocky (1976)
13. Oliver (1968)
14. Patton (1970)
15. Annie Hall (1977)
16. Kramer Versus Kramer (1979)
17. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
18. Amadeus (1984)
19. Forrest Gump (1994)
20. Schindler's List (1993)
21. Ben Hur (1959)
22. Shakespeare in Love (1998)

It can be argued that Dances With Wolves (1990) could be added to the above list. Why? Well, in the film Lieutenant John J. Dunbar (Kevin Costner) becomes an accepted full member of the Sioux tribe, and is named ugmánitu Taka Ob'wahi (the eponymous "Dances with Wolves". ugmánitu Taka literally large coyote, Lakota for wolf). Thus, Dances With Wolves is a lead character in the film, as well as in the film's title.

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Film Focus: The French Connection (1971)...

Notable Film Fact(s):
The French Connection is a 1971 American crime film. The film was adapted and fictionalized by Ernest Tidyman from the non-fiction book by Robin Moore.

It was the first R-rated movie to win the Academy Award for Best Picture since the introduction of the MPAA film rating system.

It also won Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Gene Hackman), Best Director, Best Film Editing, and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Ernest Tidyman).

It was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Roy Scheider), Best Cinematography and Best Sound. Tidyman also received a Golden Globe Award, a Writers Guild of America Award and an Edgar Award for his screenplay.

It tells the story of New York Police Department detectives named "Popeye" Doyle and Buddy Russo, whose real-life counterparts were Narcotics Detectives Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso. Egan and Grosso also appear in the film, as characters other than themselves.

In 2005, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Film Synopsis:
This gritty police drama portrays two tough New York City cops, Detective Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle (Gene Hackman) and Detective Salvatore "Buddy" Russo (Roy Scheider) trying to intercept a huge heroin shipment coming from France. Police partners Doyle and Russo put a candy store under surveillance based on a hunch that something fishy was going on. Eventually it turns out that the proprietors [Salvatore "Sal" Boca (Tony Lo Bianco) and his wife Angie (Arlene Farber], are involved in one of the biggest narcotics smuggling rings on either side of the Atlantic, and the cops go to work.

In the film, an interesting contrast is established between Doyle, a short-tempered alcoholic who is nevertheless a hard-working and dedicated police officer, and his French nemesis Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey), a suave and urbane gentleman who is also one of the largest drug suppliers of heroin to North America.

During the candy store surveillance and eventual drugs bust, the film provides one of the most gripping and memorable car chase sequences ever filmed.

The film epilogue informs us that Chanier escapes without capture and is believed to be living in France, and that Doyle and Russo were suspended from narcotics duty.

Director:
William Friedkin

Producer:
Philip D'Antoni

Screenplay:
Ernest Tidyman

Cast:
Gene Hackman
Fernando Rey
Roy Scheider
Tony Lo Bianco
Pierre Nicoli
Arlene Farber
Eddie Egan
Sonny Grosso

Distributor:
Twentieth Century Fox

Release Date(s): October 9, 1971

Running time: 104 minutes

My View Rating: ***
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