In the 1950s, three young actors were considered part of a new breed challenging the orthodox masculine stereotypes portrayed by the likes of John Wayne.James Dean and Marlon Brando are known to many, but the third, Montgomery Clift, considered by many to be the best of the three, is starting to fade into history. Luckily, …
Category Archives: 1950’s
State Funeral
Watching the documentary State Funeral I find myself looking at Stalin’s Russia and being not at all surprised at what I see. Grim concrete buildings? Check. Lots of snow? Check. Mournful music? check. Lots of announcements over loud hailers? Check. Smiling and all colors apart from red appear to have been rationed and everyone is …
Motel Vegas
The motel is a quintessentially American thing. A place that speaks of road warriors and road trips and people running from some unseen moment in their past. They are the stuff of film noir and speak to the transient nature of American life. They also have a weird beauty. Fred Stigman’s ‘Motel Vegas’ shows them …
El Carretero
The great thing about music is every month you discover something new. My interest in the ‘Cuba Libre’ series on Netflix has led me to listen to more Cuban music than normal and to the discovery of Guillermo Portables. He seems to have been painted out of Cuban history as many who opposed the revolution …
Cuba Libre
The Netflix series ‘Cuba Libre’ is a timely reminder of how a small group of dedicated extremists can take over a country. I’m guessing you probably didn’t know that the ‘army’ took Havana in 1959 led by Camilo Cienfuegos and Che Guevara, comprised of just 300 men. Even though the army of the military dictator, …
The Contender
The current explosion of radical politics made me turn to a Marlon Brando biography I’ve had on my shelf for a few months.‘The Contender’ is a fascinating delve into the life of one of the centuries best actors and most exciting cultural figures.Even before he was famous for his stage performance in Streetcar Named desire’, …
Noir Nights
I’m a long-time fan of film noir, but this lockdown has allowed me to start delving a bit deeper, both re-watching old classics like ‘The Postman Always Rings Twice’ and discovering new gems like ‘Detour.’What struck me very forcibly was how strangely Un-American the genre is in one respect – they are very fatalistic. We …
Evelyn Hofer
Evelyn Hofer is a photographer best known for her work in the fities and sixties including these wonderful images from a reissued collection of her New York photos. As an adopted son of the city, I love her take on Gotham.
The Long Day Closes
Terence Davies is a film maker largely unknown in much of America. His brand of visual art house is not shall we say ‘box office’ but is visually stunning. This is particular true of his work set in his native Liverpool, a city I also spent many formative years in. Perhaps his most beloved work from …
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