.Victor Buono-the STRANGLER (1964)
“The scene in which all characters sit in a circle on the floor in the library and tell stories about why they were in detention was not scripted. John Hughes told them all to ad-lib.”
The Breakfast Club (1985)
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As a founding member of Tumblr’s Unofficial British Murder Mysteries Appreciation Society*, and the friend of many Dr. Who fans, I feel it’s my duty to draw attention to ITV’s new crime show, Broadchurch, which stars David Tennant, along with Arthur Darvill in a supporting role. If you are in the UK or have TunnelBear, you can watch the first 2 episodes on ITV player.
That is all.
*not a real thing.
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.WPA Children’s Theatre Unit, 1935
Children learn the art of making faces from professionals as part of the Federal Theatre Project’s Children’s Theater Unit. This is from “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, in New York City ca. 1935.
.Outside NBC’s Radio City in Hollywood, 1948.
Courtesy of the USC Libraries - Dick Whittington Photography Collection
007 Sundays - Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
The original ethos behind Diamonds Are Forever was to recapture the essence and critical success of Goldfinger—a goal clearly reflected by the producers’ cast and crew choices.
After George Lazenby declined the opportunity to stay on as James Bond, Eon lured Sean Connery back to the franchise for one last 007 outing by offering the actor an unprecedented $1.25 million salary; Goldfinger director Guy Hamilton was rehired to helm the project, and the great Shirley Bassey was even brought on to sing the theme song.
Yet, despite this stacked deck of proven talent, Diamonds Are Forever still somehow ended up, not just falling short of Goldfinger’s legacy, but basically insulting it by becoming the first truly awful James Bond movie.
I give the Roger Moore-era Bond films a lot of stick for being unsuitably campy, but to be fair, Diamonds Are Forever is just as schlocky and silly as anything from the Moore period; its plot is convoluted, its characters are shallow, and nearly all seriousness is discarded in favour of cheap gags—in a word, Diamonds Are Forever is rubbish.
Still, that’s not to say it isn’t watchable. In fact, there are moments when Diamonds Are Forever is thoroughly enjoyable, albeit in an eye-rolling, laughing-at-it-instead-of-with-it sort of way. In short, it’s the perfect Bond film for hate-watching (rather than just plane hating), which is probably enough to keep it out of the bottom three.
More sparkling observations below the fold:
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