If you want to learn more about the late Ann Blyth, let me recommend Jacqueline T. Lynch's biography ANN BLYTH: ACTRESS, SINGER, STAR, deeply affectionate and so carefully researched: www.amazon.com/Ann-Blyth-Ac...

RIP Ann Blyth. She was great as Veda in Mildred Pierce, the ultimate spoiled child, capable of every wickedness to fulfill her desires. As for good girl roles, I loved her in Brute force. One of our few links to classic Hollywood. She will be missed.

RIP Giorgia Moll. From the twilight of Hollywood’s golden age in Mankiewicz’s The quiet American to the Nouvelle Vague’s cenit in Godard’s Le mépris, her vivacious beauty ligthened up the screen in some mid-century classics.

At my substack, I've reprinted my essay on John Sturges's Columbia years. It first appeared in the book that accompanied The Lady With the Torch: Columbia Pictures 1929 – 1959, the Locarno Film Festival retrospective programmed by Ehsan Khoshbakht in 2024. open.substack.com/pub/selfstyl...

Happy Conrad L. Hall centennial! He had a great eye for natural light and for atmospheric interiors. Love his work in Cool hand Luke, The happy ending and Marathon man.

Happy Bernard Dhéran centennial! A character actor in the best French tradition, he played supporting roles in classics such as Les grandes manoeuvres, Christine and Classe tous risques.

Happy June Haver centennial! How lovely was Haver in films like The Dolly sisters? The quintessential Fox musical blonde.

Happy Mona Freeman centennial! Her radiant beauty and ingenue vibes made her the quintessential good girl in films like Angel face.

RIP Patrick Godfrey. He was a staple in Ivory & Merchant films such as A room with a view, Maurice and The remains of the day. A character actor in the best British tradition.

Happy Andy Griffith centennial! His claim to cinema immortality has to be his dark -and terrifyingly prescient- incarnation of the American dream in A face in the crowd. As the redneck turned TV star, he anticipated the era of polítical manipulation through media influencers.

Happy Marilyn Monroe centennial!!! A celluloid goddess, she defined sex-appeal, photogenia and star quality since her early, small roles in films like The asphalt jungle. If the camera ever loved anybody, it was her.

Myrna Loy serving coffee at the Hollywood Canteen in late 1942.

Esta foto de Isabelle Huppert y Catherine Deneuve en Cannes. 💫

Happy Charles Denner centennial!!! From enthusiast supporter of a progressive politician in Z, to small time crook looking for an exit in Mado, to François Truffaut’s alter ego in L’homme qui aimait les femmes, he is one of my favorite mid-century French character actors.

A Sunlit Rococo Interior 1900-49) by Robert Panitzsch

Happy Claude Akins centennial! He was the quintessential tough guy in such Hollywood classics as From here to eternity, The defiant ones and Rio Bravo, before achieving TV fame in series like Movin’ on and The misadventures of Sheriff Lobo.

RIP Thérèse Liotard. From Gavras to Varda to Tavernier to Sautet, her elegant beauty graced the screen through more than 30 years. Love her as the delicate Suzanne, who finds strength through social commitment in L'une chante l'autre pas. Love her also in Quelques jours avec moi.

Happy Märta Torén centennial! Drop dead gorgeoys, elegantly sexy, seductively dangerous, she was the quintessential femme fatale in The man who watched trains go by.

Happy François Maistre centennial! A character actor in the best French tradition, he was part of Buñuel’s troupe in films like Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie, as well as Chabrol’s in films like Les Innocents aux mains sales and La fleur du mal.

Happy Yvonne Furneaux centennial Among the splendid cast of La dolce vita, Furneaux’s performance was the one that moved me the most. Her beauty graced the screen in other great films such as In nome del popolo italiano.

Happy Frank Thrig centennial! His imposing screen presence suited his role as Pontius Pilate in Ben-Hur, his claim to immortality.

Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire 'Funny Face', Stanley Donen, 1957

I was thrilled to write the @sightsoundmag.bsky.social cover story for the 100th birthday of the incomparable Marilyn Monroe.

I am nearly 40 and I have filed my taxes on time.

RIP Claire Maurier. Her claim to immortality has to be her complex portrait of Antoine Doinel’s mother in Truffaut’s masterpiece Les quatre cents coups, but I loved her also in Claude Sautet’s bleak Un mauvais fils and in the luminous Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain.

Latest at my place: Respect for Hedy Lamarr, a better actress than you think. (paywall) open.substack.com/pub/selfstyl...

Happy Cloris Leachman centennial! A superb comedian, but my favorite remains her passionate, longing, vulnerable performance in The last picture show.

RIP Adolfo Aristaraín. A committed filmmaker, films like Un lugar en el mundo & Lugares comunes combined political consciousness, nostalgic lyricism & elegant clasicism. Martín H was a rara avis which portrayed 90s hedonism and nihilism and marked a watershed in Latin America cinema.

RIP Luis Brandoni. From Esperando la carroza to Mi obra maestra, he was a staple of Argentinian popular comedy, bringing elegant sarcasm, razor-sharp line delivery and perfect timing to all his roles.

RIP Mario Adorf. From Peckinpah and Argento, to Minnelli and Wilder, to Fassbinder and Chabrol, he alternated popular hits like Ten Little Indians and auteur films like Io conoscevo bene throughout his long career.

RIP Nathalie Baye. One of the greatest in an outstanding generation of French actresses. From her very start as the script girl in La nuit américain (“I’d never drop a film for a guy!”), she worked with some of my favorite directors, from Truffaut & Sautet to Spielberg & Chabrol.

Happy Joan Lorring centennial! She played vivacious characters in two dark, mysterious films I love, The lost moment and Three strangers.

Happy Jane Withers centennial! From cheeky child stars to character actress in films like Giant, you could always tell she was having a ball being in front of a camera.

Happy Roger Corman centennial! He directed some of the most beautifully crafted horror films, such as The tomb of Ligeia. Every time I see him in The Godfather Part II, I think about his role in launching the careers of the greatest new Hollywood directors, Coppola included.

RIP Mary Beth Hurt. She was great as the wounded daughter of an impossibly snob woman in Interiors. Loved her also in The age of innocence, where her character served as a warning to Countess Olenska on the dangers of falling from NY elite’s grace.

Marie Laforêt by Sam Lévin Charenton-le-Pont

Happy Francisco Rabal centennial! From international star in films like L’eclisse, to dean of Spanish character actors in films like Los santos inocentes, to auteur films like L’homme qui a perdu son ombre, he was a titan of European cinema.

Happy Andrzej Wajda centennial! I still haven’t recovered from watching Katyn some years ago. While honoring his father, killed in Katyn, and his mother, who searched for the truth for years, he left us an overwhelming depiction of the atrocities of war.

Happy Cesare Danova centennial! His playboy looks and manners were tailor made for the decadent sophistication of films like Tender is the night. It was great to see him at the top of his game in Mean streets.

RIP Robert Duvall. From innocent Boo Radley in To kill a mockingbird, to loathsome cuckold husband in The chase, to sanctimonious Army Major in M.A.S.H., he was one of the game-changing actors in the transition from classic to new Hollywood.

Happy John Schlesinger centennial!!! From swingin’ 60s London in Darling to late 60s sleazy NY in Midnight cowboy to America’s 70s conspiracy atmosphere in Marathon man, he was an era-defining director.

Danielle Darrieux by Boris Lipnitzki, 1935 Darrieux is only 18 here. Her 80+ year career is the longest in film history. She died at 100 in 2017. Absolutely classic.

RIP Bud Cort. From M*A*S*H, to Pollock, to The life aquatic with Steve Zissou, he created distinctive characters (besides Harold) throughout his interesting career.

Happy Leslie Nielsen centennial! From disaster films like The Poseidon adventure to king of parody and slapstick in films like The naked gun: from the files of police squad!, his deadpan delivery was his trademark in several box-office hits.

RIP Catherine O’Hara. This hurts bad. Thinking about her performances in films like Home alone, humanity is the quality that first comes to mind. No matter how nutty, her comic characters were relatable human beings. It might had to do with her warm gaze… She will be missed.

Happy Ingrid Thulin centennial!!! She was one of the breed of mid-century international stars who alternated Bergman’s masterpieces as Wild strawberries, Hollywood superproductions as The 4 horsemen of the Apocalypse and auteur film maudits as The damned. Fascinating career.

Happy Dolores Moran centennial! Her claim to inmortality has to be her role as the sultry, adventurous woman in trouble helped by Bogart and Bacall in To have and have not.

Happy Georges Lautner centennial! Mort d’un pourri is 70s French polar/political thriller at its best. Love the intrigue, the dream cast, the atmosphere… A gripping film that should be better regarded.