Today’s scene that I love is from the 1961 Roger Corman-directed Edgar Allan Poe adaptation, The Pit and The Pendulum!
Not only is that pendulum nightmarish as Hell but check out that set design! One can see that Corman definitely took some inspiration from the work being done in the UK by Hammer. Watching this scene, it is easy to see why Corman devoted so much of the early 60s to directing Vincent Price in various Edgar Allan Poe adaptations.
Enjoy!
The great Cary Grant was born 122 years ago today.
In honor of Cary Grant’s legendary career and screen charm, today’s scene that I love comes from one of my favorite Cary Grant/Ingrid Bergman/Claude Rains/Alfred Hitchcock movies! From 1946’s Notorious, here is a scene that I love.
Today would have been James Earl Jones’s 95th birthday.
Today’s scene that I love features him reacting to an impromptu visit from Kevin Costner in 1989’s Field of Dreams. With his famous voice, his good humor, and his own inspiring story of overcoming a childhood stutter to become one of our greatest actors, it’s often easy to forget that some of Jones’s best moments came when he played characters who were just fed up with the stupidity of the world.
The brilliance of this scene is that it pretty much speaks for itself. It doesn’t need to be overanalyzed. It doesn’t need to be carefully explained. It works because it captures what almost everyone has always suspected, even if they didn’t necessarily have the courage to say so aloud.
From John Carpenter’s 1988 film They Live:
Today’s scene that I love comes from 1979’s The Concorde …. Airport ’79.
Under attack from a drone, George Kennedy does what any responsible pilot would do. He opens up the cockpit window — while in flight! — and fires off a flare gun. Meanwhile, Alain Delon does some Top Gun-style moves with a commercial airliner. No wonder Eddie Albert and Jimmie Walker look so alarmed! Beyond the “don’t try this at home” narrative logic, this scene is definitely worth it for the shots of the passengers reacting.
Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to actress Faye Dunaway.
In this scene from 1976’s Network, television executives Faye Dunaway and Robert Duvall discuss the best way to deal with Howard Beale and his falling ratings.
Gregory Walcott, who was born 100 years today, appeared in a lot of good films over the course of his long career. He had supporting roles in major blockbusters. He was a friend and frequent collaborator of Clint Eastwood’s. In 1979, he played the sheriff in the Oscar-nominated Norma Rae.
That said, he will probably always be most remembered for playing Jeff, the patriotic pilot, in Ed Wood’s 1957 masterpiece, Plan Nine From Outer Space. Walcott gave probably as good a performance as anyone could in Plan 9, though that didn’t prevent the film from wrong being declared one of the worst ever made. Walcott, for most of his career, was not a fan of Plan 9 but, in the years before he passed away in 2015, Walcott’s attitude towards the film mellowed considerably. He even appeared in Tim Burton’s Ed Wood.
In this scene from Plan 9, Walcott shows how to deal with a snooty extra-terrestrial invader. Never has Earth had been a better defender!
Today is Andrew Lawrence’s birthday!
Who is Andrew Lawrence? He is the director of the greatest film ever made, Money Plane! Today’s scene that I love comes from that 2020 masterpiece. In this scene, Kelsey Grammer gives what may be his greatest performance.
Today would have been Lee Van Cleef’s 101st birthday.
Today’s scene that I love features Van Cleef as the title character in 1969’s Sabata. In this scene, he faces off in a duel with William Berger’s Banjo. Even when he’s playing the good guy, like in this film, Lee Van Cleef leaves no doubt that he’s not someone you want to mess with.
Today would have been Diane Keaton’s 80th birthday.
In today’s scene that I love, from 1972’s The Godfather, Keaton plays Kay Adams Corleone, the wife of Michael (Al Pacino). In this scene, Michael has “allowed” Kay to ask him about the family business. She asks him if he had his brother-in-law, Carlo, killed. Michael says, “No.” Kay is relieved …. until she steps out into the hallway and realizes, as the door is shut in her face, that her husband just lied to her.
This is a beautifully acted scene and one of the most powerful endings in film history.
Through the Shattered Lens 