Everyone had to start somewhere and for Clint Eastwood, that somewhere was 1955’s Revenge of the Creature. Here he is, making his uncredited film debut as a lab technician who has discovered something odd. Even in his very first role, Eastwood’s physicality made him stand out. And check out that gorgeous hair!
118 years ago today, Ian Fleming was born in Mayfair, London. A member of British Intelligence during World War II, Fleming is today best-remembered as the creator of James Bond.
Today’s scene that I love comes from 1962’s Dr. No. Here is Sean Connery, in his first appearance as Fleming’s iconic secret agent. Eunice Gray was cast as Sylvia Trench, who was originally envisioned as being Bond’s permanent “London” girlfriend. She also appeared in From Russia With Love before the idea was abandoned. We all know that Bond’s true love was Tracy di Vincenzo.
104 years ago, on this date, Christopher Lee was born in London. After serving in the secret service during World War II and reportedly inspiring his cousin, Ian Fleming, to create the character of James Bond, Christopher Lee went on to have a legendary acting career. Though he was best known for playing Dracula, Lee appeared in almost every genre of film and he always gave a good performance. Even when the film was bad, Lee was good.
Today, for Lee’s birthday, I’m sharing a scene between him and Peter Cushing in 1965’s The Skull. Though The Skull isn’t one of the strongest films that the pair made for Amicus, it’s worth watching for the performances of Cushing and Lee. Often cast as rivals on screen, the two were, in reality, the best of friends and Lee often said that he never really emotionally recovered from Cushing’s death.
In the scene below, Lee and Cushing are obviously having a ball trying to outact one another while playing simple game of pool and discussing slightly esoteric concerns.
Since today is the 119th anniversary of the birth of John Wayne, it only seems right that today’s scene should come from the 1962 classic, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance!
The famous steak scene features three of the greatest screen icons of Hollywood’s golden age: James Stewart, John Wayne, and Lee Marvin. Lee Marvin is the bully who is terrorizing the entire town. James Stewart is the idealist who thinks that the law, and not violence, is the answer. And John Wayne is …. well, he’s John Wayne. He’s the only man in town who can stand up to Lee Marvin but, at the same time, he’s also aware that his time is coming to a close. In the scene below, all three of the characters display their different approaches to life and a disagreement with steak nearly leads to violence.
This scene — and really, the entire film — features these three actors at their best. John Wayne is an actor who is often described as having “just played himself” but that’s really not quite fair. While Wayne’s outsized persona definitely does influence how the audience reacts to any character that he plays, he was a better actor than he’s often given credit for being. That’s especially evident in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, in which Wayne plays a confident man’s man who knows that fate is closing in on him. The coming of civilization (represented by James Stewart) will be great for the town of Shinbone but it will also leave men like Wayne’s Ton Doniphon with nowhere to go. The coming of civilization means that the heroes of the past are destined to become obsolete.
Enjoy this scene from The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance:
Today, we wish a happy birthday to Cillian Murphy!
Two years ago, Murphy won the Oscar for his role in Oppenheimer. However, before playing the lead role in Christopher Nolan’s epic, Cillian Murphy been an intriguing cinematic presence for over two decades. I first became aware of him after watching Danny Boyle’s 2002 classic, 28 Days Later. Here he is, showing what he can do without even uttering a word of dialogue, in a haunting scene from that film.
Today is John C. Reilly’s 61st birthday. This provides me with a great reason to share a scene that I love from 1997’s Boogie Nights. After falling out with his director, 70s porn star Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg) attempts to reinvent himself as a rock star. Providing support, both emotionally and musically, is his best friend and frequent co-star, Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly).
Now, obviously, Wahlberg’s brilliantly tuneless singing usually gets the most attention here but there’s something really touching about Reed’s loyalty in these scenes. It may just be because of the cocaine but you can tell that Reed is perhaps even more convinced of Dirk’s talent than Dirk is.
Enjoy and remember …. YOU GOT THE POWER!
Today is the birthday of German filmmaker Tom Tykwer. Tykwer directed one of my favorite films of all time, 1998’s Run, Lola, Run! As such, it only seems appropriate that today’s scene that I love should come from that film.
In this scene, Lola shows us all how to win at roulette. Do not try this in Vegas.
119 years ago today, Laurence Olivier was born in Surrey. The son of a clergyman, Olivier would go on to become one of the greatest stage actors of the 20th Century. He would also have a distinguished film career, one that led to him frequently being described as being the world’s greatest living actor.
He is perhaps best-known for his Shakespearean performances. He won multiple Oscars for directing and starring in 1948’s Hamlet. Before his turn in Hamlet, he was similarly nominated for his film version of Henry V. That said, for me, his best cinematic Shakespearean performance was as Richard III in the 1953 film of the same title.
Though acclaimed, Richard III was not quite the Oscar favorite that Olivier’s previous two adaptations of Shakespeare had been. Henry V was released at a time when its portrayal of a determined British ruler could be viewed as a metaphor for the UK’s role in the second world war. Hamlet was released at a time when the world was still rebuilding and trying to adjust to the new atomic age and its dark, noirish style captured those anxieties. Richard III was released in the 50s, at a time when Americans perhaps weren’t as receptive to films that suggested that leaders should not be trusted. As a result, Richard III received only one nomination, for Olivier’s performance in the title role.
Today, in honor of his birthday, here is a scene that I love from 1953’s Richard III:
Happy birthday, Mr. T!
For today’s scene that I love, here’s Mr. T as Clubber Lang in Rocky III:
Since today is James Stewart’s birthday, it seems appropriate that our scene should be from one of my favorite films of all time, 1946’s It’s A Wonderful Life. In this wonderfully acted and directed scene, George Bailey tells off Mr. Potter, for the first but certainly not the last time:
Through the Shattered Lens 