I’m in Michigan, on assignment for Big Hollywood, to cover a four-day film festival presented by The Center for Constructive Alternatives at Hillsdale College. For the next few days I will screen some landmark films from, arguably, Hollywood’s greatest year,
The great pioneering director D.W. Griffith hired Rabbi Isadore Myers as the Jewish technical consultant on his great epic, Intolerance, 1916. Griffith was so happy with Rabbi Myer’s expert advice and attention to detail that he said to the good
“Comrade Karen?” My wife gazes at me, and she’s like, “Huh?” “Since I’m watching all these Russian themed movies I feel the need to get in character.” “Robert…” “Comrade Robert, if you please.” My poor wife heaves a weary sigh.
This month TCM is running a fascinating series, Shadows of Russia, a history of Russia and the Soviet Union as seen through Hollywood’s lens. If you care about movies and politics, you should check out these movies. The idea for
Continuing from last week, here’s my list of the Ten Best Classic Hollywood Movies I screened during the past year. I realize that this list seems a bit, er, obscure and maybe even esoteric, but in truth, every film is
Here’s my annual list of the Ten Best Movies I Screened in 2009. I did not see more than a handful of contemporary releases that came close to the smart pacing, narrative sophistication and honest passion of these older films.
In 1999, a few weeks before The Devil’s Arithmetic went into production, I met with stars Kirsten Dunst, Brittany Murphy, and Mimi Rogers in Dustin Hoffman’s Brentwood office. Dustin and Mimi had rescued my script from development hell–a seven year
Lilian Gish, Broken Blossoms, 1919, a genuine Hollywood star. Americans admire excellence and authenticity. The rise of the Hollywood movie star was built on powerful performances that projected the idea of authentic emotions. Film audiences experienced a magical connection–often, deeply
Lupe Velez, The Mexican Spitfire. The lives of Hollywood stars are frequently tragic and messy tales of absent fathers, cruelly ambitious mothers, and madly dysfunctional families. Mexican-American actress, Lupe Velez (July 18, 1908 – December 13, 1944) “The Mexican Spitfire”
This is not Yael, our beautiful Israeli sharpshooter. Security forbids us from posting her real name or image. But you get the idea, right? “How long did it take you to qualify as a sharpshooter in the IDF?” “Not too
Actress and author Patsy Ruth Miller. In 1924 while shooting a film in New York, actress Patsy Ruth Miller (1904-1995) developed a close friendship with author F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda. Frequently, Fitzgerald and Patsy Ruth would go
Meet Larry, my buddy from Bensonhurst. Okay, so it’s not Larry. For reasons of security his identity cannot be compromised. But take my word for it, Larry looks exactly like William Powell in The Thin Man. Or not. Shabbat in
Esther Ralston at the height of her fame, 1920’s. To read Part I of this series, please click here. To read Part II, please click here. Broke, with her second marriage in shambles and blacklisted by studio boss L.B. Mayer–Esther
This is not a picture of yours truly with My Chinese Spy. It’s star-struck me with the great Chinese actress Gong Li on location in China. I confess, I use any excuse to publish this photo. American Journalism Goes Dark–Voluntarily
An Ethiopian Jewish woman soldier takes aim. Both men and women serve in the Israeli Defense Forces. Thus, there is a weapon in almost every Israeli home. Before our son Ariel Chaim ZT”L passed away, age twenty-two, in 2003, we
Skillfully written screenplays are frequently structured around a series of setups and payoffs. The most rudimentary example is, of course, the pistol in the desk drawer: revealed in Act I, and then in Act II, the gun is used to
Esther Ralston at the height of her fame, mid-twenties. To read Part I of this series, please click here. Blessed with a lovely, melodic voice, it’s something of a puzzle why Paramount dropped Esther Ralston’s option in 1929. Esther was
Several days ago, I was invited by One Jerusalem, to attend a private briefing by Dore Gold, former Israeli Ambassador to the U.N., whose important new book, The Rise of Nuclear Iran: How Tehran Defies the West, has just been
Esther Ralston, at the height of her Hollywood stardom in the 1920’s. They called her: The American Venus. She lived in a Hollywood mansion with a staff of servants. Her chauffeur drove a limited edition limousine. But she ended her
Offspring#2 steps into our bedroom and says: “Do you know what’s going on in New York?” My wife Karen and I look at each other, baffled. “Better turn on the TV,” says Offspring#2. Black smoke is rising from one of
British movie star Jessie Matthews at the height of her fame. Jessie Matthews (1907-1981) was Britain’s first and greatest international movie star. Known as The Dancing Divinity, Matthew’s tragic and scandal-ridden life was more akin to hell on earth. Born
I have to go to the post office. Last week, In New York, we dropped by my Aunt Ethel’s apartment in Long Beach where I saw an old family photo of my paternal grandmother, Miriam, with my father and his
Hedy Lamarr’s perfectly arched eyebrows emphasize her symmetrical features. Considered the most beautiful woman in Hollywood, Lamarr was also incredibly bright, co-inventing, in 1941, a “frequency-hopping device that now serves as the basis for modern spread-spectrum communication technology.” That quote
Ava Gardner had rich lustrous hair, but in this glamor photo from the 50’s, Ava is transformed into a sensual bird of prey. Step into an Orthodox synagogue on Shabbat, the Sabbath, and you’ll notice that married women cover their
