Marriage, social pressure, professional disappointment — and if you want to be really unhappy, add alcohol to that mix. Fredric March and Sylvia Sidney are convincing sophisticates but also vulnerable people negotiating fragile lives. What can be done when one’s mate is dissolving in booze and drawn to the arms of another? Dorothy Arzner’s best picture shows us a woman who won’t give up on her marriage, for the right reasons. It’s a serious and adult pre-Code drama, the kind that sounds more salacious than it is. Sylvia Sydney crafts a portrait of a fine woman under pressure, who maintains her dignity even in an attempt at an ‘open marriage.’ The unusual title is a light-hearted toast reflecting inner despair. The disc comes with excellent extras on director Dorothy Arzner.
Merrily We Go to Hell
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1076
1932 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 83 min. / available through...
Merrily We Go to Hell
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1076
1932 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 83 min. / available through...
- 6/15/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
She had warmth, wit and talent. But most of all, she embodied the quality of friendship, recalls the playwright
Anna Massey was for a long time acknowledged and admired as the owner of the best fictional voice on BBC radio, and if you were lucky enough to meet her in person, then you would recognise that the voice was the woman: funny, warm, intelligent and lucid, with a sharp edge which very quietly but firmly kept you in line.
She and I were friends for 40 years, and if she hadn't died so soon, we intended to be friends for a great deal longer. In fact, when I think of friendship, I think of Anna: regular phone calls, very good jokes and steadfast loyalty.
She appeared in my first play, Slag. It had made a fair splash at Hampstead in 1970 when I was just 23, but the following year the Royal Court...
Anna Massey was for a long time acknowledged and admired as the owner of the best fictional voice on BBC radio, and if you were lucky enough to meet her in person, then you would recognise that the voice was the woman: funny, warm, intelligent and lucid, with a sharp edge which very quietly but firmly kept you in line.
She and I were friends for 40 years, and if she hadn't died so soon, we intended to be friends for a great deal longer. In fact, when I think of friendship, I think of Anna: regular phone calls, very good jokes and steadfast loyalty.
She appeared in my first play, Slag. It had made a fair splash at Hampstead in 1970 when I was just 23, but the following year the Royal Court...
- 12/12/2011
- by David Hare
- The Guardian - Film News
Award-winning actor with a fastidious intelligence and a hint of inner steel
Anna Massey, who has died of cancer aged 73, made her name on the stage as a teenager in French-window froth. She then graduated, with effortless and extraordinary ease, to the classics and to the work of Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter and David Hare. In later years, she became best known for her award-winning work in television and film. What constantly impressed was her fastidious intelligence and capacity for stillness: always the mark of a first-rate actor.
Born in Thakeham, West Sussex, she was bred into show business although, in personal terms, that proved something of a mixed blessing. Her father was Raymond Massey, a Canadian actor who achieved success in Hollywood; her mother was Adrianne Allen who had appeared in the original production of Noël Coward's Private Lives. Anna's godfather was the film director John Ford.
Since...
Anna Massey, who has died of cancer aged 73, made her name on the stage as a teenager in French-window froth. She then graduated, with effortless and extraordinary ease, to the classics and to the work of Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter and David Hare. In later years, she became best known for her award-winning work in television and film. What constantly impressed was her fastidious intelligence and capacity for stillness: always the mark of a first-rate actor.
Born in Thakeham, West Sussex, she was bred into show business although, in personal terms, that proved something of a mixed blessing. Her father was Raymond Massey, a Canadian actor who achieved success in Hollywood; her mother was Adrianne Allen who had appeared in the original production of Noël Coward's Private Lives. Anna's godfather was the film director John Ford.
Since...
- 7/6/2011
- by Michael Billington, Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Anna Massey, the member of an acting dynasty whose roles ranged from lonely spinsters to Margaret Thatcher, has died, her agent said Monday. She was 73.
Massey died Saturday after a battle with cancer, with her husband and son at her side, according to agent Pippa Markham.
The actress was born in 1937 into a performing family - her father was Canadian actor Raymond Massey and her mother British actress Adrianne Allen. Her brother Daniel Massey also became an actor, and her godfather was director John Ford.
Massey made her West End stage debut at 17 in The Reluctant Debutante and her film debut in Ford's 1958 police procedural Gideon's Day.
She had roles in films including Michael Powell's classic chiller Peeping Tom, Otto Preminger's Bunny Lake is Missing, Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy and the 2002 adaptation of The Importance of Being Earnest, in which she played the comic governess Miss Prism.
Massey died Saturday after a battle with cancer, with her husband and son at her side, according to agent Pippa Markham.
The actress was born in 1937 into a performing family - her father was Canadian actor Raymond Massey and her mother British actress Adrianne Allen. Her brother Daniel Massey also became an actor, and her godfather was director John Ford.
Massey made her West End stage debut at 17 in The Reluctant Debutante and her film debut in Ford's 1958 police procedural Gideon's Day.
She had roles in films including Michael Powell's classic chiller Peeping Tom, Otto Preminger's Bunny Lake is Missing, Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy and the 2002 adaptation of The Importance of Being Earnest, in which she played the comic governess Miss Prism.
- 7/4/2011
- by Cineplex.com and contributors
- Cineplex
British actress Anna Massey has died at the age of 73.
She passed away on Sunday after a battle with cancer.
Her agent says in a statement, "She will be remembered as a loving wife and mother, a cherished grandmother, a generous colleague and, always, a consummate professional. She will be greatly missed."
Massey was born into a showbusiness family - her father was famed Canadian-born actor Raymond Massey and her mother was British actress Adrianne Allen, while legendary director John Ford was her godfather.
She began her career on the stage and her big break came when she landed a role in Alfred Hitchcock's 1972 movie Frenzy.
Massey went on to star opposite her actor brother Daniel in 1973's The Vault of Horror, in which they played siblings, while her other major roles included her BAFTA-winning portrayal of a lonely spinster in a 1986 TV adaptation of Hotel du Lac.
She also starred in the 2002 adaptation of Oscar Wilde's The Importance Of Being Earnest with Reese Witherspoon, and landed a role opposite Gwyneth Paltrow in 2002's Possession, as well as appearances in British TV shows Poirot and Midsomer Murders.
Massey was awarded a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (Cbe) for services to acting in 2004 and is survived by her second husband, Russian scientist Uri Andres, and her son, writer David Huggins, from her first marriage to actor Jeremy Brett.
She passed away on Sunday after a battle with cancer.
Her agent says in a statement, "She will be remembered as a loving wife and mother, a cherished grandmother, a generous colleague and, always, a consummate professional. She will be greatly missed."
Massey was born into a showbusiness family - her father was famed Canadian-born actor Raymond Massey and her mother was British actress Adrianne Allen, while legendary director John Ford was her godfather.
She began her career on the stage and her big break came when she landed a role in Alfred Hitchcock's 1972 movie Frenzy.
Massey went on to star opposite her actor brother Daniel in 1973's The Vault of Horror, in which they played siblings, while her other major roles included her BAFTA-winning portrayal of a lonely spinster in a 1986 TV adaptation of Hotel du Lac.
She also starred in the 2002 adaptation of Oscar Wilde's The Importance Of Being Earnest with Reese Witherspoon, and landed a role opposite Gwyneth Paltrow in 2002's Possession, as well as appearances in British TV shows Poirot and Midsomer Murders.
Massey was awarded a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (Cbe) for services to acting in 2004 and is survived by her second husband, Russian scientist Uri Andres, and her son, writer David Huggins, from her first marriage to actor Jeremy Brett.
- 7/4/2011
- WENN
Multiple award winning actress passes away
The actress Anna Massey, who starred in Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy and was known for her roles in TV movie adaptations of literary classics, has died at the age of 73. Honoured with a Cbe in 2005, she was much admired over the course of a long career in the British film industry.
With the actors Raymond Massey and Adrianne Allen as her parents, and with legendary director John Ford as her godfather, Massey was perhaps always destined to work in film. After making her debut in Ford's 1958 film Gideon's Day she went on to appear in...
The actress Anna Massey, who starred in Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy and was known for her roles in TV movie adaptations of literary classics, has died at the age of 73. Honoured with a Cbe in 2005, she was much admired over the course of a long career in the British film industry.
With the actors Raymond Massey and Adrianne Allen as her parents, and with legendary director John Ford as her godfather, Massey was perhaps always destined to work in film. After making her debut in Ford's 1958 film Gideon's Day she went on to appear in...
- 7/4/2011
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.