The recent box office success of The Boss firmly establishes Melissa McCarthy as the current queen of movie comedies (Amy Schumer could be a new contender after an impressive debut last Summer with Trainwreck), but let us think back about those other funny ladies of filmdom. So while we’re enjoying the female reboot/re-imagining of Ghostbusters and those Bad Moms, here’s a top ten list that will hopefully inspire lots of laughter and cause you to search out some classic comedies. It’s tough to narrow them down to ten, but we’ll do our best, beginning with… 10. Eve Arden The droll Ms. Arden represents the comic sidekicks who will attempt to puncture the pomposity of the leading ladies with a well-placed wisecrack (see also the great Thelma Ritter in Rear Window). Her career began in the early 1930’s with great bit roles in Stage Door and Dancing Lady.
- 8/8/2016
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
'The Merry Widow' with Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald and Minna Gombell under the direction of Ernst Lubitsch. Ernst Lubitsch movies: 'The Merry Widow,' 'Ninotchka' (See previous post: “Ernst Lubitsch Best Films: Passé Subtle 'Touch' in Age of Sledgehammer Filmmaking.”) Initially a project for Ramon Novarro – who for quite some time aspired to become an opera singer and who had a pleasant singing voice – The Merry Widow ultimately starred Maurice Chevalier, the hammiest film performer this side of Bob Hope, Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler – the list goes on and on. Generally speaking, “hammy” isn't my idea of effective film acting. For that reason, I usually find Chevalier a major handicap to his movies, especially during the early talkie era; he upsets their dramatic (or comedic) balance much like Jack Nicholson in Martin Scorsese's The Departed or Jerry Lewis in anything (excepting Scorsese's The King of Comedy...
- 1/31/2016
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Fred Astaire ca. 1935. Fred Astaire movies: Dancing in the dark, on the ceiling on TCM Aug. 5, '15, is Fred Astaire Day on Turner Classic Movies, as TCM continues with its “Summer Under the Stars” series. Just don't expect any rare Astaire movies, as the actor-singer-dancer's star vehicles – mostly Rko or MGM productions – have been TCM staples since the early days of the cable channel in the mid-'90s. True, Fred Astaire was also featured in smaller, lesser-known fare like Byron Chudnow's The Amazing Dobermans (1976) and Yves Boisset's The Purple Taxi / Un taxi mauve (1977), but neither one can be found on the TCM schedule. (See TCM's Fred Astaire movie schedule further below.) Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals Some fans never tire of watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing together. With these particular fans in mind, TCM is showing – for the nth time – nine Astaire-Rogers musicals of the '30s,...
- 8/5/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Doctor Who actor Olaf Pooley has passed away at the age of 101.
The celebrated stage and screen star died on July 14 in Los Angeles, a family spokesperson said.
Pooley was well known for his role as villainous scientist Professor Stahlman in the 1970s' Doctor Who serial, 'Inferno'.
He also appeared in numerous other television shows including Star Trek:Voyager, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and La Law.
As well as a successful film career with appearances in The Lost People, Highly Dangerous, The Iron Petticoat alongside Katherine Hepburn and Bob Hope and the 1971 horror, The Corpse, he was also a regular on the stage.
He originated the part of Chorley Bannister in Noel Coward's Peace in Our Time in 1947 and he had roles in productions of Twelve Angry Men, The Tempest and Othello.
In his later years, Pooley retired from acting and turned to painting, and was an artist...
The celebrated stage and screen star died on July 14 in Los Angeles, a family spokesperson said.
Pooley was well known for his role as villainous scientist Professor Stahlman in the 1970s' Doctor Who serial, 'Inferno'.
He also appeared in numerous other television shows including Star Trek:Voyager, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and La Law.
As well as a successful film career with appearances in The Lost People, Highly Dangerous, The Iron Petticoat alongside Katherine Hepburn and Bob Hope and the 1971 horror, The Corpse, he was also a regular on the stage.
He originated the part of Chorley Bannister in Noel Coward's Peace in Our Time in 1947 and he had roles in productions of Twelve Angry Men, The Tempest and Othello.
In his later years, Pooley retired from acting and turned to painting, and was an artist...
- 7/20/2015
- Digital Spy
Don't cry just yet, Kate the Great fans. While it's true that there is only one wrap-up episode left Tomorrow in Anne Marie's mammoth undertaking "A Year with Kate"* in which she reviewed every performance in Katharine Hepburn's fascinating career, we have exciting news. We're making it into a book! Details are not yet concrete but if you would like to be included in updates about pre-order and other 'Don't Miss It' news, please fill out this form at our Facebook page!
Anne Marie's last episodes airs tomorrow Wednesday December 31st. But until then... take a peak at any you missed. Some chapters will be substantially rewritten for the book.
1930s: A Bill of Divorcement, Christopher Strong, Morning Glory, Little Women, Spitfire, The Little Minister, Break of Hearts, Alice Adams, Sylvia Scarlett, Mary of Scotland, A Woman Rebels, Quality Street, Stage Door, Bringing Up Baby, Holiday,
1940s: Philadelphia Story,...
Anne Marie's last episodes airs tomorrow Wednesday December 31st. But until then... take a peak at any you missed. Some chapters will be substantially rewritten for the book.
1930s: A Bill of Divorcement, Christopher Strong, Morning Glory, Little Women, Spitfire, The Little Minister, Break of Hearts, Alice Adams, Sylvia Scarlett, Mary of Scotland, A Woman Rebels, Quality Street, Stage Door, Bringing Up Baby, Holiday,
1940s: Philadelphia Story,...
- 12/30/2014
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Episode 30 of 52: In which you’d think Katharine Hepburn would have learned to stay away from accents by now.
The 50s were a time of great growth for Kate. The studio system collapsed and stars became more autonomous (Kate had left MGM after Pat & Mike) and Kate used the opportunity to break out of the glamorous-but-dull mold she'd been thrust into. She pursued scripts, directors, and collaborations that electrified her onscreen and off. She toured in Shakespeare, worked with Oscar-nominated directors, and forged a career renaissance even as her contemporaries flailed. Yes, the films she made contained the dreaded "S" word, but if her ladies were single, they were also single-minded and smart. Kate could have been pushed to the side. Instead she found great roles and challenged herself with the opportunities a collapsing system afforded. If her films seem troublesome now, the craftsmanship and artistic growth of this period cannot be denied.
The 50s were a time of great growth for Kate. The studio system collapsed and stars became more autonomous (Kate had left MGM after Pat & Mike) and Kate used the opportunity to break out of the glamorous-but-dull mold she'd been thrust into. She pursued scripts, directors, and collaborations that electrified her onscreen and off. She toured in Shakespeare, worked with Oscar-nominated directors, and forged a career renaissance even as her contemporaries flailed. Yes, the films she made contained the dreaded "S" word, but if her ladies were single, they were also single-minded and smart. Kate could have been pushed to the side. Instead she found great roles and challenged herself with the opportunities a collapsing system afforded. If her films seem troublesome now, the craftsmanship and artistic growth of this period cannot be denied.
- 7/23/2014
- by Anne Marie
- FilmExperience
Katharine Hepburn, Bob Hope: The Iron Petticoat TCM premiere Starring Katharine Hepburn and Bob Hope, The Iron Petticoat became a movie rarity for decades, unavailable for viewing (at least in the United States) since 1966. But no more. The 1956 Anglo-American remake of the 1939 Ernst Lubitsch / Greta Garbo classic Ninotchka is now available on DVD/Blu-ray, and will have its Turner Classic Movies premiere today at 5 p.m. Pt. (Photo: Katharine Hepburn The Iron Petticoat.) A box-office disappointment at the time of its release, [...]...
- 11/30/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
A Cold War romantic comedy starring Bob Hope and Katharine Hepburn that hasn’t been seen in the West in more than four decades -- and was notable for a bitter feud that spilled over onto the pages of The Hollywood Reporter -- has resurfaced. The Iron Petticoat (1956), which stars Hepburn as a Soviet jet pilot and Hope as an Air Force officer charged with turning the diehard communist into a patriotic capitalist, will premiere on Turner Classic Movies on Thursday, Nov. 29, thanks to an arrangement with Hope Enterprises, which controls the rights to the film. Story: Katharine Hepburn Won Four Oscars,
read more...
read more...
- 10/25/2012
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Special From
By Barbara Lovenheim
It seems improbable for a new slant on Katharine Hepburn to emerge, but the upcoming exhibit Katharine Hepburn: Dressed for Stage and Screen at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center and the five excellent essays in the new Skira/Rizzoli companion book "Katharine Hepburn: Rebel Chic" are provocative and eye-opening. Contrary to Hepburn’s public image as an indifferent fashion rebel who wore slacks in public years before pant suits came into vogue, Hepburn cultivated her counter-culture image deliberately and with great precision when she became aware of its publicity value, eventually ordering custom-made slacks and shoes and, on the sly, ordering handmade French lingerie.
“I think you should pretend you don’t care,” she once remarked to Garbo, who captivated Hollywood with her mannish suits, hats, and Ferragamo flat-heeled shoes. “But it’s the most outrageous pretense.
By Barbara Lovenheim
It seems improbable for a new slant on Katharine Hepburn to emerge, but the upcoming exhibit Katharine Hepburn: Dressed for Stage and Screen at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center and the five excellent essays in the new Skira/Rizzoli companion book "Katharine Hepburn: Rebel Chic" are provocative and eye-opening. Contrary to Hepburn’s public image as an indifferent fashion rebel who wore slacks in public years before pant suits came into vogue, Hepburn cultivated her counter-culture image deliberately and with great precision when she became aware of its publicity value, eventually ordering custom-made slacks and shoes and, on the sly, ordering handmade French lingerie.
“I think you should pretend you don’t care,” she once remarked to Garbo, who captivated Hollywood with her mannish suits, hats, and Ferragamo flat-heeled shoes. “But it’s the most outrageous pretense.
- 10/12/2012
- by NYCityWoman.com
- Huffington Post
Are you under the age of 50? If so, you've probably never seen "The Iron Petticoat," well, unless you live in the U.K. that is. It's notoriously one of the most elusive titles for fans of classic cinema, having never been shown on U.S. television nor released on home video. But now -- 56 years after it was originally released - the movie will finally make its premiere on TCM later this year.
The 1956 Cold War comedy was directed by Ralph Thomas and starred Bob Hope (although the role was originally written for Cary Grant) and Katherine Hepburn, and focuses on Hepburn's Russian jet pilot who lands in West Germany and is quickly converted to capitalism after spending time with Hope's Major Lockwood. But hey, this isn't all about political ideals, there's also a love story in there as well. Essentially, it's very much in the vein of "Ninotchka" (in fact they are so similar,...
The 1956 Cold War comedy was directed by Ralph Thomas and starred Bob Hope (although the role was originally written for Cary Grant) and Katherine Hepburn, and focuses on Hepburn's Russian jet pilot who lands in West Germany and is quickly converted to capitalism after spending time with Hope's Major Lockwood. But hey, this isn't all about political ideals, there's also a love story in there as well. Essentially, it's very much in the vein of "Ninotchka" (in fact they are so similar,...
- 4/6/2012
- by Joe Cunningham
- The Playlist
David Cairns:
The Forgotten: Slow Poison
The Forgotten: Death by Light
The Forgotten: The Phantom of Puberty
The Forgotten: The New Medium
Adam Cook
Abandoned Spaces: An Interview with Jeon Soo-il
Adrian Curry:
Movie Posters of the Year
Movie Poster of the Week: "Teorema"
Movie Poster of the Week: An Interview with "Funny Games" Poster Designer Akiko Stehrenberger
Movie Poster of the Week: "Robocop"
Movie Poster of the Week: "Shutter Island"
Daniel Kasman:
The Notebook's 2nd Annual Writers' Poll: Fantasy Double Features of 2009, Part III
Avatarcraft
Video Sundays: The Rhythm of the Night
The Art of the Trailer: "From Paris with Love"
Rotterdam 2010: Asian Excitement
Rotterdam 2010: Textures of the Morning
Glenn Kenny:
Tuesday Morning Foreign Region DVD Report: "Boom!" (Joseph Losey, 1968)
Topics/Questions/Exercises Of The Week—8 January 2010
Tuesday Morning Foreign Blu-ray disc Report: "The Iron Petticoat" (Ralph Thomas, 1956)
Topics/Questions/Exercises Of The Week—15 January...
The Forgotten: Slow Poison
The Forgotten: Death by Light
The Forgotten: The Phantom of Puberty
The Forgotten: The New Medium
Adam Cook
Abandoned Spaces: An Interview with Jeon Soo-il
Adrian Curry:
Movie Posters of the Year
Movie Poster of the Week: "Teorema"
Movie Poster of the Week: An Interview with "Funny Games" Poster Designer Akiko Stehrenberger
Movie Poster of the Week: "Robocop"
Movie Poster of the Week: "Shutter Island"
Daniel Kasman:
The Notebook's 2nd Annual Writers' Poll: Fantasy Double Features of 2009, Part III
Avatarcraft
Video Sundays: The Rhythm of the Night
The Art of the Trailer: "From Paris with Love"
Rotterdam 2010: Asian Excitement
Rotterdam 2010: Textures of the Morning
Glenn Kenny:
Tuesday Morning Foreign Region DVD Report: "Boom!" (Joseph Losey, 1968)
Topics/Questions/Exercises Of The Week—8 January 2010
Tuesday Morning Foreign Blu-ray disc Report: "The Iron Petticoat" (Ralph Thomas, 1956)
Topics/Questions/Exercises Of The Week—15 January...
- 1/31/2010
- MUBI
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.