"bonnie-and-clyde"

The story of Gene Hackman, one of the finest screen actors of his generation, is one of raw will and talent overcoming a host of limitations that would have defeated most people.

We decided to look at a few of the past winners (and losers) to try to discern what might have contributed to some of the more head-scratching wins.

It boggles the mind that only a couple of generations back, women were sometimes referred to as “the weaker sex.” That’s not only sexist, but misleading.  Plenty of tough, cunning, even deadly female characters have graced the screen over the past six decades that prove this idiotic saying wrong.   Here are an even dozen.

There’s an extra frisson of excitement to be found in what I call “launch pad” movies. This is not necessarily a movie star’s first film, but rather the one that propels him or her to that exalted status. In these special outings, you can feel a certain electricity coming off the screen; it's as if the performer is announcing in a subliminal stage whisper: “I’ve arrived!”  Here are twenty key launch pad vehicles for some of my favorite stars, spanning eighty years of movie history.   

After the particularly painful song of ice and snow that was Winter 2013-14, I’m happy to say that the robin in yonder dell is finally chirping “Spring! Spring! Spring!” Yes, the world is puddle-wonderful again and that means that, like any other hibernating animal, I feel an urge to shake off the cold, stretch my legs, and participate in some old-fashioned migration. So windows are rolled down, sleeves are rolled up – it’s time for a good long drive to greener horizons, or most anywhere from here. I raise my face to the sun, and movie fanatic that I am, hear Groucho’s voice ringing in my ears: “Sing ho! For the open highway! Sing ho! For the open road!” (Anyone remember the movie?) Or maybe the strains of Bob Hope – “We’re off on the Road to Morocco!” (Bob – it’s better off-season.)

I still remember the first time I saw Faye Dunaway over half a century ago in “The Thomas Crown Affair”.  She took my breath away. 

Gifted writer William Goldman had first come across the story of Butch Cassidy in the late fifties, and was immediately taken with it.

It’s sad but true that the bygone film directors we tend to remember are those associated with specific types of films (think Hitchcock for suspense and John Ford for Westerns), while the more versatile players somehow get lost in the fog.

I was lucky enough to know Gene Wilder. That’s not to boast but to affirm a tired old cliché: to know him was to love him. He was surprisingly reserved, but once comfortable with you, he readily displayed that trademark twinkle. His keen wit and intelligence made him excellent company, and unlike some actors, he listened as intently as he spoke.