“You look like Clara Bow in this light,” Taylor Swift sings on the final track of “The Tortured Poets Department,” titled after the 1920s sex symbol. She goes on to name-check two more immediately recognizable women — Stevie Nicks and one Taylor Swift — but what attracted Swift to reference a silent movie star on an album that also includes a throwaway Charlie Puth reference?
A movie star by the age of 20, Bow’s career was over at 28. Now Swift might have positioned her to win over a new generation of fans.
Known as the “It Girl” for both her starring role in the silent comedy “It” and her place as one of the pre-eminent sex symbols of ’20s Hollywood, Bow wasn’t washed up because her box office slipped. She was washed up because her scandal-plagued life made her a liability, both for the studios and for her own mental health.
A movie star by the age of 20, Bow’s career was over at 28. Now Swift might have positioned her to win over a new generation of fans.
Known as the “It Girl” for both her starring role in the silent comedy “It” and her place as one of the pre-eminent sex symbols of ’20s Hollywood, Bow wasn’t washed up because her box office slipped. She was washed up because her scandal-plagued life made her a liability, both for the studios and for her own mental health.
- 4/19/2024
- by Mark Peikert
- Indiewire
Every time a presumed-lost silent film is rediscovered, it’s cause for celebration. When elements were found to restore complete versions of “The Passion of Joan of Arc” and “Metropolis,” the resulting restoration premiere was a major cinematic event. For his part, the silent film historian Kevin Brownlow told me he thinks a treasure trove of lost silents is just awaiting rediscovery in the archives of the Cinemateca de Cuba.
One major new find occurred right in the United States, however. Filmmaker Gary Huggins was hoping to buy a celluloid reel for a cartoon as part of the auction of films an Omaha-based distributor had held, after the distributor folded. He had to purchase a number of other films as well in order to get the one he wanted, and among those other titles? A presumed-lost 1923 movie with silent film megastar Clara Bow called “The Pill Pounder.”
A fun broadcast...
One major new find occurred right in the United States, however. Filmmaker Gary Huggins was hoping to buy a celluloid reel for a cartoon as part of the auction of films an Omaha-based distributor had held, after the distributor folded. He had to purchase a number of other films as well in order to get the one he wanted, and among those other titles? A presumed-lost 1923 movie with silent film megastar Clara Bow called “The Pill Pounder.”
A fun broadcast...
- 3/10/2024
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
Planet Hollywood Auction: (Almost) Everything Must Go!
You can’t put a price on memories, except, of course, when you can. And in March, we’ll all get a crack at buying some of the most unforgettable props in movie history at two huge, dueling movie memorabilia auctions in Los Angeles. The biggest, from March 20 to 24, will be Heritage Auctions’ Treasures From Planet Hollywood event, at which some 1,600 pieces — Princess Leia’s blaster, Indiana Jones’ whip, Jack and Rose’s lifeboat door from Titanic — will be on the block. For a mere $30,000, you could be brandishing Moses’ stone tablets from The Ten Commandments next time you’re disciplining the kids. Planet Hollywood founder Robert Earl estimates that the Tinseltown-themed restaurant franchise spent between $20 and $30 million on film memorabilia over three decades and says the lots on sale represent just a fraction of its 60,000-item collection. Thirty-three years after its founding...
You can’t put a price on memories, except, of course, when you can. And in March, we’ll all get a crack at buying some of the most unforgettable props in movie history at two huge, dueling movie memorabilia auctions in Los Angeles. The biggest, from March 20 to 24, will be Heritage Auctions’ Treasures From Planet Hollywood event, at which some 1,600 pieces — Princess Leia’s blaster, Indiana Jones’ whip, Jack and Rose’s lifeboat door from Titanic — will be on the block. For a mere $30,000, you could be brandishing Moses’ stone tablets from The Ten Commandments next time you’re disciplining the kids. Planet Hollywood founder Robert Earl estimates that the Tinseltown-themed restaurant franchise spent between $20 and $30 million on film memorabilia over three decades and says the lots on sale represent just a fraction of its 60,000-item collection. Thirty-three years after its founding...
- 3/1/2024
- by Edited by Benjamin Svetkey and Edited by Julian Sancton
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Taylor Swift may or may not be aligned with the interests of the U.S. government (she’s definitely not), but she does wield immense cultural power. Every time the 14-time Grammy winner includes an obscure lyrical reference in her songs, it creates an opportunity for the nerds who recognize it to say something like, oh, “But do you know what’s really cool about Clara Bow?”
So … do you know what’s really cool about Clara Bow?
Until this week, Clara Bow was just another silent movie star whose career got reduced to a persona in popular culture (the hedonistic “It Girl” both in the movie “It” and in her real life). But now that her name is revealed as inspiring a track on Swfit’s upcoming album “The Tortured Poets Department,” expect Bow to become a sensation all over again, 100 years after her heyday.
New Yorkers have the chance...
So … do you know what’s really cool about Clara Bow?
Until this week, Clara Bow was just another silent movie star whose career got reduced to a persona in popular culture (the hedonistic “It Girl” both in the movie “It” and in her real life). But now that her name is revealed as inspiring a track on Swfit’s upcoming album “The Tortured Poets Department,” expect Bow to become a sensation all over again, 100 years after her heyday.
New Yorkers have the chance...
- 2/9/2024
- by Sarah Shachat
- Indiewire
Earlier this month, when Vanilla Ice announced via Twitter that he was boldly defying instructions to evacuate his Florida home in the face of Hurricane Matthew, it not only inspired what had to be the greatest (and possibly also the most depressing) tweet ever made by the Florida Democratic Party, but it also made one hope that it might really be a sneaky promo for an upcoming Weather Channel series wherein the rapper and reality TV star goes head to head with natural disasters.
Alas, "The Ice Storm" (or whatever...
Alas, "The Ice Storm" (or whatever...
- 10/18/2016
- Rollingstone.com
Hollywood’s original “It Girl,” Clara Bow, is getting her own biopic from the producer of “John Wick.” Variety is reporting that Silver Bullet Media has acquired the rights to David Stenn’s biography, “Clara Bow: Runnin’ Wild,” with plans to bring her story to the big screen. Read More: Watch: 4-Minute Supercut Of Scandalous Footage From […]
The post Hollywood’s Original “It Girl” Clara Bow Getting A Big Screen Biopic appeared first on The Playlist.
The post Hollywood’s Original “It Girl” Clara Bow Getting A Big Screen Biopic appeared first on The Playlist.
- 7/7/2016
- by Charles Dean
- The Playlist
The term “It Girl” first came widespread usage courtesy of Clara Bow, whose starring role in 1927’s “It” made the actress a worldwide star. Many have followed in her wake, and one way of determining Hollywood’s current It Girl will be seeing who’s tapped to play Bow in the just-announced biopic based on David Stenn’s biography “Clara Bow: Runnin’ Wild.” As first reported by Variety, Silver Bullet Entertainment has acquired the rights to Stenn’s book and is developing a film based on it.
Read More: Cannes 2016: Mary Pickford Biopic ‘The First’ Looking To Cast Hollywood Royalty – Exclusive
“The Clara Bow story is one of the most intriguing stories in all of Hollywood,” said Silver Bullet’s David Silver. “She was an amazing actress and overcame countless obstacles in her rise to stardom. We have wanted to do this project for a long time.” Stenn...
Read More: Cannes 2016: Mary Pickford Biopic ‘The First’ Looking To Cast Hollywood Royalty – Exclusive
“The Clara Bow story is one of the most intriguing stories in all of Hollywood,” said Silver Bullet’s David Silver. “She was an amazing actress and overcame countless obstacles in her rise to stardom. We have wanted to do this project for a long time.” Stenn...
- 7/6/2016
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Six newly-restored films from Germany, Japan, Taiwan and the Us.
The Berlinale Classics strand at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 11-21) is to include premieres of six films: two German and four international productions, five of them world premieres.
Us film The Road Back directed by James Whale in 1937, references a slice of German history. It is based on the eponymous Erich Maria Remarque novel about four German infantrymen who face a difficult road back to civilian life.
In 1939, after protests from Germany, Universal Studios re-edited the film without consulting the director. The festival is showing a reconstruction of Whale’s original 1937 theatrical release version, preserved by the Library of Congress in collaboration with NBCUniversal and Martin Scorsese’s The Film Foundation. David Stenn and the UCLA Film & Television Archive provided skills and film footage.
Heiner Carow’s semi-autobiographical film The Russians are Coming (Die Russen kommen, Gdr, 1968) is set in...
The Berlinale Classics strand at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 11-21) is to include premieres of six films: two German and four international productions, five of them world premieres.
Us film The Road Back directed by James Whale in 1937, references a slice of German history. It is based on the eponymous Erich Maria Remarque novel about four German infantrymen who face a difficult road back to civilian life.
In 1939, after protests from Germany, Universal Studios re-edited the film without consulting the director. The festival is showing a reconstruction of Whale’s original 1937 theatrical release version, preserved by the Library of Congress in collaboration with NBCUniversal and Martin Scorsese’s The Film Foundation. David Stenn and the UCLA Film & Television Archive provided skills and film footage.
Heiner Carow’s semi-autobiographical film The Russians are Coming (Die Russen kommen, Gdr, 1968) is set in...
- 1/14/2016
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Massively successful British pop singer Adele, 25, is reportedly attached to play legendary soul singer Dusty Springfield in a forthcoming biopic, according to The Daily Mail, though it looks like the project is still in its very, very early stages. “Boardwalk Empire” screenwriter David Stenn has just signed a contract to write the script. It [...]
The post Chart Topper Adele May Play Dusty Springfield in Big Screen Biopic appeared first on Up and Comers.
The post Chart Topper Adele May Play Dusty Springfield in Big Screen Biopic appeared first on Up and Comers.
- 9/30/2013
- by Alfonso Espina
- UpandComers
London, Sep 28: British singer Adele is reportedly in talks to play the lead role in a biopic in country singer Dusty Springfield.
The film, to be penned by David Stenn, will focus on Springfield's time living in Memphis, Tennessee in the late 1960s during the making of her 1969 album "Dusty in Memphis".
"There is a project - and it's true Adele is attached - but it's in an early stage of development," dailymail.co.uk quoted a source as saying.
Adele's London-based spokesman offered "no comment on this" when approached by Daily Mail.
Ians...
The film, to be penned by David Stenn, will focus on Springfield's time living in Memphis, Tennessee in the late 1960s during the making of her 1969 album "Dusty in Memphis".
"There is a project - and it's true Adele is attached - but it's in an early stage of development," dailymail.co.uk quoted a source as saying.
Adele's London-based spokesman offered "no comment on this" when approached by Daily Mail.
Ians...
- 9/28/2013
- by Amith Ostwal
- RealBollywood.com
Tinseltown is ready to greet film fans from around the world again for the 2013 TCM Classic Film Festival.
Beginning this Thursday, April 25 and running through Sunday, April 28 in Hollywood, the festival will open with a gala presentation of the newly restored musical classic Funny Girl (1968).
Over four big days, TCM will welcome legendary stars, award-winning filmmakers and classic movie fans for the cinematic celebration, which this year will center on the theme Cinematic Journeys: Travel in the Movies.
But first on the schedule is Funny Girl!
Legendary superstar Barbra Streisand demonstrates why she’s the greatest star in her Academy Award winning role (Best Actress, 1968) as “Fanny Brice” in the celebrated musical biography Funny Girl. Commemorating its 45th anniversary, the classic film was meticulously restored from the original negative by Sony Pictures Entertainment in 4K at Sony Pictures’ Colorworks.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release Funny Girl for the first time on Blu-ray April 30th,...
Beginning this Thursday, April 25 and running through Sunday, April 28 in Hollywood, the festival will open with a gala presentation of the newly restored musical classic Funny Girl (1968).
Over four big days, TCM will welcome legendary stars, award-winning filmmakers and classic movie fans for the cinematic celebration, which this year will center on the theme Cinematic Journeys: Travel in the Movies.
But first on the schedule is Funny Girl!
Legendary superstar Barbra Streisand demonstrates why she’s the greatest star in her Academy Award winning role (Best Actress, 1968) as “Fanny Brice” in the celebrated musical biography Funny Girl. Commemorating its 45th anniversary, the classic film was meticulously restored from the original negative by Sony Pictures Entertainment in 4K at Sony Pictures’ Colorworks.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release Funny Girl for the first time on Blu-ray April 30th,...
- 4/22/2013
- by Melissa Thompson
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The 2013 TCM Classic Film Festival continues to expand, with newly added appearances by legendary stars at screenings of some of their most memorable films, including Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Mickey Rooney, Jonathan Winters, Marvin Kaplan, Barrie Chase, Polly Bergen,Coleen Gray, Theodore Bikel and Norman Lloyd, as well as producer Stanley Rubin, Clara Bow biographer David Stenn, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) film collections manager Katie Trainor and director Nicholas Ray’s widow, Susan Ray. In addition, TCM’s Essentials Jr. host and Saturday Night Live star Bill Hader will present screenings of Shane (1953) and The Ladykillers(1955).
And The Film Forum’s Bruce Goldstein will present a special screening of Frank Capra’s The Donovan Affair (1929), complete with live voice actors and sound effects to replace the film’s long-lost soundtrack.Mel Brooks is slated to talk about his comedy The Twelve Chairs (1970). Carl Reiner, Mickey Rooney, Jonathan Winters, Marvin Kaplan...
And The Film Forum’s Bruce Goldstein will present a special screening of Frank Capra’s The Donovan Affair (1929), complete with live voice actors and sound effects to replace the film’s long-lost soundtrack.Mel Brooks is slated to talk about his comedy The Twelve Chairs (1970). Carl Reiner, Mickey Rooney, Jonathan Winters, Marvin Kaplan...
- 3/13/2013
- by Melissa Thompson
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Television is a writer's medium, and today the writers honor their own. The Writers Guild of America announced its nominations for outstanding achievement in TV, with winners to be announced at the 2013 Writers Guild Awards on Sunday, February 17, 2013, at simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York. The big shows this year are "Breaking Bad," which scored five nominations, accounting for four of the six nominees in the "Episodic Drama" category, and "Modern Family," which nabbed four, including three of the six "Episodic Comedy" noms. Drama Series Boardwalk Empire, Written by Dave Flebotte, Diane Frolov, Chris Haddock, Rolin Jones, Howard Korder, Steve Kornacki, Andrew Schneider, David Stenn, Terence Winter; HBO Breaking Bad, Written by Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, George Mastras, Thomas Schnauz, Moira Walley-Beckett; AMC Game of Thrones, Written by David Benioff, Bryan Cogman,...
- 12/6/2012
- by Alison Willmore
- Indiewire
What do Walter White and Phil Dunphy have in common? They’re both at the center of the TV shows most honored by the Writers Guild of America today. The group just announced the nominees for its annual awards, which will be handed out Feb. 17 at simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York. Breaking Bad garnered five nods; Modern Family drew four. Here’s a list of all the primetime and late night series in contention for the event’s biggest prizes:
Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire, Written by Dave Flebotte, Diane Frolov, Chris Haddock, Rolin Jones, Howard Korder, Steve Kornacki,...
Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire, Written by Dave Flebotte, Diane Frolov, Chris Haddock, Rolin Jones, Howard Korder, Steve Kornacki,...
- 12/6/2012
- by Hillary Busis
- EW - Inside TV
Television Nominees Drama Series Boardwalk Empire, Written by Dave Flebotte, Diane Frolov, Chris Haddock, Rolin Jones, Howard Korder, Steve Kornacki, Andrew Schneider, David Stenn, Terence Winter; HBO Breaking Bad, Written by Sam Catlin,...
- 12/6/2012
- by Sasha Stone
- AwardsDaily.com
Last year’s WGA Awards winners for best drama series and best comedy series, AMC’s Breaking Bad and ABC’s Modern Family, are back in full force this year, leading the list of TV nominees announced today. Breaking Bad landed five writing nominations — for best drama series as well as four of the six noms for individual drama episodes. Modern Family followed with four — best comedy series and three of the six episodic noms. The new series field, topped by Emmy winner Homeland last year, includes HBO’s Girls, Veep and The Newsroom, as well as Fox’s The Mindy Project and ABC’s Nashville. Girls snagged both best new series and comedy series nominations, the only new show to land multiple noms. Another freshman cable series, USA’s Political Animals, got a mention in the long-form category for Greg Berlanti’s pilot. The WGA Awards are set for...
- 12/6/2012
- by NELLIE ANDREEVA
- Deadline TV
Boardwalk Empire, Season 3, Episode 4: “Blue Bell Boy”
Written by David Stenn
Directed by Kari Skogland
Airs Sundays at 9pm (Et) on HBO
Another episode without Michael Shannon and that disappointed me. I love the way he keeps his features granite still, signifying extreme emotional stress, like when Nelson Van Alden’s wife makes a move on his pyjama’ed crotch, with the slightest hint of panic in his eyes. He is Mount Rushmore in a suit and hat and we should be treated to more of him.
Even without Shannon, this show hauls Boardwalk Empire back on track after a flaccid couple of episodes where nothing much happened. First we get a massive hint about who might be the other man in the life of Billie Kent, Nucky’s current squeeze. A sneaky angle on Owen Sleater in bed with a girl who looks just like her, but turns...
Written by David Stenn
Directed by Kari Skogland
Airs Sundays at 9pm (Et) on HBO
Another episode without Michael Shannon and that disappointed me. I love the way he keeps his features granite still, signifying extreme emotional stress, like when Nelson Van Alden’s wife makes a move on his pyjama’ed crotch, with the slightest hint of panic in his eyes. He is Mount Rushmore in a suit and hat and we should be treated to more of him.
Even without Shannon, this show hauls Boardwalk Empire back on track after a flaccid couple of episodes where nothing much happened. First we get a massive hint about who might be the other man in the life of Billie Kent, Nucky’s current squeeze. A sneaky angle on Owen Sleater in bed with a girl who looks just like her, but turns...
- 10/9/2012
- by Cath Murphy
- SoundOnSight
Keeping up the tradition of jumping on renewals, HBO has renewed Boardwalk Empire for a fourth season. Things may have slowed mildly as the show works on getting its feet back under itself after some focus and cast changes (what with people getting whacked all the time), but that doesn’t bother HBO.
I imagine a good part of their theory here, and as I say, it’s a theory that isn’t new to them, is that viewers feel a lot more comfortable tuning in when they know there’s plenty more to come. It seems to be working.
What are your thoughts? Are you still as hooked on this show as you’ve always been? Is the new season delivering what you’d hoped?
Frankly, this whole gas station take over plotline seems to me like it needs to resolve in a hurry, but the show is still a lot of fun,...
I imagine a good part of their theory here, and as I say, it’s a theory that isn’t new to them, is that viewers feel a lot more comfortable tuning in when they know there’s plenty more to come. It seems to be working.
What are your thoughts? Are you still as hooked on this show as you’ve always been? Is the new season delivering what you’d hoped?
Frankly, this whole gas station take over plotline seems to me like it needs to resolve in a hurry, but the show is still a lot of fun,...
- 10/2/2012
- by Marc Eastman
- AreYouScreening.com
Exclusive: Sienna Miller has signed with The Schiff Company for management. Miller most recently starred in the HBO/BBC co-production The Girl, which airs later this year. Miller is among several new clients who’ve joined David Schiff’s company this year, with others that include Jeremy Piven, Jeremy Sisto, Janet McTeer, Jonathan Schaech, Ryan Eggold, David Stenn, Martin Weisz, and Brittany Snow.
- 6/14/2012
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Myrna Loy biography: The Only Good Girl in Hollywood Many believe that Myrna Loy is the best American actress never to have been nominated for an Academy Award. Despite having played leads and supporting roles in more than 100 movies (in addition to a few dozen bit parts during the silent era), Loy was invariably bypassed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. But that's the Oscar and the Academy's loss. For starters, Loy was a delightful light comedienne in movies such as W.S. Van Dyke's The Thin Man and Jack Conway's Libeled Lady. One of the greatest — and most beautifully politically incorrect — dialogue exchanges in movies can be heard in Rouben Mamoulian's 1932 musical Love Me Tonight: Jeanette MacDonald: "Don't you think of anything but men, dear?" Myrna Loy: "Oh yes, schoolboys." Loy could be a remarkable dramatic actress as well, as can...
- 3/12/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Jean Harlow in her mother's living room (top); Harlow in Hollywood authors Mark Vieira and Darrell Rooney (middle); Cafe Trocadero 1935: Edith Gwynne Wilkerson (wife of Trocadero owner Billy Wilkerson), Jean Harlow, William Powell, William Haines' lover Jimmy Shields (standing), Anderson Lawler, unidentified man (standing), Haines, Edith's sister Marge (bottom) Jean Harlow in Hollywood – Introduction to Interview with Author Mark Vieira How did the Jean Harlow book project come about? Darrell Rooney, besides being a respected director of animated movies, has a huge collection of Jean Harlow memorabilia. Eight years ago I suggested that he and I collaborate on a book like the one I had done on Greta Garbo. We wanted to build on the research that David Stenn had done for Bombshell, his 1993 Harlow bio, but we wanted to tell Harlow’s story with photographs and newly uncovered correspondence. We also wanted to document how she became...
- 4/12/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
One of MGM's brightest stars of the 1930s, Jean Harlow died of uremic poisoning in 1937. At the time, the 26-year-old actress had been playing opposite Clark Gable in what turned out to be her last film, Saratoga. Perhaps because she died so young, Harlow has remained a well-known film personality from that era. Her MGM vehicles — Dinner at 8, Bombshell, China Seas, Wife vs. Secretary, Libeled Lady — are often shown on Turner Classic Movies; David Stenn has written a well-regarded biography; and now comes Mark Vieira and Darrell Rooney's Harlow in Hollywood: The Blonde Bombshell in the Glamour Capital 1928-1937 (Angel City Press, 2011). Celebrating Jean Harlow's centenary (she was born on March 3, 1911), Harlow in Hollywood is a both a written and a (stunning) visual chronicle of Jean Harlow's career, as Vieira and Rooney cover Harlow's ascendancy from movie extra and bit player in the late 1920s [...]...
- 4/12/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Cool As Ice
Stars: Robert Van Winkle (aka Vanilla Ice), Kristin Minter, John Haymes Newton, Candy Clark, Michael Gross | Written by David Stenn | Directed by David Kellogg
Alright stop, read this review and listen. Vanilla Ice is back, with a brand new DVD edition – of his one an only star vehicle Cool As Ice that is… Fresh off the back of Ice’s collaboration with Jedward and his appearance at this year’s Glastonbury Festival, Second Sight have released his epic 1991 movie on DVD for the very first time.
Cool As Ice sees bad boy rapper and biker Johnny (Vanilla Ice) ride into a small midwestern town and fall head over heels in love with sweet natured Catherine (Minter). However, like all good romances, their courtship is a rocky one. It transpires that Catherine’s parents, unbeknownst to her, are in the witness protection programme, and the criminals they put...
Stars: Robert Van Winkle (aka Vanilla Ice), Kristin Minter, John Haymes Newton, Candy Clark, Michael Gross | Written by David Stenn | Directed by David Kellogg
Alright stop, read this review and listen. Vanilla Ice is back, with a brand new DVD edition – of his one an only star vehicle Cool As Ice that is… Fresh off the back of Ice’s collaboration with Jedward and his appearance at this year’s Glastonbury Festival, Second Sight have released his epic 1991 movie on DVD for the very first time.
Cool As Ice sees bad boy rapper and biker Johnny (Vanilla Ice) ride into a small midwestern town and fall head over heels in love with sweet natured Catherine (Minter). However, like all good romances, their courtship is a rocky one. It transpires that Catherine’s parents, unbeknownst to her, are in the witness protection programme, and the criminals they put...
- 9/8/2010
- by Phil
- Nerdly
On Tuesday morning, Wamg was invited to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ special press preview of John Ford’s Upstream (1927), one of 75 films recently found in the New Zealand Film Archive and repatriated to the U.S. with the cooperation of the National Film Preservation Foundation.
The 1927 silent film, that was thought lost for decades, had it’s re-premiere Wednesday night, September 1, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Many of the VIP’s on hand included Silent Film Historians and those involved with the restoration, as well as the general public.
Having seen the film on Tuesday, I must say the transfer is absolutely beautiful. I was so impressed by the special care taken with the film’s clarity and how vibrant the tinting is on the multiple color frames throughout. The smoky special effects combined with the subtle transitions made me forget I was...
The 1927 silent film, that was thought lost for decades, had it’s re-premiere Wednesday night, September 1, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Many of the VIP’s on hand included Silent Film Historians and those involved with the restoration, as well as the general public.
Having seen the film on Tuesday, I must say the transfer is absolutely beautiful. I was so impressed by the special care taken with the film’s clarity and how vibrant the tinting is on the multiple color frames throughout. The smoky special effects combined with the subtle transitions made me forget I was...
- 9/2/2010
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
PARK CITY -- David Stenn, author of books on Clara Bow and Jean Harlow, exposes the sordid side of 1930s Hollywood in "Girl 27", a disturbing documentary about the 1937 rape of Patricia Douglas, who waited 65 years to tell her horrifying story. The interviews with her are the reason to see the film, padded with old movie clips about violence against women and too much of Stenn, who talks extensively to the camera, does the voice-over and reads from his 2003 article for Vanity Fair.
As an exploration of scandalous Hollywood history, the docu is a good candidate for broadcast on cable television.
In a larger sense, "Girl 27" is about the moral hypocrisy of Hollywood as well as a testament to the lingering damage inflicted by rape: the attack and what followed ruined Douglas' life.
Douglas was a young dancer in MGM extravaganzas, one of 120 girls, mostly under-age, who were deceived into attending a stag party for a salesman. David Ross, a conventioneer, forced liquor down her throat, beat and raped her. Douglas was crucified in the press, which pounced on the scandal, and shafted by the courts, which bowed to the power of the behemoth studio. The judge humiliated her -- he said she wasn't attractive enough for anyone to want her -- and dismissed the case.
Ross never went to jail. A witness paid off by the studio recanted and her own mother, sold her out for hush money. Betrayed by everyone including her lawyer and a failure as a wife and mother, Douglas retreated to an apartment she rarely left and spent most of her life virtually alone. By any measure, she was dealt a bad hand.
While not exactly an investigative journalist, Stenn researched the case diligently for more than a decade and persisted in pursuing Douglas for an interview. It says something for him that after 65 years of silence, Douglas, who trusted no one, agreed to talk on camera about her ordeal. Grossly overweight and with the affect of a wounded animal, Douglas was bitter, profoundly depressed and in overwhelming pain. She died shortly after the interviews. Her halting account of the rape and its aftermath is riveting. Greta Van Susteren, attorney Michael Taitelman and Douglas' daughter, among others, provide context.
Stenn, an accomplished TV writer-producer with an ebullient personality that doesn't wear well, undercuts his material by putting himself front and center -- he has more screen time than Douglas. Stenn films himself pacing in his hotel room, thinking out loud in the car and, in a lapse of taste, dancing on Ross' grave. Declarations of his good intentions, however genuine, come across as self-serving. There's certainly a whiff of exploitation here.
To be fair, because of Stenn's invaluable help, Douglas, who was deprived of the justice she deserved in court, will finally have her story heard.
GIRL 27
A David Stenn Film produced by TLR Prods. Llc.
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: David Stenn
Director of photography: Peter B. Good
Music: Hal Lindes
Co-producer: Lindsay Webster
Editor: Tessa Davis
Running time -- 84 minutes
No MPAA rating...
As an exploration of scandalous Hollywood history, the docu is a good candidate for broadcast on cable television.
In a larger sense, "Girl 27" is about the moral hypocrisy of Hollywood as well as a testament to the lingering damage inflicted by rape: the attack and what followed ruined Douglas' life.
Douglas was a young dancer in MGM extravaganzas, one of 120 girls, mostly under-age, who were deceived into attending a stag party for a salesman. David Ross, a conventioneer, forced liquor down her throat, beat and raped her. Douglas was crucified in the press, which pounced on the scandal, and shafted by the courts, which bowed to the power of the behemoth studio. The judge humiliated her -- he said she wasn't attractive enough for anyone to want her -- and dismissed the case.
Ross never went to jail. A witness paid off by the studio recanted and her own mother, sold her out for hush money. Betrayed by everyone including her lawyer and a failure as a wife and mother, Douglas retreated to an apartment she rarely left and spent most of her life virtually alone. By any measure, she was dealt a bad hand.
While not exactly an investigative journalist, Stenn researched the case diligently for more than a decade and persisted in pursuing Douglas for an interview. It says something for him that after 65 years of silence, Douglas, who trusted no one, agreed to talk on camera about her ordeal. Grossly overweight and with the affect of a wounded animal, Douglas was bitter, profoundly depressed and in overwhelming pain. She died shortly after the interviews. Her halting account of the rape and its aftermath is riveting. Greta Van Susteren, attorney Michael Taitelman and Douglas' daughter, among others, provide context.
Stenn, an accomplished TV writer-producer with an ebullient personality that doesn't wear well, undercuts his material by putting himself front and center -- he has more screen time than Douglas. Stenn films himself pacing in his hotel room, thinking out loud in the car and, in a lapse of taste, dancing on Ross' grave. Declarations of his good intentions, however genuine, come across as self-serving. There's certainly a whiff of exploitation here.
To be fair, because of Stenn's invaluable help, Douglas, who was deprived of the justice she deserved in court, will finally have her story heard.
GIRL 27
A David Stenn Film produced by TLR Prods. Llc.
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: David Stenn
Director of photography: Peter B. Good
Music: Hal Lindes
Co-producer: Lindsay Webster
Editor: Tessa Davis
Running time -- 84 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/25/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This review was written for the festival screening of "Girl 27".
PARK CITY -- David Stenn, author of books on Clara Bow and Jean Harlow, exposes the sordid side of 1930s Hollywood in "Girl 27", a disturbing documentary about the 1937 rape of Patricia Douglas, who waited 65 years to tell her horrifying story. The interviews with her are the reason to see the film, padded with old movie clips about violence against women and too much of Stenn, who talks extensively to the camera, does the voice-over and reads from his 2003 article for Vanity Fair.
As an exploration of scandalous Hollywood history, the docu is a good candidate for broadcast on cable television.
In a larger sense, "Girl 27" is about the moral hypocrisy of Hollywood as well as a testament to the lingering damage inflicted by rape: the attack and what followed ruined Douglas' life.
Douglas was a young dancer in MGM extravaganzas, one of 120 girls, mostly under-age, who were deceived into attending a stag party for a salesman. David Ross, a conventioneer, forced liquor down her throat, beat and raped her. Douglas was crucified in the press, which pounced on the scandal, and shafted by the courts, which bowed to the power of the behemoth studio. The judge humiliated her -- he said she wasn't attractive enough for anyone to want her -- and dismissed the case.
Ross never went to jail. A witness paid off by the studio recanted and her own mother, sold her out for hush money. Betrayed by everyone including her lawyer and a failure as a wife and mother, Douglas retreated to an apartment she rarely left and spent most of her life virtually alone. By any measure, she was dealt a bad hand.
While not exactly an investigative journalist, Stenn researched the case diligently for more than a decade and persisted in pursuing Douglas for an interview. It says something for him that after 65 years of silence, Douglas, who trusted no one, agreed to talk on camera about her ordeal. Grossly overweight and with the affect of a wounded animal, Douglas was bitter, profoundly depressed and in overwhelming pain. She died shortly after the interviews. Her halting account of the rape and its aftermath is riveting. Greta Van Susteren, attorney Michael Taitelman and Douglas' daughter, among others, provide context.
Stenn, an accomplished TV writer-producer with an ebullient personality that doesn't wear well, undercuts his material by putting himself front and center -- he has more screen time than Douglas. Stenn films himself pacing in his hotel room, thinking out loud in the car and, in a lapse of taste, dancing on Ross' grave. Declarations of his good intentions, however genuine, come across as self-serving. There's certainly a whiff of exploitation here.
To be fair, because of Stenn's invaluable help, Douglas, who was deprived of the justice she deserved in court, will finally have her story heard.
GIRL 27
A David Stenn Film produced by TLR Prods. Llc.
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: David Stenn
Director of photography: Peter B. Good
Music: Hal Lindes
Co-producer: Lindsay Webster
Editor: Tessa Davis
Running time -- 84 minutes
No MPAA rating...
PARK CITY -- David Stenn, author of books on Clara Bow and Jean Harlow, exposes the sordid side of 1930s Hollywood in "Girl 27", a disturbing documentary about the 1937 rape of Patricia Douglas, who waited 65 years to tell her horrifying story. The interviews with her are the reason to see the film, padded with old movie clips about violence against women and too much of Stenn, who talks extensively to the camera, does the voice-over and reads from his 2003 article for Vanity Fair.
As an exploration of scandalous Hollywood history, the docu is a good candidate for broadcast on cable television.
In a larger sense, "Girl 27" is about the moral hypocrisy of Hollywood as well as a testament to the lingering damage inflicted by rape: the attack and what followed ruined Douglas' life.
Douglas was a young dancer in MGM extravaganzas, one of 120 girls, mostly under-age, who were deceived into attending a stag party for a salesman. David Ross, a conventioneer, forced liquor down her throat, beat and raped her. Douglas was crucified in the press, which pounced on the scandal, and shafted by the courts, which bowed to the power of the behemoth studio. The judge humiliated her -- he said she wasn't attractive enough for anyone to want her -- and dismissed the case.
Ross never went to jail. A witness paid off by the studio recanted and her own mother, sold her out for hush money. Betrayed by everyone including her lawyer and a failure as a wife and mother, Douglas retreated to an apartment she rarely left and spent most of her life virtually alone. By any measure, she was dealt a bad hand.
While not exactly an investigative journalist, Stenn researched the case diligently for more than a decade and persisted in pursuing Douglas for an interview. It says something for him that after 65 years of silence, Douglas, who trusted no one, agreed to talk on camera about her ordeal. Grossly overweight and with the affect of a wounded animal, Douglas was bitter, profoundly depressed and in overwhelming pain. She died shortly after the interviews. Her halting account of the rape and its aftermath is riveting. Greta Van Susteren, attorney Michael Taitelman and Douglas' daughter, among others, provide context.
Stenn, an accomplished TV writer-producer with an ebullient personality that doesn't wear well, undercuts his material by putting himself front and center -- he has more screen time than Douglas. Stenn films himself pacing in his hotel room, thinking out loud in the car and, in a lapse of taste, dancing on Ross' grave. Declarations of his good intentions, however genuine, come across as self-serving. There's certainly a whiff of exploitation here.
To be fair, because of Stenn's invaluable help, Douglas, who was deprived of the justice she deserved in court, will finally have her story heard.
GIRL 27
A David Stenn Film produced by TLR Prods. Llc.
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: David Stenn
Director of photography: Peter B. Good
Music: Hal Lindes
Co-producer: Lindsay Webster
Editor: Tessa Davis
Running time -- 84 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/20/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- Quick Links Complete Film Listing: Premieres Dramatic Comp World Dramatic Comp World Doc Comp Spectrum: Park City at Midnight: New Frontier Short Film Programs January 18 to 28, 2007 Counting Down: updateCountdownClock('January 18, 2007'); Another eclectic docu section this year ranging in subject matters such as U.S Foreign policies, internal American struggles, global issues and human portraits of the young, old and stupid. On the war front we have Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, where Rory Kennedy looks at the abuses at the Iraqi prison, No End in Sight by Charles Ferguson looks at the chain of decisions that led to the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq and in hindsight. White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki directed by Steven Okazaki looks at the human cost of atomic warfare.On the global scale, Judith Helfand and Daniel B. Gold’s Everything's Cool looks at alternative energy
- 1/18/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
- Here is the complete listing for this year's Sundance film festival which kicks off tomorrow!January 18 to 28, 2007 Counting Down: updateCountdownClock('January 18, 2007'); Premiere's section lineup:An American Crime - Tommy O'Haver Away From Her - Sarah Polley Black Snake Moan - Craig BrewerChapter 27 - Jarrett Schaefer Chicago 10 - Brett Morgen Clubland - Cherie Nowlan The Good Night - Jake Paltrow King of California - Mike Cahill Life Support - Nelson George Longford - Tom Hooper The Nines - John August Resurrecting the Champ - Rod Lurie The Savages - Tamara Jenkins Son of Rambow - Garth Jennings Summer Rain - Antonio Banderas Trade - Marco Kreuzpaintner Year of the Dog - Mike White Dramatic Competition:Adrift in Manhattan - Alfredo de Villa Broken English - Zoe CassavetesFour Sheets to the Wind - Sterlin HarjoThe Good Life - Steve BerraGrace Is Gone - James C. StrouseHounddog - Deborah Kampmeier Joshua
- 1/17/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
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