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Reiner Holzemer’s captivating Thom Browne: The Man Who Tailors Dreams (a highlight of the 15th edition of Doc NYC) presents the designer as a sartorial caster of spells who changed the proportions of one ubiquitous garment, the gray suit, and thus shifted persuasively ideas of masculinity, femininity, and power in a puckish way. Suddenly the length of trousers that seemed stately not so long ago, feels gangly and sloppy, and while associations with Gregory Peck in Nunnally Johnson’s 1956 post-war drama The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit still match, so do the short pants of children of an earlier era, with the demands of adulthood suspended.

Browne’s partner, Andrew Bolton, the curator in charge of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, comments in connection with the February 2022 fashion show centered on The Little Prince, how the work is “poised on the bridge...

Courtesy of Kino Lorber

by Chad Kennerk

Set in the 1920s, Has Anybody Seen My Gal? gets its name from the once-popular jazz song recorded by the California Ramblers in 1925. Loosely based upon the Eleanor Porter novel Oh Money! Money! (she was also the author behind Pollyanna), the 1952 jukebox musical comedy was given the full Technicolor treatment – a visual bee’s knees in Kino Lorber’s sterling release.

The Universal Pictures title makes good use of Twenties tunes such as ‘Tiger Rag,’ ‘When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin’ Along,’ ‘It Ain’t Gonna Rain No More,’ ‘Gimme a Little Kiss, Will Ya, Huh?’ - and of course, ‘Has Anybody Seen My Gal?’. It was directed by studio regular Douglas Sirk, who would go on to make his name with lush, slyly ironic melodramas such as Magnificent Obsession, All That Heaven Allows, Written on the Wind (all with Rock Hudson), There's Always Tomorrow,...

Marisa Pavan, the Italian actress who received an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress for the 1955 drama The Rose Tattoo, died Wednesday at her home in Gassin, France. She was 91 and no cause was given. Her death was announced on her official social media site.

Pavan, the sister of actress Pier Angeli, appeared in such films as Diane (1956), starring Lana Turner, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956) with Gregory Peck, and in the film noir The Midnight Story (1957) with Tony Curtis.

In The Rose Tattoo, Pavan played Rosa, who grieves the death of her husband until meeting a truck driver played by Burt Lancaster.

Pavan lost in her Oscar category to Jo Van Fleet, who also appeared in The Rose Tattoo, but won the Oscar for East of Eden.

Other films Pavan starred in during the ’50s include John Paul Jones, a historical adventure film starring Robert Stack.

In...

Marisa Pavan, the Italian actress and twin sister of Pier Angeli who received an Oscar nomination for her performance as the daughter of Anna Magnani’s seamstress in the 1955 drama The Rose Tattoo, has died. She was 91.

Pavan died Wednesday in her sleep at her home in Gassin, France, near Saint-Tropez, Margaux Soumoy, who wrote Pavan’s 2021 biography, Drop the Baby; Put a Veil on the Broad!, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Pavan also portrayed the French queen Catherine de’ Medici in Diane (1956), starring Lana Turner; an Italian girl who had an affair years ago with a corporate exec (Gregory Peck) in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956); and the love interest of a former cop (Tony Curtis) investigating the murder of a priest in the film noir The Midnight Story (1957).

In Paramount’s The Rose Tattoo (1955), an adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play that won four Tony Awards, including best play,...

While the summer movie season will kick off shortly––and we’ll be sharing a comprehensive preview on the arthouse, foreign, indie, and (few) studio films worth checking out––on the streaming side, The Criterion Channel and Mubi have unveiled their May 2021 lineups and there’s a treasure trove of highlights to dive into.

Timed with Satyajit Ray’s centenary, The Criterion Channel will have a retrospective of the Indian master, along with series on Gena Rowlands, Robert Ryan, Mitchell Leisen, Michael Almereyda, Josephine Decker, and more. In terms of recent releases, they’ll also feature Fire Will Come, The Booksellers, and the new restoration of Tom Noonan’s directorial debut What Happened Was….

On Mubi, in anticipation of Undine, they’ll feature two essential early features by Christian Petzold, Jerichow and The State That I Am In, along with his 1990 short documentary Süden. Also amongst the lineup is Sophy Romvari’s Still Processing,...

The Incredible Shrinking Man

Blu ray – Region Code: B

Arrow Video

1957 / 1.85:1 / Street Date November 13, 2017

Starring Grant Williams, Randy Stuart

Cinematography by Ellis W. Carter

Directed by Jack Arnold

Richard Matheson’s The Shrinking Man debuted in 1956, published by Gold Medal Books in an economical paperback edition with electrifying cover art by Mitchell Hooks.

Disguised as a modest science-fiction potboiler, Matheson’s brainy thriller appeared the same year Look Back in Anger opened at the Royal Court, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit arrived at New York’s Roxy and Howl was unleashed via City Lights in San Francisco. Existential angst was all the rage and The Shrinking Man was its poster boy.

The first hand account of Scott Carey, a well-heeled suburbanite who suddenly finds himself growing smaller and smaller, Matheson’s briskly paced novella charts Carey’s literal and figurative descent as the tokens of his success – home,...

Based on a novel by Sloan Wilson and directed by Nunnally Johnson, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit follows the lead of The Best Years of Our Lives as it traces the trajectory of a troubled World War II vet while at the same time explicitly addressing the effects of Ptsd (referred to in the 50’s-approved term for uncomfortable mental health issues as “flashbacks”). Star Gregory Peck is surrounded by a powerhouse supporting cast including Jennifer Jones, Fredric March and Lee J. Cobb.

Nora Johnson, who adapted her novel The World of Henry Orient for the popular 1964 big-screen adaptation that starred Peter Sellers, has died. She was 84.

Johnson died Thursday in Dallas, one of her daughters, Marion Siwek, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Her father was two-time Oscar nominee Nunnally Johnson, the screenwriter, producer and director behind such Hollywood classics as The Grapes of Wrath, The Three Faces of Eve, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit and The Dirty Dozen.

The World of Henry Orient, first published in 1958 when the author was just 25, came from Johnson's infatuation with Oscar...

Is this Rod Serling's best teleplay ever? Van Heflin, Everett Sloane and Ed Begley are at the center of a business power squeeze. Is it all about staying competitive, or is it corporate murder? With terrific early performances from Elizabeth Wilson and Beatrice Straight. Patterns Blu-ray The Film Detective 1956 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 83 min. / Street Date September 27, 2016 / 14.99 Starring Van Heflin, Everett Sloane, Ed Begley, Beatrice Straight, Elizabeth Wilson, Joanna Roos, Valerie Cossart, Eleni Kiamos, Ronnie Welsh, Shirley Standlee, Andrew Duggan, Jack Livesy, John Seymour, James Kelly, John Shelly, Victor Harrison, Sally Gracie, Sally Chamberlin, Edward Binns, Lauren Bacall, Ethel Britton, Michael Dreyfuss, Elaine Kaye, Adrienne Moore. Cinematography Boris Kaufman Film Editors Dave Kummis, Carl Lerner Art Direction Richard Sylbert Assistant Director Charles Maguire Written by Rod Serling Produced by Michael Myerberg Directed by Fielder Cook

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Let me roll off the titles of some 'fifties 'organization...

Get yer terrific long-suppressed film history right here, folks -- this is what it takes to get your movie banned in East Germany in 1965: Günter Stahnke makes a drama revealing forbidden capitalist-style competitiveness and dastardly backstabbing in a state-run industry. Think any of those Party censors would object? Spring Takes Time DVD Defa Film Library 1965 / B&W / 1:37 flat / 76 min. / Der Frühling braucht Zeit / Street Date March 2016 / available through The Defa Film Library / 29.95 Starring Eberhard Mellies, Günther Simon, Doris Abesser, Karla Runkehl, Rolf Hoppe, Erik S. Klein, Friedrich Richter, Elfriede Née. Cinematography Lothar Erdmann, Eckhardt Hartkopf, Hans-Jürgen Sasse, Kurt Schütt Film Editor Erika Lehmphul Original Music Gerhard Siebholz; 'The Sputniks' Written by Hermann O. Lauterbach, Konrad Schwalbe, Günter Stahnke Produced by Defa Directed by Günter Stahnke

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

So you think artists over Here have it bad... Günter Stahnke experienced some late-career fame at the 1990 Berlinale film festival,...

This is a Great film noir. A straying husband's 'innocent' dalliance wrecks lives and puts his marriage in jeopardy. Been there, done that?   Dick Powell and Lizabeth Scott are menaced by Raymond Burr, while wife Jane Wyatt is kept in the dark. Andre de Toth's direction puts everyone through the wringer, with a very adult look at the realities of the American marriage contract, circa 1948. Pitfall Blu-ray Kino Lorber Studio Classics 1948 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 86 min. / Street Date November 17, 2015 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Dick Powell, Lizabeth Scott, Jane Wyatt, Raymond Burr, John Litel, Byron Barr, Jimmy Hunt. Cinematography Harry Wild Art Direction Arthur Lonergan Film Editor Walter Thompson Written by Karl Kamb from the novel by Jay Dratler Produced by Samuel Bischoff Directed by André De Toth

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Is 'domestic noir' even a category? I think so. Some of the creepiest late- '40s noir pictures take intrigue,...

José Ferrar stars in his second dramatic feature as director, teamed with newcomer Gena Rowlands as a married working couple. Ferrar's executive assistant isn't on the list of those invited to meet the new corporate bosses, which everyone knows means he's a dead employee walking. Things are looking darkest just as his loving wife is bringing news of a baby on the way. The show builds up a terrific critique of anxiety in the Rat Race, but then... The High Cost of Loving DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1958 / B&W / 2:35 enhanced widescreen / 87 min. / Street Date July 16, 2015 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring José Ferrer, Gena Rowlands, Joanne Gilbert, Jim Backus, Bobby Troup, Philip Ober, Edward Platt, Charles Watts, Werner Klemperer, Malcolm Atterbury, Jeanne Baird, Nick Clooney, Abby Dalton, Richard Deacon, Nancy Kulp, Lucien Littlefield. Cinematography George J. Folsey Film Editor Ferris Webster Original Music Jeff Alexander Written by Rip Van Ronkel,...

By Alex Simon

Stress kills, goes the old saying, and can cause a host of maladies before it does. Hypertension, heart disease and even Bruxism, otherwise known as grinding of the teeth, can be its unfortunate products. In that spirit, here are ten examples of stress in on-screen, and its most masterful portraits.

1. Jack Lemmon—Save the Tiger (1973)

Jack Lemmon took home a Best Actor Academy Award for his incendiary turn as Harry Stoner, a once-prosperous businessman who finds his carefully-tailored life crashing down around him. His garment business in downtown La is going bust, his marriage is dead in the water, and the crazy hippies who hitchhike on the Sunset Strip just don’t match his Ww II era sensibilities. When Harry decides to have his business “torched” for the insurance money, he goes on a self-destructive odyssey through early ‘70s La. His word association game with a cute...

Gregory Peck from ‘Duel in the Sun’ to ‘How the West Was Won’: TCM schedule (Pt) on August 15 (photo: Gregory Peck in ‘Duel in the Sun’) See previous post: “Gregory Peck Movies: Memorable Miscasting Tonight on Turner Classic Movies.” 3:00 Am Days Of Glory (1944). Director: Jacques Tourneur. Cast: Gregory Peck, Lowell Gilmore, Maria Palmer. Bw-86 mins. 4:30 Am Pork Chop Hill (1959). Director: Lewis Milestone. Cast: Gregory Peck, Harry Guardino, Rip Torn. Bw-98 mins. Letterbox Format. 6:15 Am The Valley Of Decision (1945). Director: Tay Garnett. Cast: Greer Garson, Gregory Peck, Donald Crisp. Bw-119 mins. 8:15 Am Spellbound (1945). Director: Alfred Hitchcock. Cast: Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Michael Chekhov, Leo G. Carroll, Rhonda Fleming, Bill Goodwin, Norman Lloyd, Steve Geray, John Emery, Donald Curtis, Art Baker, Wallace Ford, Regis Toomey, Paul Harvey, Jean Acker, Irving Bacon, Jacqueline deWit, Edward Fielding, Matt Moore, Addison Richards, Erskine Sanford, Constance Purdy. Bw-111 mins. 10:15 Am Designing Woman (1957). Director: Vincente Minnelli.

Gregory Peck movies: Memorable miscasting in David O. Selznick’s Western Gregory Peck is Turner Classic Movies’ "Summer Under the Stars" star today, August 15, 2013. TCM is currently showing Raoul Walsh’s good-looking but not too exciting Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951), with Peck in the title role and Virginia Mayo as his leading lady. (See “Gregory Peck in ‘Duel in the Sun’: TCM movie schedule.”) (Photo: Gregory Peck ca. 1950.) Next in line is Zoltan Korda’s crime melodrama The Macomber Affair (1947), based on a story by Ernest Hemingway about a troubled married couple and their safari guide. This is another good-looking film — black-and-white cinematography by veteran Karl Struss, whose credits ranged from the 1920 Gloria Swanson melo Something to Think About to Charles Chaplin’s The Great Dictator. Unfortunately, the psychology, the romance, and some of the acting found in The Macomber Affair is — at best — superficial. Joan Bennett and Gregory Peck look great,...

Katharine Hepburn, Rossano Brazzi in Oscar nominee (but not DGA nominee) David Lean's Summertime DGA Awards vs. Academy Awards 1948-1952: Odd Men Out George Cukor, John Huston, Vincente Minnelli 1953 DGA (12) Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, Above and Beyond Walter Lang, Call Me Madam Daniel Mann, Come Back, Little Sheba Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Julius Caesar Henry Koster, The Robe Jean Negulesco, Titanic George Sidney, Young Bess DGA/AMPAS George Stevens, Shane Charles Walters, Lili Billy Wilder, Stalag 17 William Wyler, Roman Holiday Fred Zinnemann, From Here to Eternity   1954 DGA (16) Edward Dmytryk, The Caine Mutiny Alfred Hitchcock, Dial M for Murder Robert Wise, Executive Suite Anthony Mann, The Glenn Miller Story Samuel Fuller, Hell and High Water Henry King, King of Khyber Rifles Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, Knock on Wood Don Siegel, Riot in Cell Block 11 Stanley Donen, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers George Cukor, A Star Is Born Jean Negulesco,...

In full disclosure, I'm probably the only TV Fanatic that has never seen Mad Men. Even still, it was easy enough to pick up that this week's episode, which featured John Slattery and was a clear parody of that AMC drama.

Slattery's appearance, unlike that of co-star Jon Hamm, basically played a version of his character on Mad Men, a 1960s style "Account Man," responsible for greasing politicians, landing contracts and drinking way too many martinis.

Homer gets introduced to the retiring executive shortly after throwing a Krusty Vodka-sponsored party for influential Springfield clientele that included such big names as Kent Brockman and Bumblebee Man.

Naturally, in traditional Simpsons-random-intro-style, Homer's party - highlighted by Burns singing a riveting karaoke rendition of some early 20th century song - leads to Homer getting a job as Robert Marlow's replacement.

Soon, Homer, much like Marlow before him, becomes discontent in his job, similar...

Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Jones has died, aged 90.

A five-time Academy Award nominee, Jones won gold as Best Actress in a Leading Role in 1943, for her portrayal of a saintly nun in The Song of Bernadette.

She passed away on Thursday at her Malibu, California home.

Jones was one of Hollywood's biggest stars in the 1940s and 1950s, and appeared in other films including 1948 western Duel in the Sun, 1955 drama Love is a Many-Splendored Thing and war movie The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, in 1956.

In her later years, she was deeply involved in overseeing California's Norton Simon Museum, as the widow of its founder, millionaire industrialist Norton Simon.

Jones is survived by a son, Robert Walker.