News

Shirley Anne Field, the British leading lady who starred alongside Laurence Olivier in The Entertainer, Albert Finney in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, and Kenneth More in Man in the Moon — all in 1960 — has died. She was 87.

“It is with great sadness that we are sharing the news that Shirley Anne Field passed away peacefully on Sunday, Dec. 10, surrounded by her family and friends,” a spokesperson announced.

“Shirley Anne will be greatly missed and remembered for her unbreakable spirit and her amazing legacy spanning more than five decades on stage and screen.”

For her first Hollywood film, Field passed up John Schlesinger’s A Kind of Loving to star opposite Steve McQueen and Robert Wagner in the World War II drama The War Lover (1962). It was a decision she would regret, she explained in a 2009 interview.

“I finally had a chance to go to Hollywood and become a worldwide name.

Veteran actor André Maranne, best known for playing Sgt. François Chevalier in the Pink Panther movies, has sadly passed away. The Times of London reports that the actor died on April 12, though the news of his passing is just recently making the rounds in the press. He was 94 years old.

As Sgt. François Chevalier, Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus' (Herbert Lom) assistant, Maranne first appeared in his most famous role in A Shot in the Dark (1964). He'd wind up reprising the role in five Pink Panther movies over the next two decades: The Return of the Pink Panther (1975), the Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976), Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978), Trail of the Pink Panther (1982), and Curse of the Pink Panther (1983).

Before his work in the Pink Panther movies, Maranne played a French officer in The War Lover (1962). He also appeared in the classic James Bond movie Thunderball in 1965 as a Spectre senior member.

Who needs epics about Ancient Rome, Egypt, or Greek mythology when we have a thousand years of exotic Central and South American civilizations to exploit? Well, it's only been done a handful of times. This cinematic concatenation of nifty architecture, fruity multicolored headgear and athletic oiled warriors is, well, nifty, fruity and athletic!   Kings of the Sun Kl Studio Classics Savant Blu-ray Review 1963 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 108 min. / Street Date May 26, 2015 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95  Starring Yul Brynner, George Chakiris, Shirley Anne Field, Richard Basehart, Brad Dexter, Barry Morse, Armando Silvestre, Leo Gordon, Victoria Vettri, Rudy Solari, Ford Rainey, Chuck Hayward, James Coburn (narrator). Cinematography Joseph MacDonald Film Editor William Reynolds Original Music Elmer Bernstein Written by James R. Webb, Elliot Arnold  Produced by Lewis J. Rachmil Directed by J. Lee Thompson

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Epics don't get wilder than this. According to producer Walter Mirisch, 1963's Kings of the Sun...

Retro-active: The Best Features From The Cinema Retro Archive

This feature puts the spotlight on those glorious old movie marquees. This one depicts the Loew's Capitol theater on the evening of the New York premiere of The Dirty Dozen in June 1967 at the Loews Capitol. Do you have any photos of vintage movie marquees? If so, E mail them to us at cinemaretro@hotmail.com Continue reading to see vintage marquees for Steve McQueen's The War Lover and Requiem for a Heavyweight starring Anthony Quinn and Jackie Gleason.

Continue reading "Those Glorious Old Vintage Movie Marquees: "The Dirty Dozen" Premieres In New York"...