Today marks the 70th anniversary of the premiere of "Gone with the Wind" in Atlanta, Georgia. In what was the biggest event in the city since the Civil War, Hollywood descended on Atlanta, holding multiple parties (including an old-fashioned costume ball), filling the town with celebrities, and reinvigorating a sense of Old South nostalgia throughout the city. The mayor declared it a state holiday as the film premiered to widespread enthusiasm. This enjoyment wasn't limited to the South, though. "Gone with the Wind" went on to make an unheard of $400 million, which, adjusted for inflation, is nearly $1.5 billion today: the all-time box office champion (even better than "Titanic")! The making and filming of "Gone with the Wind" was almost as dramatic as the story itself. Casting took close to two years, with multiple actresses competing for the role of heroine Scarlett O'Hara, including Joan Crawford, Katharine Hepburn, and Lana Turner, but relative unknown Vivien Leigh was eventually given the part. Special arrangements had to be made in order to cast Clark Gable as Rhett Butler, as he was under contract to MGM (who loaned Gable for the lucrative rights to release the picture). Producer David O. Selznick fired the film's original director, George Cukor, three weeks into filming and replaced him with "The Wizard of Oz" director Victor Fleming. The script, an adaptation of Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, underwent multiple revisions, and Selznick famously locked himself, Fleming, and screenwriter Ben Hecht in a room for five days in order to complete it in time. But eventually, production was completed and "Gone with the Wind" premiered December 15, 1939, in Atlanta. The darker side to that day, and the movie itself, was that many cast members -- including eventual Oscar Winner Hattie McDaniel -- were unable to attend the event due to the Jim Crow laws that restricted African-Americans' presence in theatres. Many criticize the film for depicting racial stereotypes and romanticizing the Civil War and the conditions of African-Americans before and after. Others have pointed out the sexist nature of the movie, including the selfish and materialistic Scarlett, and a troublesome scene in which she is forcibly seduced by the hero, Rhett. In spite of these issues, "Gone with the Wind" continues to be one of America's best-loved films even to the present day. It has received periodic re-releases in movie theatres and airs yearly on Turner Classic Movies. It has famously been parodied on the Carol Burnett Show and in a recent Breyer's ice cream commercial with Jane Krakowski. Several "sequels" have been published in recent years, including Donald McCraig's "Rhett Butler's People" and Alice Randall's "The Wind Done Gone," each retelling the story of "Gone With the Wind" from different perspectives (Rhett's and a young slave girl's, respectively). A musical version of the story recently played in London's West End. In celebration of the 70th anniversary, Warner Brothers is finally releasing the film on Blu-Ray and in a special Collector's Edition set. The most famous scene of the movie -- and indeed, of all cinema history -- has to be Rhett's brutal kiss-off to Scarlett at the film's conclusion. And even though Rhett may not have given a damn, we -- and audiences worldwide -- still do, even after seven decades. Suggested Sites... Warner Brothers: Gone With the Wind - includes downloads, videos, and information about the new DVD and Blu-Ray releases. Gone With the Wind Online Exihibit - exhibit from the University of Texas about both the film and book. Includes materials from David O. Selznick's personal collection. The Scarlett Letter - quarterly newsletter devoted to all things "Gone With the Wind." Scarlett Online - "Gone With the Wind" fan site, focusing on its costumes. Marietta Gone With the Wind Museum - museum in Marietta, Georgia includes memorabilia, historical information, and a gift shop.

Directory categories: Gone with the Wind, Classic Hollywood, Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, David O. Selznick

Archived under: 1930s, Actors, Anniversaries, Authors, Books, Entertainment, Filmmaking, Gone With the Wind, Movie History, Movies, Oscars

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Jack Pierce makes up Karloff as the Frankenstein monster (Photo by Jhayne) When I was growing up, I loved horror movies -- especially monster movies. I don't mean the gorefests that populate the screen today; the ones that substitute shock for real psychological terror. No, I loved the Universal monster movies that featured the Wolf Man, the Invisible Man, Dracula, and, most of all, Frankenstein’s monster (or just "Frankenstein," as we called him in those days). Most of the reason for that love was Boris Karloff. In spite of how many people he murdered, tortured, or terrorized on camera, it was obvious that, behind the character, there was a decent and funny man who projected a real humanity. Karloff was born on November 23, 1887, as William Henry Pratt. As a child, it was expected he'd follow his brother into the British Foreign Service, but he developed a love of acting that took him first to Canada, then finally to Hollywood, where between gigs acting in silent films, he worked as a ditch digger and truck driver to pay the bills. When sound films came along in the late 1920s, his stage training (and British accent) helped him make the transition to talkies, but he was still mired in supporting roles like "Rev. T. Vernon Isopod" or "Sport Williams." Finally, in 1931, the role of a lifetime -- the Frankenstein monster -- came along, and even though he was unbilled at the time (the credits showed the Monster as being played by "?"), he had achieved screen immortality, becoming one of the few actors to be so well known as to be billed with just one name: "Karloff." It took Universal a bit of time to realize what an asset they had in Karloff. They lent him out to Warner Bros. for a memorable turn as a cadaverous gangster in the original "Scarface" and to MGM to star in the insidious Dr. Fu Manchu. But once the box-office returns came in ($12,000,000 -- nearly $200 million today... that's before adjusting for the 25 cents audiences paid in 1931!), they took full advantage of him in such classics as "The Old Dark House," "The Mummy," "The Black Cat," and (best of all) "The Bride of Frankenstein" -- some 42 features over the next ten years. In 1941, Karloff left Hollywood to appear on Broadway in the comedy "Arsenic and Old Lace," playing another homicidal maniac -- one who’d had plastic surgery and now looked like -- Boris Karloff. Over the next three decades, Karloff alternated between stage, screen, radio, and television, shifting easily between comedy and drama. His integrity and talent were such that, even after the many times he had kidded his "horror star" image, he was still utterly believable when he did a straight role that would scare the pants off audiences. When he died at the age of 81 in 1967, his name was still the gold standard for the genre, (an accomplishment that no one else -- in any film genre -- has ever matched) and for some of us, it still is. Suggested Sites... Karloff.com - official site of the Karloff family, dedicated to the memory of the Master of Horror. "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" - excerpt from one of Karloff's last great roles, narrating and playing the Grinch. Celebrating Boris Karloff, the Monster and the Man - introduction to a retrospective of Karloff's film career. Universal Studios Monster Movies - overview of the studio's horror films of the 1930s. Frankenstein Films: The Universal Pictures Series - reviews and synopses of the series that rocketed Karloff to stardom.

Directory categories: Boris Karloff, Horror Movies, Classi Hollywood Actors, Frankenstein, Actors

Archived under: 1930s, 1940s, Actors, Biographies, Birthdays, Boris Karloff, Celebrities, Entertainment, Horror, Horror Films, In Character, Monsters and Creatures, Movies

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Larry Fine looking stunned, undoubtedly by some unexpected turn of events People who work in comedy know the "Rule of Three." That is, when writing jokes or creating a comedic movie, TV show, play, or even a skit, writers know how to establish a situation, confirm it, and then overturn it. If you look for it, you'll see it all the time: "A priest, a minister, and a rabbi walk into a bar ..."; "an Englishman, an Irishman, and a Scotsman were arguing ..."; "a genie grants a man three wishes ..." With that rule so well-known, it makes us wonder why there are so few three-man comedy teams. There's the Ritz Brothers (who few remember nowadays), the Marx Brothers (who originally were a quartet), the Three Stooges -- and that’s about it. We were reminded of this apparent paradox today in noting that October 5 marks the birthday of our favorite Stooge, Larry Fine. Every Stooge fan has his favorite. (We use the pronoun "his" deliberately here, since it's well known that women just don't get -- or even like the Stooges.) Some prefer the outright lunacy of Curly; some think Shemp is the ne plus ultra of wackiness; there are undoubtedly those who think the antics of Joe or Curly Joe cannot be bettered; and we're sure Moe brings delight to many for his attempts to bring order out of chaos. But Larry is, for us, the essential Stooge. His "normalcy" (at least in terms of Stoogedom) provides the necessary grounding between Moe's masochism and Curly's flights of fancy. The Trinity of Stooges has been compared to Sigmund Freud's theory of the unconscious (no, honestly), what with Moe's controlling force representing the ego, Curly the uncontrollable id, and Larry, the superego that strives for organization and peace. Larry Fine himself was an unassuming man. He was born Louis Feinberg in Philadelphia in 1902, and after a childhood accident (he burned his arm with acid), he took up the violin, a choice that led to a career in vaudeville, where a chance meeting with comedian Ted Healy (who had originally hired the Howard Brothers -- Moe, Shemp, and Curly -- to accompany him on stage) led him to join Healy's act as the third Stooge, a role he would hold for the next four decades, until a debilitating stroke forced him to retire. Larry's contribution to the act is invaluable. He provides an entry point for the viewer, allowing us to put Moe's harshness and Curly's craziness into context. Without him, Stooge fanatics would be left only with an authoritarian beating up on a lunatic. And every so often, Larry will say or do something so off the wall that it confirms his own existence as a Stooge. Director Peter Farrelly has been threatening to make a new "Three Stooges" movie for years. While this may not seem a good idea at first blush (Benicio Del Toro as Moe? Sean Penn as Larry?), his views on Mr. Fine give Larry-philes reason for hope (while also providing a fine epitaph): "Growing up, first you watched Curly, then Moe, and then your eyes got to Larry. He's the reactor, the most vulnerable. Five to fourteen, Curly; fourteen to twenty-one, Moe. Anyone out of college, if you're not looking at Larry, you don’t have a good brain." Suggested Sites... Larry Fine.com - dedicated the most important Stooge of them all. IMDb: Larry Fine - film credits, biography, and photos. Wikipedia: Larry Fine - good overview of his life and career. Stooge World: Larry Fine - illustrated biography. Farrelly Brothers' Three Stooges Saga: The 13-Year Backstory - is the lack of a movie a good thing or a bad thing?

Directory categories: Larry Fine, The Three Stooges, Comedy Teams, Comedy, Actors

Archived under: 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, Actors, Biographies, Birthdays, Comedians, Entertainment, Humor, Men, Movie History, Movies, Musicians, The Three Stooges, Vaudeville

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Mystery, Inc. on the case A dark and stormy night. A shot rings out! A body falls, and soon two NYPD detectives are on the scene, cracking wise about a gruesome murder. Without warning, a colorful van screeches to a halt and out pop a ravenous slacker and a talking Great Dane. (Or should we say a "ralking Reat Rane?") A fever dream? Perhaps. But we prefer to think of it as a crossover between two of our favorite television shows. Those who don't believe that the universe has a plan will have to explain why both "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" and "Law & Order" both premiered on September 13 (granted, those premieres were 21 years apart, but still ...). The possibilities of worlds colliding in this way are endless: Daphne Blake as Jack McCoy's newest A.D.A.; Fred Jones and Lennie Briscoe trading quips; and D.A. Adam Schiff ordering Scooby and Shaggy to get the hell out of his office. While some may consider Detective John Munch to be one of the centers of the TV universe (after all, he's crossed over onto nine shows), we'll put our money on John Di Maggio, just about the only actor to appear on both shows. Ruh-roh! Suggested Sites... NBC: Law & Order - 20 years, 446 episodes (and counting!) -- and who knows how many criminals? Kids WB: Scooby-Doo - home of those meddling kids. Law & Order: An Adventure to Color - break out the crayons and solve a murder. Crossovers & Spin Offs Master Page - or, When "Hill Street Blues" met "Cop Rock." Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed - when animation just isn't enough.

Directory categories: Scooby-Doo, Law & Order, Animated TV Shows , TV Cop Shows, Animated Characters

Archived under: 1960s, 1990s, Actors, Animation, Anniversaries, Cartoons, Children´s TV, Coincidence, Crime, Criminals, Detectives, Entertainment, Hanna-Barbera, Law Enforcement, Mashups, Media, Mysteries, TV

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To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, "People who don't like this sort of thing will find this isn't the sort of thing they like." Over the last two days, we've revealed the not-so-sordid secrets of many Yahoo!s by letting them publicly confess some of the things they're proud to have never done. We conclude those revelations today with a grab-bag of confessions that didn't fit into any other categories (or that came in late -- you know who you are ...). They mostly (and unsurpringly) deal with pop culture, but there are one or two surprises to be found. Emily: I've never read any of the "Harry Potter" books, or seen any of the movies, and I don’t plan on changing that anytime soon. I’m just obstinate, and the fan fic/slash kind of creeps me out. Heather: Somehow, despite all the random piercings and multi-colored dye-jobs my friends got as teenagers, I managed to make it through my youth without so much as having a needle held to my ear, or a bottle of hydrogen peroxide tingling on my scalp. Richard: I’ve never seen a movie in which Melanie Griffith could act as a convincing human being. Never. Mitzi: I've never seen "Eraserhead." I refuse to watch "Dancing with the Stars" (I don’t care how popular it is!). I've never seen "Citizen Kane" (I’ve rented it a few times, but never got around to seeing it). I've never read "1984." (I know!) And I've never seen the "Oprah" show (not even when I’m at home sick with the flu or something). Adrianna: My bike was stolen before the training wheels were taken off, so I never learned how to ride a bike! I have tried as an adult, but every time I get on, the wobbly feeling makes me hop right off. Jasmin: I’ve never been to a frat party. I attended a JC before transferring to a private women’s college. No boys equals no frat parties. Mike: I’ve surely donned some trendy fashions in my day (pegged pants, flat top, MULLET!), but I never thought those wannabe-a-Spaceman sunglasses from Oakley were cool, and I certainly never owned a pair. And to end this festival of soul-bearing, we present this following rant: Brian: I’ve never created a MySpace or Facebook profile -- and never intend to. I've purposely stayed away from MySpace not because it's "addicting" (according to some people), but because I just don't have time -- or the need -- to look at a page that could give one a seizure. (MySpace users are the biggest offenders in this regard.) What makes MySpace intolerable is the plethora of choices one can pick from to create a page. It's like when a 5-year-old wants to cook something for the first time for his or her parents. What does the kid do? They grab every ingredient that looks appealing and dump it all into one bowl, which makes for the most inedible steaming pile of crap one could imagine. That’s what MySpace pages are: "Let's add an obnoxious background, and sprinkle it with some bright fonts which make reading the page impossible! And for good measure, let's add a music video and an audio clip to the mix so that the connection speed is like a 14.4 K modem!" Can you say "Geocities page, circa 1997?" Considering most people on MySpace are teens and have the most time to kill, it's understandable they dominate the population of the site. However, I remember when I was in high school, I kept in touch with my friends the old-fashioned way ... IN PERSON. I guess face-to-face contact can't compete nowadays with a quick message and an amusing photo pasted in a comment field of some random guy getting hit in the nuts, can it? Suggested Sites... Why I Hate Harry Potter - but I guess you'd have had to read it to hate it, wouldn't you? Why Citizen Kane is Overrated - on the other hand, maybe the ill-informed shouldn't watch stuff. Dancing with the Stars - know your enemy in order to avoid it. How to Ride a Bike - it's never too late to learn. Mullet Madness - "business in the front, party in the back"

Directory categories: Harry Potter Books, Piercing, Melanie Griffith, Oprah Winfrey Show, Social Networks

Archived under: 1984, Actors, Biking, Body Art, Books, Children´s Literature, Citizen Kane, College and Universities, Dancing With the Stars, David Lynch, Education, Entertainment, Fan Fiction, Hair, Harry Potter, In Character, Movies, MySpace, Oprah, Reality TV, Social Networking, Yahoo!

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