Stanley Donen 1967-1984 (The Old Man is Still Alive, Part 13) /  by Karina Longworth

Director Stanley Donen behind the camera on location.

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

How does an artist once perceived to be ahead of his time fall behind the times? The choreographer/director of Golden Age classics like Singin’ the Rain and Funny Face left Hollywood for all the 60s and the first half of the 70s, perfecting a certain brand of sophisticated comedy/romance abroad with films like Charade, Bedazzled and Two for the Road. His rough Hollywood re-entry was marked by exercises in nostalgia for eras gone by (Lucky Lady, a movie about Prohibition Era gangsters starring Burt Reynolds and Liza Minnelli; the 1930s spoof Movie Movie) and attempts to give audiences of the 80s what it was assumed they wanted (the sci-fi debacle Saturn 3, the sex comedy Blame it on Rio).

Gene Hackman, Liza Minnelli, and Burt Reynolds in Lucky Lady, 1975, 20th Century Studios

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources:

Dancing on the Ceiling: Stanley Donen and His Movies by Stephen M. Silverman

Audrey Hepburn by Barry Paris

The Richard Burton Diaries by Richard Burton and Chris Williams

Inside Out: A Memoir by Demi Moore

But Enough About Me: A Memoir by Burt Reynolds and Jon Winokur

“Stanley Donen interviewed by Stephen Harvey,” Film Comment Vol. 9 No. 4, July-August 1973

“Graffiti Reads as Big Dollars for Katz Pair,” Variety, August 29, 1973

“Lucky Lady Turning Into Disaster Film,” James Bacon, LA Herald Examiner, June 13, 1975

“On Location in Mexico With Liza and Friends,” Joseph N. Bell, New York Times, June 29, 1975

“‘Lucky Lady’ Filming Just Plain Unlucky,” Mary Murphy, Los Angeles Times, June 29, 1975

“Why Couldn't This ‘Lady’ Have an Unhappy Ending?,” Stephen Farber, New York Times, December 14, 1975

“Lucky Lady Affair, Minus Liza Minelli [sic],” James Bacon, LA Herald Examiner, December 16, 1975

“All’s Not Quiet on the Lucky Lady Front,” Dorothy Manners, LA Herald Examiner, December 26, 1975

“The Final Cut,” TIME, December 29, 1975

 “Kubrick’s Gilded Age,” Pauline Kael, New Yorker, December 29, 1975

“Unlucky with a ‘U’,” Joyce Haber, Los Angeles Times, June 11, 1976

“‘Double Feature’: Revisiting the ‘30s,” Wayne Warga, Los Angeles Times, January 29, 1978

“'The End' is just the beginning” Film Comment, May-June 1978

 “Movie Movie – Why? Why?,” Larry Gelbart, New York Times, November 19, 1978

“Nostalgia Takes a Holiday,” Andrew Sarris, Village Voice, November 27, 1978

“The Current Cinema: Taming the Movies,” Pauline Kael, New Yorker, December 4, 1978

“Hollywood’s Heart of Lightness,” Richard Corliss, New Times, January 18, 1979

“Barry Exits As ‘Saturn’ Director” Variety, February 7, 1979

“Is Fawcett Running Cold?,” Roderick Mann, Los Angeles Times, October 28, 1979

“Saturn 3 Makes its Mach in Space Race” Charles Champlin, Los Angeles Times, February 14, 1980

“Stanley Donen,” John Tibbetts, American Classic Screen, March-April 1984

“He’s the Rain Man,” People, May 18, 1998

Marilyn Beck, “Oscar Winner Confronts ‘A Tough World’,” Marilyn Beck, syndicated column, March 10, 1999

“Jean-Luc Godard 10 best films Cahiers du Cinéma 1956-1966,” jdcopp.blogspot.com, December 28, 2006

“Saturn 3: The 1980s’ Weirdest Sci-Fi Movie,” Ryan Lambie, Den of Geek, February 3, 2016

“Stanley Donen: What Audrey Hepburn Had, You Couldn’t Even Learn It,” Film Talk, October 5, 2016

“Cinema ’67 Revisited: Two for the Road,” Mark Harris, Film Comment, April 26, 2017

“Stanley Donen Made Film Sing But Never Got an Oscar Nomination,” Susan King, Los Angeles Times, Feb. 23, 2019

“Stanley Donen: 1924-2019,” Carrie Rickey, rogerebert.com, February 23, 2019

“Stanley Donen: An Appreciation,” Frederic Raphael, Commentary, April 2019

“Seamless Transitions: Remembering Stanley Donen,” Filmmaker, June 19, 2019

Please note: as an Amazon Associate, Karina earns from qualifying purchases. #ad

Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn in Charade, 1963, Universal Pictures

Music:
The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

Magenta - Coquelicot

Macrame - Waltz and Fury

Vermouth - Lowball

TinyTiny Trio - Laser Focus

Pglet - Still Nite

Migration - Gale

Kajubaa - The KIshner Method

Tres Leches - Orejitas

Capocollo - Capocollo Theme

Blue Nocturnal - Variation Waldheim

Vermouth - Chaunce Libertine

Sketchbook 2 - Thumbscrew

Architect - Palladian

Architect - Crosswire

Architect - Kirkus

Orange Cat - JoDon

Fornax - Lacaille

This episode was written, narrated, edited and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola.

Research, production, and social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Kirk Douglas and Farrah Fawcett in Stanley Donen’s Saturn 3, 1980, ITC Film Distribution

Flashback: The End of Louis B. Mayer /  by Karina Longworth

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Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

This episode was originally released on December 22, 2015. Listen to help prep for the next episode of our new season, The Old Man is Still Alive.

In the 1940s, Louis B. Mayer was the highest paid man in America, one of the first celebrity CEOs and the figurehead of what for most Americans was the most glamorous industry on Earth. In 1951, Mayer was fired from the studio that bore his name. What happened -- to Mayer, and to movies on the whole -- to hasten the end of the golden era of Hollywood?

Special thanks to Craig Mazin, who throughout this series played Louis B. Mayer. Mazin will return in a supporting role as Mayer next season, which begins in late January. Thanks also to all of our special guests this season, including Wil Wheaton, Dana Carvey, Steve Zissis, Kelly Marcel, Adam Goldberg, Rian Johnson and Noah Segan. 

And extra super special thanks to Teddy Blanks, who created our new iTunes logo, and Henry Molofsky, who edited this episode and every episode this season.  

Sources:

Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer by Scott Eyman

Picture by Lillian Ross

The Genius of the System by Thomas Schatz

George Cukor 1960-1981 (The Old Man is Still Alive, Part 12) /  by Karina Longworth

George Cukor in 1973. Photograph by Allan Warren.

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

George Cukor had always experimented within his relatively broad lane, often finding nuanced ways to explore women’s lives, including their sex lives, under the constraints of the Production Code. But after winning the best Director Oscar for Best Picture-winner My Fair Lady in 1964, Cukor’s career slowed down considerably, and as the 60s turned into the 70s and both gender roles and the movies went through massive changes, Cukor was still making the same kinds of things he would have made at the peak of the studio system, regarding which he adopted an extremely defensive stance. Then, suddenly, in 1981, with Rich and Famous, Cukor caught up with the sexual revolution – a decade too late.

Candice Bergen and Jacqueline Bisset in Rich and Famous, 1981, MGM

Please note: as an Amazon Associate, Karina earns from qualifying purchases. #ad

Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, 1964, Warner Bros.

Music:
The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

Nursery - ZigZag Heart

Whale Watcher - Smooth Waters

Bitters - Our Only Lark

Reflections - Frank and Poet

Muffuletta - Net and the Cradle

Nursery - Lick Stick

Vermouth - Chai Belltini

Confectionery - Calisson

Confectionery - Tarte Tatin

Eltham House - Heath

Fornax - Four Cluster

Architect - Kirkus

Magenta - Coquelicot

Oslo - Engine

Migration - Heather

Simple Machines - Krok

Chris Zabriskie - I Need to Start Writing Things Down


This episode was written, narrated, edited and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola.

Research, production, and social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Cukor with Jacqueline Bisset on the set of Rich and Famous, 1981, MGM

Flashback: Marilyn Monroe – The End /  by Karina Longworth

Marilyn Monroe by Bert Stern, 1962

Marilyn Monroe by Bert Stern, 1962

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.and Spotify.

This episode was originally released on March 21, 2017. Listen to help prep for the next episode of our new season, The Old Man is Still Alive.

How did a star whose persona seemed to be all about childlike joy and eternally vibrant sexuality die, single and childless, at the age of 36? In fact, the circumstances of Marilyn Monroe’s death are confusing and disputed. In this episode we will explore the last five years of her life, including the demise of her relationship with Arthur Miller, the troubled making of The Misfits, and Marilyn’s aborted final film, and try to sort out the various facts and conspiracy theories surrounding her death.

Marilyn Monroe in Some Like it Hot, 1959

Marilyn Monroe in Some Like it Hot, 1959

Credits:

This episode was edited by Sam Dingman, and produced by Karina Longworth with the assistance of Lindsey D. Schoenholtz. Special guest appearance by Rian Johnson as John Huston. Our logo was designed by Teddy Blanks.

Henry Hathaway (The Old Man is Still Alive, Part 11) /  by Karina Longworth

Henry Hathaway and cast members on the set of True Grit

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Henry Hathaway started directing in the early 1930s and though he made movies of all genres, he was particularly associated with Westerns. This allowed him to ride out the 1960s making pretty much the same kinds of movies with the same stars (Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum) that he had been working with for decades. But shortly after the massive success of Hathaway’s True Grit in 1969 – for which John Wayne won his only Oscar – the director felt he was being put out to pasture by a changing industry. His last film would be Hangup (also known as Super Dude) a work-for-hire that he claimed he took only as a favor to the producer, and which was dismissed at the time as a sop to the Blaxploitation trend - not least by Hathaway himself.

Henry Hathaway and Dean Martin on the set of The Sons of Katie Elder, 1965, Paramount Pictures

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources:

Henry Hathaway: A Director’s Guild of America Oral History by Rudy Behlmer and Polly Platt

Henry Hathaway: The Lives of a Hollywood Director by Harold N. Pomainville

Cahiers du Cinéma: The 1950s: Neo-Realism, Hollywood, New Wave edited by Jim Hillier

Cahiers du Cinéma: The 1960s (1960-1968): New Wave, New Cinema, Re-evaluating Hollywood edited by Jim Hillier

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs, and Rock n’ Roll Generation Saved Hollywood by Peter Biskind

The Hollywood Professionals by Kingsley Canham

Maggie: A Love Story by John Sanford

Hawks on Hawks by Joseph McBride

“Faberge Tools Up For Sweet Smell of Screen Success,” Thomas Wood, Los Angeles Times, July 9, 1972

“Hathaway, 75, Thinks Young,” Bob Thomas, San Diego Union, April 11, 1973

“‘...I made movies.’ An Interview with Henry Hathaway,” Scott Eyman, Take One, September-October 1974: Vol 5 Iss 1

“The Cinema Scene: Impact of Black Action Films,” Carole Kass, Richmond Times-Dispatch, November 17, 1974

“Elliott Hand-Handling ‘Hang-up’ After WB Sidesteps Brut Film; Gala Preem Launch in Newark” Variety, January 15, 1975

“Super Dude,” Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times, September 5, 1975

“Film Festival pays tribute to famed director Henry Hathaway,” The Orange County Register, October 21, 1984

“Henry Hathaway Dies at 86; Directed More Than 60 Films,” Alvin Krebs, New York Times, February 13, 1985

“Between Worlds,” Michael Atkinson, Film Comment Vol 29, No 4, July-August 1993

“Henry Hathaway: Raw Nerve”, Harry Carey, Jr., Films of the Golden Age, April 29, 2009


Please note: as an Amazon Associate, Karina earns from qualifying purchases. #ad

Still from Hangup (aka Super Dude), 1974, Warner Bros./Dimension Pictures

Music:
The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

Grey River - Holo

Calumet - An Oddly Formal Dance

Kevin MacLeod - Danse Morialta

Kajubaa - The Kishner Method

K2 - One Quiet Conversation

Architect - Order of Entrance

Ray Catcher - Chromium Blush

Flatlands - Talltell

Cloud Harbor - Suzy Textile

Cloud Harbor - SuzyB

Bitters - True Blue Sky

Bitters - Slimheart

Cafe Nostro - Jenner

Migration - Heather

Holyoke - Bus at Dawn

Limoncello - Song at the End of Times


This episode was written, narrated, edited and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola.

Research, production, and social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Henry Hathaway directs Steve McQueen on the set of Nevada Smith, 1966, Paramount Pictures

William Wyler 1965-1971 (The Old Man is Still Alive, Part 10) /  by Karina Longworth

William Wyler and John Ford

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

For over 40 years, William Wyler was one of Hollywood’s most dependable classicists, culminating in 1968 with the ultimate New Hollywood-era throwback to Old Hollywood, Funny Girl. Then, for his final film in 1970, Wyler uncharacteristically directed a searing indictment of contemporary race relations, called The Liberation of LB Jones.

Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl, 1968, Columbia PIctures

On the set of The Liberation of LB Jones, 1970, Columbia Pictures

Music:
The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

Levanger - Lillehammer

Piano Spa - Musique Libre de Droit Club

Vernouillet - The Sweet Hots

Trois Gnossiennes 3 - The Nocturne

True Blue Sky - Bitters

After Work (Piano Elevator Music) - Musique Libre de Droit Club

Lick Stick - Nursery

Li Fonte - Architect

Junca - Orange Cat

Laser Focus - TinyTiny Trio

Maisie Dreamer - Nursery

Trailrunner - Zander

Asian Relax (New Age) - Musique Libre de Droit Club

Thumbscrew - Sketchbook

Trenton Channel - Reflections


This episode was written, narrated, edited and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola.

Research, production, and social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

William Wyler on the lot with Barbra Streisand

Flashback: Bette Davis and the Hollywood Canteen /  by Karina Longworth

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

This episode was originally released on January 6, 2015. Listen to help prep for the next episode of our new season, The Old Man is Still Alive.

This is the story of how Bette Davis evolved from a wannabe starlet who was constantly told she was too ugly for movies, to the most powerful woman in Hollywood, by playing heroines that had never been seen on screen before — to borrow a term from Davis herself, sympathetic “bitches.” After Pearl Harbor, the tenacious Bette became the figurehead of the Hollywood Canteen, a nightclub for servicemen staffed by stars, which was the locus of the industry’s most visible support of the troops on the home front.

The Hollywood Canteen was a catalyst for propaganda in more ways than one, aims Hollywood furthered by telling the story of the Hollywood Canteen in a movie called, um, Hollywood Canteen, starring Davis, John Garfield, Barbara Stanwyck, Peter Lorre and other celebrities as “themselves.” The movie and most press accounts of the Canteen portray it as a miraculous force for good in the world, which it probably was, but that narrative leaves out a lot, including illicit affairs, a murder, and an FBI investigation whose findings would have an impact on the blacklist of the following decade. 

Show Notes

This episode was a hell of a thing to research. BetteDavis published two autobiographies and both are very, very far from being impartial, but I consulted The Lonely Life a bit, as well as the authorized biography The Girl Who Walked Home Alone by Charlotte Chandler. I’d also recommend the Mysteries and Scandals episode on Davis, mostly to marvel at all of the ways in which A.J. Benza manages to call her a bitch without actually using the word “bitch.” Mark Harris’ Five Came Back was useful, particularly in its shading of the relationship between Davis and William Wyler.

More difficult was nailing down the story of the Hollywood Canteen.  Hollywood Canteen: Where the Greatest Generation Danced With the Most Beautiful Girls in The World is as prosaic as its title; at least Hollywood’s propaganda about the Canteen, including the Delmer Daves movie Hollywood Canteen (excerpted in the episode) makes the spin fun. Much, much better is Dance Floor Democracy: The Social Geography of Memory at the Hollywood Canteen. by Sherrie Tucker — a fascinating, beautifully written and researched study of the Canteen which goes into deep consideration of the social/racial/class/political conflicts enmeshed into this supposedly squeaky-clean nightclub which has become an icon of the supposed uncomplicated patriotism of the generation who fought WWII.

Discography:

Dance of the Stargazer performed by the US Army Blues Band

Rite of Passage by Kevin MacLeod

Lonely Town performed by Blossom Dearie

Ghost Dance performed by Kevin MacLeod

Au coin de la rue by Marco Raaphorst

I Knew a Guy by Kevin MacLeod

The Insider Theme by The Insider

5:00 AM by Peter Rudenko

Will be war soon? by Kosta T

Off to Osake by Kevin MacLeod

Balcarabic Chicken by Quantum Jazz

Hi Ho Trailus Bootwhip by Louis Prima and His Orchestra

Divider by Chris Zabriskie

My Country by Tune-Yards

Billy Wilder 1961-1981 (The Old Man is Still Alive, Part 9) /  by Karina Longworth

Billy Wilder directing on the set of Fedora, 1978, United Artists

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Hollywood’s 1960s began with Billy Wilder winning three Oscars for The Apartment. But Wilder’s biggest success would also prove to be his last film to be afforded such respectability, as Wilder largely abandoned the type of material that the Academy embraced, and veered gleefully into disreputability. Of the 9 films Wilder made in the 20 years after The Apartment, in this episode we’ll pay special attention to three that were engaged with the rapidly changing culture – in Hollywood and beyond: One, Two, Three (1961); Avanti (1972); and Fedora (1978).

Still from Avanti!, 1972, United Artists

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources:

Billy Wilder: Dancing on the Edge by Joseph McBride

The American Cinema by Andrew Sarris

Cagney by Cagney: An Autobiography by James Cagney

Wilder Times: The Life of Billy Wilder by Kevin Lally

Nobody’s Perfect: Billy WIlder, A Personal Biography by Charlotte Chandler

Billy Wilder: Interviews edited by Robert Horton

“Wilder’s Work to be Shown at Museum of Modern Art,” New York Times, November 25, 1964

“Billy Wilder: He Directs Directors”, Joyce Haber, Los Angeles Times, January 24, 1972

Wilder in Italy: Order Among the Extroverts”, William Tuohy, Los Angeles Times, April 30, 1972

 “Romeos love the chubby Juliet”, Sunday Mirror, May 14, 1972

“Wilder: Movies Like Roulette,” Bob Thomas, The Day, May 15, 1972

“Avanti!,” Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times, January 1, 1972

“Avanti!,’ Another Billy Wilder Farce Stars Jack Lemmon,” A.H. Weiler, New York Times, December 18, 1972

“Wilder Made This…Sans Usual Wit”, Kathleen Carroll, New York Daily News, December 18, 1972

“Hollywood: Forget the Incense,” TIME, December 28, 1962

“The Greatest Story Ever Told,” Variety, December 31, 1964

“The 10 Worst Movies of 1972,” Vincent Canby, New York Times, January 7, 1973

“Wilder laments change in movie-directing role”, Harry Tessell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May 19, 1977

“Back to Sunset Blvd.”,  Michael Ventura, LA Weekly, April 26, 1979

“How Joan Didion the Writer Became Joan Didion the Legend,” Lili Anolik, Vanity Fair, February 2, 2016


Please note: as an Amazon Associate, Karina earns from qualifying purchases. #ad

Still from One, Two, Three, 1961, United Artists

Music:
The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

"Vik Fence Larda” - The Fence

“Chai Belltini” - Vermouth

“Eggs and Powder” - Muffuletta

“Guild Rat” - El Baul

“Cab Ride” - Pacha Faro

“Coquelicot” - Magenta

“Hardtop Rocks” - Vermouth

“Rasteplass” - Oslo

“Flashing Runner” - Resolute

“Levanger” - Lillehammer

“Cobalt Blue” - Marble Run

“I Need to Start Writing Things Down” - Chris Zabriskie


This episode was written, narrated, edited and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola.

Research, production, and social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Billy Wilder

Flashback: Sammy and Dino — Generation Gap /  by Karina Longworth

Sammy Davis Jr. by Phillipe Halsman

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

This episode was originally released on December 14, 2021. Listen to help prep for the next episode of our new season, The Old Man is Still Alive.

In the mid-1960s, 47 year-old Dean Martin proves he's still got it by knocking the Beatles off the top of the pop charts, and by launching his long-running TV show, which brought a version of his nightclub act into America’s living rooms every week.  But his middle-aged drunk schtick sours as the decade of hippies and Vietnam wears on. Sammy Davis Jr has his own challenges, living up to the expectations of a new generation of activists--and he only makes matters worse by embracing Richard Nixon. After disastrously dabbling with Motown, Sammy records “The Candy Man” -- a silly novelty single that he hated, but which ended up saving his career.

Dean Martin and the Golddiggers on the Dean Martin Show, c. 1972

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

Calgary Sweeps - Vermouth

Chai Belltini - Vermouth

Gin Boheme - Vermouth

Gagool - Kevin MacLeod

Two Dollar Token - Warmbody

Glass Stopper - Vermouth

Thumbscrew - Sketchbook 2

Gaddy - Little Rock

Easy Listening in Jazz - Musique Libre de Droit Club

Lovers Hollow - Bitters

Chicken Steak - Truck Stop

Entrance Shaft 11 - The Depot

Latecomer (Bass Face) - Cafe Nostro

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Sammy Davis Jr. and Richard Nixon, 1972

George Stevens 1958-1970 (The Old Man is Still Alive, Part 8) /  by Karina Longworth

Warren Beatty and George Stevens on the set of The Only Game In Town, 1970, 20th Century Studios

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

As a cameraman during World War II, George Stevens shot footage of the liberation of Dachau that showed the world the horrors of the Holocaust – and scarred Stevens himself for life. Pre-war, he had been a director of frothy comedies; post-war, he committed himself to making epic films about “moral disasters.” This yielded a number of masterpieces – A Place in the Sun, Giant, Shane – but by the mid-60s, though more in demand than ever as a director, Stevens felt he lost touch with the audience. He only released one film in the 1960s, The Greatest Story Ever Told – an epic about Jesus, and an epic flop – and then, in an attempt to come full circle to his comedy roots, concluded his career with The Only Game in Town (1970), an awkward mashup of old and new featuring the two biggest transitional stars of the day, Warren Beatty and Elizabeth Taylor.

Still from The Greatest Story Ever Told, 1965, United Artists

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources:

George Stevens: Interviews Edited by Paul Cronin

The American Cinema by Andrew Sarris

My Place in the Sun: Life in the Golden Age of Hollywood and Washington by George Stevens, Jr

Giant: George Stevens, A Life on Film by Marilyn Ann Moss

Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War by Mark Harris

Star: The Life and Wild Times of Warren Beatty by Peter Biskind

Giant Love: Edna Ferber, Her Best-Selling Novel of Texas, and the Making of a Classic American Film by Julie Gilbert

Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and the Marriage of the Century by Sam Kashner and Mary Schoenberger

Sinatra: The Chairman by James Kaplan

“Movies Aren’t Movies Anymore: The Art of the Gimp Takes Over,” Manny Farber, Commentary, June 1952

“Compassion Ideal to Guide Stevens”, Philip K. ScheuerLos Angeles Times, April 22, 1960

 “Stars Clamor for Roles in Film of Christ”, Shreveport Times, January 1, 1961

“‘Greatest Story’ Cancelled by 20th”, Hedda Hopper, Los Angeles Times, September 5, 1961

“Biggest Hollywood Film Since 1945 Announced”, Los Angeles Times, May 16, 1962

“Hollywood: Forget the Incense,” TIME, December 28, 1962

“The Greatest Story Ever Told,” Variety, December 31, 1964

“$20 Million Film Gamble”, Jack Hirschberg, Los Angeles Times, January 10, 1965

“‘Greatest Story’ Exalted Spectacle”, Hedda Hopper, Los Angeles Times, February 12, 1965

“Stevens Skill Seen in ‘Greatest Story’”, Philip K. Scheuer, Los Angeles Times, February 17, 1965

“‘The Greatest Story in One Man’s View,” Joanne Stang, New York Times, February 14, 1965

“Cinema: Calendar Christ”, Time, February 26, 1965

Is God Dead? TIME Magazine Cover, April 8, 1966

Photo: “Elizabeth Taylor Leaves Hospital,” Keystone Pictures USA/ZUMAPRESS, August 8, 1968

“The Only Game: Major Stars Converge on a Minor Script”, VIncent Canby, New York Times, March 5, 1970

“Festival Heads Offer to Quit Over Film Furore”, Los Angeles Times, July 5, 1970

“Oscar-Winning Director George Stevens, 70, Dies”, Los Angeles Times, March 10, 1975

“A Place in the Sun,” Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader, October 26, 1985

“Selling Religion: How to market a biblical epic”, Sheldon Hall, Film History Vol 14, No 2, Film and Religion, 2002

“George Stevens: A Filmmaker’s Journey,” PBS American Masters, July 13, 2005

“‘O.K.’: The Scandal That Almost Ended the Berlin Film Festival”, Tom Leatham, Far Out, February 13, 2024

“On the Death of Filmmaker Michael Verhoeven,” Observational, April 27, 2024


Please note: as an Amazon Associate, Karina earns from qualifying purchases. #ad

Elizabeth Taylor and Warren Beatty in The Only Game in Town, 1970, 20th Century Studios

Music:
The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

"Periodicals” - Albany, NY

"Song at the End of Time” - Limoncello

“Four Cluster” - Fornax

"On the Passing of Time” - Kevin MacLeod

“Krok” - Simple Machines

“Coquelicot” - Magenta

“Vik Fence Haflak” - The Fence

“Messy Inkwell” - Architect

“County Courtship” - Illinois and Maco

“Tranquility” - Kevin MacLeod

“Danse Morialta” - Kevin MacLeod

“Melody of the Thrush” - Seven Rivers

“Order of Entrance” - Architect

“Caverna” - High Horse

“Kirkus” - Architect

“Peaceful Piano” - Musique Libre de Droit Club


This episode was written, narrated, edited and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola.

Research, production, and social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

1972 Director’s Group party for Luis Buñel

Top row (L to R): Robert Mulligan, William Wyler, George Cukor, Robert Wise, Jean-Claude Carriere, and Serge Silverman. Bottom row (L to R): Billy Wilder, George Stevens, Luis Bunuel, Alfred Hitchcock, and Rouben Mamoulin.

Flashback: LIZ <3 MONTY /  by Karina Longworth

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.and Spotify

This episode was originally released on October 28, 2014. Listen to help prep for the next episode of our new season, The Old Man is Still Alive.

Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift were best friends and co-stars in three films. The first, A Place in the Sun, is an undisputed classic which captures both stars at the peak of their talents and physical beauty. The shoot of the second, Raintree County, was interrupted by a horrible car accident in which Clift’s face was disfigured. This episode tracks Taylor’s relationship with the troubled Clift, from their first, studio-setup date through his untimely death — the result of what some have called “Hollywood’s slowest suicide.”

Show Notes!

Almost all biographical writing on Montgomery Clift seems to be indebted to Patricia Bosworth’s 1978 doorstop Montgomery Clift, which is the source of most of the quotes in this episode. Unfortunately, the countless Elizabeth Taylor biographies are mostly redundant, and the more recent they are, the more they seem to recycle old stories without new information or insight. My current favorite book about Taylor is Furious Love, by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger, which tracks her relationship with Richard Burton, and thus was only useful for a small portion of this podcast. In researching this episode I consulted How to Be a Movie Star by William J. Mann, Who’s Afraid of Elizabeth Taylor by Brenda Maddox, and Elizabeth Taylor: An Informal Memoir by Elizabeth Taylor, Bring in the Peacocks, or Memoirs of a Hollywood Producer by Hank Moonjean, and Who the Hell’s In It by Peter Bogdanovich.

There are pictures of Clift and Taylor on the sets of both A Place in the Sun (including the contact sheet featuring the photo at the top of this post) and Raintree County in my book, Hollywood Frame by Frame. 

Special thanks to Kent Kincannon, who played Montgomery Clift. 

At the end of this episode, there’s an excerpt from the Clash song “The Right Profile.” I don’t know much about the writing of the song, although I’ve read it was inspired by Bosworth’s biography, and the song essentially summarizes the book. For awhile, Julie Delpy was planning to direct a biopic about Strummer named after the song, although that looks like it has fallen apart. I’ve thought about doing an episode about Joe Strummer and/in Hollywood at some point in the future, but my sense from doing a small amount of research is that it might be a difficult subject, and that I would need to find an expert to help. Anyone know anyone?

Please note: as an Amazon Associate, Karina earns from qualifying purchases. #ad

Discography:

“American” by Lana Del Rey

“Burning Desire” by Lana Del Rey

“Au coin de la rue” by Marco Raaphorst

“I Only Have Eyes For You” performed by The Flamingos

“I Am A Man Who Will Fight For Your Honor” by Chris Zabriskie

“Dances and Dames” by Kevin MacLeod

“Out of the Skies, Under the Earth” by Chris Zabriskie

“Wonder Cycle” by Chris Zabriskie

“Off to Osaka” by Kevin MacLeod

“Dance of the Stargazer” performed by U.S. Army Blues

“Prelude No. 21” by Chris Zabriskie

“I Trust a Littler of Kittens Still Keeps The Colloseum” by Joan of Arc

“For Better or Worse” by Kai Engel

“Exlibris” by Kosta T

“Melancholy Aftersounds” by Kai Engel

“The Wrong Way” by Jahzzar

“Gymnopedie No. 2” by Eric Satie, performed by Kevin MacLeod

“The Right Profile” by The Clash

Otto Preminger 1960-1979 (The Old Man is Still Alive, Part 7) /  by Karina Longworth

Otto Preminger, Liza Minnelli, and Ken Howard on the set of Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Long an antagonist to Hollywood’s norms (not to mention its actresses), Preminger began the 1960s by directing a massive blockbuster (Exodus) and earning his second Oscar nomination (for directing The Cardinal). But towards the end of the decade, with 1967’s Hurry, Sundown, he began a run of six films which attempted to respond to changing times, all of which flopped. We’ll focus primarily on two of these: the much-maligned Skidoo, an indictment of both hippies and the true American establishment which Preminger prepared for by dropping acid with Timothy Leary; and the unfairly forgotten Such Good Friends, the rare sex comedy of the era to understand the extent to which the sexual revolution did little to liberate women from the expectations of men.

Groucho Marx and Donyale Luna in a scene from Skidoo, Paramount Pictures, 1968

Michael Caine and Jane Fonda in Hurry Sundown, 1967, Paramount Pictures

Music:
The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

"Circle Desserat” - Circle Kadde

"Bellow’s Hull” - Reflections

“Eggs and Powder” - Muffuletta

"Slimheart” - Bitters

“Lobo Lobo” - El Baul

“ZigZag Heart” - Nursery

“Trenton Channel” - Reflections

“Inside the Paper Crane” - Origami

“Benbient” - Canton Becker

This episode was written, narrated, edited and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola.

Research, production, and social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Otto Preminger and Dyan Cannon on the set of Such Good Friends, 1971, Paramount Pictures

Flashback: Jean Seberg and Otto Preminger /  by Karina Longworth

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Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

This episode was originally released on July 4, 2017. Listen to help prep for the next episode of our new season, The Old Man is Still Alive.

Jean Seberg made her first two films, Saint Joan and Bonjour Tristesse, for director Otto Preminger, a tyrannical svengali character whose methods would traumatize Jean for the rest of her life and career. No wonder she rebelled against this bad dad figure by marrying a handsome French opportunist. Meanwhile, Jane Fonda moves to New York, joins the Actors Studio, takes up with her own hyper-controlling male partner, and tries to define herself as something other than Henry Fonda’s daughter.

Jean Seberg and Otto Preminger, c. late 1950's

Jean Seberg and Otto Preminger, c. late 1950's

Jean Seberg in Bonjour Tristesse, 1958

Jean Seberg in Bonjour Tristesse, 1958

Jane Fonda in a stage production of There Was A Little Girl, 1960

Jane Fonda in a stage production of There Was A Little Girl, 1960

Jane Fonda and Rod Taylor in Sunday in New York, 1963

Jane Fonda and Rod Taylor in Sunday in New York, 1963

Please note: as an Amazon Associate Karina earns from qualifying purchases. #ad

Music:

All of the music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, is from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. Outro song: “Since U Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson. Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: “Meet Me In Queens 1, 2 and 3” by Örjan Karlsson, “By the Lake in the Evening” by Franz Gordon, “Be Still” by Johannes Bornlöf, “Widows Dance” by Håkan Eriksson, “Musique A La Carte 01” by John Åhlin, “Weekly” by Martin Gauffin, “Swing Manouche 05” by John Åhlin, “Old Time Action 2” by Gunnar Johnsén, “Cadillac Quiff Boys 1” by Victor Olsson, “Hot Rod Rebels 5” by Victor Olsson, “Hippies On A Bus 1” by Martin Landh, “It Takes Four” by Niklas Ahlstrom, “Readers Do You Read” by Chris Zabriskie.

Sponsors:

This episode is sponsored by Blue Apron, Naturebox and Squarespace.

Credits:

This episode was edited by Sam Dingman, and produced by Karina Longworth with the assistance of Lindsey D. Schoenholtz. Our logo was designed by Teddy Blanks.

Alfred Hitchcock 1966-1980 (The Old Man is Still Alive, Part 6) /  by Karina Longworth

Alfred Hitchcock in a publicity photo for Family Plot, 1976, Universal Pictures

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Hitch’s most iconic decade – a decade of Technicolor grandeur and peril inflicted on famous blondes – came to an end in 1964 with Marnie, a critical and box office flop which wounded Hitchcock’s ego and left him unsure how to move forward in a changing world. His subsequent four final films – Torn Curtain, Topaz, Frenzy, Family Plot – are the result of his efforts to mix up his formula for an era in which he felt ripped off by James Bond and mourned the decline of the Golden Age stars.

Hitchcock and Paul Newman on the set of Torn Curtain, 1966, Universal Pictures


Please note: as an Amazon Associate, Karina earns from qualifying purchases. #ad

Still from Frenzy, 1972, Universal Pictures

Music:
The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

"I Knew a Guy” - Kevin MacLeod

"An Unknown Visitor” - Cold Case

"Pacing” - TinyTiny Trio

"Single Still - Vermouth

“Tarte Tatin” - Confectionery

“Kalsted” - Lillehammer

“Cobalt Blue” - Marble Run

“Chai Belltini” - Vermouth

“Dowdy” - Muffuletta

“Pips and Boil” - Confectionery

“Tessalit” - Azalai

“Labyrinth” - Sergey Cheremisinov

This episode was written, narrated, edited and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola.

Research, production, and social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Alfred Hitchcock prepares a meal.

Flashback: Grace Kelly /  by Karina Longworth

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.and Spotify

This episode was originally released on April 11, 2017. Listen to help prep for the next episode of our new season, The Old Man is Still Alive.

The quintessential “Hitchcock blonde,” Grace Kelly had an apparently charmed life. Her movies were mostly hits, her performances were largely well-reviewed, and she won an Oscar against stiff competition. Then she literally married a prince. Was it all as perfect as it seemed? Today we’ll explore Kelly’s public and private life (and the rumors that the two things were very different), her working relationship with Hitchcock, her Oscar-winning performance in The Country Girl, the royal marriage that took her away from Hollywood and Kelly’s very specific spin on blonde sexuality.

Show notes:

Sources:

High Society: The Life of Grace Kelly by Donald Spoto

Spellbound by Beauty: Alfred Hitchcock and His Leading Ladies by Donald Spoto

Grace Kelly: The Secret Life of a Princess by James Spada

Please note: as an Amazon Associate, Karina earns from qualifying purchases. #ad

Credits:

This episode was edited by Sam Dingman, and produced by Karina Longworth with the assistance of Lindsey D. Schoenholtz. Our logo was designed by Teddy Blanks.

Vincente Minnelli 1962-1976 (The Old Man is Still Alive, Part 5) /  by Karina Longworth

Liza Minnelli with her father, Vincente, on the set of A Matter of Time, 1976, American International Pictures

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Vincente Minnelli was the ultimate creature of the studio system, spending twenty years working for MGM and perfecting a distinct brand of big-budget, beautifully designed, often musical entertainment, from Meet Me in St. Louis to An American in Paris, The Bad and the Beautiful to Gigi. Minnelli’s late period begins with two films he made toward the end of his run at MGM, his proto-psychedelic remake of Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1962) and Two Weeks in Another Town, which painted such a caustic picture of moviemaking decadence that MGM forcibly recut it. Knocked off his game, with both his faculties and his power waning, Minnelli made a trilogy of films about reincarnation and rebirth, one of which starred his famous daughter, Liza.

Still from Two Weeks in Another Town, 1962, MGM

Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland by Gerald Clarke

Cahiers du Cinema: The 1960s (1960-1968) New Wave, New Cinema, Reevaluating Hollywood by Jim Hiller

“Screen: ‘4 Horsemen of Apocalypse’: New Version of Work by Blasco Ibanez Remake of 1921 Film at the Loew’s State,” Bosley Crowther, New York Times, March 10, 1962

“New 4 Horsemen’ Appeal Geared to Different Level,” James Powers, The Hollywood Reporter, February 8, 1962

“Actors Re-create Royal Past with a Sumptuous Repast, Sally K. Brass, Los Angeles Times, May 29, 1969

“The Streisand Show,” Tom Milne, The Observer Review, August 1 1971

“A Matter of Time,” Pauline Kael, New Yorker, Nov 1, 1976

“The Nostalgia Express: Gideon Bachmann interviews 2 Minnellis and a Bergman”, Gideon Bachmann, Film Comment Vol 12 No 6, Nov/Dec 1976

“One Kind of Dream”, George Morris, Film Comment Vol 12 No 6, Nov/Dec 1976

“Movie of the Week: ‘A Matter of TIme’”, Richard Brody The New Yorker, August 27, 2015

Vincente Minnelli papers collection, Margaret Herrick Library


Please note: as an Amazon Associate, Karina earns from qualifying purchases. #ad

Director Vincente Minnelli surrounded by posters for his films

Music:
The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

"ZigZag Heart” - Nursery

"Kalsted” - Lillehammer

"Chai Belltini” - Vermouth

"Bellow’s Hull” - Reflections

“Hardtop Rocks” - Vermouth

“Single Still” - Vermouth

“Jumbel” - Muffuletta

“Tarte Tatin” - Confectionery

“Heath” - Moon Juice

“Coquelicot” - Magenta

“Apple Spice” - Sunflower

“The Maison” - Desjardins

“Out of the Skies, Under the Earth” - Chris Zabriskie

“Four Count” - Reflections

“Song at the End of Times” - Lemoncello

This episode was written, narrated, edited and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola.

Research, production, and social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Still from On A Clear Day You Can See Forever, 1970, Paramount Pictures

Flashback: Lana Turner /  by Karina Longworth

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Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

This episode was originally released on December 1, 2015. Listen to help prep for the next episode of our new season, The Old Man is Still Alive.

Lana Turner, the legendary "Sweater Girl" was one of MGM’s prized contract players, the epitome of the mid-century sex goddess on-screen and an unlucky-in-love single mom off-screen who would burn through seven husbands and countless affairs. After nearly twenty years as a star not known for her acting prowess, Turner's career suddenly got interesting in the late 1950s, when the hits The Bad and the Beautiful, Peyton Place and Imitation of Life sparked a reappraisal of her talents. In the middle of this renaissance, Turner became embroiled in one of Hollywood history’s most shocking scandals: the murder of Turner’s boyfriend Johnny Stompanato at the hand of her 14 year-old daughter, Cheryl Crane.

Sources: 

The Star Machine by Jeanine Basinger

Lana: The Lady, The Legend, The Truth by Lana Turner

Detour: A Hollywood Story by Cheryl Crane with Cliff Jahr

Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer by Scott Eyman

The Bad and the Beautiful: Hollywood in the Fifties by Sam Kashner and Jennifer Macnair

Please note: as an Amazon Associate, Karina earns from qualifying purchases. #ad

Howard Hawks 1955-1977 (The Old Man is Still Alive, Part 4) /  by Karina Longworth

Howard Hawks in a still from a 1977 interview near the director’s home in Palm Springs

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

In the 1960s, many American directors saw their fortunes turn after they notched massive hits. In the case of Howard Hawks – a director who had thrived in virtually every Hollywood genre since the late silent era– the undisputed masterpiece of Rio Bravo gave way to four poorly-received efforts, each of which bared the marks of a dying studio system, if they weren’t compromised by the literal dying off of the previous generation of stars. In the middle of this run, Hawks made Red Line 7000, a car racing drama which was at once familiar and personal to Hawks, and also totally foreign in that it was a movie set in the 1960s, infused with ‘60s sexual politics, and built around future New Hollywood star James Caan. 

Still from Red Line 7000, 1965, Paramount Pictures.

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources:

Who the Devil Made It? by Peter Bogdanovich

The American Cinema: directors and directions 1929-1968 by Andrew Sarris

Hawks on Hawks by Joseph McBride

Focus on Howard Hawks by Joseph McBride

Howard Hawks: New Perspectives by Ian Brookes

Howard Hawks: The Grey Fox of Hollywood by Todd McCarthy

Leading Lady: Sherry Lansing and the Making of a Hollywood Groundbreaker by Stephen Galloway

“‘Red Line 7000’ Arrives; Film on Racing is at Neighborhood Houses Script by George Kirgo Directed by Hawks,” Bosley Crowther, New York Times, December 9, 1965

“The Ultimate Caan Game,” Stephen Rebello, Movieline, October 1993

“Sponsor Without Pause,” Newsweek, December 27, 1965

“Red Line 7000 Tieups with 10 Big Companies,” Hollywood Reporter

“Red Line a winner,” Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times, November 26, 1965

“HAWKS,” Joseph McBride, Film Comment, March-April 1978

“Latest from Howard Hawks: Hatari,” Andrew Sarris, Films and Filming, 1962

Hawks on Hawks (1977)

Plimpton! Shootout at Rio Lobo (1970)

Rare 7-minute interview with Legendary director Howard Hawks


Please note: as an Amazon Associate, Karina earns from qualifying purchases. #ad

Howard Hawks and John Wayne on the set of El Dorado, 1966, Paramount Pictures

Music:
The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

"Jat Poure” - The Sweet Hots

"Holo” - Grey River

"Slimheart” - Bitters

"The Face of the Thrush” - Migration

“Dakota” - Unheard Music Concepts

“Railroad’s Whiskey Co” - Jabzzar

“Engine” - Oslo

“Borough” - Molerider

“Gaddy” - Little Rock

“Laser Focus” - TinyTiny Trio

“Magenta” - Coquelicot

“Our Only Lark” - Bitters

“Lick Stick” - Nursery

“Ranch Hand” - Truck Stop

“Au Coin de la Rue” - Marco Raaphorst

“One Quiet Conversation” - K2

This episode was written, narrated, edited and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola.

Research, production, and social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Still from a 1977 interview with Howard Hawks at the director’s home in Palm Springs

Flashback: Bogey, Before Bacall /  by Karina Longworth

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

This episode was originally released on September 9, 2014. Listen to help prep for the next episode of our new season, The Old Man is Still Alive.

Humphrey Bogart is perhaps the most enduring icon of grown-up masculine cool to come out of Hollywood’s first century. But much of what we think of when we think of Bogart — the persona of the tough guy with the secret soft heart, his pairing on-screen and off with Lauren Bacall — coalesced late in Bogart’s life. Today we take a look at how Humphrey Bogart became Bogey, tracing his journey from blue blood beginnings through years of undistinguished work and outright failure (both in the movies and in love), to his emergence in the early 1940s as a symbol of wartime perseverance who could make sacrifice seem sexy. Finally, we’ll look at what it took to get him to take the leap into a fourth marriage that seemed to saved his life … until the world’s most glamorous stoic was faced with cancer.

Show Notes!

This episode was researched in part at the Warner Brothers Archives at USC. Thanks to Brett Service for inviting me to make use of the Archives and for helping me find what I needed. 

As I noted last week, each episode in this season has some connection to Hollywood Frame by Frame, the book I worked on which compiles previously unseen contact sheets of Hollywood still photographers. The admittedly rather flimsy connection to this week and next week’s episodes is that there are images in the book of Bogart and Bacall on the set of The African Queen. Pre-order the book now! </blatant plug>

There are a lot of biographies of Humphrey Bogart. I’ve flipped through many of them over the years, and I’m not sure there’s a single definitive or really great one. But, the most recent, Stefan Kanfer’s Tough Without a Gun, at least does the work of sorting through most of the previously published sources and comparing versions of the truth. Bogey by Clifford McCarty was one of the few film books my parents had around when I was a kid, and it was disappointing to open it during research for this episode and find that it had more pictures than text, although that also makes it pretty emblematic of the wave of Bogey image worship that sprung up in the late-60s and 1970s, which we’ll talk about in next week’s episode.

I became interested in the idea of exploring Bogey’s life before Bacall through City of Nets, Otto Friedrich’s beautifully written book on Hollywood in the 1940s. which dramatizes Bogart’s relationship with his third wife, Mayo Methot. Other sources relevant to this episode include By Myself by Lauren Bacall, Who the Hell’s In It and Who the Devil Made It by Peter Bogdanovich, Humphrey Bogart by Nathaniel Benchley, Bogart and Bacall by Joe Hyams, Slim: Memories of a Rich and Imperfect Life by Slim Keith with Annette Tapert. and finally, the chapter on Bogart in Louise Brooks’ Lulu in Hollywood. After his death, more than one Bogart biographer disputed Brooks’ impressions/interpretations of her old friend Humphrey Bogart, who she insisted was not the same man as the Bogey the world thought they knew. Of course, Brooks’ recollections are self-serving, but I always think first-hand accounts are interesting, especially when they challenge or add shading to a legend. And that’s the thing about Bogartography: for all that’s been written about the man, his life and his work, there still seems to be so little that we actually know. 

Please note: as an Amazon Associate, Karina earns from qualifying purchases. #ad

Discography

"Intro" by The Big Sleep

"Fourty Four" by The Kills

"Dances and Dames" by Kevin MacLeod

"Out of the Skies, Under the Earth" by Chris Zabriskie

"Divider" by Chris Zabriskie

"Melody" by Serge Gainsbourg

"Love Like a Sunset" by Phoenix

"roughcut" by Tripwire

"Life Round Here" by James Blake

"Your Impersonation This Morning of Me Last Night" by Joan of Arc

"Rite of Passage" by Kevin MacLeod

"For Better or Worse"Chris Zabriskie

"Intelligent Galaxy" by The Insider

"Looped" by Jahzzar

"Shadow of a Doubt" by Sonic Youth

"Cyllinder One" by Chris Zabriskie

"Theresa’s Sound World" by Sonic Youth

"Will Be War Soon?" by Kosta T

"Prelude No. 21" by Chris Zabriskie

"Tikopia" by Kevin MacLeod

"Benbient" by canton

”Don’t Fence Me In,” by Cole Porter, performed by Frank Sinatra

John Ford 1962-1972 (The Old Man is Still Alive, Part 3) /  by Karina Longworth

John Ford in a still from Directed by John Ford, directed by Peter Bogdanovich

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Born in the 19th century, his career forged in the silent era, John Ford helped to invent the genre of the Western and still holds the record for the most Best Director Oscar wins of all time. Though he made films in all genres, and sometimes even tackled the same historical territory from different angles in different films, Ford had by the 1960s become synonymous with depictions of American history that honored maverick white men, while often villainizing, distorting or erasing Native Americans. In this episode, we will talk about the influence of Ford’s last masterpiece, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and will look at Ford’s last two films, which to some extent feel like “mea culpas” for the offenses of his earlier career: the revisionist Western Cheyenne Autumn, and the female-centric adventure film 7 Women.

Still from Cheyenne Autumn, 1964, Warner Bros.

“Sidekicks and Savages,” nativeamericanroots.net, June 21, 2008

“John Ford’s Mythic West,” Victor A. Walsh, American History, February 2016

“When the Navajos Fooled John Ford,” Guillermo Altares, El Pais, February 20, 2024

“Screen: John Ford Mounts Huge Frontier Western,” Bosley Crowther, New York Times, December 24, 1964

“‘The Doddering Relics of a Lost Cause’ John Ford’s The Sun Shines Bright,” Jonathan Rosenbaum, Rouge, 2004

“Looking at Jane Fonda’s Decades of Activism and Protest,” Hannah Militano, L’Officiel, December 21, 2022

“Cheyenne Autumn,” Mark Ayala, New Beverly program notes, May 14, 2017

“John Ford Rides Again,” A.H. Weiler, New York Times, April 23, 1972

“John Ford 1895-1973,” Roger Greenspun, New York Times, September 9, 1973

“Wild Eastern,” TIME, May 13, 1966

“Facts About Ford,” Jenn Thornton, JohnWayne.com

“John Ford: The Last Frontiersman,” Ron Chernow, Ramparts, April 1974

“John Ford’s Trojan Horse-Opry,” Richard Oulahan, Life, November 27, 1964

“The Old Wrangler Rides Again,” Bill Libby, Cosmopolitan, March 1964

“John Ford: Hollywood’s Living Legend,” Dan Scannell, Westward, August-September 1961

“Greatest Films of All Time,” Sight & Sound Magazine, 2022

“John Ford in Monument Valley,” Todd McCarthy, American Film, May 1978

“The Current Cinema: John Ford,” Penelope Gilliatt, New Yorker, September 8, 1975

“Joan Didion: Staking Out California,” Michiko Kakutani, New York Times, June 10, 1979

“John Wayne: A Love Song,” Joan Didion, Slouching Towards Bethlehem

“John Wayne and the Six Security Men,” Farran Smith Nehme, Self-Styled Siren, August 19, 2022

“John Wayne: Playboy Interview,” Playboy, May 1971

“Films,” Andrew Sarris, Village Voice, May 26, 1966

“The Case of John Ford Advances at MOMA,” Andrew Sarris, Village Voice, September 15, 1975


Please note: as an Amazon Associate, Karina earns from qualifying purchases. #ad

Still from 7 Women, 1965, MGM

Music:
The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

"Base Camp” - K2

"Calisson” - Confectionery

"Respite” - Desert Kalimba

"Two Dollar Token” - Warmbody

“Coquelicot” - Magenta

“Slimheart” - Bitters

“Stretch of Lonely” - Truckstop

“Four Count” - Reflections

“Cinema Pathetic” - Banana Cream

“Ewa Valley” - Cloud Harbor

“Suzy Textile” - Cloud Harbor

“Asian Relax (New Age)” - Musique Libre de Droit Club

“Pukae” - Cloud Harbor

This episode was written, narrated, edited and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola.

Research, production, and social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Right to left: Dennis Hopper, John Ford, and John Huston in 1971. Photo by Victor Strebneski