The Silver Screen Oasis

Sue Sue Applegate wrote:Just heard from Dwayne Epstein that my review of Lee Marvin, Point Blank appears in the latest edition of Noir City!
I am sooooo tickled about this!

Fantastic Sue Sue! ... I want to congratulate you on the humble achievement!

The FNF just posted a two part interview with Robert Dix, the son of The Whistler himself, the unstoppable Richard Dix, an actor I've always found so compelling (even when he went a bit over the top). Robert Dix, an actor himself for thirty years, shares some tender memories of his father that are both touching and funny. His father's career, lasting from the silents to the forties, encompassed much more than his most famous roles as Yancey Cravat in the Academy Award-winning Cimarron, the crazed captain in Val Lewton's Ghost Ship and The Whistler characters. Let's hope that Robert Dix's generosity with his time and comments brings a broader appreciation of the Dix family's contributions to the arts.

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You can see more about our past discussion of The Whistler in several threads here on the SSO, particularly here:
http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/vie ... 95&start=0

Robert Dix has a website dedicated to his career, as well as his father's career at the link below. Mr. Dix's biography, Out of Hollywood (Ernest Publishing, 2009) is available here.:
http://robertwdix.com/Bob-Dix.html

The woman who will always be synonymous with Gun Crazy (1950), Peggy Cummins, gets grilled by the Film Noir Fella Eddie Muller in this month's posting on the FNF channel on youtube. The accomplished English lady talks about Joseph H. Lewis, John Dahl, Dalton Trumbo, improvisation, film immortality, and even Forever Amber.

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Jimmy Lydon, the star of Strange Illusion, Life With Father, numerous Henry Aldrich movies, and who also worked with such directors as John Ford, Victor Fleming and Michael Curtiz was recently the guest of SSO member and the Film Noir Foundation's own, author Alan K. Rode. The pair discuss his noir work along with this individual's remarkable life and career. Here's hoping that an appearance at the TCM Classic Film Festival or Private Screenings are also in Mr. Lydon's future!

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I hope so, he's very a talented person, who managed to bring a lot out of those 'golly gee' roles he got all the time. My sister told me she got to see him speak recently and he was very, very good, actually the highlight of the event she was at.

Michael Lindsay-Hogg is interviewed about his very interesting and talented mother, Geraldine Fitzgerald, her films, and his father, revealed as Orson Welles in his recent memoir, Luck and Circumstance : A Coming of Age in Hollywood, New York, and Points Beyond.

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Stuart Whitman's appearance at a screening of Murder, Inc. (1960) led to his reminiscing a bit about being a contract player at 20th Century Fox, as well as his appearances in Francis of Assisi (see Bad Movies We Love thread too), the little known film The Mark (1961) that earned him an Academy Award nomination...and almost killed his career. Other movies he mentions are The Comancheros, The Longest Day and more. He touches on his memories of Michael Curtiz, John Wayne, Robert Ryan, Robert Mitchum, and his account of Mitchum's terse remark about what he learned at The Betty Ford Clinic is worth a listen:
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You can see more of Whitman's account of his career highs and lows (and non-film noir work) here:

On Seven Men From Now:
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On The Mark:
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On Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines:
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Nancy Olson, star of Sunset Boulevard, Union Station, Big Jim McLain and Battle Cry, among other movies, is interviewed by Alan K. Rode for the Film Noir Foundation. She comes across as a very intelligent lady and a perceptive student of human nature--even if she had to ask her mother who Gloria Swanson was when she was cast in the Wilder classic. Enjoy!

Hey, TCM ought to get this articulate woman to do a Private Screenings and a guest gig at the TCMFF:

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Oh this is super, Moira! I love Nancy Olson, she's an underrated actress who never seemed to be concerned about the superficial Hollywood things. Very likable.

This was one of the best interviews they've ever posted from the FNF. If the insightful comments Ms. Olson had to say about Marilyn Monroe near the end of Part 3 is any indication, her memoirs should be enlightening reading. She's quite an eloquent and down-to-earth lady.

I love your new avatar, Wendy.

Likewise, I'm sure. Are you working on a Lucile Watson article by any chance? I'd love to see one at Skeins.

Thank you so much,Moira,for linking that fabulous interview with Nancy Olson. When an actor can speak so clearly of events 60 years earlier, we are so fortunate.
And doesn't she look great for a lady in her 80s.

Vienna wrote:Thank you so much,Moira,for linking that fabulous interview with Nancy Olson. When an actor can speak so clearly of events 60 years earlier, we are so fortunate.
And doesn't she look great for a lady in her 80s.

She must have a wonderful constitution, since she hardly seems to be much older than 50.

JackFavell wrote:Likewise, I'm sure. Are you working on a Lucile Watson article by any chance? I'd love to see one at Skeins.

I put together a Facebook tribute to Lucile Watson on her birthday, but she has hung onto my consciousness since then, so perhaps I'll try to do something more. Thanks for the encouragement, pal.

thanks for posting the Nancy Olson interview--very interesting and enjoyable!

Sandy K

So glad that you enjoyed the Nancy Olson interview--she was a great guest!

The Film Noir Foundation has posted a three part interview with Susan Andrews the daughter of Dana Andrews discussing her father's work, their family, and specific films, such as The Best Years of Our Lives, Laura, Canyon Passage and more. Alan K. Rode conducted the interview from May of this year. You can really tell that he is deeply moved by the opportunity to talk about the often unsung Andrews.

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