FanFare

[TRAILER] Richard (William Holden) and Ann Thorn (Lee Grant) have taken their 13-year-old nephew, Damien (Jonathan Scott-Taylor), into their Chicago home following the death of Richard's brother seven years earlier. The Thorns love the child, whom they are sending to military school, but not everyone is so sanguine about his presence. Soon after Great Aunt Marion (Sylvia Sidney) expresses concerns about the boy, she dies suddenly and unexpectedly. And she is certainly not the last. [more inside]
posted by DirtyOldTown on Apr 4, 2024 - 4 comments

The classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors. British and American intelligence officers conspire to blow up the structure, but Colonel Nicholson , the commander who supervised the bridge's construction, has acquired a sense of pride in his creation and tries to foil their plans. [more inside]
posted by DirtyOldTown on Aug 7, 2022 - 8 comments

The seminal 1976 film has never been more prescient. When veteran anchorman Howard Beale is forced to retire his 25-year post because of his age, he announces to viewers that he will kill himself during his farewell broadcast. Network executives rethink their decision when his fanatical tirade results in a spike in ratings. Directed by Sidney Lumet.
posted by growabrain on Jun 4, 2019 - 24 comments

When two escaping American World War II prisoners are killed, the German POW camp barracks black marketeer, J.J. Sefton, is suspected of being an informer. [more inside]
posted by MoonOrb on Jun 11, 2016 - 4 comments

An aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the "traditional" American West is disappearing around them. [more inside]
posted by MoonOrb on May 18, 2016 - 1 comment

A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent-film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity. The screenwriter's ambivalence about their relationship and her unwillingness to let go leads to a situation of violence and madness. [more inside]
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome on Aug 18, 2015 - 56 comments

Billy Wilder's penultimate movie, co-written with I.A.L. Diamond: Down-on-his-luck Hollywood producer Barry 'Dutch' Detweiler attempts to lure Fedora, a famous but reclusive film actress out of retirement. [more inside]
posted by Gin and Broadband on Jan 19, 2015 - 2 comments