Film mocks Hollywood racial profiling Aug 14, 2008
Dragon Seed (1944): Katharine Hepburn and Walter Huston. As Chinese villagers. (MSNBC -- News)
Critics' Picks Aug 2, 2008
In this superb, bracingly bitter 1950 Anthony Mann western, Barbara Stanwyck plays Vance Jeffords, the daughter of a rich rancher (Walter Huston, in his last movie) who assumes she'll inherit her father's land upon his death. When she learns there may be competition, watch out: Stanwyck, one of the great actresses of any era, gives a performance that brings some mighty unflattering human traits (ruthlessness, greed) into the light so we can get a closer look at them -- then she dares us to pass... (Salon)
Fourth of July Calendar Jul 3, 2008
Yankee Doodle Dandy, 2 p.m., The Florida Theatre, 128 East Forsyth St. The 1942 film stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie and Walter Huston. Summer Movie Classics series continues Sundays through Aug. 31. (Florida Times-Union)
New on DVD: 'Persepolis,' 'The Furies,' 'In Bruges' Jun 27, 2008
Stanwyck and her rancher father (Walter Huston) have a relationship that would raise an eyebrow if not one obvious enough to actually make you say, "naughty, naughty." It's a super swan-song role for Huston, who died four months before the movie's release. Extras, extras: Busch's 1948 novel in full; commentary by historian Jim Kitses; TV interview with Mann from 1967 (the year he died); a funny 1931 short with Huston; more. (USA Today -- Life)
Rip-roarin Wanted is a Cant Miss Jun 23, 2008
One of the more underrated and forgotten pictures is The Furies, a 1950 melodrama that stars Walter Huston as a controlling patriarch ruling in 1870s New Mexico territory, and Barbara Stanwyck as his highly independent daughter. The Furies is out on DVD this week in a smart package that includes extras such as an interview from 1931 with Huston and a 1967 TV interview with Mann. (MSNBC -- News)
Gold mine for opera fans in Colorado Rockies Jun 14, 2008
Actors and actresses who appeared at Central City include Walter Huston, Ruth Gordon, Sam Jaffe, Mae West, Helen Hayes, Myrna Loy and Michael Redgrave. In 1932, Lillian Gish starred in "Camille," which was broadcast nationwide on NBC. A guard carrying two pistols sat in the front row because Gish wore a borrowed necklace worth $100,000. (CNN -- Travel)
Pick the best sports movies ever Mar 28, 2008
In a lark, MGM cast Baer, the then-heavyweight champ, in a boxing-themed romantic comedy with Myrna Loy, Walter Huston and several other big-name fighters, Jack Dempsey included. Baer had genuine comedy gifts and eventually appeared in about 20 movies. (USA Today)
A star's death can be a boost or a hurdle for a film Feb 8, 2008
Walter Huston, 65, died in 1950 of an aneurysm after completing a robust and not-yet-released role as Barbara Stanwyck's father in the admired psychological Western The Furies. Bela Lugosi died of a heart attack in 1956 at 73 after having shot one scene that was later shoehorned into Ed Wood's Plan 9 From Outer Space (multiple distributors, $10 range). (USA Today -- Life)
Harvard Film Archive explores pre-Code films Jan 13, 2008
Even MGM, the Tiffany studio with high-hat pretensions, bankrolled "Kongo" (1932), a surreal run through the jungle featuring Walter Huston as a demented ivory trader trafficking in voodoo, vengeance, drugs, and prostitution. Over at the Paramount lot, the European flair that was the house style found plenty of room for risqu moves in "Girl Without a Room" (1933), a painterly tale of Impressionistic artist and realistic models set in Paris, and "Search for Beauty" (1934), an equally artful... (Boston Globe)
Conquering the West, and getting his hands dirty in the process Jan 5, 2008
Maybe it's a reference to Huston's tycoon role in "Chinatown," or a secondhand acknowledgment of "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," a movie about gold prospectors that starred Huston's father, Walter Huston. In any case, the imitation creates a distancing effect, even for those unfamiliar with John Huston's voice. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Letters: Readers pick character actors Dec 10, 2007
His allusion to Peter Lorre was apt; I second it, especially for "Casablanca" and "Arsenic and Old Lace." I would also add Tom Waits ("The Cotton Club," "Down by Law"), Sydney Greenstreet ("Casablanca," "The Maltese Falcon"), Walter Huston ("The Treasure of the Sierra Madre"), Eugene Palette ("Easy to Take"), Ben Johnson ("The Last Picture Show"), Karl Malden ("One-Eyed Jacks," "A Streetcar Named Desire") and George "Gabby" Hayes in any number of Roy Rogers and Hopalong Cassidy films. Barry... (San Francisco Chronicle)
Making Gold Miners Pay Oct 24, 2007
"Thanks, mountain!" says the grizzled old prospector played by Walter Huston, in the 1948 movie The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, after he and his young partners erase evidence of their digging before heading back to civilization, burros laden with gold dust. Related Articles. (Time.com)
The evil that men do on the screen Oct 2, 2007
Giving the devil his due: Walter Huston as soul collector ... Actor: Walter Huston (as Mr. Scratch). (USA Today -- Life)
Autumn on my mind Sep 17, 2007
My memory tinkles with piano keys struck by Roger Williams playing "Autumn Leaves," and hears dead actors Walter Huston and Eddie Albert singing "September Song" in Knickerbocker Holiday. "The days hurry by when you reach September," but the heart says, "Why rush?". (Orangeburg Times and Democrat, SC)
Television movies for the week of August 26 Aug 26, 2007
TV Movies: August 26-September 1. G = General audiences PG = Parental Guidance PG-13 = Not recommended for preteens R = Restricted audience. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA)
Cinema La Placita Jul 15, 2007
Directed by Steven Spielberg;July 12 (1936) Starring Walter Huston and Mary Astor. Directed by William Wyler;July 19 (1964) Starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison. (FOX 11, AZ)
Where's John Wayne When You Really Need Him? Jul 9, 2007
In that movie, Wayne appeared as Genghis Khan, joining the likes of Katharine Hepburn, Paul Muni, Mickey Rooney, Louise Rainer, Agnes Moorehead, Walter Huston and Alec Guinness, on the list of movie greats who should have had second thoughts before agreeing to portray Asians ... In that movie, Wayne appeared as Genghis Khan, joining the likes of Katharine Hepburn, Paul Muni, Mickey Rooney, Louise Rainer, Agnes Moorehead, Walter Huston and Alec Guinness, on the list of movie greats who should... (Townhall.com)
Walter Huston is buried in Fresno Jul 6, 2007
Question: Is Academy Award-winning actor Walter Huston really buried in Fresno. -- Philip TavlianAnswer: Walter Huston's ashes are buried at Belmont Memorial Park ... Walter Huston's wife, Nan, was born in Clovis and her father, A.E. Sunderland, was Fresno's mayor during the mid-1920s. (Fresno Bee -- Lifestyle)
That's one hell of a legacy, kid Jun 11, 2007
It deprived Danny of the chance to direct his father, something John got to do when Walter Huston appeared in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. It's the film he believes his father was most emotionally connected to, a film which won both Hustons an Oscar. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Treasure of the Sierra Madre Jun 11, 2007
It's a dark, playful Aesopian tale, its moral enwrapped in the words of Howard (Walter Huston), the Methusalan motor mouth who is the group's elder statesman. Discovering that the gold has found its way out of the hands of men and back into the hills from where it came, he laughingly surmises to the Zen-like Curtin (Tim Holt), "It's a great joke, son, played on us by the Lord or fate or nature.". (Suite101.com)
Fresnan danced her way to screen legacy May 12, 2007
"Obviously, Norma could handle it. That's the kind of lady she was."Leonard flipped through scrapbooks of his aunt's clippings: "Hold That Coed" in 1938 with John Barrymore; "Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever" in 1939 with Mickey Rooney and Ann Rutherford; "Yankee Doodle Dandy" in 1942 with James Cagney, Joan Leslie and Walter Huston; "Heart of the Golden West" with Roy Rogers; "Edge of Darkness" with Errol Flynn; and "Girl Crazy" with Rooney and Judy Garland. Mrs. Leonard's film appearances brought... (Fresno Bee -- Local)
Herman Brix, 100; Olympian became actor known as Bruce Bennett Feb 28, 2007
One of his most memorable film credits was "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," the 1948 movie starring Humphrey Bogart, with Walter Huston and Tim Holt as fellow gold prospectors in Mexico. As James Cody, the prospector who shows up at the trio's camp and offers his help for a share of the profits, Bennett angers Bogart's paranoid character Fred C. Dobbs and winds up being killed when the four men are attacked by bandits. (Los Angeles Times)
Official Oscar Quiz Feb 24, 2007
Walter Huston was Best Supporting Actor of 1948 for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, directed by his son John Huston. Thirty-seven years later John Huston directed Prizzis Honor, for which his daughter Anjelica was named Best Supporting Actress. (Monsters and Critics.com)
Reading the Tealeaves of Digital Rights Management Feb 20, 2007
Or as Walter Huston (Howard) said ... Contrary to what Walter Huston said in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre --"You know the worst ain't so bad when it finally happens. Not half as bad as you figure it'll be before it's happened." -- it is bad because folks are deprived of legitimate income. (iofilm)
David Elliott Dec 30, 2006
Anthony Hopkins as Burt Munro, The World's Fastest Indian A Great Old Guy to rival Walter Huston ( Treasure of the Sierra Madre ) and Richard Farnsworth ( The Straight Story ), Hopkins' motorcycle man gives us a new vision: biker stud as gutsy codger. Nicole Kidman as Diane Arbus, Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus As the layered core of a gorgeous, erotically charged film, Kidman turns fragility to strength and finds her muse along with Arbus. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
New on DVD Dec 22, 2006
New to DVD are the excellent 1997 documentary Frank Capra's American Dream (I love learning that blood-and-guts filmmaker John Milius loves Lost Horizon) and 1932's Depression jewel American Madness, with bank president Walter Huston staving off a bank run. Extras, extras: Commentaries plus interviews of Capra experts; 96-page booklet. (USA Today -- Life)
`Capra Collection' features best work Dec 12, 2006
American Madness (1932), set in the Depression era, tells the story of bank president Thomas Dickson (Walter Huston), who has been making loans to depositors without sufficient collateral. His board of directors becomes concerned, and the situation worsens when an employee robs the bank. (Akron Beacon Journal, OH -- Entertainment)
Taking a peek into holiday boxes Dec 7, 2006
"American Madness," the 1932 Depression-era story of how banker Walter Huston is rescued from ruin by faithful Little-Guy investors. The movie provided a template for what became known, not always derisively, as "Capra-corn." When you see the director's 1946 holiday classic, "It's a Wonderful Life," this season after seeing "Madness," you'll note that both movies not only share plot points, but a noir-ish edginess that Capra rarely indulged. (Newsday -- Entertainment)
more » Dec 6, 2006
The Premiere Frank Capra Collection (Sony) - This boxed set features five Capra films made during the Depression, starting with a comparatively obscure gem, "American Madness." Walter Huston stars as Mr. Dickson, a banker who lends money to small business owners based on appraising their character instead of their collateral. His board of directors is plotting his ouster because he stands in the way of a profitable merger. (CTNow.com)
Going To Town Over Capra Set Dec 5, 2006
The set instead includes the little-known but fascinating "American Madness" (1933), starring Walter Huston as a banker struggling against the Depression who can be viewed as a prototype for the hero of "It's a Wonderful Life.". The best films here are "Mr. Deeds," starring Gary Cooper as a small-town dreamer who inherits 20 million, and "Mr. Smith," with Stewart as an idealistic young man who is appointed to a Senate seat. (New York Post -- Entertainment)
Courting public opinion Oct 18, 2006
When Sofia took the Oscar for best original screenplay in 2003 for Lost in Translation, they became only the second family with three generations of Oscar winners; Her father, Francis Ford Coppola, has five, and grandpa Carmine won one for his work on the musical score of his son's The Godfather, Part II. (Oscar's other third generation clan is Anjelica, John and Walter Huston. The dynasty continues in her extended family: Coppola's cousin Nicolas Cage has a best-actor statuette. (Globe and Mail)
Quick takes on our film greats Sep 6, 2006
Yet even those who have spent too many Saturday nights watching Elwy Yost's Saturday Night at the Movies may be surprised to hear that Jack Carson (who played Paul Newman's brother in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), Walter Huston (who won an Oscar under his son's direction for Treasure of the Sierra Madre), Fay Wray (who had Hollywood's tallest, darkest leading man in the original King Kong) and Ruby Keeler (as the ingnue who becomes an overnight star in 42nd Street) were all Canadians. Screen Legends... (Toronto Star -- Arts)
Stax Report: ''Gringo'' Edition Jun 24, 2006
This classic study of greed follows Fred C. Dobbs (), Curtin (Tim Holt) and old codger Howard (Walter Huston, the director's father) as their prospecting for gold in Mexico slowly turns them against each other, with Dobbs becoming especially paranoid. Both Hustons won Oscars for their work here (Best Director and Best Supporting Actor, respectively). (IGN FilmForce)
Actor Huston sees purpose behind his violent role in 'The Proposition' Jun 2, 2006
It's an interesting perspective from a student of film from a famous film family that includes his grandfather (Broadway and Hollywood star Walter Huston), his dad (director John Huston) and half-sister (Anjelica Huston). "I suppose one more line on the subject matter," he continues, "is that you want to remind the audience of the toughness and the violence of the time where they're living. But also, the film works in a dramatic way, a la Peckinpah. You feel the plot tightening like a drum, and... (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA)
His father's son May 21, 2006
He too grew up in the thrall of a famous father, the actor Walter Huston ... Every headline said, Walter Huston s son caught in car accident. (Boston Globe -- Living)
JOHN B. DWYER: Disinformation on Iraq Jan 17, 2006
Frank Capra to "make a series of documented, factual information films that will explain to our boys in the Army why we are fighting, and the principles for which we are fighting." The result was a multi-award-winning seven-part series titled "Why We Fight." In making it, Capra enlisted the willing aid and assistance of Hollywood actors and directors such as John and Walter Huston, Lloyd Nolan, William Wyler and George Stevens, plus the support of all the major studios. Sixty-four years ago, as... (Washington Times)
