Remembering the Stars We Lost in 2015

This year saw the deaths of several beloved stars,

both of movies and television.

 

TCM Remembers

On January 1st Donna Douglas, known as Elly May in The Beverly Hillbillies passed away. You can read my post on her here.

          

I hardly recognize her without her signature hairstyle!

A few days later, on the 7th, Rod Taylor died. We all know him from The Birds and as the voice of Pongo in Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961). After his death I sought out more of his films, including the film that started his career, The Time Machine (1960). Other films that I greatly enjoyed were Sunday in New York (1963) with Jane Fonda and 36 Hours (1964) with James Garner and Eva Marie Saint. You can read my post on him here.

Anita Ekberg, who died January 11th, may not be a name that everyone knows. The only film I have seen with her in it was Paris Holiday (1958) starring Bob Hope. It is hilarious and I highly recommend it. She is also in La Dolce Vita (1960).

Lizabeth Scott, an icon of Film Noir, passed away on the 31st of January. I have not yet seen any of her films (note to self: MUST CORRECT SOON!).

Louis Jourdan, known as a romantic leading man, died on Valentine's Day. His films include Gigi (1958), Letter to an Unknown Woman (1948), Three Coins in the Fountain (1954), and Grace Kelly's final film The Swan (1956).

One of my favorite child stars, George 'Foghorn' Winslow died on June 13th. Known for his deadpan delivery and deep voice, you can see him in the 1953 Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (he has some hilarious lines in that one), Monkey Business (1952), and Room For One More (1952).

A star that I just discovered this year, Omar Sharif, died on July 10th. I have only seen two of his films so far, The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964) and Funny Girl (1968) - look for my post on that film in mid-January, but more of his films are definitely on my "to watch" list. He also appears in Lawrence on Arabia (1962) and Dr. Zhivago (1965).

Coleen Gray died August 3rd. The day before I had watched Kansas City Confidential (1952) starring her and John Payne as my last assignment for TCM's Into the Darkness: Investigating Film Noir class. Coleen Gray died at her home in Bel Air at the age of 92. I found it... odd is not the word but I can't think of another, that at the close of  TCM's Summer of Darkness which showed film noirs every Friday, one of the final stars of film noir passed away. Coleen Gray starred in numerous film noirs such as Nightmare Alley (1947) and Kansas City Confidential. She is also known for her small role at the beginning of Red River (1948) and plays William Holden's love interest in Father is a Bachelor (1950). Click here to watch Kansas City Confidential.

Some of Coleen Gray's television appearances:

• Have Gun, Will Travel S05E10 Ben Jalisco (1961) - Lucy Jalisco
• The Adventure's of Ozzie and Harriet S11E21 Decorating Dave's Office (1963) - Mrs. Kelley, the bosses wife
• My Three Sons S05E23 Hawaiian Cruise (1965) - Miss Lovett (the gym teacher part near the end is kind of embarressing)
• S07E25 Melinda (1967) - Natalie

On August 18th we lost Yvonne Craig, known most for her role as Batgirl in the third and final season of Batman (1966-68). She also makes an appearance in Gidget (1959).

          

Dean Jones, star of so many Disney films, passed away September 1st at the age of 84. The first film with Jones that I saw was That Darn Cat (1965). We watched that many a Saturday morning growing up. He also appears in The Ugly Dachshund (1966) and The Love Bug series.

Just a few days later, on the 7th, Martin Milner, star of television shows Route 66 and Adam 12 died.

Joan Leslie, the girl next door, died Oct. 12th. I have seen several films with her. She was a frequent costar of Dennis Morgan and appeared in the famous Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) with James Cagney. You can read my post on her passing here.

October 24th - the biggest death of the year, and the star that all classic movie fans will miss, was that of Maureen O'Hara, the Queen of Technicolor. With her gorgeous red hair and Irish temper, she was a match for any leading man. Her most famous pairing was with John Wayne, whom she regarded as one of her closest friends. You can read my posts on this legendary woman here and here.

The last death was Betsy Drake, 3rd wife of Cary Grant on October 27th. You can read my post on her here.

 

With George Winslow and Cary Grant in Room for One More (1952)

 

UPDATE: And one more death slipped in before the year ended. Wayne Rogers, who played Trapper John on the extremely popular 70s TV show M*A*S*H, died December 31st at the age of 82. I've seen M*A*S*H on TV all my life but it was just recently that I actually sat down and watched the first five seasons (I stopped because I can't stand Frank's replacement). And of course, being a normal girl and Rogers being an extremely attractive guy, he was a favorite on the show. I will be writing a post on him tomorrow.

 

 

Also, singer Natalie Cole, daughter of the legendary Nat King Cole, died unexpectedly at the age of 65.

 

36 Hours (1964)

36 Hours is a WWII drama starring James Garner, Eva Marie Saint, and Rod Taylor. Released on Feb. 19, 1965, it is also it's 50th anniversary year. Here is the description from the DVD case:

It's 1950. Major Jefferson Pike (Garner) is in an allied military hospital under the care of an American doctor. Pike is an amnesiac, and if he could recount the details of D-Day, his last memory, perhaps it would unlock his mind. Only it's really 1944, and Pike is deep in German territory in a faux hospital built just for him. The Nazis have only 36 Hours to pull off their elaborate ruse and get the D-Day plans out of Pike. But if that doesn't work, they will use any means necessary. 

The DVD menu - at no point in the film does Eva Marie Saint dress or pose like that.

The film is described as a "tense cat-and-mouse, twist-filled wartime thriller."

Eva Marie Saint plays a nurse who is also posing as Garner's wife, one he can't remember. Rod Taylor is the German posing as an American doctor and friend of Pikes'.

Rod Taylor and some cool looking maps of the hospital grounds.

The film opens with a newsreel followed by the opening credits. It then moves into a meeting about the location of the D-Day invasion. Pike (Garner) is sent to Lisbon on a routine trip so as not to arouse suspicion that he knows about the invasion. Once in Lisbon however, Pike is knocked out and taken to a fake hospital in Germany.



Making Pike look older



A two-way mirror... sneaky

The 115 minute film was highly engrossing and put together very well. I can't believe I hadn't seen it before! I discovered it when I was writing about the passing of Rod Taylor. Then, recently, I looked up the trailer and, finding it interesting, got the movie through my library.

Fun Facts:

• Was remade in 1989 as a TV Movie starring Corbin Bernson in Garner's role. It was titled Breaking Point.
• The movie was filmed in Lisbon, Portugal and Yosemite National Park. The Wawona Hotel was temporarily made in the "hospital." After filming was completed, they were given 24 hours to remove all traces of the film from the park.

 

 The real hotel

 

 

Travel poster

• Is thought to be based on the book by Road Dahl, "Beware of the Dog," in which a WWII British Flyer is recovering and put into a hospital. He's about to tell everything he knows until he sees a sign, "Beware of the Dog."

My only complaint was the quality of the DVD. Several shots were extremely blurry, as if they put three strips of film on top of each other and then moved them just a tad so that they no longer lined up. It seemed mainly to be on the outdoor shots. Hopefully this film will be restored soon, as it is one that is an essential to anyone who likes watching films set during WWII.

source

And while we're on the subject of James Garner I suggest you also watch Support Your Local Sheriff (1969) and his TV show, Maverick (1957-59). Oh, and read his autobiography, The Garner Files :)

Remembering Rod Taylor

So this blog seems to be a place for obituaries now as another classic Hollywood star has died. Rod Taylor, best known as the voice of Pongo on Disney's 101 Dalmatians (1961) and for his role in Hitchcock's The Birds (1963), died on the 7th, of natural causes. He would have been 85 on Sunday the 11th.

TCM blog article: Some things you may not know about Rod Taylor

Full name: Rodney Sturt Taylor

Height: 5'10"

Born in Sydney, Australia

Has one daughter, Felicia Taylor

Here is a quick look at some of his most well known films, as well as one of my favorites:

The Time Machine (1960) - the movie that launched his film career

101 Dalmatians (1961) - voice

The Birds (1963) - classic Hitchcock

Sunday in New York (1963) - a (very 60s) romantic comedy with Jane Fonda and the incredibly handsome Cliff Robertson

What an awkward way to meet!

Rod Taylor, Jane Fonda, Jo Morrow, & Cliff Roberson

36 Hours (1964) - with James Garner (this movie was fantastic!)

The Train Robbers (1973) - with John Wayne and Ann-Margaret

Inglourious Basterds (2009) - as Winston Churchill in his final film

Other films that look interesting:

 

Catch TCM's Tribute to Rod Taylor on Thursday, Jan. 29, starting at 8pm Eastern time. I strongly recommend Sunday in New York. I, myself will be watching The Time Machine and recording The Glass Bottom Boat on my dvr.

 

 

Rod Taylor: A Life in Film on Old Hollywood Films 

 

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