Iconic actor Ernest Borgnine left behind a rich television and film legacy. I have written more broadly about Borgnine’s career in a past blog, so here I want to look at Borgnine’s acting choices and strengths by discussing 10 of his roles. I happened to watch part of The Flight of the Phoenix, a film … More Ernest Borgnine in 10 Roles
Being governor was a speed bump to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s film career. He left public office in 2011 and got busy again in front of the camera. Arnold’s career had slowed down in the new millennium, as other, younger action heroes emerged. He tried another Terminator film, without any of the past team; it made money, … More Recent Arnold Films
What a wonderful, eccentric series. While it ran out of steam in its last season, Northern Exposure was a landmark creative show. The strength was the writing, followed by a fine cast of actors. The pilot episode finds physician Joel Fleischman arriving in Alaska to fulfill his medical school obligation of spending four years serving … More Northern Exposure
First there was Andy Hardy, then Dobie Gillis, and then the Beach movies. All followed the lives of independent-minded teenagers. Later, there would be American Graffiti and Happy Days in the 1970s and then the John Hughes films in the 1970s. In between was a low-budget 1966 film called Lord Love a Duck.The 1960s was … More Lord Love a Duck
Some of the most memorable supporting players in American film and television were British actors. The list of distinguished British actors is long, so I have narrowed those I will focus on to four favorites. These four were never leads, but acted in many featured roles. Often their screen time was brief, but on occasionally … More The British Are Coming!: Character Actors
This is Sally Field’s film, she was at the height of her film clout. A two-time Academy Award winner, yeah we like her, and Murphy grew to love her. Murphy’s Romance was a surprise hit, not because it was good, but because it told a mature love story and found an audience. A few decades … More Murphy’s Romance (1985)
Two words: Helen Mirren. The film also stars Clive Owen in one of his first starring roles. The film’s producers is Trudie Styler, wife of pop star Sting. The talented British cast includes film veteran David Kelly, Warren Clarke, Danny Dwyer and Natasha Little. The film was written and directed by Joel Hershman, and based … More Greenfingers (2000)
My Three Sons or The Absent Minded Professor, these are the images that most people have of Fred MacMurray. He actually had a film career that began in the 1920s, gained featured parts in the mid-1930s and was once the highest paid film actor. MacMurray started as a saxophone player, something that would reappear in … More Fred MacMurray
Recognize the guy from the All State Insurance commercials, the “Mayhem” guy? Dean Winters is his name, a working actor in many television shows. Winter played the co-lead in this one hour comedy-drama that debuted in 2015. Battle Creek lasted all of 13 episodes before being buried in the failed TV show graveyard. The show … More Battle Creek (2015)
Iconic actress Maureen O’Hara had a long successful film career. She is known for her pairing with John Wayne in five films, but she was a great co-star with many of Hollywood’s great leading men. During the years 1961-1963, she appeared in four of her best roles and most memorable films. She portrayed many fiery, … More Maureen O’Hara (1961-1963)
