During the preparations for the filming of Lawrence of Arabia, producer Sam Spiegel went in search of a film composer who could provide the music …
Romy Schneider: La Grande Dame
Because of her role in the film series of the same name from the fifties, she was identified by a large audience as the young …
Omar Sharif: The Exotic Actor
Director David Lean reportedly had a hard time casting the role of Sherif Ali in Lawrence of Arabia (1962): Just before the shooting started, no …
Buster Keaton: Born on the Stage
Orson Welles once said that he was the greatest clown in the history of film: Buster Keaton is said to have disliked reading books himself, …
David Lean: The Visual Novelist
This article is published on 25 March 2023 to mark the 115th anniversary of David Lean’s birth. David Lean’s parents were Quakers: in Quaker belief, …
Charlton Heston: The Monumental Actor
No other Hollywood actor could portray biblical roles with such conviction as Charlton Heston: Heston’s role of Moses in The Ten Commandments (1956), directed by …
Ava Gardner: A Shop Window Discovery
Ava Gardner was the type of actress who could afford to not really act: it was enough for her to stand in front of the …
Kirk Douglas: A Hollywood Titan
He embodied the genre of the Western like hardly any other actor: whether in the role of Doc Holliday or a sheriff, Douglas mastered a …
Leonard Nimoy: Mind-melted with Spock
Although he became known largely through a single role, he is considered a character actor. He was trained, among others, by the acting teacher Jeff …
Christopher Lee: The Cultivated Killer (2.)
Continued from part one In the early fifties, Christopher Lee realised that he did not live up to the image of the typical British gentleman …