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 …
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 …
Christopher Lee: Too Tall for the Cinema (1.)
Throughout his life, he was regarded by the public as the actor of villains par excellence: Yet Christopher Lee’s repertoire of roles was much larger. …
Paul Newman: Hombre (2.)
Continued from part one After Hollywood had made him several offers, he decided to accept the film offer of The Silver Chalice (1954), in which …
Paul Newman: Hombre (1.)
His mother wanted him to do something artistic: In his youth, Paul Newman and his mother went to the Cleveland Play House. Newman’s mother wanted …
Jean-Luc Godard: All The World’s a Cinema
“Everything is cinema”: this quote is attributed to the French-Swiss film director Jean-Luc Godard. If one deals with the work of Jean-Luc Godard, one is …
Alec Guinness: The Actor of a Thousand Faces
Alec Guinness and Grace Kelly had a special kind of tradition: after the two had played side by side in The Swan (1956), a curious …