I know I've mentioned this before, but I absolutely adore Arthur Kennedy. This is going to sound a little weird, but out of all the classic movie actors I love, he is the one I spend the most time obsessing over (watching his films, reading about, collecting memorabilia, etc.) Not only do I think he's a wonderful actor, but he's one of the most handsomest, attractive actors that I've ever seen.

What? Stop looking at me like that.

It was after seeing his performance as Jim Lefferts in Elmer Gantry (1960) that I became interested in his work and from then on, I started taping and watching every movie of his I could get my hands on. I figured it would be just a phase--after all, I went through my Joseph Cotten, Martin Balsam, and Alan Arkin phases and came out fairly unscathed. That was two years ago and Arthur Kennedy still holds a high place in my heart, only slightly challenged by my relatively newfound love for Robert Ryan. One day, I'll bore everyone with nice, long entries about both of them in "Classic Movie Actors I Obsess Over" posts.

But instead of that, I'd like to recommend for you the 1955 courtroom drama, Trial, which airs February 29 at 8 am on TCM. Set those VCR's or DVD/DVR Recorders! Although it boasts an impressive cast that's headed by Glenn Ford and Dorothy McGuire, it remains a relatively obscure film today. Directed by Mark Robson, Trial is the story of a young Mexican boy named Angel Chavez (Rafael Campos), who gets caught up in the murder of a caucasian girl. Racial tensions already run high through the town and the accusation against Chavez only adds fuel to the fire. Enter David Blake (Glenn Ford), a law professor who finds out that he needs more courtroom experience in order to keep his job at the University. Blake goes from lawyer to lawyer and is rejected by all--except for Barney Castle (Kennedy), who is also handling the controversial Chavez case. Working for Castle is his attractive assistant, Abbe Nyle (Dorothy McGuire), who has a somewhat shady past of her own. As Chavez's case gains momentum and his trial begins, Castle heads off to New York City with Mrs. Chavez (Katy Jurado) to raise money for his defense fund. Soon after, Blake joins them, only to find out that Castle is using Angel as a cover to raise funds for the Communist Party. I'm not going to spoil the rest of the story for you though--you'll have to watch it yourself.

Trial is directed by Mark Robson, a director who has been forgotten over time except by die hard classic movie fans. But one look at his filmography and you'll see that he directed many important classics: Peyton Place, The Bridges at Toko-Ri, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness and The Harder They Fall as well as the late-60's cult classic, Valley of the Dolls. Despite it's obscure status, Trial is probably one of his best works. Before filming, Robson insisted his actors attend rehearsals and I've noticed that it always pays off in the end, especially in an ensemble movie like Trial. Everyone works off one another seamlessly and the dialogue is sharp. It's as though you've stepped into a real-life situation, not a Hollywood movie.

And of course there's Arthur Kennedy. As the slick, manipulative Barney Castle, there's no doubt that he has the best role in the movie. There are so many facets to his character. At first, he comes across as the overbearing lawyer who seems to have Chavez's best interests at heart. But by the time Blake arrives in New York City, Castle's cover is blown: he's really a card-carrying Communist who only cares about raising money for the "All People's Party." When Blake finds out, he's livid. He argues that the majority of the All People's Party are Communists, to which Castle flippantly replies that it's actually "about 60% and some of them are cheating the party out of it's dues." Blake tells him he wants none of the Party's money for Chavez's defense fund and without missing a beat, Castle sneers, "You want nice honorable American money, not dirty Commie money." He's heartless. It suddenly becomes clear: Angel Chavez has ceased to be a human being. He's strictly a commodity. Castle has dollar signs for eyes and he's completely soulless. Kennedy plays the character to the hilt, making him equal parts despicable and smarmy.

However, it's Kennedy's performance at the "Free Angel Chavez" rally that shows the true test of his acting skills. With banners boasting messages like "Peace" and "Freedom", Castle works the assembled crowd of thousands before him like an old pro, winning them over with his charm and charisma, but not before launching into what he calls (in private, of course) "The Sea of Green bit." He asks the entire audience to hold up one dollar bills, and then tells them to close their eyes, promising the money will still be there when they open them back up. He's lying of course. A man like Barney Castle has never told a truth in his life. And when the disgruntled crowd finds out that they've been had, Castle just laughingly tells them, "Don't trust anybody!" and they eat it up. It's amazing to watch Kennedy work the volunteers that quickly move around to collect the money. He hustles them, quickly moving back and forth from each side of the stage, while clapping his hands to encourage them. It's an amazing performance to watch--one that simultaneously impresses and angers you.

Taking on a such a role in the 50's was fairly dangerous: thanks to McCarthyism, Communist paranoia was still rampant. The liberal Kennedy once donated money to the New York Post, supporting editorials that lambasted McCarthy for all the damage he was doing. After seeing his name attached to one of these anti-McCarthy advertisements, a man contacted Kennedy thinking he was giving money to the Communist Party. Luckily, Kennedy's cousin was a leading man in the New England chapter of the FBI and this cleared him. Or was it the fact that he was Irish and served in WWII's Motion Picture Unit? It seems that other liberal Irish actors who served in the war (Gene Kelly and Robert Ryan first come to mind) also escaped the era unscathed based on the fact that they were Irish and Catholic, therefor no Irish Catholics could ever be Communists. The mindset of that era boggles my mind sometimes.

Robson was what Kennedy called "his lucky rabbit's foot". This would be his third Robson-directed performance to be nominated for an Oscar, the other ones being Champion (1949) and as a lead actor, Bright Victory (1951). Kennedy would lose the Oscar to Jack Lemmon for Mister Roberts, and would be nominated for one more Robson directed picture, Peyton Place (1957). His final supporting actor nomination came for his turn as a philandering husband in Vincent Minnelli's Some Came Running (1958). However, Kennedy did win the Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe for Trial, so it was nice to see that the Hollywood Foreign Press recognized his outstanding work as Barney Castle. I'm not sure if any other actor could pull such a smarmy characterization off like Kennedy did. There was something so real about him. It wasn't just in the delivery of his lines, but the expression on his face, the movement of his body--not to mention his arrogant nature. By the end of the film, Castle turns out to be such a horrible person, you're practically hissing at the screen.

Of course this review might be somewhat biased since I'm such a huge fan of Arthur Kennedy. I could rattle off at least 10 other films where I think he put in outstanding work, but I won't. I'll save those for other posts. But if you're into well-written and acted courtroom dramas from the 50's or want to see one of Hollywood's most popular supporting actors doing some of his best work, I wholeheartedly suggest you give Trial a chance. And if you don't like it, you can come here and tell me that I have lousy taste in movies.

Information about Kennedy taken from Arthur Kennedy, Man of Characters by Meredith C. Macksoud, with Craig R. Smith and Jackie Lohrke. One of my all time favorite biographies!

by Sarah Jeanne

What is it about God's roundabout ways of bringing us to our destiny that keeps us interested in the first place? Often times, I find, you will receive the reverse of the promise first: you are put in a place on the complete opposite side of the spectrum from where you want to be, leaving you to wonder why and how He could promise you one thing but give you another. It's in these moments that you have to fight the urge to settle for Ishmael when you know you need to keep on waiting on Isaac. Read the rest of this entry »

Hayley Atwell arriving for the premiere of her film, Cassandra's Dream, at the Toronto International Film Festival 2007. Toronto, Ontario.

Today instead of doing "DRAB TO FAB."

I reversed it.

Kirsten Dunst is so drab here.  Taking a stroll around Target and then a smoke with a unknown male counterpart.  Out for a day from the rehab treatment center she entered a few weeks ago.

I am glad she is getting help.  Let's hope it sticks.

Here she is FAB as MJ from Spiderman.

To DRAB...This girl needs a hug.

Source 

There is a new penguin poll and it ask how much do you like and use the emotes and there is a new comic called "Stand Off" .You can see this comic and also see other club penguin comics in the Club Penguin comic section

Joe Cheng and Janine Zhang crazily changing the movement of the Ferris Wheel

The filming of Honey and Clover has moved to KoahSiong, where they rented the Ferris wheel and cleared the location to continue with their filming. [Xiao Zhong] Zheng Yuan Chang, Janine Zhang and Chiako Ito were so excited that they went into the capsule to have some fun before the actual filming. Xiao Zhong even bragged about it by saying: "Enjoying the aristocrat treatment, just now we even show that the Ferris wheel could actually moved backward!"

In the actual manga story plot of Honey and Clover, the Ferris wheel will be used to express the entanglement relationship between the casts, so in order to follow closely to the original plot, Eddie Peng, Xiao Zhong, Janine Zhang, Chiaki Ito and the others have to travel to KoahSiong to continue with the filming, but once they saw the Ferris wheel, they immediately ran into the capsule and wanted to have a test ride first, Eddie Peng even jumps around in the capsule and has frightened Chiaki Ito until she kept screaming about it and said: "He is a very dangerous man!" Xiao Zhong who has a very strong curiosity even becomes the passenger and the controller of the Ferris wheel, "Now only I know, the Ferris wheel could move counterclockwise too!"

What a bummer.

This, ladies, is an example of the "Rich & Ghetto".

It would be too easy to pick on the Holly-rich & Ghetto uber famous girls like Paris, Lindsay & Britney.

This is about Mischa Barton. Mischa Barton was born in England.  Her dad at the time was a stock broker and her mom, a photographer .   She attended the Professional Children's School in NYC and  The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art   

OK, so not poor, right.

But, she goes and does the ghetto thing and she gets arrested.

Mischa's been formally charged with:

• driving under the influence,
• possession of 28.5 grams of marijuana
• and being an unlicensed driver

So, I don't want to hear that it's just the african-american,  inner city girls doing this stuff, like a  lot of people would assume.  It's the richy white chicks, too.

For someone to have such a privileged upbringing and schooling, I expect better behavior.

I expect you to be more responsible and have more self-respect, Mischa.

I am sure your other fans do as well.

Hey more power to the man that survived being a prisoner of war in the combat exercise that was not called a war till we lost.  Hey, we had no right to be on foreign soil for the mere fact that the domino effect was utilized.  What did we do in Korea? (split the nation after many crappy years of fighting and loses)  If Viet Nam falls the whole region is going to be under communist rule--so what?  Who are we to control another nations destiny that does not interfere in our living?   Key word is control.  Yes McCain is the supposedly straight talking man who melancholy rehashes President Reagan and his time.  Please, Reagan was a "B" grade actor that pronounced and spoke his speech writers words correctly.  Wait, let McCain try to debate with Obama or Clinton, he will stumble and distract his audience with his boredom and his lisp.  He is not that clean, check his closet and where his $'s are tied to in the past.  I don't want to see a another old, balding, white man tell me what is going on in his no touch with reality world. 

As I sat waiting to discover why the engine light in my car came on the other day, I picked up a copy of Entertainment Weekly sitting on the coffee table inside the dealership. Flipping through the pages I came across a review of the CBS show Jericho – a show I happen to like very much. It didn’t take long to determine that the reviewer was not of the same mind set. When he wasn’t declaring his dislike for the show’s lead actor, Skeet Ulrich, he was obsessing with his idea that the show is based upon conspiracy theories – of course, none of which he buys into.

What became blaringly clear in his writing is that he’s never read, nor is he obviously aware of Pat Frank’s 1959 classic American novel, Alas, Babylon.

Growing up during the Cold War, the threat of a nuclear attack was very much a part of every school kid’s life. We learned that our desks were to be used for protection and that images of mushroom clouds could haunt our dreams.

One of the best books I’ve ever read is Alas, Babylon. I was first introduced to the book in 1977 and to this day, it continues to remain on my all time favorite list. The setting is Fort Repose, Florida and the United States has just been attacked with nuclear bombs. Communities are isolated, the majority of the country’s leaders are dead, communication is almost nonexistent, food becomes scarce, disease flourishes, and those you once trusted become those you must fight for survival. Sounds like a good plot for a television show!

Jericho is Alas, Babylon set in the 21^st Century.

For those that fought for Jericho to return to the airwaves…KUDOS TO YOU! And kudos to CBS for listening to their viewers. The first run of this fantastic show brought characters to the screen rarely before seen: a likeable and heroic IRS agent (Alicia Coppola), two kids who become Jericho’s largest suppliers of food, dry goods, and one of the region’s most valuable commodities – salt (Erik Knudson and Candace Bailey), a young deaf girl trying to grow up in a world turned upside down (Shoshannah Stern), and a black undercover government agent who had recently moved his family to this very white Kansas town (Lennie James).

Being an enormous Gerald McRaney fan, I am still disappointed that he is no longer on the show, but the addition of Esai Morales as Army Major Edward Beck is proving to be very interesting to the show’s plot line.

As for the Entertainment Weekly reviewer’s take on Skeet Ulrich…well, I couldn’t disagree more. Skeet’s portrayal of Jericho’s lead hero, Jake Green, is outstanding. During the show’s first episode we learn that Jake left Jericho under a veil of criminal suspicion and eventually went to work for a private American security firm in Iraq. The show begins with the bombs going off as Jake is returning to Jericho.

Skeet Ulrich’s portrayal of a good guy constantly getting mixed up with the scum of the earth, knowing the right choices but not being able to figure how to make them, and being a hero yet always needing to be guided into that role by a mentor figure is like watching the little boy who holds the dam back with his finger. A constant pressure is building, but he MUST keep his finger on that hole.

As the story and characters of Jericho continue to become intertwined as did the story and characters in Alas, Babylon, I have designated Tuesday nights as my new “do not call me” night, which used to be reserved for that hour on Monday nights when Jack Bauer was saving the world. You know, a hundred years ago before season six.

Wednesday is Movie Day on BlogTalkRadio, featuring Oscar winners, directors, actors, writers and more.

First up, at 10pm ET on Movie Geeks United, Mark Palansky, director of the upcoming Reese Witherspoon / Christina Ricci film Penelope, Oscar-winners Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman of Peter and the Wolf, the Oscar nominated sound team behind Juno, the staff at EarCandy and more!

At 11pm ET, Ronee Blakley, star of "A Nightmare on Elm Street," singer and "Nashville" star joins Tangible Dreams Entertainment Radio LIVE to discuss her career, music and upcoming projects.

Also at 11pm, Filmmaker Spotlight with Danielle Agnello Co Writer/Director of Lime Salted Love Tonight at 11pm ET with Spike Spillberg who will go in depth with the first-time filmmaker Danielle Agnello, the experiences she’s encountered in making the film “Lime Salted Love.” Also, meeting the star of the film, actress and super model Kristanna Loken (Terminator 3).