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Rock Hudson was one of the most popular leading men in the 1950s and 1960s. Considered a classic example of the «heartthrob» of Hollywood's Golden Age, he achieved stardom in films such as Magnificent Obsession (1954), All That Heaven Allows (1955) and Giant (1956), the latter of which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. His starring role opposite Doris Day in the hugely successful Pillow Talk (1959) made him the number-one male actor in America at that time. In a career that spanned four decades, Rock appeared in nearly 70 films and starred in several television productions, notably the procedural drama McMillan & Wife (1971-1977), with Susan Saint James. But before Rock, there was Roy. Rock Hudson, one of the most popular leading men in the 1950s and 1960s.   Rock Hudson was born Roy Harold Scherer, Jr. on November 17, 1925 in the village of Winnetka, Illinois. His parents were Katherine «Kay» (née Wood), a homemaker and later telephone operator, and ...

In the two years after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, over 60,000 American servicemen had died in combat overseas. The country was right in the middle of a costly war and thousands of families were mourning the loss of their loved ones. Taking advantage of this scenario, MGM became interested in making a film that would somehow console grieving families by fueling «hope in a connection between at risk or deceased loved ones and the folks they leave behind.» LEFT: Photograph taken from a Japanese plane during the attack on Pearl Harbor. RIGHT: The entrance to the MGM studios in Culver City, Los Angeles (1947).   Looking to match the critical and commercial success of the afterlife comedy Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941), MGM chief Louis B. Mayer commissioned that film's producer, Everett Riskin, to find a story with a similar premise. He came up with «Fliers Never Die», in which a couple of brothers tutored their youngest sibling from the great beyond. The studio, however, was n...

I have always wanted to do a «monthly favourites» type of post on this blog, but I kept putting it off some reason or the other — until this year. I will be doing one of these every month (or every two months) and I will include literally everything that I have loved or that has made me happy during that time, be it a film, a song, a book, a TV show, an item of clothing or anything else. These are my September and October favourites. 1. Frankie and Johnny (1991) Frankie and Johnny is the story of a middle-aged man, recently released from prison, who finds a job as a cook at a local diner and ends up falling in love with an emotionally scarred waitress. The wonderful Al Pacino is the cook, and the lovely Michelle Pfeiffer is the waitress. This has got to be one of the best romantic comedies I have ever seen in my life — and believe me, I have seen A LOT of them. I have never pictured Al Pacino as the romantic lead type, but he is just perfect as Johnny and his scenes with Miche...