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Directed by David Lean, The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) begins as a group of British World War II prisoners, including Lieutenant Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness) and Major Clipton (James Donald), arrive at a Japanese POW camp in Burma. The commandant, Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa), informs them that all prisoners, regardless of rank, are to work on the construction of a railway bridge over the River Kwai, which will be a vital link for the Japanese in the war. Citing the Geneva Conventions, Nicholson defies Saito and orders his officers to remain behind while the enlisted men go to work. As punishment, Saito leaves the officers standing all day in the intense tropical heat and locks Nicholson in an iron box.   Alec Guinness as Nicholson, Sessue Hayakawa as Saito and William Holden as Shears.   At one point, three prisoners — among them United States Navy Commander Shears (William Holden) — attempt to escape. Two are shot dead, but Shears manages to get away, although ...

In Portugal (where I'm from), Father's Day is celebrated on March 19. So, for this week's «Film Friday» I thought I'd bring you a film that features a father as its main character. Directed by Michael Curtiz, Life With Father (1947) follows stockbroker Clarence Day (William Powell), who strives to make his 1890s New York City household run as efficiently as his business. He and his wife Vinnie (Irene Dunne) have four sons. The eldest, Clarence, Jr. (Jimmy Lydon), is headed for Yale. John (Martin Milner), the next eldest, likes to invent things, while brother Whitney (Johnny Calkins) struggles to learn his catechism, and Harlan (Derek Scott), the youngest, is most interested in his dog. Knowing how much Clarence dislikes it when visitors stay in the house, Vinnie neglects to tell her husband that their cousin, Cora Cartwright (ZaSu Pitts), and her young companion, Mary Skinner (Elizabeth Taylor), will spend a week with them.   Irene Dunne, William Powell, Jimmy Lydon a...

Directed by Daniel Petrie, A Raisin in the Sun (1961) follows the Youngers, an impoverish Negro family whose routine is suddenly disrupted when Lena Younger (Claudia McNeil) receives a $10,000 check from the company that insured her late husband. Lena wants to use the money to buy a house and to help her daughter, Beneatha (Diana Sands), finish medical school. On the other hand, Lena's son, Walter Lee (Sidney Poitier), would rather use the money to invest in a liquor store, but his mother disapproves of the idea. Instead, she makes a down payment of $3,500 on a small house in a white neighborhood. Frustrated and enraged, Walter Lee quarrels with his mother and his wife, Ruth (Ruby Dee), and storms out of the flat.   (from left to right) Stephen Perry, Ruby Dee, Claudia McNeil, Diana Sands and Sidney Poitier; Diana Sands, Ruby Dee, Claudia McNeil and Sidney Poitier.   Three days later, Lena finds Walter Lee in a bar and offers him the remaining $6,500, telling him to save $3,...

This week on «Film Friday» I am celebrating Sidney Poitier's 90th birthday by telling you a little bit about one of his most well-known and acclaimed films. This was also the Best Picture winner at the 40th Academy Awards on April 10, 1968. Directed by Norman Jewison, In the Heat of the Night (1967) begins when a prominent white businessman, Philip Colbert (Jack Tetter), is found dead in an alley in Sparta, Mississippi. Hunting for suspects, the police pick up Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier), a well-dressed Negro, and bring him to headquarters for questioning. But, to the consternation of police chief Bill Gillespie (Roy Steiger), Tibbs turns out to be a top homicide detective from Philadelphia who has been in town visiting his mother. Ordered by his superior in Philadelphia to assist with the case, Tibbs conducts the postmortem examination and thus displays his superior knowledge of criminology. Though enraged, Gillespie reluctantly acquiesces in Tibbs's findings.   Sidney Poit...

For my second Oscar-related «Film Friday» I'm bringing you one of the five Best Picture nominees at the 28th Academy Awards ceremony in March 1956. This also serves to honour Jack Lemmon's 92th birthday, which was on Wednesday. Directed by John Ford and Mervyn LeRoy, Mister Roberts (1955) is set aboard the USS Reluctant , where executive officer Lieutenant Junior Grade Douglas A. «Doug» Roberts (Henry Fonda) tries to shield the dispirited crew from the harsh and unpopular captain, Lieutenant Commander Morton (James Cagney). World War II is winding down and Roberts fears he will miss his chance to get into the fighting. He repeatedly asks to be assigned to another ship, but Morton, anxious to use Roberts to expedite his own promotion, refuses to sign any of his transfer requests. Roberts shares his quarters with Ensign Frank Thurlowe Pulver (Jack Lemmon), the laundry and morale officer. Pulver spends most of his time idling in his bunk and avoids the captain at all costs, so mu...