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The Third Doris Day Blogathon: Romance on the High Seas (1948)

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Directed by Michael Curtiz, Romance on the High Seas (1948) the the story of Elvira Kent (Janis Paige) and her husband Michael (Don DeFore), who suspect each other of cheating. For their wedding anniversary, Elvira books a cruise to Rio de Janeiro, but Michael suddenly cancels the trip for business reasons. Seeing an opportunity, Elvira pretends to go alone, but in fact sends Georgia Garrett (Doris Day), a singer she had met at the travel agency, in her place and under her name. By secretly staying behind, Elvira hopes to discover if Michael is indeed having an affair with his attractive new secretary, Miss Medwick (Leslie Brooks). Michael, however, is suspicious over his wife's willingness to take the trip alone, so he hires private detective Peter Virgil (Jack Carson) to see if she is sneaking around behind his back. (from left to right) Janis Paige, Don DeFore, Doris Day and Jack Carson on Romance on the High Seas . Peter joins the cruise and, as part of his job, becomes acqua...

Countdown to the Oscars: 20 Interesting Facts About the Academy Awards

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In anticipation to the 91st Academy Awards ceremony, which will be held on February 24 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, I thought I would write an article related to the most prestigious awards in the movie industry. So, here are 20 interesting facts about the Oscars.    1. An X-rated winner Midnight Cowboy (1969), directed by John Schlesinger and starring Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman, is the only X-rated film ever to win the Oscar for Best Picture. Producer John Hellman accepted the statuette at the 42nd Academy Awards ceremony, on April 7, 1970.   (from left to right) British poster for Midnight Cowboy ; John Hellman holding the Best Picture Oscar statuette at the 42nd Academy Awards ceremony.   Bonus fact: Midnight Cowboy was also the first gay-related movie to win Best Picture.   2. Posthumous nominations James Dean is the only performer to date to receive two posthumous nominations in the Best Actor category: the first for East of Eden (1955), ...

Top 10 Favourite Films of the 1950s

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The 1950s were an era of both prosperity and great conflict. After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in a series of conflicts collectively known as the Cold War. The Soviet Union began the Space Race with the launch of Sputnik 1, while Fidel Castro became the first Communist leader in the Western hemisphere. The landmark Brown v. Board of Education court decision ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, and the Civil Rights Movement was born. Joseph Stalin died, the Vietnam War began, and Elvis Presley turned rock 'n' roll into the most popular music genre in the world.   (from left to right) Replica of Sputnik 1; Fidel Castro; the Vietnam War; Elvis Presley.   The 1950s changed Hollywood as well. As a result of the introduction of television, studios were desperate to attract audiences back to the theatres and resorted to such exotic techniques as CinemaScope and 3D film. The Cold War era zeitgeist translated into a ren...

The Rock Hudson Blogathon: Before Rock, There Was Roy

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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, an...