Nova Pilbeam R.I.P.

Nova Pilbeam, who appeared in such films as The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), Tudor Rose (1936), and Young and Innocent (1937), died on July 17 2015 at the age of 95.

Nova Pilbeam was born in Wimbledon, London on November 15 1919. Her father,  Arnold Pilbeam, was a theatre manager and actor. It was quite natural, then, that Miss Pilbeam should begin acting while very young. She made her professional debut on stage when she was only twelve years old. It was not long before she made her film debut in Little Friend in 1934. That same year she appeared in her most famous role, that of young kidnap victim  Betty Lawrence in The Man Who Knew Too Much. In 1936 she starred as Lady Jane Grey in Tudor Rose. For the remainder of the Thirties she appeared in the films Young and Innocent (1936), Cheer Boys Cheer (1939), and Pastor Hall (1940).  She had been considered for the role of the Second Mrs. de Winter in Rebecca (1940), but the part ultimately went to Joan Fontaine.  She made her television debut in the production Prison Without Bars in 1939. Nova Pilbeam also appeared on stage. When she was sixteen years old she played Peter Pan at the London Palladium.

During the Forties Miss Pilbeam appeared in the films Spring Meeting (1941), Banana Ridge (1942), The Next of Kin (1942), Yellow Canary (1943), This Man Is Mine (1946), Green Fingers (1947), and Counterblast (1948).  In the Forties she continued to appear on stage, appearing at the Old Vic in such plays as The Seagull and Ah, Wilderness!.  Her final appearance on screen was in the 1951 television production The Shining Hour. 

In 1950 Miss Pilbeam married radio journalist Alexander Whyte. She retired from acting to concentrate on her family.

Although her career was brief, there can be no doubt that Nova Pilbeam was a talented actress. This was in evidence even when she was very young. She gave an fine performance as Jane Grey in Tudor Rose. She was also impressive in Young and Innocent. playing Erica Burgoyne, the daughter of a police officer who falls in love with a man falsely accused of murder. Even playing the kidnapped daughter in The Man Who Knew Too Much, Miss Pilbeam showed a great deal of talent. I rather suspect that if her career had been longer, Nova Pilbeam would be very well known today.

Alex Rocco Passes On

Alex Rocco, who played Moe Greene in The Godfather (1972), died on July 18 2015 at the age of 79. The cause was cancer.

Alex Rocco was born Alessandro Petricone, Jr. in Cambridge, Massachusetts, but spent most of his childhood in the town of  Somerville, Massachusetts. He dropped out of high school and moved to Boston for a time before moving to California where he took acting classes. He made his film debut in Motorpsycho! in 1965. He made his television debut in an episode of Run for Your Life in 1927. In the late Sixties Mr. Rocco appeared on the shows Batman, Get Smart, and That Girl. He appeared in the films The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967), The Boston Strangler (1968), and Blood Mania (1970).

In the Seventies Alex Rocco was a regular on the short-lived series Three for the Road. He appeared on such TV shows as The F.B.I., Mission: Impossible, The Rookies, Get Christie Love!, Barnaby Jones, Kojak, Cannon, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Rockford Files, Baretta, Starsky & Hutch, and CHiPs. He appeared in such films as Wild Riders (1971), The Godfather (1972), Stanley (1972), Slither (1973), The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973), Detroit 9000 (1973), Three the Hard Way (1974), Freebie and the Bean (1974). Hearts of the West (1975), Rabbit Test (1978), and Herbie Goes Bananas (1980).

In the Eighties Alex Rocco had a regular role on the TV show The Famous Teddy Z and a recurring role on The Facts of Life. He appeared on such TV shows as Matt Houston, Hardcastle and McCormick, St. Elsewhere, The Love Boat, The A-Team,  The Golden Girls, T.J. Hooker, Hunter, Murphy Brown, and Carol & Company. He appeared in the films Nobody's Perfekt (1981), The Entity (1982), Scenes from the Goldmine (1987), Dream a Little Dream (1989), and Wired (1989).

In the Nineties Alex Rocco was a regular on the TV shows Sibs and The George Carlin Show. He appeared on such TV shows as Midnight Caller, Daddy Dearest, Hope & Gloria, The Simpsons, Home Improvement, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, The Practice, and Walker, Texas Ranger. He appeared in such films as The Pope Must Diet (1991), The Flight of the Dove (1994), Get Shorty (1995), Dead of Night (1996), That Thing You Do! (1996), A Bug's Life (1998), Dudley Do-Right (1999), and The Last Producer (2000).

In the Naughts and the Teens Alex Rocco was a regular on the shows The Division and Magic City. He appeared in such shows as Touched by an Angel, ER, Private Practice, and Maron. He appeared in such films as The Wedding Planner (2001), The Country Bears (2002), The Job (2003), Crazylove (2005), Smokin' Aces (2006), Blackbird (2011), and The House Across the Street (2013).

Alex Rocco was a very talented actor. He is perhaps best known for playing various gangsters, convicts, and other tough guys over the years. That having been said, that wasn't the limit of his ability and he did play other sorts of parts. In fact, he did play parts on the other side of law, appearing as police officers and F.B.I. agents. Mr. Rocco occasionally played other roles as well, including lawyers and doctors. Alex Rocco may have played many gangsters over the years, but his talent allowed him to play much more.

Twitter's Death Wish

If you are on Twitter then you might already know this. Sometime yesterday Twitter did away with background images on their web interface. On my computer it has been replaced by a sickly looking blue-green (it reminds me of a hospital), although others have said their backgrounds have been replaced by a blindingly bright white colour. For now, at least, one can temporarily restore his or her background image by going into the design section of "settings" and hitting "save". Unfortunately that is only a temporary fix. If one leaves Twitter, one will find his or her background image gone again.

Needless to say, Twitter users are not happy. A search on Twitter for "Twitter background" will reveal tweet after tweet of users who are unhappy that their backgrounds are gone. Some are complaining about the background Twitter chose to replace background images ("blinding" seems to be a recurring word in these tweets), while others simply complain about Twitter being boring without the Twitter images. Regardless, I have yet to see any Twitter users happy about the change.

Indeed, a Chrome developer has even gone so far as to create a Chrome extension that will restore one's Twitter background. Unfortunately, this fix only works on Chrome. As far as other browsers go, for now at least many Twitter users can go into the "Design" section of "Settings" and hit "Save" to restore their backgrounds, but the fix only seems to be temporary. If one leaves Twitter, he or she will return to find his or her background image gone again and will have to go through the whole process again.

As for myself, I have to count myself as one of the many people who are unhappy that Twitter has done away with backgrounds. Indeed, I am particularly unhappy that they chose to replace it with a rather hideous background colour (blue-green--really, Twitter?). Of course, to me this is only one of a number of missteps Twitter has made in the past many years to actively discourage users from using the Twitter web interface. Among the first of these missteps was combining "retweets" and "mentions" under one tab currently labelled "Notifications". Previously "retweets" and "mentions" had their own tab each. Another misstep occurred in the fall of 2013 when Twitter changed the way it handles conversations, making them harder to follow. Around the same time Twitter made another misstep in displaying inline images in the feed, giving web users no way to disable them. Yet another misstep occurred when Twitter changed user profiles. Not only did they rob user profiles of most of their individuality, but they started varying the size of the fonts of tweets so that one's profile feed is now harder to read.

Indeed, it is almost as if Twitter has a death wish where its web interface is concerned. None of these changes have made Twitter easier to use. In fact, they have done quite the opposite. They have made Twitter more difficult to use They have made Twitter so much more difficult to use that it almost seems as if they were designed to drive Twitter users away from the Twitter web interface and to such Twitter clients as HootSuite and Tweetdeck. If they don't have a death wish for their web interface, then they certainly don't be seem to be trying to keep it alive!

If Twitter does not want users fleeing to Twitter clients or, at the very least, to the mobile version of Twitter (which can be accessed on the web), then I believe they will want to restore background images as soon as possible. It probably wouldn't hurt if they back-pedalled on some of their other poor choices as well. I rather suspect many users would be happy if they returned to the old profile, not to mention gave "retweets" and "mentions" their own tabs again. Most of all, they should give web users the ability to disable inline images, perhaps the biggest single complaint (until doing away with the background images, anyway) among Twitter users. If they did all of this, they might actually have a chance to keep the Twitter web interface from becoming an also-ran when it comes to Twitter clients.

Godspeed Aubrey Morris

Aubrey Morris, who appeared in such films as The Wicker Man (1973) and A Clockwork Orange (1971) as well as such TV shows as The Avengers and Danger Man, died on July 15 2015 at the age of 89. He had been ill for several weeks.

Aubrey Morris was born on June 1 1926 in Portsmouth, Hampshire. His older brother Wolfe Morris also went into acting, appearing in such films as The Abominable Snowman (1957), The House That Dripped Blood (1971), and The MacKintosh Man (1973). Both Aubrey and Wolfe Morris appeared in The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975). Aubrey Morris attended Portsmouth Municipal College before studying acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He made his stage debut  at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park in The Winter's Tale in 1944. He made his television debut in 1948 in the production Fly Away Peter.

From 1954 to 1956 he acted at The Old Vic in London. He made his debut on Broadway in 1956 in a revival of King Richard II. For the remainder of the Fifties he appeared again on Broadway in such productions as Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Troilus and Cressida, and The Hostage. He appeared on television on the shows BBC Sunday-Night Theatre, Ivanhoe, The Moonstone, The Terrible Choice, and The Herries Chronicle.

In 1962 Mr. Morris made his film debut in The Quare Fellow. In the Sixties he also appeared in the films The Night Caller (1963), The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery (1966), The Sandwich Man (1966), The Magnificent Two (1967), and If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969). He appeared on such TV shows as Out of This World, Armchair Theatre, The Sentimental Agent, Espionage, Z Cars, The Saint, Thorndyke, The Avengers, Danger Man, Man in a Suitcase, The Prisoner, The Champions, Catweezle, and From a Bird's Eye View.

In the Seventies Aubrey Morris had regular roles on several shows, including Jamie, The Molly Wopsies, Rooms, and Touch and Go. He appeared on such TV shows as On the Buses, Bowler, Whodunnit?, The Sweeney, Space: 1999, Return of the Saint, and BBC2 Playhouse. He appeared in such films as Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971), A Clockwork Orange (1971), Double Take (1972), The Wicker Man (1973), Man About the House (1974), Love and Death (1975), Lisztomania (1975), and The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975).

In the Eighties Mr. Morris appeared on such shows as The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy; Metal Mickey; Reilly: Ace of Spies; Sledge Hammer!; Beauty and the Beast; Murder, She Wrote; Alien Nation; and Tales from the Crypt. He appeared in the films Oxford Blues (1984), Lifeforce (1985), and The Rachel Papers (1989).

In the Nineties Aubrey Morris appeared on such shows as Lovejoy, Babylon 5, Boy Meets World, Columbo, and The Others. He appeared in the films My Girl 2 (1994), The White Gorilla (1995), Bordello of Blood (1996), and Legend of the Mummy (1998). In the Naughts and the Teens he appeared on such shows as Deadwood and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. He appeared in the films Visioneers (2008) and Necessary Evil (2008).

Aubrey Morris was a remarkable actor. Of course, with his distinctive voice he often played characters that could best be described as "offbeat". Despite this he actually played a wide variety of roles. This can be seen his what might be his two most famous roles. As the gardener/cemetery caretaker in The Wicker Man he was good natured and slightly bemused at Sergeant Howie (played Edward Woodward). As probation officer P.R. Deltoid in A Clockwork Orange he was initially friendly towards Alex (played by Malcolm McDowell), but turned resentful when Alex continued to comit acts of violence. Of course, Aubrey Morris also appeared in a good number of TV shows where he also played a large variety of roles. On The Avengers episode "Silent Dust" he played Quince, a somewhat eccentric birdwatcher. In the Danger Man episode "The Paper Chase" he played the petty thief and lottery seller who steals a briefcase that, unknown to him, contains top secret papers. In a long career Mr. Morris played everything from scientists to con men, and historical figures from Nikita Khrushchev to  Isaac D'Israeli. What is more, he did all of them well. In the various movies and TV shows in which Aubrey Morris appeared the parts have sometimes been small, but he also left a lasting impression.

Lyndsy Spence's Post About Margaret Lockwood on the History Press Blog

On July 4 2015 legendary English actress Margaret Lockwood was honoured with a blue plaque from the Heritage Foundation at the home where she lived the last years of  her life in Kingston upon Thames. Tuesday, July 15 2015, marked the 25th anniversary of Miss Lockwood's death at age 73. Next year will see the 100th anniversary of Margaret Lockwood's birth on September 15 1916. She was the top actress in the United Kingdom in the Forties and starred in such films as Bank Holiday (1938), The Lady Vanishes (1938), Night Train to Munich (1940), and The Wicked Lady (1945). She still has a fanatically loyal following in the United Kingdom, the Untied States, and elsewhere. It should come as no surprise that she is receiving so much attention of late.

My friend, author Lyndsy Spence, had the honour of writing a post on Margaret Lockwood, her fabulous career, and the installation of the blue plaque at her former home in Kingston Upon Thames. You can read it here. If you are a fan of Margaret Lockwood you will definitely want to read this well written piece. And if you are not already a fan of Miss Lockwood, Miss Spence's blog post is a good opportunity to learn about one of the greatest English actresses of the mid-20th Century.

Happy 10th Blog Anniversary to Laura of Laura's Miscellaneous Musings!

 It was today on July 16 2005 that Laura started her blog Laura's Miscellaneous Musings. Given most blogs don't last beyond one post, this is quite an achievement! Indeed, I can only name a few other blogs older than Laura's Miscellaneous Musings. As someone who has also been blogging for a long time, I then want to congratulate Laura on reaching the 10 year mark!

You can read her post on her anniversary here.

BTW, the two lovely ladies in the picture above are Debbie Reynolds and Jane Powell.

Jassy (1947)

 It is often the case that movie studios become associated with a particular genre of film. Although they would go onto produce films in many other genres, Warner Bros. is still associated with the gangster film to this day. While both studios produced films in many other genres, Universal Pictures and Hammer Films will probably always be associated with horror movies. To this day when many people think of MGM, lavish Hollywood musicals come to their minds. In the case of the British film studio Gainsborough Pictures, they will always be associated with what has become known as "the Gainsborough melodramas".

For the most part the Gainsborough melodramas were costume dramas, period pieces that could quite rightly be described as bodice rippers. At times they pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable in movies in the Forties, particularly where the overly conservative MPAA Production Code Administration in the United States was concerned. Regardless, the Gainsborough melodramas were immensely successful. Indeed, when adjusted for inflation The Wicked Lady still ranks among the highest grossing films of all time in the United Kingdom. Starting with The Man in Grey in 1943, Gainsborough would see a good deal of success with such films as Madonna of the Seven Moons (1944) and  Fanny by Gaslight (1944). Margaret Lockwood was already something of a star before appearing in the Gainsborough melodramas, having appeared in such films as Bank Holiday (1938), The Lady Vanishes (1938), and Night Train to Munich (1940), but the films she made at Gainsborough would make her Britain's most popular actress in the Forties. Other actors featured in the films, such as James Mason, Stewart Granger, Jean Kent, and Patricia Roc, would become stars in the wake of their popularity.

Unfortunately after World War II the days of the Gainsborough melodramas were numbered. Films such as Caravan (1946) and The Magic Bow (1946) did not perform nearly as well as their predecessors at the box office. The end of the Gainsborough melodrama was certain when the Rank Organisation hired Sydney Box to run Gainsborough. Sydney Box and his wife Muriel did not particularly like the Gainsborough melodramas and preferred realism in films. The two of them made a decision to take Gainsborough in a different direction, that of a broader array of movies that were much more realistic than the bodice rippers of the past several years.

Before Sydney Box could take Gainsborough in a new direction, however, he would produce one last melodrama at the studio. His predecessor at Gainsborough, Maurice Ostrer, had left him with very little in the way of completed scripts. To keep the studio in operation, then, Mr. Box went ahead with what would be the final, official Gainsborough melodrama: Jassy (1947). Despite his dislike for the genre, Sydney Box decided to try to make Jassy the most lavish melodrama yet. It was shot in glorious Technicolor and boasted a bigger budget than the earlier films. Indeed, art director Maurice Carter noted that he was given a bigger budget for sets than he ever had been before.

While Jassy was shot in colour and had a bigger budget than previous Gainsborough melodramas, in many respects it is a much weaker film than its predecessors. Jassy was set in the 1830s in the fictional community of Mummerset, England. It centred on the character of the title, a half-Romany woman with second sight played by Margaret Lockwood. Like Margaret Lockwood's characters in some of her earlier films, Jassy rose from a common background to a higher station in society. Unlike Margaret Lockwood's previous characters in the Gainsborough melodramas, however, Jassy is hardly evil. She is a far cry from such wicked schemers as Hester in The Man in Grey or Lady Barbara in The Wicked Lady. Indeed, if there is a villain in Jassy it is Dilys, played by Patricia Roc, best known for playing the "good girls" in the Gainsborough bodice rippers. It is Dilys who more resembles the sort of roles Margaret Lockwood had previously played.

Despite the fact that the roles Margaret Lockwood and Patricia Roc play are reversed from what they had been in previous Gainsborough melodramas, Jassy is still in many respects a pale shadow when compared to the earlier films. Jassy is one of the weakest and least interesting characters in any of the Gainsborough melodramas. Indeed, she is wholly unassertive, remaining passive even as the worst things are done to her. The character may also be somewhat disturbing to many modern viewers, given the character largely draws upon stereotypes about "gypsies". The shortcomings of the character of Jassy might be more acceptable if not for the fact that the film's plot is at times far-fetched even for a Gainsborough melodrama. Indeed, the climax of the film is wholly unbelievable.

For all its weaknesses, however, Jassy is still a film very much worth watching. While Jassy is not a particularly interesting character, it is still fun seeing Margaret Lockwood play essentially a "good girl" and Patricia Roc play the villain. Indeed, Miss Roc is quite impressive as Dilys, making one wish that she had played "bad girls" more often. Both Basil Sydney and Dennis Price turn in good performances, playing landowners whose recklessness fuels much of the plot.

It must also be pointed out that  Jassy is also much more lavish than many of its predecessors. It was shot in striking Technicolor, adding a visual dimension to the film that is lacking in some of the earlier Gainsborough melodramas. The film also features some of art director Maurice Carter's best work. The sets in Jassy are most impressive. With a stronger plot and lead character, Jassy could easily have been the best over all production among the Gainsborough melodramas.

Jassy was not particularly well received by critics at the time of its release. Critics attacked the weaknesses of the film's plot, as well as the many cliches that had been used many times before in Gainsborough melodramas. The British public was a bit more forgiving towards Jassy. It proved to be a success at the box office, becoming one of the highest grossing film in the United Kingdom in 1947.

Sadly, its success did not guarantee there would be more Gainsborough melodramas. Sydney and Muriel Box were not fond of the genre and wanted to move in the direction of realism. As it was they may have been better off sticking with the ever popular bodice rippers. Gainsborough's films began performing more and more poorly at the box office, to the point that the Rank Organisation closed the studio in 1949 and moved most production to Pinewood Studios. Despite this, films would continue to be released under "Gainsborough Pictures" for the next few years. Sadly, in 1951 this even stopped and Gainsborough was no more.

As the last official Gainsborough melodrama, Jassy is a must see film for fans of Gainsborough, Margaret Lockwood, and Patricia Roc. While its story is much weaker than such classics as The Man in Grey and The Wicked Lady, it still has much to recommend it. The film features some impressive performances, as well as some striking use of Technicolor. It also features some incredible sets. Despite a weak script, Jassy is indeed a spectacle, a lavish film that it is a delight to the eye.