Showing posts with label Sterling Silver Hayden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sterling Silver Hayden. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

He Made Me Watch It ~ Dr. Strangelove (1964)

Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb


This is the first installment in a new short series called He Made Me Watch It. "He" refers to my beau Carlos who is coercing... errr I mean, encouraging me to watch some of his favorite films. Most notably, these are films that I have had no interest in prior to Carlos' recommendation. You may recall a couple months ago I wrote about The Hustler (1961). This is one of Carlos' all-time favorite movies and I was so impressed with the film that I was resolved to be open-minded and watch more films that Carlos recommended to me, regardless of any hesitance I had previously to said films. And because I have such a soft spot for the man, I'm even allowing him to take me to see It's a Wonderful Life (1946) - a film I've been avoiding like the plague - on the big screen around Christmas. So stay tuned for a post on that.

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My viewing of Dr. Strangelove (1964) came at the perfect moment. I had just seen Seven Days in May (1964) (read my post about it here) and had been thinking a lot about the Cold War and how it has been represented on film. I've also been watching the 3rd season of Mad Men and had been particularly interested in 1960s America especially the political and social changes that our country faced during that time. And here enters this Kubrick classic.

Now everyone and their mother has seen this film. So I won't pretend to be an expert or to give you any new insight. I just want to say that I enjoyed how this film manages to blend farce and suspence into this witty film. George C. Scott is a hoot as General Buck Turgidson, a man so on edge and so sensient that he is just bursting at the seams. His facial expressions and mannerisms are hilarious!

My favorite line of his is quite a naughty one. He says the following to his bikini-wearing secretary: "You just start off your countdown and ole' Bucky will be back here before you can say 'Blast Off'". Oh my!

I also have a soft spot for Sterling Hayden (The Most Beautiful Man in Movies) who plays General Jack D. Ripper - great names huh? - a deranged General who has just ordered several B-52 to drop atomic bombs on Russian soil. Eek!


When I hear people talk about this movie, they usually talk about Peter Sellers who plays three roles: The President, Dr. Strangelove and Captain Mandrake. I can't say I was all that impressed with Sellers (I'm waiting for someone to throw tomatoes at me). He's okay. I think Hayden and Scott were much more interesting actors to watch on screen.
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I think for me to truly appreciate this film I need to learn more about it. I want to spend sometime reading a few articles about it and watching the extras on the Special Edition DVD. If you have written a post about it on your blog or know of an interesting post or article online, please send me a link! I'd also really love to hear your thoughts on this film and if you have any tidbits of information to share or interesting observations, please please please leave me a comment. Speak!

Friday, February 20, 2009

Hot Toddy ~ Sterling Hayden



Stats: b. 3-26-1916 - d. 5-23-1986. 60 feature films from 1942 to 1982. Quit the movie business temporarily to sail to the South Seas with 4 of his kids. His autobiography Wanderer (1963) is still in print.

Rating based on level of excellence: 5 out of 5 Humunahs!

Hotness Factors: Rockin' physique, bad boy demeanor, beautiful blonde hair, sexy lips. Advertised back in the day as The Most Beautiful Man in Movies. He's the type of guy who may be interested but he's not about to show it, and that drives women wild!

Chicks He Digged: First he married actress Madeleine Carroll but they divorced after 4 years of marriage. Then he married Betty de Noon. They couldn't make up their minds whether to stay together or not. They married and divorced 3 times within 11 years, having 4 children along the way. Hayden finally settled down with Catherine Devine McDonnell with whom he had 2 children and they stayed married for 26 years until his death in 1986.

For Optimal Hotness Watch:

The Asphalt Jungle (1950) ~ Sterling plays Dix Handley, an ex-convict who is part of a complex heist to rob a jewelry store. He wants to start a new life and you root for him to get away with his crime. His devoted gal stands by his side.

The Killing (1956) ~ Sterling Hayden plays Johnny Clay, an ex-convict who is part of a complex heist to rob a horse racetrack. He wants to start a new life and you root for him to get away with his crime. His devoted gal stands by his side.




Wednesday, January 21, 2009

20 Actors Movie Meme

It was inevitable after the 20 Actresses Movie Meme circulated among the blog world that an Actor one would follow suit. And I was ready! The men were much easier to select from than the women. While it's terribly easy for me to dislike an actress (she looked at me funny), I have high respect for many actors. This list was easy to order as well, since I have formed very strong attachments to certain actors and I could guage what number to put them at based on the strength of my feelings. I also use the giggle-mometer. Whenever I see any of these fine gentlemen onscreen, I let out a giggle. The higher-pitched and more annoying the giggle, the more I like him. I guess you don't want to be around me when I see my King Robert Mitchum on screen do you?

Robert Mitchum

Bobby Darin


Rock Hudson

(Kevin - This image is dedicated to you!)


Clark Gable


Kirk Douglas

Jimmy Stewart


Cary Grant



Richard Barthelmess

Lewis Stone


Buster Keaton
Laurel & Hardy

(Thank you Frank for this wonderful image!)


The Marx Bros.


William Powell
(image from Google-LIFE Archive)

Robert Montgomery

Sidney Poitier

George Sanders


Louis Calhern




Charles Laughton


Sterling Hayden


~Honorable Mention: 5 more to round it out to top 25~

Jack Lemmon

Dennis Morgan

Spencer Tracy

Chester Morris

Ramon Novarro

Now it's my turn to tag some folks, seeing as I tagged myself for this one. And the unlucky SOBs are....

Ibetolis @ Film for the Soul

Ginger @ Asleep in New York

Jonas @ All Talking! All Singing! All Dancing!

Casey @ Noir Girl

Joanne @ Zippin' Along

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