Kind Hearts and Coronets: What’s a Few Murders?
Alec Guinness. Photo: Ealing Studios After playing Fagin in David Lean’s Oliver Twist (1948), a controversial role that required him to wear heavy makeup, including a prosthetic nose, Alec Guinness…
Oliver Twist: Surviving the Streets
John Howard Davies and Robert Newton. Photo: General Film Distributors There are stories about David O. Selznick attacking Alec Guinness at a party over his portrayal of Fagin in this…
Great Expectations: Educating Pip
Valerie Hobson and John Mills. Photo: Universal After making one of the greatest romantic films of all time, Brief Encounter (1945), director David Lean moved on to what would become…
Bridge on the River Kwai: Pride and Prejudice
Photo: Columbia The Bridge on the River Kwai should not be regarded as a factual account. The bridge is blown up in the movie, but in real life two bridges…
Lawrence of Arabia: Lost in the Sand
Peter O'Toole. Photo: Columbia I regret never having seen this film on a big screen, the kind of epic for which the widescreen format was invented. But it is a…
Return of the Jedi: A Case of the Cutes
Carrie Fisher. Photo: 20th Century Fox When I told a friend of mine that I had recently reviewed the first three Star Wars movies and reached the conclusion that the…
Empire Strikes Back: Deeper Space
Photo: 20th Century Fox I went back to this old favorite certain that I would be less impressed this time and give it a lower rating. But I’m surprised to…
Star Wars: A Princess Calls for Help
Photo: 20th Century Fox Many people of my age grew up watching the Star Wars franchise. I never did; my movie nerd era didn’t begin until I was 16 and…