"adaptation"

The beginning of this month marked the 125th anniversary of Charles Laughton’s birth, one of the finest British actors of his day. Laughton was a natural who made his mark on the London stage while still in his twenties.

Some say the term “movie star” is outmoded, since studios don’t make as many movies or build up their acting talent as they once did. But I think the term still applies to George Clooney, who’s very much with us as he nears retirement age (63) this month. But don’t expect him to slow down.

When movie buffs discuss the greatest directors of old Hollywood, the same names tend to crop up: John Ford, Frank Capra, William Wyler, George Cukor, and of course, Hitchcock. Worthy picks of course, but why not Fred Zinnemann? Granted he worked in a wide variety of genres (much like contemporary George Stevens), making him harder to classify. Also he started directing features roughly 15 years after these pioneers of talking pictures. Still, his track record is every bit as impressive.

After World War 2, as the world faced the sobering reality of the Atomic Age, Hollywood films would go darker to reflect this mood, shifting from wartime propaganda and lighter fare to the more unsettling terrain of film noir and doomsday science fiction. But just before that happened, the industry managed to produce three enduring Christmas classics in the space of one year: “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “The Bishop’s Wife,” and “Miracle on 34th Street.” Notably, all were nominated for best picture at the Oscars, though none won.  

I wonder how many people under forty learned of Alan Arkin’s passing last month and thought,  “Oh, that’s sad, it’s that funny old guy from the ‘Kominsky Method’!” Of course, they might also remember him from two hits made in this century: “Little Miss Sunshine” (2006), which brought him a late-career Supporting Actor Oscar, and Ben Affleck’s “Argo” (2012), which also earned him a nomination.

Advances in gay rights have been hard-won, and there's still much work ahead, but Sunday presents an opportunity to embrace all the progress to-date. It’s a day for Pride.    

Great speeches have always made history, and in the movies, the voice of a single character, equipped with just the right words to suit the moment, can stir the emotions and stick in the memory, almost to the exclusion of everything else.