It seems kind of absurd to think about, but back in the late 1930s beloved starlet Katherine Hepburn was considered "box office poison." Yes, arguably the preeminent actress of her generation was dismissed by her industry after starring in a string of box office failures, which these days are considered classics. Back then, audiences were seemingly unimpressed with Hepburn's run at Rko, which ended with 1938's "Bringing Up Baby" — a Howard Hawks-helmed screwball effort that lost around 300,000 on its initial release.
Later that year, Hepburn's name showed up in a now-infamous trade magazine ad in which President of the Independent Theatre Owners Association, Harry Brandt, claimed that her and other actresses' "box office draw is nil." The term "box office poison" became synonymous with Hepburn, who a month later would show up in George Cukor's "Holiday," which failed to overcome the financial struggles that had dogged Hepburn's movies in recent years.
Later that year, Hepburn's name showed up in a now-infamous trade magazine ad in which President of the Independent Theatre Owners Association, Harry Brandt, claimed that her and other actresses' "box office draw is nil." The term "box office poison" became synonymous with Hepburn, who a month later would show up in George Cukor's "Holiday," which failed to overcome the financial struggles that had dogged Hepburn's movies in recent years.
- 1/22/2023
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
Despite allegedly scaring Alfred Hitchcock with his yelling, James Stewart really did live up to his polite everyman reputation. He's one of the biggest stars in Hollywood history and yet retained humility throughout his decades-long career, even finding time to rise up the ranks of the military and fight in World War II between starring in some of the biggest movies of his day. He passed away in 1997 having built a career full of classic movie moments and never once tarnished his reputation as a class act (Hitchcock probably deserved some dressing down). In fact, beyond being self-effacing, Stewart was known for being quite shy off-screen — a trait that, every now and then, would seemingly trip him up on set.
So it was with 1940's "The Philadelphia Story" — a vehicle for Katherin Hepburn's comeback after the actress found herself on Harry Brandt's infamous "box office poison list." Her turn...
So it was with 1940's "The Philadelphia Story" — a vehicle for Katherin Hepburn's comeback after the actress found herself on Harry Brandt's infamous "box office poison list." Her turn...
- 1/17/2023
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
Mark Miller, the prolific actor and screenwriter writer best known for Please Don’t Eat The Daisies and Guestward, Ho! has died. His daughter, actress Penelope Ann Miller, confirmed the news on Twitter. He was 97.
Miller portrayed college professor Jim Nash on Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, which ran from 1965-1967 and then in syndication. The NBC-MGM sitcom, which ran for 58 half-hour episodes, was loosely based on the theatrical film of the same name starring Doris Day and David Niven. The series did well initially, but its ratings took a hit in Season 2 when it was moved opposite The Jackie Gleason Show.
Miller had substantial runs on other big shows, most notably Desilu’s Guestward Ho! on ABC in 1960. He played one half of a New York City couple, the Hootens, who relocate to a dude ranch in New Mexico. Guestward Ho! ran for one season alongside The Donna Reed Show on Thursday evenings.
Miller portrayed college professor Jim Nash on Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, which ran from 1965-1967 and then in syndication. The NBC-MGM sitcom, which ran for 58 half-hour episodes, was loosely based on the theatrical film of the same name starring Doris Day and David Niven. The series did well initially, but its ratings took a hit in Season 2 when it was moved opposite The Jackie Gleason Show.
Miller had substantial runs on other big shows, most notably Desilu’s Guestward Ho! on ABC in 1960. He played one half of a New York City couple, the Hootens, who relocate to a dude ranch in New Mexico. Guestward Ho! ran for one season alongside The Donna Reed Show on Thursday evenings.
- 9/14/2022
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
This season of Doctor Who just isn’t working for me.
This is imho, of course, and Ymmv, but after a great opening episode (The Pilot) I’ve been very disappointed. The stories haven’t excited me, and, more important, the relationship between Pearl Mackie’s Bill Potts and Peter Capaldi’s Doctor doesn’t seem to have moved all that much forward; there isn’t any there there, as Trumpists like to say these days. (Of course I had to get a Trump reference in here. You know me.) It started off great, with hints of something even more brewing.
Why does the Doctor take an interest in the non-matriculated kitchen worker who was attending his lectures? Why did he go out of his way to use the Tardis to go back in the past to take pictures of Bill’s dead mom – of whom she had no memory...
This is imho, of course, and Ymmv, but after a great opening episode (The Pilot) I’ve been very disappointed. The stories haven’t excited me, and, more important, the relationship between Pearl Mackie’s Bill Potts and Peter Capaldi’s Doctor doesn’t seem to have moved all that much forward; there isn’t any there there, as Trumpists like to say these days. (Of course I had to get a Trump reference in here. You know me.) It started off great, with hints of something even more brewing.
Why does the Doctor take an interest in the non-matriculated kitchen worker who was attending his lectures? Why did he go out of his way to use the Tardis to go back in the past to take pictures of Bill’s dead mom – of whom she had no memory...
- 6/19/2017
- by Mindy Newell
- Comicmix.com
Saturday night, I was scouting around trying to find something to watch that interested me. Cable was the same old reruns of old television shows and movies. I wanted something I hadn’t seen before. I wanted a new adventure, so I turned to Netflix. I stumbled upon a film from 1932 that intrigued me; The Animal Kingdom. The cast included Lesley Howard (best known as Ashley Wilkes from Gone With The Wind), Myrna Loy (best known from the Thin Man series) and Ann Harding.
The story revolves around the characters of Tom Collier (Lesley Howard), Daisy Sage (Ann Harding) and Cee Henry (Myrna Loy). Tom is a free thinker and has been living that lifestyle; enjoying art and only publishing books that he actually would want to read. Tom thinks that it is time to become respectable so he announces his engagement, but it is not to longtime girlfriend Daisy but to Cee,...
The story revolves around the characters of Tom Collier (Lesley Howard), Daisy Sage (Ann Harding) and Cee Henry (Myrna Loy). Tom is a free thinker and has been living that lifestyle; enjoying art and only publishing books that he actually would want to read. Tom thinks that it is time to become respectable so he announces his engagement, but it is not to longtime girlfriend Daisy but to Cee,...
- 1/27/2011
- by Joan Rapp
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
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