And the winner is...Academy Awards in the sixties

The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are the western cinema industry's big night out (I know, some of you are fans of European film but, let's face it, the Oscars are bigger than the Palme D'Or, the Golden Bear, the BAFTAs and all the rest put together).

Surprisingly - perhaps less so now Les Miserables has staked its claim - four of the awards for Best Picture in the sixties went to musicals. In 1961, it was West Side Story:

A modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet, with music by Leonard Bernstein, words by Stephen Sondheim and fabulous, hormone-driven choreography by Jerome Robbins, the stars of the film were Richard Beymer and Natalie Wood:

The good looking actors had their singing voices dubbed (by Jimmy Bryant and Marni Nixon, respectively). Marni was also the mother of Andrew Gold, by the way.

Three years on and the award for Best Picture went to My Fair Lady. Another adaptation from a stage play (this time George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion), Marni Nixon was once more the off-screen (though not exactly unsung) heroine, this time dubbing a singing voice for Audrey Hepburn.

Rex Harrison playing the irascible Professor Higgins to Hepburn's Eliza Dolittle, carried off the Oscar for Best Actor.

The very next year, 1965, saw The Sound of Music (yep, that's right) sweep up the Best Picture award.

We could be boring and bring you an ever so familiar clip from the movie, but we thought you might prefer this instead. (If you can watch without smiling, let us know!):

The final musical to run off with the Best Picture Oscar in the sixties was Lionel Bart's adaptation of a classic Charles Dickens story:

Starring, among others, that little known musical heavyweight, Oliver Reed (no relation to the eponymous hero), the musical also won Best Director award for Sir Carol Reed (with a name like that, bet he didn't go to the local Secondary Modern!) Reed also directed The Agony and the Ecstasy and The Third Man.

So, which one will you be singing in the shower tomorrow morning?

Post below and let us know.

Best film of 1960 - horror

In the 1960s, if things were getting scary, there was no more reliable man in a crisis than Peter Cushing. And, if vampires were your problem (especially sexy vampires) who better to send for than Peter...sorry, Professor van Helsing?

The Brides of Dracula, released in 1960, is something of a Hammer Horror rarity, in that it doesn't feature Christopher Lee as the fearsome undead Count. (Depending on who you listen to, Lee fled this one in fear of typecasting...or the frighteningly low fee on offer).

In 21st century terms, the fanged-fatales Cushing faced seem a little tame, but who could resist a Dracula who "turns a girls' school into a Chamber of Horrors"?

Christopher Lee was otherwise occupied in 1960, tempting his unsuspecting female student (Venetia Stevenson) to make an ill-advised visit to Massachusetts, where she will experience the thrills and the chills of witchcraft today!

That other master of schlock horror of the sixties, Vincent Price, was under the direction of Roger Corman for a classic of the genre:

But why tremble over a mere poster...why not shiver and shake at the terrifying trailer?

The screen's "foremost delineator of the Draculean"??!!


Fans of JohnWyndham novels, might remember Village of the Damned, based on Wyndham's sci-fi horror, The Midwich Cuckoos. Let's face is, few things are as scary as evil sprogs...

And they all grew up to be Tefal scientists!

That's about it for memorable horror films in 1960...oh, almost forgot. There was this one, too...

Bath time, anybody?

Best film of 1960? Part One - Adventure.

Remember the Alamo?  Not the real one, of course. The 1960 release starring John Wayne, Richard Widmark and, in a wild bit of casting, Laurence Harvey. (oh, and let's not forget Frankie Avalon).

A group of plucky Texans led by Congressman (and former King of the Wild Frontier) Davy Crockett (Wayne), mount a futile but heroic last stand against the forces of the Mexican General, Santa Anna.  Amongst this doughty number is another all-American hero, Jim Bowie (he of the knife), played by Richard Widmark. Representing the "stuffed shirt" approach to martyrdom, is cavalry officer, William B. Travis (Harvey).

For those of you who haven't yet seen it, a warning. This might be one of those films in which even John Wayne gets killed...

Of course, what the heroes of the Alamo really needed was a gang of mercenaries with hearts of gold...

(psssst!  say nothing to Akiro Kurasawa about this!)

The seven guys who turn out to be magnificent, start out as a bunch of rogues (for the most part). 1960 was a good year for adventures featuring loveable or at least admirable rogues - sometimes out for themselves. Long before George Clooney put together his team, Frank Sinatra was Danny Ocean:

Meanwhile, in not yet swinging Britain, disgruntled ex-army officer, Jack Hawkins was signing up a crack team of his own:

The British film industry was still making capital from the events of the second world war and, if Jack Hawkins was busy playing a soldier gone to the bad, there was always Kenneth More to turn to:

Adventure stories aren't just for grown-ups though and 1960 saw Disney get in the act with this classic children's live action film, starring John Mills (who of course, also won the war on several occasions) :

Science fiction had passed its first heyday (Klaatu had long since barada'ed his nikto). Nevertheless, before George Lucas reinvented the genre with Star Wars, 1960 saw the release of one of the classic sci-fi films. Long before there was Kylie, and even a little bit before there was Rolf, there was Rod Taylor - Australia's finest?

But if you wanted adventure, if you wanted heroism, if you wanted excitement, romance and high Olivier camp, in 1960, you probably wanted this:

Classic film moment...mind you, my Dad always wondered why they didn't just point out some corpse and say "that's Spartacus, over there. That dead 'un!"

Burton and Taylor - the great romance of the sixties

It was one of the great romances in human history - a beautiful, powerful woman and a rough but charming hero. Their passion was epic, as were their fights.  One way or another, the earth clearly moved whenever these two were in the room together.  Antony and Cleopatra - re-incarnated for the fortunate sixties.

Elizabeth Taylor was Hollywood to the core - the pretty child star who grew to claim the title of the "World's Most Beautiful Woman" whilst maturing into one the finest screen actors (or as they were known in the sixties - actresses) of her generation.

'For her own person, It beggared all description'

After several attempts at marriage (Nicky Hilton, Michael Wilding, Mike Todd, and Eddie Fisher) this queen of Hollywood finally found her Mark Antony, both figuratively and literally.

Richard Burton was born Richard Jenkins in Port Talbot (1925). One of thirteen children, his acting career was inspired by a teacher, Philip Burton who encouraged, mentored and eventually adopted him.

When Richard and Elizabeth met and fell for one another, on the set of the epic 1963 film,  Cleopatra, she was still married to Fisher (and he to his first wife, Sybil). Exit stage left, two spouses, enter, stage right, perhaps the greatest romance of the age.

They would remain linked for the rest of their lives - marrying twice and divorcing twice, along the way.  Glamorous and talented, they also became extremely rich (Burton, a charismatic stage and screen presence, became major box office through his link with Taylor).

Taylor and Burton in 1966's Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolff for which she won her 2nd Oscar.

And then, of course, there were the gifts...

Elizabeth wearing the 69.42 carat cartier diamond, later known as the Taylor-Burton diamond.

...and...the gifts...

The engagement ring - the Krupp diamond - a mere 33.19 carats.  Call that love?! 

The intensity - fuelled by "impressive" alcohol consumption (especially on his part) - led to divorce in 1974. 

The very next year, they remarried but, as with many second chances, it didn't last. Nine months later they parted again, though it is said he rang her every day for the rest of his life.

Richard Burton died in 1984. Still remembered as one of the great acting voices of the 20th century (Listen to Under Milk Wood or his narration of the 1970s cult album War of the Worlds), he was one of a generation of British 'hell-raisers' (which included Richard Harris, Oliver Reed and Peter O'Toole). 

He was also a man who loved a certain woman...

Sean Connery - the real James Bond.

'Who's the best James Bond?' This was a question never asked in the 1960s. There was only one James Bond, and his name was Sean Connery.
Aficionados of Ian Fleming's books were initially up-in-arms about the casting of a body-building former milkman (and a Scot, at that) as the quintessential suave, ruthless English spy - Commander James Bond.

Yesh, Moneypenny, that's me in the middle in the white trunks.

What Connery brought to the role, which silenced the critics (or drowned their objections under a tidal wave of acclaim) was a rugged masculinity, which few of his British peers were able to match (then or since).

As Mick Jagger would do in popular music, Connery in the role of Bond was able to feed both male and female fantasies.

                            "Live dangerously with the superbly resourceful James Bond"
Man or woman - who could resist an invitation like that?

Connery made five Bond films in the sixties:  Dr No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967).  After that came a four year gap before his "final" (not quite) appearance as 007 in 1971's Diamonds are Forever. 

A quick online survey shows that the issue of the best ever Bond film, leans heavily towards Goldfinger (though my vote would go to From Russia with Love).  Where do you stand? (That's what the "comments" box is for!)

Since Daniel Craig took on the role, bringing a certain fallibility and even human vulnerability to Bond, the franchise seems to have been revivified. For those who were around in the sixties, however, the question 'Who was the best James Bond?' is probably as easy to answer as it ever was.