Tag: Leon Ames

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)

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The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946). 113 minutes. Directed by Tay Garnett. Starring Lana Turner (as Cora Smith), John Garfield (as Frank Chambers), Cecil Kellaway (as Nick Smith), Hume Cronyn (as Arthur Keats), Leon Ames (as Kyle Sackett), Audrey Totter (as Madge Gorland), Alan Reed (as Ezra Liam Kennedy), and Jeff York (as Blair).

Based on the James M. Cain novel of the same name, The Postman Always Rings Twice effectively channels the sinister aspects of the film noir mode: the temptation to commit crimes of violence, greed, and cynicism; the femme fatale with murder in her eyes; the morally compromised drifter who falls prey to beautiful women; and the adversarial courtroom scenes. It offers not one but two conspiratorial murder attempts (the second of which is successful), and it features a smoldering, doomed love story, in which the two leads sneak furtive glances and passionate looks while the woman’s husband hovers just out of view. The result is a … Read the rest

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

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Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) featured image

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944). 112 minutes. Directed by Vincente Minnelli. Starring Judy Garland (as Esther Smith), Margaret O’Brien (as “Tootie” Smith), Mary Astor (as Anna Smith), Leon Ames (as Alonzo Smith, Sr.), Tom Drake (as John Truett), Marjorie Main (as Katie), Harry Davenport (as Grandpa Smith), Lucille Bremer (as Rose Smith), Henry H. Daniels, Jr. (as Alonzo Smith, Jr.), Joan Carroll (as Agnes Smith), June Lockhart (as Lucille Ballard), and Robert Sully (as Warren Sheffield). Produced by Arthur Freed. Music by Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane, and others.

Meet Me in St. Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest of the Arthur Freed musicals produced at MGM from the late 1930s through the early 1960s. The movie is a portrait of a Missouri family circa 1903 as their hometown of St. Louis prepares to host the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (also known as the World’s Fair). The events unfold over the course of a year, with the result … Read the rest