When I first heard that Spielberg was taking on the classic musical, West Side Story, previously immortalized on celluloid by iconic director Robert Wise, I was a little dubious. Not that I didn’t trust Spielberg. Even with some of his weaker films (BFG) he arguably does something unique and noteworthy, even if it just demonstrates…
Tag: rita moreno
West Side Story (1961) – Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins
Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins direct the film that brings me back to the musical genre in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book. Stephen Sondheim pens the lyrics for this Academy Award winning musical (including Best Picture) that is an updated retelling of Shakespeare’s beautiful tragedy Romeo & Juliet with Richard Beymer…
The Rockford Files (1979) – No-Fault Affair and The Big Cheese
Rita Moreno is back again as Rita Capkovic in the first episode up this week. No-Fault Affair was written by Juanita Bartlett, and originally aired 30 November, 1979. The phone gag this time around features someone calling thinking the number was for dial-a-joke. Rita has aspirations of becoming a hair dresser, she’s been to beauty school,…
The Rockford Files (1978) – Heartaches of a Fool and Rosendahl and Gilda Stern are Dead
Private investigator Jim Rockford (James Garner) is back as season five opens. The season premier was 22 September, 1978 and saw Jim’s dad, Rocky (Noah Beery jr.) in a bit of a trouble in this episode written by Cannell. And the first phone message of the year features a phone call from a person…
The Rockford Files (1978) – The Gang at Don’s Drive-In and The Paper Palace
Jim (James Garner) meets up with an old friend, with a problem, in the first episode this week, The Gang at Don’s Drive-In. It was written by James Crocker and aired 13 January, 1978. The phone gag features a call from someone who just went through 12 years of therapy, and will happily tell Jim what he…
The Mind Reels 