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On the first page of The Catcher in the Rye Holden Caulfield announces:
If there’s one thing I hate, it’s the movies. Don’t even mention them to me.
Holden Caulfield was one of the few people I’d ever heard of who hated the movies. He despises the fact that his brother D.B. is out screenwriting in Hollywood, ‘being a prostitute’. But later he does recall this story of going to the movies with his sister Phoebe:
I mean if you tell old Phoebe something she knows exactly what the hell you’re talking about. I mean you can even take her anywhere with you. If you take her to a lousy movie, for instance, she knows it’s a lousy movie. If you take her to a pretty good movie, she knows it’s a pretty good movie. D.B. and I took her to see this French movie, The Baker’s Wife, with Raimu in it. It killed her. Her favourite is The 39 Steps, though, with Robert Donat. She knows the whole goddamn movie by heart, because I’ve taken her to see it about ten times. When old Donat comes up from this Scotch farmhouse, for instance, when he’s running away from the cops and all, Pheobe’ll say right out loud in the movie – right when the Scotch guy in the picture says it – ‘Can you eat the herring?’ She knows all the talk by heart. And when this professor in the picture, that really jolly German spy, sticks up his little finger with part of the middle joint missing, to show Robert Donat, old Pheobe beats him to it – she holds up her little finger at me in the dark, right in front of my face.
R.I.P. J.D. Salinger. January 1, 1919 – January 27, 2010.
It has just been announced that Paul Newman has died yesterday (Friday 26th September 2008) after a battle with cancer. Until recently spokespeople for Newman had denied the rumour of cancer but it looks like the star had been suffering.
Truly one of the greats, I hope to commemorate his passing here on the Classic Film Show by looking back at some of his great performances.
Talking of Casablanca, news recently emerged that the actress Joy Page has passed away at the age of 83. She had a small but memorable role in the film as the young Bulgarian wife who pleads for Rick (Bogart) to help her. Although Rick has already made it clear that he sticks his neck out for nobody, he allows her husband to win at roulette in order to pay for the visas they so desperately need.
Page was only 17 years old when she got the part, but it no doubt helped that her mother had recently married studio head Jack L. Warner. Page went on to have small roles in a limited number of films, but also made a variety of television appearances throughout the 1950s.
She was one of the last surviving members of the Casablanca cast. It is said that the only living actress from the film is Madeleine LeBeau, who played Yvonne, the bitter young beauty who Rick forces from his Café.
Watch Joy Page in Casablanca:
The Classic Film Show 