The Art of the Movie Poster: A Pietro Germi Double Feature

Artist and Muse #7

Sergio Leone and Claudia Cardinale on the set of the astonishing Once Upon A Time In The West. Head over to http://www.claudiacardinale.co.uk/menu.htm for a lovely tribute to one of the most beautiful actresses in screen history.
Once Upon A Time In The West is available in a fine double disc special edition dvd from MGM for under ten dollars. Rumor has it that Leone's Fistful Of Dollars and For A Few Dollars more will finally be re-released as special editions later this year.

Don't Miss Don't Make Waves

Tomorrow Turner Classic Movies is having a showing of one of my favorite comedies from the sixties, the Alexander Mackendrick directed DON'T MAKE WAVES. This sparkling and very funny Tony Curtis vehicle from 1967 has never been available on dvd and TCM's fine widescreen transfer is currently the best way to see this little underrated gem.
Outside of one containing Tony Curtis' funniest performances and a great Vic Mizzy score (with no less than The Byrds performing the title track), the highlight of DON'T MAKE WAVES is the opportunity to see two of the most beautiful women in screen history appearing together.

Claudia Cardinale was just one year away from her incredible turn in Sergio Leone's legendary ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST and she is wonderfully daffy and funny in DON'T MAKE WAVES, and at the height of her beauty.
The real scene stealer though is Sharon Tate who had just turned 24 when she took over for Julie Newmar in the role of the beach girl Malibu. The breathtakingly beautiful Tate could have easily developed into one of the best comedians of the sixties and seventies had she been given the chance. Simultaneously hilarious, sexy, sweet and finally tender the athletic Tate is a wonder to behold in this film. Watch this as a double feature sometime with her equally scene stealing role in THE WRECKING CREW to see just how funny and full of life this young woman was in her tragically short life.
The thing I like best about DON'T MAKE WAVES is just how much fun everyone seems to be having. I find it's sense of exuberance unfortunately missing from most of today's comedies. It may not be great art but it's a hell of a lot of fun.
Hopefully the studios will get around to recognizing Tony Curtis as one of the great comic actors of the sixties and get some of his unreleased comedies out on disc. In the meantime check out DON'T MAKE WAVES Sunday morning on TCM, it's a sublimely funny little film.