Shelley Winters

Quote:
The Night of the Hunter—incredibly, the only film the great actor Charles Laughton ever directed—is truly a stand-alone masterwork. A horror movie with qualities of a Grimm fairy tale, it stars a sublimely sinister Robert Mitchum as a traveling preacher named Harry Powell (he of the tattooed knuckles), whose nefarious motives for marrying a fragile widow, played by Shelley Winters, are uncovered by her terrified young children. Graced by images of eerie beauty and a sneaky sense of humor, this ethereal, expressionistic American classic—also featuring the contributions of actress Lillian Gish and writer James Agee—is cinema’s most eccentric rendering of the battle between good and evil.Read More »

On a flight from Chicago to Los Angeles via Iowa, lawyer David Trask gets to know three of his fellow passengers as one technical issue after another leads to delays and unscheduled stops along the way. Those three are physician Dr. Robert Fortness, struggling actress with the stage name Binky Gay, and loud salesman Eddie Hoke, who is both quick with a joke and quick to show off a photograph of his beautiful wife, Marie Hoke. Below the surface, the three have deeper stories, which are bringing them back to Los Angeles and which Dr. Fortness and Binky divulge to David. Dr. Fortness, an alcoholic, is returning to own up to his drunken part in the death of a friend, and his wife Claire’s complicity in the matter. Binky, after being away in New York for a year, is returning to her husband, Mike Carr, hoping to take him away from his overbearing mother, former vaudeville star Sally Carr, who still basks in her former but no longer shining glory, and who is the cause of any marital problem she and Mike have had as she sees Binky as competition in every sense of the word. Because of an incident en route and his burgeoning friendship with them, David feels compelled to help them resolve their issues. Specifically in dealing with Eddie’s life, David is forced to reflect on his own and the reason he left his home in Midland City, Iowa.Read More »

Synopsis:
The life of an overweight, unhappy cook is forever changed after a kind, beautiful college drop-out comes to work as a waitress at he and his mother’s roadside restaurant.

Quote:
Heavy is not the kind of film to view when you’re looking for something upbeat. It’s too real, and, as a result, potentially too painful. On the way out of the theater, I heard someone remark, “Why did I just sit through that film? I’ve lived that story, and I don’t need to be put through it again!” Mangold captures the nuances of life perfectly, and, by never cheapening his vision through facile resolutions, he fashions a memorable cinematic portrait.Read More »

Plot: Chu Chu Ramirez is a Mexican farm laborer in California, with lofty ideals, who is very proud of his new American citizenship. During his time off, he tries to befriend the alcoholic bar girl Nancy. After working for a month for the subsistence farmer Mr. Ames and his frustrated wife, Chu Chu discovers that his paycheck bounces and Ames stalls in paying him. Just after a confrontation between Ames and Chu Chu, Ames is accidentally wounded by his own shotgun and he and his wife blame it on Chu Chu. Despite the support of his friends and sympathetic sheriff, Chu Chu is given a year’s sentence. Written by Will GilbertRead More »

Shelly Winters is great at playing unhinged characters. In WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH HELEN?, she teams up with Debbie Reynolds in a tale about two mothers of convicted killers who move to california in order to escape the publicity and threats against them. Helen (Winters) begins to slowly unravel, revealing the true psychotic within. Haunted by the death of her husband, she becomes increasingly dangerous to herself and others, especially Adelle (Reynolds), who may or may not survive. There are some snappy dance routines (highlighting Debbie Reynolds’ talent and cuteness) scattered throughout. Watch for Dennis Weaver (Duel) as Adelle’s love interest.-WHOEVER SLEW AUNTIE ROO?- has Shelly Winters as Roo, the rich widow of a famous magician.
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