Happy 100th Birthday to Robert Mitchum!

Noir icon ROBERT MITCHUM, who died in 1997, would have been 100 this Sunday. The rugged actor was born on August 6, 1917 in Bridgeport, Connecticut and went on to become one of the actors most associated with film noir for classics such as "Out of the Past."

TCM will be honoring him all by showing his movies on August 6 (see schedule below).

Here are some of the tributes to our favorite movie tough guy, including film retrospectives.

LA Times: On his 100th birthday, here's to legendary Hollywood tough guy Robert Mitchum

WSJ: The Versatile Robert Mitchum: The actor, who would have been 100 this week, mastered many genres—thriller, film noir, western and more

Massive Robert Mitchum Centenary Tribute Set As NYFF 2017 Retrospective

Boston Globe: After 100 years, there’s still been only one Robert Mitchum

TCM SCHEDULE FOR AUGUST 6
(Times are Eastern)

6:00 AM The LOCKET (1946)
    
7:30 AM WHEN STRANGERS MARRY (1944)

9:00 AM CROSSFIRE (1947)

10:30 AM HOLIDAY AFFAIR (1949)

12:00 PM HIS KIND OF WOMAN (1951)
    
2:15 PM ANGEL FACE (1953)

4:00 PM THE STORY OF G.I. JOE (1945)

6:00 PM THE WONDERFUL COUNTRY (1959)

8:00 PM THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER  (1955)
    
10:00 PM OUT OF THE PAST (1947)
    
12:00 AM THUNDER ROAD (1958)

2:00 AM THE ENEMY BELOW (1957)

4:00 AM GOING HOME (1971) 

Former Child Star Dick Moore Dies at 89

RIP to Dick Moore, who had a small but pivotal role as a mute employee of ROBERT MITCHUM's in 1947's Out of the Past. In the final scene of the film, he lies to make sure that Ann, the nice girl Jeff (Mitchum) was seeing, thinks he was going away with bad girl Kathie (Jane Greer) so she'll go on with her life. After she walks away in tears, he gives a final salute to the sign on the gas station that reads "Jeff Bailey."

Moore got his start as an infant in 1927's Beloved Rogue and his last film was 1952's The Member of the Wedding. In between, he played the lead in Oliver Twist, gave Shirley Temple her first kiss in 1942's Miss Annie Rooney, and starred opposite Marlene Dietrich, Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Crawford and Gary Cooper.

He is survived by his wife, actress and singer Jane Powell of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

'Out of the Past' Comes to Blu-ray: All Mitchum Films on Blu-ray

The great 1947 film noir Out of the Past is now on Blu-ray. Recently named as the greatest noir of all time, it stars ROBERT MITCHUM, Jane Greer, and Kirk Douglas. Buy it now at Amazon.

Here's the other Mitchum films that are out on Blu-ray:

Cape Fear (1962) The thriller stars Mitchum as sadistic ex-con Max Cady, who is out for revenge against his former lawyer, Gregory Peck.

Dead Man (1995) Mitchum's last theatrical film. He has a small role in this Jim Jarmusch western, starring Johnny Depp.

El Dorado (1967) Two legends, Mitchum and John Wayne, team up in this Howard Hawks classic western.

The Grass is Greener (1960) Mitchum co-stars with Deborah Kerr, Cary Grant and Jean Simmons in this romantic comedy.

The Longest Day (1962) Mitchum helps lead an all-star cast (including John Wayne and Henry Fonda) in this epic movie about the Normandy Invasion of World War II.

Midway (1976) Mitchum has a small role in this World War II drama about the Battle of Midway, which stars Charlton Heston and Henry Fonda.

The Night of the Hunter (1955) Mitchum stars as murderous preacher Harry Powell, who pursues two children for a hidden fortune. Based on the Davis Grubb novel.

Pursued. (1947) This terrific noirish western, co-starring Theresa Russell, is also available on DVD.

The Red Pony (1949) Mitchum co-stars with Myrna Loy in this adaptation of the John Steinbeck short story.

For a complete list of Mitchum films on DVD and Blu-ray please see: Mitchum Films A-Z.

'Out of the Past' declared best film noir of all time

Total Film just released a list of "25 Greatest Film Noirs" and "Out of the Past" was named number one. Can't say I disagree with that! The fantastic dialogue, the twists, and of course the incredible chemistry between ROBERT MITCHUM and Jane Greer all make this one a notch above most other noirs. It's the movie that got me hooked on film noir and on Mitchum!

Happy 95th Birthday to Kirk Douglas

In honor of Kirk Douglas turning 95, I put together a list of my 10 favorite films of his. Curiously, enough, two of them happen to co-star ROBERT MITCHUM: Out of the Past and The List of Adrian Messenger.

Feeling Noirish: NY Times on the Film Noir Foundation

The NY Times' editorial on saving our favorite film noirs.

Critics have wondered why we love to watch tragedy. It’s easier to understand why we love film noir. In tragedy, none of the characters know they’re going to be tragic until it’s too late. The characters in film noir know what terrible cards they’re holding. We’re the bystanders witnessing a pitiless world where the game is rigged. Just watch “Out of the Past,” starring ROBERT MITCHUM and Jane Greer, and you’ll see. The only moments of true tenderness involve women lighting cigarettes for men and men lighting cigarettes for each other.

Contribute to the Film Noir Foundation which helps preserve neglected or damaged films.

Pairing a DVD and a Drink Takes Care

From the NY Times:
I COULD blame Don Draper, but if it was anyone’s fault, it was ROBERT MITCHUM’s.

There he was early in one of my all-time favorite films, “Out of the Past,” sipping bourbon in a little bar in Acapulco (or a Hollywood version thereof), waiting for the girl, thinking about how the day went away like a pack of cigarettes you smoked. But, baby, I didn’t care. I was thinking, man, that bourbon looks good.

So I paused Mitchum midsentence, went over to the liquor cabinet and then the freezer, and poured myself a Knob Creek on the rocks. And then another.

By the end of the film, whose labyrinthine, double-upon-triple-cross plot had baffled me with each previous viewing, I was even more hopelessly lost than usual. But so what?

So, no, Don, your great-looking old-fashioneds in great-looking bars in “Mad Men” didn’t get me started on this funny habit of mine. I’ve been matching my drinks to my movies for at least 15 years. I’ve done it with my wife, in groups, or (and I’m not ashamed to say this) alone. It adds a new dimension — Alc-O-Vision? — to the plot, the photography and, especially, the sense of immersion if the film takes place in the same country from which the drink in my hand originated.

Different spirits cause different results. “Out of the Past” paired with Knob Creek is mellow yet ominous. But try it with smoky Monte Alban mezcal backed by Negra Modelo beer, and it is vibrant and energetic. The opening Mexican scenes seem to stretch the whole way to the end, to the final quadruple-cross. And it all makes sense.

Read the rest of the article at the NY Times.

Two Mitchum Films Scheduled for LA Film Noir Series

It's time for Deadline: Noir City, the 11th Annual Film Noir Festival, held at the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles. This year, two Mitchum films will be shown:

April 2: Out of the Past -- part of a Jane Greer double feature with the rare The Company She Keeps.

April 11: The Racket -- a double bill with another Robert Ryan film, Woman on Pier 13.

Film Noir Schedule

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