STAR OF THE MONTH
Angela Lansbury
Born October 16, 1925
Angela Brigid Lansbury, oldest child of Moyna MacGill and Edgar Lansbury, was born in Poplar, London in October of 1925. Her mother was an actress, and often took her to the theater to see plays. Lansbury also studied the dramatic arts at two different schools in her early days.
In 1940, Lansbury's mother relocated the family to the United States. They originally started out in New York, but eventually settled in Los Angeles, where Lansbury began to work at a local department store. At the age of 18, Lansbury was offered a part in the movie Gaslight (1944). She was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her first film role.
From there, Lansbury's career took off. She has maintained a very successful career in theater and television, as well as movies. She has been in 17 theater productions at Broadway and West End, including Mame, Hamlet, and Sweeney Todd; been a part of 22 television productions, probably one of her most famous being Jessica Fletcher in the series Murder, She Wrote; and she has been in 54 major film productions (including her upcoming 2012 film Adaline), with some of her most notable roles being Semadar in Samson and Delilah (1949), Eglantine Price in Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), Salome Otterbourne in Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile (1978), and Mrs. Potts in the Beauty and the Beast franchise.
Angela Lansbury is still alive and well at the age of 86. She became a naturalized United States Citizen in 1951, and now resides in New York.
MOVIE OF THE MONTH
The Picture of Dorian Gray
1945
Starring Hurd Hatfield, Donna Reed and Angela Lansbury
Dorian Gray (Hatfield) is a very young and extremely easily influenced man. He comes to believe that the two most important things in life are youth and money. He decides life is only worth living if you have those two things forever. His friend Basil paints a portrait of him as a gift, and Dorian makes a wish that his portrait would age instead of himself, so that he could look as young and pure as his likeness.His wish magically comes true, and Dorian does not outwardly age.
Time passes, and Dorian falls in love with a young actress named Sibyl (Lansbury). Unfortunately he is easily convinced by an acquaintance to break her heart and abandon the relationship for "more important things in life." So, even though he really does love Sibyl, he leaves her, and shortly afterwards learns that she has killed herself.
Rather than grieve for this loss, Dorian locks away his emotions and concentrates on worldly things.He begins to notice that the portrait of himself is changing. It frightens him, so he locks away the portrait in his childhood playroom, where nobody can see it.
Time passes, as it always will, and Dorian continues to remain young, even though he should be aging. He occasionally looks at his portrait which has become uglier as he has become more sinful, cold, and hedonistic over the years. He does not, however, change his ways, and the portrait haunts him, constantly weighing on his mind. Eventually his paranoia over it causes him to murder a close friend. Dorian feels his responsibility for the crime, and realizes the person he has become. Wishing to spare Gladys (Reed), the girl he now loves, he stabs his portrait in the heart, thereby breaking the spell and killing himself.
As you might recall, I did a post on The Picture of Dorian Gray, which is based on the novel of the same name by Oscar Wilde, back in June.Obviously it isn't a bright, cheerful story, but it is very interesting. Wilde makes quite a statement on his views towards secular humanism and hedonism, etc. The film is beautifully and artistically done, and presents a fascinating story.
You can view the official original trailer here:
And you can see selected clips from the movie play consecutively here:
That's all for today!
Don't forget, you can still see more Angela Lansbury movies on TCM every Wednesday in January.
Also, I'll be posting official information about the photo contest tomorrow.
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