British postcard by Athena International, no. 0334345, BAT, no. 15. Photo: TM / DC Comics Inc. Photo: Billy Dee Williams in Batman (Tim Burton, 1989).
In the American fantasy film Batman (Tim Burton, 1989), the Dark Knight of Gotham City (Michael Keaton) begins his war on crime with his first major enemy being Jack Napier, a criminal who becomes the clownishly homicidal Joker (Jack Nicholson). The film was based on the DC Comics book series, started in 1939 by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. Batman was a huge box-office success, being the best-attended film of 1989. It was the first part of a cycle of Batman films, which later included Batman Returns (1992), Batman Forever (1995), and Batman & Robin (1997).
The location of Batman (Tim Burton, 1989) is Gotham City - a big and very unsafe city. Crime boss Carl Grissom (Jack Palance) effectively runs the town but there's a new crime fighter in town - the mysterious Batman (Michael Keaton), a very capable fighter in a bat costume, on whom bullets seem to have little effect. Grissom's right-hand man is Jack Napier (Jack Nicholson), a brutal man who is not entirely sane... Napier turns out to have a secret relationship with Grissom's mistress Alicia (Jerry Hall). Grissom learns of the affair and covertly informs the police of a robbery in order to have Napier eliminated. Napier falls to his apparent death in a vat of chemicals. However, he soon reappears as The Joker and starts a reign of terror in Gotham City. Meanwhile, journalist Alexander Knox (Robert Wuhl) and photographer Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger) are in the city to do an article on Batman. Vicki soon starts a relationship with Batman's everyday persona, eccentric billionaire Bruce Wayne.
The idea of making a film about Batman came up in 1980. Tom Mankiewicz, who had co-written the screenplay for Superman (1978), wrote the first draft of a screenplay, in which the origin of Batman was told, with the Joker and Penguin as the bad guys. Robin would appear in costume at the end of the film. The film was due for release in 1985 but was delayed until the project was picked up by producers Jon Peters and Peter Gruber. They recruited Tim Burton to direct after his film Pee-wee's Big Adventure became an unexpected success. Burton rewrote a revised version with his then-girlfriend Julie Hickson, and in 1986 commissioned Sam Hamm to write a new screenplay based on his changes. In 1988, the project was given the green light after Burton's Beetlejuice proved to be a great success. In September 1988, the film went into production, and filming began in October. By December, the film was finished. Gotham City was designed by British designer Anton Furst. The bleak, urban set design was reminiscent of the sets of films like Metropolis and Blade Runner. Furst deliberately combined several architectural styles, so that Gotham City did not come from a clear period of time and the city appeared very ugly and desolate. When it was announced that the film was to be made, fans of the comic book series feared that the film would take on the light-hearted, farcical tone of the 1960s television series. The choice of Michael Keaton as Batman played a major role in this, as Keaton had until then been known mainly for his work in light film comedies.
However, Batman (Tim Burton, 1989) proved faithful to the original comic series. The influence of Frank Miller's darker Batman comics, 'Batman: The Dark Knight Returns'(1986), was also evident. Batman became a huge success, grossing $100 million in its first ten days and eventually grossing over $400 million worldwide. In North America alone, the film made about $82.8 million. Still, there was some criticism. Roger Ebert wrote: " Batman is a triumph of design over story, style over substance - a great-looking movie with a plot you can’t care much about. All of the big moments in the movie are pounded home with ear-shattering sound effects and a jackhammer cutting style, but that just serves to underline the movie’s problem, which is a curious lack of suspense and intrinsic interest." Leonard Maltin noted that the villain, the Joker, was a far more interesting character than the hero, Batman, and stole the show in every scene he was in. In addition to Burton's direction and special effects, the dramatic music score by Danny Elfman and the sombre, urban set design by Anton Furst and Peter Young were praised at the reception. Furst and Young received an Academy Award for best set design. An extensive promotional campaign accompanied the film, including toys, T-shirts, buttons, and posters with the black and yellow bat logo. Two music albums were released, an official, instrumental version by Danny Elfman and an album by Prince with Batman and the Joker as the main theme, some of the songs of which were also featured in the film. Prince's music became a great success and reached the number one position in several countries, including the United States and the Netherlands. The song 'Batdance' also became a big hit. Both the film music by Elfman and a song by Prince, 'Partyman', were nominated for a Grammy Award. The film had three sequels: Batman Returns (1992), also directed by Tim Burton, Batman Forever (1995), and Batman and Robin (1997), both directed by Joel Schumacher. It also inspired the animated series Batman (1992-1995).
Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch, French, and English) and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Tags: Batman 1989 Tim Burton Tim Burton American Actor Hollywood Film Star Movie Star Cinema Film Cine Kino Picture Screen Movies Filmster Vintage Postcard Carte Postale Cartolina Tarjet Postal Postkarte Postkaart Briefkarte Briefkaart Ansichtskarte Ansichtkaart Superhero Marvel Batmobile Warner Bros. Warner Billy Dee Williams Billy Dee Williams
© All Rights Reserved
British postcard by Athena International in the Beach Girls Collection V, no E1000450. Photo: Paulo Curto / The Image Bank.
Follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest. Or take a look in our albums Va-Va-Va-Voom Vintage Pin-ups and Beautiful Bikini Beach Babes.
Tags: Pin-up Sixties 1960s Girl Woman Sweet Sexy Beachwear Swimwear Bathing Suit Maillot Vintage Postcard Carte Postale Cartolina Postkarte Tarjet Postal Postkaart Briefkarte Briefkaart Ansichtkarte Ansichtkaart Athena Beach Girls Collection Paulo Curto Paulo Curto
© All Rights Reserved
British postcard by Athena, Beach cruiser's collection, no. 1. Photo: Grant Sainsbury. Sent by mail in 1989.
We thought it was about time for a different pin-up postcard.
For more vintage pin-up postcards: follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest. And, did you view our sets Va-Va-Va-Voom Vintage Pin-ups and Beautiful Bikini Beach Babes yet?
Tags: Pin-up Hunk Hunks Beachwear Swimwear Sexy Boys Men Beach Vintage Postcard Carte Postale Cartolina Tarjet Postal Postkarte Briefkarte Ansichtskarte Postkaart Briefkaart Ansichtkaart Athena cruiser's Collection Grant Sainsbury Grant Sainsbury 1980s
© All Rights Reserved
English postcard in the Athena Star Collection, London, no. 9238. Paul Newman in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (George Roy Hill, 1969).
American film actor Paul Newman (1925-2008) was a matinee idol with the most famous blue eyes of Hollywood, who often played detached yet charismatic anti-heroes and rebels. He was nominated for nine acting Academy Awards in five different decades and won the Oscar for The Color of Money (1986). He was also a prominent social activist, a major proponent of actors' creative rights, and a noted philanthropist.
Paul Leonard Newman was born in 1925, in Shaker Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. He was the second son of Arthur Sigmund Newman and Theresa Fetsko. His father was a Jewish businessman who owned a successful sporting goods store. His mother was a practicing Christian Scientist with an interest in the creative arts, and it rubbed off on her son. At age 10, he performed in a stage production of 'Saint George and the Dragon' at the Cleveland Play House. He also acted in high school plays. By 1950, the 25-year-old Newman had been kicked out of Ohio University, where he belonged to the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, for unruly behavior (denting the college president's car with a beer keg), served three years in the United States Navy during World War II as a radio operator, graduated from Ohio's Kenyon College, married his first wife, actress Jacqueline "Jackie" Witte, and had his first child, Scott. That same year, his father died. When he became successful in later years, Newman said if he had any regrets it would be that his father was not around to witness his success. He brought Jackie back to Shaker Heights and he ran his father's store for a short period. Then, knowing that wasn't the career path he wanted to take, he sold his interest in the store to his brother and moved with Jackie and Scott to New Haven, Connecticut. There he attended Yale University's School of Drama. While doing a play there, Newman was spotted by two agents, who invited him to come to New York City to pursue a career as a professional actor. After moving to New York, he acted in guest spots for various television series, and in 1953 came a big break. He got the part of understudy of the lead role in the successful Broadway play 'Picnic' by William Inge. Through this play, he met actress Joanne Woodward, who was also an understudy in the play. While they got on very well and there was a strong attraction, Newman was married and his second child, Susan, was born that year. During this time, Newman was accepted into the much admired and popular New York Actors Studio, although he did not actually audition. In 1954, a film Newman was very reluctant to do was released, the failed costume drama The Silver Chalice (Victor Saville, 1954). He considered his performance in this costume epic to be so bad that he took out a full-page ad in Variety apologising for it to anyone who might have seen it. He immediately wanted to return to the stage, and performed in 'The Desperate Hours'. In 1956, he got the chance to redeem himself in the film world by portraying boxer Rocky Graziano in Somebody Up There Likes Me (Robert Wise, 1956) with Pier Angeli. The role of Rocky was originally awarded to James Dean, who died before filming began. Critics praised Newman's performance. Dean also was signed to play Billy the Kid in The Left Handed Gun (Arthur Penn, 1958), but that role was also inherited by Newman after Dean's death. With a handful of films to his credit, he was cast in The Long, Hot Summer (1958), an acclaimed adaptation of a pair of William Faulkner short stories. His co-star was Joanne Woodward. During the shooting of this film, they realised they were meant to be together and by now, so did his then-wife Jackie, who gave Newman a divorce. He and Woodward wed in Las Vegas in January 1958. They went on to have three daughters together. They raised them in Westport, Connecticut. In 1959, Newman received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Richard Brooks, 1958), based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Tennessee Williams. Well-received by both critics and audiences, Cat on Hot Tin Roof was MGM's most successful release of 1958 and became the third highest-grossing film of that year.
Paul Newman traveled back to Broadway to star in Tennessee Williams' 'Sweet Bird of Youth'. Upon his return to the West Coast, he bought himself out of his Warner Bros. contract before starring in the smash From the Terrace (Mark Robson, 1960) with Joanne Woodward. Exodus (Otto Preminger, 1960), another major hit, quickly followed. The 1960s would bring Paul Newman into superstar status, as he became one of the most popular actors of the decade. In 1961, he played one of his most memorable roles as pool shark "Fast" Eddie Felson in The Hustler (Robert Rossen, 1961) with Jackie Gleason and Piper Laurie. It garnered him the first of three Best Actor Oscar nominations during the decade. The other two were for the Western Hud (Marin Ritt, 1963), and the superb chain-gang drama Cool Hand Luke (Jack Smight, 1967). He also appeared in the political thriller Torn Curtain (Alfred Hitchcock, 1966) with Julie Andrews. The film, set in the Cold War, is about an American scientist who appears to defect behind the Iron Curtain to East Germany. Other minor hits were the mystery Harper (Jack Smight, 1966), with Lauren Bacall, and the Western Hombre (Martin Ritt, 1967), based on the novel by Elmore Leonard and co-starring Fredric March. In 1968, his debut directorial effort Rachel, Rachel (Paul Newman, 1968) was given good marks. He directed three actors to Oscar nominations: Joanne Woodward (Best Actress, Rachel, Rachel (1968)), Estelle Parsons (Best Supporting Actress, Rachel, Rachel (1968)), and Richard Jaeckel (Best Supporting Actor, Sometimes a Great Notion (1971)). Newman won a Golden Globe Award for his direction of Rachel, Rachel (1968). 1969 brought the popular screen duo of Newman and Robert Redford together for the first time when Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (George Roy Hill, 1969) was released. It was a box office smash. Through the 1970s, Newman had hits and misses from such popular films The Sting (George Roy Hill, 1973) with Robert Redford, which won the 1973 Best Picture Oscar, and the star-studded disaster epic The Towering Inferno (John Guillermin, 1974), to lesser-known films as the Western The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (Robert Altman, 1972) with Jacqueline Bisset, to a cult classic, the sports comedy Slap Shot (George Roy Hill, 1977) with Michael Ontkean. In 1978, Newman's only son, Scott, died of a drug overdose. After Scott's death, Newman's personal life and film choices moved in a different direction.
Paul Newman's acting work in the 1980s and on is what is often most praised by critics today. He became more at ease with himself and it was evident in The Verdict (Sidney Lumet, 1982) with Charlotte Rampling, for which he received his sixth Best Actor Oscar nomination. In 1987, he finally received his first Oscar for The Color of Money (Marin Scorsese, 1986) with Tom Cruise, almost thirty years after Woodward had won hers. Friend and director of Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956), Robert Wise accepted the award on Newman's behalf as the actor did not attend the ceremony. Previously, Newman had been nominated as the same character in The Hustler (Robert Rossen, 1961). In total, he was nominated for the Oscar nine times: Best Lead Actor for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Richard Brooks, 1958), The Hustler (Robert Rossen, 1961), Hud (Marin Ritt, 1963), Cool Hand Luke (Stuart Rosenberg, 1967), Absence of Malice (Sydney Pollack, 1981), The Verdict (Sidney Lumet, 1982), The Color of Money (Martin Scorsese, 1986), Nobody's Fool (Robert Benton, 1994)) and finally for Best Supporting Actor in Road to Perdition (Sam Mendes, 2002). In 1994 Newman also played alongside Tim Robbins as the character Sidney J. Mussburger in the Coen Brothers comedy The Hudsucker Proxy. Films were not the only thing on his mind during this period. A passionate race car driver since the early 1970s (despite being color-blind), he was a co-founder of Newman-Haas racing in 1982. He also founded 'Newman's Own', a line of food products, featuring mainly spaghetti sauces and salad dressings. The company made more than $100 million in profits over the years, all of which he donated to various charities. He also started The Hole in the Wall Gang Camps, an organization for children with serious illness. He was as well known for his philanthropic ways and highly successful business ventures as he was for his legendary actor status. Newman's marriage to Woodward lasted a half-century. Connecticut was their primary residence after leaving Hollywood and moving East in 1960. Renowned for his sense of humor, in 1998 he quipped that he was a little embarrassed to see his salad dressing grossing more than his films. During his later years, he still attended races, was much involved in his charitable organisations, and in 2006, he opened a restaurant called Dressing Room, which helps out the Westport Country Playhouse, a place in which Newman took great pride. In 2003, Newman appeared in a Broadway revival of Thornton Wilder's 'Our Town', receiving his first Tony Award nomination for his performance. The animated Disney-Pixar comedy Cars (John Lasseter, 2006) was his final film. It was the highest-grossing film of his career. In 2007, while the public was largely unaware of the serious illness from which he was suffering, Newman made some headlines when he said he was losing his invention and confidence in his acting abilities and that acting was "pretty much a closed book for me". A smoker for many years, Paul Newman died in 2008, aged 83, from lung cancer. With his first wife Jackie, he had three children, Scott, Stephanie, and Susan. Susan Kendall Newman is well known for stage acting and her philanthropic activities. His three daughters with Joanne Woodward are actress Melissa Newman, Nell Potts, and Claire Newman. Nine years after Paul Newman's death, he reprised his role as Doc Hudson in Cars 3 (2017): unused recordings from Cars (2006) were used as new dialogue.
Sources: Tom McDonough/Robert Sieger (IMDb), Jason Ankeny (AllMovie), AllMovie, Wikipedia, and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Tags: Paul Newman Paul Newman American Actor Hollywood Film Star Movie Star Cinema Film Cine Kino Movies Picture Screen Movie Filmster Star Hunk Handsome Vintage Postcard Cartolina Carte Postale Postkarte Tarjet Postal Postkaart Briefkarte Briefkaart Ansichtskarte Ansichtkaart Athena The Athena Star Collection Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 1969
© All Rights Reserved
British postcard by Athena International, London, no. 9244. Illustration: Oscar da Costa.
American film star Bette Davis (1908-1989) was one of the greatest actors in world cinema history. She dared to play unsympathetic, sardonic characters and was reputed for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional comedies. Her greatest successes were her roles in romantic dramas.
After appearing in Broadway plays, Davis moved to Hollywood in 1930. Her early films for Universal were unsuccessful or she only had a small role, such as in James Whale's Waterloo Bridge (1931). Davis was preparing to return to New York when actor George Arliss chose Davis for the female lead in the Warner Brothers picture The Man Who Played God (John G. Adolfi, 1932), which would be her 'break' in Hollywood. Warner Bros. signed her a five-year contract. The role of the vicious and slatternly Mildred Rogers inOf Human Bondage (John Cromwell, 1934) earned Davis her first major critical acclaim. She established her career with several other critically acclaimed performances. For her role as a troubled actress in Dangerous (Alfred E. Green, 1935), she won her first Oscar. In 1937, she attempted to free herself from her contract and although she lost a well-publicized legal case, it marked the beginning of the most successful period of her career. In Marked Woman (Lloyd Bacon, 1937), she played a prostitute in a contemporary gangster drama inspired by the case of Lucky Luciano. For her role she was awarded the Volpi Cup at the 1937 Venice Film Festival. Her next picture was Jezebel (William Wyler, 1938), and during production Davis entered a relationship with director William Wyler. The film was a success, and Davis' performance as a spoiled Southern belle earned her a second Academy Award. Dark Victory (Edmund Goulding, 1939) became one of the highest grossing films of the year, and the role of Judith Traherne brought her an Academy Award nomination. The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (Michael Curtiz, 1939) with Errol Flynn, was her first colour film. To play the elderly Elizabeth I of England, Davis shaved her hairline and eyebrows. Davis was now Warner Bros.' most profitable star, and she was given the most important of their female leading roles. Her image was considered with care; she was often filmed in close-ups that emphasized her distinctive eyes.
Until the late 1940s, Bette Davis was one of American cinema's most celebrated leading ladies, known for her forceful and intense style. Davis gained a reputation as a perfectionist who could be highly combative, and confrontations with studio executives, film directors and co-stars were often reported. After The Letter (William Wyler, 1940), William Wyler directed Davis for the third time in Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes (1941), but they clashed over the character of Regina Giddens. Taking a role originally played on stage by Tallulah Bankhead, Davis felt Bankhead's original interpretation was appropriate and followed Hellman's intent, but Wyler wanted her to soften the character. Davis refused to compromise. Her forthright manner, clipped vocal style and ubiquitous cigarette contributed to a public persona which has often been imitated and satirized. In 1941, she became the first female president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a year later, she was the co-founder of the Hollywood Canteen. Her best films include the women's picture Now Voyager (Irving Rapper, 1942) and Watch on the Rhine (Herman Shumlin, 1943). In 1947, at the age of 39, Davis gave birth to a daughter, Barbara Davis Sherry (known as B.D.) At the end of the 1940s, her box office appeal had noticeably dropped and she was labelled 'Box Office Poison'. Then producer Darryl F. Zanuck offered her the role of the aging theatrical actress Margo Channing in All About Eve (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1950). During production, she had a romantic relationship with her leading man, Gary Merrill, which led to marriage. Her career went through several of such periods of eclipse, and she admitted that her success had often been at the expense of her personal relationships. Married four times, she was once widowed and thrice divorced, and raised her children as a single parent. Later successes include the Grand Guignol horror film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (Robert Aldrich, 1962) with Joan Crawford, and the follow-up Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte (Robert Aldrich, 1964) with Olivia de Havilland. Her final years were marred by a long period of ill health, but she continued acting until shortly before her death from breast cancer, with more than 100 films, television and theatre roles to her credit. She was the first person to accrue 10 Academy Award nominations for acting, and in 1977, she was the first woman to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. One of her last films was Lindsay Anderson's film The Whales of August (1987), in which she played the blind sister of Lillian Gish.
Source: Wikipedia.
Tags: Bette Davis Bette Davis Hollywood Film Star American Actress Film Screen Movie Movies Cine Cinema Kino Filmster Star Glamour Allure Vintage Postcard Postkarte Carte Postale Cartolina Tarjet Postal Postkaart Briefkarte Briefkaart Ansichtskarte Ansichtkaart Illustration Cartoon Caricature Oscar da Costa Athena Poison
© All Rights Reserved