Disneyland has released a first look of its new reimagined Adventure Treehouse, inspired by Walt Disney’s Swiss Family Robinson.

The new attraction opens Nov. 10 in Disneyland Park and pays tribute to the original treehouse Walt Disney and his team built in 1962. Previously, the treehouse was themed after the 1999 animated film Tarzan.

In the new iteration, there’s a water wheel “powered by the magical waters,” a homey dining area for the Robinson family of 5, a wood-carving station, an astronomy loft, a nature room and the father’s art studio.

“The video explores the mother’s music den, sons’ nature room and daughter’s astronomer’s loft among the tree’s massive boughs,” said Disney officials in a statement. “It also offers a glimpse at the ground-level kitchen and dining room, plus the father’s art studio.”

There are no height requirements for the attraction.

Disney’s original Swiss Family Robinson...

Ted Donaldson, who starred as Bud Anderson on the original radio version of Father Knows Best and as Neely Nolan in the beloved family drama A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, the first feature directed by Elia Kazan, has died. He was 89.

Donaldson died Wednesday of complications from a fall in his Echo Park apartment in January, his friend Thomas Bruno told The Hollywood Reporter.

In his big-screen debut, Donaldson portrayed a boy who gets his pet caterpillar Curly to dance when he plays “Yes Sir, That’s My Baby” on the harmonica in the comedy fantasy Once Upon a Time (1944), starring Cary Grant and Janet Blair.

He also starred as Danny Mitchell in eight B-movies from Columbia Pictures that revolved around a German shepherd named Rusty. The first one, Adventures of Rusty (1945), featured Ace the Wonder Dog.

An only child, Donaldson was born in Brooklyn on Aug. 20, 1933. His father was...

Whether you are religious or not, there is no denying that Jesus Christ is one of the most influential and important figures in human history. His life and teachings have inspired billions of people worldwide, and have been the subject of many movies over the years. The crucifixion is undeniably the most significant event in the short but meaningful life of Jesus.

In this blog post, we will take a look at 10 of the best movies about Jesus Christ. We’ve ranked these Biblical epics based on an aggregate of viewers’ ratings.

10/10

Risen (2016)

Director: Kevin Reynolds

Starring: Joseph Fiennes, Tom Felton, Peter Firth

IMDb User Rating 6.3/10 29K Rt Audience Score 70 10K Meta User Score 6.9 Votes 85

“Risen” is a 2016 historical drama about the aftermath of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion. With a budget of 20 million, “Risen” is a 2016 American epic biblical drama film directed by Kevin Reynolds.

The story follows Clavius (Joseph Fiennes), a high-ranking Roman soldier,...

I had the pleasure of joining Kevin Jacobsen on his great podcast series "And the Runner Up Is..." for a fourth time. Kevin opted to assign me 1947 when I asked for this decade. So listen in to hear us talk about the following lineup which has two great performances, one coaster nomination, a bullet dodged, and one of my mother's favourites from her childhood.

Joan Crawford, Possessed Susan Hayward, Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman Dorothy McGuire, Gentleman's Agreement Rosalind Russell, Mourning Becomes Electra ★ Loretta Young, The Farmer's Daughter

Which of those performances do you love?...

We have a very special contest for you! You can win tickets to see Bhangin’ It: A Bangin’ New Musical at the La Jolla Playhouse. The dance musical begins on March 8 and plays through April 17, 2022, at the Mandell Weiss Theatre.

Bhangin’ It: A Bangin’ New Musical is set in the colorful world of a collegiate Bhangra Dance competition. When a young woman finds her identity cannot be defined by checking a box, she sets off on a quest to dance to her own beat. Drawing from competitive Bhangra and mixing it with other Indian and Western dance forms alike, Bhangin’ It: A Bangin’ New Musical is an intoxicating, brash and joyous musical.

Find your beat. Find your team. Find yourself. While East Lansing University senior Mary Darshini Clarke has spent her entire life trying to figure out where she fits in, she has always found community dancing on the school’s prestigious bhangra team.

La Jolla Playhouse is pleased to announce the cast for its world-premiere production of Bhangin’ It: A Bangin’ New Musical, book by Mike Lew (Playhouse’s Tiger Style!) and Rehana Lew Mirza (Playhouse’s DNA Series’ Child of Colonialism), music and lyrics by Sam Willmott, with additional music by Grammy Award nominee Deep Singh. The piece will be directed by Stafford Arima (Broadway’s Allegiance), with choreography by Rujuta Vaidya (Slumdog Millionaire Academy Awards performance) and musical staging by Lisa Shriver (Playhouse/Broadway’s Jesus Christ Superstar), along with Bhangra specialist Anushka Pushpala (Artistic Director of Bhangra Empire). The show is scheduled to run in the Playhouse’s Mandell Weiss Theatre March 8 – April 17, 2022 (press opening March 20).

The cast features Ari Afsar as “Mary,” Aryaan Arora as “Mohan,” Bilaal Avaz as “Amit,” Jesse Bhamrah as “Gobind,” Brandon Contreras as “Billy,” Laura Dadap as “Constance,” Henry Walter Greenberg as “Noah,” Jason Heil as “Wallace,...

Editor’s Note: On Nov. 14, 2005, Variety published the following interview with Mort Sahl. The revolutionary comedian, who died on Oct. 26, provided an unfiltered view on the entertainment industry, from Depression-era cinema and the Hollywood blacklist to how current films tackle race, politics and culture.

For half of the last century and on into the next one, Mort Sahl, 78, has been the comedic conscience of America. Since 1968, when he debuted at San Francisco’s legendary Hungry i nightclub, he’s been walking onstage in his trademark V-neck sweater, a newspaper tucked under his arm, serving notice to every pundit and politician from Eisenhower through Bush that there was nowhere to hide.

He was the original truth-teller, pioneering a new kind of stand-up — barbed bipartisan political humor — paving the way for everyone from Lenny Bruce to Woody Allen to Chris Rock.

In 1958, he co-hosted the Oscars. In 1960, Time magazine put him on the cover,...

Phyllis McGuire, the youngest of the harmonizing, chart-topping trio The McGuire Sisters, died Tuesday at her estate in Las Vegas. She was 89.

McGuire lived a storied life. Discovered when she and her sisters tried out for Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts in 1952, Phyllis and the older Christine and Dorothy McGuire epitomized a certain sweet image of America in the 1950s. Through multiple appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show as well as the variety shows of Milton Berle, Perry Como, Andy Williams and Red Skelton, the sisters offered a sugary counterpoint to the burgeoning wave of rock ‘n’ roll acts.

The trio, who matched their hairstyles and dresses, sold millions of records. They toured extensively throughout the ’50s and ’60s, released chart-topping renditions of “Sincerely” and “Sugartime” and sang for five U.S. presidents. The group broke up in 1968.

Phyllis, who sang lead, launched a successful solo career and often played in Vegas,...

Jon M. Chu is overseeing a television remake of Swiss Family Robinson for Disney+. Outlander’s Ron Moore is writing and exec producing.

The series, which is based on the 1960 film of the same name, follows a shipwrecked family who build a home on a deserted island.

The film, which came out in 1960, starred John Mills, James MacArthur and Dorothy McGuire and was directed by Ken Annakin.

It followed a family from Switzerland who escape the Napoleonic Wars to relocate to a colony in New Guinea and their ship is attacked by pirates and they end up on an uninhabited island.

It was announced by Disney’s Dana Walden as part of the company’s four-hour investor presentation alongside other development titles including a TV adaptation of Beauty and The Beast and Percy Jackson & The Olympians.

It is the latest Disney project for the Crazy Rich Asians director, who is...

Warning: Do not read this story until you have seen the final episode of “Hollywood.”

For its first six episodes, Ryan Murphy’s “Hollywood” mixed reality and fiction in its portrait of the movie business in the years after World War II. But there’s a good reason why the final episode is titled “A Hollywood Ending” – because it uses the Oscars of March 1948 to paint a picture of Hollywood growing more tolerant, more open to minorities and gays and more embracing of the kind of films that in reality were nearly impossible to make at the time or for decades later.

Like the ending of Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,” the episode veers into a kind of wish-fulfillment fiction that is the whole point of its existence.

So we’re not really fact-checking when we look at the show’s depiction of the 20th Academy Awards ceremony.

Actress Shirley Knight, star of “Sweet Bird of Youth,” and “As Good As It Gets” has died, her daughter actress Kaitlin Hopkins announced in a facebook post. She was 83.

Knight received two Oscar nominations for her work in her third and fourth films, “The Dark at the Top of the Stairs” and “Sweet Bird of Youth, and appeared in numerous movies such as “Paul Blart: Mall Cop,” and television shows such as “Thirtysomething” and “NYPD Blue.”

A native from Kansas, Knight received a Tony Award in 1976 for her portrayal as an alcoholic actress in “Kennedy’s Children,” and received a second nomination again in 1997 in Horton Foote’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Young Man From Atlanta.” Knight won two Emmys in 1995 and a Golden Globe, the first Emmy was for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie in the the television movie “The McMartin Trial,” where she starred as Peggy Buckley,...

Shirley Knight, who was twice Oscar nominated for best supporting actress, for “The Dark at the Top of the Stairs” (1960) and “Sweet Bird of Youth” (1962), and won a Tony and three Emmys, died on Wednesday of natural causes in San Marcos, Texas. She was 83.

Her daughter, actress Kaitlin Hopkins, paid tribute to Knight in a lengthy Facebook post.

Knight continued to work as she approached 80, reprising her role as Mom in “Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2” in 2015 after appearing in the 2009 original.

In 1997’s “As Good as It Gets,” starring Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt, Knight played the mother of Hunt’s character; the New York Times called her performance “tenderly funny.”

Other film credits of recent vintage include Luis Mandoki’s “Angel Eyes” (2001), starring Jennifer Lopez; thriller “The Salton Sea” (2002); “Grandma’s Boy” (2006); Rebecca Miller’s “The Private Lives of Pippa Lee” (2009), with Robin Wright; “Our Idiot Brother” (2011), toplined by...

By Joe Elliott

The list of 25 films added to the prestigious National Film Registry in 2019 includes the 1957 Disney classic Old Yeller, starring Tommy Kirk, Fess Parker, Dorothy McGuire, and Anthony Corcoran. The story, based on the novel by Fred Gibson, is about a young boy on the Texas frontier named Travis Coates (Kirk), who is left in charge of looking after his mother and younger brother when his father (Parker) goes away on a business trip. Travis reluctantly accepts a large yellow dog into the family circle after the stray follows his little brother (Corcoran) home one day. Despite his initial doubts, the boy comes to see the dog's value when Old Yeller, as they name him, proves himself resourceful, loyal and brave. In the course of the story, he stoutly defends Travis and the family against a series of life-threating marauders, including a bear, a ferocious pig and, most significantly,...

“She was just in time to see the last tree split into two, as a man slipped from behind its trunk, and disappeared into the shadow.” – Ethel Lina White (Some Must Watch)

I had the glorious experience of sitting inside a 250-seat movie theater watching A Quiet Place all by myself on a Sunday morning a last year. The technique of stripping sound away from that film, utilizing silence as a narrative vessel, is completely obvious when you are the only person sitting in front of a giant movie screen with nothing but the glow of the film to illuminate the empty seats surrounding you. As the movie progressed I could feel myself moving anxiously in my seat, inching towards the front of the chair in anticipation of the next scare. The darkness and seclusion of the theater playing tricks on my senses as I turned around in my chair...

1977: ABC's serialized comedy series Soap premiered.

1979: The Edge of Night's Raven clashed with Elliot.

1985: Days of our Lives' Marlena & Richard made love.

1985: Gh's Anna told Robert that Robin was his daughter."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into different and unexpected images."

― Anselm Kiefer

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1969: Susan Lucci and Helmet Huber were married. Lucci joined All My Children for its debut a few months later playing ambitious teenager Erica Kane. The Hubers are celebrating their 46th anniversary today.

1971: On The Doctors, Dr. Althea Davis (Elizabeth Hubbard) visited her mother, who was recovering from a stroke.

Cluny Brown

Blu ray

Criterion

1946/ 1.33:1 / 100 min.

Starring Charles Boyer, Jennifer Jones

Cinematography by Joseph Lashelle

Directed by Ernst Lubitsch

The last film completed by Ernst Lubitsch before his sudden death in 1947, Cluny Brown is the life-embracing work of a determined romantic – unintimidated by poor health let alone the World War that raged during the movie’s production.

The story of an unvarnished beauty who finds happiness in a leaky faucet, Jennifer Jones plays Cluny, the low-brow but high-spirited plumber’s apprentice and Charles Boyer is her romantically inclined guardian angel, Adam Belinski.

Belinski is a penniless refugee who drops by a posh party in search of cash and is mistaken for the maintenance man – just as Cluny arrives to unclog the pipes and save the day. She celebrates with one too many beverages (“My first sink and my first cocktail… I feel… ‘chirrupy’”) and is banished by her class-conscious...

1976: Ryan's Hope's Delia searched for evidence against Frank.

1978: All My Children's Erica Kane married Tom Cudahy.

1985: General Hospital's Robin Scorpio arrived in Port Charles.

2011: All My Children's Erica met Verla Grubbs."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into different and unexpected images."

― Anselm Kiefer

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1948: On radio soap opera Claudia, Claudia (Dorothy McGuire) had opening night jitters.

1976: On Ryan's Hope, Delia Ryan (Ilene Kristen) lied to her husband, Frank (Michael Hawkins), when he found her searching through his things

1976: On Another World, Sharlene Frame (Laurie Heineman) confessed her...

Cosmo Genovese, a veteran script supervisor whose credits include Perry Mason, The A-Team and two Star Trek series, died Tuesday in Burbank, his family said. He was 95.

His first job in Hollywood was on William Wyler's Oscar best-picture nominee Friendly Persuasion (1956), starring Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire and Anthony Perkins.

Genovese served as a script supervisor on Star Trek: The Next Generation from 1987-94 and Star Trek: Voyager from 1995-2000 for a total of 275 episodes.

Star Trek: Tng and Voyager writers made subtle tributes to him on their series, putting his name on dedication plaques and directories,...

Cosmo Genovese, a veteran script supervisor whose credits include Perry Mason, The A-Team and two Star Trek series, died Tuesday in Burbank, his family said. He was 95.

His first job in Hollywood was on William Wyler's Oscar best-picture nominee Friendly Persuasion (1956), starring Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire and Anthony Perkins.

Genovese served as a script supervisor on Star Trek: The Next Generation from 1987-94 and Star Trek: Voyager from 1995-2000 for a total of 275 episodes.

Star Trek: Tng and Voyager writers made subtle tributes to him on their series, putting his name on dedication plaques and directories,...

Cosmo Genovese, whose career as a TV and film script supervisor spanned 45 years and included Perry Mason, The A-Team and two Star Trek series, died Tuesday. He was 95.

Known for his dedicated and precise work ethic — along with his wit and humor — Genovese got his TV start on the 1950s ABC Western Broken Arrow, serving as script supervisor on nearly three dozen episodes. He went on to work on a trio of features before becoming script supervisor for Perry Mason, the popular CBS legal drama starring Raymond Burr.

After that show wrapped in 1964, Genovese worked rather sporadically before roaring back as script supervisor for the campy NBC action series The A-Team. While it won few hosannas from critics, the George Peppard-led show was an instant if short-lived hit upon its 1983 premiere as a midsummer replacement. The A-Team finished in the primetime top 10 it first two seasons before slipping in...

“Avengers: Endgame” might have surpassed 2009’s “Avatar” when it comes to its domestic box-office — besting James Cameron’s sci-fi fantasy’s $750 million handily by taking in $816 million since its opening on April 26. But it is still a far cry from 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” still the champ with $937 million in domestic ticket sales.

But on social media, there has been some discussion beyond the big bucks about whether “Endgame” with its multitudes of Marvel-ous superhero actors might have the most Oscar winners and nominees ever for a cast of a feature film. I know there is an ongoing thread in the forums about just this topic with various permutations on who counts or not. But for my purposes, actors who won or were nominated in categories other than acting do not qualify. Same with honorary trophies.

By that measure, I count seven winners among the names: Brie Larson,...

1981: Another Life premiered on Cbn.

1984: Days of our Lives' Howie walked down the aisle as Hope.

1997: Port Charles premiered on ABC.

2007: As the World Turns' Noah arrived in Oakdale."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into d ifferent and unexpected images."

― Anselm Kiefer

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1964: On Another World, Russ (Joey Trent) admitted to Jim (Leon Janney) that he did not feel smart enough to succeed in school.

1966: On Morning Star, Hank Stover (Warren Remmerling), Bill Riley (Edward Mallory) and Katy Elliott (Elizabeth Perry) turned to Eric Manning (Ron Jackson) for assistance.

“See Rome And Find A Husband!”

By Raymond Benson

The title of this review is admittedly facetious, but let’s be honest—it’s what this movie is about!

The time is 1954, the Eisenhower years, and America is at the crossroads of remaining in a conservative, sexually repressed era in which women, regardless if they had a career or not, were supposed to be more interested in finding husbands. Things wouldn’t change until the revolutionary 1960s. Hollywood mainstream pictures perpetuated this notion in the 50s with fare like Three Coins in the Fountain, an extremely popular romantic comedy upon its release. In fact, it received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.

Three American women, Frances (Dorothy McGuire), Anita (Jean Peters), and Maria (Maggie McNamara), all have jobs working for an American company located in Rome, Italy. One would think that would be fulfilling enough… but, no, all three...

Ah, yes — it’s a hot day in 1954, so what could be better than a cool movie theater projecting beautiful Italian scenery onto an Eee-Nor-Mous CinemaScope screen, and Frank Sinatra warbling an Oscar-winning tune. The simple escapism of Fox’s ‘three girls find love’ epic makes Rome look like a welcoming haven for carefree Americans — the stars park their car anywhere, and admire the fancy fountains without a single competing tourist to bother them: “It’s the favorable exchange rate!”

Three Coins in the Fountain

Blu-ray

Twilight Time

1954 / Color / 2:55 widescreen / 102 min. / Street Date April 16, 2019 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95

Starring: Clifton Webb, Dorothy McGuire, Jean Peters, Louis Jourdan, Maggie McNamara, Rossano Brazzi.

Cinematography: Milton R. Krasner

Film Editor: William Reynolds

Original Music: Jule Styne, Victor Young

Written by John Patrick from the novel by John H. Secondari

Produced by Sol C. Siegel

Directed by Jean Negulesco

Back...

” Do you know what loneliness is, real loneliness?”

The Enchanted Cottage (1945) screens February 13th at The St. Louis Public Library Buder Branch (4401 Hampton Ave). The film begins at 1:30pm Wednesday, February 13th. This is a Free event.

Nominated for an Academy Award for its music and nominated to the AFI’s Greatest Love Stories list is this charming World War II era love story. Starring Dorothy McGuire and Robert Young, it is the story of a pilot, disfigured in a crash, who retreats to the seaside cottage where he had previously planned to spend his honeymoon. At the cottage, he meets a homely young woman working there. As the unlikely pair begin to fall in love, they are physically transformed into the beautiful people they begin to see in each other.

This sensitive, touching film, based on the classic romance play by Pinero, is beautifully enacted by McGuire and Young as the uncommon lovers.

Christine McGuire, whose pop hits propelled her and her singing sisters to many radio and television appearances, died Dec. 28 in Las Vegas, where she lived. She was 92 and her family confirmed the death, but did not provide a cause.

Christine was the oldest of her singing sisters, Dorothy and Phyllis. They began singing in church in their hometown of Miamisburg, Ohio, but avoided secular music until their late teens, finally adding some pop tunes to their repertoire. They were discovered by local bandleaders and radio stations in Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, and became well-known for their three-part harmony.

In 1952, the sisters traveled to New York in hopes of auditioning for Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts, a TV show that was akin to the American Idol of its time. Godfrey wasn’t around, but singer Kate Smith was, and she booked them for a two-month engagement on her national radio broadcast.

Though long embraced by parents as family-friendly safe zones, Disney’s live action films were just as often called out for their squeaky clean posturing and regressive world views.

Fair enough – but as Noah Cross growled, “Politicians, ugly buildings and whores all get respectable if they last long enough” – and a good number of those mild-mannered entertainments, while not exactly ready for the arthouse, are at least worthy of a second look.

Disney Movie Club has released some of those Baby Boomer perennials in sterling Blu ray transfers – unfortunately available to club members only. Here’s part one in a rundown of the more tantalizing items.

Treasure Island, Davy Crockett,

Old Yeller, Pollyanna

Blu ray

Disney Movie Club

1950, ‘55, ‘56, ‘57, ‘60 / 1. 33:1, 1.85:1 / 96, 93, 81, 83, 134 Min.

Starring Robert Newton, Dorothy McGuire, Hayley Mills, Fess Parker

Cinematography by Freddie Young, Charles P. Boyle, Russell Harlan

Directed by Byron Haskin, Robert Stevenson, David Swift

Treasure Island – 1950

Thanks...

There’s a storm outside, the cook has drunk herself to sleep, the other servants are gone, the old lady is an invalid — and the helpless mute maid is trapped indoors with a murderous maniac. No, it’s not a Reality Show about the White House, but Robert Siodmak’s superior ‘old house whodunnit’ that is equal parts Americana, film noir and proto- slasher horror.

The Spiral Staircase

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1946 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 83 min. / Street Date October 2, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, Ethel Barrymore, Kent Smith, Rhonda Fleming, Gordon Oliver, Elsa Lanchester, Sara Allgood, Rhys Williams, James Bell, Ellen Corby, Erville Anderson, Myrna Dell.

Cinematography: Nicholas Musuraca

Film Editor: Harry Gerstad, Harry Marker

Original Music: Roy Webb

Written by Mel Dinelli from a book by Ethel Lina White

Produced by Dore Schary

Directed by Robert Siodmak

The handsomely produced The Spiral Staircase...

This article marks Part 3 of the Gold Derby series reflecting on films that contended for the Big Five Oscars – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay (Original or Adapted). With “A Star Is Born” this year on the cusp of joining this exclusive group of Oscar favorites, join us as we look back at the 43 extraordinary pictures that earned Academy Awards nominations in each of the Big Five categories, including the following 11 films that scored a pair of prizes among the top races.

At the 4th Academy Awards ceremony, “Cimarron” (1931) made Oscar history as the first motion picture to ever score nominations in the Big Five categories. On the big night, the western took home the top prize in Best Picture, as well as the Oscar in Best Adapted Screenplay (Howard Estabrook). Not as successful were the picture’s director, Wesley Ruggles, topped by Norman Taurog (“Skippy”), and the leads,...

1977: ABC's serialized comedy series Soap premiered.

1979: The Edge of Night's Raven clashed with Elliot.

1985: Days of our Lives' Marlena & Richard made love.

1985: Gh's Anna told Robert that Robin was his daughter."The best prophet of the future is the past."

― Lord Byron

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1969: Susan Lucci and Helmet Huber were married. Lucci joined All My Children for its debut a few months later playing ambitious teenager Erica Kane. The Hubers are celebrating their 46th anniversary today.

1971: On The Doctors, Dr. Althea Davis (Elizabeth Hubbard) visited her mother, who was recovering from a stroke.

1977: Primetime comedic serial Soap premiered on ABC.

1976: Ryan's Hope's Delia searched for evidence against Frank.

1978: All My Children's Erica Kane married Tom Cudahy.

1985: General Hospital's Robin Scorpio arrived in Port Charles.

2011: All My Children's Erica met Verla Grubbs."The best prophet of the future is the past."

― Lord Byron

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1948: On radio soap opera Claudia, Claudia (Dorothy McGuire) had opening night jitters.

1976: On Ryan's Hope, Delia Ryan (Ilene Kristen) lied to her husband, Frank (Michael Hawkins), when he found her searching through his things

1976: On Another World, Sharlene Frame (Laurie Heineman) confessed her sordid past to a devastated Russ Matthews (David Bailey), then downed a bottle of pills.

How would you like to spend a special Father’s Day with your dad? Here’s a suggestion — why not sit down for a couple of hours and watch one of these movies that’s all about fathers, both terrific and horrible? Our ranked photo gallery above includes many fine suggestions, all of which feature an Oscar-winning performance by an actor who plays a father where that role was pivotal to the plot.

Though there are thousands of films in which one character happens to be a father, you won’t find them all on this list. Besides the fact that these 16 films contain a paternal performance that won an Academy Award, they show a wide array of what it means to be a father. There’s the courageous father, the inspirational dad, the loving father and even the monstrous father. Lead and supporting actors include Daniel Day-Lewis, Dustin Hoffman,...

1981: Another Life premiered on Cbn.

1984: Days of our Lives' Howie walked down the aisle as Hope.

1997: Port Charles premiered on ABC.

2007: As the World Turns' Noah arrived in Oakdale."All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut."

― Anne Brontë in "Agnes Grey"

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1964: On Another World, Russ (Joey Trent) admitted to Jim (Leon Janney) that he did not feel smart enough to succeed in school.

1966: On Morning Star, Hank Stover...

Turner Classic Movies continues with its Gay Hollywood presentations tonight and tomorrow morning, June 8–9. Seven movies will be shown about, featuring, directed, or produced by the following: Cole Porter, Lorenz Hart, Farley Granger, John Dall, Edmund Goulding, W. Somerset Maughan, Clifton Webb, Montgomery Clift, Raymond Burr, Charles Walters, DeWitt Bodeen, and Harriet Parsons. (One assumes that it's a mere coincidence that gay rumor subjects Cary Grant and Tyrone Power are also featured.) Night and Day (1946), which could also be considered part of TCM's homage to birthday girl Alexis Smith, who would have turned 96 today, is a Cole Porter biopic starring Cary Grant as a posh, heterosexualized version of Porter. As the warning goes, any similaries to real-life people and/or events found in Night and Day are a mere coincidence. The same goes for Words and Music (1948), a highly fictionalized version of the Richard Rodgers-Lorenz Hart musical partnership.

A breathtaking mansion becomes the backdrop of grisly murders in The Spiral Staircase, a 1946 thriller co-starring Ethel Barrymore and coming to Blu-ray and DVD courtesy of Kino Lorber.

A release date, cover art, and special features for The Sprial Staircase Blu-ray and DVD have not yet been revealed, but we'll keep Daily Dead readers updated on this release. In the meantime, you can check out the official announcement from Kino Lorber below, as well as the film's trailer.

From Kino Lorber: "Coming Soon on DVD and Blu-ray!

Oscar Nominee: Best Supporting Actress (Barrymore)

The Spiral Staircase (1946) Starring Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, Ethel Barrymore, Kent Smith, Rhonda Fleming, Elsa Lachester and Sara Allgood - Based on a Novel by Ethel Lina White (The Lady Vanishes) - Shot by Nicholas Musuraca (Out of the Past, Cat People) - Directed by Robert Siodmak (Criss Cross, Cry of the City)"

Synopsis (via Blu-ray.

Dana Andrews movies: Film noir actor excelled in both major and minor crime dramas. Dana Andrews movies: First-rate film noir actor excelled in both classics & minor fare One of the best-looking and most underrated actors of the studio era, Dana Andrews was a first-rate film noir/crime thriller star. Oftentimes dismissed as no more than a “dependable” or “reliable” leading man, in truth Andrews brought to life complex characters that never quite fit into the mold of Hollywood's standardized heroes – or rather, antiheroes. Unlike the cynical, tough-talking, and (albeit at times self-delusionally) self-confident characters played by the likes of Alan Ladd, Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, and, however lazily, Robert Mitchum, Andrews created portrayals of tortured men at odds with their social standing, their sense of ethics, and even their romantic yearnings. Not infrequently, there was only a very fine line separating his (anti)heroes from most movie villains.

Old Yeller child star Kevin Corcoran has died at the age of 66. The actor, who played the youngest son in the classic 1957 drama and went on to work as a producer on TV series such as Sons of Anarchy and The Shield, died Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif., from complications of cancer, according to The Hollywood Reporter. His wife, Laura, tells THR that Corcoran passed away at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank after a five-year battle with colorectal cancer (also known as colon cancer, rectal cancer or bowel cancer). Corcoran most famous role was that of Arliss Coates, the youngest son of Jim (Fess Parker) and Katie (Dorothy McGuire) and the brother of Travis (Tommy Kirk), in the post-Civil War...

Billy Wilder directed Sunset Blvd. with Gloria Swanson and William Holden. Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett movies Below is a list of movies on which Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder worked together as screenwriters, including efforts for which they did not receive screen credit. The Wilder-Brackett screenwriting partnership lasted from 1938 to 1949. During that time, they shared two Academy Awards for their work on The Lost Weekend (1945) and, with D.M. Marshman Jr., Sunset Blvd. (1950). More detailed information further below. Post-split years Billy Wilder would later join forces with screenwriter I.A.L. Diamond in movies such as the classic comedy Some Like It Hot (1959), the Best Picture Oscar winner The Apartment (1960), and One Two Three (1961), notable as James Cagney's last film (until a brief comeback in Milos Forman's Ragtime two decades later). Although some of these movies were quite well received, Wilder's later efforts – which also included The Seven Year Itch...

Gary Cooper movies on TCM: Cooper at his best and at his weakest Gary Cooper is Turner Classic Movies' “Summer Under the Stars” star today, Aug. 30, '15. Unfortunately, TCM isn't showing any Cooper movie premiere – despite the fact that most of his Paramount movies of the '20s and '30s remain unavailable. This evening's features are Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Sergeant York (1941), and Love in the Afternoon (1957). Mr. Deeds Goes to Town solidified Gary Cooper's stardom and helped to make Jean Arthur Columbia's top female star. The film is a tad overlong and, like every Frank Capra movie, it's also highly sentimental. What saves it from the Hell of Good Intentions is the acting of the two leads – Cooper and Arthur are both excellent – and of several supporting players. Directed by Howard Hawks, the jingoistic, pro-war Sergeant York was a huge box office hit, eventually earning Academy Award nominations in several categories,...

Batgirl Yvonne Craig. Batgirl Yvonne Craig dead at 78: Also featured in 'Star Trek' episode, Elvis Presley movies Yvonne Craig, best known as Batgirl in the 1960s television series Batman, died of complications from breast cancer on Monday, Aug. 17, '15, at her home in Pacific Palisades, in the Los Angeles Westside. Craig (born May 16, 1937, in Taylorville, Illinois), who had been undergoing chemotherapy for two years, was 78. Beginning (and ending) in the final season of Batman (1967-1968), Yvonne Craig played both Commissioner Gordon's librarian daughter Barbara Gordon and her alter ego, the spunky Batgirl – armed with a laser-beaming electric make-up kit “which will destroy anything.” Unlike semi-villainess Catwoman (Julie Newmar), Batgirl was wholly on the side of Righteousness, infusing new blood into the series' increasingly anemic Dynamic Duo: Batman aka Bruce Wayne (Adam West) and Boy Wonder Robin aka Bruce Wayne's beloved pal Dick Grayson (Burt Ward). “They chose...

Robert Mitchum ca. late 1940s. Robert Mitchum movies 'The Yakuza,' 'Ryan's Daughter' on TCM Today, Aug. 12, '15, Turner Classic Movies' “Summer Under the Stars” series is highlighting the career of Robert Mitchum. Two of the films being shown this evening are The Yakuza and Ryan's Daughter. The former is one of the disappointingly few TCM premieres this month. (See TCM's Robert Mitchum movie schedule further below.) Despite his film noir background, Robert Mitchum was a somewhat unusual choice to star in The Yakuza (1975), a crime thriller set in the Japanese underworld. Ryan's Daughter or no, Mitchum hadn't been a box office draw in quite some time; in the mid-'70s, one would have expected a Warner Bros. release directed by Sydney Pollack – who had recently handled the likes of Jane Fonda, Barbra Streisand, and Robert Redford – to star someone like Jack Nicholson or Al Pacino or Dustin Hoffman.

By Lee Pfeiffer

The Warner Archive has released the 1951 comedy Callaway Went Thataway. The film is a low-key but delightful tale that has more than a wisp of Frank Capra in its story line. The movie opens with a montage of scenes showing young boys and girls glued to their television sets as they watch the adventures of singing cowboy Smoky Callaway (Howard Keel). They don't realize they are actually viewing old "B" movies from the 1930s. Not that it matters. Callaway has found a new audience with a younger generation and they have made him America's favorite TV hero in these early days of the medium.(Since so many households did not have televisions in 1951, the film shows a common sight during this era: people crowded around department store windows to watch TV broadcasts). Network brass and sponsors immediately want to keep the gold train rolling by initiating more new films starring Smoky.

'Father of the Bride': Steve Martin and Kimberly Williams. Top Five Father's Day Movies? From giant Gregory Peck to tyrant John Gielgud What would be the Top Five Father's Day movies ever made? Well, there have been countless films about fathers and/or featuring fathers of various sizes, shapes, and inclinations. In terms of quality, these range from the amusing – e.g., the 1950 version of Cheaper by the Dozen; the Oscar-nominated The Grandfather – to the nauseating – e.g., the 1950 version of Father of the Bride; its atrocious sequel, Father's Little Dividend. Although I'm unable to come up with the absolute Top Five Father's Day Movies – or rather, just plain Father Movies – ever made, below are the first five (actually six, including a remake) "quality" patriarch-centered films that come to mind. Now, the fathers portrayed in these films aren't all heroic, loving, and/or saintly paternal figures. Several are...

Ron Moody as Fagin in 'Oliver!' based on Charles Dickens' 'Oliver Twist.' Ron Moody as Fagin in Dickens musical 'Oliver!': Box office and critical hit (See previous post: "Ron Moody: 'Oliver!' Actor, Academy Award Nominee Dead at 91.") Although British made, Oliver! turned out to be an elephantine release along the lines of – exclamation point or no – Gypsy, Star!, Hello Dolly!, and other Hollywood mega-musicals from the mid'-50s to the early '70s.[1] But however bloated and conventional the final result, and a cast whose best-known name was that of director Carol Reed's nephew, Oliver Reed, Oliver! found countless fans.[2] The mostly British production became a huge financial and critical success in the U.S. at a time when star-studded mega-musicals had become perilous – at times downright disastrous – ventures.[3] Upon the American release of Oliver! in Dec. 1968, frequently acerbic The...

'The Devil Strikes at Night,' with Mario Adorf as World War II era serial killer Bruno Lüdke 'The Devil Strikes at Night' movie review: Serial killing vs. mass murder in unsubtle but intriguing World War II political drama After more than a decade in Hollywood, German director Robert Siodmak (Academy Award nominated for the 1946 film noir The Killers) resumed his European career in the mid-1950s. In 1957, he directed The Devil Strikes at Night / Nachts, wenn der Teufel kam, an intriguing, well-crafted crime drama about the pursuit of a serial killer – and its political consequences – during the last months of the mass-murderous Nazi regime. Inspired by real events, The Devil Strikes at Night begins as war-scarred Hamburg is deeply shaken by the horrific murder of a waitress. Through the Homicide Bureau, inspector Axel Kersten (Claus Holm) begins an investigation that leads him to a mentally disabled laborer,...

Brad Pitt 'Glory Days' costar Nicholas Kallsen Brad Pitt 'Glory Days' costar Nicholas Kallsen dead at 48 Nicholas Kallsen, who was featured opposite Brad Pitt in the short-lived television series Glory Days, has died at age 48 in Thailand according to online reports. Their source is one of Rupert Murdoch's rags, citing a Facebook posting by one of the actor's friends. The cause of death was purportedly – no specific source was provided – a drug overdose.* Aired on Fox in July 1990, Glory Days told the story of four high-school friends whose paths take different directions after graduation. Besides Nicholas Kallsen and Brad Pitt, the show also featured Spike Alexander and Evan Mirand. Glory Days lasted a mere six episodes – two of which directed by former Happy Days actor Anson Williams – before its cancellation. Roommates Nicholas Kallsen and Brad Pitt vying for same 'Thelma & Louise' role? The Murdoch tabloid also...

Teresa Wright: Later years (See preceding post: "Teresa Wright: From Marlon Brando to Matt Damon.") Teresa Wright and Robert Anderson were divorced in 1978. They would remain friends in the ensuing years.[1] Wright spent most of the last decade of her life in Connecticut, making only sporadic public appearances. In 1998, she could be seen with her grandson, film producer Jonah Smith, at New York's Yankee Stadium, where she threw the ceremonial first pitch.[2] Wright also became involved in the Greater New York chapter of the Als Association. (The Pride of the Yankees subject, Lou Gehrig, died of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in 1941.) The week she turned 82 in October 2000, Wright attended the 20th anniversary celebration of Somewhere in Time, where she posed for pictures with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. In March 2003, she was a guest at the 75th Academy Awards, in the segment showcasing Oscar-winning actors of the past. Two years later,...

Teresa Wright and Matt Damon in 'The Rainmaker' Teresa Wright: From Marlon Brando to Matt Damon (See preceding post: "Teresa Wright vs. Samuel Goldwyn: Nasty Falling Out.") "I'd rather have luck than brains!" Teresa Wright was quoted as saying in the early 1950s. That's understandable, considering her post-Samuel Goldwyn choice of movie roles, some of which may have seemed promising on paper.[1] Wright was Marlon Brando's first Hollywood leading lady, but that didn't help her to bounce back following the very public spat with her former boss. After all, The Men was released before Elia Kazan's film version of A Streetcar Named Desire turned Brando into a major international star. Chances are that good film offers were scarce. After Wright's brief 1950 comeback, for the third time in less than a decade she would be gone from the big screen for more than a year.

Teresa Wright-Samuel Goldwyn association comes to a nasty end (See preceding post: "Teresa Wright in 'Shadow of a Doubt': Alfred Hitchcock Heroine in His Favorite Film.") Whether or not because she was aware that Enchantment wasn't going to be the hit she needed – or perhaps some other disagreement with Samuel Goldwyn or personal issue with husband Niven Busch – Teresa Wright, claiming illness, refused to go to New York City to promote the film. (Top image: Teresa Wright in a publicity shot for The Men.) Goldwyn had previously announced that Wright, whose contract still had another four and half years to run, was to star in a film version of J.D. Salinger's 1948 short story "Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut." Instead, he unceremoniously – and quite publicly – fired her.[1] The Goldwyn organization issued a statement, explaining that besides refusing the assignment to travel to New York to help generate pre-opening publicity for Enchantment,...

Teresa Wright in 'Shadow of a Doubt': Alfred Hitchcock heroine (image: Joseph Cotten about to strangle Teresa Wright in 'Shadow of a Doubt') (See preceding article: "Teresa Wright Movies: Actress Made Oscar History.") After scoring with The Little Foxes, Mrs. Miniver, and The Pride of the Yankees, Teresa Wright was loaned to Universal – once initial choices Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland became unavailable – to play the small-town heroine in Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt. (Check out video below: Teresa Wright reminiscing about the making of Shadow of a Doubt.) Co-written by Thornton Wilder, whose Our Town had provided Wright with her first chance on Broadway and who had suggested her to Hitchcock; Meet Me in St. Louis and Junior Miss author Sally Benson; and Hitchcock's wife, Alma Reville, Shadow of a Doubt was based on "Uncle Charlie," a story outline by Gordon McDonell – itself based on actual events.