Tag Archives: Nina Foch

1975 Films, Anthony Perkins, Berry Gordy, Billy Dee Williams, Diana Ross, Drama, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Musical, Musical Drama, Nina Foch

Mahogany-1975

Leave a comment

Mahogany-1975

Director Berry Gordy

Starring Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Perkins

Scott’s Review #1,492

Reviewed August 20, 2025

Grade: B-

Watching Diana Ross, the ‘Queen of Motown Records’ and the lead singer of the legendary pop group, The Supremes, in a film role holds appeal.

A fabulous singing star, she had her sights set on continued film stardom with Mahogany (1975), having achieved respectability with Lady Sings the Blues (1972).

Ross portrays Tracy Chambers, a struggling Chicago fashion design student who rises from shop girl to popular fashion designer in Rome, after a chance meeting with hotshot fashion photographer Sean (Anthony Perkins) in the department store where she works.

Her love interest is aspiring politician Brian Walker (Billy Dee Williams), a local activist fighting against gentrification in their community.

But will her sudden success and diva antics destroy her relationship as well as her respect in the fashion world?

The highlights of the film are the many exterior sequences in and around Chicago and the swanky Rome locales featuring the Spanish Steps, the Colosseum, and other sophisticated locales.

Also, the soundtrack includes the single “Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To)”, sung by Ross, which peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in January 1976.

The song is a gorgeous ballad wisely recreated in different tones and styles throughout the film as well as during the credits.

Ross and Williams have a decent amount of chemistry, making an unlikely pair. Brian yearns to make a difference in the world, caring for the ‘little guy’ while earnestly forging a career in politics.

He puts up with Tracy’s ambitions because he is progressive, and their tender scenes of romance work well. When they spar, the tension builds into a believable crescendo, especially their blow-up fight in Rome.

This showcases the best acting from the pair, and the audience roots for them to reconcile.

It’s inspiring, especially for 1975, to see a black couple featured in a film front and center. Their lives are showcased instead of merely supporting white characters.

Other aspects of Mahogany are affected by various issues.

Ross, a singer, has hits and misses in the acting department. Sometimes she nails a scene, and other times she overacts. This may be the less-than-stellar writing, though, as her character progresses from likeable to diva bitch to likeable again in lightning speed.

It’s wonderful to see Anthony Perkins in another film role besides his signature role as Norman Bates in Psycho (1960). But his character, struggling with his sexuality, is possessive of Tracy, then has a death wish, all with underexplored and unsatisfactory themes.

Was being gay in the fashion industry such a big deal?

I wished for a more substantial role for Nina Foch, famous for her 1951 turn in An American in Paris. Playing a one-note, stuffy character like Miss Evans doesn’t give her much to work with.

It has a soap opera tone and a feeling that Ross is somewhat playing herself. Combined with a nagging, schmaltzy vibe and messy, plot-driven writing, it’s a film that’s all over the place, especially towards the conclusion.

The best example is when Tracy’s new benefactor, Count Christian Rosetti (Jean-Pierre Aumond), also in love with her, agrees without argument to let her give up her entire career and return to Chicago, and Brian.

This follows Tracy’s sudden epiphany that she no longer wants to be the biggest star in the world.

All in the final ten minutes.

Mahogany (1975) is a marginal success with a few highlights and a dismal failure for other reasons, leaving it hovering somewhere around the mid-line for mediocrity.

Oscar Nominations: Best Original Song, “Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To”).

#113 Favorite Film, 1951 Films, Best Picture Oscar Winners, Comedy, Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Madge Blake, Musical, Nina Foch, Oscar Levant, Romantic Comedy, Top 250 Films, Vincente Minnelli

An American in Paris-1951

Leave a comment

An American in Paris-1951

Director Vincente Minnelli

Starring Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron

Top 250 Films #113

Scott’s Review #120

251454

Reviewed July 19, 2014

Grade: B+

A classic film directed by Vincente Minnelli, An American in Paris is a musical from 1951 set in marvelous Paris- though, to be fair, the entire movie, save for the opening scenes of Paris, is shot exclusively on a sound stage.

Gene Kelly stars as Jerry Mulligan, a struggling American artist who lives in a quiet neighborhood with his best friend, Adam Cook.

Jerry optimistically sings and tap dances his way through life, befriending neighbors and school kids and spending time in the local cafe until he is finally noticed by wealthy art buyer Milo, played by Nina Foch.

This sets off a quadrangle when Jerry falls for youthful Lise (Leslie Caron), already dating a suave French singer, Georges Guetary.

An American in Paris is a cheerful fantasy film. It is bright and colorful and filled with musical numbers and dancing.

Highlights in this department are “‘S Wonderful” and “I Got Rhythm”.

The brilliance is the incredible eighteen-minute epic finale, which involves Gene Kelly’s ballet on Parisian sets of various artists. It is as innovative as anything in film history.

The film’s drawback is the lack of chemistry between Kelly and Caron, which I notice more with each passing viewing.

There is more chemistry between Kelly and Foch, who is meant to be the odd woman out, and I still find myself rooting for the two of them instead of the intended couple.

I love that none of the four characters in the story are villains, which adds to the film’s merry feel.

The predictable ending is fantastic and romantic.

An American in Paris won the 1951 Best Picture Oscar, upsetting the heavily favored A Streetcar Named Desire.

Oscar Nominations: 6 wins-Best Motion Picture (won), Best Director-Vincente Minnelli, Best Story and Screenplay (won), Best Scoring of a Musical Picture (won), Best Art Direction, Color (won), Best Cinematography, Color (won), Best Costume Design, Color (won), Best Film Editing

#247 Favorite Film, 1960 Films, Adventure, Charles Laughton, Drama, Epic, Herbert Lom, Jean Simmons, John Gavin, John Ireland, Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Nina Foch, Peter Ustinov, Stanley Kubrick, Tony Curtis, Top 250 Films

Spartacus-1960

Leave a comment

Spartacus-1960

Director Stanley Kubrick

Starring Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons

Top 250 Films #247

Scott’s Review #1,250

Reviewed April 30, 2022

Grade: A

Typically, when influential director Stanley Kubrick’s name is uttered, films such as The Shining (1980), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), and Barry Lyndon (1975) are immediately thought of, and for obvious reasons.

The haunting, moody musical score, the long camera shots, the dark humor, and the clever camera tricks are easy to pinpoint.

1960, the director was hired to direct the gorgeous epic Spartacus after Hollywood star Kirk Russell unceremoniously fired the first director.

None of the previously mentioned elements are easy for me to notice and are more or less absent, but a grand battle scene in a luscious green field is very reminiscent of Barry Lyndon. This is likely because Spartacus was not Kubrick’s film entirely; instead, it belonged to others with more clout.

Spartacus is a brilliant film for many reasons. Some epics suffer from a hokey, cliched feel and can be overwrought, predictable, and tired.

The rebellious Thracian Spartacus (Russell), born and raised a slave, is sold to Gladiator trainer Batiatus (Ustinov). After training to kill for the arena, Spartacus turns on his owners and leads the other slaves in rebellion.

As the rebels move from town to town, their numbers increase as escaped slaves join their ranks. Under the leadership of Spartacus, they make their way to southern Italy, where they intend to cross the sea and return to their homes.

Spartacus is grand, sweeping, cinematically significant, and everything else you’d expect from a 1960s Hollywood epic with enormous stars of its day. Looking beneath the surface, the film is riddled with interesting tidbits like bisexuality, homoeroticism, and violence, more in tune with an art film or modern war film than the safety of a movie made during this time.

Particularly noteworthy is that Dalton Trumbo wrote the screenplay. One of the Hollywood Ten, he refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947 during the committee’s investigation of alleged Communist influences in the motion picture industry.

After the release of Spartacus, it marked the beginning of the end of the Hollywood Blacklist for Trumbo and other affected screenwriters.

Thank goodness.

In a famous scene, recaptured slaves are asked to identify Spartacus in exchange for leniency; instead, each slave proclaims himself to be Spartacus, thus sharing his fate.

The suggestion is that this scene was meant to dramatize the solidarity of those accused of being Communist sympathizers during the McCarthy era.

Besides the political importance, Spartacus showcases a beautiful romance between Spartacus (Russell) and Varinia (Jean Simmons), a gorgeous slave girl. The tenderness and authenticity are palpable as many of their early scenes involve no dialogue but only longing and expression through both actors’ eyes.

I celebrated the connection between the actors at the forefront of much romance. Russell carries the film with calm masculinity, quickly making him heroic and likable.

He is the charismatic, good guy who has been wronged and ill-fated.

A sequence oozing with machismo and homoeroticism occurs when evil Crassus (Olivier) is bathed by his slave boy Antoninus (Tony Curtis). He seductively explains that while sometimes he prefers snails, he also likes oysters. The implication is that he is bisexual, brazenly so, and expects the youngster to become his sex slave.

The warmth of the bathtub and the luxurious atmosphere contrast with the proximity and touch of both male characters.

In 1960, this scene was way ahead of its time.

The conclusion of Spartacus is melancholy and surprising. Having bested Rome’s cruelty, one might have expected to see Spartacus and Varinia happily ride off into the sunset.

This doesn’t happen, and the film is more affluent in it. There is pain and despair as there were in real life. Wisely sparing complete doom and gloom, the ending is satisfying as one central character escapes a deadly demise and conjures ahead.

Spartacus (1960) is one of the greats. It has muscle and texture, and many below-the-surface nuances are ripe for discussion. For these reasons, it’s a must-see.

Oscar Nominations: 4 wins-Best Supporting Actor-Peter Ustinov (won), Best Art Direction-Color (won), Best Cinematography-Color (won), Best Costume Design-Color (won), Best Film Editing, Best Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture