The Worst Episodes of Talking Film

Producers David Picker and Walter Mirisch and producer-directors Robert Altman, Roger Corman, Sydney Pollack, and Stanley Kramer discuss their important roles, throwing light on what a producer does to ensure the success of a movie.

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George Cukor, Roger Corman, Robert Wise, Abraham Polonsky, and Richard Brooks discuss the role of the film director.

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Screenwriters John Milius, Sterling Silliphant, and Bernard Slade talk about the role of the screenwriter in filmmaking, the auteur theory, and working relationships between writers, directors, and producers.

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Henry Fonda, Anthony Hopkins, Marsha Mason, Leslie Nielsen, Albert Salmi, Sidney Pollack, Roger Corman, and John Milius discuss acting methods for the stage and screen, the actor's relationship to the director, and reminisce about some of the films they have worked on.

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Lee Garmes, Stanley Cortez, Haskell Wexler, and Victor Kemper discuss some of the films they have photographed and look at their varying relationships with directors and actors.

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Richard Sylbert, one of Hollywood's foremost production designers (Chinatown, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Carnal Knowledge) talks about the function of the various people who work on design, and the relationship of the designer to the director.

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Elwy Yost asks three American directors about favorite films they have worked on: George Cukor talks about A Star Is Born, Henry King about Twelve O'Clock High, and Vincente Minnelli reminisces about the making of Lust for Life.

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The controversial twin issues of sex and violence are discussed by filmmakers Robert Altman, Roger Corman, David Picker, John Milius, Sydney Pollack, and Stanley Kramer.

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Sidney Pollack, Robert Altman, John Milius, and Roger Corman voice their opinions on the marketing of films, the importance of profits, and the control they have over how their movies are sold.

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Actors Henry Fonda and Frank Baker and screenwriters Nunnally Johnson and Philip Dunne reminisce about one of Hollywood's greatest film directors: John Ford.

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A portrait of the last great movie mogul Darryl F. Zanuck, who ruled 20th Century Fox for thirty years, through the words of Fox personnel who knew him well. With director Henry King, producers Milton Sperling and Raymond Klune, screenwriter Philip Dunne, and actor Henry Fonda.

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Ring Lardner Jr. talks about his years of blacklisting during the McCarthy era.

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A creator of the documentary film, Pare Lorentz (The River, The Plough That Broke the Plains, and The Fight for Life), discusses his long career and aspects of the documentary genre.

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In an exploration of the myth and reality of Hollywood westerns, Elwy Yost interviews actor Joel McCrea and directors John Sturges, Robert Aldrich, and Mark Rydell.

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Host Elwy Yost visits several Hollywood landmarks: the sidewalk in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater, the Beverly Hills Hotel, and Paramount Studios. Yost talks to actors Richard Arlen, Buddy Rogers, and Pat O'Brien about Hollywood past and present.

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The legendary motion picture director responsible for such screen classics as Shane and A Place in the Sun is recalled by his son George Stevens, Jr.

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A look at the role of the motion picture critic with guests John Simon of New York magazine and Andrew Sarris of the Village Voice.

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George Pal (When Worlds Collide and War of the Worlds) and Colin Chilvers (Superman) discuss special effects.

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Elwy Yost discusses techniques employed in the making of horror films, both classic and contemporary.

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Elwy Yost talks with veteran Warner Studios animators Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng.

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Elwy Yost talks with director John Huston (The Maltese Falcon, The African Queen, and The Man Who Would Be King) about his long career and his relationships with Orson Welles, Humphrey Bogart, and Truman Capote.

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Actor-director John Howard, cameraman George Folsey, and Frank Capra Jr. reminisce about the life and works of the American director Frank Capra.

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Husband and wife Andrew Sarris and Molly Haskell describe their careers as film critics, the difficulty of maintaining objectivity in film reviewing, contemporary trends in filmmaking, and the effect of their careers on their lives.

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British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger talk about their careers and the films The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp and Stairway to Heaven; cameraman Jack Cardiff, actor David Niven, and film writer Leslie Halliwell describe what it was like to work with them.

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Elwy Yost and industry craftspeople review the past thirty years in British cinema, including the present trend to produce dramatic television series rather than feature films. With cinematographer Jean Coquillon and actors John Justin, Anna Neagle,George Cole, and Hayley Mills.

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