Gene Wilder

Marilyn Monroe, born as Norma Jeane Mortenson, was an iconic actress and one of the most enduring sex symbols known. Marilyn led an astonishing career even in her short life, starting as a model and making her way towards the film business, she dazzled the public with her beauty and charm. To Marilyn, her refusing happiness was a massive quest for love and a sense of belonging. Looking back at her short career, one would think that Marilyn had not only achieved fame by her films but also with…

Our Town by Thorton Wilder is a play that revolves around the modern lives of certain families that live in Grover's Corner. Toward the end of the play one of the main characters whose name is Emily, passes away and this leads to the discussion of what the living does and does not understand. When Emily visits the graveyard, she is greeted by Simon and Mrs. Gibbs. Emily is then transported back in time. Emily and Simon believe that the living do not understand what to cherish about life and how…

Thursday, October, 8, 2015, I was privileged with the opportunity to see the production, Our Town, written by Thornton Wilder, and directed by Rose Riordan. Our Town takes place in a small town called Grover’s Corner in the early 1900’s. Our Town is presented in a much different manor than most plays today. Instead of changing sets and meticulously hand painted backdrops, the actors use nothing but some chairs and a pair of ladders. The storyline of the play is intriguing, but not so much as the…

Film in the 1940’s focused on lying, crime, and mystery. This particular style of film is now known as Film Noir, which focused on the dark side of humanity. Certain elements are needed to properly display a true film noir film. Double Indemnity (1944) is a film that focuses on insurance agent Walter Neff. Due to the dark events that take place throughout the film, several elements of film noir were used in the filming of this movie. Double Indemnity utilized film noir by setting a dark mood,…

Our Town, written by Thornton Wilder, has much to say on the subject of life and the thought we put into our living. The play is packed with characters making you see a more three dimensional town. Seeing a vast assortment of characters throughout time makes the production feel real to the audience. The main character Emily who we constantly see throughout the production grow and develop not only as a charter but as a person. Emily goes through her teenage years along with George her lifelong…

Have you ever dreamed of becoming one of the world’s biggest icon for decades? Even after you were no longer around? Before I jump to far ahead there are a couple things most people do not know about the all-time famous “Marilyn Monroe”. For starters her real name was Norma Jeane Mortensen born in California who grew up with a very rough and unstable childhood. Marilyn Monroe died at a very young age, 36 years old. Marilyn Monroe had to use perseverance, passion, and creavity just to survive her…

Thornton Wilder creates a celebration of life in his play Our Town. Unlike most plays, Wilder strips the scenery, set, and props bare in Our Town to elevate the greatness of the simple and ordinary life while presenting “no curtain. No scenery. The audience, arriving, sees an empty stage in half light” (Wilder act 1). The playwright invites the audience to use their imagination to fill in the lack of detail. He makes the story personal by creating a simple plot, ordinary characters, and using…

1. The movie Sunset Boulevard follows a writer, a man named Joe who comes across an old mansion while trying to hide his car which is about to be reclaimed because he is unable to pay his bills. Desperate for a job, he starts to read the script of the old Hollywood star that lives in the mansion, Norma Desmond. Norma was once one of the biggest silent film stars in Hollywood, but once talking pictures got popular and she got older, there was less demand for her work, and she has spent the last…

The films Double Indemnity, directed by Billy Wilder, and The Night of the Living Dead, directed by George Romero, both feature female characters in subordinate roles to their male counterparts. Double Indemnity features Walter Neff underestimating his lover Phyllis’s power and continually patronizing her, calling her “baby” almost exclusively. The Night of the Living Dead features Helen, who is constantly put down by her husband who never values her opinion. Both films use elements of…

and a character that is still studied to this day. While Gloria Swanson’s historic performance of Norma Desmond garners more attention and praise, I would make the argument that William Holden’s portrayal of Joe Gillis is just as intriguing. Billy Wilder created a character that I have never been so unsure of, he is one of the great examples of the anti-hero. He’s not a great guy, but I wouldn’t go so far to say he’s bad either, he’s right in the middle. The characteristics he has as the…