Starting with its showcase of Strangers on a Train on this week's edition of "The Essentials" (Sat., April 17, 8pm Eastern, 5pm Pacific), Turner Classic Movies will pay tribute to the films of Farley Granger. Strangers on a Train will be followed by They Live by Night (1949), Roseanna McCoy (1949), The North Star (1943) and Edge of Doom (1950).
Granger was discovered and signed by producer Sam Goldwyn while still in high school and was quickly cycled into The North Star. Though he was groomed for a career in Hollywood, his first love was the theater and he eventually bought out his contract with Goldwyn so that he could pursue a career on Broadway.
In 1986 Granger won and Obie Award for his performance in Talley & Son.
Though he made a number of films, Granger considers only three of them top-quality: They Live by Night, Strangers on a Train and Luchino Visconti's Senso (1954) with Alida Valli - considered by many to be his finest performance.
The upcoming San Francisco International Film Festival will present a recently (and laboriously) restored version of Senso. The film's U.S. premiere was a highlight of the festival's inaugural year in 1957...and I am thrilled to report that I have tickets to the festival's screening of Senso on May 2 at the Castro Theater.
Granger was discovered and signed by producer Sam Goldwyn while still in high school and was quickly cycled into The North Star. Though he was groomed for a career in Hollywood, his first love was the theater and he eventually bought out his contract with Goldwyn so that he could pursue a career on Broadway.
In 1986 Granger won and Obie Award for his performance in Talley & Son.
Though he made a number of films, Granger considers only three of them top-quality: They Live by Night, Strangers on a Train and Luchino Visconti's Senso (1954) with Alida Valli - considered by many to be his finest performance.
The upcoming San Francisco International Film Festival will present a recently (and laboriously) restored version of Senso. The film's U.S. premiere was a highlight of the festival's inaugural year in 1957...and I am thrilled to report that I have tickets to the festival's screening of Senso on May 2 at the Castro Theater.
A recent photo of Farley Granger
You are very lucky to have tickets to the restoration screening of Senso. I really enjoy Visconti's films and Senso (aka The Wanton Countess) is a pretty good film. Nice highlight on Granger.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kim. It was a fluke, actually. I had been reading interviews and background on Granger while working on "Dial H" and was curious about SENSO, began looking for it. When I received a pair of ticket vouchers for the festival I started going through the screening schedule & came upon SENSO - a restoration no less - nothing like synchronicity! I've seen THE LEOPARD and ROCCO & HIS BROTHERS but have much catching up on Visconti to do...
ReplyDeleteTheLadyEve, that is soooo Awesome!! Please let us know how it went...
ReplyDeleteDawn - I'll definitely report back on SENSO...and any other international films I may have the chance to see during the festival...
ReplyDeleteEve, this is awesome news! We all look forward to hearing about the restored version of "Senso."
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