THE BLACK PHONE : Tuesday 2nd August 2022.

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'THE BLACK PHONE' earlier this week, and this American super-natural horror film is Co-Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by Scott Derrickson whose previous feature film outings take in the likes of 'Hellraiser : Inferno' in 2000, 'The Exorcism of Emily Rose' in 2005, 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' in 2008, 'Sinister' in 2012, 'Deliver Us from Evil' in 2014 and 'Doctor Strange' most recently in 2016. This film is an adaptation of the 2004 short story of the same name by Joe Hill. The film saw its Premier screening at Fantastic Fest in late September last year and went on release in the US towards the end of June this year, here in Australia on 21st July and has so far grossed US$144M off the back of a US$18M production budget and garnering generally positive Reviews.

The film opens up with a bunch of young lads playing in a baseball competition, with thirteen year old Finney Blake (Mason Thames) pitching the ball, and Bruce (Tristan Pravong) batting. With two strikes behind him, Finney pitches his third ball which results in Bruce hitting a home run and winning the match. After the game Bruce and Finney congratulate each other with Bruce saying that Finney has got a 'minted arm'. It is 1978 and we are in Denver, Colorado. Finney lives with his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), and their abusive and alcoholic father Terrence (Jeremy Davies) in the suburbs. At school Finney is often bullied by the same gang, but is looked out for by his good friend Robin (Miguel Cazarez Mora). One day Bruce is seen cycling towards a black panel van, and is next seen on a Missing Person's poster adorning the local streets. 

Gwen, who experiences psychic dreams just as her late mother did, dreams of Bruce's abduction and sees that he was taken by a man in a black van with black balloons, known locally as The Grabber. Detectives Wright and Miller (E. Roger Mitchell and Troy Rudeseal respectively) attempt to interview young Gwen, but struggle to believe her claims. Sometime later the Grabber abducts Robin, and then within a few days Finney is also kidnapped. 

Finney comes around sometime later on a mattress in an empty soundproofed basement. On the wall is a disconnected black rotary phone that the Grabber claims does not work, and the broken cord would seem to confirm that notion. Later, Finney hears the phone ring and answers it. Bruce's spirit, unable to remember his own name or who he was when he was alive, tells Finney about a floor tile located in the corridor to the toilet, that he can remove to dig a tunnel to escape through the soft earth directly beneath the floor. 

The Police conduct door to door searches for Finney, but this proves fruitless. The Grabber (Ethan Hawke) brings Finney food and a soda. While eating on scrambled eggs the phone rings and it is another boy called Billy, who instructs him that he had hidden a length of cord behind the junction of the wall and floor and he can use it to escape through the high window of the basement. While climbing Finney breaks the bars on the window which come crashing down on top of him and so preventing him from climbing back up. Gwen dreams of Billy being abducted and confides in her father about what is happening. Finney sleeps and when he wakes up the Grabber is there in the basement having watched him sleep. The Grabber exits but leaves the door to the basement unlocked. As Finney prepares to sneak out the phone rings again and Billy tells him not to as this is a game the Grabber likes to play, as he lies in wait upstairs to attack his victims within an inch of their lives, with a belt, just as Billy was. 

Detectives Wright and Miller speak to an eccentric man called Max (James Ransone) who is staying in the area with his brother and who has been conducting his own investigation into the missing kids. It is revealed Finney is being held in the basement of Max's brothers house, of which he is unaware, and that the Grabber is in fact his brother. After a heated exchange with the Grabber, where he tests Finney's honesty, he speaks as if he would have let Finney go free. Finney speaks to another one of his victims, Griffin, on the phone. Griffin directs Finney to the combination of a bike lock scrawled on the basement wall with a bottle top, and that the bike lock secures the front door to the house. He also informs him that the Grabber has fallen asleep upstairs while waiting for him to emerge, and that if he is to get past him he must do so in absolute silence. Finney gingerly sneaks upstairs and unlocks the door after several attempts with the dial combination, but the Grabber's dog alerts him to Finney's escape. Finney flees down the street but is quickly recaptured at knife point. 

Discouraged by his failed escape attempt, Finney answers the phone to hear another victim, a punk called Vance whom Finney was scared of. Vance advises Finney of a storage room located immediately behind one of the basement walls and that he can escape through it if he breaks a hole in the wall and exits through the freezer on the other side. Finney creates a hole with the cistern lid and enters the back of the freezer only to discover that the freezer door is locked. Feeling even more dejected Finney breaks down sobbing, totally disheartened. The phone rings one more time with Robin at the end of the line. He consoles Finney and encourages him to finally stand up and fight for himself. He instructs Finney to remove the phone receiver and pack it tight with the dirt he had dug up and to use it as a weapon.

Gwen has a dream of Vance's abduction and learns the number of the Grabber's property. She cycles around the neighbourhood trying to locate the house and falls from her bike when confronted by the bloodied spirits of the Grabbers victims stood in front of her adjacent to the house. She returns home and calls Detective Wright. 

Max realises Finney is being held in the house and rushes to the basement to free him, believing that his brother is out working. Little does he know that his brother is standing right behind him on the stairs and brings down an axe right on his head killing him instantly. The police rush over to the house that Gwen found but find it empty. In the basement, however, they find the buried bodies of the Grabber's five previous victims with an open grave waiting for the sixth. 

The Grabber attacks Finney with the axe, but Finney manages to trip the Grabber with the cord, causing him to fall into the partial tunnel Finney dug, where the Grabber breaks and traps his ankle in the window bars placed at the bottom. Finney repeatedly smashes the weighted phone handset against the face and head of the Grabber. The spirits of the Grabbers other victims taunt him over the phone before Finney breaks his neck with the cord used to trip him initially, killing him. Finney distracts the guard dog with meat from the freezer and escapes the house using the combination he learned from Griffin. Finney exits the house across the street from the gravesites where he reunites with Gwen and the police rush to the property. The siblings comfort each other as their father arrives, apologises for his treatment of Finney and begs his forgiveness. Back at school, the new local hero and a now more confident Finney sits next to his crush in Science class.

With 'The Black Phone' Scott Derrickson is back in his comfort zone providing the audience with a well crafted story, combined with dramatic, emotional, super-natural and horror elements and set back in the late '70's where the aesthetic of that era is spot on and hark back to the classic horror films of the '80's such as 'The Shining', 'Poltergeist', 'Misery' and 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' and the type of story that could have easily been penned by Stephen King. The performances from Thames and McGraw as the two siblings who each have their own super-natural experiences to work through are first rate, and Hawke as the multiple child killer whose face is never fully revealed, lends his menacing machismo to solid effect. As a horror film, this film is light on jump scares and what would be described as real moments of horror tension and terror, but as a super-natural crime thriller it does deliver on the chills and spills that help elevate it above many of its current contemporaries. 

'The Black Phone' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 4th August 2022.

The 70th Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. This year it runs in cinema's across the city from Thursday 4th August until Sunday 21st August and online from Thursday 11th until Sunday 28th August. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world following the founding of the Venice Film Festival in 1932, Cannes Film Festival in 1939 and Berlin Film Festival in 1951. MIFF’s 2022 in-cinema programme features eighteen days of premiere showcases, international features, exclusive screenings, commissioned works, panel discussions, industry events, live talks and XR experiences for cinephiles of all tastes and persuasions. 

This years Opening Night gala film presentation is the Australian feature 'Of an Age' Written and Directed by Goran Stolevski in only his second feature film outing following 'You Won't Be Alone' released earlier this year. The Closing Night gala film is the Australian documentary 'Clean' Directed and Co-Edited by Lachlan McLeod.

MIFF’s film competition, Bright Horizons, recognises the new, the next, the breakthrough and the best, as it presents an extraordinary international line-up of first and second-time filmmakers competing for one of the richest film prizes in the world. Initially comprising three awards, the MIFF Film Competition includes as its flagship prize the AU$140K Bright Horizons Award – the richest feature film prize in the Southern Hemisphere, plus the Blackmagic Design Australian Innovation Award and the MIFF Audience Award. There are eleven feature films in competition, and they are :-

* 'Aftersun' from the UK and Written and Directed by Charlotte Wells. Coming of age drama about a father–daughter bond and the small moments that build it, and those that threaten to break it. Australian Premier.

* 'The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future' from Chile, France, Germany and the USA and Co-Written and Directed by Francisca Alegria. This drama fantasy is a surreal, offbeat fable of environmental destruction and familial reconciliation. Australian Premier.

* 'Domingo and the Mist' from Costa Rica and Qatar and Directed, Co-Produced and Written by Ariel Escalante Meza. In this drama fantasy a widower resists attempts to oust him from the land where his wife’s spirit returns to him as an ethereal mist. Australian Premier.

* 'Leonor Will Never Die' from the Philippines and Written and Directed by Martika Ramirez Escobar. This action crime fantasy drama sees fiction clashing with reality as an elderly filmmaker becomes the hero of her own life. Victorian Premier.

* 'Mass' from the USA and Written and Directed by Fran Kranz. This crime drama has two couples whose world's collide for a painful emotional reckoning in the aftermath of a school shooting. Australian Premier.

* 'Neptune Frost' from Rwanda and the USA and Co-Produced and Co-Directed by Anisia Uzeyman and Saul Williams, Written and Composed by Saul Williams and lensed by Anisia Uzeyman. This Sci-Fi LGBTQIA+ drama set in a past, present and future Rwanda unfolds like a dream, as a young coltan miner encounters Neptune Frost, an intersex hacker who leads us down a trans-dimensional rabbit hole of post-colonial possible realities. Australian Premier.

* 'Petrol' from Australia and Written and Directed by Alena Lodkina. This drama offering is about an idealistic film student who is drawn into an enigmatic performance artist’s shadowy world. World Premier.

* 'Playground' from Belgium and Written and Directed by Laura Wandel. This coming of age drama offers up a gripping child’s-eye view of the cycles of bullying and how the schoolyard mirrors the ‘playground’ of adult life. Australian Premier.

* 'Robe of Gems' from Argentina and Mexico and Written, Co-Produced, Directed and Co-Edited by Natalia Lopez Gallardo. This crime drama explored the murky complexities of the Mexican drug trade. Australian Premier.

* 'Rodeo' from France and Co-Written and Directed by Lola Quivoron. This crime drama film is about a daredevil female motorcyclist who revs after a place to belong. Australian Premier.
* 'The Stranger' from Australia and Witten and Directed by Thomas M. Wright. This crime drama follows two brooding strangers, one a ragged loner and the other, a criminal, introduced by a mutual associate in the West Australian badlands. A single father, the criminal takes a special interest in the impoverished loner, while in the background one of the nation’s largest Police operations closes in.

For the full line up of all films, events and activities taking place at this years 70th Melbourne International Film Festival, you can go to the official website at : https://miff.com.au/

This week then with five new cinematic offerings to tease you out to your local Odeon, we kick off with an action comedy that sees five assassins who find themselves on a fast moving bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto with only a few stops in between, and in time they discover that their missions are not unrelated to each other. Next up is a New Zealand film about a self-destructive teenager who, upon returning home from his boarding school discovers his gin-soaked grandmother has moved in, and so the stage is set for a battle of wills to begin. Then we have a drama romance story concerning two strangers who wind up double-booked in the same upstate New York rental during the start of COVID-19, with the lockdown forcing them both to stay and confront the unexpected feelings that develop between them. This is followed by a Swedish comedy crime caper that sees the family patriarch serving jail time and by the time he is released ten months later his cronies now lead honest lives, but when he is tipped off about a lucrative job, to pull off the heist he will need his old friends. And we close out the week with a French comedy about a man who believes his job in a government department is set for life until cuts in spending put him at odds with a ruthless ministerial inspector who will stop at nothing to oust him from his job. 

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the five latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead.

'BULLET TRAIN' (Rated MA15+) - this American action comedy film is Co-Produced and Directed by David Leitch whose previous film making credits include his uncredited debut on 2014's 'John Wick' with Chad Stahelski, then 'Atomic Blonde' in 2017, 'Deadpool 2' in 2018 and 'Fast and Furious Presents : Hobbs & Shaw' in 2019. The film is based on the Japanese novel 'Maria Beetle' by Kotaro Isaka, and is released in the US this week also.

Trained killer Ladybug (Brad Pitt) wants to give up the life but is pulled back in by his handler Maria Beetle (Sandra Bullock) in order to collect a briefcase on a bullet train heading from Tokyo to Kyoto, Japan. Onboard the train, he and other competing assassins discover their objectives are all connected. Also starring Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Michael Shannon, Zazie Beetz, Logan Lerman, Andrew Koji and Hiroyuki Sanada. 

'JUNIPER' (Rated M) - is a New Zealand film Witten, and Directed by Matthew Saville in his debut feature film making offering. Here, when a self-destructive teenager Sam (George Ferrier) is suspended from school and asked to look after his feisty alcoholic grandmother Ruth (Charlotte Rampling) as a punishment, the crazy time they spend together turns his life around and enables her to face her own mortality. Also starring Marton Csokas, the film has generated widespread Critical acclaim. 

'ALONE TOGETHER' (Rated M) - this drama romance film is Written, Directed, Co-Produced and stars Katie Holmes in only her second feature film making outing following 2016's 'All We Had'. Travelling upstate for a short romantic getaway to escape the pandemic in New York City, food critic June's (Katie Holmes) plans go awry right from the off. Arriving at the AirBnB in advance of her boyfriend, John (Derek Luke), she is shocked to discover it has been double-booked by recently single Charlie (Jim Sturgess). When John decides to stay in the city to care for his parents, June has to settle in for the long haul as she realises that the initial two weeks of the pandemic might just drag on a little bit longer than anyone anticipated. As spring begins to unfold around them, June and Charlie make the most of the sudden break in their routines and develop an unexpected intimacy as they bond over their goals, ambitions and, of course, relationships. 

'THE JONSSON GANG' (Rated PG) - is a comedy crime film Co-Written and Directed by Tomas Alfredson whose previous film making credits include 2008's 'Let the Right One In', 2011's 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' and 2017's 'The Snowman'. Featuring the family of felons who first appeared on Swedish screens way back in 1981, here the popular franchise gets its second reboot following the failure of its first attempt in 2015. Here then, after a failed heist, Charles Ingvar 'Sickan' Jonsson (Henrik Dorsin) spends ten months in prison. By the time he is released, his cronies now lead honest upstanding law abiding lives. When he is tipped off about a lucrative job, to pull off the heist he will need his old friends to return to the fold. Also starring Anders Johansson, David Sundin and Hedda Stiernstedt. 

'EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH' (Rated M) - this French comedy film is Written, Directed and stars Jerome Commandeur in only his second feature film following 2016's 'Ma familie t'adore deja', although he has thirty-two credits as an Actor. An irresistible force meets an immovable object when a zealous ministerial inspector Isabelle Bailliencourt (Pascale Arbillot), determined to do everything in her power to make cuts in civil service spending, comes up against Vincent Peltier (Jerome Commandeur), a peaceful civil servant at the Water and Forestry Department in Limoges. As far as he’s concerned, his job, is 'guaranteed for life!' The war of nerves has only just begun when she transfers him from one meaningless job to another and to some of the must inhospitable places on Earth, including the North Pole where he meets Eva Brebant (Laetitia Dosch), a scientist that changes his perspective on life. It is time for him to make a decision.

With five new release movie offerings this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

The Odeon Online Obituary : Remembering the screen celebrities who passed away in July 2022.

In July, the world bid a fond farewell to a number of stars of the silver screen and the small screen. In brief, shown below, is my passing tribute to those stars who leave an indelible mark on the entertainment industry, and in particular the world of film and television. May you all Rest In Peace, and thanks for the memories . . . . . Brian Jackson, Peter Brook, Susana Dosamantes, Mona Hammond, Lenny Von Dohlen, James Caan, Larry Storch, Tony Sirico, Gregory Itzin, L.Q. Jones, Monty Norman, Terence Macartney-Filgate, Pat John, Germano Longo, Mickey Rooney Jnr., Rebecca Balding, Tommy Collins, Taurean Blacque, Bob Rafelson, David Warner, Paul Sorvino, Tony Dow, Bernard Cribbins, Mary Alice, Burt Metcalfe, Nichelle Nichols and Pat Carroll.

* Brian Jackson - born Osmond Brian Jackson on 6th April 1931 and died 2nd July 2022 aged 91. Jackson was a British Actor who accumulated fifty-five screen acting credits throughout his long career which began on a single episode of 'The Adventures of Ben Gunn' in 1958. He would follow this up with his first feature film role that same year with 'Carry On Sergeant', with other film roles including 'Some Like It Cool' in 1961 for Michael Winner, 'Revenge of the Pink Panther' in 1978 with Peter Sellers, 'Cash and Curry' in 2008, 'Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda' in 2018 and 'Saint Maud' in 2019 with Morfydd Clark being his final screen outing. In the intervening years there were also appearances on TV series taking in 'Quatermass and the Pit', 'Danger Man', 'The Avengers', 'Dixon of Dock Green', 'Z Cars', 'The Persuaders!', 'The Protectors', 'The Tomorrow People', 'Juliet Bravo', 'Doctors' and 'Casualty'. For the better part of his working life, he was known as 'The Man from Del Monte', a distinguished-looking, white-suited, Panama hat-wearing gent who became the public face for an American brand of fruit juice, advertised on TV across twenty-five commercials which aired in thirty-two countries for some twenty years.

* Peter Brook - born 21st March 1925 and died 2nd July 2022, aged 97. Brook was an English theatre and film Director, who worked first in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Amongst his numerous theatre productions, he also generated sixteen credits as a screen Director, nineteen as a Scriptwriter and four as a Producer. His first feature film came in 1953 with 'The Beggar's Opera' starring Laurence Olivier, and he would follow this up with 'Seven Days . . . Seven Nights' in 1960 with Jeanne Moreau and Jean-Paul Belmondo, 'Lord of the Flies' in 1963, 'Marat/Sade' in 1967 with Patrick Magee and Glenda Jackson, 'King Lear' in 1970 with Paul Schofield, 'Meetings with Remarkable Men' in 1979 with Terrence Stamp, with the TV series 'The Mahabharata' in 1990 and his last screen outing coming in 2018 in the TV movie 'Beckett by Brook'. He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1965 Queen's New Year Honours List and a CH (Companion of Honour) in the 1998 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to Drama. In addition, he was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Special Award in 1984 for his services to the theatre, and the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award : The Times Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre in 1994. In 2021 he was awarded India's fourth highest civilian honour, the Padma Shri, for his valuable contributions towards art.

* Susana Dosamantes - born Maria del Perpetuo Socorro Guadalupe Susana Rul Riestra on 9th January 1948 and died 2nd July 2022, aged 74. Dosamantes was a Mexican Actress who accumulated sixty-seven screen acting roles throughout her career which began in the 1969 feature film 'Memories of the Future' with other American co-productions including the Howard Hawks 1970 Western 'Rio Lobo' with John Wayne and Jennifer O'Neill, 'Day of the Assassin' in 1979 for Brian Trenchard-Smith with Glenn Ford and Richard Roundtree, 'Hit Man' in 1982 with Max von Sydow, Maud Adams and George Peppard, and 'Counterforce' in 1988 with George Kennedy and Isaac Hayes. In the years in between and since she would also have numerous recurring episodes on TV series including on 265 episodes of 'Amalia Batista', on 133 of 'Rebeca', on 280 of 'Priceless Love', on 113 of 'Eva Luna', on 111 of 'Passions of the Heart', on 108 of 'The Three Sides of Ana', and on eighty-three of 'Si nos dejan' as recently as 2019. 

* Mona Hammond - born Mavis Chin on 23rd January 1931 and died 4th July 2022, aged 91. Hammond was a Jamaican born British Actress who relocated to Britain in 1959 and remained there until her death. She generated seventy screen acting credits during her six decade spanning career which began in 1964 on a single episode of the 'ITV Play of the Week' and she would follow this up with her next screen appearance in the 1967 feature film 'Herostratus'. Her other feature films were 'Fords on Water' in 1983, 'Pure' in 2002 with Keira Knightley, 'The Life and Death of Peter Sellers' in 2004 with Geoffrey Rush, Charlize Theron and Emily Watson, 'Manderlay' in 2005 with Bryce Dallas Howard, Danny Glover and Willem Dafoe, 'Kinky Boots' also in 2005 with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Joel Edgerton, '10,000 BC' in 2008 for Roland Emmerich, 'Burlesque Fairytales' in 2009 with Benedict Cumberbatch and Lindsay Duncan and 'Coriolanus' in 2011 for and with Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler and Brian Cox. In the years in between and since there have been roles on TV shows taking in the likes of 'Callan', 'Special Branch', 'The Sweeney', 'Juliet Bravo', 'Coronation Street', 'Chef!', 'The Bill', 'Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)', 'White Teeth', 'Doctor Who', 'New Tricks', 'Casualty', 'Doctors', 'Holby City', 'Death in Paradise' and as Blossom Jackson on 168 episodes of 'EastEnders' between 1986 and 2010. She was awarded the O.B.E.(Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to drama, and in 2006 she was presented with the Edric Connor Inspiration Award - the Screen Nation Film and Television Awards' highest UK honour. Hammond was also the co-founder in 1986 of the Talawa Theatre Company, a Black British theatre company and in 2018, she was awarded the Women of the World Lifetime Achievement Award for her long and distinguished theatre career and for championing Black British actors with that theatre company.

* Lenny Von Dohlen - born 22nd December 1958 and died 5th July 2022, aged 63. Von Dohlen was an American Actor of cinema, television and theatre who amassed sixty-eight screen acting roles throughout his career spanning into five decades which began in 1981 in the TV movie 'Kent State'. He would follow this up over the ensuing years with other feature films including 'Tender Mercies' in 1983 with Robert Duvall, 'Electric Dreams' in 1984 with Virginia Madsen, 'Billy Galvin' in 1986 with Karl Malden, 'Dracula's Widow' in 1988 with Sylvia Kristel, 'Twin Peaks : Fire Walk with Me' in 1992 for David Lynch, 'Jennifer 8' in 1992 with Uma Thurman and Andy Garcia, 'Broken Horses' in 2015 with Thomas Jane, 'Ray Meets Helen' in 2017 with Keith Carradine and Sondra Locke, 'Near Myth : The Oskar Knight Story' in 2018 with the comedy 'Sallywood' with Sally Kirkland currently in post-production awaiting a future release date being his final screen role. In the meantime, there were also appearances on TV shows taking in 'Miami Vice', 'The Equalizer', 'Twin Peaks', 'Red Dwarf', 'Picket Fences', 'Chicago Hope', 'The Pretender', 'CSI : Miami', 'Criminal Minds' and 'The Orville'. Von Dohlen was also an accomplished stage Actor who notched up many performances on both the US East and West Coast. 

* James Caan - born 26th March 1940 and died 5th July 2022, aged 82. Caan was an American Actor of film and television who accumulated 135 screen acting credits throughout his distinguished career which began in 1961 on a single episode of the TV series 'Naked City'. His first credited big screen role came along in 1964 in 'Lady in a Cage' with Olivia de Havilland, and he would follow this up with many more feature films in the years that followed, including 'El Dorado' in 1966 with John Wayne and Robert Mitchum, 'Journey to Shiloh' in 1968 with Michael Sarrazin and Harrison Ford, 'The Rain People' in 1969 for Francis Ford Coppola and with Robert Duvall, 'The Godfather' in 1972 for Francis Ford Coppola again and with Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, 'The Gambler' in 1974 with Paul Sorvino, 'Freebie and the Bean' in 1974 with Alan Arkin, 'The Godfather, Part II' in 1974 (although uncredited), 'Funny Lady' in 1975 with Barbra Streisand, 'Rollerball' in 1975 with Maud Adams, 'The Killer Elite' also in 1975 for Sam Peckinpah and with Robert Duvall, 'A Bridge Too Far' in 1977 for Richard Attenborough and with an all star cast, 'Comes a Horseman' in 1978 with Jane Fonda, 'Thief' in 1981 for Michael Mann, 'Alien Nation' in 1988 with Mandy Patinkin, 'Dick Tracy' in 1990 for and with Warren Beatty, 'Misery' in 1990 with Kathy Bates, 'Honeymoon in Vegas' in 1992 with Nicolas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker, 'Eraser' in 1996 with Arnold Schwarzenegger, 'Mickey Blue Eyes' in 1999 with Hugh Grant, 'The Yards' in 2000 with Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron, 'The Way of the Gun' in 2000 with Ryan Phillippe and Benicio Del Toro, 'Dogville' in 2003 with Nicole Kidman, 'Elf' in 2003 with Will Ferrell, 'Get Smart' in 2008 with Steve Carell, 'Blood Ties' in 2013 with Clive Owen, 'The Outsider' in 2014 with Jason Patric, 'Undercover Grandpa' in 2017, 'Queen Bees' in 2021 with Ellen Burstyn and 'Fast Charlie' currently in post-production for a 2023 release date. In the intervening years there were also roles on TV shows including 'The Untouchables', 'The Doctors and the Nurses', 'Wagon Train', 'The F.B.I.', 'Get Smart', on eighty-eight episodes of 'Las Vegas', 'Hawaii Five-0', 'Magic City', and on thirteen of 'Back in the Game'. All up Cann won eight awards and a further twenty-one nominations, including an Oscar nod for 'The Godfather' plus a Primetime Emmy and four Golden Globe nominations. He was married and divorced four times and is the father of Actor Scott Caan. 

* Larry Storch - born Lawrence Samuel Storch on 8th January 1923 and died 8th July 2022, aged 99. Storch was an American Actor and voice Actor of film and television who amassed 250 screen acting credits throughout his six decade spanning career, which launched in the 1951 feature film 'The Prince Who Was a Thief' with Tony Curtis and Piper Laurie. From here, his other more notable film work would take in the likes of '40 Pounds of Trouble' in 1962 with Tony Curtis again, 'Wild and Wonderful' and 'Sex and the Single Girl' both in 1964 and both with Tony Curtis once more, 'The Great Race' in 1965 with Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, 'The Great Bank Robbery' in 1969 with Zero Mostel and Kim Novak, 'Airport 1975' in 1974 with Charlton Heston, 'S.O.B.' in 1981 with Julie Andrews, 'The Silence of the Hams' in 1994 with Billy Zane, 'Funny Valentine' in 2005 with Anthony Michael Hall and 'Bittersweet Place' that same year with Elisabeth Moss and Seymour Cassel being his final big screen appearance. Between 1962 and 1963 he would lend his voice talents to Koko the Clown on 115 episodes of the TV short series, and subsequently on other TV series taking in 'The Greatest Show on Earth', 'Gilligan's Island', on sixty-five episodes of 'F Troop', 'I Dream of Jeanie', 'Get Smart', on thirteen of 'The Queen and I', 'The Persuaders!', 'Alias Smith and Jones', 'Mannix', 'Columbo', 'Police Story', 'McCloud', 'The Love Boat', 'CHiPs', 'Fantasy Island', 'The Fall Guy', 'Knight Rider', with a single episode on 'Medium Rare' in 2010 being his last screen role. Storch recreated hundreds of voices and dialects ranging from Muhammad Ali to Claude Rains and voiced characters in many television and film animations, including 'The Pink Panther Show', 'Groovie Goolies', 'The Inspector', 'The Brady Kids', 'Cool Cat', 'Treasure Island' and 'Tennessee Tuxedo'.

* Tony Sirico - born Gennaro Anthony Sirico Jnr. on 29th July 1942 and died 8th July 2022, aged 79. Sirico was an American Actor who notched up eighty-one screen acting roles throughout his career which began in 1977 in the biopic 'Hughes and Harlow : Angels in Hell'. From there, he would have roles in other feature films including 'Fingers' in 1978 with Harvey Keitel, 'Defiance' in 1980 with Jan-Michael Vincent, 'The Pick-up Atrist' in 1987 with Robert Downey Jnr. and Molly Ringwald, 'Cookie' in 1989 with Peter Falk, 'Goodfellas' in 1990 with Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci, 'Romeo Is Bleeding' in 1993 with Gary Oldman, 'Bullets Over Broadway' in 1994 for Woody Allen, 'Mighty Aphrodite' in 1995 for and with Woody Allen, 'Everyone Says I Love You' in 1996 for and with Woody Allen again, 'Cop Land' in 1997 with Sylvester Stallone, Ray Liotta and Harvey Keitel, 'Deconstructing Harry' also in 1997 for and with Woody Allen once more, 'Mickey Blue Eyes' in 1999 with Hugh Grant and James Caan, 'Cafe Society' in 2016 for Woody Allen again, 'Wonder Wheel' in 2017 for Woody Allen with 'Respect the Jux' in 2022 being his last release before 'Super Athlete' which has recently wrapped filming and is set for a future release date. In the years in between there were also appearances on TV series taking in the likes of 'Kojak', 'Miami Vice', on seventy-four episodes of 'The Sopranos' as Paulie 'Walnuts' Gualtieri, 'Medium', 'Lilyhammer' and lending his voice on several episodes of 'Family Guy' and 'American Dad!'. During the latter half of the 1960's and early '70's Sirico was arrested twenty-eight times including for disorderly conduct, assault, robbery, extortion, coercion and felony weapons possession ultimately serving twenty months in Sing Sing Prison in New York. Following his release, he never had another run in with the law. All up Sirico had generated two award wins and another five nominations all for his ensemble work on 'The Sopranos'.

* Gregory Itzin - born 20th April 1948 and died 8th July 2022, aged 74. Itzin was an American Actor of stage, screen and TV who amassed 187 screen acting roles throughout his career which began in the TV mini series 'Backstairs at the White House' in 1979. His first big screen role came in 1979 in 'Airplane!' which he followed up with turns in other feature films including 'The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas' in 1982 with Burt Reynolds, 'Teen Wolf' in 1985 with Michael J. Fox, 'The Fabulous Baker Boys' in 1989 with Jeff and Beau Bridges, 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' in 1998 with Johnny Depp, 'Evolution' in 2001 with David Duchovny, 'Original Sin' also in 2001 with Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie, 'Adaptation' in 2002 with Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep, 'Law Abiding Citizen' in 2009 with Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler, 'The Ides of March' in 2011 for and with George Clooney, 'Lincoln' in 2012 for Steven Spielberg and with Daniel Day Lewis with 'The Requiem Boogie' currently in post-production for a future release. His small screen roles took in the likes of 'Mork & Mindy', 'Charlie's Angels', 'Dallas', 'Hill Street Blues', 'The A-Team', '21 Jump Street', 'Matlock', 'L.A. Law', 'Murder, She Wrote', 'ER', on seventeen episodes of 'Murder One', 'JAG', 'Profiler', on twenty-one episodes of 'Strip Mall', 'The West Wing', 'The Practice', 'Friends', 'Boston Legal', 'Medium', on forty-four episodes of '24' as President Charles Logan, on nine of 'Big Love', on fifteen of 'The Mentalist', on twenty-five of 'Covert Affairs', 'Hawaii Five-0', and 'NCIS'. All up Itzin had two award wins and another five nominations all for his work on '24'. On stage, he appeared in numerous theatrical venues across the country, and was a member of the Matrix Theatre Company in Los Angeles, where he acted in award-winning productions of 'Waiting for Godot', 'The Homecoming', and 'The Birthday Party' (each earning him an L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award for his performance).

* L.Q. Jones - born Justus Ellis McQueen Jnr. on 19th August 1927 and died 9th July 2022, aged 94. Jones was an American Actor who amassed 165 screen acting credits during his career, three as Writer, three as Director and five as Producer. He got his first screen break in the feature film 'Battle Cry' in 1955, which he would follow up with more memorable features including 'Between Heaven and Hell' in 1956 with Robert Wagner, 'Torpedo Run' in 1958 with Glenn Ford, 'Flaming Star' in 1960 with Elvis Presley, 'Ride the High Country' in 1962 for Sam Peckinpah, 'Major Dundee' in 1965 for Sam Peckinpah again and with Charlton Heston, 'Hang 'Em High' in 1968 with Clint Eastwood, 'The Wild Bunch' in 1969 for Sam Peckinpah once more and with William Holden, 'The Hunting Party' in 1971 with Oliver Reed and Gene Hackman, 'Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid' in 1973 for Sam Peckinpah once again and with James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson, 'Lone Wolf McQuade' in 1983 with Chuck Norris, 'Lightning Jack' in 1994 with Paul Hogan, 'Casino' in 1995 for Martin Scorsese and with Robert De Niro, 'The Mask of Zorro' in 1998 with Antonio Banderas with 'A Prairie Home Companion' in 2006 with Lily Tomlin, Meryl Streep and Woody Harrelson being his final screen outing. In the years in between time, there were numerous single and multiple TV series appearances taking in the likes of 'Cheyenne', 'Annie Oakley', 'Tales of Wells Fargo', 'Have Gun - Will Travel', 'Lassie', 'Laramie', 'Wagon Train', 'Rawhide', 'Hawaii Five-0', 'The Virginian', 'Gunsmoke', 'Alias Smith and Jones', 'The Magician', 'McCloud', 'Columbo', 'The Incredible Hulk', 'Vega$', 'Charlie's Angels', 'The Dukes of Hazzard', 'The Fall Guy', 'The A-Team' and 'Renegade'. Jones adopted his screen name after the character he played on 1955's 'Battle Cry', in which he is credited as Justus E. McQueen, his actual name. He Directed, Produced, and wrote the screenplay for his 1975 feature film starring Don Johnson 'A Boy and His Dog'. 

* Monty Norman - born Monty Noserovitch on 4th April 1928 and died 9th July 2022, aged 94. Norman was a British film, television and theatre composer and singer who is best known for composing the theme tune to every James Bond film since 1962's 'Dr. No' and from which he collected around £485,000 in royalties between 1976 and 1999 for the use of the theme since that James Bond debut film. His other film work included music for the Hammer movie 'The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll' in 1960 with Christopher Lee, 'The Day the Earth Caught Fire' in 1961 with Leo McKern, 'Call Me Bwana' in 1963 with Bob Hope and the TV mini series 'Dickens of London' in 1976. He also sang in various variety shows of that 50's and 60's era, sharing top billing with other singers and comedy stars such as Benny Hill, Harry Secombe, Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, Harry Worth, Tommy Cooper, Tony Hancock and Max Miller. One of his songs, 'False Hearted Lover', was a success internationally.

* Terence Macartney-Filgate - born 6th August 1924, and died 11th July 2022, aged 97. Macartney-Filgate was a British born Canadian Director, Writer and Producer who migrated to Canada in 1954. Throughout his fifty years as a film maker he Directed thirty-two documentaries (either in a short or feature length format), was Cinematographer on twenty-five, Writer on eight and Producer for four. His first Directing credit came in 1956 on the fifteen minute short film 'Emergency Rescue : T33 Jet Aircraft'. His first full length documentary film came in 1964 with 'The Hundredth Summer' which he would follow up with other feature length doco's taking in 'Fields of Endless Day' in 1978, 'Dieppe 1942' in 1979, 'The Magical Eye' in 1989, 'Timothy Findley : Anatomy of a Writer' in 1992, and then 'Canada Remembers Parts One, Two and Three : Turning the Tide, The Liberators, and Endings and Beginnings' respectively in 1995. The TV documentary film 'Raising Valhalla' in 2007 was his final film making outing about the opening of a new opera stage at the Four Seasons Centre for Performing Arts in Toronto, Canada. In 2011, Macartney-Filgate was given the Hot Doc's outstanding achievement award, which included a retrospective of his work, and also that same year, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

* Pat John - born sometime in 1953 and died 13th July 2022, aged 69. John was a First Nations Canadian Actor and a member of the shsihalh First Nation, and was one of the first Indigenous people to appear on television in a non-caricature role. He only notched up two screen acting roles during his career - the first of which he played for nineteen years on 'The Beachcombers' from 1972 until the series ended in 1990 with 213 episodes to his name and the second longest running dramatic series ever made for English-language Canadian television. He would also star in the 2002 made-for-TV movie 'The New Beachcombers'. When his career effectively ended on 'The Beachcombers' he began work in the clam and shellfish harvesting business. 

* Germano Longo - born 24th May 1933 and died 14th July 2022, aged 89. Longo was an Italian Actor who was especially active during the 1950's and '60's in sword and sandal, adventure and Spaghetti Western films. He scored his first feature film in 'Folgore Division' in 1954 and a year later in 1955 gained the only top billing of his career in the feature film 'Moana, Virgin of the Amazon'. From there he would enjoy mostly supporting roles in other local genre films including 'Roland the Mighty' in 1956, 'Aphrodite, Goddess of Love' in 1958, 'The Pirate of the Black Hawk' also in 1958, 'The Nights of Lucretia Borgia' in 1959, 'Guns of the Black Witch', 'The Secret of the Black Falcon', 'Queen of the Seas', 'Duel of the Titans' and 'The Corsican Brothers' all in 1961, 'The Triumph of Robin Hood' in 1962, 'Slave Queen of Babylon' in 1963, 'The Revenge of Spartacus' in 1964, 'My Gun is the Law' in 1965, 'Five for Revenge' in 1966, 'The Girl Who Couldn't Say No' in 1968 with George Segal, 'The Fourth Wall' in 1969 with Peter Lawford, 'Sunflower' in 1970 with Sophia Loren, 'A Sold Life' in 1976 and then his final feature film in 2012 being 'Tutto tutto niente niente'. Throughout the 1970's and up to his semi-retirement in 1981 Longo tended to focus mostly on made-for-TV movies and mini-series. He also worked as a dubbing artist (and occasional dubbing Director), providing the voice for numerous cartoon characters, as well as for foreign stars like Hal Holbrook, Jack Hawkins, Louis Gossett Jr. and Patrick Magee. During the latter half of the 1960's he was sometimes credited as Herman Lang, or Grant Laramy or James Harridon.

* Mickey Rooney Jnr. - born 3rd July 1945 an died 16th July 2022, aged 77. Rooney was an American Actor and the eldest son of famed Actor Mickey Rooney who died in 2014 at the age of 93. Rooney Jnr. first appeared on 'The Johnny Carson Show' in 1953 and then between 1955 and 1957 he would appear in eight episodes as a Mouseketeer on 'The Mickey Mouse Club'. He and brother Tim Rooney were hired in 1955 due to their ability to sing, dance and act. After appearing on the show for just over a year, their contracts were terminated after the mischievous boys got into a hassle with the studio's paint department, which was seen as an act unbecoming of a Mouseketeer. As an Actor he notched up just four screen credits, with his first in the feature film 'Hot Rods to Hell' in 1966 with the made for TV movie 'Beyond the Bermuda Triangle' in 1975 with Fred MacMurray and then two more feature films, being 'Honeysuckle Rose' in 1980 with Willie Nelson, Dyan Cannon and Amy Irving, and 'Songwriter' in 1984 with Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson. Musically inclined, he played bass in Willie Nelson's band and had recorded an album called 'The Song Album'. Like his height, his musical talent was inherited from his mother, who was a gifted vocalist.

* Rebecca Balding - born 21st September 1948 and died 18th July 2022, aged 73. Balding was an American Actress of TV and cinema who notched up forty-nine screen acting roles throughout her career which began with a turn on two episodes of 'The Bionic Woman' in 1976. Her first feature film came in the 1979 horror 'The Silent Scream', followed by 'The Boogens' in 1981, 'Kiss My Grits' in 1982 and 'Yesterday's Dreams' in 2005. In the meantime, there were single and multiple episodes on TV series and in made for TV movies, including 'Lou Grant', 'The Rockford Files', 'Starsky and Hutch', on nineteen episodes of 'Soap', 'Cagney & Lacey', 'Hotel', 'The Fall Guy', 'MacGyver', on six of 'Paradise','Beverly Hills, 90210', 'Melrose Place', 'ER' and on twenty-three of 'Charmed' being her final screen appearance in 2006. 

* Tommy Collins - died sometime in July 2022 with his death announced on 19th July. Collins was an Irish Director, Producer and Writer who generated thirteen credits as a film maker, thirteen as Producer and ten as Writer, in a career which began with him Co-Producing the feature film 'Hush-a-Bye Baby' in 1990 and then 'The Bishop's Story' in 1994. His debut Directing credit came in 1995 in the documentary 'More Than a Sacrifice', and then the likes of the doco 'Teenage Kicks : The Undertones' in 2001, 'Dead Long Enough' in 2006 with Michael Sheen, 'Kings' in 2007 with Colm Meaney, the documentary 'The Boys of St. Columb's' in 2009, 'The Gift' in 2014 which was also made into a five part mini-series in 2014 titled 'An Bronntanas', with 'Penance' in 2018 being his final screen credit. All up Collins, won three awards (two for 'Kings') and seven nominations (three for 'Kings') from around the awards and festival circuit. 

* Taurean Blacque - born Herbert Middleton Jnr. on 10th May 1940 and died 21st July 2022, aged 82. Blacque was an American Actor of television, cinema and theatre who accumulated forty-five screen acting credits during his career which launched with a single episode on the 1976 TV series 'What's Happening!!'. From there, his feature film roles took in the likes of 'House Calls' in 1978 with Walter Matthau and Glenda Jackson, 'Rocky II' in 1979 with Sylvester Stallone, 'The Hunter' in 1980 with Steve McQueen, 'Fled' in 1996 with Laurence Fishburne and Stephen Baldwin with 'Step Off' in 2011 being his final film credit. In the years in between he would also make appearances on TV shows including 'Charlie's Angels', 'Taxi', 'The Love Boat', on 144 episodes of 'Hill Street Blues' in probably his most well known role as Detective Neal Washington and for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 1982, on 102 episodes of 'Generations', on twenty-four of 'Savannah' with 'Kevin (Probably) Saves the World' in 2018 being his final screen role. Noted for his involvement in the community as well, Blacque, who has two adult biological sons, adopted nine children in the late 1980's, and in 1989 was asked by the then President George H. W. Bush to serve as the national spokesman for adoption. A deeply spiritual man, he took the name 'Taurean' from his astrological sign of 'Taurus' and the name 'Blacque' from his race.

* Bob Rafelson - born 21st February 1933 and died 23rd July 2022, aged 89. Rafelson was an American Director, Writer and Producer of film and TV and was regarded as one of the founding fathers of the New Hollywood movement in the 1970's. All up Rafelson had twenty Director credits, fifteen as Writer and thirteen as Producer with his first Directing credit coming on six episodes of 'The Monkees' TV series between 1966 and 1968 which he also co-created. His first feature film Directorial debut was 'Head' in 1968 with The Monkees and which was also Co-Written with Jack Nicholson and in which he also had an uncredited role. Rafelson would go on to make five other films with Jack Nicholson, those being 'Five Easy Pieces' in 1970, 'The King of Marvin Gardens' in 1972, 'The Postman Always Rings Twice' in 1981, 'Man Trouble' in 1992 and 'Blood and Wine' in 1996. In between there was also 'Stay Hungry' in 1976 with Jeff Bridges and Sally Field, 'Black Widow' in 1987 with Debra Winger and Dennis Hopper, 'Mountains of the Moon' in 1990 with Patrick Bergin, Iain Glen and Richard E. Grant and 'No Good Deed' in 2002 with Samuel L. Jackson, Milla Jovovich and Stellan Skarsgard being his final screen credit. All up Rafelson won three awards and was nominated another ten times from around the awards and festival circuit including two Oscar nods for 'Five Easy Pieces' for Best Picture and Best Writing. He had been honoured at numerous international film festivals, including in Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Greece, Japan, Serbia and Turkey, and has lectured in many masterclasses. 

* David Warner - born 29th July 1941 and died 24th July 2022, aged 80. Warner was an English Actor of television, cinema and theatre who accumulated 228 screen acting credits to his name in a six decade spanning career which saw his big screen debut in an uncredited role in the 1962 feature 'We Joined the Navy' with Kenneth More. He would follow this up over the successive years with other notable films including 'Tom Jones' in 1963 with Albert Finney, 'Morgan!' in 1966 with Vanessa Redgrave, 'The Sea Gull' in 1968 with James Mason, an uncredited role in 1971's 'Straw Dogs' with Dustin Hoffman, 'The Omen' in 1976 with Gregory Peck, 'Cross of Iron' in 1977 with James Coburn, 'The Thirty Nine Steps' in 1978 with Robert Powell, 'The Island' in 1980 with Michael Caine, 'Time Bandits' in 1981 with Sean Connery, 'The French Lieutenant's Woman' also in 1981 with Meryl Streep, 'TRON' in 1982 with Jeff Bridges, 'Star Trek V : The Final Frontier' in 1989 with William Shatner, 'Star Trek VI : The Undiscovered Country' in 1991 with William Shatner, 'In the Mouth of Madness' in 1994 with Sam Neill, 'Titanic' in 1997 with Leonardo DiCaprio, 'Planet of the Apes' in 2001 with Mark Wahlberg, 'Ladies in Lavender' in 2004 with Judi Dench, 'Before I Sleep' in 2013 with Tom Sizemore, with 'Mary Poppins Returns' in 2018 with Emily Blunt being his final feature film role. Over the years in between there were numerous appearances on single and multiple episodes of TV series taking in the likes of 'The War of the Roses', 'Holocaust', 'Masada', 'Nancy Astor', 'Marco Polo', 'Hold the Back Page', 'Wild Palms' and 'The Secret of Crickley Hall' all being TV mini-series, plus 'Z-Cars', 'Hart to Hart', 'Twin Peaks', 'Star Trek : The Next Generation', 'Murder, She Wrote', 'Babylon 5', 'Total Recall 2070', 'The Outer Limits', 'Penny Dreadful', 'Wallander' and 'The Alienist' in 2018. Warner also had many theatre productions under his belt too, including 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', 'Hamlet', 'The Tempest', 'Julius Caesar', 'Henry VI', 'Richard II', 'Twelfth Night', 'I, Claudius', 'King Lear' and he also lent his voice talents to many animated TV series and video games. All up Warner won one Primetime Emmy Award for 'Masada' in 1981 plus another nine nominations from around the awards circuit. 

* Paul Sorvino - born 13th April 1939 and died 25th July 2022, aged 83. Sorvino was an American Actor, opera singer, businessman, writer and sculptor who appeared on stage, cinema and television. His screen credits, of which there are 172 began in 1970 in the feature film 'Where's Poppa?' with George Segal, and he would follow this up over the next six decades with other notable roles in films including 'The Panic in Needle Park' in 1971 with Al Pacino, 'The Gambler' in 1974 with James Caan, 'The Brink's Job' in 1978 with Peter Falk, 'Cruising' in 1980 with Al Pacino, 'Reds' in 1981 for and with Warren Beatty, 'Dick Tracy' in 1990 for and with Warren Beatty again, 'Goodfellas' also in 1990 with Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta, 'The Rocketeer' in 1991 with Timothy Dalton, 'The Firm' in 1993 with Tom Cruise (although his role was uncredited), 'Nixon' in 1995 with Anthony Hopkins, 'Romeo + Juliet' in 1996 with Leonardo DiCaprio, 'Bulworth' in 1998 for and with Warren Beatty once more, 'The Cooler' in 2003 with William H. Macy, 'Once Upon a Time in Queens' in 2013 with Michael Rapaport, 'Undercover Grandpa' in 2017 with James Caan, 'Between the Leaves' in 2019 with Mira Sorvino, 'The Birthday Cake' in 2021 with Ewan McGregor with 'Pursued' with Molly Ringwald recently completed filming and due for a future release, 'The Ride' currently in post-production, and 'My Jurassic Place' currently filming at the time of his death. In the intervening years there were also roles in single and multiple episodes of TV series, made for TV movies and mini-series taking in thirteen episodes of 'We'll Get By', eleven of 'Bert D'Angelo/Superstar', eight on 'The Oldest Rookie', thirty-one on 'Law & Order', thirty-six on 'That's Life' and thirteen on 'Godfather of Harlem'. Sorvino also helped found the American Stage Company, a group that launched several successful Off-Broadway shows in 1986. In 2007, Sorvino launched Paul Sorvino Foods to market a range of pasta sauces, based on his mother's recipe; in 2008, he and his daughter Amanda lobbied with the Americans Against Horse Slaughter in Washington, D.C., for Congress and the Senate to pass the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, and Sorvino was also an accomplished sculptor, specialising in cast bronze. All up Sorvino was the recipient of fifteen award wins and another four nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. Sorvino is the proud father of Academy Award-winning actress Mira Sorvino.

* Tony Dow - born 13th April 1945 and died 27th July 2022, aged 77. Dow was an American Actor and Director whose career began in 1957 as the character Wally Cleaver on 234 episodes of 'Leave It to Beaver' and on which he remained until 1963. His subsequent TV series and made for TV movies took in the likes of 'Dr. Kildare', on 153 episodes of 'Never Too Young', 'Lassie', 'Mod Squad', 'Knight Rider', 'Murder, She Wrote', 'The Love Boat', then reprising his role as Wally Cleaver on 101 episodes of 'The New Leave It to Beaver' between 1983 and 1989, 'Diagnosis Murder', and 'Suspense' being his final screen credit in 2016. His Directorial credits took in multiple episodes of 'Leave It to Beaver', 'The New Lassie', 'Harry and the Hendersons', 'Swamp Thing', 'Coach', 'Babylon 5', and the TV movie documentary 'Child Stars : Their Story'. In addition to his thirty-nine acting credits, fourteen as Director, two as Producer and one as Writer, Dow was also a sculptor, creating abstract bronze sculptures.

* Bernard Cribbins - born 29th December 1928 and died 27th July 2022 aged 93. Cribbins was an English Actor of TV, film and theatre, and singer whose seven decade spanning career saw his small screen debut in 1956 in a single episode of the TV series 'The Black Tulip'. Over 122 screen appearances he would appear in such feature films as 'Battle Hell' - his big screen debut in 1957 with Richard Todd, then 'Two Way Stretch' in 1960 with Peter Sellers, 'The Best of Enemies' in 1961 with David Niven, 'The Wrong Arm of the Law' in 1963 with Peter Sellers again, 'Carry on Jack' in 1964 and then 'Carry on Spying' that same year, 'She' in 1965 with Ursula Andress, 'Casino Royale' in 1967 with David Niven and Peter Sellers, 'Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River' in 1968 with Jerry Lewis, 'The Railway Children' in 1970 with Jenny Agutter, 'Frenzy' in 1972 for Alfred Hitchcock, 'The Water Babies' in 1978 with James Mason, 'Blackball' in 2003 with James Cromwell with 'Patrick the Pug' in 2018 being his final big screen role. In the intervening years there were numerous mini-series and TV series taking in single and multiple episodes including 'David Copperfield', 'The Army Game', on sixty episodes as narrator on the young children's show 'The Wombles', 'Space : 1999', on six of 'Cuffy' and on seven of each of 'Langley Bottom' and 'High & Dry', 'Last of the Summer Wine', on twelve of 'Coronation Street', on ten of 'Doctor Who', on forty-seven of 'Old Jack's Boat', and most recently in 2021 on nine episodes of the Podcast series 'The Jungle Book : The Mowgli Stories' He also lent his voice talents to 112 episodes of the popular children's storytime series 'Jackanory', plus 'Edward and Friends' and 'Bertie the Bat'. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 HRH the Queen's Birthday Honours for services to drama, and in 2018 he published his autobiography, 'Bernard Who? 75 Years of Doing Just About Anything'. He was a BAFTA Award nominee for his supporting role in 'The Railway Children'. 

* Mary Alice - born Mary Alice Smith on 3rd December 1936 and died 27th July 2022, aged 85. Alice was an American Actress of film, television and theatre who notched up fifty-nine screen acting credits throughout her career which launched on a single episode of the TV series 'All My Children' in 1970. Her first feature film role came in the 1974 film 'The Education of Sonny Carson' and she would follow this up over the successive years with the likes of 'Sparkle' in 1976 with Irene Cara and Philip Michael Thomas, 'Teachers' in 1984 with Nick Nolte, 'To Sleep with Anger' in 1990 with Danny Glover, 'Awakenings' also in 1990 with Robert De Niro and Robin Williams, 'The Bonfire of the Vanities' in 1990 too with Tom Hanks and Bruce Willis, 'Malcolm X' in 1992 with Denzel Washington, 'A Perfect World' in 1993 with Kevin Costner and Clint Eastwood, 'Down in the Delta' in 1998 with Alfre Woodard with 'The Matrix Revolutions' as The Oracle in 2003 with Keanu Reeves being her final big screen outing. In the meantime, Alice also had roles in TV movies and TV series including 'Police Woman', on thirty episodes of 'A Different World', 'L.A. Law', on seven episodes of 'I'll Fly Away', 'Law & Order', 'Cosby', 'Touched by an Angel', 'Oz', with a single episode of 'Kojak' in 2005 being her final screen role. She also appeared in several stage plays including 'Fences' for which she won both a Drama Desk Award and a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play, and 'Having Our Say' for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk and a Tony Award. She also won a Primetime Emmy Award and was nominated too for 'I'll Fly Away' in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1993 and 1992 respectively. 

* Burt Metcalfe - born Burton Denis Metcalfe on 19th March 1935 and died 27th July 2022, aged 87. Metcalfe was a Canadian born American film and TV Actor, Producer, Director and Writer who accumulated thirty-four screen acting credits, nine as Producer, five as Director and two as Writer. His acting career kicked off with an uncredited role in the 1954 feature film 'The Bridges at Toko-Ri' with William Holden and Grace Kelly which he followed up with a handful of others including 'Gidget' in 1959 with Sandra Dee and Cliff Robertson, 'The Canadians' in 1961 with Robert Ryan with an uncredited role in 'Diamonds are Forever' in 1971 with Sean Connery being his final big screen appearance. His small screen roles included 'Have Gun - Will Travel', 'Philip Marlowe', 'The Twilight Zone', 'The Detectives', on thirty-four episodes of 'Father of the Bride', 'The Outer Limits', 'Perry Mason', 'The Fugitive' and a single episode of 'M*A*S*H' in 1979 being his final acting role. His Producer credits began in 1972 on the pilot episode of the TV series 'Anna and the King' before moving onto bigger things with 'M*A*S*H' on which he served as Associate Producer, Producer and Executive Producer for 251 episodes. He would go on to Executive Produce 'AfterMASH' across twenty-nine episodes between 1983 and 1985 and in the same capacity on both TV movie documentaries 'Memories of M*A*S*H' in 1991 and 'M*A*S*H : 30th Anniversary Reunion' in 2002. His Directing credits took in thirty-one episodes of 'M*A*S*H' and thirteen of 'AfterMASH'. All up Metcalfe received sixteen award nominations and one win (all of them for 'M*A*S*H') including thirteen Primetime Emmy Award nominations. 

* Nichelle Nichols - born Grace Dell Nichols on 28th December 1932 and died 30th July 2022, aged 89. Nichols was an American Actress of film, TV and theatre, singer and dancer. During her six decade spanning career she accumulated sixty-nine screen acting roles which began with an uncredited role in the 1959 feature film 'Porgy and Bess' with Sidney Poitier and Dorothy Dandridge. From here she would go on to appear in other feature films including her first credited role in 'Mister Buddwing' in 1966 with James Garner, 'Truck Turner' in 1974 with Isaac Hayes and Yaphet Kotto, and then in 1979 the first of six films in the 'Star Trek' franchise running until 1991 featuring the cast from the original series that aired from 1966 until 1969 and in which Nichols appeared in sixty-nine of the eighty episodes as Communications Officer Lieutenant Nyota Uhura and in the film series - her most famed role. She would also have roles in 'Snow Dogs' in 2002 with Cuba Gooding Jnr. and James Coburn, 'Are We There Yet?' in 2005 with Ice Cube, 'The Torturer' in 2008, 'This Bitter Earth' in 2012 with Billy Dee Williams and Richard Roundtree, 'White Orchid' in 2018 with Jennifer Beals, 'American Nightmares' also in 2018 with Danny Trejo, 'Star Trek First Frontier' in 2020, with 'Renegades : Ominara' recently completed filming and set for a future release. Her small screen credits took in the likes of 'Peyton Place', 'Tarzan', 'Heroes', 'The Young and the Restless' and a single episode on '12 to Midnight' in 2021 being her final TV appearance. She also lent her voice talents to twenty-two episodes of 'Star Trek : The Animated Series' as Uhura and various other characters, and to 'Batman : The Animated Series', 'Spider-Man : The Animated Series', 'Gargoyles', 'Buzz Lightyear of Star Command', 'Futurama' and 'The Simpsons'. All up Nichols was the recipient of four award wins and another five nominations. From 1977 until 2015, Nichols volunteered her time to promote NASA's programmes, and to recruit diverse astronauts, including women and ethnic minorities. She published her autobiography 'Beyond Uhura : Star Trek and Other Memories' in 1994. She also released two music albums, 'Down to Earth' released in 1967, and 'Out of This World', released in 1991.

* Pat Carroll - born 5th May 1927 and died 30th July 2022, aged 95. Carroll was an American Actress and comedienne who notched up ninety-eight screen acting credits throughout her career spanning seven decades and which began in the feature film 'Hometown Girl' in 1948. Her next feature film came in 1968 with 'With Six You Get Eggroll' with Doris Day, followed by 'The Brothers O'Toole' in 1973, 'Songcatcher' in 2000, 'Freedom Writers' in 2007 with Hilary Swank and Imelda Staunton, 'Nancy Drew' that same year with Emma Roberts and 'BFFs' in 2014 being her last big screen role. In the meantime, there were also single and multiple appearances on TV movies and TV series including on forty episodes of 'The Danny Thomas Show', 'The Red Skelton Hour', 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show', 'Love, American Style', on fourteen of 'Getting Together', 'Police Story', 'Police Woman', on twelve of 'Busting Loose', 'The Love Boat', 'Flying High', on twenty of 'Too Close for Comfort', on forty-five of 'She's the Sheriff'' and 'ER'. She would also lend her voice talents to the likes of 'Galaxy High School', 'Yogi's Treasure Hunt', 'Foofur', as Ursula in 'The Little Mermaid' the Disney animated feature and which she would reprise in several TV short series, video games and direct to video films. Her final screen credit came in 2020 in 'The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse' playing the voice of Ursula too. Carroll was an Emmy, Drama Desk, and Grammy Award winner, as well as a Tony Award nominee.

With twenty-seven deaths reported this month from the film and television community at large, that community is just a little bit poorer as a result. As many of us the world over are now learning to live with COVID, despite many countries, including Australia, now gripped by its third wave and in some cases a fourth wave, as life reverts to a degree of normalcy, we should all, however, continue to be cautious by remembering the basic principles that continue to be advocated - maintain a reasonable safe distance, hand hygiene and wear a mask if you are unable to maintain a safe distance and get vaccinated and then get a booster jab - together we can all beat this thing and keep on top of it. Stay safe and remain healthy wherever you are in the world. R.I.P. you screen legends.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-