ROD TAYLOR - dies aged 84 - R.I.P.

Rodney Sturt Taylor was born in Lidcombe, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on 11th January 1930, and died at home just days short of his 85th Birthday on 7th January 2015 having suffered a heart attack. He attended Parramatta High School and then East Sydney Technical and Fine Arts College. Early on he gained much experience in radio and stage performances, and his feature film debut came in 1954's 'King of the Coral Sea' with 'Long John Silver' later that same year.

Securing a ticket to London via Los Angeles as a result of an award win, he stopped off en route at LA and never went on to London. Instead he took his chances in Hollywood and landed roles in television series and feature films including 'Hell on Frisco Bay' with Edward G. Robinson, and 'Giant' with James Dean, Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor. In the latter half of the 50's he secured a long-term contract with MGM Studios and starred in a number of supporting roles.

One of his most famed roles and his first lead role came in 1960 in 'The Time Machine' - the big screen adaptation of the H.G.Wells classic story. In 1961 he was selected by Walt Disney himself to provide the voice for lead dog 'Pongo' in the animated feature '101 Dalmatians'. 1963 brought his other perhaps most notable role in Hitchcock's classic horror thriller 'The Birds' alongside Tippi Hedren.

His work with MGM continued through the late 60's and 70's with roles in 'The V.I.P.'s' with Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and Orson Welles' 'Young Cassidy' with Julie Christie and Maggie Smith, 'The Liquidator' with Trevor Howard, and 'The Glass Bottom Boat' with Doris Day. From there he started to take on more tough-guy roles in Westerns and War movies with outings in 'Chuka', 'Dark of the Sun', 'Nobody Runs Forever', and 'The Train Robbers' with John Wayne.

Several times he returned to Australia to make feature films including 1977's 'The Picture Show Man', 1983's 'On The Run' and 1997's 'Welcome to Woop Woop'. He went into semi-retirement in the late 1990's appearing in just two films from that time on including a remake almost of the classic 'The Birds' titled 'Kaw' in 2007. Quentin Tarantino however, coaxed him out of his self-imposed semi-retirement to star as Winston Churchill in 2009's 'Inglourious Basterds'.

He starred in many television series over the years, some in single episodes and other for a longer period of tenure. These included 'Studio 57' in 1955, 'Hong Kong' from 1960-61, 'Bearcats' in 1971, 'The Oregon Trail' from 1976-77, 'Masquerade' from 1983-84, 'Outlaws' from 1986-87, 'Falcon Crest' from 1988-1990 and 'Walker, Texas Ranger' from 1996-2000.

Taylor has 92 acting credits to his name, and he Produced just one movie - 'Chuka', in which he starred in 1967. He had five award wins to his name and three other nominations. He was married to Peggy Williams from 1951-54, to Mary Hilem from 1963-69 and Carol Kikumura from 1980 to the point of his death. He had one daughter Felicia, born in 1964 - a financial reporter for CNN.

An assorted body of work on film and television taking in A-Grade classics and some B-Grade also rans, but nonetheless sixty years of work committed to celluloid with some of the finest Actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood that will ensure his legacy lives on.

Rod Taylor - Rest In Peace
1930 - 2015

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

STORM SURFERS - archive from 6th November 2012.

Saw 'STORM SURFERS' in 3D last night at The Cremorne Orpheum Picture Palace in all its art-deco glory. A documentary movie of two ageing surfer dudes - two time surfing world champion Tom Carroll (50) and his long term best buddy, tow-surfing legend Ross Clarke-Jones (45). 

Living on Sydney's Northern Beaches their mission in life is to now chase the big waves, often in new previously unsurfed locations around Australia's waters. Constantly monitoring the weather channels and wave reports for where the big surf is going to be they have their surf gear stashed in strategic locations around the country so when the weather is ready and the conditions right . . . they too are ready!

Often funny, adrenalin fuelled, heart pumping and beautifully shot footage of their exploits chasing the ultimate wave this is the surfer's insight into what drives them, their bond with the ocean, and what it means to pit yourself against huge waves, wind, rain and sometimes the harshest of conditions. Filmed largely using GoPro cameras mounted on hand-held telescopic rods; or at the front, at the back, on top and underneath the surfboard; or on helmet mounts the footage is about as close as your going to get to the surf without getting wet!

If you surf or not, it's hard not to be touched by these two guys and their bravado, their determination and their commitment as they live their lives and their dreams on the edge, and to the full. Good on 'em!

Very entertaining, engaging and exciting stuff, and if you are still able to catch a special screening on the big screen then you should do so, or at least BluRay on your home big screen for sharpness of image, quality, depth and colour.

This film was never going to do huge box office, but it garnered a few awards, was recognised for what it is and is a tribute to these two stalwart surfers, who they are and what they represent, and as such it is sure to have an audience for a long time to come.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-