Thursday, March 10, 2011

William Holden


I just watched Our Town (1940), the first of nine best picture nominees featuring William Holden. In it, he plays the timid boy next door, which is in starked contrast to his more confident characters of the 1950's. The story is a tad trite by today's standards, but it's not a bad movie.

Most notable of Holden's nine nominated films (of which I have now seen all) are Sunset Blvd (1950), Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), and Network (1976). Holden received Oscar nominations as a struggling writer in Sunset Blvd and the television producer in Network. He won his only Academy Award for the Stalag 17 as a prisoner of war.

Stalag 17 was one of the four films he did with legendary director Billy Wilder. It was not nominated for best picture but, as with most Wilder movies, it remains required viewing.

76 to go...

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