Special Features

Many DVDs now include commentary about the movie.  Last night I saw the movie "The House on Telegraph Hill".  A 1950's film noir directed by Robert Wise, produced by Zanuck with cinematography by Lucien Ballard.  It won an academy award for Best Art Direction by Lyle Wheeler, John De Cuir, Thomas Little, and Paul S. Fox, probably because of the great outdoor shots of 1950's San Francisco.  The movie is OK.  But I enjoyed the commentary most.  It was done by a film noir historian who talked about the three leads, Richard Basehart,William Lundigan and Valentina Cortese, and the art direction.   Ms. Cortese's story is the most interesting.  She was brought from Italy by Zanuck to become an "international" star.  However she had the same reaction to Hollywood that Jean Gabin had; too much "mickey mouse" business, he famously said.  She made two films and went back to Europe where she had a long, successful career.  She was a great beauty and when she left America, Richard Basehart went with her.  They were married for about 10 years and then divorced.  She is now 86 and still making movies and was nominated for a supporting Oscar for Truffaut's "Day for Night".
According to Wikipedia there are 179 films made in San Francisco.  New York City has 856.  What would be a favorite San Francisco movie, Maltese Falcon, Vertigo, San Francisco?   A favorite NYC movie, "On the Town", maybe but "Naked City"  has a special place in my heart.  I remember when they made it.  We were living in the Bronx and they filmed some it in our neighborhood. The Bronx of the 1950s is lost except in that movie and my memory.