Book review - "Dropped Names" by Frank Langella

Langella is probably best known to movie buffs for his portrayal as Dracula and Richard Nixon, and his many villainous roles; he was also the off screen partner of Whoopi Goldberg for a time. I admit to not knowing a lot about his career except that he worked extensively in theatre; this entertaining memoir fills in a lot of blanks.

Rather in the matter of Bring on the Empty Horses by David Niven, it's structured in the form of a series of encounters with famous people - Laurence Olivier, Yvonne de Carlo, Bob Mitchum, Rita Hayworth, Rex Harrison, George C Scott.

A lot of this is great - Burton was a drunken bore, forever reciting stock pieces; Tony Perkins made a joke about the size of his cock as a come on; his homoerotic relationship with Raoul Julia; being mysteriously hated by Colleen Dewhurst; Laurence Olivier saying gay actors need to "hide the Nellie" and talking about his premature ejaculation; affairs with Rita Hayworth, Yvonne de Carlo (who was happy just to hop on and go), Elizabeth Taylor and Jackie Kennedy. An interesting analysis of working with director George C Scott and Elia Kazan (who Langella never worked with but regrets that fact). Worth a read.

Movie review – “Sister Act” (1993) ***1/2

Great fun, wonderful crowd pleaser. Whoopi Goldberg is perfect – this may not be PC but its funny to see a black woman as a nun, especially Whoopi. Apparently Bette Midler was once considered for this role but turned it down – Midler would have been fine but not as good as Whoopi. It’s a good natured film, which doesn’t make fun of nuns or their calling, and has an excellent support cast. (Though the black police officer seems to waddle around at times as if going “am I supposed to be the love interest or not?”)

Movie review – “Jumping Jack Flash” (1986) ***

I love spy comedies where the lead stumbles into a bunch of actors playing in a spy film. That’s what happens to Whoopi Goldberg in this movie – working on a computer at the bank she starts chatting via whatever the 1986 equivalent of the internet was. Whoopi has a high old time and the film has a real feminist bent (director was Penny Marshall). It’s also got a great cast – Brit stage legends (John Wood, Jonathan Pryce), TV comics (Tracey Ullman, Michael McKean, Jon Lovitz, Phil Hartman), stage faves (Carol Kane), future stars (Jim Belushi), continentals (Jerome Krabbe). Mr Mini series Stephen Collins is there. Good silly fun. Loved Whoopi getting into the British embassy pretending to be the Supremes.