Jodie Foster Holding a Lamb in a Promo Shoot for ‘The Silence of the Lambs’

Over the years, Hollywood has seen some of the best psychological horror films but no other film has reached the heights like the 1991 movie The Silence of the Lambs. Directed by Jonathan Demme and written by Ted Tally, the movie is adapted from Thomas Harris’ 1988 novel. It is often referred to as one of the greatest films to be ever made by critics. The plot of the film revolved around a young FBI trainee who is on a hunt for a serial killer. She seeks the help of imprisoned Dr Hannibal Lecter who is a brilliant psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer.

Jodie Foster was interested in playing FBI agent Clarice Starling immediately after reading the novel. However, in spite of the fact that Foster had just won an Academy Award for her performance in The Accused (1988), Demme was not convinced that she was right for the role. Having just collaborated on Married to the Mob (1988), Demme’s first choice for the role of Starling was Michelle Pfeiffer, who turned it down, later saying, “It was a difficult decision, but I got nervous about the subject matter.” He then approached Meg Ryan, who turned it down as well for its gruesome themes, and then Laura Dern, of whom the studio was skeptical as not being a bankable choice. As a result, Foster was awarded the role due to her passion towards the character.

In an interview, Jodie Foster had revealed that she never spoke to Anthony Hopkins on set. “Nope, never spoke to him. He was scary!” Foster explained that the two were separated nearly the entire shoot by the glass partitions and jail cell where his Hannibal Lecter spent much of his time. “We got to the end of the movie and had never really had a conversation.”

“I avoided him as much as I could. I really avoided him,” Foster added. But it turns out, the fearful feeling was mutual, as she discovered on their last day of filming. “He came up to me… And I said — I don’t know, I sort of had a tear in my eye — I was like, ‘I was really scared of you.’ And he said, ‘I was scared of you!’”

Portrait Photos of Clara Bow During the Filming of ‘Hula’ (1927)

Hula is a 1927 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Victor Fleming, and based on the novel Hula, a Romance of Hawaii by Armine von Tempski. The film stars Clara Bow and was released by Paramount Pictures.

In the opening scene of the film, Hula is shown swimming nude in a stream, and later is wearing pants and articulates her sexual desires. Similar to Sadie Thompson (1928), the film depicts a modern woman who is located outside the bounds of American civilization and thus able to act in an “uncivilized” manner like natives who live on the islands.

Here is a set of vintage photos that shows portraits of Clara Bow during the filming of Hula in 1927.

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Behind the Scenes Photos From Sci-Fi Movie ‘Invasion of the Saucer-Men’ (1957)

Aliens equipped with venomous claws invade a small town but the town’s teenage population is mobilized to fight the menace.

Invasion of the Saucer Men is a 1957 black-and-white comic science fiction/horror film produced by James H. Nicholson for release by American International Pictures. The film was directed by Edward L. Cahn and stars Steven Terrell and Gloria Castillo. The screenplay by Robert J. Gurney Jr. and Al Martin was based on the 1955 short story “The Cosmic Frame” by Paul W. Fairman.

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Behind the Scenes Photos of The Beatles on Bicycles During the Filming of ‘Help!’ in the Bahamas, 1965

Though the Caribbean scenes come at the end of the film, they were the first to be shot. They arrived on February 23rd. The bike-riding scene was shot on the first full day of the 14-day Caribbean shoot. It was filmed on on the Interfield Road, near to Nassau International Airport on New Providence Island. Much of the film’s beach scenes were shot on Cabbage Beach, on the northern side of Paradise Island.

“The problem was that we went to the Bahamas to film all the hot scenes, and it was freezing. We had to ride around and run around in shirts and trousers, and it was absolutely bloody cold.” – Ringo.

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Vintage Photos of Rita Hayworth Performing the “Dance of the Seven Veils” in ‘Salome’ (1953)

The “Dance of the Seven Veils” is Salome’s dance performed before Herod II, in modern stage, literature and visual arts. It is an elaboration on the biblical story of the execution of John the Baptist, which refers to Salome dancing before the king, but does not give the dance a name.

In the 1953 film Salome, Rita Hayworth performs the dance as a strip dance. She stops the dance before removing her last veil when she sees John’s head being delivered on a platter, as she did not want him to be killed in this version of the story.

Salome was the last film produced by Rita Hayworth’s production company (The Beckworth Company). She later said that her dance “Dance of the Seven Veils” in this film was “… the most demanding of my entire career,” and that it required “endless takes and retakes.”

Having seen the magnificent results, it was time well spent and effort that certainly paid off. While Rita is celebrated as one of the great beauties and as a wonderful actress, she deserves just as much attention for her dancing talent – it was extraordinary.

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20 Stunning Black and White Photos of Italian Screen Stars Taken by Tazio Secchiaroli in the 1960s and 1970s

Tazio Secchiaroli (1925 – 1998) was an Italian photographer known as one of the original paparazzi. He founded the agency Roma Press Photo in 1955.

Secchiaroli was the inspiration for the Paparazzo character in Fellini’s film La Dolce Vita. Much of Fellini's research into the profession of tabloid journalism was simply buying dinner for Secchiaroli and his friends, and listening to their exploits.

Ironically, by the time the term 'paparazzi’ was coined, Secchiaroli had become more of an insider in the Italian film industry and had left the paparazzi-style attack photography behind. He became well known for informal candid portraits of film stars, both at the studio and at their homes.

Here are some of the silver screen stars he portrayed at the height of his career in the 1960s and 1970s:

Claudia Cardinale, 1961

Vittorio De Sica on the set of Marriage Italian Style, Cinecittà, 1964

Elsa Martinelli on the set of The Tenth Victim, 1965

Federico Fellini during the filming of 8 1/2, 1963

Fellini during the filming of Amarcord, 1974

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Photos of Brigitte Bardot During the Filming of ‘Les Femmes’ (1969)

Les Femmes is a 1969 sex comedy film co-written and directed by Jean Aurel, starring Brigitte Bardot and Maurice Ronet. It recorded admissions of 505,292 in France.

When Les Femmes was first released in Italy in 1970, the Committee for the Theatrical Review of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities rated it as VM18: not suitable for children under 18.

The reason for the age restriction, cited in the official documents, is that: even after the cuts, the movie is still imbued with eroticism and it is inappropriate to the sensitivity of a minor.

Here below is a set of vintage photos that shows portraits of Brigitte Bardot during the filming of Les Femmes in 1969.

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22 Fantastic Photos of Christopher Lee as Count Dracula Through the Years

In all, Christopher Lee played Dracula ten times. After his appearance as Frankenstein’s monster in The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), he was cast as the Transylvanian vampire Count Dracula in the film Dracula (1958, known as Horror of Dracula in the US). The film received critical acclaim, and Lee’s appearance fixed the image of the fanged vampire in popular culture.

'Dracula'

Lee returned to the role of Dracula in Hammer's Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1965). His role, however, had no lines, and he merely hisses his way through the film. His roles in the subsequent films Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968), Taste the Blood of Dracula (1969), and Scars of Dracula (1970) all continued to give the Count very little to do. Lee went on record to state that he was virtually “blackmailed” by Hammer into starring in the subsequent films; unable or unwilling to pay him his going rate, they would resort to reminding him of how many people he would put out of work if he did not take part. Although Lee may not have liked what Hammer was doing with the character, audiences clearly embraced the films, as they were all commercially successful.

Lee starred in two further Dracula films for Hammer in the early 1970s: Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) and The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973); both of which attempted to bring the character into the modern-day era and were not commercially successful. The Satanic Rites of Dracula was the last Dracula film that Lee played the Dracula role in, as he felt he had played the part too many times and that the Dracula films had deteriorated in quality.

Take a look back at Lee’s portrayal of the vampire through the years through these 22 fantastic vintage photographs:

'Dracula'

'Dracula'

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A Rare Behind the Scenes Image From a Deleted Scene of ‘Jaws’ Showing the Shark Killing Little Alex Kintner

Did you know that there is a scene from Jaws (1975) that never made it onto the film? The reason, it was deemed too graphic, too shocking for audiences to handle. It shows the death of Alex Kitner, a young boy. The edited scene that you saw in the film shows a little gore, but nothing like the deleted scenes that shows Jaws extend out the water to grab the boy and pull him under, and a fountain of blood shoot up into the air.

The rather shocking image can be seen above, and inspired many fans to dub it everything from terrifying to nightmarish. It’s not hard to see why, as it’s basically the worst thing anyone swimming in the ocean could possibly imagine. The story behind the photo is that it's from an alternate version of Alex Kintner’s death.

Originally, the boy’s demise was to be depicted onscreen in a much more gruesome fashion, with Jaws’ titular shark rising up out of the water and snatching the boy in its massive mouth. The shark would’ve then bitten down on Alex’s body, resulting in a torrent of blood. This more upsetting take on Alex becoming shark food is said to have been deleted from the final cut of Jaws for two main reasons. The first is, as one might imagine, it was determined to be too graphic and shocking. Secondly, Spielberg decided he didn’t want to give away the shark’s full appearance until later in the film.

18 Vintage Portraits of Eartha Kitt as Catwoman

In the third season of the ABC’s live-action television show Batman, Eartha Kitt debuted as the villain Catwoman, replacing Julie Newmar as she was unavailable to reprise the role.

“We felt it was a very provocative idea,” recalled producer Charles FitzSimons about executive producer Bill Dozier’s selection of Eartha Kitt as Catwoman. “She was a cat woman before we ever cast her as Catwoman. She had a cat-like style. Her eyes were cat-like and her singing was like a meow. This came as a wonderful off-beat idea to do it with a black woman.”

When Kitt’s casting was announced, television network affiliates in the Southern states were furious. Despite the progressive casting, it was agreed between the producers that the sexual tension between Catwoman and Batman must end, and the new idea was to create a love interest between Batman and Batgirl.

Kitt said she “loved doing Catwoman” in an interview with The Austin Chronicle in 2006. When asked if she would reprise the role, Kitt answered: “Why not? But I probably would do it now as the mother of the cat. I love doing the character. I didn't have to think about it: I didn't try to be a cat, I am a cat!”

Take a look through these 18 vintage portraits of Eartha Kitt as Catwoman:

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Arguably Buster Keaton’s Most Infamous Stunt: House Collapse on Keaton in Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)

During Steamboat Bill Jr’s infamous tornado scene, the front of a house falls down on top of Buster Keaton – but he’s standing in exactly the right place for the open upstairs window to save him. Back in the days of the silent movies, they did stunts for real; Keaton had to stand on a precise mark or risk being crushed to death. That’s an actual house falling down, not a lightweight facade.

Ninety years on, it still looks impossible. And dangerous. Minutes before shooting, Keaton noticed a few crew members praying. He also saw the cameraman turn away as the shot rolled. Buster later called the stunt one of his “greatest thrills,” then added, “I was mad at the time, or I would never have done the thing.”

First and foremost, just like almost all of Keaton’s shorts and films during the heyday of his career, he was the creative force behind it all. The comedic actor even proclaimed that the credited screenwriter of Steamboat Bill Jr. was “useless” and was only there because he was on the payroll.

For a performer who had built a cinematic career on dangerous stunts, this scene would perhaps be his most dangerous. Before shooting, the crew had to be exact in marking off where the two ton structure would be falling, and the exact spot for “Old Stone Face” to stand so he would not be crushed. According to Hollywood legend, Keaton’s shoes were nailed down to the spot so that he would not be tempted to move even slightly off cue and risk his life.

Though Buster Keaton had done may stunts before, in the shooting of this scene for Steamboat Bill Jr., his head was far from the right place. His alcoholism had been increasing, coinciding with his marriage falling apart. While battling these personal demons, he learned his business partner Joseph M. Schenk had sold their production company to MGM, in effect taking away all of his creative freedom.

According to those who knew Buster at this time, in his heart of hearts he went along with this dangerous feat because he had just given up and did not care what happened to him. As it stands the house falling has become one of the greatest gags in movie history. It has duplicated countless times in different movies and TV shows and it all originated with one of cinema’s original funny men.

26 Amazing Behind the Scenes Photos From the Set of ‘Pink Floyd — The Wall’ (1982)

Pink Floyd – The Wall is a 1982 British musical psychological drama film directed by Alan Parker, based on the 1979 Pink Floyd album The Wall. The screenplay was written by Pink Floyd vocalist and bassist Roger Waters. Boomtown Rats vocalist Bob Geldof plays rock star Pink, who, driven into insanity by the death of his father, constructs a physical and emotional wall to protect himself.

Like the album, the film is highly metaphorical, and symbolic imagery and sound are present most commonly. The film is mostly driven by music and features little dialogue from the characters. The film is best known for its imagery of mental isolation, drug use, war, fascism, dark or disturbing animated sequences, sexual situations, violence and gore. Despite its turbulent production and the creators voicing their discontent about the final product, the film received generally positive reviews and has an established cult following.

Parker, Waters and Scarfe frequently clashed during production, and Parker described the filming as “one of the most miserable experiences of my creative life.” Scarfe declared that he would drive to Pinewood Studios carrying a bottle of Jack Daniel’s, because “I had to have a slug before I went in the morning, because I knew what was coming up, and I knew I had to fortify myself in some way.” Waters said that filming was “a very unnerving and unpleasant experience.”

During production, while filming the destruction of a hotel room, Geldof suffered a cut to his hand as he pulled away the Venetian blinds. The footage remains in the film. It was discovered while filming the pool scenes that Geldof did not know how to swim.

The black and white photographs were taken by David Appleby, a photographer commissioned to document the making of the film. Take a look at the photos below:

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