Year: 1999
Duration: 77'
Producer of The Whales of August, the last film starring Ann Sothern, Mike Kaplan recounts the life and career of the American actress. Through interviews with her co-stars, family, and critics, the film explores what made her so popular: her look was a departure from the classically beautiful leading ladies of her era. Lucille Ball called her “the best comedienne in the business,” but Kaplan appears to have found much more to her. From Maise (1939), which created a successful series of films and theatrical shows, the film explores her roles in A Letter to Three Wives (1949), The Blue Gardenia (1953), and the TV show The Ann Sothern Show. Sothern herself is on screen lamenting the fact that the powerbrokers of Hollywood were not promoting her: the viewers made her a star, not the producers. She had a unique “girl next door” and Kaplan delves also into her subtle feminist performances, thanks to characters who were all independent women in a time they were rarely seen on film.
Biography
film director
Mike Kaplan
(Usa) is a producer, director, actor, poster designer, marketing strategist, and unexpected songwriter. He has been a close associate to many visionary filmmakers including Stanley Kubrick, Robert Altman (for Short Cuts, 1993), Hal Ashby, Lindsay Anderson (for The Whale of August, 1987), Mike Hodges, Alan Rudolph, Abraham Polonsky, and Paul Thomas Anderson. He directed three documentaries: Ann Sothern: The Sharpest Girl in Town (1999), Luck, Trust & Ketchup: Robert Altman in Carver Country (1996), and Never Apologize (2007), a Malcolm McDowell’s one man show which was selected in Cannes. A collector of vintage movie posters, he has curated exhibits from his collection. After 54 years, A Garden of Personal Mirrors, the single he wrote at Kubrick's request for 2001: A Space Odissey, was released and has sold out in its limited edition vinyl release.
FILMOGRAFIA
Luck, Trust & Ketchup: Robert Altman in Carver Country (coregia John Door, doc., 1993), Anne Sothern: The Sharpest Girl in Town (doc., 1999), Never Apologize: A Personal Visit with Lindsay Anderson (doc., 2007).
Cast
& Credits
DIRECTOR: Mike Kaplan.
