Fifty Year Old Movies

The Motion Picture Academy Awards will be presented this coming weekend.  This is a topic that I usually write about in great length, but I have not done so at all his year due to the fact that I have seen only one nominated performance for 2025, Best Actress Nominee Kate Hudson for Song Sung Blue, although Linda and I do plan on watching Sinners before Sunday's awards ceremony.

So, I am going to take a look at the movies today in a different light, and talk about some of the movies that will be turning fifty years old in 2026.  In a world where Google exists, it is easy enough to find such films by Googling, say, "best movies of 1976".  In fact, you can find all kinds of such lists, and it is hard to say that any one of them is definitive.  However, all of them include these movies:

All the President's Men

Alan Pakula directed this story of Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, played by Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman as they dug in and reported on the Watergate break in that eventually led to the resignation of the President of the United States.

Taxi Driver

Martin Scorsese directed and Robert De Niro starred in this story of New York City taxi driver Travis Bickle.  It is a grim portrait of a a troubled  - to say the least - person. It also stars Cybill Shepherd and a very young Jodi Foster.  It is disturbing, but unforgettable.

Network

An inside look at a television network and how it operates its news division.  Peter Finch (he won an Oscar for this), Faye Dunaway, and William Holden star.  The movie is, sadly, still amazingly relevant today.

Rocky

This story of an underdog tomato-can of a boxer who gets a chance to fight for the heavyweight championship is considered by many to be the greatest sports movie ever made.  It won the Best Picture Oscar that year, and it launched the career of Sylvester Stallone.  As one write up I saw today said, the many, many sequels to this may have dulled the luster of the original, which is a shame, because it really is a terrific movie.  (Purely Personal Opinion:  In retrospect, the Oscar should have gone to All The President's Men.)

The Shootist

The story of a legendary Old West gunfighter who has been stricken with cancer and now seeks to see how to end his days with a "minimum of pain and maximum of dignity". The movie stars John Wayne, Lauren Bacall, Ron Howard, and James Stewart.  It is remembered today because it was Wayne's last movie.  The fact that Wayne himself was battling the cancer to which he was eventually succumb, adds to overall tone of the movie, making it almost autobiographical.

In no particular order, here are some other notable movies that are also turning 50 this year, all of them worth watching:

• Murder by Death - Screenplay by Neil Simon makes this one worth watching
• Marathon Man - Great thriller starring Dustin Hoffman and Lauren Olivier
• Silver Streak - Great comedy starring Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor, and Jill Clayburgh. Some comedies don't hold up after fifty years; this one does.
• The Bad News Bears - Walter Matthau coaches a team of misfit Little Leaguers whose best player is a girl played by Tatum O'Neal, who won and Oscar for her performance.
• Family Plot - Should be watched if for no other reason than it was Alfred Hitchcock's last movie.
• The Front - Woody Allen stars in this movie drama (he neither wrote not directed it) about the Hollywood Blacklist Era.
• A Star Is Born - The one with Barbra and Kris Kristofferson.

These are all movies that I have seen, and I think that I will make a point of watching all of them at some point during this fiftieth anniversary year of their release.  I can highly recommend all of them to you.  In researching material for this post I saw two movies on every list that I had not seen, and I am going to make it a point to see them too.

• The Outlaw Josey Wales - A western directed by and starring Clint Eastwood.
• Assault on Precinct 13 - A thriller set in contemporary Los Angeles directed by John Carpenter

And just to show that not everything was groovy back then, 1976 also saw the first remake of the 1933 classic King Kong.  This movie was universally panned by critics.  The miracle of this one was that the careers of Charles Grodin, Jeff Bridges, and Jessica Lange (in her very first movie role) did not go down the drain along with it.

Book Review - "The Correspondent" by Virginia Evans

February has been a brutal month.  The northeastern part of the country, including Pittsburgh, has been hit with frigid temperatures and way above normal amounts of snowfall, the leadership of our federal government continues to take us deeper and deeper into the proverbial shitter, and here in The Grandstand, I have made eight posts this month and seven of them have been Absent Friends posts extolling the lives of nine significant people that we have lost this month. 

So, in what may well be my final post of the month, let me offer you a bright spot with a Four Star reading recommendation.

This novel currently sits in the #1 spot on the New York Times best sellers list.  It was brought to my attention by my pal Dan last year.  He read it on a neighbor's recommendation and said it was the best book that he had read last year.  Linda bought it for herself, but before she could read it, I picked it up myself and, as the cliche goes, I could not put it down.

The novel tells the story of Sybil Stone Van Antwerp, a retired attorney, divorced, a mother and a grandmother, who lives in Annapolis, MD and spends her days reading, tending to her gardens, and writing letters.  Old fashioned, handwritten letters and notes to her children, her brother, her sister-in-law, to just about anyone in her life, including customer service representatives of companies with whom she deals.  And there is one letter that Sybil writes throughout the book that she never finishes and never gets sent.  What is that all about?

The novel is written purely in the form of the correspondence both sent and received by Sybil over the course of ten years, 2012-2022.  It is certainly a different way to tell a story, but through this, we learn all about Sybil's life, about her parents, siblings, marriage, children and in-laws.  We also learn about one particular court case in which she was involved that is now coming back to her in a disturbing way.  Also, about a Christmas gift that her brother gave her that ends up having a remarkable affect on her life in these years covered by the book.

As I said, the whole structure of the novel and the story that it told was fascinating to me, and I polished it off in just a couple of sittings.  I highly recommend it.

Four Stars from The Grandstander.

In reading more about the book after I finished it was interesting as well.  "The Correspondent" is Virginia Evans' first published novel.   It received little pre-publication hype or promotion from the publisher.  It was not a book club selection by Oprah, Reese, or Jenna.  It seems that this became a hit in an organic and old fashioned way.  Someone bought it and read it, and told two other people about it.  Those people told two more and so on and BOOM!! A best seller was born.

Virginia Evans and her best seller

To Absent Friends - Jesse Jackson

 

Last week death claimed one of the towering figures of the American Civil Rights Movement, and indeed, a dominant figure in American culture since the 1960's, when the Reverend Jesse L. Jackson died at the age of 84.

Far be it from to enumerate Jackson's contributions to both the Civil Rights Movement in particular or to American society in general.  I will only say that I admired him, and that his death takes away another bit of America's conscience when it is most sorely needed here in 2026.

I will also remember Jackson as one of the greatest orators of our time.

How about this for inspiration when he told a crowd that everyone can be Somebody.

And could any minister, priest, or rabbi deliver as moving a eulogy and moving as was Jackson's eulogy for Jackie Robinson?

And to show that he never took himself too seriously, listen to him here on Saturday Night Live when, in a tribute to Dr. Suess, he read Green Eggs and Ham in pure Jesse Jackson style.

RIP Jesse Jackson

"I am.....somebody!"

Jackson (L) with Martin Luther King in Memphis 

moments before King's assassination

1968

To Absent Friends - Bill Mazeroski

 

Maz

1936 -2026

Bill Mazeroski died two days ago at the the age of 89.  He authored the single most dramatic and important sports moment in Pittsburgh sports history with his 1960 World Series Game 7 walk off home run that defeated the mighty New York Yankees. If you were alive and a sports fan in Pittsburgh back then, it is a moment that you will never forget, so why do I lead this post with a picture, albeit a posed one, of Maz taking a throw at second base instead of THIS picture?

Well, I do so because Bill Mazeroski is probably the single greatest defensive player, certainly the greatest defensive second baseman, that baseball has ever known. If you were lucky enough to have been a Pirates fan through the 1960's, as I was, and you got to watch Bill Mazeroski play second base day-after-day, year-after-year, as I did, then you know, you simply just KNOW, that there was no one better in the field than Maz was at second base.

He won eight Gold Gloves, led the league in put outs five times, assists nine times, and double plays eight times. His 1,706 double plays is still the all-time record for second basemen in history.  He was selected to ten all-star teams.  His batting stats are certainly not noteworthy.  He was a career .260 hitter with an OPS of .667. Pro-rated over 162 games, he averaged 10 HR and 64 RBI, which is probably why he often batted eighth in the batting order.  Still, he DID hit that Game 7 walk-off HR (he also homered in Game 1 of that Series), and that made him immortal, and for the person who just looks at stats, the temptation became to dismiss him as just another player who was lucky to have lightning strike him at one opportune time in his career. Like I said, though, if you SAW Maz play over the course of his career, you don't need any fancy advanced SABRmetrics to know that he was a Hall of Fame player on his defensive merits alone, and 29 years after he played his last game, the Veterans Committee of the Hall of Fame bestowed upon him the honor that he deserved.

Sports fans in the city of Pittsburgh have been fortunate over the years to have been able to  watch so many greatest-of-the-great players perform for the local teams - Clemente, Stargell, Bradshaw, Greene, Harris, Lemieux, and Crosby just to name a few - but I would have a hard time coming up with anyone who may have been more beloved than Bill Mazeroski.  That '60 Series winner was a big reason, but Maz was always so humble about it.  While I can't say that I ever had what could be called a conversation with him, I was in his company on several occasions over the years at charity golf outings, and he was just about the most unassuming guy you could imagine.  And he was always a presence in town at  any Pirates related event over the years.  I would guess  that a "Bill Mazeroski" autograph, like this one that I own 

can't be worth very much, because Maz had to have signed hundreds of thousands of them over the course of his life.

They built a statue of Bill Mazeroski outside of PNC Park not long after the Park was opened.  Of course, it depicts him circling the bases after that 1960 World Series home run.  I wish that the designers would have taken a different route when designing that statue.  It should be a statue of Maz turning double play, something like this:

And while researching photos for this post, I came across this great one.  It shows Maz at his position at second during the last game played at Forbes Field in June, 1970.   That section of the wall that has been stripped of the ivy with the "406" marker?  Yes, that is the part of the left field wall over which THAT home run traveled.

With Bill Mazeroski's passing, only two members of the 1960 World Champs remain, Bob Skinner and Vernon Law.  Maz was also a member of he Bucs' 1971 World Series winners, and now only ten of those players are still with us (see list at end of post).

RIP Bill Mazeroski.

	1971
Pitchers	Steve Blass
	Nelson Briles
	Dock Ellis
	Dave Guisti
	Bob Johnson
	Bruce Kison
	Bob Miller
	Bob Moose
	Bob Veale
	Luke Walker
Catchers	Manny Sanguillen
	Milt May
	Charlie Sands
Infielders	Gene Alley
	Dave Cash
	Jackie Hernandez
	Bill Mazeroski
	Jose Pagan
	Richie Hebner
	Bob Robertson
Outfielders	Roberto Clemente
	Gene Clines
	Vic Davalillo
	Al Oliver
	Willie Stargell
Manager	Danny Murtaugh
	Deceased	16
	Still With Us	10

To Absent Friends - Mike Wagner

 

Mike Wagner

1949-2026

One of the "Super Steelers" of the 1970's left us this week when safety Mike Wagner died at the age of 76.  Wagner was a safety on those four Super Bowl championship teams of the 1970's.  In a ten year career wherein he started all but three regular season games (116 of 119) and 14 post season games, Wagner was an integral part of the famed "Steel Curtain Defense" that dominated the decade of the 1970's.  He had 36 interceptions in his career and five post-season interceptions, including two more in Super Bowls against quarterbacks Fran Tarkenton and Roger Staubach.   Teammate Andy Russell said that he was probably the Steelers best safety ever.

He retired after the 1980 season, obtained his MBA from Pitt, and had a thirty-plus year career in the investment banking business.  He never left Pittsburgh, and was active in Steelers Alumni events and was always at team reunions. He was inducted into the Steelers Hall of Honor in 2021.

Steelers fans often refer to the "Super Steelers of the Seventies", and the definition of "Super Steelers" can pretty much be whatever you want it to be.  My own definition is that a "Super Steeler" is a player who earned four Super Bowl rings during that incredible six season span (1974-1979) where the team won four Super Bowls.  There were twenty-two of those guys, and seven of them, plus Head Coach Chuck Noll, are no longer with us.   I have included a list of those Super Steelers at the bottom of this post.

When one of those guys leaves us, it is worth noting.

RIP Mike Wagner.

Putting a lick on Roger Staubauch in th Super Bowl

Intercepting Staubach in Super Bowl X

Per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

“Probably the reason why I liked that play so much is because it stuck in Staubach’s craw for over a decade,” Wagner said. “He was really flustered by that.”

“SUPER STEELERS”
Rocky Bleier
Mel Blount
Terry Bradshaw
Larry Brown
Sam Davis
Steve Furness
Joe Greene
L.C. Greenwood
Randy Grossman
Franco Harris
Jon Kolb
Jack Lambert
Gerry Mullins
Chuck Noll (HC)
Donnie Shell
John Stallworth
Lynn Swann
James Thomas
Loren Toews
Mike Wagner
Mike Webster
Dwight White
Hall of Fame

To Absent Friends - Robert Duvall

 

Actor Robert Duvall died earlier this week at the age of 95, and no, I would never have guessed that he was that old.  He was the consummate actor, good in everything he ever did.  When I think of Duvall, I think immediately of two roles of his.  The first, of course, is that of Tom Hagen, the Corleone Family consigliere in "The Godfather" (1972) and "The Godfather Part II" (1974). The other is his portrayal of retired Texas Ranger turned cattle driver Augustus McCrea in the 1989 TV mini-series "Lonesome Dove" (that he didn't win an Emmy for that part is a crime).

But that's just me, and if your initial thoughts of Duvall are different than mine it is certainly understandable, because his list of acting credits, and there are 145 of them in IMDB, is astonishing.  You actually learn, or at least I did, that Duvall was in some great movies that you saw and you didn't actually remember that he was in the cast.  His first feature film role was that of Boo Radley in1962's "To Kill A Mockingbird".   He had a bit part as a cab driver in the Steve McQueen classic "Bullitt" (1968), and he was the original Major Frank Burns in the movie "M*A*S*H" (1970).  He was in "True Grit" with John Wayne in 1969, "The Eagle Has Landed" with Michael Caine in 1976,   "True Confessions" with Robert DiNiro in 1981, and "The Natural" with Robert Redford in 1984. He was nominated for seven Oscars during his career and won one for "Tender Mercies" in 1983.   

There were other great roles, and, I have probably left out some of your favorite Robert Duvall movies.  In fact, in looking at his filmography, I noticed a credit for a 2018 movie called "Widows".  It was a heist movie that I recall enjoying, but didn't remember that Duvall was in it.  So I go into The Grandstander archives, and sure enough, on February 19, 2019 my write up on that movie included this:  

"A terrific cast also features Liam Neeson, Robert Duvall, Colin Farrell, and Daniel Kaluuya.  Consummate old pro Duvall pretty much dominates every scene that he is in."

And before all of the movie roles, Duvall made his bones acting in series television.  Name a series that was on the air in the 1960's, and chances are, Duvall made an appearance.  Naked City, Playhouse 90, Twilight Zone, The Fugitive, Route 66, and The Wild, Wild West are just a few of them.

What a Career.  What an Actor.

RIP Robert Duvall.

The consigliere  win his Don

With Tommy Lee Jones in "Lonesome Dove"

As Gus McCrea in "Lonesome Dove"

Hawkeye Pearce (Donald Sutherland) and Major Burns

"M*A*S*H"

A Nazi colonel in 

"The Eagle Has Landed"

To Absent Friends - Roy Face

Elroy Face

1928 - 2026

"The Baron of the Bullpen"

Roy Face, a mainstay of the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen for fifteen seasons through the 1950's and -60's, died this past week at the age of 97.  He died eight days short of his 98th birthday.

Was Roy Face the first dominant "closer" in major league baseball?  Since the role of the relief pitcher, the idea of a "closer", and the statistic of the Save, has evolved and changed over the years, it is hard to answer that question, but this I know.  I attended my first Pirates game in 1959.  That was the season that Face finished with an astonishing record of 18-1 (more on that later) so Roy Face was certainly the most dominant relief pitcher in the first seven or eight years of MY baseball fandom.  As I said, the role of relief pitchers was different then than it is today.  Face, nicknamed "The Baron of the Bullpen" by announcer Bob Prince, would often be called into a game in mid-inning, and not just in the ninth inning, with men on base.  He would then often finish that game, pitching multiple innings.

About that "Save" statistic.  Let me quote from an essay by John Thorn, MLB's official historian, that he wrote in 2024 about Chicago sportswriter Jerome Holtzman:

Holtzman recognized in 1959, when he was still with the Sun-Times, that something dramatic was happening on the field that was invisible in the box score and, by extension, at the bargaining table when relievers came to negotiate their salaries for the next season. As he told Darrell Horwitz in an interview in 2005: “Elroy Face was 18–1 with Pittsburgh in 1959. I was traveling with the Cubs. The Cubs had two relief pitchers: righthander Don Elston and lefthander Bill Henry. They were constantly protecting leads and no one even knew about it.” It burned him that Face was piling up wins by blowing victories and then having the Pirates rally for him; ten times Face had allowed the tying or lead run.

He came up with The Save. The Sporting News began listing league leaders during the 1960 season; by 1969 it was an official MLB stat. In 1974–1975 its definition came under further modification, but there is no denying the impact of Holtzman’s invention. 

So while that 18-1 record in 1959 jumps out at you, perhaps it wasn't reflective at how good Face actually was that season.  In any event, it did lead to Holtzman inventing this new statistic.  It is a statistic that led to guys like Dennis Eckersley, Rich Gossage, Bruce Sutter, and Billy Wagner getting plaques in Cooperstown.

That aside, my own memories of Face include a feeling of supreme confidence whenever he came into pitch in the late innings with the game on the line.  I was able to be in Face's company over the years at a couple of golf outings and at SABR meetings.  Like many of his generation, he harbored some bitter feelings about "all the money these guys are making today".    I also remember a game that Marilyn and I attended at Three Rivers Stadium once.  While looking for a place to sit and eat some pre-game fare from the concession stand, who do we see sitting at a high top table all by himself but Elroy Face.  I asked if we could join him, he said certainly, and we had a nice conversation with him for fifteen or so minutes.   During the course of that conversation, he mentioned that the most he ever made in a season was $65,000.  I just looked it up and $65,000 in 1963 would be worth about $688,000 in 2026, which is well below what the MLB minimum salary of $780,000 is today.  Maybe he had a right to be bitter.

Roy Face was also, most importantly, a key member of the Pirates 1960 World Series Championship team.  He saved three of the four Bucco victories in that Series.  Now only three members of the team are still with us:  Vernon Law who will turn 96 in March, Bob Skinner who will turn 95 in October, and Bill Mazeroski who will be 90 in September.

RIP Roy Face, The Baron of the Bullpen

A  Sports Illustrated cover in 1963