6° with Lauren Bacall

Six Degrees of Separation: from Lauren Bacall to …
(Lauren Bacall celebrated her 89th Birthday last month, on the 16th of September, 2013)

… Rupert Penry-Jones
Bacall starred alongside husband, Humphrey Bogart (1), in many a movies until his sudden death; and Bogart starred alongside Ingrid Bergman (2) in one most loved love stories till date, Casablanca (1942), and Bergman later appeared in the impressively splendid comedy, Cactus Flower (1969), which marked the debut performance of comedienne Goldie Hawn (3); the only movie for which she has won Oscar till date (for Best Supporting actress), out the two films she has been nominated, in two different categories, for; the other being (a nomination for Best Actress) in Private Benjamin (1980), which was directed Howard Zieff (4), as was Unfaithfully Yours (1984), which starred Nastassja Kinski (5), who later appeared in the television movie, The Ring (1996); a story about a German family that gets separated whilst secretly helping Jewish families during the Nazi occupation; where Rupert Penry-Jones (6), played brother to Kinski.

… Franco Citti
Bacall gained fame; for the sequence, where she teaches future real life husband, to whistle on reel life, in her debut performance; in To Have and Have Not (1944), which was based on Ernest Hemingway’s (1) forgettable novel of the same name, and Hemingway was portrayed by Clive Owen (2) in the television movie, Hemingway and Gellhorn (2012), directed by Philip Kaufman (3), who directed Quills (2000), which was based on the real life 18th century (and early 19th century) French aristocrat, Marquis de Sade (4); who was a great philosopher, politician and a revolutionary poet and playwright, and was incarcerated in various insane asylums and prisons for majority of his young adult life (from his 20’s to middle age), where he kept on writing, including his magnum opus, Les 120 Journées de Sodome ou l’école du libertinage; and this controversial work of his was the basis of the Italian art film, Salò o le 120 Giornate di Sodoma (1975), a contemporary adaptation, directed by famed intellectual, philosopher, poet, novelist, film director, Pier Paolo Pasolini (5), who also directed Il Decameron (1971), which starred Italian actor Franco Citti (6).

… Ioan Gruffudd
Bacall starred alongside Gregory Peck (1), as a fashion designer wife of a sports writer, in the comedy, Designing Woman (1957), and Peck appeared in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), which was based on a novel by Harper Lee (2), who was portrayed by Sandra Bullock (3) in Infamous (2006),which was directed by Douglas McGrath (4), who also directed Nicholas Nickleby (2002), which starred Romola Garai (5), who starred opposite Ioan Gruffudd (6) in Amazing Grace (2006).

… Harold Abrahams
Bacall played mother to Barbra Streisand (1), in The Mirror has Two Faces (1996), which also starred 90’s Bond, Pierce Brosnan (2) who appeared in The Deceivers (1988) with Shashi Kapoor (3), who produced 36 Chowringhee Lane (1981), starring his real life wife, Jennifer Kendal (4), who appeared in the television mini-series The Far Pavilions (1984), in which the lead was played by Ben Cross (5), who, in Chariots of Fire (1981) played famed British athlete, Olympian champion of 1924, Harold Abrahams (6).

… Brad Davis
Bacall starred in Birth (2004); in which, Cameron Bright (1), played a child trying to convince a woman that he is the reincarnation of her dead husband; and Bright came in the satirical comedy Thank You for Smoking (2005), which was directed by Jason Reitman (2), who recently made Labor Day (2013), starring Kate Winslet (3), who came in Revolutionary Road (2008), which was based on a novel by Richard Yates (4), who co-wrote the screenplay for The Bridge at Remagen (1969), which starred Bo Hopkins (5), who appeared in Midnight Express (1978), where the lead was played by actor Brad Davis (6).

… Paul Mercurio  
Bacall appeared with Marilyn Monroe (1) in How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), who was portrayed by Michelle Williams (2) in My Week with Marilyn (2011), which co-starred Dominic Cooper (3), who came in An Education (2009) with Carey Mulligan (4), who appeared in The Great Gatsby (2013), which was directed by Baz Luhrmann (5), who made his directorial debut, with the Australian film, Strictly Ballroom (1992), which was the debut movie for Australian actor Paul Mercurio (6) as well.

Nuwan Sen’s Film Sense (6°)
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