Dog Day for Lassie
Leading the birthdays today is one extraordinary man
Who's made over forty films in forty years ... all grand
From his directing debut - Twelve Angry Men in fifty-seven
To Guilty as Sin, in ninety-three - a thriller most clever
And in-between ... have been many movies well-received ...
Including Network - which needs to be seen to be believed
Nominated for ten major Academy Awards altogether
But only Paddy Chayefsky won (the screenplay generator)
Along with three of the actors - Dunaway, Finch and Straight
Along with William Holden - who was nominated, but no plate
Neither did Ned Beatty win, although nominated for supporting
An extraordinary cast altogether, who Sidney Lumet brought in ...
Pulling from his actors feats of outstanding merit ...
Something for which he's been noted, for he shares it
In so many projects he's done through the years ...
Many of which have stood Hollywood on its ears ...
- Tristram
© Christopher W. Thomas
written 5:45pm Sat. 6/26/99
for the date June 25th, 1999
A Few of Sidney Lumet's Projects:
1957 - 12 Angry Men (Fonda, Lee J. Cobb)
nominated for Best Picture & his directing,
as well as Reginald Rose for his writing ...
Henry Fonda also co-produced with Rose.
1959 - The Fugitive Kind (Brando, Magnani)
1959 - That Kind of Woman (Loren, Hunter)
1962 - Long Day's Journey into Night
(Katharine Hepburn was nominated)
1962 - A View From the Bridge (Vallone, Stapleton)
1964 - Fail-Safe (Fonda, Weaver, Matthau, Hagman)
1965 - The Hill (Connery, M. Redgrave, Bannen)
1965 - The Pawnbroker (Steiger, Peters, St. Jacques)
nomination for Rod Steiger as Best Actor
1966 - The Group (Candice Bergen, Shirley Knight)
1967 - The Deadly Affair (Mason, Signoret, Schell)
1968 - Bye Bye Braverman (Segal, Warden, Walter)
1968 - The Seagull (Mason, Signoret, V. Redgrave)
1969 - The Appointment (Sharif, Lenya, Aimee)
1970 - Last of the Mobile Hotshots (Coburn, Lynn R.)
1972 - The Anderson Tapes (Connery, Cannon)
1972 - Child's Play (Mason, Preston, B. Bridges)
1973 - The Offense (Connery, Howard, Bannen)
1973 - Serpico (Al Pacino, F. Murray Abraham)
1974 - Lovin' Molly (Perkins, Danner, B. Bridges)
1974 - Murder on the Orient Express (Finney)
nominated in six categories, including writing ...
Paul Dehn adapted the screenplay from A. Christie
Geoffrey Unsworth for his cinematography
Tony Walton for his Costume Design
Richard Rodney Bennet for Musical Score
Albert Finney for his portrayal of Hercule Poirot
won only one Oscar - for Ingrid Berman (supporting)
1975 - Dog Day Afternoon (Pacino, Cazale, Durning)
nominated in six categories, including writing ...
Frank Pierson won the only Oscar, for original play
Pacino for Best Actor, Chris Sarandon for Supporting
Dede Allen for Film Editing, Lumet for Directing
also nominated for Best Picture of 1975
1976 - Network (Holden, Dunaway, Finch, Duvall)
1977 - Equus (Burton, Firth, Blakely, Plowright)
nominations for Burton, Firth, Peter Shaffer's writing
1978 - The Wiz (Ross, Jackson, Russell, Pryor)
nominated in four categories - including score by
Quincy Jones, Cinematography by Oswald Morris
Costumes by Tony Walton, Art and Set Direction also
by Walton, along with Philip Rosenberg, and
Edward Stewart and Robert Drumheller (for sets)
1980 - Just Tell Me What You Want (Alan King,
Ali McGraw, Tony Roberts, Loy, Wynn, Weller)
1981 - Prince of the City (Treat Williams, Orbach)
1982 - Deathtrap (Caine, Cannon, Reeve, Worth)
1982 - The Verdict (Newman, Rampling, Mason)
nominated in five categories, including writing ...
David Mamet's adaptation from Barry Reed novel
Sidney Lumet's direction, Newman as Best Actor
James Mason as Best Supporting Actor ...
and for Best Picture of 1982
1983 - Daniel (Hutton, Patinkin, Barkin, Asner)
1984 - Garbo Talks (Bancroft, Silver, C. Fisher)
1986 - The Morning After (J. Fonda, Julia, J. Bridges)
1986 - Power (Gere, Christie, Hackman, Capshaw)
1988 - Running on Empty (Lahti, Hirsch, Phoenix)
nominated in two - Best Supporting for River Phoenix
Best Original Screenplay - Naomi Foner
1989 Family Business (Connery, Hoffman, Broderick)
1990 - Q & A (Hutton, Nolte, Assante, P. O'Neal)
(Sidney Lumet scripted from the Edwin Torres novel)
1992 - A Stranger Among Us (Melanie Griffith)
1993 - Guilty as Sin (De Mornay, Don Johnson)
Sidney Lumet-directed Documentary:
1970 - King: A Filmed Record ...
Montgomery to Memphis
Sidney Lumet appears in ...
1990 - Listen Up : The Lives of Quincy Jones
(directed by Ellen Weissbrod)
Today's Birthdays:
Sidney Lumet's 75th
June Lockhart's 74th (mother on Lassie)
Eddie Floyd's 64th (R&B singer)
Willis Reed's 57th (basketball)
Carly Simon's 54th (singer/songwriter)
Allen Lanier's 53rd (Blue Oyster Cult)
Ian McDonald's 53rd (Foreigner/King Crimson)
Jimmie Walker's 52nd (actor/comedian)
Michael Lembeck's 51st (actor/director)
Phyllis George's 50th (former tv show host)
Tim Finn's 47th (Split Enz, Crowded House)