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70MMThirty visually stunning films that illustrate the grandeur of large-format filmmaking.

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25 GREAT SILENT MOVIE POSTERSOur selection of artwork from the early days of motion pictures that expertly illustrate the tone and tale of the films they represent.

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W.C. FIELDSTen of his most memorable character names.

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Wednesday
Aug172011

Agnes Gooch

DateWednesday, August 17, 2011 at 09:20AM | CommentPost a Comment

Though she doesn't show up until the last half of the movie, Peggy Cass's Agnes Gooch nearly steals Auntie Mame (1958)—no mean feat for a film with Rosalind Russell at its center. Gooch is one of those great theatrical staples: the plain Jane who undergoes a reluctant transformation and comes out better for it. As secretary to the recently widowed Mame Dennis Burnside (Russell), Agnes is the picture of drab accountability, a fast and accurate scribe living vicariously through her boss, pining for Mame's lazy, temperamental ghost writer and belting back a Dr. Pepper or two before neatly washing out the glass. Compelled by Mame to kick off her orthopedic oxfords and "live, live live!," Gooch gussies up and let's loose, and even becomes a bride and mother in the process. It's a supporting performance, but a meaty one played with superb comic timing by Cass, who originated the role on Broadway and received a Tony Award for her efforts. The Academy followed suit, with an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

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