Rakesh's movie talk
Shirley Maclaine












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When I discovered Shirley Maclaine was Warren Beatty's sister, I was surprised. Why not? She is way more a better actress, though she was never successful in other departments.

The truth is, I fell in love with her over and over. The first time was when I was way too young even to fall in love. I forgot which movie it was. Then of recent, when I saw The Apartment, Irma La Douce and Three Mules for Sister Sara, I was in love again. There is definitely no lust in it. She is just cute and top of all that, a great, great actress. She could move into any genre without any problem at all.

I believe she is best in comedy, as the above films will show. In all those film, she was an inch away from stealing the show from Jack Lemmon and, get a hold of this, Clint Eastwood. She had the ability to walk through a scene no matter how ridiculous it is (like in Sister Sara) and play her line the way a season Jazz musician wield his/her instruments, with finesse.

Nominated six times and finally winning in 1984 for Terms of Endearment, she still finds times to do movies, though the prominence is questionable. Hollywood often cringes at the mention of her name, because she is now into New Age stuff. Check out her website (www.shirleymaclaine.com).

Anyway, I am still hunting for her films. A rare actress, a great comedian, and er-hum humanitarian. Am I being biased here? Anyway, heres a quote from her:

"I had a video made of my recent knee operation. The doctor said it was the best movie I ever starred in."
















  1. Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There (2002) .... Herself
  2. Carolina (2002) .... Grandma Mirabeau
    ... aka Carolina Torn Asunder (2002) (USA)
  3. Salem Witch Trials (2002) .... Rebecca Nurse
  4. Rescued From the Closet (2001) (V) .... Herself
  5. These Old Broads (2001) (TV) .... Kate Westbourne
  6. Elizabeth Taylor: England's Other Elizabeth (2000) (TV) .... Herself
  7. AFI's 100 Years, 100 Laughs: America's Funniest Movies (2000) (TV) .... Herself
  8. Unknown Peter Sellers, The (2000) (TV) .... Herself
  9. Bruno (2000) .... Helen
    ... aka Dress Code, The (2000) (USA)
  10. If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000) (TV) (archive footage) (uncredited) .... Footage from The Children's Hour (segment "1961")

  11. AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars (1999) (TV) .... Herself
  12. Forever Hollywood (1999) .... Herself
  13. Joan of Arc (1999/I) (TV) .... Madame de Beaurevoir
    ... aka Jeanne d'Arc (1999/II) (TV) (Canada: French title)
  14. Get Bruce (1999) .... Herself
    ... aka Get Bruce! (1999) (USA: promotional title)
  15. "Cold War" (1998) (mini) TV Series (archive footage) (uncredited) .... Herself (with Khrushchev)
  16. "Stories from My Childhood" (1998) TV Series
    ... aka "Mikhail Baryshnikov's Stories from My Childhood" (1998) (USA: complete title)
  17. Looking for Lulu (1998) .... Narrator
  18. Happy Birthday Elizabeth: A Celebration of Life (1997) (TV) .... Herself
  19. Smile Like Yours, A (1997) (uncredited) .... Martha
  20. Evening Star, The (1996) .... Aurora Greenway
  21. Mrs. Winterbourne (1996) .... Grace Winterbourne
  22. West Side Waltz, The (1995) (TV) .... Margaret Mary Elderdice
  23. Celluloid Closet, The (1995) .... Herself
    ... aka Celluloid Closet (1996) (France)
    ... aka Gefangen in der Traumfabrik (1995) (Germany)
  24. Century of Cinema, A (1994) .... Herself
  25. Guarding Tess (1994) .... Tess Carlisle
  26. Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993) .... Helen Cooney
  27. Used People (1992) .... Pearl Berman
  28. 64th Annual Academy Awards, The (1992) (TV) (uncredited) .... Presenter - Best Original Song
  29. Defending Your Life (1991) .... Shirley MacLaine
  30. Frank Sinatra: The Best Is Yet to Come (1990) (TV)
  31. You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story (1990) (TV) .... Herself
    ... aka American Masters: You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story (1990) (TV) (USA)
  32. Postcards from the Edge (1990) .... Doris Mann
  33. Waiting for the Light (1990) .... Aunt Zena

  34. Steel Magnolias (1989) .... Louisa 'Ouiser' Boudreaux
  35. Madame Sousatzka (1988) .... Madame Sousatzka
  36. Salute to Jack Lemmon, A (1988) (TV) .... Herself
    ... aka 16th American Film Institute Life Achievement Award: A Salute to Jack Lemmon, The (1988) (TV) (USA: complete title)
  37. Out on a Limb (1987) (TV) .... Herself
  38. Salute to Billy Wilder, A (1986) (TV) .... Herself
    ... aka 14th American Film Institute Life Achievement Award: A Salute to Billy Wilder (1986) (TV) (USA: complete title)
  39. Salute to Gene Kelly, A (1985) (TV) .... Herself/Host
    ... aka 13th American Film Institute Life Achievement Award: A Salute to Gene Kelly, The (1985) (TV) (USA: complete title)
    ... aka Best of Gene Kelly, The (1985) (TV) (UK: video box title)
  40. That's Dancing! (1985) (archive footage)
  41. Cannonball Run II (1984) .... Veronica
  42. Terms of Endearment (1983) .... Aurora Greenway
  43. Change of Seasons, A (1980) .... Karyn Evans
  44. Loving Couples (1980) .... Evelyn

  45. Being There (1979) .... Eve Rand
    ... aka Chance (1979)
  46. Sois belle et tais-toi (1977)
  47. Turning Point, The (1977) .... Deedee Rodgers
  48. Gypsy in My Soul (1976) (TV)
  49. Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir, The (1975)
  50. Year of the Woman (1973) .... Herself
  51. Possession of Joel Delaney, The (1972) .... Norah Benson
  52. Desperate Characters (1971) .... Sophie Bentwood
  53. World of Love, A (1971) (TV) .... Host
  54. "Shirley's World" (1971) TV Series .... Shirley Logan (1971-72)

  55. Two Mules for Sister Sara (1969) .... Sara
  56. Sweet Charity (1969) .... Charity Hope Valentine
    ... aka Sweet Charity: The Adventures of a Girl Who Wanted to Be Loved (1969) (USA: complete title)
  57. Bliss of Mrs. Blossom, The (1968) .... Harriet Blossom
  58. Woman Times Seven (1967) .... Paulette/Maria Teresa/Linda/Edith/Eve Minou/Marie/Jeanne
    ... aka Sept fois femme (1967) (France)
    ... aka Sette volte donna (1967) (Italy)
  59. Gambit (1966) .... Nicole Chang
  60. Car That Became a Star, The (1965) (uncredited) .... Herself
  61. John Goldfarb, Please Come Home (1965) .... Jenny Ericson
  62. Yellow Rolls-Royce, The (1965) .... Mae Jenkins
  63. What a Way to Go! (1964) .... Louisa Foster
  64. Irma la Douce (1963) .... Irma La Douce
  65. My Geisha (1962) .... Lucy Dell/Yoko Mori
  66. Two for the Seesaw (1962) .... Gittel Mosca
  67. Two Loves (1961) .... Anna Vorontosov
    ... aka Spinster, The (1961)
  68. Children's Hour, The (1961) .... Martha Dobie
    ... aka Loudest Whisper, The (1961) (UK)
  69. All in a Night's Work (1961) .... Katie Robbins
  70. Ocean's Eleven (1960) (uncredited) .... Tipsy Girl
  71. Apartment, The (1960) .... Fran Kubelik
  72. Can-Can (1960) .... Simone Pistache

  73. Ask Any Girl (1959) .... Meg Wheeler
  74. Career (1959) .... Sharon Kensington
  75. Hot Spell (1958) .... Virginia Duval
  76. Matchmaker, The (1958) .... Irene Molloy
  77. Some Came Running (1958) .... Ginny Moorhead
  78. Sheepman, The (1958) .... Dell Payton
    ... aka Stranger with a Gun (1958)
  79. Around the World in Eighty Days (1956) .... Princess Aouda
  80. Artists and Models (1955) .... Bessie Sparrowbrush
  81. Trouble with Harry, The (1955) .... Jennifer Rogers