Anne Bancroft

These days, the scenario of a neglected wife having an affair with the son of her husband's law partner would be too tame for a TV talk show. It would make it to the air only if the host tried to help the woman work things out after her daughter ran away with her lover. Back in 1967, the script to The Graduate treated its now-famous wandering wife, Mrs. Robinson, as a predatory comic monster. But thanks to Anne Bancroft, who died Monday, she became the most sensual and complex character in the movie -- and its least-dated achievement.

A movie that cuts closer to the soul of U.S. politics than most of us would like to admit, Robert Rossen's 1949 All the King's Men (TCM at 4 p.m.) follows the tempestuous career of Louisiana Gov. Will Stark (Broderick Crawford), who exploits his populist roots into a career that makes him just short of royalty. As much Shakespearean tragedy as cautionary tale, the Best Picture Oscar winner features an extraordinary and Oscar-winning star turn from Crawford, whose limited acting range (he was great at bluster, but not all that much else)

Dec. 21 1620 Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower went ashore for the first time at present-day Plymouth, Mass. 1967 The Graduate, with Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft, was released.

Dec. 21 1620 Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower went ashore for the first time at present-day Plymouth, Mass. 1967 The Graduate, with Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft, was released.

When it comes to movies, April isn't the cruelest month, January is.It's not enough that movie audiences have been forced to endure such poor-to-mediocre fare as "Firestorm," "Hard Rain," "Fallen" and "Phantoms" during the film industry's favorite month to dump bad product. Now comes "Great Expectations," an adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic that has all the emotional ballast of a Victoria's Secret catalog and all the intellectual depth of an MTV video.This may be going out on a limb, but it's doubtful that even the most rabid young fans of Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow, who star, will find anything of interest in "Great Expectations," aside from the opportunity to consider Miss Paltrow's chiseled jaw line and perfect clavicles from every conceivable angle.

A movie that cuts closer to the soul of U.S. politics than most of us would like to admit, Robert Rossen's 1949 All the King's Men (TCM at 4 p.m.) follows the tempestuous career of Louisiana Gov. Will Stark (Broderick Crawford), who exploits his populist roots into a career that makes him just short of royalty. As much Shakespearean tragedy as cautionary tale, the Best Picture Oscar winner features an extraordinary and Oscar-winning star turn from Crawford, whose limited acting range (he was great at bluster, but not all that much else)

Jodie Foster brought "Home" to Baltimore last night and more than 1,000 people showed up at the Senator Theatre on York Road to give her a rousing Charm City welcome."

NEW YORK - Anne Bancroft, who won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Helen Keller's teacher in 1962's The Miracle Worker, but cleared a place for herself in pop-culture history five years later as the alluring, embittered Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate, has died. She was 73. She died of cancer Monday at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, John Barlow, a spokesman for her husband, writer-director- comedian Mel Brooks, said yesterday. Throughout a career that spanned the last half of the 20th century, Ms. Bancroft won respect from both her peers and the public as one of the most versatile and resourceful actors of her generation.

"Point of No Return" isn't a remake so much as a tracing of another movie, Luc Besson's original "La Femme Nikita" of just three years ago. So in a certain respect it feels dead; it has glitz, glamour and pizazz but no personality or spontaneity; it feels as if it were directed by a robot. Whatever it represented to Besson, I'll tell you what it represented to John Badham: a paycheck.Still . . . it kind of packs a punch. OK, I watched, I rooted, I enjoyed and, toward the end, I was involutarily pulling the trigger along with our heroine.

A trio of actresses with four Best Actress Oscars among them -- Jodie Foster, Holly Hunter and Anne Bancroft -- will make Baltimore their temporary home next month during the filming of "Home for the Holidays," a romantic comedy.Ms. Foster will co-produce and direct the movie, in which Ms. Hunter and Ms. Bancroft play a daughter and her mother coming to terms during a hectic Thanksgiving celebration.Over the past two weeks, Ms. Foster and a film production team have been in Baltimore scouting locations, auditioning for smaller cast parts and interviewing for production employees.

These days, the scenario of a neglected wife having an affair with the son of her husband's law partner would be too tame for a TV talk show. It would make it to the air only if the host tried to help the woman work things out after her daughter ran away with her lover. Back in 1967, the script to The Graduate treated its now-famous wandering wife, Mrs. Robinson, as a predatory comic monster. But thanks to Anne Bancroft, who died Monday, she became the most sensual and complex character in the movie -- and its least-dated achievement.

NEW YORK - Anne Bancroft, who won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Helen Keller's teacher in 1962's The Miracle Worker, but cleared a place for herself in pop-culture history five years later as the alluring, embittered Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate, has died. She was 73. She died of cancer Monday at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, John Barlow, a spokesman for her husband, writer-director- comedian Mel Brooks, said yesterday. Throughout a career that spanned the last half of the 20th century, Ms. Bancroft won respect from both her peers and the public as one of the most versatile and resourceful actors of her generation.

When it comes to movies, April isn't the cruelest month, January is.It's not enough that movie audiences have been forced to endure such poor-to-mediocre fare as "Firestorm," "Hard Rain," "Fallen" and "Phantoms" during the film industry's favorite month to dump bad product. Now comes "Great Expectations," an adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic that has all the emotional ballast of a Victoria's Secret catalog and all the intellectual depth of an MTV video.This may be going out on a limb, but it's doubtful that even the most rabid young fans of Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow, who star, will find anything of interest in "Great Expectations," aside from the opportunity to consider Miss Paltrow's chiseled jaw line and perfect clavicles from every conceivable angle.

Jodie Foster brought "Home" to Baltimore last night and more than 1,000 people showed up at the Senator Theatre on York Road to give her a rousing Charm City welcome."

Ann Bancroft is a class act. Just ask anyone who comes in contact with this glamorous-looking woman, who is hereshooting scenes for the Jodie Foster movie "Home for the Holidays."One of the latest close encounters with Bancroft happened to Russ Margo, who entertains guests in in the lounge of Da Mimmo's restaurant in Little Italy, five nights a week. Russ tells me that one night he heard that the actress was having dinner upstairs and soon would come down to have her photo taken with Marianne and Mimmo Cricchio, the restaurant owners.

A trio of actresses with four Best Actress Oscars among them -- Jodie Foster, Holly Hunter and Anne Bancroft -- will make Baltimore their temporary home next month during the filming of "Home for the Holidays," a romantic comedy.Ms. Foster will co-produce and direct the movie, in which Ms. Hunter and Ms. Bancroft play a daughter and her mother coming to terms during a hectic Thanksgiving celebration.Over the past two weeks, Ms. Foster and a film production team have been in Baltimore scouting locations, auditioning for smaller cast parts and interviewing for production employees.

Capt. Jean-Luc Picard flies out of the TV universe for good. The Nancy and Tonya story unfolds all over again. Joan Rivers plays herself.And Stephen King envisions a colossal battle between good and evil. (No, Roseanne and Tom are not at it again.)It's the May sweeps, that strange time after the official end of the TV season, four weeks that are crucial to ratings, ad rates and network fortunes.NBC, which finished third this season, hopes to win its 10th consecutive May sweeps. No. 1 CBS and No. 2 ABC hope to keep the momentum for the fall.

Ann Bancroft is a class act. Just ask anyone who comes in contact with this glamorous-looking woman, who is hereshooting scenes for the Jodie Foster movie "Home for the Holidays."One of the latest close encounters with Bancroft happened to Russ Margo, who entertains guests in in the lounge of Da Mimmo's restaurant in Little Italy, five nights a week. Russ tells me that one night he heard that the actress was having dinner upstairs and soon would come down to have her photo taken with Marianne and Mimmo Cricchio, the restaurant owners.

Capt. Jean-Luc Picard flies out of the TV universe for good. The Nancy and Tonya story unfolds all over again. Joan Rivers plays herself.And Stephen King envisions a colossal battle between good and evil. (No, Roseanne and Tom are not at it again.)It's the May sweeps, that strange time after the official end of the TV season, four weeks that are crucial to ratings, ad rates and network fortunes.NBC, which finished third this season, hopes to win its 10th consecutive May sweeps. No. 1 CBS and No. 2 ABC hope to keep the momentum for the fall.

"Point of No Return" isn't a remake so much as a tracing of another movie, Luc Besson's original "La Femme Nikita" of just three years ago. So in a certain respect it feels dead; it has glitz, glamour and pizazz but no personality or spontaneity; it feels as if it were directed by a robot. Whatever it represented to Besson, I'll tell you what it represented to John Badham: a paycheck.Still . . . it kind of packs a punch. OK, I watched, I rooted, I enjoyed and, toward the end, I was involutarily pulling the trigger along with our heroine.