My raging cinematic love affair with Humphrey Bogart does not blind me to the fact that, like most actors, he sometimes chose the wrong part (or had the wrong part chosen for him by short-sighted studio honchos). This is most obvious, perhaps, in 1947’s The Two Mrs. Carrolls, costarring Barbara Stanwyck (another personal favorite), Alexis…
I generally hesitate to spoil the ending of a film. It’s poor form to ruin a film before one has even had the chance to view it for him/her self. In many cases, it sours me on ever viewing the film in question; for example, when a friend (somewhat gleefully) spoiled the ending of The…
There is something about Bill Holden. It’s something that can be hard to define. Sure, he’s a handsome lad, but there were handsomer stars. And yes, he’s a talented actor, but there were those whose talents exceeded his. He excels in defying expectation on the screen. Holden is, in many respects, the very definition of…
From Jezebel … Alfred Hitchcock and the first recorded instance of a “that’s what she said” joke: It’s only appropriate, right? I mean, you only have to watch one of Hitchcock’s films to see how truly and delightfully bawdy he really was.
Lena Horne has passed away at the age of 92. Below is her incomparable performance of “Stormy Weather” from the similarly-titled 1943 film. We’ll return to regular posting next week.
Again, I find the need to extend my apologies to all of you out there who read our little blog. Life has gotten crazy over the past month and posting has fallen by the wayside. I’ll be (hopefully) finishing the Hitchcock series this week, and we’ll be back on track with regular posts as the…
Really, I shouldn’t have to say anything else, right? If you’re a classic movie fan, I can just utter the word “Hitch” and wait for the nods of comprehension. When one “outs” oneself as a Hitchcock fan, at least in my experience, the result is a long discussion/debate/vehement argument about which film in the director’s…
I was asked recently to give a brief overview of the Hays Code, to which I have referred repeatedly in some of my previous entries on this blog. The Motion Picture Production Code, known in Hollywood as the Hays Code (named after its creator, Will H. Hays), preceded the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)…
True Classics 