“Samuel Spade’s jaw was long and bony, his chin a jutting ‘v’ under the more flexible ‘v’ of his mouth. His nostrils curved back to make another, smaller, ‘v.’ His yellow-gray eyes were horizontal. The ‘v’ motif was picked up again by thickish brows rising outward from twin creases above a hooked nose, and his…
For the next few weeks, we’re going to dedicate our semi-weekly “Saturday Morning Cartoons” feature to the men who set the stage for the art of animation in American film-making–the largely forgotten pioneers whose innovative work eventually inspired and facilitated the creation of Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, and scores of other classic cartoon figures. The…
September promises to be a busy month here at True Classics! Not only are we signed up to participate in several blogathons hosted by some of our favorite classic film bloggers, but we have some interesting posts on tap. Here’s a taste of what the upcoming month will bring … October marks the 70th anniversary…
I recently volunteered to contribute two posts to the “Top 70 Musicals of All Time” countdown over at Wonders in the Dark. My first contribution is up today: Walt Disney’s Pinocchio, ranked no. 67! Go check it out and join the animated (pun intended) discussion in the comments!
Sometimes an actress so thoroughly embodies a character that it becomes her signature role, the one for which she is mainly recognized (and sometimes at the expense of an otherwise extensive career). In many ways, I find this to be the case with Mary Nash. By the time Nash starred as Katharine Hepburn’s dithering mother…
Add another fun blogathon to the pantheon: Terry of A Shroud of Thoughts is hosting a 95th birthday bash for British actress Margaret Lockwood on September 15th. I’ve signed up to submit a post for this event, and am planning to write a review of the 1943 film The Man in Grey, in which Lockwood…
1999 marked a turning point for the Walt Disney Animation Studios in more ways than one. It was the ten-year anniversary of the release of The Little Mermaid, which had heralded the company’s veritable rebirth in the subsequent decade. It saw the release of Toy Story 2, the third critically-acclaimed film produced in a lucrative…
Of the six films in which Jean Harlow and Clark Gable appeared together, China Seas is one of the pair’s better outings. By this time in her life, at the tender age of 24, Harlow had come into her own as an actress, demonstrating the combination of sharp-edged femininity and self-assurance that marked the final roles…
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