Elsa is beside herself and so are we. It is bittersweet to see the last day arrive for our 4th annual WHAT A CHARACTER! Blogathon. We’ve come to realize you love this blogathon as much as we do. With good reason- why not celebrate those fun, quirky character actors that take those small roles and steal every scene? So here we have arrived to the … Continue reading Last Day of the 2015 WHAT A CHARACTER! Blogathon
A nance, effeminate, fussbudget, aesthete or pansy performer. Franklin Pangborn was called many names but ‘successful and inspirational trailblazer’ of the character acting world suits much better. He possessed that readily recognizable face in films spanning across the first half of the twentieth century. Often playing a role of a man in the service industry, countless times he stole small scenes on the big screen. … Continue reading What a Character, Franklin Pangborn
As a cinema fan of all eras, I’m familiar with the universal themes apparent in a predictable fashion in a great many films. The protagonist is the good guy symbol of tough, moral fortitude and there is usually a pretty female role vying for his romantic attention as he battles whatever conflicts, evil doers or challenges that besiege them. Then came along FBI agent … Continue reading Clarice via Criterion: THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)
Modern horror has gone through various subgenre influences from vampires, zombies, Japanese horror, slasher blood-and-gore, to ‘documentary style camera work’ (think Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Activity), with a slew of sequels plus parodies and a host of others. Those are okay, I guess. But what really does it for me are the Universal horror films or any classic horror comedy. The best of these … Continue reading Abbott and Costello Meet the Universal Monsters
Buster Keaton was at his best in the years prior to leaving for MGM. During this time in the mid to late twenties, anything collegiate was all the style rage. Although Harold Lloyd tackled the topic first in THE FRESHMAN (1925), Keaton ‘took a run’ at it in his lesser known classic, COLLEGE (1927). In this story, scholarly nerd Ronald (Buster Keaton) starts off on … Continue reading Buster Keaton in COLLEGE (1927)
Crooked cabbies, hot Irish tempers, and bad situations with good intentions. Roy Del Ruth’s 1932 PreCode nugget has a variety sampling of yummy delights. As if struggling to make ends meet as a taxi driver in the Depression isn’t bad enough, mafia styling competition just made it worse. Our story begins with Guy Kibbee as ole man Pop Riley who has comfortably carved out a … Continue reading CMBA’s Planes, Trains, and Automobiles blogathon… TAXI! (1932)
“Take care of your inner, spiritual beauty. That will reflect in your face.” … Dolores Del Rio Of his romance with her, Orson Welles called her “the most exciting woman I’ve ever met.” Her friend Marlene Dietrich thought she was, “the most beautiful woman in Hollywood.” As impressive as that sounds, Dolores Del Rio was all of this and so much more. Drawn to the … Continue reading Dolores Del Rio in RAMONA (1928)
WE’RE BACK for number 4! WHAT A CHARACTER! a phrase borrowed from Turner Classic Movies (TCM) so that we could dedicate a blogathon to those whose names few remember – the players who rarely got leading parts, exhibiting instead a versatility and depth many leading actors wished they had. Aurora, Paula and I never tire of seeing them or paying tribute and as the previous three installments of … Continue reading Announcement~4th annual WHAT A CHARACTER! Blogathon
Turner Classic Movies channel has acquired a cult-like following of devoted fans who enjoy sharing their retro film nerdiness together via social media and activities like the TCM Film Festival. The network is elevating this social-meets-movie-watching experience for their fandom with the #LetsMovie campaign, as part of their overall strategy to include a broader audience. To reflect a slew of social sharing activities this month, … Continue reading My TCM Discovery, Colleen Moore in WHY BE GOOD?
In a startling intro, we hear eery, jagged chords as shocking headlines of a baby kidnapping starkly flash onto the screen. Headlines of names (baby Daisy Armstrong and her famous parents) that are unmistakably a mirroring of a real event, the Lindbergh baby kidnapping. Cut to five years later to the introduction of the eccentric and colorful cast of characters on board the Orient Express, … Continue reading Murder On the Orient Express (1974)
Outspoken & Freckled 