Originally posted on Backlots:
By Lara Gabrielle Fowler Mysterious, ethereal, and tremendously charming, Vivien Leigh is about as captivating as it comes. It is easy to simply marvel at her beauty, the likes of which the entertainment industry had never seen before and, in my opinion, has never seen since. Her stunning looks would be enough to secure Vivien’s place as one of the most… Continue reading An Interview with Kendra Bean, Author of VIVIEN LEIGH: AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT

Originally posted on Once upon a screen…:
In our world the eleventh month of the year is not dedicated to family gatherings or special sales.  Here we celebrate crime-laden streets, shadowy figures and suspicious cops.  This is Noirvember. In celebration of all things noir, TCM Party is joining Warner Archive Instant for a series of tweet-a-longs in November. We’ve chosen favorite film noir from the Warner Archive Instant offerings. Using the hashtags #TCMparty and #Noirvember,… Continue reading Warner Archive joins TCM Party for NOIRVEMBER

Originally posted on Once upon a screen…:
Memorable films are aplenty, but few films have changed the course of legend as did… Universal Studios gave the world an unforgettable face to ascribe to Bram Stoker’s legendary character when it released Tod Browning’s, Dracula in 1931.  Playing Count Dracula in that film is Bela Lugosi whose stylized portrayal and image would become the standard for generations.… Continue reading Hammer’s, Horror of Dracula

Originally posted on Once upon a screen…:
“Oh! If I could only contrive (a story) which would frighten my reader as I myself had been frightened!” Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein: or The Modern Prometheus as the result of a dare from a friend.  The friend was poet, Lord Byron and he challenged her to write a ghost story as part of a game while passing the time on a… Continue reading IT’S ALIVE! A Monster Tribute

Continue reading Bewitched: Trick or Treat

My definition of a perfectly spooky good time involves an October evening with a crisp Autumn atmosphere with the leaves rustling in yard as I cuddle up to my favorite classic films. My favorite October classic is Frank Capra’s ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (1944). This film is a dark-as-ebony comedy replete with a perfectly cast of hilariously eccentric characters. Our story begins with Mortimer Brewster … Continue reading Arsenic and Old Lace

Originally posted on cinematically insane:
Nicholas Ray made an appearance at the New York Film Festival on Saturday night. At least, according to his widow. “I brought you Nick tonight, because I figured he could probably speak better about this film than anybody else,” Susan Ray said before a screening of her husband’s vérité Western THE LUSTY MEN at the Walter Reade Theater, part of the… Continue reading Nicholas Ray Goes Home

Originally posted on Paula's Cinema Club:
Anybody who has either read this blog for a while or attended a TCM Party knows that I have been watching old movies since I was a young child. During the summer when my mom was working, I would be at my grandparents’ house, watching the local afternoon movie showcase, Bill Kennedy At The Movies, hosted by the… Continue reading Watching movies with Aunt Mary

For the 2nd year in a row, I had the great pleasure of attending the Buster Keaton Celebration in Iola, Kansas at Bowlus Fine Arts Center. The “stone-faced” icon of the silent screen Buster was born in nearby Piqua, Kansas in 1895, where he started performing along with his vaudevillian parents from age 3. The Buster Keaton Celebration has been celebrated in Iola since 1993. … Continue reading Buster Keaton Celebration 2013

Originally posted on cinematically insane:
(UPDATES are indicated in italics. Last update 1/11/14) Turner Classic Movies turns 20 next April. And they want you to party like it’s 1939. Today, the network announced the dates for the 2014 edition of the TCM Classic Film Festival, the most anticipated weekend of the year for old movie buffs. From Thursday, April 10 through Sunday, April 13, thousands of… Continue reading 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival Dates Announced