I’m shocked, shocked to find any evidence of a cinematic soul that isn’t in love with the film we’re discussing today, CASABLANCA. It’s not only a film that many a classic film fan would describe as their favorite, but it’s easily a film that could be described as an essentially perfect film. In many ways, with the experience of working within a wide variety of … Continue reading A Film Study: CASABLANCA (1942)
A hodge podge mix of tones – and colors- unexpected in a Pre-Code horror flick. Michael Curtiz’s DOCTOR X remains a stand-out, even more nine decades later. As we explore the filmography of director Curtiz, let’s begin early in his Hollywood years with a Warner Brothers rarity, a horror film. Based on the play “The Terror” by Howard W Comstock and Allen C Miller, the … Continue reading Ice Cream Colors Splash of Horror in DOCTOR X
We have arrived at the final film in this Bette Davis film study series. The opportunity for WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE came nearly twelve years after our last film, ALL ABOUT EVE. She continued working in those dozen years, but the golden era of Oscar nominated romantic lead roles was rapidly fading away. Now fifty-six years old, Davis was entering the last chapter in … Continue reading WHAT EVER HAPPENED to BABY JANE?
Today we are in for a real treat. Many have rightfully described Joseph L Mankiewicz’s ALL ABOUT EVE as one of cinema’s most remarkable films, and specifically as the most literate and intelligent scripts in all of Hollywood’s golden era. Based on a short story in Cosmopolitan magazine in 1946, author/actress Mary Orr (1910 – 2006) scribed, “The Wisdom of Eve,” in 1946 of an … Continue reading A Real Hollywood Comeback: ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)
In today’s stop along our grand Bette Davis adventure, we are studying NOW VOYAGER (1941). It is undoubtedly a dramatic tale of romance, but also rooted in a theme of psychiatry and mental health. As a bonus, we are treated to a character makeover. This is a coming out tale. Who doesn’t love a dazzling ‘before and after’ reveal? NOW VOYAGER is based upon a … Continue reading The Background Story: Bette Davis in NOW VOYAGER
In our last film, DARK VICTORY (1939), we explored a medical mystery surrounding a privileged socialite. Today we are discussing THE LETTER (1940), another mystery, yet this time of murder and less mystery; and Bette Davis is not just another socialite of privilege, but very much of white colonial privilege. Today we’ll address whether she is portraying a true vixen or perhaps a deeply complicated … Continue reading Bette Davis Delivers in THE LETTER
One of the captivating traits found in a Pre-Code film is a dark tone, that often reflects a discernible note of danger. I suppose it’s a flair for the dramatics that draws many to the dark side of Pre-Code cinema. There are many such themes of sins and malice found in George Abbott’s The Cheat (1931) . The alluring Tallulah Bankhead is Elsa Carlyle, an extravagant spender who lives beyond … Continue reading Tallulah Bankhead Exposes THE CHEAT (1931)
In our Bette Davis journey, we have arrived at the year 1939, which history has claimed was the greatest in cinematic history. I tend to agree. It was also a pinnacle time in Bette’s career. As we discussed last week, she won the Oscar for her performance in JEZEBEL (1938) at the 1939 Academy Awards. Many films competed in 1939’s crowded array of offerings, in … Continue reading Bette Davis earned a DARK VICTORY
For this installment of our Bette Davis study, we’ll explore another significant role for Davis as “Julie Marsden” in William Wyler’s JEZEBEL (1938). As we have addressed in our introduction, the often contradictory and complicated, undoubtedly attention-grabbing, and fiery, yet with a heart-of-gold persona of Bette Davis, “Julie” will pull us in to a similar path of discovery. JEZEBEL was nominated for the Academy Award … Continue reading Exploring JEZEBEL (1938)
A charming, small town in ‘Middle America.’ A simple way of life where neighbors are friendly, polite, but cautiously on guard of strangers that behave strangely. In Herk Harvey’s only feature film/now cult classic, CARNIVAL of SOULS (1962), the small college town of Lawrence, Kansas was the perfect setting for the eery, atmospheric horror. In the early 1960s, with a population of little over 30,000 … Continue reading A Haunting Hometown: CARNIVAL of SOULS (1962)
Outspoken & Freckled 