It doesn’t get much more ‘Pre-Code’ than Barbara Stanwyck and her role in Alfred E. Green’s BABY FACE (1933). Decades later many have since crowned her the reigning queen of Pre-code after this film stirred up the censors in its direct look at the female power of sex. Barbara Stanwyck is Lily Powers who has been raised by her slimy, abusive father (Robert Barrat as … Continue reading Barbara Stanwyck in BABY FACE (1933)
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)
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)
Do you ever feel like you must be going insane because it seems like you’re the only sane one in a messed up world of lunatics? I know modern-day politics drives me to this point many times over. Mike Nichol’s CATCH-22 (1970) takes on this premise in the darkest of comedies. At the core of this film, Alan Arkin as Captain John Yossarian is perfection … Continue reading Alan Arkin in CATCH-22 (1970)
Get your hankies ready to be soaked. Oh, and postpone that manicure because you’ll nibble off those nails anyway. Whether you’ve never seen it, or it’s one you’ve screened countless times, William Beaudine’s SPARROWS (1926) is a both a tear-jerker and nail-biting thriller to be savored. [Warning: SPOILERS will pop up ahead upon reading.] Deeply hidden in the muddy, quick-sand and alligator-infested swamps of the … Continue reading The Original Sweet Badass Momma of the Silents, Mary Pickford in SPARROWS (1926)
Edmund Goulding’s Best Picture Academy Award winning GRAND HOTEL (1932) set the standard for the ensemble cast concept of films to come. It takes an intimate view of a diverse array of characters whose lives intersect at the Grand Hotel of Berlin. We’re introduced to each main character one by one in brief snippets as we see their purposes at the hotel and their initial … Continue reading GRAND HOTEL (1932)
Outspoken & Freckled 