Francis Benjamin Johnson was born in Foreacre, Oklahoma on June 13, 1918. Born of Irish, Osage and Cherokee Indigenous ancestry, and the son of ranchers Ollie Susan and Ben Johnson, Jr. Oklahoma-born Ben Johnson was a true cowboy and horse wrangler that first made his way into Hollywood via providing horses to Howard Hughes for THE OUTLAW (1943). He realized he could make more money … Continue reading BEN JOHNSON, a Real Reel Cowboy
Whether you celebrate Valentines Day, or Galentines Day, or (UN)Valentines Day (hello heart breakers and heart-broken alike), or perhaps you’re just ready for tomorrow to arrive, there’s room for all persuasions of this love inspired day. I’ve been on the quest for a heart designed sweater/top for many years. Never found quite the right one. Then it dawned on me. Classic Hollywood has the answer! … Continue reading Ginger Rogers Stole My Valentine
In the Autumn of 2022, I instructed a film study course on a selected filmography of Universal Pictures. I’ve been teaching for many years in the college town in Lawrence, Kansas. As I have done so across many topics of classic film, I start with an overview of the film genre, director including signature elements, historical context and background. Then we screen and discuss the … Continue reading Universal Horrors: a Film Study
It’s difficult to say what role I first discovered Paul Lynde. I was born in the winter of 1966, and throughout my childhood in the late sixties and seventies, he was everywhere. Never a leading man, yet he was a standout in small roles in the most popular films, tv shows, and game shows. For a comedic actor who always got the minor roles, he … Continue reading PAUL LYNDE: Sardonic Clown
After an unusually cold April, May suddenly feels more like a scorching July and makes me yearn for the beach. Or, classic beach movies. When I nostalgically recall of summers of my youth, silly sex comedies of the 60s often filled my days. I wasn’t old enough to see them first-run so my screenings were likely a decade or two later, running in syndication on … Continue reading A Dog, a Dinosaur Bone, and a Delinquent… Go to the Beach with BACHELOR FLAT (1962)
When the classic film community discovered the sad loss of a beloved fellow blogger recently, Paddy aka Patricia Nolan-Hall of CAFTAN WOMAN, ANOTHER OLD MOVIE BLOG and LADY EVE’S REEL LIFE mobilized to create a blogathon to honor her memory. When I think of Paddy, I am moved by her generosity and kindness. She was very committed to not only participating in nearly every single … Continue reading A Sunny Tribute…THE GLASS BOTTOM BOAT (1966)
Borrowing a catch-phrase from our favorite home of the classics, Turner Classic Movies, Kellee of Outspoken & Freckled / @IrishJayHawk66), Paula of Paula’s Cinema Club / @Paula_Guthat) and Aurora, of Once Upon a Screen / @CitizenScreen) dedicate a blogathon to character actors for the ninth consecutive year. To the faces, the laughs, the drama presented by these wonderful actors whose names all too often go unrecognized we dedicate WHAT A CHARACTER! 2020. The hosts extend … Continue reading Announcement: 9th annual WHAT A CHARACTER! BLOGATHON
WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION: Billy Wilder Film Study Billy Wilder was known for his reverence for the structure of a screenplay, and subsequently, it influenced his films. In particular, he preferred that all screenplays and films be constructed in a three chapter format like a good play. Agatha Christie’s WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION was an international success on stage, and being tossed around as a … Continue reading WITNESS for the PROSECUTION (1957)
IN A LONELY PLACE (1950) This is one of many postwar films where Hollywood takes an introspective, and in the case of the film noirs like this, a darker view of itself. Not unlike private dicks such as Sam Spade, here it’s a Hollywood screenwriter who is showcased as the loner, cynical figure. Going deeper, darker, and more complex than Joe Gillis in Billy Wilder’s … Continue reading Nicholas Ray’s In A Lonely Place
SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959): Film Study *(the following is based on a prior article on this film but with substantial research and content added for the purpose of a Billy Wilder Film Study course taught by Kellee Pratt in the Fall of 2019.) “I think that Billy as at the height of his powers. I think it’s the best thing he’s ever done, comedy … Continue reading Billy Wilder Film Study: SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959)
Outspoken & Freckled 