*The following are my film study notes, from the Billy Wilder Film Study course I taught in the Fall of 2019. THE APARTMENT (1960), a Film Study By Kellee Pratt Becoming a mensch. That’s the real theme here in Billy Wilder’s THE APARTMENT (1960). In our last session, we screened and discussed SOME LIKE IT HOT (1958). As we’ve mentioned before, Billy followed a pattern … Continue reading Becoming a Mensch: THE APARTMENT (1960)
Frank McHugh was never destined to be the top banana in a film. He lacked any traditional leading man looks. His voice was never skilled to ever become a songbird. And other than portraying a dancing cat with simple steps while chewing a cigar, he was certainly no Fred Astaire. But he had all the right stuff to be a very popular second banana in … Continue reading Frank McHugh, Everybody’s Pal
Seeing Donald Pleasence As a (slightly rusty) artist, I’m always people watching. I don’t sketch as much as I used to, and now it’s mostly dogs, but I still find myself looking deeply at people features, their body language, attitude, smile, and gate… but mostly I look at their eyes. And it’s for that reason why my entry for the What A Character! Blogathon is … Continue reading Seeing Donald Pleasence
Doris Day was 40 years old when Delbert Mann’s THAT TOUCH OF MINK (1962) premiered, cementing her ridiculous (yet popular) reputation as the “world’s oldest professional virgin.” At this point, she was flourishing in her career within a string of crowd-pleasing sex comedies and rom-coms from the late 1950s that continued into the 1960s. THAT TOUCH OF MINK followed a sure-fire formula with successful films … Continue reading THAT TOUCH OF MINK (1962)
Next month marks the 70th anniversary of the gripping film noir, Anthony Mann’s BORDER INCIDENT (1949). It’s a violent, intense, shocking, and visually stunning peek into the slave labor conditions of the braceros who work farming along the American/Mexican border. Here it is 70 years later, and I cannot think of anything more topically relevant. Don’t let the arid, sweltering heat of the Imperial valley … Continue reading BORDER INCIDENT (1949)
My love for Doris Mary Ann von Kappelhoff is no secret. As a classic film obsessive, I’m often asked who my favorite (male and female) movie stars are. With zero hesitation, Cary Grant and Doris Day. Even her name reflects that Day was destined to be star. Her mother gave her the name “Doris” after the silent film star Doris Kenyon. Later, “Day” was inspired … Continue reading Fangirling Doris Day
*The following are film study notes, as part of an ongoing Ray Harryhausen course I instruct in Lawrence, Kansas. What do you do when you’re a hard-working special effects guy, but need a European vacation? If you are Ray Harryhausen, you kill 2 birds with one stone by simply creating a monster movie opportunity in Italy. That’s exactly what Harryhausen did when he came up … Continue reading Ray Harryhausen Film Notes: 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH (1957)
The following are my notes as I presented to my Film Study course, Ray Harryhausen. In this week’s class we discussed the big ape that continues to capture our hearts, sixteen years after the famous Pre-Code ape that started it all. Mighty Joe Young. For this week, we will explore Ray Harryhausen’s first feature, MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (1949). While not his first solo feature, … Continue reading Ray Harryhausen Film Notes: MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (1949)
For a couple of years now, I’ve been teaching a series of classic film courses. Film Noir, Screwball Comedy, and Hitchcock are some of the topics we’ve tackled. Starting this week, we’re kicking off with a new adventure into a fantasy world of mythical creatures and monsters. A cinematic dream world created by Ray Harryhausen. Harryhausen was so enthralled by the wonder of a stop-motion … Continue reading The Ray Harryhausen Film Study
Announcement: 31 Days of Oscar Blogathon 2019 From the time Douglas Fairbanks, then President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, hosted the first Awards dinner party for about 250 people on May 16, 1929, to this year’s host-free Oscars ceremony ninety years later, this iconic celebration honoring Hollywood’s finest continues to be just as spectacular and riddled with excellence and contentions as the … Continue reading Announcement: 31 Days Of Oscar Blogathon 2019
Outspoken & Freckled 