While Michael Curtiz would go on to make more films (22 more) in the decade following 1950, it is with good reason that I have chosen THE BREAKING POINT as the film to finish out our Curtiz journey. “Noir Czar” Eddie Muller while being interviewed on TCM by Robert Osborn once described this film as” brilliant,” and his favorite Michael Curtiz film; and yes, he … Continue reading THE BREAKING POINT (1950)
Warner Brothers’ house style during the 1930s embraced gangster films, along with the occasional big production musicals. During the Pre-Code years of the early 1930s, those gangster films were gritty and violent and made James Cagney (THE PUBLIC ENEMY, 1931) and Edward G Robinson (LITTLE CEASAR, 1931) big stars. But once the production code became enforced during the second half of the 1930s, the studio … Continue reading A Gangster Morality: ANGELS with DIRTY FACES (1938)
We venture forth in our Michael Curtiz adventure with our next film, THE ADVENTURES of ROBIN HOOD (1938). To pivot from 2-strip color Pre-Code horror with cannibalistic themes to the Technicolor swashbuckling men in tights of Robin Hood is a perfect example of the Curtiz versatility. As a reminder, the Pre-Code era (late 1929 – summer of 1934) has ended, and as such Joseph Breen … Continue reading The ADVENTURES of ROBIN HOOD: A Technicolor Dream in Tights
A Film Study of MICHAEL CURTIZ One of Hollywood’s greatest directors of its pinnacle ‘golden era’ is a name you’ve possibly never heard of. Michael Curtiz directed an impressively prolific filmography, from silents to the early sixties, including popular classics that endure to this day. And yet, his is not a household name. Directors like Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford, and Steven Spielberg are well-known names- … Continue reading “ONLY CURTIZ SPOKEN HERE”
The time has arrived to join in on the celebration! He is not only one of the most influential filmmakers in film history, but an honest to goodness film fan. In that spirit, Michael of It Rains…You Get Wet , Aurora of Citizen Screenings and I celebrate the films of Steven Spielberg by way of the SPIELBERG BLOGATHON this weekend. The plan is that I will host all … Continue reading The Spielberg Blogathon Weekend… They’re HERE!!
Outspoken & Freckled 