the light & dark side of classic film
Love is a Ball is one of those 1960’s romantic comedies that combines the gorgeous scenery of the French Riviera with some Classic Hollywood actors. It stars Charles Boyer, Glenn Ford alongside real-life girlfriend Hope Lange, and Ricardo Montalbon.
Pandemic, virus and disease runs wild in Classic Films and dare we say, we can maybe learn something from them? We just had to do a quick roundup of all the Classic Movies that had a virus, pandemic, uncontrollable biological weapon and the like. Amid the current days of worldwide virus, we always like to…
If you are curious about the life of actress Louise Brooks and her movies 1925-1938 this is the book you should be reading. Lulu in Hollywood is a compilation of articles written by Louise in the 1960’s/1970’s for ‘Film Culture, London Magazine, Image, Sight and Sound’. We love Julian Fellows here at Classic Hollywood and…
in Hollywood, is a Quentin Tarantino movie. We don’t normally Post about Quentin Tarantino movies on this Classic Hollywood blog, but months ago my son recommended the film to me. I put a hold on the DVD at the local Library (I was number 500 plus on the hold list).The DVD became available this past…
Kay Francis and William Powell are at their best in this Pre-Code soaper where nothing good comes of the leading characters. Robert Lord received an Oscar in 1934 for this original story. Orry-Kelly outdid himself with the gowns he designed for Kay. Kay and William’s characters strangers in Hong Kong meet on the ship the…
Helen Bartlett has a problem; she likes to tell those little white lies, then when she tells the truth no one believes her. Carole Lombard plays Helen Bartlett in this truth is stranger than fiction screwball comedy. Fred MacMurray plays the ‘can’t stand liars’ husband that keeps trying to break her of the terrible habit….
What can I say…I have no argument over the movies featured on McCrea Day at TCM. I find it ironic that Joel’s pre-code 1932 movie The Most Dangerous Game has been re-made for release in 2019 titled The Hunt. Humans hunting humans for sport labeled as a satire with a political twist in 2019, I…
Rochellelynn and I Luv, Luv, Luv the month of August and TCM’s Summer Under the Stars. It’s always fun to see which stars TCM will feature throughout the month. I know RL has been crushing on Melvyn Douglas featured on August 5th since she wrote about They All Kissed the Bride in her previous Post….
When I saw that Holiday (1938) was included in the TCM Film Festival lineup I was convinced that this would be the Bringing Up Baby comedy of the lot. Also directed by George Cukor this film with Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn had the promise of a laugh out loud fun romance with a twist…
The annual TCM Film Festival runs this year from April 11-14, 2019 in sunny Hollywood, California. If you haven’t gotten your passes yet, grab them here… that is, if they aren’t sold out. Believe it or not this festival draws crowds, featuring a side of sold-out hotel rooms and impossible-to-get flights.This years theme, however, may…
There is nothing better than finishing up my must see Christmas movies list over the past Christmas weekend than watching Christmas in Connecticut (Barbara Stanwyck Warner Brothers 1945 version). I began the season with Christmas in Connecticut Dyan Cannon Turner Pictures 1992 version (Thanks Rochelle for the Birthday present). The 1992 update makes sense, the…
The eleventh month, the eleventh day, the eleventh hour, today is the 100th year Anniversary when Armistice was declared for the ending of WW I. In the U.S. it is called Veterans Day where we honor all soldiers that have served time in the military. TCM will be featuring WWII movies throughout the day on…
After Rochellelynn’s last Post – A Christmas Wish and Lots of Prayin, a Facebook Classic Hollywood follower commented asking what our thoughts were about Penny Serenade as a Christmas movie…my first reaction was an emphatic NO. Then since I have a habit of leaping before I look I decided to reconsider and actually watch the…
I love watching old Christmas Movies in the mornings. Especially before Halloween, and before Work. But I had been putting off watching A Christmas Wish for the last three years, so why give in now? I have to say there was some curiosity, but not much expectation for this to actually be a good film….
Hot Saturday is one of those films you need to watch, because it’s the epitome of everything that was wrong with popular culture in the 1930’s. I’m not talking about the film of course, which is spectacular, but instead the mindset that ran rampant across the country in that holier-than-thou fashion we all despise. Here it’s…
I can’t believe 2018 is half over…how did I miss May and June, it seems like the TCM Film Festival was just yesterday. Due to circumstances beyond my control I neglected signing up for the online free Mad About Musicals course offered by TCM. I believe I procrastinated signing up because I didn’t want to…
Rochellelynn and I would like to give a shout out to all of our TCM Backlot peeps and classic movie fans from around the world that will be in L.A. April 26-29th attending the 2018 TCM Film Festival. Hope someone will make it to Bob Koster’s discussion about Deanna Durbin’s first movie Three Smart Girls…
What better movie to post about on St. Patrick’s Day than Warner Brother’s 1937 movie starring Pat O’Brien part of the legendary Warner Brothers Irish Mafia. Pat O’Brian plays James Aloysius O’Malley an overzealous patrolman, a stickler for the law, that even threatens to arrest his own muther played by Mary Gordon for throwing bread…
What better way to start off the month of February on Movies! TV network than to watch a film I’d never seen or heard of before. It was a pleasant surprise during Black History month to watch the Biography of the songwriter William Handy who wrote one of my favorite classic songs; St. Louis Blues….
Every holiday, usually the day after Halloween, we dust off the Christmas movies and move them to the living room. Much like how we retrieve that box of sweaters we know we’ll need during the coming cold months, the ritual of “getting ready” for the holidays usually means taking stock of all the movies we’ll…
Rochellemariah is correct her Christmas movie list does not have the typical must-see films on it and neither does mine. MEET JOHN DOE (1941) Frank Capra hits the nail on the head with this Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck 1941 platitude ridden film. Every year by Thanksgiving we have had a whole year of doom, gloom…
By the time Jean Harlow starred in Bombshell she had already been in 12 movies within the last 4 years. Among them Red Dust, The Public Enemy, Platinum Blonde and Red Headed Woman. She had crafted herself as a siren starlet, reckless, oversexed, and yet somehow…very enduring. Like any good actress in the 30’s she…
As I stare down a very long week of cooking and baking as my family prepares for the Thanksgiving holiday, with Black Friday close behind, a small cabin mini-break the weekend after and a mid-December vacation to get through ( not to mention the actual Christmas holiday and New Years plans at years end) all…
Elizabeth Taylor: What better star to honor on the last day of TCM’s Summer Under the Stars 2017 than Elizabeth Taylor. My goal this past August on TCM was to find and watch movies I had never seen before. Looking for some I would consider as a keeper (meaning I’d buy them to watch over…
Okay, so I have to admit I am in a massive Warren William phase. It started when I finally got the chance to watch The Gold Diggers of 1933 and was absolutely smitten with the relationship between his and Joan Blondell’s characters. Mind you, had my first run in with Warren been in the depression tragedy…
I’ve been in a Kay Francis and George Brent phase lately. This usually warrants long periods of Forbidden Hollywood film watching. So I realized it was about time to make this list. AnnStj and I watch these films a lot, mainly because it’s terribly intriguing to see what people put in films before censorship. Lots…
If you’re looking for a few old films to remind you of why you should be truly, truly grateful that you live in a free country this Independence Day, check out the films below. Happy Fourth of July. Pollyanna- Hayley Mills Yankee Doodle Dandee- James Cagney Pride of the Yankees Drums along the Mohawk- Henry…
Waterloo Bridge opens with the ending; a man in despair looking out over the bridge. As a story telling device this can be compelling and effective. For Waterloo Bridge this device pretty much spoiled the entire story for me and sort of pissed me off.
The Courtship of Eddies Father Glenn Ford, Ron Howard, Shirley Jones, Connie Stevens, Jerry Van Dyke The Courtship of Eddies Father was one of those films I had heard a lot about, but had never really gotten all the way through. Sacrilege, I know but I must admit the glamour of the 30’s…
To all of those Dad’s out there that go the extra mile (I’m sure those British Dad’s are now thanking Queen Elizabeth for putting the kibosh on the Debutante seasons after 1958) like Rex did for his American daughter in The Reluctant Debutante. Thank goodness Sandra Dee had John Saxon to save her from her…
