Classic Hollywood Films for Halloween

With the spooky season upon us, it’s time to pull together our favorite Halloween Movies from Classic Hollywood.  We’ve talked before about our favorite Spooky Classic Halloween Films , and thought it was time to add a few more to the mix. No, these aren’t your basic Monster movies. While we enjoy a good scare…

‘The Yearling’ (1946)

is set in1878 Lake George, Florida and based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel written by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. MGM owned the rights to the novel and Clarence Brown director of National Velvet (1944) was chosen as Director of the film. Clarence Brown discovered Claude Jarman Jr lead child actor in the movie after visiting…

NETWORK

Paddy Chayefsky was a visionary. His 1976 movie NETWORK prophesized what we are living through today in the news media. Rarely do Rochelle and I write about 1970’s movies here on Classic Hollywood but since this is Oscar month at TCM I’ve broken that rule. I had never watched NETWORK until recently. At the time…

Lady on a Train 1945

If you’re up for a  murder mystery complete with shady rich people, a kept mystery author, and an inopportune viewing of a murder seen through the train window, then Lady on a Train is for you.  Starring Deanna Durbin, Lady on a Train was one of two films lead by her second husband, producer Felix…

STRANGE CARGO

Is a strange movie, it was condemned by the Catholic Legion of Decency and banned in several cities throughout the north and south. Released in March of 1940 Strange Cargo was the last movie pairing of Joan Crawford and Clark Gable. Clark’s character; Verne, a prisoner in a Penal Colony in the Guianas, is dark…

Never Say Goodbye A Slapstick Christmas Comedy

In the Gayley household, Christmas means a lot of things. Shared custody of daughter, Phillipa “Flip”, a meddling mother-in-law, and a soldier who shows up in the shower. But don’t let the drama of divorce in old Hollywood deter you. This is a slapstick Christmas comedy if ever there was one. With miscommunication galore, a…

PHANTOM LADY~ THE BOOK

Twenty five days till Christmas, I hope people with Film Noir friends consider this book on their gift giving list… Christina Lane does a fine job of writing about the insights and talent of Joan Harrison. Joan’s accomplishments as writer/Producer have been mostly ignored in history from Hitchcock biographers. Christina Lane has done a thorough…

Phantom Lady

The movie (1944), directed by Robert Siodmak, is a crime film noir. I have never seen even a snippet of this movie before. If you are a noir buff and get a chance to watch it I highly recommend it. It features some of the usual noir suspects; Thomas Gomez, Elisha Cook Jr. with Ella…

Barbara Stanwyck

As a longtime fan of TCM the month we wait for all year long is finally here: SUMMER UNDER THE STARS month. This year’s lineup doesn’t disappoint with a kick off day featuring Barbara Stanwyck. I’ll admit I have watched all of the films on Barbara’s lineup except for BF’s Daughter. The other films are…

Olivia de Havilland 1916~2020

TCM began the month of July 2020 with a celebration on July 1st of Olivia de Havilland’s 104th Birthday. We end the month with a tribute to an actress with sixty-one acting credits to her name. She did it all: Romantic Comedies, Drama, Period Pieces, Noir, Westerns, Horror, Disaster Movies, and best of all she…

Love is a Ball 1963

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 Films in Classic Hollywood

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…

LULU IN HOLLYWOOD

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…

ONCE UPON A TIME…

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…

ONE WAY PASSAGE

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…

TRUE CONFESSION

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….

Joel McCrea ~ Summer Under the Stars

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…

TCM SUMMER UNDER THE STARS 2019

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….

They All Kissed the Bride

Joan Crawford tends to be a little strong for my taste. Thankfully,  Melvyn Douglas softens her up a bit in They All Kissed the Bride. But then maybe “soften” isn’t necessarily the word for it.

Government Girl 1943

There’s nothing like a good drunk scene to really put the cherry on top of a great movie. 

Holiday (1938)

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…

Follow Your Heart at the TCM Film Festival 2019

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…

Safe in Hell

Dorothy Mackaill is the original Gilda ‘Making a living the only way she could’ in this 1931 First National Pre-Code film. Accidental murder by champagne bottle and fire start Gilda on the road to perdition. Gilda’s fiancé Carl played by Donald Woods returns after a year of being at sea only to find that Gilda…

Christmas in Connecticut

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…

11 ~ 11 ~ 11

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…

Penny Serenade

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…

A Christmas Wish and Lots of Prayin’

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 (1932)

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…

Mad About Musicals

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…

TCM FILM FESTIVAL 2018

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…