4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on January 27, 2021

“You don’t have to die to keep the John Doe ideal alive. Someone already died for that once. The first John Doe. And he’s kept that ideal alive for nearly 2,000 years.” – Barbara Stanwyck as Ann Mitchell In their final collaboration, Capra and Riskin draw on the same c   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 2, 2020

Today’s YouTube pick for Noirvember is a film I saw for the first time just a couple of days ago: Ladies in Retirement (1941). I’d heard of it before, but I never knew anything about it except that it starred Ida Lupino. Had it not been for a virtual classic...   read more

Caftan Woman Posted by on September 9, 2020

Lynn Fontanne, Alfred Lunt The Guardsman, 1924 New York's Theatre Guild, the post-WWI iteration of the Washington Square Players was looking for a boost to their box office in 1924 to accompany and add to their lustre as the home of theatrical integrity and innovation. The Board's Theresa Helburn   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on May 17, 2020

Thank you HOLLYWOOD GENES for having me in the Ziegfeld Blogathon! Few would claim Ziegfeld Girl to be anything close to a landmark masterpiece, but it’s got star power in spades thanks to MGMs robust lineup during the war years and that alone, followed up with a few spunky numbers,...   read more

Comet Over Hollywood Posted by on April 20, 2020

It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals. In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals. This week’s musical: Time Out...   read more

Caftan Woman Posted by on February 17, 2020

I first saw I Wake Up Screaming in my teen years thanks to TV Ontario's Saturday Night at the Movies. I have vivid memories of my reaction to the story, the characters, and its glorious shadows. I was enthralled and wondered if there were more movies like it. The screenplay...   read more

Comet Over Hollywood Posted by on December 16, 2019

It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals. In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals. This week’s musical: Tall, Dark...   read more

Comet Over Hollywood Posted by on October 21, 2019

It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals. In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals. This week’s musical: The Chocolate...   read more

Classic Movies Posted by KC on July 23, 2019

Lady Scarface (1941) is entertaining, but it doesn’t live up to the promise of its title and star. Now available on DVD from Warner Archive, I went into this crime thriller expecting Judith Anderson to dominate the action as the titular criminal. This was not the case, and it was...   read more

The Old Hollywood Garden Posted by Carol Martinheira on July 20, 2019

COMEDY GOLD #17: The horse from The Lady Eve (1941) On July 20, 2019 By CarolIn Uncategorized Just when you thought Preston Sturges’ iconic screwball comedy The Lady Eve (1941) couldn’t get any better, in comes the horse that somehow managed to u   read more

Caftan Woman Posted by on July 19, 2019

Crystal of In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood is hosting a blogathon salute to Joan Bennett running from July 19th - 21st. Click HERE to enjoy the contributions. The history of humankind is in our fight against evil. In our Industrial and Technological ages, it is the fight...   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on June 4, 2019

“Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven” – John Milton in Paradise Lost Though some noir film layered in London fog is probably up for contention, otherwise, there’s arguably no movie murkier than this atmospheric sea-faring delight from Michael Curtiz. But what puts i   read more

Critica Retro Posted by Lê on May 12, 2019

Um Rosto de Mulher (1941) / A Woman's Face (1941) Durante a Era de Ouro dos estúdios, sempre que um artista tinha liberdade para interpretar um personagem diferente do que estava acostumado – em geral depois de muita insistência e luta – o resultado era quase sempre maravilhoso. P   read more

Stardust and Shadows Posted by Terry on April 22, 2019

The sequel remains pretty much as it is today:  repeat box office receipts with the same formula.  That itself is passable in the day of the studio system when film output to fill the theaters with product was required.  Sometimes it works  as in BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935) and sometimes...   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on March 17, 2019

There’s little doubt Blood and Sand was a follow up to The Mark of Zorro (1940) meant to capitalize on the lucrative romantic pairing of devilishly handsome heartthrob Tyrone Power and winsome ingenue Linda Darnell. But what it sets out to do, it achieves through an ability to capture us in a   read more

Stardust and Shadows Posted by Terry on March 12, 2019

Hollywood loved to make films about doctors, nurses, lawyers, scientists, truck drivers,  electric linemen,  oil riggers; and, of course, teachers. The noble occupation of teaching  makes one think of the various narratives: GOODBYE MISTER CHIPS (1939),  TOM BROWN’S SCHOOL DAYS (1940) and  TH   read more

Noirish Posted by John Grant on March 6, 2019

US / 66 minutes / bw / RKO Dir: Frank Woodruff Pr: Cliff Reid Scr: Arnaud D’Usseau, Richard Collins Cine: Nicholas Musuraca Cast: Dennis O’Keefe, Judith Anderson, Frances Neal, Mildred Coles, Eric Blore, Marc Lawrence, Damian O’Flynn, Andrew Tombes, Marion Martin, Rand Brooks, Arthur Shields, Lee Bo   read more

The Old Hollywood Garden Posted by Carol Martinheira on January 16, 2019

COMEDY GOLD #11: The conga from Ball of Fire (1941) On January 16, 2019January 16, 2019 By CarolIn Uncategorized Ball of Fire (dir. Howard Hawks, 1941) seems to be one of those movies that everybody loves. And why wouldn’t it be? It’s sweet, it&   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on January 1, 2019

Little Nick Charles Jr. is growing up and his loving daddy, in lieu of fairy tales, reads to his son about the horse races. Some things never change. Despite an unfortunate stereotyped-laden portrayal provided by Louise Beavers, the picture quickly settles into another enjoyable jaunt. In fact, it&   read more

Noirish Posted by John Grant on December 18, 2018

Margaret Millar’s first published novel — and the opening salvo of her three-novel Paul Prye series — is a traditional mystery of the Agatha Christie/Ngaio Marsh variety, set in what’s to all intents and purposes a country house whose guests form a neatly constrained group o   read more