Classic Movies Posted by KC on May 6, 2016

On the second morning of the TCM Classic Film Festival, I had the pleasure of covering a hand and footprint ceremony honoring Francis Ford Coppola in the forecourt of the Chinese Theatre. This is the third year that I've attended the ceremony and, as in previous years, it was a...   read more

Classic Movies Posted by KC on May 5, 2016

It's taken me a few days to unpack all the experiences of TCM Classic Film Festival 2016, not to mention catch up on sleep. This was my third year covering the festival. It gets better every year. Friendships with fellow film fans deepen, it gets easier to navigate long lines...   read more

Classic Movies Posted by KC on May 4, 2016

I've barely gotten caught up on sleep (or posts...) after attending the TCM Classic Film Festival this past week, but I am already so excited to cover the Seattle International Film Festival for the fourth year. This year's event will gobble up my calendar space from May 19 to June...   read more

Classic Movies Posted by KC on April 27, 2016

This morning I am flying to Hollywood to cover the TCM Classic Film Festival for the third year. For four days sleep, food and fresh air will take a back seat to movies, and it's going to be amazing! If you'd like to follow my cinematic adventures for the next...   read more

Classic Movies Posted by KC on April 26, 2016

The first time I saw Robert Osborne in person was at the press conference for the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival. It was also my first year attending the event. He strode in with a gait that somehow communicated absolute confidence, elegance, modesty and accessibility simultaneously. As he sat down   read more

Classic Movies Posted by KC on April 25, 2016

From 1933 to 1940, more than 800 film professionals fled Nazi Germany for Hollywood. Despite challenges of language, finances, lodging and assimilation, many of them found success in America and even helped to shape the film industry. In fact, in the years leading up to World War II, American cin   read more

Classic Movies Posted by KC on April 24, 2016

Image Source I passionately hate the idea of being "with it," I think an artist has always got to be out of step with his time. -Orson Welles Quote Source   read more

Classic Movies Posted by KC on April 22, 2016

Citizen Kane: A Flimmaker's Journey Harlan Lebo Thomas Dunne Books Release Date April 26 I had luck as no one had; afterwards, I had the worst luck in the history of cinema. But that is in the order of things. I had to pay for having had the best luck...   read more

Classic Movies Posted by KC on April 21, 2016

As the announcements rolled out for TCM Classic Film Festival 2016 guests, the name that inspired my most enthusiastic squeal was Anna Karina. The actress will be introducing a sure-to-be-packed screening of Jean-Luc Godard's Bande à part (1964). This is my must-see event for the festival, as it is   read more

Classic Movies Posted by KC on April 17, 2016

Garbo in 1931 She had a talent that few actresses or actors possess. In close-ups she gave the impression, the illusion of great movement. She would move her head just a little bit and the whole screen would come alive, like a strong breeze that made itself felt. -Director George...   read more

Classic Movies Posted by KC on April 14, 2016

I know it's unkind to assume that a hardworking actress is simply being herself on the screen, but I've always felt that way about Marion Davies. Perhaps it is because I knew a lot more about her personality, and her popularity in Hollywood, before I saw her in a movie....   read more

Classic Movies Posted by KC on April 12, 2016

Oh TCM. First there's the agony of waiting for you to release the schedule for the TCM Classic Film Festival, then there's the continued agony of deciding what to see. But I'll take the latter. As Mae West once quipped, too much of a good thing can be wonderful. This...   read more

Classic Movies Posted by KC on April 8, 2016

At the end of this month, I will be attending the TCM Classic Film Festival for the third time as a member of the media. This year I am so excited to have a head start on tricking out my passholder lanyard with a great set of buttons created by...   read more

Classic Movies Posted by KC on April 7, 2016

Given the current political insanity in the US, this exchange in Jean-Luc Godard's rebellious Made in USA (1966) made me laugh, and cringe, a lot more than it would have a year ago. I've added the subtitles below each shot in case they are too difficult to read: Left and...   read more

Classic Movies Posted by KC on April 6, 2016

Silent Women: Pioneers of Cinema Edited by Cheryl Robson and Melody Bridges Aurora Metro Press, 2016 Available April 26 Before the movies became big business, women held a wide array of roles behind the camera, many more than in today's industry. They were producers, directors, cinematographers, ed   read more

Classic Movies Posted by KC on April 1, 2016

Parker in 1948 Eleanor Parker had the talent and appeal of a movie star, but she never developed a recognizable star persona. Nor was she interested in doing so. The actress would become lost in her roles, seemingly becoming a new woman with each film. She could not be typecast,...   read more

Classic Movies Posted by KC on March 25, 2016

Image Source Warner Archive has released yet another pair of essentials on Blu-ray: the Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall classics The Big Sleep (1946) and Key Largo (1948). These films capture the famous twosome at their best, and with casts of supporting actors so colorful that they are constant   read more

Classic Movies Posted by KC on March 23, 2016

A Girl's Got to Breathe: The Life of Teresa Wright Donald Spoto University Press of Mississippi, 2016 A few years ago, a blogger I follow asked his readers what Hollywood biography they'd like to read that hadn't been published yet. I commented that I'd always been fascinated by Teresa Wright...   read more

Classic Movies Posted by KC on March 18, 2016

Saul Bass: Anatomy of Film Design Jan-Christopher Horak University Press of Kentucky, 2014 Saul Bass is perhaps the only title sequence designer to have achieved superstar status among movie fans. His innovative take on the credits for films like Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959) and The Ma   read more

Classic Movies Posted by KC on March 16, 2016

Go Naked in the World (1961) is a glossy, glamorous mass of big feelings. It's obsessed with horrible, naughty, glorious sex. The pre-code era is limping away though, so it's okay to talk about it, and even to indulge in eroticism, but somebody is going to pay. Gina Lollobrigida is...   read more