Love Letters to Old Hollywood Posted by Michaela on May 20, 2016

If you watch Easy to Love just to see this moment depicted on the poster, you'll be sorely disappointed. However, if you are hoping to see a sassy Esther Williams struggle with three men who are in love with her, you've come to the right place. EtL is my second...   read more

Love Letters to Old Hollywood Posted by Michaela on May 13, 2016

I love everything about this poster... except that man that's supposedly Spencer Tracy. It reminds me of some other actor, but I can't quite put a finger on it. Anyway, despite touting for years that Katharine Hepburn is my everything, including on this blog, I have yet to review one...   read more

Love Letters to Old Hollywood Posted by Michaela on April 22, 2016

Let me preface this by saying I set myself up for failure on this one. So much as been written about Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz -- books, movies, TV specials, great blog posts. I can't possibly include all of the vast information I have at my fingertips, so if...   read more

Love Letters to Old Hollywood Posted by Michaela on April 7, 2016

James Hilton is a somewhat familiar name for old movie fans. Seven of his books have been made into films, some more than once, with Goodbye, Mr. Chips and Lost Horizon emerging as the undisputed classics. Hilton also penned screenplays for Hollywood, winning an Academy Award for his script for...   read more

Love Letters to Old Hollywood Posted by Michaela on April 2, 2016

When I first became a classic film devotee, I had just gotten to junior high school, more specifically the seventh grade. Going from the snug comfort of elementary school to the uncertain territory of junior high was like a form of culture shock -- the rules were looser yet stricter,...   read more

Love Letters to Old Hollywood Posted by Michaela on March 24, 2016

Last year was the first year I learned about blogathons, so I wound up missing a lot of great ones. One of those that I hated to find out I missed was the Favorite TV Episode Blogathon hosted by A Shroud of Thoughts, so imagine my joy when I discovered...   read more

Love Letters to Old Hollywood Posted by Michaela on March 24, 2016

This is my second and final entry to the Second Annual Favorite TV Episode Blogathon. You can see my first post, focused an episode of I Love Lucy, here, and the other posts here. ********************************************************************************* I was a little hesitant to make   read more

Love Letters to Old Hollywood Posted by Michaela on March 9, 2016

Not a day goes by that I don't thank the gods for Turner Classic Movies. Why? Because I get to find quiet gems like Slightly French. My eternal love for Don Ameche encouraged me to record this film one day, and I'll admit I was only expecting something that was...   read more

Love Letters to Old Hollywood Posted by Michaela on February 27, 2016

Because I'm going to Paris and Prague! For almost three weeks now, I've been bursting to share the news. I wanted to be sure everything was right and my acceptance letter wasn't a fluke, but finally it's been settled -- from late May to mid-July, I'll be studying French and...   read more

Love Letters to Old Hollywood Posted by Michaela on February 27, 2016

The second I discovered classic movies, I put myself through total immersion -- I had to watch as many as I could and I had to do it as soon as possible. I've been immersing myself in movies pre-1969 for about a decade now, and as such, I'll admit I've...   read more

Love Letters to Old Hollywood Posted by Michaela on February 20, 2016

Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) is haunted by his family's past. His grandfather, Victor, was the infamous madman who brought a man back to life, only to have it terrorize a village. Because of this, Frederick wants nothing to do with the Frankenstein name, changing the pronunciation of it to f   read more

Love Letters to Old Hollywood Posted by Michaela on February 12, 2016

I've often described myself as a hopeless romantic, or as Yves Montand perfectly said, "I'm incurably romantic." One of the greatest joys in life to me is seeing the glamorous leading lady and her handsome leading man coming together, a union that is (almost) always gloriously sealed with a kiss....   read more

Love Letters to Old Hollywood Posted by Michaela on January 31, 2016

A newspaper editor gleefully awaits the big news of the death of billionaire Jonathan Reynolds (Charles Laughton), a story that is sure to feed the paper for weeks. While he impatiently grumbles about the old man delaying the inevitable, in a dark, quiet mansion, the great Mr. Reynolds lies on...   read more

Love Letters to Old Hollywood Posted by Michaela on January 19, 2016

I'm thrilled to say that I'm taking part in the Star-Director Blogathon, hosted by the marvelous Theresa. Click here for the giant, amazing list of entries here. ********************************************************************************* If you've read my blog before, you've probably noticed   read more

Love Letters to Old Hollywood Posted by Michaela on January 18, 2016

An effervescent comedy, a holiday classic, and a showcase of Barbara Stanwyck's perfection. All of this describes Christmas in Connecticut, but it doesn't capture what makes the film so special. Touted as the world's greatest cook and homemaker, Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck) writes a column for   read more

Love Letters to Old Hollywood Posted by Michaela on January 15, 2016

This is my contribution to the Backstage Blogathon, another superb event from Fritzi of Movies Silently and Janet of Sister Celluloid. Click here to read the other posts. ********************************************************************************* If it weren't for the presence of Maril   read more

Love Letters to Old Hollywood Posted by Michaela on January 8, 2016

It was 2008. My sister and I were wandering around Target aimlessly. Naturally, I gravitated to the movie section -- I was about a year into my obsession with classic films, and I was still in that phase where every old movie I found, my heart burst because I never...   read more

Love Letters to Old Hollywood Posted by Michaela on January 7, 2016

Silk Stockings is perhaps one of the weirdest remakes you can see. Let me explain: when you think of Ninotchka, what comes to mind? The irresistible Greta Garbo? Sure. The dapper, underrated Melyvn Douglas? Of course. The tagline "Garbo Laughs," as if it were the first time the actress ever...   read more

Love Letters to Old Hollywood Posted by Michaela on January 3, 2016

When you read the words "The Story of Alexander Graham Bell," if you haven't seen it, you probably think "This sounds terrible." I mean, it must be a stuffy, fact-stretching, superficial account of a man who is suddenly deemed faultless and highly moral, right? Well, you'd be partially correct. Like   read more

Love Letters to Old Hollywood Posted by Michaela on January 3, 2016

Hello, all! Sorry it's been crickets from me for the past few weeks -- this semester has been stressful and being on winter break was a huge relief, so much so that I wanted to step away from my laptop for a bit and just focus on my family and...   read more