MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on May 11, 2011

Spencer's Mountain (1963)      When I think of versatile actors who, like a chameleon, can mold their performances to fit a wide range of characters, Henry Fonda does not exactly come to mind. I have not seen a great number of his films, but through Once Upon a Time in...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on May 10, 2011

So I’m not terribly up on what movies are being considered for production in Hollywood these days, but I have caught wind of a couple remakes of classic movies on the forefront. I just learned from a post by Angela at The Hollywood Revue that Johnny Depp is for certain set...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on May 9, 2011

     Movies have since nearly their inception been known to glorify crime usually more often than they do law enforcement. This seemed particularly true during Prohibition when many speakeasy-frequenting audience members likely sympathised with the plight of the bootlegger. The Beast of the City is   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on May 9, 2011

For those of you who live in central Ohio as I do, you will be glad to hear CAPA has posted its lineup for this year’s Summer Movie Series. I have seen a lot of these but am always willing to rewatch something if it’s on the big screen. I’ll definitely...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on May 5, 2011

My craze over Robert Montgomery has been going on for some time now, more than a year, I would say. Like Carole Lombard, I was first exposed to Montgomery in Hitchcock‘s only purely comedic American endeavor, Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The movie is a riot, and I regret the duo did not...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on May 4, 2011

Damned Don't Cry (1950)      The Damned Don’t Cry is probably not a good film on the whole, but Joan Crawford really impresses and brings life to this shady story about crime and sex.      The story, which is told primarily in flashback (ala a Citizen Kane-esque non-linear plot) follows   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on May 3, 2011

Our Relations (1936)      With every Laurel and Hardy movie or short I watch, I warm more to their humor. Our Relations would be my favorite thus far and is just a riot of misunderstandings.      Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy open the film at the dinner table with their wives....   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on May 2, 2011

I caught a cute short subject piece at the end of a recording the other day about meteorologists. Weather Wizards was produced by MGM in 1939 and dramatizes the plight of California farmers to protect their orange crops from a cold front. The action was used to explain how important meteorologists   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on April 29, 2011

Born Yesterday (1950)      When I learned Judy Holliday took home the Best Actress Oscar in 1951 over Bette Davis in All About Eve, I was naturally intrigued. For those who know Eve –and you should if you don’t– it was a veritable whirlwind of overwhelmingly grand performances, an   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on April 28, 2011

Out of the Fog (1941)      Is it possible Ida Lupino was once a young woman? Her mature, cynical roles suggest that the dame skipped over any vulnerable portion of life and went straight for adulthood. In Out of the Fog, however, Lupino seems to shift between her usual tough...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on April 27, 2011

Girl From Missouri (1934)      I was excited to come across a pairing of Jean Harlow and Franchot Tone in a romantic flick as I enjoy Harlow and find Tone quite charming, but their pairing in The Girl From Missouri produced poor results on the acting front.      Both Harlow...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on April 26, 2011

Royal Wedding (1951) First up at 8 p.m. ET is Royal Wedding starring Fred Astaire, Jane Powell and Peter Lawford. I have never been in love with Astaire but usually watch his films anyway. This one, however, is among my favorites. Astaire and Powell are a brother and sister musical...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on April 25, 2011

My Man Godfrey (1936)      My Man Godfrey is one film of which I do not think I will ever get enough. It helps that I am a huge fan of both Carole Lombard and William Powell, but the content of the picture really stands the test of time. I watched this...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on April 24, 2011

Yellow Jack (1938)      Robert Montgomery the soldier is certainly not my favorite incarnation of what has proven to be my favorite classic Hollywood hunk of the moment. I prefer the tuxedo-clad woman-chaser, a hint of which is found in Yellow Jack making it an enjoyable Montgomery flick.      Mont   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on April 23, 2011

Without Love (1945) I find it difficult to picture a world in which Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy persist together “without love”, but that is precisely what their third film together asked audiences to do, although they were expected to hope for it.     After appearing in Woman o   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on April 22, 2011

Fanny (1961)      What is it about a story of young love interrupted by life’s challenges, leaving two people forever apart but always longing, that tugs at the heartstrings? The story of Fanny might be nothing new, merely a re-assembling of plots from other classic stories (“The Count   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on April 22, 2011

If you are a classic movie fan, you surely know that 1939 was a monumental year in Hollywood. Gone with the Wind won Best Picture, Judy Garland found her place in history starring in The Wizard of Oz and Jimmy Stewart as Mr. Smith went to Washington. The Classic Movie...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on April 21, 2011

Monkey Business (1931)      I think I have found my second favorite Marx Bros. movie. Granted, I’m still working my way through them, and I have been told Animal Crackers might be a life-changer, but I am adding Monkey Business to my list of favorites.      The four brothers –with Zeppo   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on April 20, 2011

Buster Keaton      You might recall I wrote several reviews on short subjects coming from Hal Roach Studios a few months back when TCM was playing tribute to the influential production company. Among those were some Screen Directors Playhouse episodes. Well, I’ve finally gotten around to clea   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on April 19, 2011

Platinum Blonde (1931)      Jean Harlow essentially perfected a character for herself, one that perhaps immoral by the standards of her day, was always endearing. She was the blonde, usually moderate- to low-income gal who would get her man by any means. She had sass and bared her sexuality shamele   read more