Movie Classics Posted by Judy on November 30, 2009

Just thought I’d pass on word that there is going to be a season of Josef von Sternberg movies at the BFI (British Film Institute) in London during December, including some exciting rarities! I’m especially intrigued by the sound of Children of Divorce (1927), a silent movie starring Gar   read more

Movie Classics Posted by Judy on November 28, 2009

It is amazing to me to realise that this haunting and dazzling silent epic was so nearly lost forever, despite being winner of the first Oscar for best film. It had been thought that no copies of William Wellman’s early masterpiece still existed, until a print was discovered in the...   read more

Movie Classics Posted by Judy on November 22, 2009

William A. Wellman I’ve decided to write a series of postings over the next few weeks about the neglected great director William A. Wellman. I’ve been interested in him since first seeing The Public Enemy (1931), and am puzzled as to why he is so much less-known than contemporaries lik   read more

Movie Classics Posted by Judy on November 15, 2009

The title sounds reminiscent of I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang – and the posters for this John Garfield movie tried to give that impression too, oozing toughness and desperation. However, as so often in movies of the 1930s and 40s, the advertising is misleading, and this tale...   read more

Movie Classics Posted by Judy on November 2, 2009

I wanted to see Mr Skeffington because it stars Bette Davis, who is one of my favourite actresses. However, I ended up feeling that Claude Rains gives by far the stronger performance in this movie, which saw them both receiving Oscar nominations. Bette Davis and Claude Rains I was also interested...   read more

Movie Classics Posted by Judy on October 30, 2009

I was interested to read an article in today’s Guardian about classic little-known children’s films. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the main movie discussed in the piece, The 5,000 Fingers of Dr T, but it sounds intriguing.   read more

Movie Classics Posted by Judy on October 22, 2009

I’ve watched quite a few 1930s and 40s films giving down-to-earth portraits of men’s working lives, including a number about the armed services – but haven’t come across all that many older movies about women at work, or at war. However, thanks to the UK TV station Film 4, no   read more

Movie Classics Posted by Judy on October 11, 2009

Just a short review today as I don’t have time for one of my epics, you may be relieved to hear! In all honesty, I also don’t have all that much to say about Devil Dogs of the Air, which is a light comedy-drama, though it does feature some spectacular...   read more

Movie Classics Posted by Judy on September 19, 2009

Looking at still photographs from this movie, set in post-war Paris and loosely adapted from a short story by Ernest Hemingway, I was expecting film noir. The fact that it stars great actor John Garfield, opposite French actress Micheline Presle (billed here as Prelle), added to this expectation. H   read more

Movie Classics Posted by Judy on September 7, 2009

This is my second – last-minute! – contribution to the Robert Wise blog-athon, being hosted at the Octopus Cinema website. I’ve just re-watched this Western starring my favourite actor, James Cagney, which is the tale of a tough, driven owner of a horse ranch in Wyoming, and wanted to write...   read more

Movie Classics Posted by Judy on September 5, 2009

When you look at the list of Robert Wise’s movies, it seems amazing that he isn’t better-known – which is why it is so good that Joshua over at Octopus Cinema has organised a blog-a-thon about his work, to which this is a contribution. Somebody Up There Likes Me, starring...   read more

Movie Classics Posted by Judy on September 1, 2009

I’ve rather belatedly discovered in the last few days that there is a blog-a-thon about the film director Robert Wise just starting now at the Octopus Cinema website. I don’t know all that much about Wise as a director, but, looking at his astonishing body of work, which stretched from   read more

Movie Classics Posted by Judy on August 22, 2009

I already knew Frank Sinatra was a good actor, after seeing his impressive supporting performance in From Here to Eternity. However, I didn’t realise quite how good until seeing him in this little-known noir thriller, directed by Lewis Allen, where he just burns up the screen as a hired assass   read more

Movie Classics Posted by Judy on July 25, 2009

I was originally attracted by this film because it stars Spencer Tracy – and I’m fascinated by his early work after seeing movies like 20,000 Years in Sing Sing, which I’ve reviewed here in the past, and Man’s Castle and Riff Raff, both of which I hope to review in the...   read more

Movie Classics Posted by Judy on July 25, 2009

The Independent newspaper in the UK published a fascinating interview with Olivia de Havilland earlier this month – I’ve just belatedly caught up with it and am passing on the link for others who had missed it. She says quite a lot about her feelings for Errol Flynn.  Apparently she...   read more

Movie Classics Posted by Judy on July 16, 2009

Earlier this year, I reviewed Howard Hawks’ first sound movie, The Dawn Patrol (1930), a powerful tale of a group of British First World War pilots waiting in their small, temporary HQ near the frontline in France, to be sent off in batches to an almost certain death. Since then,...   read more

Movie Classics Posted by Judy on July 5, 2009

I didn’t particularly mean to watch this movie at all. As a Cecil B DeMille epic, it isn’t the sort of thing that normally appeals to me, since I tend to like movies which are on a smaller scale. But I noticed in the TV listings that James Stewart played...   read more

Movie Classics Posted by Judy on June 20, 2009

I’ve decided I’m going to try to write slightly shorter blog postings, as I’m so short of time these days due to my work situation. But I still want to try to record some of my thoughts on the classic movies I keep watching – so my mid-year resolution is...   read more

Movie Classics Posted by Judy on June 7, 2009

I’ve now watched most of the movies from the Warner Brothers Gangster Collection Volume 3 box set – which is rather misnamed since none of the movies really seem to be true gangster films. Anyway, this early Humphrey Bogart offering is my favourite of those I’ve seen so far, along...   read more

Movie Classics Posted by Judy on May 24, 2009

First of all, I’m sorry not to have posted here for ages – my working life has been busy and I’ve let blogging slip as a result. I’ll try to do better! James Cagney and Mae Clarke James Cagney walked out on Warner Brothers in the mid-1930s partly because he...   read more