Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog Posted by Raquel Stecher on July 31, 2013

TCM Summer Under the Stars starts tomorrow! Which day are you most excited about? I'm very excited about Mary Boland, Ramon Novarro, Ann Blyth, Steve McQueen, Fred MacMurray, Kirk Douglas, Mickey Rooney, Hattie McDaniel, Glenda Farrell and others. The days I'm most excited about are the ones showcas   read more

Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog Posted by Raquel Stecher on July 30, 2013

Matt Phelan and I at his Bluffton signing - Book Expo America 2013 I had the pleasure of interviewing author/illustrator Matt Phelan about his book Bluffton: My Summers with Buster Keaton. Check out my original review here. You can find Matt Phelan on Twitter as @MattPhelanDraws, on Facebook, on   read more

Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog Posted by Raquel Stecher on July 28, 2013

My Lunches with Orson Conversations Between Henry Jaglom and Orson Welles Edited by Peter Biskind July 2013 Hardcover 9780805097252 Metropolitan Books (MacMillan) Amazon Barnes and Noble IndieBound Powell's There have been many classic film biographies published in the last decade but none quite l   read more

Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog Posted by Raquel Stecher on July 24, 2013

Where do I begin? How do I even talk about such an odd movie? Oh dear! Well, here goes nothing... Tish (1942) is an adaptation of the Tish stories by Mary Roberts Rinehart. Tish Carberry (Marjorie Main) is part of a threesome of spinsters which includes Aggie Pilkington (Zasu Pitts)...   read more

Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog Posted by Raquel Stecher on July 23, 2013

Bluffton: My Summers with Buster Keaton by Matt Phelan 240 pages - Hardcover Candlewick Press 9780763650797 July 2013 Amazon Barnes & Noble IndieBound Powell's Maybe I'm a little biased because I work for the publisher but I think this book is fantastic. A couple of years ago I was at...   read more

Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog Posted by Raquel Stecher on July 22, 2013

We are past the first month mark so I'm sharing some entries for the 2013 Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge. Everyone can chose to read up to 6 books but if you read a total 6 and review them by September 15th, you are eligible to win a prize....   read more

Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog Posted by Raquel Stecher on July 21, 2013

Up until recently I had never seen any film version of Ben-Hur. Last Sunday I watched three in one day! Am I crazy? Maybe a little. But I thrive on challenges especially fun ones like this. It all started with the screening of Ben-Hur (1925) at the Somerville Theatre in...   read more

Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog Posted by Raquel Stecher on July 17, 2013

Dean Stockwell, Margaret O'Brien and Brian Roper in The Secret Garden (1949) The Secret Garden (1949) is a delightful adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett's novel of the same name. Of the three adaptations I've seen of The Secret Garden, this one is my favorite (although I'm also partial to the...   read more

Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog Posted by Raquel Stecher on July 14, 2013

A Song in the Dark: The Birth of the Musical Film Second Edition by Richard Barrios Oxford University Press Paperback 9780195377347 2009 Amazon Barnes and Noble IndieBound Powell's "By inviting us to behold vestiges of our past, these movies allow us to revel, if only momentarily, in a time in...   read more

Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog Posted by Raquel Stecher on July 8, 2013

Source To Sir, With Love (1967) is one of several movies in the good-teacher-vs-tough-students sub-genre. It stars Sidney Poitier as the well-intentioned Mr. Thackeray who winds up at a school in a rough part of London. Only 12 years earlier, Poitier had a supporting role as a tough student givin   read more

Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog Posted by Raquel Stecher on July 6, 2013

Did you sign up for my 2013 Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge? There is still time to sign up to participate! The deadline is July 15th to sign up for the challenge. All you have to do is fill out my form and review up to 6 classic film...   read more

Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog Posted by Raquel Stecher on June 26, 2013

One Minute to Zero (1952) is a war drama that explores the conflict between humanitarian efforts and the inherent atrocities of war. This story is told through the lens of the Korean War and magnified through the love story of the two main characters. Robert Mitchum plays Colonel Steve Janowski,...   read more

Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog Posted by Raquel Stecher on June 19, 2013

Source So This is College (1929) is fun collegiate romp and comes to us from the early talkie era. Eddie (Elliott Nugent) and Biff (Robert Montgomery) are college roommates at a USC fraternity and best buddies. Their bromance has carried them through until their senior year. They compete and r   read more

Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog Posted by Raquel Stecher on June 13, 2013

This week marks Out of the Past's 6th Blog Anniversary! I would like to celebrate by hosting a 2013 Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge. Your challenge, if you choose to accept, is to read up to 6 classic film related books this summer. You can read 1, 2, 3,...   read more

Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog Posted by Raquel Stecher on June 6, 2013

Ceiling of the Grauman's Egyptian Theatre Press Photo I had the privilege of attending a special screening of Mildred Pierce (1945) at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood as part of the TCM Classic Film Festival. This event was #1 on my list of all the events and screenings I wanted...   read more

Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog Posted by Raquel Stecher on May 24, 2013

Ultimate Gangsters Collection: Classics Blu-Ray On Sale May, 21 2013 Buy on: Amazon Barnes & Noble Best Buy Warner Bros. The Ultimate Gangsters Collection: Classics Blu-Ray boxed set went on sale this week. There is also a Contemporary version of the same set with 4 different movies. The Class   read more

Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog Posted by Raquel Stecher on May 19, 2013

Cinerama Dome's Honeycomb Ceiling On Sunday April 28th, 2013, I attended a special screening of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) at the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles. Even though this film is played regularly on TCM and I have had many chances to see it, this was...   read more

Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog Posted by Raquel Stecher on May 13, 2013

My photo On Thursday April 25th, 2013, I attended a special screening of South Pacific (1958) at the pool of the historial Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood. It began right after the opening night party and I got to hang out with Jessica of Comet Over Hollywood and Kaci. There were...   read more

Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog Posted by Raquel Stecher on May 11, 2013

Press Photo On Friday April 26th, 2013, Carlos and I attended a special screening of River of No Return (1954) at the Chinese Multiplex in Hollywood. You can see both of us in the photograph above (note TCM marked this photo as being a shot of the audience of Voyage...   read more

Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog Posted by Raquel Stecher on May 10, 2013

This is the third of my transcripts for the Press Conference that happened on Wednesday April 24th, 2013 at the TCM Classic Film Festival. This was a Q&A with Charles Tabesh, Senior VP of Programming, and Genevieve McGillicuddy, Managing Director of the festival. I tried to be as thorough as...   read more