The Man on the Flying Trapeze Posted by David on August 2, 2012

"Altogether she was turbulent, sensible and friendly, and as such she became so agreeable that a number of indifferent or downright poor films couldn't hurt her. She was lightly symbolic of an American type, unspoiled and sporty." -- Ethan Mordden on Carole Lombard The 1932 film "Virtue" is only a   read more

The Man on the Flying Trapeze Posted by David on July 31, 2012

Once upon a time, in a pet shop in a very snowy city around 1930, lived three old friends -- a ventriloquist disguised as an old lady (Lon Chaney), a surly midget disguised as a baby (Harry Earles), and a strongman disguised as, um, a big guy in a suit...   read more

The Man on the Flying Trapeze Posted by David on July 31, 2012

Once upon a time, in a pet shop in a very snowy city around 1930, lived three old friends -- a ventriloquist disguised as an old lady (Lon Chaney), a surly midget disguised as a baby (Harry Earles), and a strongman disguised as, um, a big guy in a suit...   read more

The Man on the Flying Trapeze Posted by David on July 30, 2012

We know what -- and who -- "Bombshell" (1933) is about from the get-go: Burns is the name, Lola Burns, and any resemblance to Jean Harlow is purely intentional. She's platinum blonde, she's an international sex symbol and she's the star of "Red Dust." She lives in a gorgeous Hollywood...   read more

The Man on the Flying Trapeze Posted by David on July 30, 2012

We know what -- and who -- "Bombshell" (1933) is about from the get-go: Burns is the name, Lola Burns, and any resemblance to Jean Harlow is purely intentional. She's platinum blonde, she's an international sex symbol and she's the star of "Red Dust." She lives in a gorgeous Hollywood...   read more

The Man on the Flying Trapeze Posted by David on July 27, 2012

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The Man on the Flying Trapeze Posted by David on July 27, 2012

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The Man on the Flying Trapeze Posted by David on July 25, 2012

Richard Barthelmess had a face suited to sadness, and as the hero of "Heroes for Sale" (1933), it fits his character perfectly. He's Tom Holmes, a World War I veteran who faces prison, poverty, death, drugs and depression. He ends the movie with his ethics intact, but not much else....   read more

The Man on the Flying Trapeze Posted by David on July 25, 2012

Richard Barthelmess had a face suited to sadness, and as the hero of "Heroes for Sale" (1933), it fits his character perfectly. He's Tom Holmes, a World War I veteran who faces prison, poverty, death, drugs and depression. He ends the movie with his ethics intact, but not much else....   read more

The Man on the Flying Trapeze Posted by David on July 24, 2012

Leonard Maltin has a great rundown of film sites that deal in silent movies, home movies and other oddities here.   read more

The Man on the Flying Trapeze Posted by David on July 24, 2012

Leonard Maltin has a great rundown of film sites that deal in silent movies, home movies and other oddities here.   read more

The Man on the Flying Trapeze Posted by David on July 20, 2012

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The Man on the Flying Trapeze Posted by David on July 20, 2012

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The Man on the Flying Trapeze Posted by David on July 17, 2012

Please forgive me. I have been raised in a cynical age, so expressions of sincerity don't come easily to me. On the one hand, I am a firm believer in what Lily Tomlin once said: "No matter how cynical you get, it's never enough to keep up." On the other,...   read more

The Man on the Flying Trapeze Posted by David on July 17, 2012

Please forgive me. I have been raised in a cynical age, so expressions of sincerity don't come easily to me. On the one hand, I am a firm believer in what Lily Tomlin once said: "No matter how cynical you get, it's never enough to keep up." On the other,...   read more

The Man on the Flying Trapeze Posted by David on July 14, 2012

Robert Osborne, the urbane host of Turner Classic Movies, never ever badmouths a movie or a star. He might struggle to find something nice to say about the Bowery Boys in "Dig That Uranium," but he'd find it. That's why it's so interesting to watch him describe Joan Crawford's dancing...   read more

The Man on the Flying Trapeze Posted by David on July 14, 2012

Robert Osborne, the urbane host of Turner Classic Movies, never ever badmouths a movie or a star. He might struggle to find something nice to say about the Bowery Boys in "Dig That Uranium," but he'd find it. That's why it's so interesting to watch him describe Joan Crawford's dancing...   read more

The Man on the Flying Trapeze Posted by David on July 13, 2012

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The Man on the Flying Trapeze Posted by David on July 13, 2012

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The Man on the Flying Trapeze Posted by David on July 12, 2012

In 1930, Walter Huston played Abraham Lincoln in D.W. Griffith's biographical film, and three years later he played the President again in "Gabriel Over the White House," based on a best-selling novel of the day written anonymously. Huston plays President Judson Hammond, and at the beginning, to pa   read more