Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on August 5, 2016

Warning: This essay contains spoilers! Read at your own risk. The Duffer Brothers' 2016 Netflix series, Stranger Things, takes its cues from a bevy of 80s movies, most notably the films of Steven Spielberg and screen adaptations of the works of Stephen King. The mix also includes iconic pictures fr   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on August 5, 2016

Warning: This essay contains spoilers! Read at your own risk. The Duffer Brothers' 2016 Netflix series, Stranger Things, takes its cues from a bevy of 80s movies, most notably the films of Steven Spielberg and screen adaptations of the works of Stephen King. The mix also includes iconic pictures fr   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on July 28, 2016

With Star Trek Beyond out in theaters just in time for the 50th anniversary of the original show, I find myself thinking back about my lifetime of Trek experiences. I first saw the show as a little girl, when it was on in re-runs during the 1970s. I have been...   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on July 28, 2016

With Star Trek Beyond out in theaters just in time for the 50th anniversary of the original show, I find myself thinking back about my lifetime of Trek experiences. I first saw the show as a little girl, when it was on in re-runs during the 1970s. I have been...   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on July 22, 2016

The Spanish Main (1945) revisits many of the same elements as earlier swashbucklers, especially Captain Blood (1935) and The Black Swan (1942), but this time instead of Errol Flynn or Tyrone Power we get Paul Henreid as the heroic pirate, and the actor gives a perfectly winning performance in the...   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on July 22, 2016

The Spanish Main (1945) revisits many of the same elements as earlier swashbucklers, especially Captain Blood (1935) and The Black Swan (1942), but this time instead of Errol Flynn or Tyrone Power we get Paul Henreid as the heroic pirate, and the actor gives a perfectly winning performance in the...   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on July 19, 2016

Adapted from the novel by Sir Walter Scott, Ivanhoe (1952) makes a perfect companion to The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). Both are rousing Technicolor adventures set during the days of King Richard the Lionheart, and Robin even plays a critical part in the later story. Robert Taylor might lack...   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on July 19, 2016

Adapted from the novel by Sir Walter Scott, Ivanhoe (1952) makes a perfect companion to The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). Both are rousing Technicolor adventures set during the days of King Richard the Lionheart, and Robin even plays a critical part in the later story. Robert Taylor might lack...   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on July 18, 2016

Tower of London (1939) lacks the poetic grandeur of Shakespeare's Richard III, but the story remains more or less the same, with an atmosphere of horror injected into the historical drama through the appearance of genre icons like Boris Karloff and Vincent Price. As history goes, this is bloody stuf   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on July 18, 2016

Tower of London (1939) lacks the poetic grandeur of Shakespeare's Richard III, but the story remains more or less the same, with an atmosphere of horror injected into the historical drama through the appearance of genre icons like Boris Karloff and Vincent Price. As history goes, this is bloody stuf   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on July 12, 2016

Released just before the wildly successful Strangers on a Train (1951), Stage Fright (1950) ranks among the minor entries in the Alfred Hitchcock canon. It lacks the screw tightening suspense of the best of the director's pictures, and its humor, while engaging, never reaches that pitch black, twist   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on July 12, 2016

Released just before the wildly successful Strangers on a Train (1951), Stage Fright (1950) ranks among the minor entries in the Alfred Hitchcock canon. It lacks the screw tightening suspense of the best of the director's pictures, and its humor, while engaging, never reaches that pitch black, twist   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on July 7, 2016

Although its name doesn't telegraph anything about the plot, Moontide (1942) does give the viewer an accurate impression of its mood, which is dreamy but dark, yielding a seductive fantasy with noir's sharp edge, or perhaps a noir film with romance's soft center. France's Jean Gabin and rising star   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on July 7, 2016

Although its name doesn't telegraph anything about the plot, Moontide (1942) does give the viewer an accurate impression of its mood, which is dreamy but dark, yielding a seductive fantasy with noir's sharp edge, or perhaps a noir film with romance's soft center. France's Jean Gabin and rising star   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on June 8, 2016

Buffalo Bill's defunct -- e.e. cummings Like many historical figures of the American West, William F. Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill, became a legend within his own lifetime. Unlike many of his contemporaries, however, Cody engineered the process himself, carefully crafting the persona of   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on June 8, 2016

Buffalo Bill's defunct -- e.e. cummings Like many historical figures of the American West, William F. Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill, became a legend within his own lifetime. Unlike many of his contemporaries, however, Cody engineered the process himself, carefully crafting the persona of   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on June 6, 2016

We spent last week in Montana and Wyoming, mostly touring Yellowstone and Grant Teton National Parks, but I'm happy to say that I still found some balm for my classic movie loving soul. One of the best spots for indulging a cinema obsession was Cody, Wyoming, where we spent a...   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on June 6, 2016

We spent last week in Montana and Wyoming, mostly touring Yellowstone and Grant Teton National Parks, but I'm happy to say that I still found some balm for my classic movie loving soul. One of the best spots for indulging a cinema obsession was Cody, Wyoming, where we spent a...   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on May 17, 2016

Strangers on a Train (1951) brought Alfred Hitchcock back to box office success after the lull that followed Notorious (1946), and today it remains a favorite with the auteur's fans. Hitchcock presents a deliciously twisted thriller in this tale of murder and blackmail, with Farley Granger returning   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on May 17, 2016

Strangers on a Train (1951) brought Alfred Hitchcock back to box office success after the lull that followed Notorious (1946), and today it remains a favorite with the auteur's fans. Hitchcock presents a deliciously twisted thriller in this tale of murder and blackmail, with Farley Granger returning   read more