Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on February 4, 2013

Before the time-crossed lovers of Somewhere in Time (1980) and The Time Traveler's Wife (2009), there was Portrait of Jennie (1948), a romantic fantasy produced by David O. Selznick and directed by William Dieterle. Like the more recent films, Portrait of Jennie tells the story of a couple who are...   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on February 4, 2013

Screwball comedy director Preston Sturges offers a frothy concoction in The Palm Beach Story (1942). It's a light, short film, daring for its day in its treatment of the idea that an attractive woman might willingly use her sex appeal to advance her husband's career. The dialogue is witty, and...   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on February 4, 2013

Screwball comedy director Preston Sturges offers a frothy concoction in The Palm Beach Story (1942). It's a light, short film, daring for its day in its treatment of the idea that an attractive woman might willingly use her sex appeal to advance her husband's career. The dialogue is witty, and...   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on February 4, 2013

Screwball comedy director Preston Sturges offers a frothy concoction in The Palm Beach Story (1942). It's a light, short film, daring for its day in its treatment of the idea that an attractive woman might willingly use her sex appeal to advance her husband's career. The dialogue is witty, and...   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on February 1, 2013

Today I began a new First Fridays Film Festival series for the LearningQUEST lifetime learning program at the local library. This term we are looking at the films of Preston Sturges, the writer and director who produced classic comedies like The Great McGinty (1940), The Lady Eve (1941), and Sulliva   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on February 1, 2013

Today I began a new First Fridays Film Festival series for the LearningQUEST lifetime learning program at the local library. This term we are looking at the films of Preston Sturges, the writer and director who produced classic comedies like The Great McGinty (1940), The Lady Eve (1941), and Sulliva   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on February 1, 2013

Today I began a new First Fridays Film Festival series for the LearningQUEST lifetime learning program at the local library. This term we are looking at the films of Preston Sturges, the writer and director who produced classic comedies like The Great McGinty (1940), The Lady Eve (1941), and Sulliva   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on January 29, 2013

In the Depression Era, frothy, upbeat musicals were a much appreciated form of relief, and nobody made musicals any frothier or more upbeat than choreographer Busby Berkeley, who didn't actually direct the films but rather constructed elaborate, show-stopping musical numbers around which the directo   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on January 29, 2013

I'm very pleased to announce that BEYOND CASABLANCA: 100 CLASSIC MOVIES WORTH WATCHING, is now available as an ebook for Kindle, and right now you can buy the book for only $4.99! I have been working on making this happen since before Christmas, so I'm very excited that it is...   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on January 29, 2013

In the Depression Era, frothy, upbeat musicals were a much appreciated form of relief, and nobody made musicals any frothier or more upbeat than choreographer Busby Berkeley, who didn't actually direct the films but rather constructed elaborate, show-stopping musical numbers around which the directo   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on January 29, 2013

I'm very pleased to announce that BEYOND CASABLANCA: 100 CLASSIC MOVIES WORTH WATCHING, is now available as an ebook for Kindle, and right now you can buy the book for only $4.99! I have been working on making this happen since before Christmas, so I'm very excited that it is...   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on January 29, 2013

I'm very pleased to announce that BEYOND CASABLANCA: 100 CLASSIC MOVIES WORTH WATCHING, is now available as an ebook for Kindle, and right now you can buy the book for only $4.99! I have been working on making this happen since before Christmas, so I'm very excited that it is...   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on January 29, 2013

In the Depression Era, frothy, upbeat musicals were a much appreciated form of relief, and nobody made musicals any frothier or more upbeat than choreographer Busby Berkeley, who didn't actually direct the films but rather constructed elaborate, show-stopping musical numbers around which the directo   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on January 28, 2013

We don't generally associate any of its leading actors with the genre of romantic comedy, but that's one reason why Archie Mayo's 1937 film, It's Love I'm After, comes as such a pleasant surprise. The flirtatiously light story could have underpinned an Astaire and Rogers musical, but instead we have   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on January 28, 2013

We don't generally associate any of its leading actors with the genre of romantic comedy, but that's one reason why Archie Mayo's 1937 film, It's Love I'm After, comes as such a pleasant surprise. The flirtatiously light story could have underpinned an Astaire and Rogers musical, but instead we have   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on January 28, 2013

We don't generally associate any of its leading actors with the genre of romantic comedy, but that's one reason why Archie Mayo's 1937 film, It's Love I'm After, comes as such a pleasant surprise. The flirtatiously light story could have underpinned an Astaire and Rogers musical, but instead we have   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on January 26, 2013

The early 30s were the heyday of gangster pictures, with movies like The Public Enemy (1931) and Scarface (1932) heating up the screen. By the end of the decade the moral arbiters had become alarmed about gangster movies being a bad influence on the kids in the audience; therefore, pictures...   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on January 26, 2013

The early 30s were the heyday of gangster pictures, with movies like The Public Enemy (1931) and Scarface (1932) heating up the screen. By the end of the decade the moral arbiters had become alarmed about gangster movies being a bad influence on the kids in the audience; therefore, pictures...   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on January 26, 2013

The early 30s were the heyday of gangster pictures, with movies like The Public Enemy (1931) and Scarface (1932) heating up the screen. By the end of the decade the moral arbiters had become alarmed about gangster movies being a bad influence on the kids in the audience; therefore, pictures...   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on January 23, 2013

There are several truly brilliant Marx Brothers films, including Duck Soup (1933) and A Night at the Opera (1935), but Room Service (1938), directed by William A. Seiter, offers little to compare with them. It's a shame, too, because in addition to the brothers we get Lucille Ball and a...   read more