In 1934, director Frank Capra released the seminal classic It Happened One Night, a picture that helped define the relatively new genre of screwball comedy. On the heels of that film’s monumental success, Capra followed up with another comedy, Broadway Bill. But while Night became a perennial favorite, Bill virtually disappeared for decades after its release; according to the TCMdb entry on…
The Americanization of Emily (1964) is a wonderfully satirical, dark comedy about a “dog robber” in the US Navy serving during WWII. Starring James Garner as Charlie, a self-proclaimed coward, the film tells the story of this unscrupulous officer who prefers to avoid heroism in lieu of self-preservation. Although deemed unpatriotic by some critics, The…
Last weekend (June 6-8) I was able to check out some of the fabulous events at the Gone With the Wind Festival in Marietta, GA. In celebration of the 75th anniversary, this festival was made up of some great events, including a costume ball complete with dinner and dancing to Civil War Era music. Some…
To finish up the month of May, the Month of Mothers (hey, we changed a lot of diapers; we deserve more than just one day of recognition!), we’re delighted to feature a guest post analyzing the role of Mrs. Danvers in the 1940 film version of Rebecca, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Over the years, some critics have…
After watching season one of Netflix’s popular series Orange is the New Black, I was excited when the opportunity arose to review 1950’s Caged, a similar story of a naive young woman who is imprisoned after collaborating in a crime. Certainly there are many parallels between the two stories. Each was written by a woman…
The 1942 production Her Cardboard Lover may be a minor comedy by definition, but it remains an important artifact for one simple reason: it is star Norma Shearer’s last film. At the age of 42, Shearer decided to end her nearly two-decade long career after the mediocre public reception of this film. Audiences were more interested in dramatic,…
Inspired by a short story by Tennessee Williams, This Property is Condemned (1966) sports an amazing cast starring Natalie Wood, Robert Redford, and Mary Badham. This film–only the second ever to be directed by the soon-to-be legendary director/actor Sydney Pollack–tells the story of a small railroad town devastated by layoffs during the Great Depression. I…
While scrolling through TCM’s line-up one night, I spotted a fun sci-fi flick to add to the DVR. After hearing the introduction for the film, I knew that I had to watch. I was not disappointed. TCM host Ben Mankiewicz piqued my interest in his introduction of It! The Terror from Beyond Space: “This is the story…
True Classics 