"Singin'" and "Sunset", Two Parodies of Silent Film

"Singin'" and "Sunset", Two Parodies of Silent Film

April 30, 2007
Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor, Gene Kelly, Gloria Swanson, silent films, Singin' in the Rain, Sunset Blvd., William Holden

The film industry of the 1920s was parodied twice in the early 1950s with intelligence, wit, and great success. Each film, however, showed ...

Random Harvest (1942)

Random Harvest (1942)

April 26, 2007
amnesia, Greer Garson, identity theft, Random Harvest, Ronald Colman

Two of the most compelling aspects of “Random Harvest” (1942) are the total absence of proof of identity leading to a new life, and the pos...

John Qualen - Character Actor

John Qualen - Character Actor

April 25, 2007
Casablanca, John Ford, John Qualen, Street Scene, The Grapes of Wrath, The Long Voyage Home, The Mad Miss Manton

John Qualen’s portrayal of Muley Graves is one of the iconic features in “The Grapes of Wrath” (1940). He had the ability to play types and...

The Phantom's Changing Face

The Phantom's Changing Face

April 24, 2007
Andrew LLoyd Webber, Emmy Rossum, Gaston Leroux, Gerard Butler, Lon Chaney, Patrick Wilson, The Phantom of the Opera

Lon Chaney’s Phantom in the original 1925 & 1929 re-release of “The Phantom of the Opera” displays one of the most frightening screen im...

Bogart's Cement Shoes

Bogart's Cement Shoes

April 23, 2007
Columbia Pictures, Dead Reckoning, Grauman's Chinese Theater, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Lizabeth Scott

Humphrey Bogart spent the day at the Columbia Pictures lot shooting “Dead Reckoning,” co-starring Lizabeth Scott, and then went to get his h...

Since You Went Away (1944)

Since You Went Away (1944)

April 19, 2007
Claudette Colbert, David O. Selznick, Hattie McDaniel, Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Monty Woolley, Since You Went Away

What if Bill was not killed? What if Anne had started work at the war plant at the beginning of the film and not the end? What if her harm...

Clarence Brown - From Cars to Film

Clarence Brown - From Cars to Film

April 18, 2007
Anna Christie, automobile manufacturing, Clarence Brown, Clark Gable, Elizabeth Taylor, Greta Garbo, Stevens-Duryea cars

Clarence Brown became a Hollywood director in the days when being a Hollywood director had nothing to do with film school. An extraordinary...