Category: article

  • Classics 101 - The Four Clowns: The Boy with the Glasses

    In the first two parts of this silent comedian series, we discussed how little regard studios and most filmgoers had for 'old-time silent movies' throughout the 1930s and 1940s; that changed on September 5, 1949, when Life magazine, one of the most popular publications in the nation, published a James Agee cover story entitled Comedy's Greatest Era. This installment of Classics 101 will take a look at the third of Agee's Four Clowns, Harold Lloyd.Lloyd's is one of the gre...

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  • Vintage Groucho? You Bet Your Life!

    Contestant: I'm a cartoonist...I'm working on a comic strip.Groucho: If you want to see a comic strip, you should see me in the shower.You Bet Your Life was on radio from 1947 and a TV series from 1950 to 1961. Groucho Marx resisted the concept at the start. After a legendary career with his brothers on stage and in films, the role of quizmaster seemed paltry. It must have looked like a career downturn.But Groucho ...

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  • TV TIME: Golf on Classic TV

    Many folks find summer an ideal time to head outside and enjoy a round of golf. I've never been one of those people; the last time I played, it took me 3 tries to get the ball past the windmill and into the clown's mouth. The television stars of yesteryear certainly liked the pastime, though. Legend has it that Bing Crosby turned down the iconic role of Lieutenant Columbo because filming the series would interfere with his golf game. Fred MacMurray negotiated a shooting schedule on My Thr...

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  • Silent Cinema: Common Silent Mistakes

    Silent film is an art like no other, but it also has a few complications that can snare unwary newcomers. Today, we are going to talk about some of the common mistakes made by new silent film viewers and easy ways to avoid them.Underestimating the size of the silent eraThe silent era is generally reckoned to have lasted from the mid-1890s to 1930, later if you count the 1930s silent films from Asia and Europe. With three to four decades of films to cho...

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  • Uncovered Classics, Vol. 1: Westerns and Noirs

    Everyone loves familiar classic movies starring beloved stars whether it's Bogart, Stanwyck, Gable, or Davis.That said, one of the great pleasures of being a classic film fan is coming across an unfamiliar film which leaves the viewer exclaiming 'Good movie!' as it draws to a close.Such movies may not be perfect, but they deliver a great deal of entertainment value with memorable moments. What follows is a list of a dozen lesser-known film noir and Western ...

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  • The Old Corral: Joining The Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    I'm very happy to see VCI releasing the four seldom seen 40-45 minute 'streamliner' Westerns released by Screen Guild/Lippert in 1946-1947 as part of their Royal Canadian Mounted Police series. All four starred former Hopalong Cassidy sidekick, Russell Hayden.In 1945 Robert L. Lippert, a West Coast theatre chain owner, formed Action Pictures and released three low budget features filmed in Cinecolor. These films eventually saw release through Screen Guild, a new ...

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  • Classics 101: Klassics for Kids

    Classic movie fans aren't born (unfortunately); they're made, either by those of us lucky enough to discover Turner Classic Movies or another similar channel (are there any others left?) that programs films older than Home Alone for the kids, or though the love and encouragement of caring parents who understand that vintage cinema is as rich a part of our heritage as great novels. You read to your kids (don't you?) so why not sit down with them to enjoy classic films as well? Sure, y...

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  • Dark Cinema: Noirs You Should Know

    Double Indemnity. Laura.Out of the Past. The Postman Always Rings Twice. Gilda.Features such as these can almost always be found on 'best of' lists for film noir, and I'd venture to say most film lovers (even those who aren't noir devotees) have seen each of them at least once.But what of the great noirs that are unheralded and, all too often, unseen? There are countless first-rate pictures from this dark and shadowy era tha...

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  • How to Throw a Vintage Movie Party

    Movies are for sharing. There are buffs that coordinate parties around specific films, from food and drink to decor; that's one step away from the obsessive level at which the guests come dressed as film characters and the family dog is renamed Pard or Toto or Asta. At a more casual level, vintage films can set a style and tone for a party, the extra shot of espresso that leads to mixing and conversation. Show The Women, for example. Not the pointlessly P.C. 2008 version, but the rau...

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  • TV TIME: The Many Faces of William Shatner

    Here's how big an icon William Shatner is: If you wiped his most famous role out of existence, one of the most popular characters in television history, he would STILL be one of the biggest icons the medium has ever known. In addition to his unforgettable performances as Captain James T. Kirk, the 84-year-old Canadian stars in two of the most memorable Twilight Zone episodes, 'Nick of Time' and 'Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.' In fact, his post-classic-era work is arguably enough to make ...

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