Category: article

  • Silent Cinema - Four Intriguing Silent Film Actors

    Of the hundreds of stars who won the public's heart during the silent era, only a tiny fraction is remembered today. It's time to shine the spotlight back on a few of them. Last time, we discussed five enchanting actresses of the silent era. This time, we will be sharing four intriguing actors.This isn't a list of the 'best' actors of the silent era or the ones who are famous today. Rather, it's a collection of four actors whose work deserves a closer look by modern movie fans. We...

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  • Classics 101 - The Four Clowns: The Great Stone Face

    In the first part of this series, we discussed how Universal-International deliberately destroyed their treasure trove of silent films in 1948, and the disregard most 'modern film-goers' had for 'old-time silent movies.' That all changed on September 5, 1949, when Life magazine, one of the most popular publications in the nation, published a cover story entitled Comedy's Greatest Era, by James Agee. This installment of Classics 101 will take a look at the second of Agee's Fo...

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  • Honoring the Heroes: 12 Memorial Day Movies

    As Memorial Day approaches and thoughts turn to those who sacrificed so much on behalf of our nation, it's an opportune time to take a look at some of Hollywood's best war movies. These fictionalized stories fill a valuable purpose, reminding audiences of those who gave their all for our freedom.With the recent commemoration of the 70th-anniversary of VE Day, it seems particularly appropriate for this list to focus on films about World War II. There are countless cinematic depicti...

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  • Dark Cinema: Pre-Codes at the TCM Classic Film Festival

    While I was only able to attend half of the six pre-code films scheduled during the TCM Classic Film Festival 2015, I was delighted so many were on the program. The selections were diverse, and included a musical, horror, drama and comedy selections. In a year where there was some controversy over the inclusion of newer films such as Out of Sight (1998) and Apollo 13 (1995), TCM showed its loyalty to good old-fashioned black and white with this line-up.I have my ...

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  • Baby Boomers in the Black and White Universe

    If you are a baby boomer, you are not alone. Boomers rent and collect bushels of black and white classics. They also swarm to vintage film festivals and swell the ranks of TCM viewers. We boomers made a seemingly odd entertainment choice: we've leapfrogged back several generations to savor the popular entertainment of the WWI, Depression, and WWII eras. Some of us know more about old films and their production than the original audiences.Television brought the glories of old Holly...

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  • TV TIME: Salute to the Mother-in-Law

    This Mother's Day, while we salute our own moms, wives, and friends who are mothers to their own children, let's show appreciation for the oft-neglected mothers-in-law by taking a look at some memorable classic television episodes featuring these noble women. After all, the medium has a tradition of portraying a wide range of mother-in-law types from mean to downright evil.Gilligan's Island, 'Gilligan's Mother in Law': OK, so not all of the TV in-laws are...

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  • A Trip Through the 2015 TCM Classic Film Festival

    The 2015 TCM Classic Film Festival took place over four wonderful days in March where, once again, classic film fans from around the country, not to mention places like Canada, Scotland, and Japan, came together to celebrate wonderful movies.Though Robert Osborne was greatly missed this year, the festival carried on in fine style without him, with pros like Leonard Maltin, Eddie Muller, and Illeana Douglas introducing many of the movies.Again this year the schedule was...

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  • Silent Cinema: Five Enchanting Silent Film Actresses

    One of the great pleasures of being a silent film fan is the feeling of digging for buried treasure. Many of the era's stars have not been discussed in decades and some have been forgotten for more than a century.We're going to look at a tiny sample of the talent on display during the silent era. This isn't a list of the 'best' actresses of the silent era or the ones who are the most famous today. Rather, it's a collection of five talented women ranging from the famous to the forg...

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  • The Old Corral: Appreciating The Dakotas

    Why has Warner Bros.' The Dakotas been overlooked for so long? Finally released on DVD this exceedingly underrated series is finally getting the recognition it deserves.The Dakotas was the most adult, hard-edged, high-energy, in-your-face, man's western ever aired, crammed with tense, explosive action. Beginning with the stirring William Lava theme music, The Dakotas detailed the efforts of U. S. Marshal Frank Ragan and his three very diverse...

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  • Strange Science Serials, Part 1: Lost Worlds!

    We've previously offered a two-part series on motion pictures serials at Classics 101, (see part one and part two here) and this month, we're turning to some of the science-fiction serials that ranked near the top of the genre's offerings.With some notable exceptions, including Metropolis (1927) and Things to Come (1936), mainstream cinema didn't embrace science-fiction themes until the 1950s. A battery of mad scientists invented (or stole) a plethora of super-sc...

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