One of the great joys of watching vintage television is spotting the familiar faces who populate a given episode of just about any show that was around for any length of time. Serious fans enjoy the character actors who crop up again and again, but you can often see young actors who would go on to become superstars. Sometimes you even encounter in their earliest roles those who would not just be greats, but those who would become legends. This month, TV Time looks at four such appear...
Read moreJust as Billy the Kid rode across the silver screen endless times, almost always as a misunderstood youth with many qualities and sometimes as a downright knight in shining armor, so too did movie representations of that other famous American outlaw, Jesse James, show him to be a Robin Hood figure, battling ruthless corporate enemies of the common man. Of course there is no evidence whatsoever that either Billy or Jesse robbed from the rich and gave to the poor. In fact, more than likely, bot...
Read moreWhile watching Dr. Kildare, I've been thinking about TV doctors, and more precisely, who the best is. Who would I most want as my doctor? After disqualifying Kildare himself for being too pretty and young (I'm only on season 3), I looked at some ClassicFlix-era TV doctors (meaning I did not consider legendary small screen medical types like Dr. Quincy, Dr. Shrinker, and Dr. Johnny Fever).Richard Kimble, The Fugitive: There is a bit ...
Read moreHoward Hawks was perhaps the greatest Hollywood director never to win a Best Director Oscar (though he was given a consolatory honorary award in 1975, presented to him by John Wayne). His friend and admirer John Ford generously suggested that he should have been recognized as best director, instead of Ford, for
Read moreEach year the extravaganza known as WrestleMania revives the old myth that Vince McMahon "invented" sports entertainment by taking "rasslin'" out of dingy, dark, smoke-filled dives and making a family-friendly product suitable for large "respectable" arenas. In reality, professional wrestling did just fine as a regional, territorial product for years. It had a national presence, as well, and while McMahon did expand his business by seizing on cable television's reach, arena grappling was a fi...
Read moreGlenn Ford was one of the greatest of all Western actors. He appeared in a long series of cowboy films, 26 total, and in all of them, even the ones of uneven quality, he was outstanding, strong and tough. He was ideal in the role of a man who's gotta do what a man's gotta do. Quiet, even taciturn, speaking with measured tones, Ford was the perfect Westerner. He rode supremely well, as if he and the horse were one. He underplayed in an almost Gary Cooper-like way and once said, "Some actors co...
Read moreThe 2017 TCM Classic Film Festival has come and gone, leaving behind countless happy memories of great films enjoyed with wonderful friends...and to top it all off, nitrate!This year's festival was dedicated to the late Robert Osborne, with tributes to Mr. Osborne preceding Thursday evening's films. His gracious presence was remembered and strongly felt throughout the festival, as I believe it will be for years to come.Regular TCM hosts Ben Mankiewicz, Tiffany Vazquez, Eddie M...
Read moreThe announcement that Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey is shutting down inspired a lot of discussion about the demise of the circus. While it's true that Ringling was, for years, the most iconic big top operation, the American institution will continue.Of course, it also survives in classic television. In a previous column, I recommended Woody Allen boxing a kangaroo. Besides that memorable variety program, many sitcom and dramatic episodes centered on traveling circus troupe...
Read moreEven if you're not a pre-Code aficionado, it's likely that you've seen -- or at least heard of -- such popular features as The Public Enemy (1931),
Read moreSpangler Arlington Brugh renamed Robert Taylor by MGM upon signing for them in 1934, was one of the most famous movie stars of his time. He is probably best known as a romantic lead, or riding through Hollywood's idea of the Middle Ages with a sword, but he was brought up on the plains of Nebraska, rode well and always wanted to be in Westerns. He was excellent with a Stetson and six-gun, projecting that right blend of toughness and decency to convince as a hero of the West.He made fo...
Read moreLong before he became America's unofficial grandfather by playing lovable if gruff characters like Carl Fredricksen in Up and Santa himself in Elf, Ed Asner had a long and storied television career. Prior to his breakthrough role of grizzled newsman Lou Grant, Asner guested in a wide variety of series in the 1960s, often playing characters that were nasty, mean, or downright evil. Let's go back to the days when this legendary performer had more hair on his head, more letters...
Read moreThe opening of Safe in Hell is a bit deceptive. The film's title appears on-screen, with its block-style, capital letters filled in with a silent roar of angry flames. Meanwhile, the music we hear conjures a scene from the late 1800s, perhaps a pair of ladies strolling through the park with ankle-length dresses and lace-trimmed parasols. But once the credits fade the ...
Read moreAfter the success of their Buster Keaton shorts set last year, Kino Lorber and Lobster Films have joined forces to release Keaton's features on DVD and Blu-ray. I was thrilled to receive copies of the films and am eager to share some of the goodies included in these releases.The films are packaged as two-disc sets with one feature on each disc. The General comes with Three Ages, Keaton's very first feature, and Steamboat Bill, Jr. comes with College
Read moreOscar-winning actress Susan Hayward was born in Brooklyn nearly a century ago, on June 30, 1917. Originally named Edythe Marrenner, Susan grew up in New York -- where, incidentally, she became lifelong friends with a boy named Ira Grossel, later known as Jeff Chandler.After graduating high school in 1935, Susan became a model and before long was off to Hollywood. She worked her way up the ladder from bit roles to supporting parts, with her career finally taking off to new heights in t...
Read more'A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty 'Hi-yo Silver'' - the Lone Ranger!Yup, horses were far more than the basic means of transport in the West and the Western. There is a whole myth attached to horses.In many movies, certain Western actors used the same horse again and again, and they became part of the mystique. Everyone knows Roy Rogers's horse was Trigger (who was so 'intelligent' that he could rescue Roy from scrapes), and The Lone R...
Read moreTrivia lovers often point out the eerie similarities between two acclaimed United States presidents who were both struck down by assassins. While an amusing number of coincidences do indeed connect Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, there is at least one huge difference: While Honest Abe is all over classic TV, it's hard to find JFK.We all have a vague collective false memory of Kennedy guesting on The Dick Van Dyke Show, but alas, it never happened. Fo...
Read moreIn the world of film noir, 1947 is commonly touted as a banner year -- it's the year that saw the release of such classics as Out of the Past, Kiss of Death, Nightmare Alley, and Dead Reckoning. For my money, though, there's another year that deserves just as much acclaim, 1948. Today's post shines the spotlight on five first-rate features from this stellar year of noir.Act of ViolenceVan Heflin stars as Frank Enley,...
Read moreMany people regardThe Great Train Robbery (1903) as the first Western movie. It isn't, though. Cowboys had been captured on celluloid before and short Western scenes were quite common. As early as 1894 Buffalo Bill Cody's troupe had been filmed and there was already a motion picture, Lasso Thrower viewed by a single person in a kind of what-the-butler-saw device. In 1896 motion pictures were first commercially projected onto large screens in the US.In 1898 there ...
Read moreThe delightful June Allyson was born in the Bronx, New York, on October 7, 1917. She overcame a hardscrabble childhood and a years-long recovery from a freak injury to emerge as a sunny and cheerful star at MGM.June was raised by a single mother after her father walked out. At the age of eight she was crushed after a tree limb fell on her when she was riding a bike; she spent years in a brace but eventually recovered and learned to dance. She appeared in a series of musical shorts...
Read moreYou'll see many strange things in science fiction and fantasy television: space aliens, interstellar travel, super powers, and more. Yet even within the fantastic realm of genre entertainment, you sometimes encounter episodes that are just...bizarre. This month, let's look at some of the strangest episodes of popular sci-fi series. They may have their detractors, but I guarantee each is worth watching at least once.The Adventures of Superman, 'The...
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