Category Archives: Silver Screen Standards

Silver Screen Standards: My Favorite Wife (1940)

Posted on November 14, 2024 by Jennifer Garlen

My Favorite Wife (1940) I’ve shown a lot of comedies to my lifetime learners over the years, but I’ve rarely heard an audience laugh as uproariously as they did during a recent screening of My Favorite Wife (1940), which we … Continue reading →

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Silver Screen Standards: House on Haunted Hill (1959)

Posted on October 26, 2024 by Jennifer Garlen

House on Haunted Hill (1959) I fell in love with the wacky low-budget horror films of the 1950s and 60s as a kid, when public domain chillers aired late at night and I secretly stayed up to watch them on … Continue reading →

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Silver Screen Standards: Blithe Spirit (1945)

Posted on September 12, 2024 by Jennifer Garlen

Blithe Spirit (1945) Supernatural comedy is one of my favorite movie genres any time of year, but I’m especially drawn to it once the first Halloween decorations start to materialize. After a recent viewing of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir … Continue reading →

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Silver Screen Standards: Leave Her to Heaven (1945)

Posted on August 8, 2024 by Jennifer Garlen

Leave Her to Heaven (1945) The mingling of film noir and melodrama can yield strange but beautiful fruit, as it does most memorably in 1945’s Leave Her to Heaven, adapted by Jo Swerling from the 1944 novel by Ben Ames … Continue reading →

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Silver Screen Standards: The Ladykillers (1955)

Posted on July 11, 2024 by Jennifer Garlen

The Ladykillers (1955) Like most Gen Xers, I grew up associating Sir Alec Guinness with his role as Obi Wan-Kenobi in the original Star Wars trilogy. Only as an adult did I discover his earlier work and his tremendous talent … Continue reading →

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Silver Screen Standards: The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)

Posted on June 20, 2024 by Jennifer Garlen

The Pit and the Pendulum (1961) When Roger Corman died on May 9, 2024, at the impressive age of 98, his passing marked the end of a brilliant cinematic career that began in the 1950s and continued for more than … Continue reading →

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Silver Screen Standards: Transformative Drag in Some Like It Hot (1959)

Posted on May 9, 2024 by Jennifer Garlen

Transformative Drag in Some Like It Hot (1959) Some Like It Hot (1959) is widely celebrated as one of classic Hollywood’s greatest comedies, even though its cross-dressing plot roused conservative ire and caused the movie to be released without Hays … Continue reading →

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Silver Screen Standards: The Ghost Goes West (1935)

Posted on April 11, 2024 by Jennifer Garlen

Silver Screen Standards: The Ghost Goes West (1935) Supernatural romance and comedy are unique but often overlapping subgenres with some truly outstanding movies among their ranks, from Topper (1937), Blithe Spirit (1945), and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) to … Continue reading →

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Silver Screen Standards: Heaven Can Wait (1943)

Posted on March 14, 2024 by Jennifer Garlen

Silver Screen Standards: Heaven Can Wait (1943) While you might expect a movie about the balance of a man’s life being judged at the gates of Hell to be heavy existential stuff, Ernst Lubitsch’s Heaven Can Wait (1943) serves it … Continue reading →

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Silver Screen Standards: The Pirate (1948)

Posted on February 8, 2024 by Jennifer Garlen

Silver Screen Standards: The Pirate (1948) I always say that a splashy Technicolor musical is the best remedy for the dreary days of winter, and The Pirate (1948) certainly makes waves with its lively comedy and energetic dance numbers, even … Continue reading →

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