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Claudette Colbert is a prisoner of war in “Three Came Home” Three Came Home (1950) is an American film about prisoners of war under the Japanese in North Borneo (now Sabah) and Sarawak during World War II. The film was directed by Jean Negulesco and starring Claudette Colbert, Patri read more

 Of all the movie thrillers Val Lewton produced for RKO in the 1940s, THE BODY SNATCHER, based on a story by Robert Louis Stevenson, is by far my favorite. It contains what I feel is one of Boris Karloff's greatest screen performances, along with a beautifully written script and atmospheric dir read more

Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard have a “Brief Encounter” Brief Encounter (1945) is a British romantic film directed by David Lean and starring Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard. The screenplay was written by Noel Coward which was based on his play Still Life (1936).Laura Jes read more

Gene Hackman as Coach Norman.Second chances, the popularity of small town sports, and teamwork are the themes that underlie Hoosiers, a surprise 1986 boxoffice hit.Gene Hackman stars as Dale Norman, a formerly disgraced college basketball coach hired at Hickory High School. The team has only seven p read more

I couldn’t help being reminded of Melville’s Un Flic catching the opening of Claude Sautet’s movie. There’s a policeman, 80 grand missing, and two dead after a heist. It’s not the events that are the same, but the initial sensibilities, the palette, even the world they read more

I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve published something directly on this blog! Well, it was in January when I shared my review of Marlon Brando’s biography written by Patricia Bosworth. And I’m back today with another book review! This time, I’ll be giving you my a read more

William Holden is a prisoner in “Stalag 17” Stalag 17 (1953) is an American comedy-drama directed by Billy Wilder set in a German prisoner of war camp during World War II. The film is based on the Broadway play of the same name written by Donald Bevan and Edmund Trzcinski. Beva read more

Three Enchanting Ladies When I published my article on Grace Kelly and Jean Simmons’s Olympic champion fathers last February, I discovered an interest in doing that kind of genealogy research. However, it implies a lot of time and organization. Via that article, we learned that Grace Kelly had read more

Jack Lemmon and Glenn Ford. The incredibly versatile Delmer Daves directed three of my favorite Westerns from the 1950s, a decade in which the genre flourished. Each film is decidedly different from the other. The Hanging Tree (1959) is a tale about self-forgiveness and the power of love. 3:10 read more

A version of this review was first published in Film Inquiry.  If Floating Clouds is a film about making peace with the war years, then When a Woman Who Ascends The Stairs is a far more forward-thinking endeavor. In fact, I would say it’s a near-prescient portrait of where Japan has ventured read more

“Rebecca” casts a long shadow over Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine Rebecca (1940) is an American romantic thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock—in his American directorial debut—and starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine. The screenplay was written by Robert E. read more

Ann Harding and William Powell share a "Double Harness"  Double Harness (1933) is a pre-Code melodrama directed by John Cromwell (Of Human Bondage) and starring Ann Harding and William Powell. The screenplay was written by Jane Murfin (What Price Hollywood?, Alice Adams), and the music was read more

Contrary to what activity on Backlots might tell you, I am, indeed, alive. Since September, I have been deep in the zone of Marion Davies work, and have a website for the project, which can be found here. I remain extremely busy, but wanted to update you on the progress of my work, and what to expe read more

I lived in Hollywood, once upon a time, on Poinsettia between Fountain and Santa Monica Blvd., not far from Melrose.  It was the early '80s and I was working at a radio station on Sunset at North Genesee, across from the Screen Actors Guild. Ed Asner was the president of the guild then and I me read more

Jeb Rand (Robert Mitchum) is pursued by vague memories of his youth and a life plagued with doubts and nightmares. He is also pursued by Grant Callum (Dean Jagger) who, for reasons of his own, wants to kill "the last of the Rands."Mrs. Callum (Judith Anderson) is "Mother Callum" to Jeb. She has been read more

Several notable Carole Lombard films remain underrepresented on DVD. Her breakthrough movie, "Twentieth Century," appeared on DVD in 2005 and has yet to be reissued with any sort of extras or bonuses befitting a screwball classic. But another of her films hasn't even been that fortunate -- the 1940 read more

It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals. In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals. This week’s musical: Boy! What a Girl! (1947) read more

After a 10-day hiatus, soaking in the change of presidential administrations near the end of a tumultuous month, it's back to celebrating Carole Lombard with our initial post under President Joe Biden. Above is Paramount p1202-884 from early in 1934, and later that year, Carole posed for p1202-967, read more

Cinema Crossroads Where classic meets contemporary My name is Julia, and I’ve never seen a Bond film. Okay, I did see Skyfall (2011) in theaters when it was first released, but it doesn’t really count because the only thing I remember is Javier Bardem’s blond hair (wig?) and absol read more

Silents are Golden: A Closer Look at – Way Down East (1920) One of the most influential early directors of all time was D.W. Griffith, who rose to acclaim for the excellent short dramas he directed for Biograph and went on to create some of the biggest features of the 1910s. Controversial today read more