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This year I’m participating in the ‘Russia In Classic Film Blogathon’, which is hosted by Fritzi Kramer over at Movies Silently. For my contribution, I will be providing a detailed account of the 1928 silent classic “Tempest” starring the great John Barrymore, which wil read more

Feeling physically inadequate & blaming classic film for it! Ginger Rogers in SHALL WE DANCE (1937) If you're a woman - or a man for that matter - and you've read the title of this post and have rolled your eyes and are about to click away, WAIT! Hear me out because chances are you've fel read more

You will never get my fabulous headgear! Never! (Yuliya Solnetseva as Aelita) Well, it’s some kind of thing. As a portrait of the early Soviet state, Aelita: Queen of Mars (1924) is fascinating. As a film, less so. What makes it interesting is probably also what makes it not a great film. It&# read more

This is my contribution to the Russia In Classic Film Blogathon, hosted by Movies Silently, and sponsored by Flicker Alley. moviessilently.com THE SCARLET EMPRESS (1934) is the sixth collaboration between director Josef von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich. Pictorially stunning and undeniably strange read more

Maria Ouspenskaya as featured in 1940s Beyond Tomorrow July 29, 1876 - December 3, 1949 The Russia in Classic Film Blogathon is being hosted by Fritzi of Movies, Silently and sponsored by The House of Mystery on DVD by Flicker Alley.  This fascinating topic runs from March 8 - 10th. Inter read more

One year, one film: 1928 The film: The Wind, dir. Victor Sjostrom starring Lillian Gish, Lars Hanson, Montagu Love Rating: Recommended | Highly Recommended | MUST-SEE (Image via The Most Beautiful Fraud in the World) Surprise, surprise – another Gish/Sjostrom/Hanson film! I was originally pla read more

This is my contribution to the Russia In Classic Film Blogathon, hosted by Movies Silently, and sponsored by Flicker Alley. moviessilently.com THE SCARLET EMPRESS (1934) is the sixth collaboration between director Josef von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich. Pictorially stunning and undeniably strange read more

You will never get my fabulous headgear! Never! (Yuliya Solnetseva as Aelita) Well, it’s some kind of thing. As a portrait of the early Soviet state, Aelita: Queen of Mars (1924) is fascinating. As a film, less so. What makes it interesting is probably also what makes it not a great film. It&# read more

Oh those Russians - so passionate, so revolutionary, so ...Russian! This is my entry in the Russia in Classic Film Blogathon hosted by Movies Silently. Click here for a complete list of participants. Josef Von Sternberg's "The Last Command" (1928) has it all: World War I, the Russian Revolution read more

Last night I watched AIRPORT (1970) on TCM and it reminded me of one of my favorite memories from the TCM Classic Film Festival. At the fourth TCMFF in 2013, I joined a motley crew of my Old Movie Weirdo friends for a raucous, Saturday night screening of AIRPLANE! (1980) at the historic TCL Chinese read more

So you wanna be a classic film blogger ... Recently, a couple of people have emailed me and asked how I got started as a classic film blogger. They expressed interest in becoming bloggers themselves someday but weren't sure where or how to get started. I'm no expert, believe me, but I do kno read more

Nudity whether in glimpses, through clothes, in silhouette or in the distance was strictly banned by the 1930 Motion Picture Production Code. According to the code nudity in any form was “immoral” and should be completely avoided. Despite this, Pre-code films are full of it. Instead of s read more

Nudity whether in glimpses, through clothes, in silhouette or in the distance was strictly banned by the 1930 Motion Picture Production Code. According to the code nudity in any form was “immoral” and should be completely avoided. Despite this, Pre-code films are full of it. Instead of s read more

A few days ago, I received confirmation that Backlots will be covering the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood, as a member of the press for the third year in a row. Over the past 6 years of its existence, the TCM Classic Film Festival has become synonymous with class and sophistication, and ha read more

A little late as we are already a few months into the new year, but what the heck, why not? Here are my favorite film finds from 2014: 1) Sunday in New York (1963) - Without a doubt, this is my top find in 2014. I discovered this film on a lazy summer night while browsing through TCM's online On D read more

Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana, June 22, 1913 The Stolen Idol, which was released in 1913, is of importance to us more than 100 years later, because of the actors who have went uncredited and unlisted for a century, regarding recognition that rightly is deserved to their names. It i read more

Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana, June 22, 1913 The Stolen Idol, which was released in 1913, is of importance to us more than 100 years later, because of the actors who have went uncredited and unlisted for a century, regarding recognition that rightly is deserved to their names. It i read more

Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana, June 22, 1913 The Stolen Idol, which was released in 1913, is of importance to us more than 100 years later, because of the actors who have went uncredited and unlisted for a century, regarding recognition that rightly is deserved to their names. It i read more

I am delighted to announce that for the second year in a row I will be providing coverage of the TCM Classic Film Festival as an official member of the media. Now that I've had a taste of it, nothing could have kept me away from the festival, or prevented me from sharing my experiences, but with cr read more

Hey, something's wrong with this plane! The Horror at 37,000 Feet. What can you say about a movie in which William Shatner gives the most credible performance? That’s the challenge with The Horror at 37,000 Feet, a 1973 made-for-TV film with a better reputation than it deserves. It makes read more