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TCM PRE-CODE FRIDAYS: The Women of RED DUST (1932)
Backlots Posted by Lara on Sep 12, 2014
All September long, TCM is shining the spotlight on those films made during the illustrious years of 1929-1934, the saucy and seductive era we call “pre-Code.” In the days prior to codified morality on film, writers and filmmakers were free to tell the stories they thought their audien read more
Upcoming at Backlots
Backlots Posted by Lara on Sep 5, 2014
Hello, dear readers! I have returned from my East Coast trip and boy, is it going to be a busy month here on the site! Here are a few things to expect this September: SILENT AUTUMN On September 20, Backlots will be attending the San Francisco Silent Film Festival’s Silent Autumn event. It pro read more
China’s Upcoming Anna May Wong Biopic–The Controversy
Backlots Posted by Lara on Aug 10, 2014
In late July, Shanghai-based film production company Fundamental Films announced that a biopic of legendary Chinese-American actress Anna May Wong is in the works, slated for release in China within the next few years. This announcement has generated a lot of attention within the film community, w read more
San Francisco Silent Film Festival Announces Silent Autumn
Backlots Posted by Lara on Aug 8, 2014
Oh my heavens, readers. It has been way too long since my last post. I feel like I’m faulting at my post as a blogger–but I’ve been so extremely busy lately that it has been hard to find time to sit down and write a lengthy post. A new announcement, however, brings me back. The S read more
TREASURES FROM THE WARNER ARCHIVE: Going Hollywood (1933)
Backlots Posted by Lara on Jul 13, 2014
Readers, it has been an unusually busy month! I apologize profusely for my lack of posts over the past 2 weeks, but between various film-related projects and trying to work to fund them, I have been lax with my blogging. But I am back, and ready to dive back in with another installment of Treasur read more
Broncho Billy Silent Film Festival Comes to the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum
Backlots Posted by Lara on Jun 23, 2014
Hello, dear readers! I usually make it a point to post at least once a week, but due to an inordinately busy schedule over the past few days, that goal has eluded me. But here I am, ready to post about one of the things that has been occupying my time away from the blog. In the quaint Niles distri read more
TREASURES FROM THE WARNER ARCHIVE: Lady of the Night (1925)
Backlots Posted by Lara on Jun 12, 2014
The next film in Treasures From the Warner Archive is one to which I’ve been looking forward for some time. Perhaps the most highly respected film of Norma Shearer’s silent career and featuring the screen debut of a future Hollywood legend (more on that later!), it is a hallmark of the read more
TREASURES FROM THE WARNER ARCHIVE: The Patsy (1928)
Backlots Posted by Lara on Jun 10, 2014
Hello readers! I am happy to report that following a 2-week delay in delivery, the USPS has finally succeeded in delivering my next two Warner Archive titles, and they are great ones. I will start with one of my favorite silent comedies, a great treat from director King Vidor and one of Marion Dav read more
THE HAPPIEST MARRIAGE IN HOLLYWOOD: The Story of William Haines and Jimmy Shields
Backlots Posted by Lara on Jun 7, 2014
William Haines and Jimmy Shields with Jean Harlow, William Powell, and friends. In 1933, a young and successful actor lost his job in Hollywood. His name had been featured in many wildly popular hits in the 1920s, and his appeal was so great that he had been one of the lucky ones to make the transi read more
Live From the San Francisco Silent Film Festival Day 4: SEVEN YEARS BAD LUCK (1921), DRAGNET GIRL (1933), THE GIRL IN TAILS (1926), THE SIGN OF FOUR (1923), HARBOR DRIFT (1929), THE NAVIGATOR (1924)
Backlots Posted by Lara on Jun 2, 2014
The San Francisco Silent Film Festival came to a close yesterday, and what a day it was. This was perhaps the strongest day of the festival, with some wonderful comedic fare to lighten the rather serious tone of the festival overall this year. First up was Max Linder’s comedy Seven Years Bad read more
Live From the San Francisco Silent Film Festival Day 3: THE GOOD BAD MAN (1916), Serge Bromberg’s Treasure Trove, THE EPIC OF EVEREST (1924), UNDERGROUND (1928), UNDER THE LANTERN (1928), THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF MR. WEST IN THE LAND OF THE BOLSHEVIKS (1924)
Backlots Posted by Lara on Jun 1, 2014
Owing to a long day of movies yesterday plus a 2 AM blog post, followed by a 4 AM wake up call by my yowling cat and my actual alarm at 7, suffice it to say that I went into today’s movies feeling massively sleep-deprived. Fueled only by my enthusiasm (and several cups of coffee from the pre read more
Live From the San Francisco Silent Film Festival Day 2: AMAZING TALES FROM THE ARCHIVES, SONG OF THE FISHERMEN (1934), MIDNIGHT MADNESS (1928), THE PARSON’S WIDOW (1920), RAMONA (1928), COSMIC VOYAGE (1936)
Backlots Posted by Lara on May 31, 2014
Today’s lineup featured an eclectic mix of American and foreign films, 20s films and 30s films, dramas, comedies, and science fiction fantasies. Today’s lineup truly embodies what I mean when I say that the festival takes a holistic approach to silent cinema–at the San Francisco read more
Live From the San Francisco Silent Film Festival Day 1: THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE and Opening Night Party
Backlots Posted by Lara on May 30, 2014
This evening’s kickoff for the 19th annual San Francisco Silent Film Festival was an event of epic proportions. In honor of the anniversary of World War I, the festival opened with the monumental Rex Ingram/Rudolph Valentino collaboration The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921), a movie t read more
The San Francisco Silent Film Festival Starts Tonight!
Backlots Posted by Lara on May 29, 2014
It’s here, readers! Backlots’ annual coverage of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival starts tonight. As usual, I will be enabling live tweets on the blog, and posting every evening about the day’s adventures. For more information about what is going on this weekend, ple read more
The Hollywood Canteen
Backlots Posted by Lara on May 26, 2014
Servicemen gather outside the Hollywood Canteen at 1451 Cahuenga blvd. in Hollywood. Happy Memorial Day, readers! I hope that everyone is having a memorable day today, whether it is to fire up a barbecue with loved ones, to hear memories from a member of your family who has served in the military, read more
CMBA FABULOUS FILMS OF THE 50′s BLOGATHON: Auntie Mame (1958)
Backlots Posted by Lara on May 26, 2014
Hello again readers, it is a rare occasion when I make two posts in a single day, but in addition to being Memorial Day (necessitating my post about the Hollywood Canteen this morning), today is the last day of the CMBA Fabulous Films of the 50s Blogathon and I am signed up to cover one of my favo read more
Backlots at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival
Backlots Posted by Lara on May 22, 2014
Earlier this evening, I received confirmation that Backlots will be at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival as an official member of the press. This will be my third year at the festival, and it stands as one of my favorite festivals to cover. Held at San Francisco’s beautiful Castro Theat read more
JUNE ALLYSON: Not Just the Girl Next Door
Backlots Posted by Lara on May 21, 2014
Upon glancing at TCM’s schedule for this month, I was thrilled to see that the network is paying tribute to the wonderful June Allyson as their featured Star of the Month. In addition to her status as one of the most charming and charismatic stars at MGM, I have a special connection to June read more
TREASURES FROM THE WARNER ARCHIVE: The Woman In Red (1935)
Backlots Posted by Lara on May 19, 2014
As regular readers of this blog know, the level of devotion I possess for Barbara Stanwyck is very high. I consider her to be one of the greatest, most versatile actresses ever on the screen, and will take any and every opportunity to watch one of her movies and, according to a recent calculation read more
TREASURES FROM THE WARNER ARCHIVE: Polly of the Circus (1932)
Backlots Posted by Lara on May 17, 2014
Upon my return from Los Angeles early this morning, I was thrilled to find my Warner Archive titles waiting for me in the mail, thus allowing me to begin my new collaboration with the Warner Archive sooner than I had anticipated. I had initially projected that “Treasures From the Warner Arc read more