Welcome to BlogHub: the Best in Veteran and Emerging Classic Movie Blogs
You can rate and share your favorite classic movie posts here.
You can rate and share your favorite classic movie posts here.
Textbook Survival: Robinson Crusoe on Mars
Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Jul 2, 2014
I could have sworn that Robinson Crusoe on Mars was produced by George Pal. However, as a recent viewing confirmed, Pal played no role in the making of this 1964 cult classic. If it seems like a Pal picture, that's because it was directed by Byron Haskin. A former special effects wizard, Haskin read more
Seven Things to Know About Glynis Johns
Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Jun 29, 2014
1. Stephen Sondheim wrote "Send in the Clowns" specifically for Glynis Johns, whose husky voice worked best with short phrasing. She sang it in the original 1973 stage production of A Little Night Music and won a Tony for Best Leading Actress in a Musical.
2. Glynis Johns received an Osc read more
Powell and Pressberger's One of Our Aircraft Is Missing
Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Jun 26, 2014
I suspect that The Red Shoes, A Matter of Life and Death, and Black Narcissus are the films that spring to mind when most movie buffs think of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressberger. However, the filmmaking duo explored the theme of war more than any other. It's present--either directly or indirectly read more
The Wonderfulness of "I Spy" Arrives on DVD
Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Jun 23, 2014
The cultural significance of I Spy--which Timeless Media will release as a boxed set on June 24th--has been covered in numerous books and essays. It was, after all, the first U.S. television series to feature an African American actor in a lead role. In 1965, that was a landmark achievement--and a b read more
The Movie-TV Connection Game (June 2014 Edition)
Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Jun 19, 2014
These two have a connection?
This is the second edition of our latest game. In the questions below, you'll be given be a pair of films, TV series, performers, or any combination thereof. Your task is to find the common connection between the pair. It could be anything--two stars who acted in the sa read more
The Poseidon Adventure: Trust in Hackman
Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Jun 16, 2014
The first--and best--of the 1970s "disaster movies," The Poseidon Adventure has aged well over the years. I sometimes think it gets lumped in with its disaster brethren--The Towering Inferno, Earthquake, etc.--which is a shame, because Poseidon is a superior film that established the formu read more
The Five Best Classic Movie Robots
Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Jun 12, 2014
They come in all sizes, from imposing, lumbering giants to pint-sized wheeled models. Sometimes, they can speak a variety of languages fluently, but other times they can only make beeping sounds or no noise at all. They're adept at fixing things and destroying things. Once in awhile, one goes bad--b read more
What do James Stewart, Billy Wilder, and Connie Francis Have in Common?
Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Jun 9, 2014
The answer is the melodic strains of the of the song "Senza Fine."
Italian composer Gino Paoli wrote "Senza Fine" in 1961. Although a popular success, it was not his biggest hit in his native country. That would be "Sapore Di Sale" or "Il Cielo in una Stanza." While those songs still have their ard read more
Peter Falk's First Case as Columbo
Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Jun 4, 2014
Falk's first close-up as Columbo.
Upon suspecting that her psychiatrist husband left their anniversary party for a rendezvous with his mistress, Joan Flemming threatens to ruin him professionally and financially. Dr. Ray Flemming (Gene Barry) comes up with a convincing lie--he was planning a surpri read more
Boris Karloff Hosts a Thriller
Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Jun 2, 2014
In his 1981 history of horror fiction Danse Macabre, Stephen King dubs Thriller "probably the best horror series ever put on TV." It's still hard to argue with King's assessment. While this 1960-62 anthology series was inconsistent, it boasted some of the most chilling content ever broadcast on read more
There's a Crack...in the World!
Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on May 29, 2014
"Slow in takeoff and inclined to over-clinical scientific exposition, (the) action gradually hits its stride when the experiment backfires and results in giant earthquakes, tidal waves and general destruction of the world."
That was Variety's assessment of Crack in the World when it was releas read more
Letters in Classic Movies
Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on May 26, 2014
Joseph Cotten and Jennifer Jones
in Love Letters.
Letters have brought lovers together, torn marriages apart, incriminated the innocent, blackmailed the guilty, and caused endless misunderstandings.
Frequently in films, the identity of a letter’s author is an intentional deception. A li read more
My Cousin Rachel: Is Olivia de Havilland a Murderer?
Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on May 22, 2014
Can you name two real-life sisters who each starred in a Hollywood adaptation of a Daphne Du Maurier novel? The answer, as you may have known, is Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland. Joan naturally starred in Rebecca, Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 Oscar-winner. Olivia portrayed the title role in 1 read more
Seven Things to Know About "The Adventures of Robin Hood"
Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on May 19, 2014
1. It's been well-documented that Warner Bros. seriously considered James Cagney for the title role after his success in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935). However, did you know that Warner Bros. originally wanted Guy Kibbee for Friar Tuck and David Niven for Will Scarlet? Although Olivia de Havillan read more
Announcing a Classic TV Blogathon!
Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on May 18, 2014
The Classic TV Blog Association will host The Summer of MeTV Classic TV Blogathon on June 2-5. The blogathon will consist of blog posts about TV series on MeTV's summer schedule (which starts May 26th). A blogathon post may be: an overview of a TV series; a profile of one of the seri read more
Seven Things to Know about Robert Vaughn
Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on May 14, 2014
1. Robert Vaughn earned a Ph.D. in Communications from the University of Southern California in 1972. His dissertation was published as the 355-page book Only Victims: A Study of Show Business Blacklisting.
2. He received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for The Young Phil read more
The Movie-TV Connection Quiz
Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on May 12, 2014
In the questions below, you'll be given be a pair of films, TV series, performers, or any combination thereof. Your task is to find the common connection between the pair. It could be anything--two stars who acted in the same movie, two movies that share a common theme, a film that inspired a TV ser read more
Jane Wyman Romances Charlton Heston and Natalie Wood Befriends a Miracle Dog
Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on May 8, 2014
Compared to Jane Wyman's other "women's pictures" of the 1950s, Lucy Gallant is neither as good as All That Heaven Allows nor as bad as Magnificent Obsession. It also wasn't made by Douglas Sirk, though director Robert Parrish clearly intended to imitate Sirk's glossy melodramas.
W read more
The Five Best American TV Daytime Dramas
Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on May 5, 2014
Enduring popularity and cultural impact were the major criteria used to select our picks for the five best daytime soaps broadcast on U.S. television. Some choices were easy, while others sparked a difference of opinion among the Cafe staff. Our "Five Best" posts are always a challenge, but also fun read more
Samuel Fuller's The Naked Kiss
Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on May 1, 2014
After pummeling her pimp with a shoe and spraying him with seltzer water, a bald prostitute takes the $75 he owes her.
Two years later, Kelly (Constance Towers) gets off the bus in Grantville, an idyllic community. She meets Griff (Anthony Eisley), the local police captain, and after some blatant f read more