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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 (1947), I remembered that its leading man, Rex Harrison, also read more

They were cute little honey bees – just one or two fluttering around the walkway by my back stairs. Not an unexpected sight on a warm summer day and, knowing the importance of the pollinators, I left them alone. I should have looked closer. A few weeks later there was a swarm – OK, maybe read more

Ann Rutherford Ann Rutherford Therese Ann Rutherford was born on November 2, 1917, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Her parents were John and Lucille Rutherford. Her mother was a silent film actress, while her father was an operatic tenor. When Rutherford was an infant, her family reloc read more

Westerns for Young Viewers Recently a longtime Twitter pal sought recommendations for traditional Westerns for her 11-year-old daughter to try. An enjoyable discussion with several people ensued, and I got to thinking that if I fleshed out my thoughts it would make a nice Western RoundUp topic read more

Noir Nook: International Femmes Film noir movies may be, generally speaking, set in urban American cities, but many of its inhabitants hail from the other side of the world. This month’s Noir Nook takes a look at the lives and careers of three noir dames who bring a bit of international flair to read more

Hollywood’s crowning achievement is its greatest enigma Here’s some exciting news for The Wizard of Oz fans (and who isn’t :)) Coming Soon! Mysteries of Oz: 85 Questions Answered is a new documentary from AMS Pictures that explores the magic, music, and myths surrounding the read more

Slapstick By The Sea: 8 Edwardian Comedy Shorts The women may not have worn bikinis and the men might not have gone around shirtless, but Edwardians enjoyed a sunny day at the beach just as much as we do today. By the 1910s the best beaches abounded with beautiful resorts, and seaside amusement read more

Living up to your family legacy can be tough. You can spend your life trying to meet the high expectations of your parents or following in the family business that is often at the expense of your own dreams. As tough as that is for humans, think about the difficulties for monster kids like Dr read more

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 Williams and directed by John M. Stahl. Gene Tierney, always exquisite and usua read more

Wini Shaw Wini Shaw Wini Shaw was born Winifred Lei Momi on February 25, 1907, in San Francisco, California, to James Edmonds Shaw and Esther Pua Kinamu Stephenson. She was of Hawaiian and Irish descent, and the youngest of thirteen children. Shaw began her time in the entertainment industr read more

More Western Filmmakers Final Resting Places This month we return to the topic of the final resting places of Western filmmakers, visiting the gravesites of several actors and actresses across the Greater Los Angeles area. Actor Kirk Douglas lived to the venerable age of 103, when he was burie read more

Charley Bowers, The Quirky Genius Of Stop-Motion Animation You’ve heard of Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd. You’ve even heard of Harry Langdon. Roscoe Arbuckle and Mabel Normand? Of course you’re familiar with them! Heck, you’re no stranger to Charley Chase or Marie Dressler–or even Monty read more

Supportive Fellas of Film Noir: Part II More than a year ago, I started a series, “Supportive Fellas of Film Noir,” which focused on  . . . well . . . the supporting male characters in film noir features. It’s been a while since I promised to shine the spotlight on these gents, so I figured read more

A glass of milk – so calming, so pure. Mothers give it to their children. Kids leave glasses for Santa. A husband hands one to his wife to help her relax. Wait. Take go back to that husband. If you’ve seen the Alfred Hitchcock thriller Suspicion, you’re probably feeling a bit uneasy. read more

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 for comedy as showcased by his series of films in the 1950s with Ealing read more

Mabel Todd Mabel Todd Mabel Todd was born on August 13, 1907, in Los Angeles, California, to Richard and Helen Todd, and grew up in Glendale, California. Her father worked as a salesman. At an early age, Mabel and her sister, Marcia, performed as a singing duo in vaudeville. Mabel later san read more

TCM Classic Film Festival 15 Over the years the TCM Classic Film Festival has typically included a couple of Westerns on the schedule, such as Winchester ’73 (1950), which I wrote about here back in 2019, or last year’s opening night premiere of the restored Rio Br read more

A Closer Look At: Sherlock Jr. (1924) Buster Keaton, Sherlock Jr 2024 marks the 100th anniversary of one of Buster Keaton’s most beloved films: his third feature, Sherlock Jr. (1924). Still every bit as funny and fresh as it was in the early 20th century, its sophisticated special effects have read more

Marjorie White Marjorie White Marjorie Ann Guthrie was born on July 22, 1904, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, to Robert and Nettie Guthrie. Her father worked as a grain merchant. Guthrie entered into the entertainment industry as a child performer, working as one of the dancing and singing read more

Unmistakable Noir One of the most interesting – and challenging – aspects of classic film noir is the fact that it’s not a hard and fast, clear-cut genre. There are countless films that are staunchly considered by some to fall in the category of noir, and just as vehemently believed by others read more