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.
On Blu-ray: Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer in Gaslight (1944) and the 1940 Original That Preceded It
Classic Movies Posted by KC on Sep 19, 2019
The 1944 version of Gaslight is one of the first classic films I saw and I return to it frequently. It is Hollywood filmmaking at its best, where talent, story, and production value are so good that a simple entertainment becomes an artistic triumph. I recently revisited the George Cukor-directed fi read more
On Blu-ray: Constance Bennett and Brian Aherne in Merrily We Live (1938)
Classic Movies Posted by KC on Sep 17, 2019
The lightly silly screwball comedy Merrily We Live (1938) was a pleasant revelation for me. Set in the world of the super wealthy, it centers on a family that lives in chaos, much like the brood in My Man Godfrey (1936). While this Hal Roach production isn’t quite as witty as Godfrey, it’ read more
On Blu-ray: James Cagney and Joan Blondell in Busby Berkeley's Footlight Parade (1933)
Classic Movies Posted by KC on Sep 12, 2019
All film fans have their cinematic version of comfort food and mine is the musicals of choreographer Busby Berkeley. These busy, bubbly productions full of wit, beauty and excitement are pleasant to have on in the background, but deserving of the most devoted attention. I’m especially fond of read more
Book Review--Finding Zsa Zsa: The Gabors Behind the Legend
Classic Movies Posted by KC on Sep 10, 2019
Finding Zsa Zsa: The Gabors Behind the Legend
Sam Staggs
Kensington Books, 2019
It’s fair to say that the Gabor women never bored anyone. For decades, pop culture frothed with the escapades of sisters Zsa Zsa, Eva, and Magda and their mother Jolie. These Hungarian glamour gals escaped the hor read more
On Blu-ray: Sidney Poitier and in A Patch of Blue (1965)
Classic Movies Posted by KC on Sep 4, 2019
Though awarded and appreciated in its time, I’ve never felt that A Patch of Blue (1965) has gotten the attention it deserves. As a showcase for a pair of Sidney Poitier and Shelley Winter’s best performances, a wonderful debut for the delicate Elizabeth Hartman, and a tribute to the pow read more
Pre-code on DVD: Robert Montgomery and Sally Eilers in Made on Broadway (1933)
Classic Movies Posted by KC on Aug 27, 2019
I’m delighted that Warner Archive has kept its promise to continue regularly releasing pre-code titles after the conclusion of its Forbidden Hollywood series. Its recent DVD release of Made on Broadway (1933) is definitely the kind of film that would have fit perfectly into one of those boxed read more
On DVD: Doris Day in The Pajama Game (1957)
Classic Movies Posted by KC on Aug 22, 2019
I’ve always viewed The Pajama Game (1957) as an oddity among musicals. How else can you look at a romance blossoming among workers’ strikes and labor negotiations? Compounding that is a soundtrack which mixes utterly forgettable tunes with some of the greatest classics of the genre and o read more
On Blu-ray: Mark Hamill and Annie Potts in Corvette Summer (1978)
Classic Movies Posted by KC on Aug 15, 2019
A year after Star Wars (1977) brought Mark Hamill lasting fame he starred in the exponentially more modest Corvette Summer (1978). Despite the dramatic difference in setting, he plays a similarly naïve, but principled young man on a quest. It’s as if Luke Skywalker dropped into a high school read more
On Blu-ray: Jack Lemmon and Anne Bancroft in The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975)
Classic Movies Posted by KC on Aug 6, 2019
Jack Lemmon and Anne Bancroft are well matched as a married couple navigating chaotic city life in The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975), Neil Simon’s adaptation of his own stage play. They both play from the soul, with a lack of artifice that enables them to express the complications of human read more
Streaming Diary: Classic Films on Hoopla
Classic Movies Posted by KC on Jul 25, 2019
Whenever I hear people fret about the lack of classic films available to stream, I always wonder if they know what kinds of services their local library has to offer. While not every system has subscriptions to services like Kanopy and Hoopla, many do, from city and county systems to universities. I read more
On DVD: Judith Anderson is Lady Scarface (1941)
Classic Movies Posted by KC on Jul 23, 2019
Lady Scarface (1941) is entertaining, but it doesn’t live up to the promise of its title and star. Now available on DVD from Warner Archive, I went into this crime thriller expecting Judith Anderson to dominate the action as the titular criminal. This was not the case, and it was hard not to p read more
On DVD/Blu-ray: Martin Sheen in The Believers (1987)
Classic Movies Posted by KC on Jul 18, 2019
Based on the novel The Religion by Nicholas Conde, John Schlesinger’s The Believers (1987) is a horror thriller that tackles two favorite 1980s punching bags: Afro-Caribbean religions like voodoo and the wealthy. Martin Sheen stars as a police psychiatrist dealing with the sudden, traumatic pa read more
On Blu-ray: Richard Roundtree in Shaft's Big Score! (1972) and Shaft Goes to Africa (1973)
Classic Movies Posted by KC on Jul 16, 2019
I was thrilled when Warner Archive announced it would be releasing the two sequels to the original Shaft (1971): Shaft’s Big Score (1972) and Shaft Goes to Africa (1973) on Blu-ray. I’d wanted to see these films for years. They ended up being interesting viewing and not what I expected w read more
Streaming Diary: 8 Classic Films to Watch on Kanopy
Classic Movies Posted by KC on Jul 11, 2019
Lately I’ve found the free library service Kanopy to be a satisfying destination for streaming classic films. In addition to offering a significant number of Criterion Collection releases, it offers an intriguing mix of Hollywood and international classics. Here are some of my favorites. All t read more
On DVD/Blu-ray: Annette and Frankie in How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965)
Classic Movies Posted by KC on Jul 9, 2019
In a lot of ways How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965) is a typical beach film. It’s got you-couldn’t-do-that-today lady ogling, horny, but ultimately unsuccessful beach boys, cheerful musical outbursts, and a sprinkling of old Hollywood stars that were presumably meant to draw parents to th read more
On DVD: Wallace Beery and Dean Stockwell in The Mighty McGurk (1947)
Classic Movies Posted by KC on Jul 2, 2019
Wallace Beery picks up where he left off with Jackie Cooper in the 1930s in The Mighty McGurk (1947), a drama of an ex-boxer in the Bowery who finds himself responsible for a British orphan (Dean Stockwell). Now available on DVD from Warner Archive, if you didn’t see the extra mileage on Beery read more
Podcasts for Classic Film Fans: June Round-up
Classic Movies Posted by KC on Jun 27, 2019
June’s Podcast Roundup is another varied mix of familiar and new-to-me podcasts. If you’ve got a podcast to share (including your own), please tell me about it in the comments. I’m always up for fresh voices! All episode titles link to the show:
Ticklish Business
Stagecoach ( read more
Book Review-- Olivia de Havilland: Lady Triumphant
Classic Movies Posted by KC on Jun 25, 2019
Olivia de Havilland: Lady Triumphant
Victoria Amador
University Press of Kentucky, 2019
It is comforting to know, that at this moment 102-year-old Olivia de Havilland is living in luxury in a Parisian hotel. With her bright white hair, pearls, and velvet caftans, she still entertains visitors, and read more
On Blu-ray: Judy Garland and Gene Kelly in Summer Stock (1950)
Classic Movies Posted by KC on Jun 20, 2019
It feels appropriate that Judy Garland’s last MGM musical, the farm-set Summer Stock (1950) was one of those “Let’s put on a show” flicks, even if she was swinging with Gene Kelly instead of Mickey Rooney. Garland comes full circle in a performance made complex by her persona read more
45th Annual Seattle International Film Festival: Mexican Superstars Maria Felix and Pedro Armendariz in Enamorada (1946)
Classic Movies Posted by KC on Jun 13, 2019
Before I put SIFF to rest for another year, I wanted to share one more film I enjoyed at the festival. It is the Mexican drama Enamorada (1946), starring María Félix and Pedro Armendáriz. For years I’ve admired the Mexican superstar Félix’s laser-focused gaze in photos from the forties read more