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There aren’t too many things in life that are as satisfying as having a good cry while watching a movie. In fact, when a movie makes me cry, it’s elevated into an entire different category in my mind and heart. In celebration of these heart-tugging, soul-wrenching features, today’s List o’ the read more

It was the best of times, y’all. Again. On April 4-9, 2017, I attended my fifth Turner Classic Movies Film Festival. Held in the heart of Hollywood, California, this four-day event features wall-to-wall movies, celebrity sightings, fascinating presentations and interviews, and friends, food and fun! read more

When I think of my favorite pre-Code actresses, I must admit that Tallulah Bankhead is not one of the first names that springs to mind. In fact, I usually don’t think of her at all – and that’s a real shame. She only appeared in 24 films during her career, and her acting had a tendency to be a read more

Our first glimpse of Miss Sadie Thompson. TCM is not exactly overflowing with pre-Code options during the month of March, which initially made for a bit of a challenge for me to make my Pre-Code Crazy selection. But when I saw Rain (1932) listed in my TCM Now Playing Guide, I knew my decision-making read more

Here we go again, y’all!! Join us! Speakeasy Time once again to face the evil with the annual Big Bad Blogathon celebrating cinema’s worst villains. View original post 190 more words ~ by shadowsandsatin on February 24, 2017. Posted in Uncategorized Stuff read more

Two of our flawed gents in a fight to the finish! (And I do mean finish!) In my ongoing look at the less-than-stellar fellas who populate the world of pre-Code, I’m shining the spotlight today on Warner’s 1931 film Night Nurse. This film stars the always-fabulous Barbara Stanwyck as the title caregi read more

Okay, y’all. By now, you probably know that I’m not the world’s biggest fan of musicals. But there are some musicals that I simply adore, and I have to admit that 42nd Street is one of them. In fact, until I popped in my DVD to watch the film for this post, I’d actually forgotten just how much read more

Now that we’re into a new year and the countdown to the upcoming TCM Film Festival is in full force, it’s time time for another installment of my year-long look at the 2016 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival! And this month, you get two for the price of one! Hollywood Home Movies For the seco read more

From their expressions, I suspect that Jerry and Joan know what’s ahead. The films released during Hollywood’s pre-Code era undeniably have their fair share of admirable, upstanding fellas. There’s Warren William’s long-suffering hubby in Three on a Match (1932). Leslie Howard as the sensitive read more

Ruth Chatterton doesn’t get nearly as much attention as she should. And that’s a real shame. Perhaps best known for co-starring opposite Walter Huston in Dodsworth (1936), Chatterton was a pre-Code icon, appearing in no fewer than 20 features from the era, including some of my favorites – Frisco read more

She stood six-foot-two and weighed in at 230 pounds. She was a performer for more than 30 years, gaining prominence in film, on stage, in radio and television, and entertaining audiences with her “hot” piano playing in supper clubs nationwide. And she possessed a uniquely versatile talent that allow read more

She stood six-foot-two and weighed in at 230 pounds. She was a performer for more than 30 years, gaining prominence in film, on stage, in radio and television, and entertaining audiences with her “hot” piano playing in supper clubs nationwide. And she possessed a uniquely versatile talent that allow read more

December 9, 2016:  the day that we all say HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY to that master of fiery intensity, that possessor of mega-talent, the one who wears that cleft chin so well: Kirk Douglas! Join us in celebrating the centennial of this legendary, first-rate actor by diving into some great posts all abo read more

This month’s TCM pre-Code offerings left me in a fair tizzy when it came to settling on my pick. There’re two first-rate Irene Dunne vehicles — The Secret of Madame Blanche (1933) and No Other Woman (1933). Manhattan Melodrama (1934), the Clark Gable starrer that was the last film seen by read more

Kathie Moffatt was so bad, she was good. On today, the last day of Noirvember 2016, I am pleased to shine a shadowy spotlight (is that even possible?) on my Top 10 Favorite Femmes. In the coming weeks and months, I’ll talk more about each of them, and why I love them so. Sherry Peatty (Marie Windsor read more

Nearly Miss Venice. I simply can’t get enough of movie trivia. I hope you can’t, either . . . At the age of 17, Yvonne DeCarlo was chosen as first runner-up in the Miss Venice bathing beauty contest, and a short time later, she was hired for the chorus line at the Florentine Gardens in H read more

I hate to love Bruno, but I do! Strangers on a Train (1951), masterfully directed by Alfred Hitchcock, tells the story of two men who meet by happenstance on a train, and wind up wholly intertwined in each other’s lives. Especially after one of them murders the wife of the other. The film contains read more

Tune in to TCM on November 27th for The Big Sleep (1946), starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, directed by Howard Hawks, and containing what wins the prize for one of noirs most convoluted plots. Click below for one of my many favorite scenes from the film, featuring Bogart and Sonia Darrin. read more

Now that the last bite of macaroni and cheese has been devoured and every morsel of leftover bird has been recycled into turkey sandwiches, turkey hash or turkey pot pie, it’s time for another installment of the 2016 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival: Even More Adventures in Paradise! Today’s read more

Happy birthday, John Stevens. Born John Daugherty Stephens on today’s date in 1919, Steve Brodie took his screen name from the real-life New York saloon keeper who claimed to have survived an 1886 leap into the East River from the Brooklyn Bridge. The name change helped to jumpstart his fledgl read more