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The Liebster Blog Award!
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Feb 5, 2012
My motto (sometimes) is “better late than really, really late.” With that in mind, I am pleased as punch to announce that a few months back (October, to be exact), Shadows and Satin was gifted with a Liebster Blog award from Jill at Sittin’ on a Backyard Fence. Thank you, Jill, for read more
TCM Picks for February: Film Noir
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Feb 4, 2012
I have a great fondness for a number of Alfred Hitchcock features – Rebecca, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Suspicion, Shadow of a Doubt, Notorious, Dial M for Murder. But Strangers on a Train (Warner Bros., 1951) is right up there at the top. So it was a no-brainer to select it as my must-see noir airing on read more
TCM Picks for February: Pre-Code
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Feb 2, 2012
I’m pleased to launch a regular feature here at Shadows and Satin – TCM Picks – in which I recommend my top pre-Code and film noir selections airing in the coming month on Turner Classic Movies. For my inaugural edition of TCM Picks, I offer, for your consideration, The Guardsman (1931), on read more
LAMB Acting School 101: Pre-Code Joan in Our Blushing Brides
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Jan 29, 2012
Dorothy Sebastian, Joan Crawford, and Anita Page. I love Joan Crawford’s pre-Code work. She was in so many memorable features from this era – Possessed, Grand Hotel, Letty Lynton, Sadie McKee. But I think my favorite is Our Blushing Brides. It’s got so much going for it. Entertaining performances read more
A Great Lady: Remembering Patricia Neal
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Jan 19, 2012
Patricia Neal was talented, striking, ambitious, versatile, alluring. But, perhaps, above all, Patricia Neal was endurance personified. The willowy, husky-voiced actress was an Oscar, Tony, and Golden Globe winner, and appeared in such noteworthy films as A Face in the Crowd, The Day the Earth Stood read more
The Origins of Double Indemnity: A Wild Surge of Guilty Passion
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Jan 11, 2012
If you don’t know about the real-life 1927 case that inspired James M. Cain to write Double Indemnity (and The Postman Always Rings Twice, for that matter), pick up A Wild Surge of Guilty Passion by Ron Hansen (Simon and Schuster, 2011). In fact, whether you know everything or nothing about the read more
John Ireland: Outside of the Norm
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Jan 6, 2012
John Ireland was not your standard movie actor – his background, his looks, his Hollywood career, and his life behind the screen all represented an individual who was outside the realm of the norm. During Ireland’s Hollywood heyday, he was seen in such classic fare as My Darling Clementine (1946) read more
Decisions, Decisions: She Had to Say Yes (1933)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Jan 2, 2012
In light of Loretta Young’s wholesome screen image in the 1940s and 1950s, it has been a real kick for me to discover her pre-Code films. I’ve already discussed two of them at Shadows and Satin – Born to Be Bad and Employees Entrance – and I’m also fond of several others, including Midnight read more
Quotes in Pre-Code: She Had to Say Yes (1933)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Jan 1, 2012
“Uh uh — can look, but mustn’t touch. Say, listen — just because you’re a customer, I don’t have to let you move in, body and soul, do I? Now you be a good little boy, and take your little kiddie car, and go on home before your wifey finds out, see?” Winnie read more
Lucky Star: John Hodiak
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Dec 14, 2011
According to John Hodiak, his film career was sheer luck. “I’ve always been a firm believer in the Fates,” he once said. But luck was not on his side when Hodiak, hailed near the start of his career as “another Gable,” went from leading man to supporting player in a matter of years and, later, read more
A Thoughtful and Deliberate Actor: Lloyd Nolan
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Dec 6, 2011
With appearances in nearly 100 films, most of which are scarcely remembered today, Lloyd Nolan was known as the actor who gave “A” performances in “B” films. However, the respected character actor was not only seen in such notable features as Guadalcanal Diary (1943), A Tree Grows in Brooklyn read more
It’s Not a Threat — It’s a Promise: My Favorite Noir Quotes, Part 2
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Nov 24, 2011
You gotta love the language of film noir. Hard-boiled, cynical, straight to the point and unmistakable — this era of filmmaking offers some of the best quotes in all cinema. Here, I offer for your consideration, Part 2 of my favorite noir quotes — and these ain’t no idle threats . . read more
Jane Russell: On the Dark Side
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Nov 24, 2011
When I think of film noir fatales, Jane Russell is not necessarily the first name that springs to mind. Known mainly for her singing and comedic talents, as well as her voluptuous figure and coal black mane, Russell nonetheless made her mark in the realm of film noir, appearing in three features in read more
True Classics Presents: The Great Citizen Kane Debate
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Nov 13, 2011
When I read about the great Citizen Kane debate that was raging through cyberspace (and hosted by True Classics), I had a hankering to lend my voice. But as you know, Shadows and Satin is devoted to my two cinematic passions – film noir and pre-Code. Citizen Kane, released in 1941, most certainly read more
The Top 10 in Film Noir — Part 2: The Lesser-Known Gems
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Nov 11, 2011
At long last, in response to a request from a Shadows and Satin subscriber (Hello, Jörn!), I’ve finally managed to compile another list of Top 10 films noirs – not the better-known features like the ones I covered here, but the lesser-known gems. These are the movies that are not often mentioned read more
Happy birthday, Claude Rains!
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Nov 9, 2011
In "Mr. Skeffington." Talented, suave, and distinguished, the great Claude Rains was born 122 years ago, on November 10, 1889. He was seen in a wide variety of classic films, from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Now Voyager, to The Sea Hawk and Lawrence of Arabia. Rains also starred in read more
Happy Noir Day — November 1st on TCM!
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Oct 29, 2011
I started this post with grand plans to outline some of the films noirs and pre-Code features coming in November on Turner Classic Movies, but after I opened my trusty Now Playing movie guide and prepared my yellow highlighter for business, I stopped short. For there, listed on the very first day of read more
Scandalous Scenes in Pre-Code: Beauty and the Boss (1932)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Oct 26, 2011
Every now and then I come across a scene in a pre-Code film that literally leaves me with my mouth open. Beauty and the Boss (1932), starring Warren William, David Manners, Mary Doran, and the lovely Marian Marsh, contains such a scene. I haven’t yet seen the entire movie, but from what I’ve been read more
Happy 94th Birthday, Joan Fontaine!
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Oct 22, 2011
Joan Fontaine: Happy birthday! One of our last living cinema legends from Hollywood’s Golden Age, Joan Fontaine, celebrates her 94th birthday on October 22, 2011! Born Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland in Tokyo, Japan, Fontaine is the baby sister of actress Olivia de Havilland, and enjoyed a screen care read more
From Heroes to Heels: My Favorite Noir Quotes, Part 1
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Oct 16, 2011
Film noir, arguably, offers some of the best quotes in all cinema. Along with noir’s distinctive characters, shadowy presentations, labyrinthine plot tangles, and cynical, hopeless tone, it is the hard-boiled dialogue that makes it such a fascinating era of filmmaking. Here’s Part 1 of m read more