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TCM is serving up a smorgasbord of first-rate pre-Codes and films noirs in July, from tried-and-true favorites to little-known gems. Check out these winners . . . Satiny Pick: If I Had a Million (1932) This is an unusual pre-Code, in more than one way. First off, it’s not your typical uber-scandalou read more

Groucho Marx was onto something when he said time flies like an arrow (and fruit flies like a banana). It’s been almost three months since I returned from the 2023 TCM Film Festival – before I know it, it’ll be time to start gearing up for the 2024 event! Before that happens, let me share read more

There’s good stuff on TCM in June, y’all. Read on . . . Satiny Pick: The House on 56th Street (1933) The TCM pre-Code offerings for the month of June contain several films that I considered for my Satiny pick, including Central Park (1932), Play-Girl (1932), and Christopher Strong (1933) read more

Alfred Hitchcock Presents, a half-hour anthology series created, produced and hosted by – you guessed it – Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS-TV from 1955 to 1960, and on NBC-TV from 1960 to 1962. Presented as a mashup of the mystery, horror, and thriller genres, the episodes varied from the undeniably read more

It was the best of times, it was the best of times. The 2023 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival was a stone gas. (And in case you weren’t around in the 1970s, that’s a good thing!) Not too long ago, I returned home after attending my ninth in-person TCM Film Festival, held in Hollywood each spring, read more

There’s not likely, any time soon, to be a couple of back-to-back months of outstanding films like TCM aired in March and April of this year, but May is no slouch in the good-movie department. Check these out! Satiny Pick: Evelyn Prentice (1934) I’m starting my Satiny pick discussion with a read more

It’s hard to believe that in less than two weeks, I’ll be on my way to Los Angeles for the 2023 TCM Film Festival, with my fest-going partner, my older daughter Veronica, by my side. I remember when the dates for the fest were first announced last October – April seemed to be such a long time read more

Usually, in this space, I offer up two recommendations, for the film noir feature and the pre-Code feature airing on TCM in the coming month that I think you should watch. But TCM has thrown quite a hefty monkey wrench into my plans this time around – in the month of April, the channel is airing all read more

I’ve had an idea for a new blog series for quite some time now, and I thought that today was a perfect day for my first entry. Over the decades, I’ve seen innumerable noirs – some that I frankly don’t even remember, many that I’ve loved, and a few that left me cold despite their acclaim from read more

March is Oscar month – and my film noir and pre-Code recommendations this month both star Edward G. Robinson, who not only never won an Oscar, but was never even nominated! I hope you’ll take the time to celebrate this unforgettable performer by checking out two features that showcase his versatile read more

February is a short month, but there’s no shortage of first-rate pre-Codes and noirs on TCM for you to discover, including the two I’ve selected as my recommendations . . . Satiny Pick: Bed of Roses (1933) This film stars one of my favorite pre-Code stars: Constance Bennett. She’s not usually read more

I didn’t know what to expect from El Vampiro Negro. Because it was a Flicker Alley release, and preserved by the UCLA Film and Television Archive, I figured it would surely be worth my time, but as a firm disliker of horror films (and vampires in particular), I’ll admit that the title threw me off read more

It was once said that Jay C. Flippen had “the face of ill-assembled grandeur – as if Mount Rushmore had been taken apart stone by stone and put back together again by a well-meaning idiot.” This colorful description notwithstanding, the burly character actor was a man of fortitude and determination read more

Happy New Year, film lovers! I hope that your holidays were merry and bright, that you are in full recovery mode from any overindulgences, and that you’re ready to kick back and check out some time-worthy noirs and pre-Code features on TCM! Shadowy Pick: Don’t Bother to Knock (1952) TCM is offering read more

Sometimes it takes me a while to come up with my Shadowy and Satiny picks for the month, either because there aren’t many good films from which to choose, or I’ve already written about them in previous posts, or there are just so many winners, I scarcely can settle on one! But I didn’t have any read more

As Groucho Marx once said, time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana. (He slays me.) It’s hard to believe the month is over already, y’all — it seems like just yesterday I was offering up my noir recommendations for November, and now it’s time to say farewell! It read more

On today, the last Trivia Tuesday of Noirvember 2022, I invite you to join me in a shadowy pool of trivia featuring the gents of noir! In the early 1930s, Dan Duryea was making a living by selling ad space in small newspapers for N.W. Ayer, and commuted daily from his home in White Plains, New York read more

There was nobody in Hollywood like Gloria Grahame. She could be sweetly naïve, sexy and shrewd, broadly humorous, or just plain deadly. And she was equally adept at each. While I’ve enjoyed her performances in films like It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) and Oklahoma! (1955), it’s Grahame’s noirs, read more

It’s the last Sunday of Noirvember 2022, but don’t let that stop you from swimming in a sea of shadowy lines from the noir realm. For our final Sunday of memorable quotes, we’re hearing from the gents. Don’t get in over your head . . . “All right, let’s play Twenty Ques read more

It’s not Barbara Stanwyck’s birthday today. And it’s not the anniversary of her passing. None of her noirs were released on today’s date. Nonetheless, I’m shining the spotlight on this iconic noir veteran today – not on the many noirs in which she appeared (including my favorite, Double read more