Fred Astaire seemed like he had the corner on the whole top-hat-and-tails thing, but he had an equally strong counterpart in Eleanor Powell, who also rocked that particular form of evening attire. Only hers were often trimmed with sequins. Powell's dancing was gutsy, athletic, and precise. One of the roles she tapped her way through … Continue reading Tap, Tap, Tap
Unintended Consequences
And now we present Mr. William Holden... William Holden worked with Billy Wilder five times, whether Wilder was directing or writing, and one of the most classic is the 1954 film, Sabrina. Costarring Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, the film is a sweet, graceful story with a healthy amount of Wilder's trademark bite. The Larrabees live on … Continue reading Unintended Consequences
Charlie Goes To Niles
Time for a walk down Memory Lane... Before I moved to Placer County, one of the places I lived in was the city of Fremont, California. It's a patchwork of five little towns that were incorporated into one big town in 1956, and each of those towns-turned-districts has its own distinct flavor. While they're all … Continue reading Charlie Goes To Niles
Who Really Shot Liberty Valance?
Looks like it's high noon... My dad used to rent a lot of westerns when I was growing up, and I remember I felt pretty blah about them after a while. Westerns can be like sci-fi in that they have their own archetype. There are gallops on horseback, shootouts (at high noon or otherwise), peppery women, saloons … Continue reading Who Really Shot Liberty Valance?
The Successful Failure
Greetings, Earthlings... Forty-eight years ago as of April eleventh, Apollo 13 blasted off for the moon's Fra Mauro highlands. The public was ho-hum about it, until things started going wrong. Captain Jim Lovell, Apollo 13's commander, wrote a book about his experiences, formerly titled Lost Moon, and Ron Howard used that as his source material for … Continue reading The Successful Failure
Shamedown #3: Voyage To the Bottom Of the Sea
Time for another Shamedown. I kept getting that one Little Mermaid song, "Under the Sea" in my head when I was writing this. Can't imagine why. Anyway, for those who want to know what in the world a Shamedown is, please visit the Cinema Shame crew. When Irwin Allen's 1961 film, Voyage To the Bottom of the Sea was released, the … Continue reading Shamedown #3: Voyage To the Bottom Of the Sea
Carrying the Banner
In the nineteen-eighties and nineties, there were very few musicals being produced, at least not live action ones. Some people said that it was because Hollywood had forgotten how to make that type of film. There were movies that featured dancing, or maybe a song or two, but as far as films with plot-driven soundtracks, … Continue reading Carrying the Banner
Amarillo Or Bust
Miss Bette's back, y'all... We all know how studios liked certain stars in certain roles. It streamlined the whole casting process to know who could play gangsters, or high society types, or ingenues. Every once in a while, though, studios did color outside the lines, and one example of that is 1941's The Bride Came C.O.D. A … Continue reading Amarillo Or Bust
Page To Screen: Since You Went Away
There were a lot of films made about the American home front during the Second World War, but few are as sprawling or epic as David O. Selznik's 1944 movie, Since You Went Away. The story of a Midwestern family, the Hiltons, the film is based on a book of the same name by journalist Margaret Buell … Continue reading Page To Screen: Since You Went Away
Taking Up Room 