August is over and September is upon us. Zoikes. It's hard to believe this is our eighth Shamedown of this year, isn't it? As usual, if anyone's fuzzy on what a Shamedown is they can find Cinema Shame's 2023 Call to Shame here. Past Shamedowns can be found here. In 1937 Cary Grant's star was on a … Continue reading Shamedown #8: The Amazing Adventure
Gowns By Adrian
Hollywood's Golden Era had no shortage of distinctive and wonderful costumers, such as Edith Head, Irene Sharaff, Kalloch, and Walter Plunkett, but for sheer prestige, we have to look to Gilbert Adrian, whose story is told in Rizzoli New York's Adrian: A Lifetime of Movie Glamour, Art, and High Fashion. The book covers the three … Continue reading Gowns By Adrian
Faithful Emilie
Welcome back, Ms. Bergman... After Intermezzo, Bergman made her final Swedish film, June Night before making today's film, Adam Had Four Sons, a slow-burn 1941 piece with some surprises and more than a few fireworks, plus we see Fay Wray not screaming her head off. The film starts in 1907, and the Stoddard family of Canada are waiting for their … Continue reading Faithful Emilie
The Worst Oz Movie Ever Made (So Far)
It's pretty hard to touch the peerless 1939 classic, The Wizard of Oz, but that hasn't stopped folks from trying. Well, kind of, anyway. The 1939 film is firmly off-limits, of course, and Warner Bros. is always the first to say so, plus Disney owned the film rights to the other thirteen original Oz books starting in 1955, … Continue reading The Worst Oz Movie Ever Made (So Far)
One Month Until the Everything Is Copy Blogathon
How's everyone's August going? We've got one month until we talk about the Ephron family, y'all. Who here is excited? I know I sure am, and I really appreciate everyone who's signed up--you all are awesome! If any of you equally awesome people would like to join us, there's plenty of room and plenty of … Continue reading One Month Until the Everything Is Copy Blogathon
Announcing the Two Jacks Blogathon
On November 22, 1963, Clive Staples Lewis and John Fitzgerald Kennedy died within an hour of each other, with Kennedy's death vastly overshadowing Lewis's for obvious reasons. These two men, in some respects, couldn't have been more different, although they had quite a bit in common. Lewis was born in Ireland and Kennedy's family came … Continue reading Announcing the Two Jacks Blogathon
During World War Two: The Good Neighbor Policy
One major aspect of the Second World War is the concept of the Good Neighbor, as Europe and Asia were closed off in more ways than one. Hollywood took advantage of this dynamic, of course, since all things south-of-the-border and tropical were huge trends with audiences, which brought on a shift in how Latin America … Continue reading During World War Two: The Good Neighbor Policy
Dudley Do-Right Does A Movie
Say hello to our little friend. Yep, my Pick My Movie Tag is very much alive and flourishing, and back in May Sally from 18 Cinema Lane tapped me in to review a movie from the 90s that I dislike. Heh. Challenge accepted. Oh boy. Prepare thyselves for 1999's Dudley Do-Right. I was always ambivalent about … Continue reading Dudley Do-Right Does A Movie
Meanwhile, Over On Substack…
Hi, all! I've been thinking about something: There's been a lot of stuff happening on my Substack page lately, and I thought it might be fun to do a little recap on the first Thursday of each month of either the five best movies and shows I've seen, or the five worst, depending on what's … Continue reading Meanwhile, Over On Substack…
Page To Screen: October Sky
During my last semester of college in the fall of 2000, I had the pleasure of meeting Homer Hickam, NASA engineer and author of a number of books, most famously a highly successful 1998 memoir, Rocket Boys. This volume would be turned into a feature film, October Sky, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Laura Dern, and … Continue reading Page To Screen: October Sky
Taking Up Room 