One of the most highly successful series of the mid-thirties and early forties was Dr. Kildare, which paired a young Lew Ayres with an older Lionel Barrymore. The clash of generations and an older doctor mentoring a younger one never failed to land. The third movie in the series was 1939's The Secret of Dr. Kildare, … Continue reading It’s All In Your Head
Dial “O” For O’Malley
Welcome back, Miss Ingrid... I don't know about anyone else, but my parents and I watched a lot of movies when I was growing up, and they were the ones to introduce me to classic Hollywood. They were both born in the early forties and remembered a lot of these movies from their childhood and … Continue reading Dial “O” For O’Malley
Dancing With Walter and Jack
Off we go... Real-life best friends Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon co-starred in nine movies, which is, funnily enough, one more than Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn and two more than Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. Anyway, Lemmon and Matthau's next-to-last movie together was 1997's Out To Sea, a fun if uneven comedy that has its heart … Continue reading Dancing With Walter and Jack
The Student Surpasses the Master
Saddle up, y'all... When a genre is soaked with titles, it can take a lot for a movie to stand out. Westerns are probably the most saturated in this regard, because they were often cheap to make, didn't need a lot of sets, and there was always a ready crowd of real cowboys waiting outside … Continue reading The Student Surpasses the Master
Duck and Cover
Timing is a funny, funny thing. 1962's Panic In Year Zero came out right before the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cold War was in full swing, obviously, although the average person was no longer scrambling to build a home fallout shelter. Still, the threat of nuclear war was definitely there, and naturally American International Pictures saw the … Continue reading Duck and Cover
During World War Two: Postwar Movie Recs
Almost immediately after the ending of the war, and for that matter, even before that, Hollywood tried to make sense of it and offer commentary on all that happened. Of course, countless movies have been made about the war, too many for any one listing, and some are done better than others. This list, however, … Continue reading During World War Two: Postwar Movie Recs
Hanging Out In Julia Child’s Kitchen
"Julia Child's kitchen" is a truly magical phrase, right up there with "Aladdin's cave" or "the lost city of Atlantis." Or maybe even "Powell's City of Books," but I digress. Anyway, America has plenty of iconic chefs, and after Hannah Glass, Amelia Simmons, and Fannie Farmer, Julia Child is a towering presence in more ways … Continue reading Hanging Out In Julia Child’s Kitchen
Cooking With the French Chef: Improvisation
Welcome back to Cooking With the French Chef, in which I review episodes of Julia Child’s original show, cook out of the new edition of the French Chef Cookbook and share the results with you. Past posts can be found here. Sooner or later, as we all know, something won't go according to plan, and obviously the kitchen … Continue reading Cooking With the French Chef: Improvisation
Oh Yeah, It’s Blockbuster Season
School is back in and I go back to work today. In fact, by the time this post goes live, I will be at home eating breakfast after my first shift of the day, extremely glad to be out of the August heat. Speaking of heat, July is supposed to be the height of blockbuster season, … Continue reading Oh Yeah, It’s Blockbuster Season
Taking Up Room 