Despite his love for it, James Cagney didn't get to sing and dance a whole lot in the movies. Warners wanted him to be a gangster and nothing but with very few exceptions. So of course when Cagney got the chance to be a song-and-dance man, he ran, uh, danced with it. One of those … Continue reading Cagney the Rogue
Stage To Screen: Mister Roberts
They say that truth is stranger than fiction, and some life experiences beg to be made into stories. Mister Roberts is one of those. Originally a novel by Thomas Heggen, it was published in 1946, premiered as a play in 1948, and released as a film in 1955. The story takes place very late in the war. … Continue reading Stage To Screen: Mister Roberts
The Man Who Owns Broadway
Here's the first of three Broadway biopics. My dad is going to be so proud of me for this one. In 2017's National Classic Movie Day post, I mentioned that my family has watched Yankee Doodle Dandy every year on the Fourth of July since the eighties. Well, my dad still does, but the rest of us … Continue reading The Man Who Owns Broadway
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
Reblog: Screen Guild Theatre July 4th Triple Feature
Happy Independence Day to all my American readers! Hope you like Aurora’s new post as much as I did. 🙂
A special post honoring Independence Day with Screen Guild Theater radio adaptations of three patriotic classic movies. Enjoy!
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Starring: James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, Jeanne Cagney, Richard Whorf, S.C. Sokol, Charles Irwin
A Yank in the R.A.F.
Starring: Tyrone Power, Betty Grable, John Sutton, Pat O’Malley
Take a Letter, Darling
Starring: Rosalind Russell, Cary Grant (in the part played by Fred MacMurray in the film version) and Edward Everett Johnson
The Guild, Gulf Oil and CBS bring The Screen Guild Show to the air:
The Gulf Oil Corporation sponsored the first four seasons of The Screen Guild Show – from 1939 to the Summer of 1942. The program was called The Gulf Screen Guild Show for its first season, and The Gulf Screen Guild Theatre for Seasons Two through Four. The reasoning for the name change was simply a natural progression in the type of productions…
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On One Hand: My Five Favorite Classic Stars
It's National Classic Movie Day again, and Rick has another question for us bloggers: Which five stars are your favorite? Eeeep. That's even tougher than last year's challenge. Anyone who's an old film lover knows there's so much to like about the Golden Age. Me, I always enjoy watching the repartee between Katharine Hepburn and … Continue reading On One Hand: My Five Favorite Classic Stars
Taking Up Room 