Here come the B's... Hollywood was desperate to bring people back into the theater starting in the fifties. There was also that pesky problem of once-guaranteed revenue streams disappearing, so belts had to be tightened in so many respects. MGM was no different than any other studio, but given what they had been for audiences … Continue reading It’s Wabbit Season
Six Things You Might Not Know About “Psycho”
What in the world can that be? We all know 1960's Psycho is Alfred Hitchcock's most infamous movie. Even those who haven't seen the film feel like they have because that shower scene has been parodied and referenced ad nauseum over the past sixty years. Here's a famous example (one of several just in Simpsons … Continue reading Six Things You Might Not Know About “Psycho”
Shamedown #9: Touch of Evil
Well, lookee what we have here...another Shamedown. Anyone who's new to the blog and is wondering what the heck this is all about, please visit Cinema Shame. Orson Welles's relationship with Hollywood was always a contentious one, but by the late nineteen-fifties, a few things were changing. A lot of the old guard executives had … Continue reading Shamedown #9: Touch of Evil
Janet and Meg
Time to talk about Ms. Leigh... One of my favorite movies is 1949's Little Women. I can't remember the first time I saw it. Maybe it was elementary school? I don't know. Anyway, it's a sweet version of Louisa May Alcott's story and one I always like to revisit. Our lady of the weekend, Janet Leigh, plays … Continue reading Janet and Meg
Communists Among Us
Hello, Ms. Lansbury... Gen X-ers like me and those who were born later most likely think of Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher on Murder, She Wrote or as Mrs. Potts on Beauty And the Beast. Lansbury is a nice, motherly lady with scads of class and moxie. However, Lansbury does mix things up now and then, and when … Continue reading Communists Among Us
Taking Up Room 