OK, last year in my "Christmas Movies Are All the Same (And I'm Still Here For It)" post, I said that every Christmas movie ends idyllically. All i's are neatly dotted and all t's neatly crossed, with everyone holding a cup of cider or hot chocolate and smiling prettily while Grandma hands out cookies. Heh, … Continue reading Five Unusual Christmas Movies
Why I’ve Seen “Since You Went Away” Umpteen Times
Since You Went Away is very well-trod territory for me. I've parsed it, studied it, scoured the Web for information about it. I've even counted the number of times the movie mentions war bonds and stamps (five times and twice, respectively, in case anyone is wondering). For those who might not be familiar with the plot, it follows … Continue reading Why I’ve Seen “Since You Went Away” Umpteen Times
Impressing Bette Davis
Miss Moorehead is back... One thing that can be said about Agnes Moorehead, and Bette Davis for that matter, is that in an industry that prizes youth above talent they managed to stay relevant. And they did it without seeming contrived or going under the knife, thank you very much. A flagship example of their … Continue reading Impressing Bette Davis
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
After Citizen Kane
The phrase, "sophomore slump" is common among public figures. When one's debut venture is excellent and celebrated, there's always a danger that anything following it will be a letdown. When one's debut film is Citizen Kane, the stakes are even higher. Orson Welles followed up that infamous firestorm with 1942's The Magnificent Ambersons. Based on the Booth Tarkington novel, … Continue reading After Citizen Kane
Joseph Cotten and the Mercury Players
Mr. Cotten, I presume. Joseph Cotten was an unusual actor. Sure, he was handsome and funny and could play a variety of roles, but he was also a late bloomer. Born in 1905, he didn't make his stage debut until 1930 and his film debut in 1938. The latter is due, of course, to a … Continue reading Joseph Cotten and the Mercury Players
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
Extra Baggage
For the rest of his career, David O. Selznik tried and failed to recapture the tremendous success he enjoyed with Gone With the Wind, but even he took a breather and made smaller movies now and then. Not many, but he made them, and probably the most winsomely strange of the bunch was 1945's I'll Be Seeing … Continue reading Extra Baggage
Taking Up Room 