John Garfield was a method actor before method acting was cool in Hollywood, and like James Cagney he was often pigeonholed as a tough guy and rogueish anti-hero, only in Garfield's case his persona had more of a jailbird or prisoner-of-war slant. The 1943 film, The Fallen Sparrow neatly falls into that trope with a … Continue reading What We Carry With Us
The Play’s the Thing
Mr. Holden's back... By 1943 William Holden had been in films for five years, and his roles were steadily growing in size and importance. It's ironic that one of his movies from that year was Young And Willing, about green-as-grass hopefuls trying to break into show business. The movie feels like something we've seen before, only … Continue reading The Play’s the Thing
Crooked But Never Common
Good to see you, Miss Barbara... I have kind of a love-argh thing with Preston Sturges. I know he's revered among film buffs, but sometimes he bugs me. Not always, though. Sullivan's Travels excellently captures a time when men rode the rails to wherever the jobs were. Hail the Conquering Hero is a rollicking tale of … Continue reading Crooked But Never Common
Taking Up Room 