Apr 29, 2020

Podcasts for Classic Film Fans: April Roundup


Since I've been at home for over a month, I've had a lot more time to listen to podcasts. As a result, I have more episodes than usual to share this month. I've already seen some eyerolling on social media over the prospect of there being even more podcasts sprouting due to social distancing, but I say bring them on! If you have started a show recently, please feel free to share in the comments. I applaud anyone who can create in these strange times. Here's what grabbed my interest this month, episode titles link to the show:



TCM: The Plot Thickens
Peter Bogdanovich
April 28, 2020


During the TCM Home Edition of TCM Classic Film Festival, the network relentlessly plugged its new podcast, the first season of which features the best moments of fifteen hours of interviews host Ben Mankiewicz conducted with Peter Bogdanovich. With his close friendships and numerous book projects with great studio era stars and directors, there is probably no living filmmaker better connected to the great talents of classic Hollywood. So far the podcast is a compelling biography of the director, slickly produced and sure to be a hit with fans of TCM.



And the Runner Up Is…
A Letter to Three Wives (feat. Murtada Elfadl)
February 26, 2020


I love the concept of this show: discussing Oscar-nominated films that didn’t win and determining whether or not they deserved the award. This episode was especially interesting to me because I didn’t know there were an additional two wives in the source story and that one of their stories got cut from the film. Great history and analysis.



Behind the Screen: The Hollywood Reporter
The Irishman—Thelma Schoonmaker
Episode 58

January 31, 2020

More of a career overview than a full discussion about The Irishman, this episode lays bare film editor Schoonmaker’s brilliance and charm as she shares stories of getting her start in the industry, her mutually supportive working relationship with Martin Scorsese, and her views on filmmaking.



Classic Movie Musts
The Divorcee (1930) w/ Special Guest Mark Vieira
Episode 114

April 10, 2020

An engaging Mark Vieira (Forbidden Hollywood: The Pre-Code Era (1930-1934): When Sin Ruled the Movies) shares the story of the production of the scandalous pre-Code The Divorcee (1930), including how MGM managed to adapt the salacious novel to the screen and how Norma Shearer subverted her wholesome image to win the lead.


Pure Cinema Podcast
Something Weird Video
March 15, 2020


I loved this tribute to the cheaply-made, but culturally fascinating films released by the Something Weird video company. Started in Seattle by Mike Vraney and cultivated with his wife Lisa Petrucci, the company has kept exploitation directors like Doris Wishman and Herschell Gordon Lewis in circulation and introduced thousands of unusual flicks to generations of film fans. The movies shared here go deep into the company’s catalog. I found lots of new titles to seek out, as I always do listening to PCP.



Book vs Movie
All About Eve
Season 6, Episode 29

March 28, 2020

I’m a longtime fan of this lively show in which friends Margo P. and Margo D. compare movies with the books that inspired them. I’m delighted that they have branched out into short stories in order to offer a weekly episode schedule during quarantine. Their discussion of the Mary Orr story that inspired Joseph Mankiewicz’s widely adored film is a lot of fun. 

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