Jul 30, 2021

Podcasts for Classic Film Fans: July Round-up

My big news since my last round-up is that I have now started my own interview podcast, Watching Classic Movies. Never fear though, even though I am excited about the new show, I don't plan to fill this feature with a list of my own episodes! Here's what I found interesting this month. Episode titles link to the shows: 

June 3, 2021 

This is the perfect topic for a limited podcast series: the story of how an authentic pair of Judy Garland’s ruby slippers worn in The Wizard of OZ (1939) was stolen from the Judy Garland Museum and then years later were returned under mysterious circumstances. I don’t know how revelatory it will be for those who followed the scandal in the news when it unfolded, but a lot of the story was new to me and it was interesting to get the details.

Fade Out 
July 3, 2021 

Ashby is an unusual director: every film fan loves at least one of his movies, but he is so rarely celebrated as a great filmmaker. Here screenwriter and film fanatic Larry Karazewski (Ed Wood [1994], Dolemite is My Name [2019]) talks about his admiration for the director and his final, underseen, but riveting film 8 Million Ways to Die (1986) (after watching this film, I’ll never think of Sno-Kones the same way again).


Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Podcast!
July 5, 2021 

This July 4th week replay of a 2016 interview with Dick Van Dyke is both hilarious and inspirational. Van Dyke seems decades younger as he shares detailed stories of his long and varied career. It’s worth a listen for the anecdote about Buster Keaton serving him hot dogs via miniature train alone. The biggest takeaway: to stay healthy as you age, keep your body moving and laugh a lot.
The Plot Thickens: The Devil’s Candy 
June 29, 2021 

I wasn’t sure I was going to check out this season of TCM’s official podcast, because as much as I enjoyed the previous season featuring Peter Bogdanovich, I didn’t know if I wanted to hear all about the box office bomb Bonfire of the Vanities (1990). Then I remembered that the director of the film was Brian de Palma and I figured it would have some spice with him in the mix. The series is hosted by journalist Julie Salamon, based on her book The Devil’s Candy: The Anatomy of a Hollywood Fiasco. De Palma is a big part of the draw in this first episode, but it is also an entertaining behind-the-scenes look at Hollywood filmmaking overall.

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