Sep 27, 2023
On YouTube: James Cagney Gets Physical
Sep 7, 2023
On YouTube: The Worst of Classic Juvenile Delinquent Films
Aug 30, 2023
Podcasts for Classic Film Fans: August Round-up
Aug 23, 2023
On YouTube: Bette Davis Completely Loses it
Aug 16, 2023
On YouTube: 50 MORE Saucy Pre-Code Moments
Aug 9, 2023
On YouTube: Barbara Stanwyck Completely Loses it for Four Minutes and Cary Grant Gets Physical
Aug 7, 2023
News! My Film The Light to Play at the Tacoma Film Festival 2023
I am thrilled to share that my short film The Light has been selected for Tacoma Film Festival 2023. This is the first film that I have submitted to a festival and the first narrative movie I've made, so I'm incredibly honored to be included.
The city of Tacoma has special meaning for me because my Dad was born there. He was a major factor in my becoming interested in classic films and supported me by buying me books, our first VCR, and loads of VHS cassettes for recording afternoon matinees.
The Light is the story of a spirit lost between worlds who reminisces about her past life while trying to figure out where she belongs in the afterworld. I narrate the story over a series of clips from public domain films which I edited together to create a new work.
After the festival in October, I will be sharing the film with a wider audience, but for now, I'm delighted to have made something which has earned these laurels:
Aug 2, 2023
Podcasts for Classic Film Fans: July Round-up
Jul 26, 2023
Watching Classic Movies Podcast: The Wild World of Sixties Film Fashion with Fashion Instagrammer Rachel Boyce
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Jul 19, 2023
Watching Classic Movies Podcast--Talking Cult Movies with Millie de Chirico Co-Author of TCM Underground: 50 Must-See Films from the World of Classic Cult and Late-Night Cinema
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Jul 14, 2023
On DVD/Blu-Ray: Erich von Stroheim's Impeccable Foolish Wives (1922) is Impeccably Restored
If there’s anything that screams out for a 4K restoration, it’s an Erich von Stroheim film, and the San Francisco Silent Film Festival and The Museum of Modern Art have done so in a stunning collaboration, now available on DVD/Blu-ray from Flicker Alley. Full of elaborate scenes and meticulously-constructed details, Foolish Wives (1922) is typical of the director’s craft and a wonder to see with such clarity.
Jul 12, 2023
Watching Classic Movies Podcast: The Fact and Fiction of True-Crime Masterpiece Chameleon Street (1989) with Paula Guthat of Cinema Detroit
The 1989 film Chameleon Street, written, directed by, and starring Wendell B. Harris Jr. won the grand jury prize for a dramatic film at Sundance Film Festival in 1990. But that honor didn’t lead to the accolades and long directing career that it should have. This quirky masterwork tells the true crime story of William Douglas Street, Jr., a con artist from Detroit who has successfully impersonated athletes, lawyers, reporters, and doctors over a long career of scamming. He is currently in prison for identity theft. I spoke with Cinema Detroit co-founder Paula Guthat about this fascinating film, the wild story behind it, and how Harris molded this tale of the con into a reflection of life, society, and the performance of being human.
Jul 10, 2023
New Video: 50 Saucy Pre-Code Moments
Jul 5, 2023
Watching Classic Movies Podcast: Bogie, Bacall, and The Hollywood Home Front Trilogy with Martin Turnbull
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Jun 28, 2023
Podcasts for Classic Film Fans: June Round-up
Jun 14, 2023
On YouTube: A Rainbow of Classic Movie Fashion
Color in classic film fashion is so powerful in setting mood and defining a character. In a series of clips that move through the colors of the rainbow, this new video on my YouTube channel demonstrates the many ways a variety of hues can affect the look and feel of a movie.
May 31, 2023
Podcasts for Classic Film Fans: May Round-up
May 26, 2023
Book Review--But Have You Read the Book? 52 Literary Gems That Inspired Our Favorite Films
While the first films I saw as a child were book adaptations like The Wizard of OZ (1939) and Gone with the Wind (1939) it wasn’t until much later in life that I thought about what the process of adapting a written work to the big screen entailed. In her new book, But Have You Read the Book? 52 Literary Gems That Inspired Our Favorite Films, podcaster and entertainment writer Kristen Lopez brings a well-researched eye to that process.
May 19, 2023
On Blu-ray: The Gorgeous 4K Restoration of the William Cameron Menzies Sci-fi Classic Invaders from Mars (1953)
Invaders from Mars (1953) is an excellent example of how execution can overcome a mediocre plot. This story of the inhabitants of a spacecraft that lands in a small town taking over the bodies of its residents isn’t novel, but everything about the way it’s presented is unusual and artfully done. This is entirely due to the influence of director and production designer William Cameron Menzies. I recently enjoyed a 4K restoration of the film on a new DVD release from Ignite Films.
May 16, 2023
Guest Appearance: Movie Nights & Matinees Podcast and the Classic Film Fan USA Travel Guide
I had a fantastic time talking to Bill Groves of the Movie Nights & Matinees podcast about the Classic Film Fan USA Travel Guide. Give it a listen to learn more about the book! The show is available from the usual suspects. You can also listen here.
May 12, 2023
Documentary Picks at SIFF--Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy and Douglas Sirk: Hope as in Despair
While there are several documentaries that will be of interest to classic film fans at Seattle International Film Festival 2023, Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy and Douglas Sirk: Hope as in Despair were of particular interest to me. In different ways both films explore the powerful external elements that shape cinema and how they are so often rooted in challenging emotions. The film titles link to the festival screening information for each documentary.
May 10, 2023
Watching Classic Movies Podcast: Classic Film Travel Destinations, The Stoogeum with Michelle Squiccimara
My guest is Michelle Squiccimara, registrar and outreach coordinator of The Stoogeum in Ambler, Pennsylvania. This three-story museum dedicated to the 3 Stooges contains thousands of artifacts and works of art. It’s also the home of the 3 Stooges fan club, one of the largest and most enduring in the nation. We talked about the many surprises the Stoogeum holds, the supportive fan community that has helped it to thrive, and a new book that reveals the underseen history of the Stooges extensive career on the road.
Thank you to everyone who has purchased the book so far! I'm thrilled by the response. If you are enjoying the guide, I'd love it if you'd post a review wherever you bought it. It really helps!
The show is available on Spotify, PocketCasts, Breaker, Stitcher, Anchor, Google, Radio Public, Amazon Music, and YouTube.
Watching Classic Movies podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts! If you are enjoying the show, please give it a 5-star review and share it with your friends.
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May 5, 2023
On YouTube: Two New Videos, Badass Seniors in Classic Film and Domesticity in Classic Film Noir
May 3, 2023
Watching Classic Movies Podcast: Classic Film Travel Destinations, The Jimmy Stewart Museum with Executive Director Janie McKirgan
The show is available on Spotify, PocketCasts, Breaker, Stitcher, Anchor, Google, Radio Public, Amazon Music, and YouTube.
Watching Classic Movies podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts! If you are enjoying the show, please give it a 5-star review and share it with your friends.
Like the podcast? Want to hear more frequent episodes? Subscriptions are as low as 99 cents a month, click on the Support button here.
You can also support my work on ko-fi.
May 1, 2023
The 49th Seattle International Film Festival 2023: Picks for Classic Film Fans
Seattle International Film Festival is back in theaters May 11-21 and streaming May 22-28. As always, there’s plenty on the schedule to please classic film fans. Here are my picks for 2023:
Archival Films
Apr 28, 2023
Podcasts for Classic Film Fans: April Round-up
Apr 26, 2023
Watching Classic Movies Podcast: Classic Film Travel Destinations, The Barrymore Film Center with Executive Director Nelson Page
My guest is Nelson Page, Executive Director of the Barrymore Film Center in Fort Lee, New Jersey, the birthplace of the United States film industry. The center is an evolving cultural institution, featuring a repertory movie theater that brings back the comforts and style of classic cinema and a museum that is free to the public and has already been a source of great fascination to its visitors in the five months it has been open. We talked about what the center has to offer, the history of film in Fort Lee, and how the future of cinema is just as exciting as the past.
Official Barrymore Film Center Website
Barrymore Film Center Instagram
The show is available on Spotify, PocketCasts, Breaker, Stitcher, Anchor, Google, Radio Public, Amazon Music, and YouTube.
Watching Classic Movies podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts! If you are enjoying the show, please give it a 5-star review and share it with your friends.
Like the podcast? Want to hear more frequent episodes? Subscriptions are as low as 99 cents a month, click on the Support button here.
You can also support my work on ko-fi.