Watching Classic Movies Podcast--Helen Morgan: The Original Torch Singer and Ziegfeld’s Last Star Author Christopher S. Connelly

My guest is Christopher S. Connelly, author of Helen Morgan: The Original Torch Singer and Ziegfeld’s Last Star. Morgan was a hugely popular singer and actress who set the template for musical theater performance style. We talked about Morgan’s big heart, her deeply emotional connection with audiences, and how her approach to life was more Auntie Mame than as the downtrodden songstress she has been typically rumored to be. 

Learn more about Christopher's book and where to buy it here: https://www.kentuckypress.com/9781985900592/helen-morgan/ 

The show is available on— Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, PocketCasts, Google, and Radio Public Like the podcast? 

Subscriptions are as low as 99 cents a month: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/k-cruver/support 

You can also support my work on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/watchingclassicmovies

On YouTube: Bette Davis Impressions and 'Toons and Grace Kelly

 

This collection of impressions and ‘toons featuring Bette Davis show some of the many ways she has been impersonated, interpreted, and lampooned in popular culture. As grand as she was, Davis always had a sense of humor about herself. She has been impersonated countless times over the years, and she’s been amused and even enthusiastic about the attention. In fact, she appears in this video doing an impression of herself, that is actually comedian Arthur Blake’s impersonation of the actress, which became the basis of many other impersonations of Davis. She explains all in the video.

    

The thought of classic film noir movies typically evokes shadowy black and white images, but there are lots of color films with the fatalistic themes, tropes, and even the shadows commonly seen in film noir.

Watching Classic Movies Podcast: Talking Sudden Fear (1952) and Joan Crawford with Robert Bellissimo of Robert Bellissimo At the Movies

 

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Robert Bellissimo has had me as his guest on his excellent Robert Bellissimo at the Movies video podcast two times: once to discuss the sci-fi/film noir Repeat Performance (1947) and recently to talk about Joan Crawford in Autumn Leaves (1956). In this episode we discuss Sudden Fear (1952) which has the noir and theater world characteristics of that first film and the star of the second. We talked in detail about this fascinating independent production that served as a perfectly noirish backdrop for one of Crawford’s best performances. 

Robert Bellissimo at the Movies YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@RobertBellissimoAtTheMovies 

Follow Robert-- 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robertbellissimoatthemovies/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RobertBellissimoAtTheMovies/ 

Our conversation about the film noir Repeat Performance (1947): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emz7yABM4kU 

Our conversation about another Joan Crawford film, Autumn Leaves (1956): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq9jzs2dqOU 

Robert interviews Joan Crawford: Ferocious Ambition author Robert Dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd00zZdaUIA 

Kendahl interviews Joan Crawford: Ferocious Ambition author Robert Dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE3iiOsCwM8 

The show is available on— Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, PocketCasts, Google, and Radio Public 

Like the podcast? Subscriptions are as low as 99 cents a month: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/k-cruver/support 

You can also support my work on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/watchingclassicmovies

Watching Classic Movies Podcast--Corpses Fools and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema co-author Willow Catelyn Maclay

 

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It is rare to find a new film book that is destined to be a classic, but Corpses, Fools and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema is just that. Co-written by Willow Catelyn Maclay and Caden Mark Gardner this well-curated mix of films, criticism, and history covers the highs and lows of trans representation both in front of and behind the camera and celebrates the wealth of trans talent now making films. I spoke with Willow about some of the stand-out films from the book, what it was like to write and research such a complex project, and what trans filmmakers need to thrive as they expand their presence in the movies.

 

Buy Corpses, Fools and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema:

https://bookshop.org/p/books/corpses-fools-and-monsters-an-examination-of-trans-film-images-in-cinema-willow-maclay/

                                                                           

Follow Willow Catelyn Maclay:

https://www.instagram.com/willowcatelyn/

https://www.patreon.com/willowcatelynmaclay

 

Follow Caden Mark Gardner:

https://www.instagram.com/corpsesfoolsandmonsters

 

Follow a trans film maker. Buy a DVD/Blu-ray/VHS/streaming access! Buy some merch!

Louise Weard:

https://louiseweard.bigcartel.com/

https://linktr.ee/LCWJ

 

Vera Drew:

https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/the-peoples-joker/umc.cmc.7h7jov9x5534llwd5a3bu5kf9

https://diabolikdvd.com/product/le-slipcover-peoples-joker-altered-innocence-blu-ray-all-region-preorder/

https://diabolikdvd.com/product/vhs-peoples-joker-altered-innocence-ntsc-vhs-preorder

https://www.patreon.com/veradrew22

 

Jane Schoenbrun

https://www.janeschoenbrun.com/

https://www.instagram.com/janedoesnotknow

 

Alice Maio Mackay

https://www.instagram.com/alice_maiomackay/

 

Isabel Sandoval

https://www.instagram.com/isabelvsandoval/?hl=en

https://www.criterion.com/current/top-10-lists/377-isabel-sandoval-s-top-10

 

The show is available on— Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, PocketCasts, Google, and Radio Public

 

Like the podcast? Subscriptions are as low as 99 cents a month: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/k-cruver/support

 

You can also support my work on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/watchingclassicmovies

Save our Scarecrow: How to Help Preserve the 150K Archive of the World's Biggest Video Store

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With a collection of nearly 150,000 titles, Scarecrow Video in Seattle, Washington is one of the largest, if not the largest publicly available archives of film in the world. US customers can rent in the store or by mail and anyone can purchase all sorts of amazing items from its official website. Open since 1988, and a not-for-profit run by its employees since 2014, it had never been easy to keep the store going, but this collective has set a goal to raise 1.8 million dollars in order to keep its doors open and to build a sustainable structure so that its employees can focus on what they do best: sharing the amazing world of movies with its loyal customers. 

I spoke with Scarecrow Social Media Manager and Development Assistant Malakie Peters about the progress the not-for-profit has made in its fundraising efforts, how anyone can benefit from and support Scarecrow, and what her current favorite flicks are in a collection so massive that even as an employee she finds new treasures all the time. 

Direct donation link: 

https://scarecrowvideo.org/sos

Official Site: https://scarecrowvideo.org

The Scarecrow Video Shop: 

https://sv-archive.square.site/

​ The show is available on— Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, PocketCasts, Google, and Radio Public Like the podcast?

Subscriptions are as low as 99 cents a month: https://podcasters.spo...​ You can also support my work on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/watc...​

Watching Classic Movies Podcast--Not Even Nominated: 40 Overlooked Costars of Oscar-Winning Performances Author John DiLeo

My guest is John DiLeo, author of eight film books, including his latest, Not Even Nominated: 40 Overlooked Costars of Oscar-Winning Performances. We talked about the common characteristics of great performances that nevertheless get overlooked for awards attention, some of our favorite deserving performances, and the way perception makes a movie a unique experience for each viewer. 

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Learn more about John DiLeo’s many film books, including Not Even Nominated: 40 Overlooked Costars of Oscar-Winning Performances here: https://www.johndileo.com/works.htm 

Follow John on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/john.dileo.12/ 

Listen to our previous chat about his book There Are No Small Parts: 100 Outstanding Film Performances with Screen Time of 10 Minutes or Less: http://www.watchingclassicmovies.com/2022/07/watching-classic-movies-podcast-john.html 

The show is available on— Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, PocketCasts, Google, and Radio Public 

Podcast subscriptions are as low as 99 cents a month: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/k-cruver/support 

You can also support my work on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/watchingclassicmovies