The Los Angeles Philharmonic Performs Bernard Herrmann...

James Stewart and Kim Novak in VertigoWhile perusing YouTube the other night I happened on the video below of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, performing Bernard Herrmann's "Scene d'Amour" from his score for Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo. I watched and listened several...

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Kick your cares down the stairs...and come to Holiday Inn (1942)

Holiday Inn (1942) is famed as the film in which Bing Crosby first sang "White Christmas." I love its teaming of Crosby with Fred Astaire, their song and dance routines, the comedic rivalry between them, Irving Berlin's sensational music, the wintry New England scenery...everything about it.In this video...

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A Holiday Moment with Judy and Mel...

On December 6, 1963, Judy Garland taped "The Christmas Show" to air a few weeks later as the holiday episode of her weekly CBS-TV variety show. She was joined by by both family (including Liza) and friends...like singer/songwriter Mel Tormé, writer (with Bob Wells ) of  "The...

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Christmas in Connecticut (1945)...one special holiday season...

Christmas in Connecticut (1945), a jewel of a holiday romantic comedy, was released at a  time unlike any other in America...scant months after VE Day, just days before VJ Day - and by December 1945, World War II was finally over and many veterans were home in time for Christmas.A Time Magazine article of...

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The Artful Nostalgia of Richard Amsel

Chinatown movie posterRichard Amsel was a prolific graphic artist and illustrator who created some of the most indelible images of the '70s and '80s.Born on December 4, 1947, he was raised near Philadelphia, in the west side suburb of Ardmore where his parents owned a toy store. An artistic prodigy from...

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JOHN M. STAHL...a reappraisal and a reaffirmation

Gene Tierney in Leave Her to Heavenby guest contributor doctor sabelotodoAuthor's DisclaimerNot until I started researching and reading did I realize the extent of the tremendous amount of heresay, recyled disinformation and vague references that exists in the written media about director John M. Stahl - both...

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

 MEET ME IN ST. LOUISOne of the most charming and potent portrayals of Americana to grace the screen, Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) tugs at the heartstrings as powerfully today as it did 65+ years ago when it was crafted by MGM's "Freed Unit."The film's sparkling perfection is the work of producer...

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Clint and Me

Clint Eastwood in Magnum Force (1973)by guest contributor Magic Lantern 21“Good guy…that last one he shot was a good guy!”Eleven words… my claim to celebrity status; my fifteen minutes of fame which if you took a stop watch and measured, would run well under that length of time. And although I would have many...

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Eat, drink and...watch movies

With Thanksgiving looming on the horizon,  my head has been filled with visions of food...and film. When the weather turned cooler a couple of weeks ago and Now, Voyager happened to be scheduled on TCM, I started thinking about my favorite recipe for gingerbread...and how a steaming cup of...

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Max Ophuls' Letter From an Unknown Woman (1948)

It is turn-of-the-century Vienna, the wee hours of a wet night. A man alights from a horse-drawn carriage and jokes with companions about the duel at dawn to which he has been challenged. Entering his flat alone he tells his manservant he will leave before morning, "Honor is a luxury only gentlemen can afford."...

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COFFEE TIME!

Although Vincente Minnelli's 1945 musical Yolanda and the Thief is not one of his or Fred Astaire's most popular films, it contains a jewel of a musical number that has earned raves from day one...Coffee Time...When the film was released, none other than stuffy Bosley Crowther, critic for The New York Times,...

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1st Film Noir Xmas coming to San Francisco…9th Noir Festival set for January

The San Francisco Film Noir Foundation has set its first-ever Noir City Xmas for Wed., December 15, at the Castro Theatre, and extends an invitation to “enjoy a Cruel Yule...”The double feature pairs Remember the Night (1940) and Mr. Soft Touch (1949).TCM has been airing Remember the Night regularly...

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Van Nest Polglase ~ Architect Of Cinematic Dreams, Part II

by guest contributor WhistlingypsyThe emergence of those stylistic elements in American films later termed noir by critics is often debated and open to interpretation.Five years before the films that captivated French critics for their “dark” plots and visual style, John Ford directed an equally dark film for...

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