Platinum Blonde and Beyond

It was her trademark, her calling card and, in 1931, the name of a film for which she received third billing. Platinum Blonde had originally been intended as a vehicle for top-billed star Loretta Young but, by the time it was released, the film's title had changed and changed again until it was an outright reference...

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For the Love of Film (Noir): About Ida Lupino

This review was part of the For the Love of Film: The Film Preservation Blogathon to benefit the Film Noir Foundation.One of the great dames of film noir, and quite a bit more, Ida Lupino was born in London in 1918. Her father was Stanley Lupino, a star of the West End stage who wrote many of the productions...

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For the Love of Film (Noir): Renoir, Ryan and a splash of vodka...

This review was part of the For the Love of Film: The Film Preservation Blogathon to benefit the Film Noir Foundation.San Francisco's annual film noir festival, Noir City 9, ran for ten days at the end of January. From all reports the festival, an event that showcased 24 films, was a great success. I would...

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San Francisco Film Locations...a mini-tour on video

Huntington Park at the top of Nob Hill, San FranciscoOne day not too long ago my friend Dave and I went on an excursion into three San Francisco neighborhoods to shoot video of classic film locations. I'd done some research and worked out a way to cover many films in...

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Marlene Dietrich...another facet of her legend

Marlene Dietrich is one of very few film stars whose career not only spanned 60+ years but who also enjoyed icon status for most of those years. Her life in film began in the early 1920s with silent pictures. It came to a close with Maximillian Schell's 1984 Oscar-nominated documentary, Marlene, in which she...

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