Disembodied: Waldo Lydecker, the Voice in the Dark in Laura (1944)
“McPherson, if you know anything about faces, look at mine. How singularly innocent I look this morning. Have you ever seen such candid eyes?” “Laura considered me the wisest, the wittiest, the most interesting man she’d ever met. I was in complete accord with her on...
TCMFF 2016 Sunday: Church: Sirk, Chaplin, Ford, Minnelli, Final Wrap and Coda
And so we come to the last day of TCMFF 2016. I was already feeling it on Saturday, and of course Saturday?s events and pace and the least sleep yet went a long way toward creating a detour from my still excited but increasingly weary mind and my mouth, which began to...
TCMFF 2016: Recap of Saturday, Day 3: Vitaphone, Reiner, Gould, Karina
From my comfortable perch back at my friend?s house in North Hollywood, ?the intensity, mad dashes, glorious experiences, and occasional frustrations of TCMFF 2016 seem rather remote, Gentle Reader, but at this time a little over one?week ago I was watching?Dead Men...
TCMFF 2016: A Breathless Diary
Greetings, gentle reader! After another refreshing 5 hours of sleep I?m off to the day?s delights and trials, of which more in a moment. Here?s what happened yesterday: I hot-footed it down to breakfast at Club TCM, where I got to shake Leonard Maltin?s hand, miss...
A Viewer?s Guide: How to Watch The Invisible Man (1933)
The Invisible Man?is a bit of a?stepchild among James Whale?s Universal horror films, which is understandable since?Frankenstein?(1931) and even more?Bride of Frankenstein?(1935) were not just sensationally successful at the box office but embedded themselves...
Elizabeth Taylor?s Best Actress Oscars: BUtterfield 8 (1960) and Who?s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
Elizabeth Taylor won two Best Actress Oscars, for?BUtterfield 8?(1960) and?Who?s Afraid of Virginia Woolf??(1966). The first she perhaps rightly dismissed as a pity vote. The second she won fair and square, and I hope it meant something to her. Until fairly recently I...
A Viewer?s Guide: How to Watch the Cinematic Collaboration of Humphrey Bogart and John Huston
On the set of The African Queen (1951) John Huston and Humphrey Bogart made six movies together, six points of intersection over their long careers. Three of the six were crucial in the careers of both men:?The Maltese Falcon?(1941),?The Treasure of the Sierra...
A Viewer?s Guide: How to Watch The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)
Martha Ivers in the shadows The Strange Love of Martha Ivers?is a total kinkfest, and if you?re new to it, you can use a little help learning the ropes. I?ll be happy to show you around. Time Out?s synopsis is as concise and elegant as could be, so here it is: ?Superb...
A Viewer?s Guide: How to Watch The Gang?s All Here (1943)
sten ?your seat belts.?The Gang?s All Here?is too much. It?s the thrill ride of Hollywood musicals. If you?ve not seen it but have seen other Busby Berkeley movies you?re thinking, Yeah, got it. But all the fabulous excesses of Berkeley in black-and-white pale in...
In Her Own Words: Maureen O?Hara (1920-2015)
TCM is honoring Maureen O?Hara (1920-2015) with a 24-hour tribute starting at 6am ET on Friday, November 20. I thought some commentary from herself discussing?her experiences shooting several of the movies in the TCM lineup would be add dimension to this day of...