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A versatile performer in film and television for five decades, Fred MacMurray deserved more opportunities to display his acting talents. Still, when he got the chance to bite into a good role, he did so convincingly--whether it was in a Billy Wilder film noir or a Walt Disney family comedy. Below ar read more

Earlier this week, we profiled five lovely actresses who certainly had the looks to become major stars (click here to read that post). While some of them had solid careers, stardom eluded them. Sometimes, it's simply a matter of timing in the film business. Today, we turn our sights to five handsome read more

Timing and looks are almost as important as talent when it comes to becoming a star of the silver screen. Editing room floors have been littered for years with actors that may have had the talent--and definitely had the looks--to earn star status. But alas, their timing was wrong for one reason or a read more

By 1956, Errol Flynn was no longer in demand in Hollywood. He had already moved to Europe to star in international productions such as the Italian-made Crossed Swords (with Gina Lollobrigida) and the British-lensed King's Rhapsody and The Dark Avenger (aka The Warriors). He had also d read more

I recently watched Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, which co-starred the adult children of John Wayne and Tyrone Power. So, I thought it'd be fun to write about actors that were the children of classic film stars. The challenge with this kind of post is narrowing the topic to a manageable size. read more

Fans of the Beach Party movies and other 1960s surfing flicks will find no better spring break reading than Thomas Lisanti's Hollywood Surf and Beach Movies: The First Wave, 1959-1969. Originally published in 2005 and reprinted as a paperback in 2012, Lisanti's book provides a comprehensive loo read more

With its Beach Party series thriving at the box office in 1964, American International Pictures (AIP) was anxious to make a movie with surf music's supergroup: The Beach Boys. Brian Wilson, working with songwriting partners Roger Christian and Gary Usher, had already contributed six tunes read more

1. Candy Johnson gained fame as the fast-shakin' go-go dancer in the colorful fringe outfits in four Beach Party movies made in 1963-64: Beach Party; Bikini Beach; Pajama Party; and Muscle Beach Party (shown on right with "Little" Stevie Wonder in the background). Those read more

Stefanie Powers and Troy Donahue. As soon as Troy Donahue starts warbling "Live Young" over the opening credits, it's clear that you'll either find Palm Springs Weekend to be nostalgic fun or a dated disaster. I fall into the former camp; I hold a special affection for the fluffy teen pics of the 1 read more

Welcome to Bikini Beach, where the ladies adorned in bikinis are constantly distracting passing drivers, cooks, surfers and guys already spending time with girls. Frankie (Frankie Avalon), Dee Dee (Annette Funicello), and the rest of the gang are spending another summer at the beach, lying on the sa read more

What? No Beach Party movies and no Gidget? We excluded the Beach Party films from this list for two reasons: (1) they have already been covered extensively at the Cafe; (2) they would dominate this list and we wanted to promote some of the other "spring break movies." As for Gidget, while it ma read more

The Classic Film & TV Café will host the James Stewart Blogathon on April 14-17. Any blogger may participate, providing that he or she complies with the Café's family-friendly blogathon guidelines. Each film can only be reviewed by one blogger. All posts will appear on the blogger's web site. read more

I recently watched the 2008 John Malkovich movie The Great Buck Howard, an affectionate tale of a once-famous mentalist relegated to performing at second-rate venues. In the closing credits, writer-director Sean McGinly states that his film was inspired by the career of The Amazing Kreskin. Tha read more

Henry Lloyd Moon--a second-rate outlaw with a third-rate gang--learns the hard way that it doesn't pay to tease a posse. After crossing the border to Mexico, Moon stops to laugh at the pursuing posse. The sheriff pauses for a few minutes, then rides across the river and arrests Moon. Following his d read more

With a resume that includes Leave It to Beaver, The Birds, Alien, and The X Files, Veronica Cartwright has fashioned a lengthy, impressive acting career showcasing her versatility. She made her film debut at age 9 as Robert Wagner’s sister in 1958’s In Love and War. Ms Cartwright may hav read more

1. The pilot episode for The Midnight Special, hosted by John Denver, was broadcast on NBC in August 1972. Its theme was to encourage eighteen-year-olds in the U.S. to register so they could vote in the upcoming presidential election. The 26th Amendment, which lowered the voting age to 18, had been read more

In the 1980s, CBS broadcast several contemporary adaptations of Agatha Christie novels for U.S. television. Peter Ustinov, who first played Hercule Poirot in the theatrical Evil Under the Sun (1982), reprised his portrayal in three made-for-TV films starting with 1985's Thirteen for D read more

Richard Gordon's semi-autobiographical Doctor novels provided the basis for this seven film series that started with 1954's Doctor in the House. The films were immensely popular in Great Britain and spawned several TV series, the best-known being the 1969-70 Doctor in the House (with some read more

Think of Goldfinger and the first image that comes to mind is Shirley Eaton--covered in gold paint. If the stunning, talented British actress had appeared in no other films, she would still be famous today. However, prior to her appearance in Goldfinger, Ms. Eaton had established an impressive actin read more

It’s been difficult for movie librarians to move away from their stereotyped image as shy, conservative bookworms. Despite their star power, Greer Garson (Adventure), June Allyson (Good News), Shirley Jones (The Music Man), and Barbara Eden (The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao) did little to alter the read more