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Noir Nook: Stranger Than Fiction – Part 1 (Steve Cochran) “Truth is stranger than fiction,” Mark Twain once informed us, “but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn’t.”  This month’s Noir Nook introduces a new series that looks actors read more

Western RoundUp: Shane (1953) Shane (1953), the classic Western directed by George Stevens, has just been released on 4K and Blu-ray by Kino Lorber Studio Classics. Thanks to the Blu-ray I’ve revisited the movie for the first time since seeing it in 35mm at the Autry Museum read more

June Marlowe June Marlowe June Marlowe was born Gisela Valaria Goetten to Hedwig and John Goetten on November 6, 1903, in St. Cloud, Minnesota. She and her siblings—Armor E. Goetten, Louis Marlowe, Alona Marlowe, and Gerald Goetten—all eventually realized careers in the film industry. read more

Silver Screen Standards: Fifty Years of Jaws (1975) Some people watch fireworks every year on the Fourth of July, but I watch Jaws (1975). Steven Spielberg’s iconic adaptation of the novel by Peter Benchley has long been a favorite of mine, so much so that I wrote a model essay about the use of read more

A Closer Look At: Cabiria (1914) In 1914, most films ranged from one to three reels long–half an hour or less. But as filmmakers were growing more confident about telling longer, more complex stories, the occasional hour-long film was released. Arguably, it was Italy that really got the ball read more

“Amelia jerked back, pulling up her legs. A shadowy form was scurrying across the carpet toward the bed. She gaped at it. It isn’t true, she thought. She stiffened at the tugging on her bedspread. It was climbing up to get her. No, she thought; it isn’t true. She couldn’t move. She stared at read more

Western RoundUp: Western Film Book Library – Part 9 Once or twice a year I share a roundup of books on the Western movie genre here, most recently in November 2024. This month’s book column was prompted in part by some wonderful discoveries I made during recent travels. A June read more

Unlikely Ladies of Noir – Cathy O’Donnell If you’re familiar with Cathy O’Donnell, with her sweet smile and gentle demeanor, you may associate her with her first speaking role, Wilma Cameron in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). In this post-WWII classic, O’Donnell played the loyal and read more

Exploring Douglas Fairbanks Films–Where To Begin? Although he was a major celebrity of the silent era–and we’re talking “Major” with a capital “M”–Douglas Fairbanks tends to be more overlooked than his contemporaries Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford. If you’re curious enough read more

Summer is a time when we’re drawn to oceanfront vacations with sandy beaches, rolling waves and endless sunsets. It’s a sanctuary of fun in the sun. Or is it? For 50 years, Jaws has made us afraid to go in the water, but other films showed us it’s not even safe to sit on the beach. Those read more

The Universal Monsters The summer of 2025 marks the arrival of the new Epic Universe theme park in Orlando, Florida, which prominently features an entire land, Dark Universe, dedicated to Universal’s iconic movie monsters. The Universal monsters have been around for a full century now, if you sta read more

Classic Movie Travels: Sylvia Sidney Sylvia Sidney Sylvia Sidney was born Sophia Kosow in the Bronx, New York, to Rebecca and Victor Kosow on August 8, 1910. Her parents divorced in 1915 and she was later adopted by her stepfather, a dentist named Sigmund Sidney. Her mother worked as a dressma read more

Silent Superstars: John Gilbert, Idol Of The 1920s John Gilbert There are certain silent film stars who, for whatever reason, are mainly remembered for the myths about them. A prime example is John Gilbert, the darkly-handsome idol of countless moviegoers. When he’s remembered at all, it’s read more

Western “B” Movie Sampler – Vol. 4 Summertime means travel time for me, and that in turn means it’s time for my annual “B” Western sampler! I find “B” Westerns, which often run under an hour, the perfect thing to relax with after a long day of tr read more

What Makes a Classic Movie Classic?Inquiring Minds Want to Know I’m so excited to share this podcast episode with you all! I was honored to be a Special Guest on the We Need 2 Talk podcast where we chatted about — you guessed it — classic movies! Podcast hosts Kristy & read more

Four Noirs for Free I may have mentioned this around these parts before, but there are few things more frustrating to a classic film lover than to read a glowing recommendation about a movie that they’re unable to find. Well, the Noir Nook doesn’t go for frustration, so this month, I’m serving read more

In a quaint English village, people are sitting in a parlor by the fire doing what proper Brits do: elegantly smoking and drinking tea. It’s all so genteel inside, yet outside the situation is dire as “The Earth Dies Screaming.” That’s the excellent name of a 1964 film that is much quieter read more

Silver Screen Standards: The Big Clock (1948) Time looms over us all, but not as literally as it does over Ray Milland in director John Farrow’s fascinating noir, The Big Clock (1948), which features Milland as a magazine editor framed for murder by his powerful tycoon boss. With its emphasis on read more

Classic Movie Travels June: Helen Chandler Helen Chandler Helen Chandler was born on February 1, 1909, in New York, New York, to Leland and Frances Chandler. Across different census records and documents, her year of birth, however, has been widely disputed, documented as 1906, 1909, and 1911 read more

Pioneertown As longtime readers of this column will be aware, one of my favorite pastimes is to visit Western film locations. I recently had the opportunity to visit Pioneertown, located in California’s Yucca Valley, roughly 16 miles from Joshua Tree National Park. Pioneertown is read more