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My last day at the TCM Classic Film Festival was a lot less hectic than the previous days. I unfortunately missed the screening of The Fiddler on the Roof and didn't get an opportunity to see director Norman Jewison in person. I really needed some extra sleep if I was going to make it through the la read more

The Real James Dean Intimate Memories from Those Who Knew Him Best edited by Peter L. Winkler Chicago Review Press 9781613734728 - 368 pages August 2016 Amazon - Barnes and Noble - Powells When we look at the legacy of classic film actors and actresses there is a natural hierarchy. There are those read more

"I can't understand why a man I'm so crazy about takes such a fiendish delight in tormenting me." - Bette Davis as Joyce Arden They hate each other. They love each other. Stage actors Joyce Arden (Bette Davis) and Basil Underwood (Leslie Howard) have the most tempestuous romance. Under the lights read more

Wings of the Navy (1939) shines a spotlight on U.S. naval aviation. This Warner Bros. film was directed by Lloyd Bacon and produced by Cosmopolitan Productions (a Hearst company). It stars George Brent as Cass Harrington. Cass and his younger brother Jerry (John Payne) have followed in their father' read more

Clara Bow, Sports "I became a regular tomboy - played baseball, football and learned to box." - Clara Bow Clara Bow playing baseball circa 1926 - Source Clara Bow boxing in heels - Source Clara Bow playing tennis Clara Bow was a tough cookie. She had a rough childhood and growing u read more

King of Jazz: Paul Whiteman's Technicolor Revue by James Layton and David Pierce foreword by Michael Feinstein November 2016 304 pages Media History Press Amazon - Barnes and Noble - Powell's King of Jazz (1930) was an ambitious project. The darling of Carl Laemmle's heir Carl Laemmle Jr., it so read more

Ex-con turned British spy Harry Palmer (Michael Caine) is sent to Berlin on a mission. He must find Soviet intelligence officer in charge of the Berlin Wall, Colonel Stok (Oskar Homolka) and make him defect from his position. Palmer is tasked to concoct an elaborate escape out of Berlin for Stok wit read more

It's time for my fourth annual summer reading challenge! This is a great way to tackle your growing pile of unread film books. All the details about this challenge can be found on my 2016 Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge page. Here are some of the basics. Sign up for the challenge h read more

The year was 1963 and Columbia Pictures was in a pickle. They had two Cold War movies currently in production that basically told the same story but in very different ways. One was Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, a farce based on the otherwise read more

2022 #ClassicFilmReading ChallengeMay 25th to September 15 2022Today I'm thrilled to announce the 2022 #ClassicFilmReading Challenge! Every year I host this challenge to encourage you to read and review six classic film books this summer/winter (depending on where you live. If you don't think y read more

In 1923, Gloria Swanson was a bonafide star. She had over 40 films under her belt and a few more years of silent film fame ahead of her before the industry transitioned to talking pictures. Then there is her fabulous comeback with Sunset Blvd. (1950) which is a completely different story. Hollywood read more

 Catch the latest episode of The CineHistorians Podcast. On this episode, Dr. Carl Sweeney and I discuss the British New Wave and Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960), directed by Karel Reisz and starring Albert Finney, Rachel Roberts and Shirley Anne Field. In this episode we also discuss read more

Fay Wray and Robert Riskin A Hollywood Memoir by Victoria Riskin Pantheon Hardcover ISBN: ISBN 9781524747282 February 2019 416 pages Amazon — Barnes and Noble — Powells "My mother had a pioneer resilience, a vulnerability, a need for admiration... she never expected life to magically read more

 Photo by Susan Johann"As a writer you strive for a sense of truth." — Horton FootePlaywright Horton Foote (1916-2009) had been honored with many awards and nominations in his lifetime including Emmy awards, Tony nominations, the National Medal of Arts and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama. He w read more

If you haven't already signed up for TCM's streaming service FilmStruck now is the best time. FilmStruck, in collaboration with Warner Bros. Digital, will be adding hundreds of classic movies to the service. And to celebrate beloved movies from the Golden Age of Hollywood, TCM Select will offer stre read more

Today is my birthday. It falls so close to Thanksgiving that it often gets overlooked which suits me just well because as I get older these anniversaries get more and more depressing. So today I decided to honor someone other than myself who was born on November the 25th. I first discovered Charles read more

Sometimes a film comes into your life at the exact moment you need it. And other times it's inconvenient or painful. My grandfather passed away Friday night. When I woke up Saturday morning I turned on the TV to watch TCM. Classic film as emotional therapy has always been a way for me to cope with w read more

Premiering this week on Turner Classic Movies is the excellent documentary Dean Martin: King of Cool. Directed by Tom Donahue and produced by Ilan Arbodela, this film chronicles the life and career of Dean Martin, from his early days singing in the nightclub circuit, becoming one half of the outrage read more

I'm happy to be partnering with TCM and Running Press for this exclusive cover reveal. That's right! You are seeing the cover of their upcoming book here first.  Introducing:  Cinematic Cities: New York: The Big Apple on the Big Screen by Christian Blauvelt On Sale Novem read more

Who created the first film? It may not be who you think. During the late 19th century, several inventors were working furiously on the technology that would produce moving pictures. Some of these figures are well-known including the Lumiere Brothers, Thomas Edison and others not so much. But have read more