NaBloPoMo: Hubba wha?
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Nov 6, 2013
If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you might wonder what has been going on around here so far this month, what with the daily posting and whatnot. Well, wonder no more. It’s National Blog Posting Month (also known as NaBloPoMo) and I have signed up for the challenge of posting something every read more
William Beedle and Edythe Marrener in Young and Willing (1943)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Nov 6, 2013
Nope, it’s not pre-Code. Too late. And it’s not noir. Too zany. But Young and Willing, a Paramount production that no one seems ever to have heard of except me, is two things: it’s one of my favorite guilty pleasures and it’s a showcase for two future veterans of the film noir era: William Holden read more
Quotes in Noir: The Dark Corner (1946)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Nov 5, 2013
Ah, Clifton Webb. He could imbue a phrase with more flair, sophistication, and downright venom than anybody I can think of. Webb was perhaps at his most memorable in Laura (1944), in which he played the ever-acerbic Waldo Lydecker, but he was just as good in the lesser-known noir The Dark Corner. In read more
And Now For Something Completely Different: John’s Classic Film Survey
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Nov 4, 2013
In March 2012, a fella by the name of John stopped by Shadows and Satin, dropped this survey on me, and asked me to give it a try. Never one to shrink from a challenge (even one that’s more than a year old!), I decided to don my cinematic thinking cap and have a little fun coming up with some answer read more
TCM Pick of the Month: Pre-Code (2) (1)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Nov 3, 2013
Possessed (1931) is one of my favorite Joan Crawford films – and for someone who loves Joanie as much as I do, that’s saying something! This was the first Crawford pre-Code that I ever saw, and I’m delighted to select it as my TCM pre-Code pick of the month. It’s got so much to recommend it, read more
TCM Pick of the Month: Film Noir (2)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Nov 2, 2013
TCM has gone nuts for noir in November! I could barely flip through this month’s TCM Now Playing Guide without landing on a page with a first-rate noir offering. My choice was a tough one – My Name is Julia Ross (1945) was a worthy contendah! – but my final pick is Sweet Smell of Success (1957), read more
The Language of Noir (or, What’d he say?)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Nov 1, 2013
“You’d sell out your own mother for a piece of fudge.” Snappy sayings, crackling comebacks, piercing putdowns, and devastating diatribes – film noir is lousy with ‘em. Among my many favorite aspects of these features are the unforgettable words and phrases that punctuate the shadow read more
A 7×7 Award! Who, me?
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Oct 19, 2013
Time for another award post! This time, I am offering my thanks to the awesome Paula Guthat, renowned TCM Party co-host and author of Paula’s Cinema Club, who bestowed on me the 7 x 7 Link Award! (Truth be told, she bestowed it on me quite a while ago, in August 2012, but I have more than a passing read more
October is Awards Month!
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Oct 13, 2013
I am taking a brief break from movie reviews and performer profiles to celebrate some awards I’ve received lately. In other words, I am being totally self-indulgent and talking about me, me, me! Come on along! For today’s entry, I want to give sincere thanks to Gwen over at Movies, Silently, read more
TCM Pick for September: Film Noir (2)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Sep 23, 2013
This month’s TCM noir pick was a no-brainer – The Strange Love of Martha Ivers stars the fabulous Barbara Stanwyck, backed up by the mega-talented Van Heflin, the underrated Lizabeth Scott, and the always entertaining Kirk Douglas. The movie has lots more to recommend it – a fabulous Miklos Rozsa read more
Darn, That’s The End.
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Sep 17, 2013
A few months back, when I read about Raquelle’s Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge over at Out of the Past, I was way too excited. This was an event that was made for me; I love buying books about the Golden Age of Hollywood – coffee table books, biographies, novels that were made into films read more
TCM Pick for September: Pre-Code
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Sep 8, 2013
One of my many pleasures in life is receiving my TCM “Now Playing” guide and reviewing the upcoming movies for the month. It’s not only fun picking out the pictures that I plan to watch, but I also enjoy scouring the entries in search of my TCM pick – and this month’s pre-Code selection was read more
The TCM Summer Under the Stars Blogathon: Clark Gable in Laughing Sinners (1931)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Aug 24, 2013
Clark Gable and Joan Crawford star as Salvation Army officer Carl Loomis and cabaret performer Ivy Stevens. I had a copy of Laughing Sinners (1931) in my movie collection for years before I first watched it. Why did it take me so long to check it out? Simple. I’d read this description: “Cabare read more
The TCM Summer Under the Stars Blogathon: Mickey Rooney in Quicksand (1950)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Aug 11, 2013
Mickey Rooney. He ain’t just a song-and-dance man. In fact, notwithstanding his affiliation with MGM’s Andy Hardy series and his “Hey kids, let’s put on a show” musicals with Judy Garland, Rooney had quite a respectable film noir pedigree. He starred with Sally Forrest in The Strip (1951), read more
The William Castle Blogathon: Mysterious Intruder (1946)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Jul 30, 2013
I’m going to admit something now that I never thought I’d be able to say. I have seen every one of the films in The Whistler series. My introduction to The Whistler was, ironically, a result of the old Jack Benny radio shows, where Benny used to do a parody skit called “The Fiddler.” When I read more
The Barbara Stanwyck Blogathon: Forbidden (1932)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Jul 20, 2013
If you’re at all familiar with my posts on this site, you probably know that I usually end them by recommending that you see the movie on which I’m writing, adding that you “only owe it to yourself.” Well, this time, I’m starting my post that way. Have you seen Forbidden? It’s a 1932 Barbara read more
The Dynamic Duos Blogathon: Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Jul 12, 2013
Cool. Compact. Blonde. Gorgeous. That was Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake. This visually appealing couple appeared in a total of seven films together – This Gun for Hire (1942), The Glass Key (1942), Star Spangled Rhythm (1942), Duffy’s Tavern (1945), The Blue Dahlia (1946), Variety Girl (1947), and read more
Lilyan Tashman: Girl About Town
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Jul 7, 2013
While working earlier this year on the post for my pre-Code pick for February – Grand Hotel – I checked out one of the extras on the DVD, which depicted the film’s premiere at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on April 29, 1932. This thoroughly enjoyable glimpse into old Hollywood showed a variety of read more
Rogue Cop: Oh, My Word!
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Jul 3, 2013
Rogue Cop (MGM, 1954) tells the story of Chris Kelvaney (Robert Taylor), a corrupt cop who turns on his mob cronies when they threaten the life of his straight-laced police officer brother, Eddie (Steve Forrest). The story also includes mob boss Dan Beaumonte (George Raft); his alcoholic moll, Nanc read more
The Funny Lady Blogathon: Isabel Jewell
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Jun 30, 2013
What’s your best-remembered Isabel Jewell performance? Is it the ill-fated Laury Palmer, who meets her end in Born to Kill (1947) at the hands of her psychotic boyfriend? Or the seamstress who is condemned to die in A Tale of Two Cities (1935)? Maybe it’s Gloria in Lost Horizon (1937), the read more