Monthly Archives: August 2012

The Sheik

Posted on August 30, 2012 by John Grant

Rudolph Valentino first appeared on the silver screen in an uncredited role in a lost D. W. Griffith film called “The Battle of the Sexes” in 1914.  Several other films followed in which he played exotic and villainous roles.  But after he … Continue reading →

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Harry Langdon

Posted on August 27, 2012 by John Grant

Just before he made Frank Capra’s “The Strong Man” in 1926, Harry Langdon starred in “Tramp, Tramp, Tramp,” an engaging and very funny story about a little man who enters a cross-country walking race for a $50,000 purse that will … Continue reading →

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A Free Soul

Posted on August 24, 2012 by John Grant

Norma Shearer, Clark Gable and Lionel Barrymore star in “A Free Soul,” a 1931 film directed by Clarence Brown.  Shearer plays Jan Ashe, a modern and free-spirited woman who carries on an open affair with Ace Wilfong, a notorious gambler. … Continue reading →

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Eternally Yours

Posted on August 21, 2012 by John Grant

Glorious 1939 featured so many good Hollywood movies that I always pay attention when a film from that year shows up on the Turner Classic Movies channel.  In that year, United Artists came out with “Stagecoach,” “Of Mice and Men,” … Continue reading →

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Thieves’ Highway

Posted on August 18, 2012 by John Grant

I enjoy watching movies that feature San Francisco, especially ones that show authentic scenes from a former era.  I recently watched “Thieves’ Highway,” a 1949 film directed by Jules Dassin and starring Richard Conte, Lee J. Cobb and Valentina Cortez. … Continue reading →

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The Mating Call

Posted on August 15, 2012 by John Grant

Thomas Meighan shines in “The Mating Call,” a 1928 silent film that casts him as Leslie Hatten, a World War 1 vet who returns home to find his marriage annulled and his town ruled by a KKK-style group called “The … Continue reading →

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The Marrying Kind

Posted on August 12, 2012 by John Grant

Right after “Born Yesterday,” Judy Holiday made a film called “The Marrying Kind” in 1952.  George Cukor directed both films and although Holiday definitely plays a New Yorker in both movies, she’s more of a working class heroine in The … Continue reading →

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Before the Thin Man

Posted on August 9, 2012 by John Grant

Before MGM filmed “The Thin Man” in 1934, the studio made a similar film written by the same screenwriters (Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett) called “Penthouse” in 1933.  Instead of Dashiell Hammett’s Nick and Nora Charles, Penthouse gives us Warner … Continue reading →

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The Overcoat

Posted on August 5, 2012 by John Grant

Russian stories often involve a character’s relationship with the authorities, including “The Overcoat,” made by an avant-garde film group called “FEKS” in the Soviet Union in 1926.  The FEKS group, which stands for the “Factory of the Experimental Actor,” wished … Continue reading →

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The Canadian

Posted on August 2, 2012 by John Grant

William Beaudine’s “The Canadian,” a film from 1926, stars Thomas Meighan and Mona Palma as reluctant newlyweds on an Alberta ranch.  Meighan plays Frank Taylor, a friendly but unsophisticated ranch hand who’s looked down upon by the newly-arrived Nora March … Continue reading →

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