Author Archives: John Grant

The First Son

Posted on July 22, 2013 by John Grant

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival (SFSFF) showed its affection for British silent films with its presentation of “The First Born,” a 1928 film directed by and starring Miles Mander.  After screening 9 Alfred Hitchcock (mostly British) films in June … Continue reading →

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Prix de Beauté

Posted on July 19, 2013 by John Grant

The lovely Louise Brooks plays a typist at a Paris newspaper who enters a beauty contest in “Prix de Beauté (1930),” the opening film of the 2013 San Francisco Silent Film Festival (SFSFF).  The festival began Thursday, July 18, and … Continue reading →

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2013 San Francisco Silent Film Festival

Posted on July 18, 2013 by John Grant

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival (SFSFF) presented a wonderful showing tonight of “Prix de Beauté,” a 1930 film starring Louise Brooks.  This year’s summer festival will continue through Sunday, July 21, 2013.  Besides the excellent movies presented at the … Continue reading →

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The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Posted on July 16, 2013 by John Grant

The 2013 film, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” features my hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  In the movie, a group of high school students cope with acceptance at a suburban Pittsburgh high school.  Steven Chbosky wrote the novel and the … Continue reading →

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The Wrong Box

Posted on July 13, 2013 by John Grant

Lots of goofy things happen in “The Wrong Box,” a 1966 movie directed by Bryan Forbes and starring Michael Caine, Ralph Richardson and John Mills. When the parents of a dozen children establish a tontine, a monetary instrument that draws … Continue reading →

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A King in New York

Posted on July 10, 2013 by John Grant

Considering all that happened to him, Charlie Chaplin felt compelled to make a film about the McCarthy hearings and the turbulent cold-war political dramas of the 1950s. But rather than make a realistic, documentary-style film, Chaplin made a very amusing … Continue reading →

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Random Harvest

Posted on July 7, 2013 by John Grant

MGM put the great talents of Greer Garson and Ronald Colman together in a 1942 movie called “Random Harvest.”  Colman plays a soldier just back from World War 1 in France, where an explosion has wiped out his memory.  He … Continue reading →

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San Francisco

Posted on July 4, 2013 by John Grant

Clark Gable supposedly didn’t get along with Jeannette MacDonald while the two filmed “San Francisco,” the great MGM film from 1936.  Despite their lack of chemistry off the set, their relationship in the film seems believable and effective.  In San … Continue reading →

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Touchez Pas au Grisbi

Posted on July 1, 2013 by John Grant

Jacques Becker’s “Touchez pas au grisbi,” a french-language film from 1954, can be described as a meandering gangster film, with underworld figures more interested in food and romance than material gain.  It features Jean Gabin in a riveting performance as … Continue reading →

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Pordenone Silent Film Festival 2013

Posted on June 30, 2013 by John Grant

The Pordenone Silent Film Festival, scheduled for October 5-12, 2013, announced its Advance Program News, which includes the sections for this year’s festival.  However, the complete schedule has not been released. PROGRAM SECTIONS SPECIAL EVENTS MEXICAN CINEMA / THE MEXICAN … Continue reading →

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