Category Archives: Uncategorized

Before Jacques Tati became Monsieur Hulot, he played a bicycle-riding postman in “Jour de Fete.”  The film, originally filmed in color, came out in black and white in 1949 with hand-tinted color scenes.  Certain scenes present individual objects in color, … Continue reading →

Terrance Malick’s “Days of Heaven,” from 1978, came to the big screen in 70 mm, but unfortunately I did not see it that way.  I enjoyed it very much on my TV screen, taking in the wheat fields on the … Continue reading →

During his long and interesting career, director Blake Edwards made about 3 dozen films.  Although well known for his comedies such as “The Pink Panther (1963),” “The Great Race (1965),” and “10 (1979),” Edwards occasionally directed dramas such as “Days … Continue reading →

“Libeled Lady,” a 1936 film from MGM, features an all-star cast of Jean Harlow, Merna Loy, William Powell and Spencer Tracy.  The terrific script gives each character rich and comedic dialogue.  The story concerns a newspaper managing editor, played by … Continue reading →

I watched “The Stunt Man” the other day, a 1980 film directed by Richard Rush and starring Peter O’Toole, Barbara Hershey, Steve Railsback and a lot of character actors.  O’Toole plays Eli Cross, a despotic director of a World War … Continue reading →

Shirley Jones is so wonderful in “The Music Man” (1962) as Marion the Librarian that I wondered who played the character in the Broadway show.  Barbara Cook played the role of Marion Paroo alongside Robert Preston, who also starred in the … Continue reading →

Jean Harlow stars in “The Secret Six” from 1931, her first credited feature role.  This violent gangster film features Wallace Beery, Clark Gable and Lewis Stone.  Although Beery was a major star playing tough guys for 4 decades in Hollywood … Continue reading →

I watched the 1931 version of the Maltese Falcon, starring Ricardo Cortez as Sam Spade, and Bebe Daniels as Ruth Wonderly.  This one features a nicer, friendlier version of Sam Spade, who seems genuinely capable of falling in love with the Wonderly … Continue reading →