Though it’s perhaps difficult for us to fully conceive today, Charles Chaplin (1889-1977) likely remains the most widely recognized great artist in the history of movies. Chaplin’s startling degree of success in his own time, combined with the important fact that he worked in the “universal” language of silent cinema, made him a truly international… Read more »
His Girl Friday (1940) is definitely one of the most iconic classic films today. The lightning-fast dialogue; the searing political commentary; the colorful characters and the excellent cast that brings them to life… This film is probably one of the most well-known old movies out there, in part because of its fall into the public domain,… Read more »
I’m always curious to know how people remember Rita Hayworth. Is it as the woman who was pictured seductively sitting in bed, making thousands of soldiers’ hearts beat faster during WWII? Or is it as Gilda, singing “Put the Blame on Mame” while playfully stripping off her gloves? Or maybe you recall her high-profile marriages… Read more »
Born in 1941, Faye Dunaway is a Hollywood classic. Although more of the second or third generation of old Hollywood (like Jane Fonda or Natalie Wood), she, like the others, had the opportunity to work with many of the older, classical Hollywood stars. Arguably, most of Dunaway’s best work was released in the 1960s and… Read more »
Of all the debates about Old Hollywood, the Fred Astaire vs. Gene Kelly debate is one of the most popular. Movie fans enjoy comparing their dance styles and who they like better. They talk about how Astaire’s dancing was more elegant, and whether that makes it better than Kelly’s more athletic choreography. But what people… Read more »
George Cukor, known as the “woman’s director” during Hollywood’s Studio Era, seems to have been a part of a vast number of Hollywood classics. He is, in fact, one of my own favorite directors, a handful of his films sitting in my list of favorites. It’s no wonder then that in my three years co-coordinating… Read more »