In the cinema of Leo McCarey, the act of socializing takes on paramount importance. The rhythms of his films, and the way that they make meaning, largely derive from his direction of actors and from the characters’ behavior toward one another within the fiction — the ways that they look at, listen and react to… Read more »
Tag: screwball comedy
Physical Media Isn’t Dead, It Just Smells Funny: Criterion and Kino Lorber Blu-ray Reviews for April 2022
Full transparency: all Blu-rays reviewed were provided by Criterion and Kino Lorber. We’re going to try and get a little more focused on Physical Media Isn’t Dead and highlight a couple of distributors at a time instead of making you listen to an hour of stream-of-consciousness rambling — now you’ll only have to listen… Read more »
Dancing Around the Void: Nihilism in the Hawksian Comedy
Guest post by Jack Miller. “I have a long-standing pet theory about Hawks’ comedies that I’m starting to question. The theory is that the comedies contain two different kinds of characters, pitched at different levels of abstraction: one more plausible and naturalistic, the other more stylized and exaggerated. And that the films document the perplexity… Read more »
Celebrating Kate the Great
“Oh, we’re going to talk about me now, are we? Goody.” — Katharine Hepburn, The Philadelphia Story A fierce and brilliant woman, Katharine Hepburn was a thorough original. She turned Hollywood upside down with her unapologetic attitude, her eccentric personality, and her closet full of pants. It’s safe to say that the filmmaking industry hasn’t been… Read more »
Rosalind Russell’s Remarkable Girl Friday
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 »
Myrna Loy: More Than Just “The Perfect Wife”
If you were to ask the average person to name an actress from old Hollywood, you’re likely to hear the same handful of names: Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Judy Garland, Joan Crawford, Katharine Hepburn, maybe even Ginger Rogers. If you’re a classic film fan, you know that while these ladies are incredible representations of… Read more »