The cinema of Vincente Minnelli (1903-1986) can be divided into three categories in terms of genre: he made musicals, melodramas, and marriage comedies. Though the pictures in each of these camps differ from one another in tone and technique, it’s always been particularly easy for those of us who love Minnelli to unite them without… Read more »
Have you ever seen a performance that immediately became seared on your brain, a performance so extraordinary and visceral that just thinking about it gives you goosebumps? If you haven’t, I have one recommendation for you: Judy Garland in 1954’s A Star is Born. With the role of Esther Blodgett, Judy was able to showcase… Read more »
The comic filmmaker Frank Tashlin (1913-1972) is probably best remembered today for directing Jerry Lewis in several outings during the 1950s and early 1960s, before Lewis embarked on his own directorial career. One label that I’ve observed other writers use to describe the filmmaking style of both Tashlin and Lewis is “plastic control.” This notion… Read more »
I fell in love with Van Johnson on a summer day in 2008. It wasn’t a moment I was expecting, but as I watched an underrated romantic comedy called Three Guys Named Mike, I felt my eyes lighting up the moment a freckle-faced scientist named Mike Lawrence appeared on the screen. Lost in a book… Read more »
Two-Lane Blacktop (Monte Hellman, 1971) opens on a street race. Engines roar prominently on the soundtrack, and we get a montage of tarmac, cars, and a few close-ups of The Driver (James Taylor) that will become one of our main characters. No one speaks. When The Driver finally does speak – after the opening credits… Read more »
When it comes to the movie musical, there are two giants whose presences are inescapable: Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. The impact of these legendary men cannot be overestimated — from movies to TV shows to music videos to commercials, Astaire and Kelly are still influencing pop culture and reaching new audiences every day. However,… Read more »