i A I don’t know about you, but I worried this day wouldn’t come. After the layoffs Warner Bros. Discovery implemented last year that saw beloved TCM personalities without a job and culminated in several days of fear that the network would be destroyed forever, the fact that we’re celebrating its 30th anniversary is kind of a miracle. I’ve told this story countless times but TCM quite literally put me on the road to where I am today. The first movie I ever saw (complete with Robert Osborne intro) was the 1946 film The Spiral Staircase. I’m not sure why I stopped changing the channel as a waywa ..read more

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-u8jf2-15d381e It was a hard day’s night getting this episode together after our guest backed out last minute. Thankfully, Emily is back and we’re celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Beatles’ cinematic debut in A Hard Day’s Night. We talk about the Fab Four turned actors, the way this movie tried to sell a soundtrack, and far too many connections to Spice World. This episode was created thanks to our Patrons: Ali Moore Amy Hart Danny David Floyd Donna Hill Gates Jacob Haller Jonathan Watkins Krista Painter McF Rachel Clark A Button Called Smalls Chris ..read more

We were fortunate to interview TCM host Dave Karger about his new book, 50 Oscar Nights. Hear Dave discuss tracking down the 50 subjects he interviewed, Howard Ashman stories and more ..read more

I realized last year I didn’t actually list out my schedule on here (though we did do a Ticklish Business episode on our choices). But it was funny re-reading my 2022 choices and seeing how closely I stuck to it. Fun fact, I said in 2022 I’d never done a midnight and in 2023 I finally made it through one: the 1980 charmer Xanadu! This year’s festival has A LOT to live up to. It’s the 15th anniversary of the festival celebrating the 30th anniversary of the network and takes place just one year after the public outcry over the internal lay-offs at the network. I’m cautiously optimistic that WBD ..read more

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-x3nez-15bdea6 We’re celebrating the dueling centennials of Marlon Brando and Tennessee Williams with a look at their most enduring collaboration: 1951’s A Streetcar Named Desire. Historian and author Foster Hirsch joins us to break down the film’s complicated subject matter, Marlon Brando’s Method acting, the gender and class politics and everyone’s old friend, the Blacklist. Buy Foster’s book Hollywood and the Movies of the Fifties here. This episode was created thanks to our Patrons: Ali Moore Amy Hart Danny David Floyd Donna Hill Gates Jacob Haller Jon ..read more

Anna May Wong is one of those performers that leaves me saying, how are there not a million biographies written about her? Yes, she’s had her fair share, but she isn’t in the realm of Audrey Hepburn or Marilyn Monroe where books about her are everywhere. It’s a shame because, as Katie Gee Salisbury lays out in her book Not Your China Doll, Anna May Wong lived a life of excitement and heartache, in equal measure. I went into this book knowing little about Anna May Wong other than her career was waylaid by the racism that, in some ways, still plagues Hollywood. Salisbury’s book positions Wong as ..read more

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-cjk4s-15a1fb0 Marilyn Monroe writer Elisa Jordan joins Kristen to celebrate the 65th anniversary of Some Like It Hot. The pair discuss Marilyn Monroe’s career during this film, whether Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis could pass as women, and how the movie’s connections with the LGBTQ community.   This episode was created thanks to our Patrons: Ali Moore Amy Hart Danny David Floyd Donna Hill Gates Jacob Haller Jonathan Watkins Krista Painter McF Rachel Clark A Button Called Smalls Chris McKay Debbi Lynne Jeffrey Kayla Ewing Nicholas Montano Peter Blitstei ..read more

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-7h3wi-1590451 Love Month comes to a close with Marion Davies biographer and Olivia de Havilland expert Lara Gabrielle joining us once again to talk about 1949’s The Heiress. We discuss its adaptation origins, why Livvie de Havilland was not feeling this movie, and why Montgomery Clift is so damn hot.   This episode was created thanks to our Patrons: Ali Moore Amy Hart Andrew Hoppe Danny David Floyd Donna Hill Gates Jacob Haller Jonathan Watkins Krista Painter McF Rachel Clark A Button Called Smalls Chris McKay Debbi Lynne Jeffrey Kayla Ewing Peter ..read more

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-yx3jw-1579d11 Paul Newman biographer Shawn Levy is here to help us celebrate the month of love with a look at the 1958 film The Long Hot Summer. Levy explains the enduring love story of Paul and Joanne Woodward, why this movie isn’t better known, and why we should all ready Shelley Winters’ autobiography.   Buy Shawn’s books here.   This episode was created thanks to our Patrons: Ali Moore Amy Hart Andrew Hoppe Danny David Floyd Donna Hill Gates Jacob Haller Jonathan Watkins Krista Painter McF Rachel Clark A Button Called Smalls Chris McKay D ..read more

Peeping Tom is considered a groundbreaking movie in the world of film history. On the one hand, it was a marked divergence for director Michael Powell — best known for beautiful, colorful fantasy stories crafted with his collaborator Emeric Pressburger — and on the other it’s generally considered one of the earliest slasher films, predating Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho by about four months. I was fortunate to see this play at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles in a new 4K restoration that looks fantastic (and that’s saying something if you’ve seen other Powell/Pressburger films like A Matter of ..read more