Never does time pass so quickly than it does each spring when I visit Los Angeles for the TCM Film Festival. This year was no different. The 2024 festival, which took place April 18-21, gave me another delightful experience of moviegoing, stargazing, friend reunions, and popcorn meals (one of which left me with a broken crown, but whaddya gonna do?). I’ll be covering the actual festival in a post coming soon, but today, I wanted to share the activities that occupied my time in the days before and after the fest began. I did more this year than I ever have before, and it was fantastic! This wa ..read more

It’s about that time again, y’all – time for the Turner Classic Movies film festival! I’ve been attending since 2013, so 2024 marks my 10th year attending the festival in person (and my 12th overall, counting the two years – 2020 and 2021 – that TCM presented a virtual fest). And I’m almost excited all these years later as I was for that very first festival. (Except I no longer start crying after I purchase my passes!) It’s my third year, by the way, that I’ll be attending with my older daughter, Veronica! The day that the full schedule drops is always one of great excitement – seeing all of ..read more

There are lots of great features airing on TCM in April, from pre-Codes like Grand Hotel (1932), Three on a Match (1932), and Bombshell (1933); noirs including Double Indemnity (1944) and The Breaking Point (1950), and a surfeit of classics that don’t fit either of these categories, such as Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939), Pride and Prejudice (1940), and The Mortal Storm. But I’m not selecting any of these for my TCM pick of the month. Instead, I’m doing something a little different. In honor of MGM’s 100-year anniversary – the studio was founded in April 1924, with the merger of Metro Pictures, Go ..read more

What’s the Marathon Stars blogathon, you may ask? It’s an event that invites participants to select a performer that they’ve seen in no more than three movies, and then view and write about at least five of that performer’s features that are new to them. When I read about this event, I immediately thought of Gloria Swanson – I loved her in Sunset Blvd. (1950), but other than that, I’d never seen her in any other feature. And I knew that this blogathon would give me the perfect motivation for discovering her earlier work. (By the way – SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT – if you’re interested in reading mor ..read more

If you know me, you know that I enjoy a tasty cocktail from time to time. I even like the word “cocktail” – it invokes Art Deco rooms peopled by beautiful people clad in impeccable clothes exchanging exquisitely memorable bon mots. Toss a pre-Code movie into this mix, and I’m in heaven! That’s what you’ll get with Andre Darlington’s new book, Forbidden Cocktails: Libations Inspired by the World of Pre-Code Hollywood, by Turner Classic Movies and Running Press. Featuring a foreword by historian and author Mark A. Vieira, this gorgeous book takes a look at 50 pre-Code features and pairs them wi ..read more

My TCM picks for March aren’t the most highly acclaimed films in the history of pre-Code and film noir – but I like them. I hope you will, too. Satiny Pick: Big Business Girl (1931) I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again – I am not a big fan of Loretta Young. EXCEPT when it comes to her pre-Code films. And when it comes to those, I’d watch any of them, any time. In my pick for this month, Big Business Girl, Young stars as Claire “Mac” McIntyre – we meet her and her jazz bandleader boyfriend Johnny (Frank Albertson), at the State University Senior Class Graduation Dance. R.J. is all about tho ..read more

A few days after I saw Shed No Tears (1948) for the first time, I told my mother about the movie and recommended that she watch it. After she did, she called me and said, “I just have one question. Why??” And I told her, “Because it’s so bad, it’s good!” This account may or may not be apocryphal, but there’s no denying two things about Shed No Tears: (1) It’s no masterpiece, and (2) I enjoyed it! (Before I dive into this little confection from Equity Pictures, let me say that I’m highly likely to let a few – or more than a few – spoilers slip, so watch your step!) In a nutshell, the film is a ..read more

Rarely has a Blu-ray set been more aptly named than French Revelations, a recent Flicker Alley release featuring two French-language films: Fanfare D’Amour (Fanfare of Love) and Mauvaise Graine (Bad Seed). I’m always up for a foreign film, but I was especially looking forward to checking out these two: Fanfare D’Amour (1935) was the inspiration for the hit 1958 comedy Some Like It Hot, and Mauvaise Graine (1934) marked the directorial debut of Billy Wilder. And this duo did not disappoint. Fanfare D’Amour — Jeannette and Pierrette. Cheers! This comedy focuses on two out-of-work musicians, Jea ..read more

Looking for some good stuff to watch in February? TCM’s got you covered. Satiny Pick: One Way Passage (1932) I found the pre-Code pickings for February to be rather slim but, never fear, I picked a real winner. One Way Passage may not be overflowing with salacious scenes and gratuitous shots of ladies in their step-ins, but it’s a darn good movie. — They meet. This feature stars William Powell and Kay Francis as Dan Hardesty and Joan Ames, who meet cute in a Hong Kong bar shortly before they both board a ship bound for America. But what Dan doesn’t know is that Joan is terminally ill, and wha ..read more

Another year, another 365 days of quality stuff on TCM! And January 2024 is no different – I have two must-see winners to recommend to you for this month. And they’re coming up near the start of January, so mark your calendars! Shadowy Pick: The Locket (1946) I’ve mentioned The Locket on this blog before – it’s the one that a friend described to me in detail, years before I ever saw it, and when I finally did, it instantly became a favorite. It’s not your run-of-the-mill noir: it features the most affable and poised femme fatale you’d ever want to encounter, and while Robert Mitchum plays a f ..read more