Box Office Poison: Joan Crawford
The Hollywood Revue | Where we're always ready for our close-up.
by Angela
3M ago
Out of all the stars dubbed “box office poison” by the Independent Theater Owners Association in May 1938, the label has become most strongly associated with Joan Crawford. For the most part, being called “box office poison” ultimately became a footnote in the careers of the stars included on the list. Some moved on from Hollywood, but others stars successfully moved past it and entered into new phases of their careers. But Joan is the only star on the list who, decades later, had an unflattering film made about them which included an infamous scene of them having a breakdown over being named ..read more
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Casting The Man Who Came to Dinner (1941)
The Hollywood Revue | Where we're always ready for our close-up.
by Angela
3M ago
If you were a movie fan in late 1941 and early 1942, heading out to the local theater had to feel like a gift from Hollywood — particularly if you were fond of comedies. Between December 1941 and January 1942, Ball of Fire and Sullivan’s Travels both hit the big screen for the first time. And for those who were feeling the Christmas spirit — even a little bit after the holidays — there was The Man Who Came to Dinner. The Man Who Came to Dinner premiered in Atlantic City on Christmas Eve 1941 and went into wide release in January 1942. Before it was a hit movie, it was a hit Broadway comedy wr ..read more
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Book vs. Movie: The Public Enemy (1931)
The Hollywood Revue | Where we're always ready for our close-up.
by Angela
7M ago
Shortly after Little Caesar made a star out of Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney had his own star-making turn in another gangster classic: The Public Enemy. There’s much to say about The Public Enemy in terms of its place in the gangster genre, James Cagney’s performance as Tom Powers, and its importance to Warner Brothers Studios in general. But what often isn’t discussed is the book it was based on. Book & Movie Differences The Public Enemy is a bit unusual in the world of book-to-film adaptations in the sense that most of these adaptations involve books that have been published. The Pub ..read more
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Book vs. Movie: Little Caesar (1931)
The Hollywood Revue | Where we're always ready for our close-up.
by Angela
7M ago
The gangster film genre has roots dating back to the silent era, but in 1931, Warner Brothers brought it to new heights with the release of two movies: Little Caesar and The Public Enemy. Of the two, Little Caesar was released first, making a star of Edward G. Robinson and turning him into a gangster film icon. But before Little Caesar became a classic gangster film, it was a book published by W.R. Burnett. Book & Movie Differences For the most part, Little Caesar is a pretty respectable adaptation of the book. It doesn’t follow the book exactly, but the key events are there, like the New ..read more
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Book vs. Movie: Scarface 1932 & 1983
The Hollywood Revue | Where we're always ready for our close-up.
by Angela
7M ago
If you were to ask people to name a movie about a gangster, you’d very likely get a lot of responses about Scarface. For a lot of people, they’d be thinking of the 1983 movie starring Al Pacino, but the 1932 version starring Paul Muni was also very influential. Both movies were based on the 1930 book Scarface by Armitage Trail, which was inspired by the life of Al Capone. So how do these movies compare to the original book? Book & Movie Differences Neither the 1932 or the 1983 version of Scarface is a particularly faithful book-to-film adaptation. The version starting Paul Muni is a very ..read more
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Book vs. Movie: I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
The Hollywood Revue | Where we're always ready for our close-up.
by Angela
7M ago
Over the years, there has been no shortage of books being turned into movies. However, I Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang!, along with its subsequent film adaptation, 1932’s I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang have the distinction of being widely credited with bringing about social change by leading to the end of the chain gang system. I Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang! was the autobiographical story of Robert Elliott Burns, a World War I veteran who was unable to return to the job he had before the war and had few other job prospects after the war. While moving around looking fo ..read more
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Book vs. Movie: High Sierra (1941)
The Hollywood Revue | Where we're always ready for our close-up.
by Angela
7M ago
Following the success of They Drive by Night, Humphrey Bogart and Ida Lupino hit the big screen together again, once again directed by Raoul Walsh, in 1941’s High Sierra. High Sierra occupies an interesting space in the world of gangster films. Not only does it star an actor very famous for playing lots of gangsters and tough guys, it was based on a book written by someone who was very influential on the gangster/crime film genre. High Sierra was based on W.R. Burnett’s book by the same name, published in 1940. In addition to High Sierra, Burnett wrote the novels Little Caesar and The Asphalt ..read more
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Book vs. Movie: They Drive by Night (1940)
The Hollywood Revue | Where we're always ready for our close-up.
by Angela
7M ago
Humphrey Bogart and Ida Lupino might seem like natural co-stars, but over the course of their careers, they only starred in two movies together. (Or three, if you include the cameo-laden Thank Your Lucky Stars.) The first of those movies, They Drive by Night, was released in August of 1940. But before They Drive by Night hit the silver screen, it was published as a book under the name Long Haul, written by A.I. Bezzerides. Book & Movie Differences For this year’s summer reading challenge, I chose my books to do a theme of stories about crime stories gangsters. It turns out that They Drive ..read more
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My Choices for TCMFF 2023
The Hollywood Revue | Where we're always ready for our close-up.
by Angela
1y ago
For many classic movie fans, the end of March means that the TCM Classic Film Festival is right around the corner. This year’s festival kicks off on Thursday, April 13 and runs through Sunday, April 16. And, once again, I was among the regular festival attendees who had been constantly refreshing the festival website eagerly waiting for the full schedule to be released. For me, being able spend time poring over the schedule and plan out the events I want to go to is a big part of the festival experience — even though I know perfectly well that my plans could easily end up changing later on. S ..read more
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Box Office Poison: Katharine Hepburn
The Hollywood Revue | Where we're always ready for our close-up.
by Angela
1y ago
Out of all the stars labeled Box Office Poison by the Independent Theater Owners Association in 1938, Katharine Hepburn is one who maintains a high degree of name recognition today, even among people who aren’t actively interested in Hollywood history. Like John Barrymore, her name carries an aura of prestige in the acting world. Between stage, film, and television movies, her acting career spanned from 1928 to 1994. Over the course of her career, she won a record four Best Actress Academy Awards and earned eight additional nominations. Even if a person hasn’t seen any of her movies, they mig ..read more
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