Late nights, fast talking and even faster typing. To celebrate me making it through my first month of journalism school, here is a fleeting look at the fourth estate on film. His Girl Friday (1940) The gold standard of newspaper comedies. Wily editor Walter Burns (Cary Grant) is horrified when his star reporter and ex-wife, […]
Intermission
My apologies for the dearth of new posts. I’ve just begun a postgraduate degree in Journalism and while I am having a great time, it’s quite clear that school work will occupy every nook and cranny in my brain for a while. So bring up the house lights. Stretch your legs. Go buy some more […]
Shades of Grey: ‘The Searchers’ (1956)
I’ve been working my way through a few Westerns recently: Red River, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Naked Spur, Stagecoach and The Wild Bunch. Not because I particularly enjoyed any of them, but because- just like spinach or Brussels sprouts- they’re good for me. Show me a saloon, saddle or tumbleweed and I […]
All About Charlotte: ‘Now, Voyager’ (1942)
The untold want by life and land ne’er granted, Now voyager sail thou forth to seek and find. -Walt Whitman My favourite shot of Bette Davis appears about a third of the way through Now, Voyager, when she steps out onto a ship’s gangway. The camera glides from her sleek heels to chic hat, its […]
Tales of Terror: ‘The Haunting’ (1963), ‘Dead of Night’ (1945) and ‘Cat People’ (1942)
Horror thrives on explicit shock, terror on lingering disquiet and dread. This in essence is Ann Radcliffe’s famous distinction between fright and fear. Mrs. Radcliffe was the undisputed mistress of Gothic fiction- when it comes to spooky and scary, I consider her an expert. The Haunting, Dead of Night and Cat People have a few […]
The Education of an American: ‘Dodsworth’ (1936)
I’ve been doing things myself for a long time now, and I thought I’d give things a chance to do something to me. Dodsworth is a sensitive, superlative look at love, life and marriage. It’s also a neglected classic about an American abroad. After decades managing his automobile empire Samuel Dodsworth (Walter Huston) retires, setting […]
Ye Merry Olde Englande: ‘The Court Jester’ (1956)
Or, why I now adore Danny Kaye. I first bumped into The Court Jester in the back pages of Empire film magazine. The article mentioned Angela Lansbury and Basil Rathbone- always worth watching- and swordfights, but what was this about vessels with pestles? I found the scene in question on YouTube and ordered the DVD […]
Arabian Nights (and Days): ‘The Thief of Bagdad’ (1940)
Hands up, what was the last good fantasy film you saw? I mean a movie which truly thrilled you, transported you to another world and filled you with endless wonder. Was it The Lord of the Rings trilogy? Stardust? How about the Chronicles of Narnia or (some) instalments of the Harry Potter franchise? Fantasy is […]
Glitz, Glamour and Grit: ‘Footlight Parade’ (1933)
James Cagney: tough guy, song-and-dance man. Singing and dancing in a bar-cum-opium den? Welcome to the wonderful world of the 1930s Warner Bros. musical- where women are dames, wisecracks whistle back and forth backstage and anything goes if it can just dodge the censors. Musicals are my favourite genre. I grew up loving the crème-de-la-crème […]
Everyone’s Fifteen Minutes: ‘Nothing Sacred’ (1937)
I have a confession to make: I haven’t always enjoyed screwball comedy. The Philadelphia Story was probably the first I watched. Though drawn by the considerable wattage of Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart, gloriously united in one movie, I winced at too many scenes to see the humour in them. Yes Tracy Lord […]