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 […]
Why Classic Films Matter
“You like old films? Why?” The tone varies- anything from mild incredulity to genuine pity, or just plain old curiosity- but the sentiment is the same. What’s the point of watching an old movie? The special effects are outdated, the performances likely cheesy and the stars are actors only your parents might recognize. If you […]
Hooray for Hollywood
It’s eight o’clock on a Saturday night: a little girl huddles on the sofa, hands over her eyes, peering at the television. Rod Taylor is caught in a desperate battle against morlocks and if he doesn’t succeed, surely the monsters will break out of their cave to invade her living room. Yesterday she cheered as […]
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