whoar.co.nz (Free subscription) | 11/09/2009
“..From the outside, the Trylon “microcinema” in Minneapolis looks more like a vacant office space than a movie theater. But past the front door of the short, bland brick building and through an upstart gallery space, lovers of vintage film can see Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert thumbing a ride in It Happened One Night [...]
Laura's Miscellaneous Musings (Free subscription) | 11/08/2009
THREE-CORNERED MOON is a very early example of the "crazy family" Depression-era screwball comedy, a genre which hit its peak a few years later with MY MAN GODFREY (1936). Claudette Colbert plays Elizabeth Rimpelgar, who lives with her ditzy mother (Mary Boland) and three brothers in a spacious mansion in Brooklyn. Elizabeth may be the only sane member of the family, but the Depression soon...
Laura's Miscellaneous Musings (Free subscription) | 11/07/2009
I MET HIM IN PARIS reunites Claudette Colbert and Melvyn Douglas, stars of the 1935 comedy SHE MARRIED HER BOSS (1935). Colbert plays Kay Denham, who is happy to leave her devoted but boring beau (Lee Bowman) at home in the U.S. while she takes a three-week vacation in Paris. Kay promptly meets Americans George (Melvyn Douglas), a dour playwright, and Gene (Robert Young), an energetic playboy who quickly...
DVDVerdict (Free subscription) | 11/04/2009
Reviewed by James A. Stewart Quote: "Whether glamorous or down-to-earth, Colbert comes across as a friendly, intelligent wisecracker who doesn't take things too seriously."
Laura's Miscellaneous Musings (Free subscription) | 11/02/2009
There's been a dearth of classic film releases on DVD this year, but November 3rd is an especially good day for fans of classic film and TV. First up is the 6-film Claudette Colbert Legacy Collection. (Click the title of this post for a link with more info.) The films in the set are THREE-CORNERED MOON (1933), MAID OF SALEM (1937), I MET HIM IN PARIS (1937), BLUEBEARD'S EIGHTH WIFE (1938), NO TIME...
DVD Talk (Free subscription) | 11/02/2009
Recommended Reviewed by Glenn Erickson Remarkable movie star Claudette Colbert was always considered at the very top of her game over a film career that lasted 34 years, 50 if you count an extra TV movie appearance. A consummate professional, she played the game her own way, neither fighting to be the best-regarded actress nor the most desired lover. Stories about her on-set demands never reached...
The New Yorker - Arts and Culture (Free subscription) | 11/02/2009
paragraph class="noindent"> Hollywood has always been a haven for immigrants with talent. One of the greatest, Ernst Lubitsch, arrived there from Germany in the early nineteen-twenties, not pushed by political turmoil but pulled by money. American wealth is at the heart of his 1938 comedy, “Bluebeard’ . . .
Bjørn Stærk's Max 256 Blog (Free subscription) | 10/30/2009
Mission to Moscow (1943, USA) - Contrary to what you have been told, Russia is nothing at all like brainwashed leader-worshipping Germany. German soldiers are buffoons, Soviet soldiers are exotic. German leaders are fanatics, Soviet leaders are kind old men with grandfather beards, honest men of integrity who want nothing but peace for the world. And the Moscow trials were fair ! Based on the book...
Laura's Miscellaneous Musings (Free subscription) | 10/30/2009
J.C. Loophole of the Shelf passed on the interesting news that TCM has started a program where they will be providing Universal movies on demand . The movies available will include Paramount titles under Universal's control, with one of the first titles on sale being Paramount's terrific Christmas film REMEMBER THE NIGHT (1940), starring Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck. REMEMBER THE NIGHT will...
This Blog Sits at the (Free subscription) | 10/29/2009
Tomorrow, Pam and I are going to a Halloween party. It's called Dead Brands. The invitation: come as a brand that's gone out of business. P&G is about to suspend the sale of Max Factor in North America. So I'm...
Laura's Miscellaneous Musings (Free subscription) | 10/29/2009
LET'S MAKE IT LEGAL is a fun "divorce comedy," following in the footsteps of films such as PRIVATE LIVES (1931), AFFECTIONATELY YOURS (1941), and NEVER SAY GOODBYE (1946). 20th Century-Fox comedies of this era have a style I love, starting with the jaunty opening credits. LET'S MAKE IT LEGAL isn't a classic, by any means, but it's a pleasant diversion which provides a few good chuckles. Miriam...
The Coveted (Free subscription) | 10/29/2009
Ancient Egypt is on my mind. It started with an image I found a few months ago in The Commons. She’s a dancer from 1915, where the combination between being a color photo from 1915 and the remarkable costume, the wings that conquer all my musings and the black and white ribbon wrapping her body. [...]
Lisa Snellings (Free subscription) | 10/20/2009
Our dishwasher suddenly died. Oh German Engineering, thou hast failed me once more. So I set out to hand wash a dishwasher chock full o stuff. I decided if I'd be stuck at it, I may as well put on some music. I chose Berlioz, almost at random. A few moments later with my hands busy and the steam rising all around me, I realized that I truly was enjoying myself. There's a lot to be said about doing...
My view by Silvio Canto, Jr. (Free subscription) | 10/20/2009
Once in a while, we recommend an article to Dems. Today, we strongly recommend The president's Frank Capra moment by David Shribman , Pittsburgh Post-Gazette! It goes like this: "Maybe it happened of an afternoon when no one was looking. Maybe it occurred when everyone was focused on something else, or preoccupied with other matters. Maybe it happened one night. But this is no romantic comedy,...
RealClearPolitics (Free subscription) | 10/18/2009
WASHINGTON -- Maybe it happened on an afternoon when no one was looking. Maybe it occurred when everyone was focused on something else, or preoccupied with other matters. Maybe it happened one night. But this is no romantic comedy, and there is no Clark Gable or Claudette Colbert involved. Yet it definitely happened. The Iraq war, once owned by George W. Bush, suddenly became Barack Obama's. So, too,...
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