Classic and James Bond films unite
The year that Mannequin had its nationwide release, Joan Crawford was featured on the list of actresses termed as "Box Office Poison". It was a list that featured Katherine Hepburn, Kay Francis, Norma Shearer and John Barrymore, to name but a few. It was a list that is now largely seen as being inaccurate, or… Continue reading The Working Man: Spencer Tracy in “Mannequin” (1937)
It's difficult to say why I find A Notorious Affair so enjoyable. Basil Rathbone has an abysmal Italian (I think) accent, Billie Dove isn't terribly charismatic, and the characterisation isn't exactly hugely well rounded for anyone. Basil really could play the violin, even if he looks a trifle nervous in this screenshot But what I… Continue reading Many-a-melodrama: A Notorious Affair (1930)
In a career that spanned almost fifty years, Joan starred in almost every type of Woman's Picture, and played almost every kind of part in the genre, as well as starring in almost every other kind of genre, and playing almost every type of role in those genres, too. But Joan's later films are often… Continue reading What A Dame: Joan’s Four Essential Later Performances
I came across Love Story by chance when I purchased the ITV boxset of Margaret Lockwood's films. I bought it because I wanted to see The Wicked Lady, as I had been very unimpressed by the Michael Winner remake, but had been told the original was wonderful. And then, also quite by coincidence, I listened to a bonus episode… Continue reading Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May: Stewart Granger in ‘Love Story’ (1944)
I can't remember how I first discovered Now Voyager. It just seems to have come into my life and never left. There are movies like that. They become lifelong treasures, friends that you can visit whether you're feeling triumphant or lonely. Now Voyager has been like that for me. Whether I'm on the top of the world like Charlotte… Continue reading The Pain of metamorphosis: Bette Davis in ‘Now Voyager’
Watching a film where Bette Davis plays the female lead is really something. From Now Voyager to Jezebel, Bette never put a foot wrong. But seeing her play both female leads. Well that's really something. And she did it twice, almost twenty years apart, in A Stolen Life and Dead Ringer, in which she played identical twin sisters. And while both of these… Continue reading Walking through the looking glass: Bette Davis in ‘A Stolen Life’ and ‘Dead Ringer’
Pale Writer 