Strictly entre nous: I’m not a fan of Jeanette MacDonald. I am a fan of opera, thank you very much indeed (I begged–and won–for my parents to take me to see Le Nozze di Figaro at the Los Angeles Opera at age 16) but I’d much rather listen to Irene Dunne’s falsetto’s than the fluttery … Continue reading San Francisco (1936) and The Art of Disaster
It’s day 6 of the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon, hosted by Sittin’ on a Backyard Fence, a month-long celebration of Turner Classic Movies’ much-loved Summer Under the Stars festival. Each day, the network is featuring a movie star with a marathon of their films, and each day Sittin on a Backyard Fence is playing … Continue reading My Man Van
Perhaps one of the many reasons I have such a deep admiration and respect for Marilyn is due to the fact that the first film I saw of hers, or rather, the first film I remember watching start to finish ( Marilyn’s films are so rooted in our cultural subconscious that someone can feel as … Continue reading The Birth of an Actress: Marilyn Monroe in Don't Bother to Knock
That was the question once asked by writer Ted Elrick, his answer coming in the form the essay Classic is in the Eye—and Mind—of the Beholder (as published in DGA News Magazine, Feb. 1992). Elrick gave the daunting task of defining that elusive quality which differentiates a good movie from a classic film to over 100 … Continue reading What Makes A Classic Film Classic…?
Dear Turner Classic Movie Fans Everywhere: As all of you are very well aware, this week marks the return of the one, the only, wonderful Mr. Robert Osborne who, after a five-month hiatus, resumes his primetime hosting duties on the TCM stage this week, December 1st. “Welcome Back Bob” is a week-long celebration brought to … Continue reading Welcome Back, Bob!
I thought it would be fun to explore Chaplin’s fascinating love/hate relationship with a little thing called … sound. Chaplin may have been the one filmmaker to hold out the longest against sound, but he also happened to be one of the earliest filmmakers to embrace it. A fitting contradiction given Chaplin was … Continue reading Charlie Chaplin and the Sound of Silence
So here we are, day one of Project Keaton. Submissions are pouring in and The Pictorial is buzzing with excitement. The Project’s Tumblr and Facebook pages are up and running and … this is gonna be awesome, guys. So for the first official Project Keaton post, I’m going to be a total prima-donna and grab … Continue reading My Somewhat Neurotic Relationship with Buster Keaton Movies and Why They Make Me OK with Being Me.
For the month of October, the Pictorial will be heavily focusing on the life, work and art of the legendary Buster Keaton. It felt right we should do so, given Buster’s 116th birthday on October 4th, the month-long salute to Keaton’s films on Turner Classic Movies, and some exciting new releases from Kino video. Project … Continue reading Project Keaton
This post is in conjunction with today’s Fashion in Film Blogathon behing hosted by the lovely Angela at The Hollywood Revue! Scene: Main Street, USA. 1937. Boy and girl at the local theatre watching the new Carole Lombard comedy Nothing Sacred. Lots of laughter, lots of coddling. The sight of Lombard in a voluminous yet … Continue reading Film Fashion Frenzy: Cinema Fashion Shops of the 1930s
As all you readers of the Pictorial are well aware, I’m something of a Turner Classic Movies junkie… As I know many of you are too! Which is why I’m just plain tickled pink over the fact that TCM recently asked my pal Will McKinley and I to participate in their September podcast. Will lives … Continue reading Shameless Plug: TCM’s September Pre-Code Podcast
The Kitty Packard Pictorial 