It’s been quiet around here. Dead quiet. The past few months, I gotta confess to you guys, have been eventful, in ways both good and … not so good. But like a bridge over troubled waters, there have been two constants nursing me through it all. (Aside from some very lovely single malt scotches and, … Continue reading Happy Days Are Here Again!
This post is in conjuction with the Gone Too Soon Blogathon, hosted by the marvelous Comet Over Hollyood blog. At the moment of this writing, Robert Walker lies dead in a candlelit room of a funeral parlor just a few miles from where I sit. Dressed in a blue suit, a white shirt and a … Continue reading Gone Too Soon: Robert Walker
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…?
There were many things about 2011 I’d rather forget, and am quite eager to sweep under the rug and write off as a (semi) total loss. It was, however, a fantastic year for bloggers. And especially so for the classic film community– a niche that hitherto has been of a largely insular nature, existing on … Continue reading 2011 Best of the Blogathons RoundUp
“Awards! All this town does is give awards! Best Fascist Dictator, Adolf Hitler!” – Woody Allen, Annie Hall If by chance you are unfamiliar with how the Awards season works, here’s a brief outline: Studios tend to release their real Oscar contenders (i.e., films with any sort of non-mainstream artistic merit) until the year’s final … Continue reading For Your Consideration: The Year Classic Film Made a Comeback
By 1961, the Hollywood Studio System had begun a slow rot from the inside out which would, by decade’s end, see to its total collapse thus ending the Golden Age of classical Hollywood. The Misfits, directed by John Huston and penned by Arthur Miller, is a fascinating relic from those years in flux that bewildered … Continue reading The Misfits and the End of an Era
Welcome Back Bob has generated a flurry of activity over on Twitter and Tumblr– thanks to any and all who have turned out to voice their support of Mr. Robert Osborne’s return to TCM. Since today is the big day, The Pictorial is letting its readers know that at 8PM Eastern Standard Time, when Osborne … Continue reading Welcome Robert Osborne Back December 1st — Be There or Be Square!
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
Just like last year, the Pictorial will be on something of a hiatus this month owing to the voluntary slavery known as National Novel Writing Month. NaNaWriMo is a major creative kick in the ass, not for the faint of heart, and I utterly failed last year… which I aim not to repeat this time … Continue reading NaNoWriMo: A Public Service Announcement
The Kitty Packard Pictorial 