Davy Crockett
I have few vivid memories of my grandfather. One of them is of going to a small carnival in the woods out near his home in Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania. I… Read more »
Tag: 1950s
The Steel Helmet
It’s typical for war films from any country or region that the film would paint “their” side as heroic and selfless. The issue here is that war films present a… Read more »
The Naked Spur
This short piece about Janet Leigh was originally written and published in 2010. Let’s talk about Janet Leigh’s character Lina in Anthony Mann’s film The Naked Spur (1953). Though her social… Read more »
Lovely To Look At
Warner Archives has brought out, and continues to bring out, what seems like a limitless supply of classic Hollywood fare. Most of these films will probably never be popular enough… Read more »
Little Fugitive
In 1953, Morris Engel and Ruth Orkin adopted the Neo-Realist technique almost verbatim to create a film about American youth; Little Fugitive. Like Rossellini and the Neo-Realists, Orkin and Engel’s film… Read more »
The Devil’s Disciple
Burt Lancaster would have been 107 years old on November 2nd. So I thought I would revisit one of my late father’s favorite films starring Lancaster, The Devil’s Disciple (1959)…. Read more »
From Here To Eternity
Director Fred Zinnemann is one of a handful of German directors, including Billy Wilder, Douglas Sirk and Robert Siodmak, who relocated to Hollywood in the thirties. In terms of political… Read more »
The Red Balloon
When you are a little boy like I was when I saw The Red Balloon (1956) for the first time it has an indescribable effect on you. Sure a film… Read more »
Many Rivers To Cross
Film aficionados and critics alike are familiar with the speculation pertaining to homosexual readings of old Hollywood films, before homosexuality was acceptable outside of the closet in the cinema. Kenneth… Read more »
Knights Of The Round Table
Although I did not know it at the time, Richard Thorpe is the first director whose career I ever charted as an audience member. And though I cannot find his… Read more »
