This Quarter in Film History -

Dancing with Myself

March 1, 2014

Cover Girl (1944) is a famous movie for two reasons — one intentional and the other accidental. The film’s legacy is of a time when women were celebrated for their glamour and sexuality. […]

Separating the Bums from the Contenders

May 1, 2014

Sixty years after its premiere in June 1954 in Japan, of all places (New York and Los Angeles followed in July), ‘On the Waterfront’ is still regarded as a seminal film because of its immense influence on acting. […]

Les Beatles Nouvelle Vague: A Hard Day For Night

July 1, 2014

It is hard to believe now, but in the early 1960s, the young, long-haired Liverpudlian lads John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr (known collectively as the Beatles) were considered to be an insidious force, challenging British as well as American stereotypes of youthful masculinity, just as their distinctive, infectious “beat music” threatened to take over the pop charts of both countries. […]

A Star is Reborn, Remade, Remodeled

September 1, 2014

Hollywood’s business is the merchandising and recycling of myth — especially the myth of the tragic Hollywood star (Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, etc.) in biopic or documentary form. […]

The Gutting of ‘Greed’

November 1, 2014

The editor described the first part of the picture as “quite humorous at times,” which would have helped audiences accept the tragedy of the second half. […]

When the South Rose Again

January 1, 2015

One century ago, on February 8, 1915, David Wark Griffith’s ‘The Birth of a Nation’ premiered under its original title, The Clansman, at Clune’s Auditorium in Los Angeles. […]

The Cowboys and the Divorcée

February 1, 2016

Written by Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Arthur Miller, directed by Oscar winner John Huston, and starring two Hollywood legends — Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe — The Misfits premiered in New York City February 1, 1961. […]

Expressionist Portrait of a Serial Killer

June 1, 2016

From a black screen, a circle of children fades in and the little girl at its center sings a counting out song: Just you wait it won’t be long, The man in black will soon be here, […]