What happens to a young woman when lust and greed take over? This is the storyline of Dragonwyck (1946). Circa 1844 beautiful, young, and naïve Miranda Wells perfectly played by Gene Tierney, is looking for something exciting and different. You see Miranda is a farmer’s daughter in a small town outside of Connecticut and life, well is boring. Miranda is a bit of a romanticist, and desires a better life; a life of luxury with no money...

I am back….long and hard June. If you can believe it, I haven’t had the chance to sit my butt down and watch a classic film in weeks. Something I do just to de-stress. But I am back and today I thought about Bette Davis. I have a wallpaper on my computer with her and Leslie Howard in the fabulous movie titled “Of Human Bondage.” My all time favorite movie. Bette Davis would have turned 100 this past April, and in...

I remember being a kid in school and watching Albert Lamorisse’s 1956 French short, “The Red Balloon.” Ah, I can still hear the projector reeling in magic into my heart. If you didn’t go to school back in the sixties and seventies you probably don’t even know what I am talking about. The film tells a story of a little boy who becomes friends with a balloon, trains it, and the balloon takes on a life of its own. It becomes...

Ann Dvorak One of the things I love most about pre-code movies is how real women were portrayed. Not all of it was good, but real nonetheless. Heat Lightening (1933) with Aline Macmahon and Ann Dvorak is a gem. Two sisters run a gas station/auto repair shop in the middle of the dessert at the Mexican border in California. Olga (Macmahon) is an auto mechanic and when it comes to men, she’s been jaded, and so she is very distrusting. Her...

Classic movie star, model, turned animal activist, Brigitte Bardot is on trial in France for allegedly “inciting anti-Muslim hatred.” What do I have to say about this? Socialism…you got to love it. We may not agree with what she thinks and feels, but she should have the right to say it, don’t you think? What would they have done to Reverend Jeremiah Wright in France? Let’s go a step further, what if Brigitte spoke against...

I read this article titled “Life Should be Like Old Movies.” I had to think about why I watched classic film. It’s funny, but each time I watch a classic it’s like a ritual for me. I set time aside so as not to miss anything and watch the movie as if it were a poem come to life. I don’t just watch a movie, I analyze everything about it. I like all the warm and fuzzy feelings I get when I watch these movies. I had to think after...