John Ford, accomplished two things with Stagecoach. He created the modern western, and made John Wayne a star. Both were long in coming. Westerns were formulaic. They had a story, but nothing that set them apart. They also had no strong characters. This was changed by the great director. Ford gave John Wayne, his shot […]
Clark Gable was able to act in anything, and make it better. The Hucksters is an example of that. It is an expose of the radio ad industry. The movie isn’t memorable. It does show the difference between people and their moral compasses. Gable is able to bring out the cast’s strengths, particularly Ava Gardner
Alfred Hitchcock was a British filmmaker. He recently came to Hollywood, and would rightly earn the nickname, The Master of Suspense. Mr. & Mrs. Smith, proves he could step out of his comfort zone. This is a screwball comedy, with the queen of them, Carole Lombard. It also stars Robert Montgomery, who starred in many
It would be easy to dismiss The Last Picture Show. It’s main themes are adultery and adolescent sexual awakening. The main parts of any movie are what keeps it relevant. It has acting, directing and a good script. The story mainly follows the lives of teenagers in a small Texas town. The central characters revolve
What is it that Spencer Tracy and Victor Fleming, have in common? Many might be puzzled. The answer is they were both Hollywood success stories. Tracy won back to back academy awards. They were for Captains Courageous and Boys Town. This achievement stood for over fifty years. It was broken in the nineties, by Tom
Elia Kazan, was a director, who was known for heavy dramatic movies. The list is extensive. They include, Gentleman’s Agreement, A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront. These films not only were good, but made stars of the actors. One film on Kazan’s resume, is Man on a Tightrope. It is a hard hitting
There are many Alfred Hitchcock films, that build to the climax. To Catch a Thief, doesn’t do that as well as his other films. Its main function is putting Cary Grant and Grace Kelly together. It is one of the best pairings, in a Hitchcock movie. Cary Grant was still a star. Grace Kelly was
The Man From Laramie is the last collaboration between James Stewart and Anthony Mann. It is a western, as much as it is a soap opera. It is one of James Stewart’s best westerns. He is helped by a very good cast. This includes Donald Crisp. He gives a quite a performance as Alec Waggoman.
The tone is set for Frankenstein is set at the beginning. Henry Frankenstein, (Colin Clive), and his assistant, Fritz, (Dwight Frye), rob a freshly dug grave. The cemetery is full of foreboding statues, and religious symbols. They even cut down a hanged man’s body. They leave it, because it can’t be used. Henry Frankenstein doesn’t
In 1931, Universal Studios created it’s stable of monsters. Dracula, was the first. It is based on a the Bram Stoker novel. The script of the film is based on the stage play. Bela Lugosi, played the lead for three years. He made a comfortable transition to the big screen. He became famous by playing