Bachelor Mother is another one of those great time-capsule movies that communicates much more to a modern viewer than just its plot. It’s a light, charming comedy from 1939, starring Ginger Rogers, and pretty much right from the start, the concept of the situation completely and utterly reflects its era. Rogers plays a shopgirl at Merlin’s department store …
This marks my first film watched as a new subscriber of Warner Archive’s Instant service! If you’re not familiar, Warner Archive Instant is similar to Netflix in that it gives you digital access to a range of their catalogue of classic movie selections. After a somewhat overwhelming selection process and the truly awful situation of having …
Easy Living, part of a Preston Sturges double feature at New Beverly this past week, is a delightful screwball comedy from 1937. It’s full of misunderstandings and mistaken identities, and it’s a great example of escapist fantasy for Depression-era (or modern day) moviegoers. Our Cinderella in this story is Mary Smith (Jean Arthur), who’s on …
I hadn’t actually planned on watching this movie–though it is directed by Busby Berkeley, it’s not actually a musical, so it didn’t cross on my radar while I was plotting this month’s Rare Musicals post. TCM had given us the gift of a whole day of rare Berkeleys, so while I was flipping through my …
I think wartime musicals are quickly becoming my favorite subgenre within the movies I’ve been watching as part of my weekend morning musical project. Being raised in a Navy town I have to give slight preference to sailor stories, but I do love a good Army picture like Something for the Boys. Filmed in glorious, …
Carmen Miranda cuts a curious figure in film history. You know those actors and characters you just can’t really picture smiling? The Buster Keatons, the James Bonds, and so on. Part of what I love about Carmen Miranda is that she’s completely the opposite–I have such a hard time picturing her with a straight, emotionless …