@TCManiacs Blogs

The Black Book | John Alton photographs epic Reign of Terror in Film Noir style - Watch Free Online

2011-10-19T23:10:00.004-05:00

Cover of The Black Book Reign of Terror (also known as The Black Book) is a 1949 drama film set in the French Revolution. Plotters of François Barras seek to bring down Maximilien Robespierre and end his bloodthirsty regime. Although ostensibly an historical thriller, the film also has the characteristics of film noir in style, and numerous elements of chase films. "For The Black Book, working

The Scarlet Empress | Josef von Sternberg's expressionist art design

2011-08-31T17:59:00.001-05:00

Cover via Amazon The Scarlet Empress is a 1934 historical drama film made by Paramount Pictures about the life of Catherine the Great. It was directed and produced by Josef von Sternberg, with Emanuel Cohen as executive producer, from a screenplay by Eleanor McGeary, based on the diary of Catherine arranged by Manuel Komroff. Marlene Dietrich as Catherine, with John Davis Lodge, Sam Jaffe (in

Too Many Husbands & Wives Plots for Screwball Comedy

2011-08-21T10:14:00.002-05:00

Too Many Husbands (released in the United Kingdom as My Two Husbands) is a 1940 romantic comedy film about a woman who loses her husband (Cardew) in a boating accident and remarries, only to have her first spouse reappear. The film starred Jean Arthur, Fred MacMurray and Melvyn Douglas. It is based on the 1919 play "Home and Beauty" by W. Somerset Maugham My Favorite Wife (released in the U.K

The Shop Around the Corner Inspires 2 Movie Remakes

2011-08-13T14:04:00.000-05:00

The Shop Around the Corner is a 1940 American romantic comedy film directed by Ernst Lubitsch, and starring James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan. This film was ranked #28 on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions. In 1999, The Shop Around the Corner was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically

Charles Laughton & Elsa Lanchester Couple in Marriage and on Film

2011-08-07T11:29:00.000-05:00

Charles Laughton and Elsa Lanchester Elsa Lanchester met the actor Charles Laughton in 1927, and they were married two years later. Laughton's success in American films resulted in the couple moving to Hollywood, where Lanchester played small film roles. They appeared together in several films, including Rembrandt (1936), Tales of Manhattan (1942) and The Big Clock(1948). She wittily portrayed

Lucille Ball Queen of the Bs

2011-08-06T15:04:00.001-05:00

Lucille Ball attended the John Murray Anderson School for the Dramatic Arts in New York City with fellow actress Bette Davis. Ball went home a few weeks later when drama coaches told her that she "had no future at all as a performer." Ball was determined to prove her teachers wrong, and returned to New York City in 1929, where she landed work as a model and later began her performing career on

Goldwyn Girls

2011-08-02T06:22:00.000-05:00

Early Goldwyn Girls The Goldwyn Girls were a musical stock company of female dancers employed by Samuel Goldwyn. Famous actresses whose career included a stint in the Goldwyn Girls include Lucille Ball, Paulette Goddard, Betty Grable, Ann Sothern, Jane Wyman, Virginia Bruce,Virginia Grey, Mary Meade, and Virginia Mayo. Paulette Goddard Lucille Ball Jane Wyman IMDb lists of actresses

The Formula starring Marlin Brando and George C. Scott inspired by factual Nazi and US secrets

2011-08-02T04:16:00.000-05:00

The Formula is a mystery film directed by John G. Avildsen released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1980. It features a preeminent cast of Marlon Brando, John Gielgud,George C. Scott and Marthe Keller. Craig T. Nelson also makes a brief appearance as a geologist. Despite recieving 1st Golden Rasberry Award, the film is noteworthy as being one of the first films to deal with the issue of peak oil and

On the Waterfront | Watch Videoclip Most Famous "I coulda been a contender" Scene

2011-08-01T22:08:00.004-05:00

right click mage to download poster On the Waterfront is a 1954 American drama film about union violence and corruption among longshoremen. The film was directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. It stars Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint, Rod Steiger, Karl Malden and Lee J. Cobb. The soundtrack score was composed by Leonard Bernstein. It is claimed it was based on a series of articles

A Streetcar Named Desire | "Hey, STELLA" Videoclip

2011-08-01T21:45:00.001-05:00

right click image to download poster A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1951 American film adaptation of the 1947 play of the same name by Tennessee Williams, who also wrote the screenplay with Oscar Saul. The film, a romantic drama, was directed by Elia Kazan, who had also directed the original stage production, and stars Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, Kim Hunter, and Karl Malden; all but Leigh were

2011 Summer Under The Stars Schedule | 17 Newbies

2011-07-31T21:07:00.001-05:00

Scroll down for the complete 2011 Summer Under The Stars Schedule. TCM will have the repertoire of 17 newbies featured an entire day for the first time: Paulette Goddard Ronald Colman Peter Lawford Joan Blondell Conrad Veidt Lon Chaney Howard Keel, Orson Welles, Charles Laughton, Jean Gabin, Joanne Woodward, Montgomery Clift, Anne Francis, Ann Dvorak, Ben Johnson and Ralph

TCM Summer of the Stars Takes us on a Road Trip | 2011 Schedule

2011-07-31T15:41:00.006-05:00

This year TCM will take us on an All-American road trip for Summer of the Stars 2011. The artist uses nostalgic images from days when The American Automobile ruled the highways! We get to “tune into” SUTS by means of a dashboard with great radio dials to select “channels” for each day of the month. Conveniently placed road signs and neon drive in signs also help us navigate through SUTS. Each

View Pygmalion the inspiration for My Fair Lady FREE ONLINE

2011-07-02T09:59:00.000-05:00

Pygmalion is a 1938 British film based on the George Bernard Shaw play of the same title, and adapted by him for the screen. It stars Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller. The film was a financial and critical success, and won an Oscar for best screenplay and three more nominations. My Fair Lady is a 1964 musical film adaptation of the Lerner and Loewe stage musical, of the same name, based on the

The Bad Seed | Local Stage Production Doesn't Disappoint This Cult Film Lover

2011-06-28T20:56:00.011-05:00

Patty McCormick as Rhoda in 1956 film The Bad Seed Last weekend I finally had the opportunity to see a theatrical production of The Bad Seed. When asked by my son who escorted me to classify the Bad Seed, I first called it a black comedy because of the movies high camp value, but clarified it later to be a comedic thriller. The intensity of the subject of serial killing family traits

The Snows of Kilimanjaro | Watch Online Free

2011-04-28T20:47:00.000-05:00

Image via WikipediaThe Snows of Kilimanjaro is a 1952 film based on the short story of the same name by Ernest Hemingway. The film version of the short story was directed by Henry King, and starred Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, and Susan HaywardConsidered by Hemingway to be one of his finest stories, "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" was first published in Esquire magazine in 1936 and then republished in

D. W. Griffith's The Birth Of A Nation (1915)

2011-04-11T18:50:00.003-05:00

Image via WikipediaThe Birth of a Nation (originally called The Clansman) is a 1915 American silent film co-written (with Frank E. Woods), co-produced (with Harry Aitken), and directed by D. W. Griffith and based on the novel and play The Clansman, both by Thomas Dixon, Jr. It was originally released on February 8, 1915. The film was originally presented in two parts, separated by an intermission

In Memorium | Elizabeth Taylor February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011

2011-04-10T15:04:00.001-05:00

Though its impossible to appropriately eulogize Elizabeth Taylor in a blog post, I will take the time just to express my sincere love for my favorite movie star. From as early as I can remember she was the my ideal woman. I rated her beauty, talent and personality above every other actress in black-in-white or technicolor, as a child star up til her the last days of her golden years. Not to

Mike Myers Austin Powers scene taken from Peter Sellers After the Fox

2011-01-14T07:46:00.001-06:00

After the Fox is a 1966 Italian comedy film starring Peter Sellers and directed by Vittorio De Sica. Sellers plays Aldo Vanucci, also known as The Fox, a master criminal with a talent for disguise who accepts the contract for smuggling the gold with Okra (Akim Tamiroff) the mastermind of the heist, Two policemen are constantly on his trail and Aldo has to use many disguises and tricks to throw

Peter Sellers The Bobo - The Blue Matador inspires Big Fat Liar

2011-01-14T06:59:00.000-06:00

Image via WikipediaThe Bobo is a 1967 British comedy film starring Peter Sellers and co-starring his then-wife Britt Ekland. Based on a 1959 novel "Olimpia" by Burt Cole, aka Thomas Dixon, Sellers is featured as the would-be Spanish singing matador, Juan Bautista. A theater manager offers to give him a big break if he seduces the beautiful Olympia (Ekland) and spends an hour in her apartment

Ignoring Chest Pains for TCM Metropolis Premiere Almost Cost My Life

2011-01-12T01:23:00.000-06:00

I am posting on my blog, because a 140 character tweet just couldn't do justice for the explanation for why I suddenly stopped my maniacal tweeting for TCM the 2 months. November 8th was a typical lazy Sunday except I was full of anticipation like every other true movie enthusiast for the premier of the 2010 renovation of Metropolis at 10pm ON TCM that night. An otherwise typical Sunday was

Review | Once Upon a Time in The West: Love Poem to American Westerns

2010-12-31T04:11:00.000-06:00

Cover of Once Upon a Time in the West Once Upon a Time in The West is my all time favorite film as well as my favorite movie score. Bernardo Bertolucci, the co-writer of Once Upon a Time in The West, later directs The Last Emperor, which is my second all time favorite film as well as my second favorite movie score. Beware this is not your usual western. It is epic poetry. It is opera. It is a

1955 Ealing comedy The Ladykillers remade 2004 by the Coen brothers

2010-12-30T00:34:00.000-06:00

Cover of The Ladykillers [Blu-ray]The Ladykillers is a 1955 British black comedy film made by Ealing Studios. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick, it stars Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers, Danny Green, Jack Warner and Katie Johnson. American William Rose wrote the screenplay, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay and won the BAFTA

TCManiacs 2010 Holiday Picks!

2010-12-10T11:15:00.000-06:00

TCManiac's has picked favorite films that celebrate faith, family and festivity of the December holiday season. TCManiacs December Holiday Picks!3 Friday 8:00 PM Fitzwilly (1967) When an aging philanthropist goes broke, her butler robs from the rich so she can give to the poor. Cast: Dick Van Dyke, Edith Evans, Barbara Feldon. Dir: Delbert Mann. C-103 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

Chained for Life featuring famous "Siamese" Hilton Twins | Watch free

2010-10-31T23:51:00.000-05:00

Image via WikipediaImages via WikipediaChained for Life is a 1951 exploitation film featuring the famous conjoined ("Siamese") Hilton Twins, Daisy and Violet. It features several vaudeville acts, including juggler Whitey Roberts, a man doing bicycle stunts, and a man who plays The William Tell Overture at breakneck speed on an accordion. The movie incorporates aspects of the twins' real life,

Watch William Castle's House on Haunted Hill Free Online

2010-10-31T15:46:00.000-05:00

Image via WikipediaHouse on Haunted Hill is a 1959 American B movie horror film from Allied Artists. It was directed by William Castle, written by Robb White, and starring Vincent Price. It is the tale of five people invited to stay the night in a haunted house by an eccentric millionaire, Fredrick Loren (Vincent Price), who is throwing the "party" for his fourth wife, Annabelle (Carol Ohmart),