January turned out to be a neat month in collecting. I found some cool movie-related books and added a few films to the shelves, too. Here’s the update! Books My mom and I took part in one of our favorite activities this month: browsing the library book sale! Her local public library holds one sale a season, and I happened to be visiting during the … Continue reading Collection Update: January 2016
Those of you who were alive in 1980, I must ask, what did you think the music scene would look like by 1994? Did you imagine that it would look like this? …because the creators of The Apple did. In just fourteen years between the film’s release and the year in which it is set, the minds behind this film thought that all musicians would … Continue reading Classics of the Corn: The Apple (1980)
Mrs. Flax (Cher) is an eccentric mother who uproots her family every time one of her relationships goes sour. She raises two young girls on her own, gets work wherever she can find it, and every now and then decides that she wants to start over completely, packing up the family and moving to a new town. Charlotte (Winona Ryder), the eldest Flax daughter, is … Continue reading Period film: Mermaids (1990)
An archaeologist in Harold Lloyd-ish glasses yells “YEEEE-HAH!” when he finds something… An amazing Scottish band sings about fish while people dance around a giant model of some sort of worm-fish hybrid… A delicious dish of pickled earthworms is served at a party… and that’s just within the first ten minutes of The Lair of the White Worm, the latest film to enter TMP’s Classics … Continue reading Classics of the Corn: The Lair of the White Worm (1988)
I love a film with a strong opening, and 1956’s The Brass Legend has no trouble grabbing the viewer even before its introductory credits roll. Beautiful black and white cinematography shows shots from an off-screen revolver being fired at a “REWARD – DEAD OR ALIVE” poster. Harmonica-fueled music plays as the film transitions from this undeniably Western scene to its opening titles. The man on … Continue reading Lindsey Tries to Appreciate Westerns: The Brass Legend (1956)
Ossi (Ossi Oswalda) is a girl living under strict, hypocritical judgement from her guardians. She smokes, and they say that the don’t understand how a woman can smoke… but then proceed to smoke and enjoy it, themselves. She drinks, and they chastise her for being indecent… only to enjoy alcohol themselves, just as much as the cigarettes. Tired of living under the strict rules and … Continue reading I Don’t Want to Be a Man (1918)
Until recently, The Amazing Adventure was one of the only Cary Grant films I hadn’t seen. You all know by now that I’m a huge Cary fan and, having been so for a number of years, have made a point to seek out the majority of his filmography. Knowing that this film was a “blind spot” for me, I decided to go ahead and buy … Continue reading Reviewin’ the Box: The Amazing Adventure (1936)
The Girl Who Had Everything opens with an evening news broadcast, where Elmer Peterson is announcing that a man named Victor Ramondi (Fernando Lamas) will be investigated. Ramondi is the leader of a gambling ring. Watching the broadcast are beautiful, young Jean Latimer (Elizabeth Taylor) and her father (William Powell). The Latimers live in Lexington, Kentucky, where Mr. Latimer is taking some time off after … Continue reading The Girl Who Had Everything (1953)
“Impact: The force with which two lives come together… sometimes for good, sometimes for evil.” With this fabricated dictionary definition, 1949’s Impact begins. The film follows Walter “Walt” Williams (Brian Donlevy), a successful California businessman who has just purchased three new Denver factories for his company and must travel to Colorado. Walt would like his wife, Irene (Helen Walker), to travel with him, but she … Continue reading Mill Creek Musings: Impact (1949)
The favorite film: His Girl Friday, a 1940 screwball comedy directed by Howard Hawks for Columbia Pictures The synopsis: Walter Burns is a newspaper man, the editor of one of Chicago’s most important papers. His star reporter and former wife Hildy Johnson has decided to quit the business to marry an insurance salesman named Bruce. But Walter isn’t willing to let Hildy go without a … Continue reading Favorite things about… His Girl Friday (1940)
