I’ve had Cynthia and Sara Brideson’s biography of Gene Kelly on my shelf for way too long, and if this pandemic has done anything it’s that I have no excuse … Continue Reading He’s Got Rhythm: The Life and Career of Gene Kelly
In 2016 author (and friend of the site) Jeremy Arnold would publish The Essentials: 52 Must-See Movies And Why They Matter, a fantastic crash course in the most important classic … Continue Reading 52 More Must-See Movies And Why They Matter
I’ve talked about how great Scott Eyman’s books are before. You might remember me waxing poetic about his amazing biography on John Wayne that turned this Wayne hater into someone … Continue Reading Book Review: Cary Grant – A Brilliant Disguise
If you follow the world of classic film biographies you probably know that acclaimed author Scott Eyman — author of the brilliant John Wayne: The Life and Legend — has … Continue Reading CONTEST: Win a Copy of ‘Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise’
There are many arguments made with regards to the greatest film year ever. Authors Stephen Farber and Michael McClellan are the latest to make the case that 1962 is one … Continue Reading Interview: Author Michael McClellan Talks New Book
With the global pandemic keeping us all in our homes now is a great time to take up a book! I’d been hearing about Christina Lane’s biography on Hitchcock’s collaborator … Continue Reading Phantom Lady: Hollywood Producer Joan Harrison, the Forgotten Woman Behind Hitchcock
There have been several fictionalized “exposes” of Hollywood, from Day of the Locust to The Carpetbaggers. But none have been properly contextualized through the lens of women, many of who … Continue Reading I Lost My Girlish Laughter
I always enter into celebrity autobiographies with a fair bit of trepidation. I know getting information straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak, is the best way when it … Continue Reading Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years
There’s a reason author Jeanine Basinger’s books are so thick: they’re filled with classic film knowledge and analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Whether it’s deconstructing star personas or the … Continue Reading The Movie Musical
There’s something inherently compelling about people who have died on-stage. The ultimate proof of dying for one’s art, so to speak. As authors Jeff Abraham and Burt Kearns lay out … Continue Reading The Show Won’t Go On
1939 turns 80 this year but should you read 1939: Hollywood’s Greatest Year in celebration?
Let’s look at the latest biography on the Queen, Olivia de Havilland!
One of the great fallacies about filmmaking is that it’s only recently that women have taken part in it. But as we’re seeing through the release of works like Be … Continue Reading The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick
He was a successful Hollywood screenwriter whose words shaped several of Frank Capra’s classic features. She was the actress whose beauty (and powerful set of lungs) captured the heart … Continue Reading Fay Wray and Robert Riskin: A Hollywood Memoir
Author David Thomson is one of the most prolific writers on classic film and Hollywood history. His past works, including Moments That Made the Movies, The Big Screen, and Beneath … Continue Reading Author David Thomson Discusses Classic Films and ‘Sleeping With Strangers’
The Chateau Marmont has never been one of Hollywood’s splashiest hotels. For a long while it was noted more for its infamy, being the place where comic John Belushi died. … Continue Reading The Castle on Sunset: Life, Death, Love, Art, and Scandal at Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont
