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
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’
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
1939 turns 80 this year but should you read 1939: Hollywood’s Greatest Year in celebration?
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’
Jeremy Arnold is a jack of all trade. Author, classic film expert, awesome guy. When I attended my first TCM Classic Film Festival, Jeremy was a fellow social producer for … Continue Reading Jeremy Arnold Talks TCM, the Holidays, and His Latest Book
It’s amazing how many interviews with classic era stars are finally being given the opportunity to engage with fans. It’s hard not to be jealous upon reading David Fantle and … Continue Reading Hollywood Heyday: 75 Candid Interviews with Golden Age Legends
It’s amazing to go to your local library and discover a biography you never knew existed; so it was that I pulled out Frank Castellucio and Alvin Walker’s The Other … Continue Reading The Other Side of Ethel Mertz: The Life Story of Vivian Vance
If you read my extensive interview with Michael Curtiz biographer, Alan K. Rode, then you know Curtiz was a director with a mania for filmmaking. The famed Hungarian helmer of … Continue Reading Book Review: Michael Curtiz – A Life in Film
It’s always the biographies I don’t think will grip me that affect me the most. When I told Michael Curtiz biographer Alan K. Rode that I compared his book to … Continue Reading Michael Curtiz Biographer Alan Rode Talks Everything But Casablanca
I’ve been fortunate to visit at least two movie studios in my life: Universal (where I’ve been in the theme park, on the backlot, and in a screening room) and … Continue Reading Warner Bros: Hollywood’s Ultimate Backlot
Natalie Wood was like looking at the sun. Just staring at her in photographs the luminosity burns out of her. Her daughter Natasha has described her as tough when necessary, … Continue Reading Natalie Wood: Reflections on a Legendary Life
Part of the reason I read film books is to have an outsider entice me to check out a movie. Where some of you come here to have me tell … Continue Reading High Noon: The Hollywood Blacklist and the Making of an American Classic
**This is the last call for the contest. If you’d like to win either of these books now’s the time to get your entries in. Contest closes June 29th** Yes … Continue Reading Did I Mention There’s a Contest….
