Blog Archives
Movie Quote of the Day – Woman on the Run, 1950 (dir. Norman Foster)
Inspector Martin Ferris: Why won’t you help us, Mrs. Johnson?
Eleanor Johnson: I’m helping! What do you want me to do?
Inspector Martin Ferris: I want you to answer a few questions.
Eleanor Johnson: Go ahead, ask.
Inspector Martin Ferris: Where does he generally go when he’s not at home?
Eleanor Johnson: I haven’t the faintest idea.
Inspector Martin Ferris: Has he any relatives in this area?
Eleanor Johnson: No.
Inspector Martin Ferris: Who are his friends?
Eleanor Johnson: I don’t know his friends. The dog is our only mutual friend.
Movie Quote of the Day – Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, 1948 (dir. Norman Foster)
Bill: I didn’t want to be alone anymore. I don’t want to be alone now. If we go back, if we stick together, if we face it. . .do think that maybe somewhere somebody’ll listen, somebody’ll say it wasn’t our fault? Not yours anyway.
From The Warner Archive: Forbidden Hollywood, Vol. 7
At this point y’all should be pretty well-versed in Pre-Code Hollywood and all its glory. The Warner Archive is at it again, releasing Vol. 7 of the ever-popular Forbidden Hollywood series. This set features film that, while not the “best” films of the era, feature some of the most salacious scenarios that Hollywood had to offer at the time. These are the kind of morally “loose” films that caused the Catholic church to call the industry indecent. They’re also more sexually charged than most current Hollywood films. The films included in this set are: William A. Wellman’s The Hatchet Man, Edgar Selwyn’s Skyscraper Souls, Roy Del Ruth’s Employees’ Entrance and Robert Florey’s Ex-Lady.
Oscar Vault Monday – State Fair, 1933 (dir. Henry King)
This is a film I saw for the first time last summer because I had fallen in love with Lew Ayres and tried to watch everything he had ever been in. Which reminders me, don’t forget to pre-order Lew Ayres: Hollywood’s Conscientious Objector on Amazon. I wrote the foreword and y’all are gonna love it. Anyways, I love this movie. I saw the musical version first and as much as I love Dana Andrews and Vivian Blaine’s amazing Technicolor red hair, I prefer this early version. It’s directed by Henry King, who also directed the 1925 silent version of Stella Dallas, a film I recently saw at the SF Silent Film Festival and also find superior to the later version. I see a pattern forming. I would be lying if I didn’t say after the cut you are in for A LOT of screencaps of Lew Ayres. But like I said earlier, you’ll love it. State Fair was nominated for two Academy Awards, though it didn’t win any: Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture. The other films nominated for Best Picture that year were 42nd Street, A Farewell To Arms, I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang, Lady For A Day, Little Women, The Private Life of Henry VIII, She Done Him Wrong, Smilin’ Through and winner Cavalcade.
the diary of a film history fanatic 