Back to Golden Days

I started this blog six years ago as a way to share my passion for classic films and the Old Hollywood era. I used to watch dozens of classic films every month, and every time I discovered a new star I liked I would go and watch their entire filmography. But somewhere along the way, that passion dimmed down. For instance, I watched 73 classic films in 2016, and only 10 in 2020. The other day, I found this film with Douglas Fairbanks Jr. that I had never heard of, and for some reason it made me really excited about Old Hollywood again. It made me really miss the magic of that era and all the wonderful actors and actresses that graced the silver screen. And it also made me think of all the reasons why I fell in love with classic films in the first place. I came up with 80 reasons, which I thought would be fun to share with you. Most of them are just random little scenes or quirky little quotes, but put them together and they spell Old Hollywood to me. This is part one of the 80 reasons w...

I never rank my favorite things, mostly because I change my mind faster than you can say Jack Robinson. But since I have recently watched all the films James Stewart made in the 1930s, I thought I would try and organize them in a top 10. This is what I came up with. Do not ask me to do this again tomorrow, because my choices will most likely be completely different.   ************************************************************************ #10: Navy Blue and Gold (1937) Directed by Sam Wood | Co- s tarring Robert Young , Tom Brown , Florence Rice and Lionel Barrymore | M etro-Goldwyn-Mayer John «Truck» Cross: I usually get second best, I guess. I'm not so lucky. Robert Montgomery, Tom Brown and James Stewart In this sports/military drama, Jimmy played John «Truck« Cross, a midshipman at the U nited S tates Naval Academy determined to defend the sullied reputation of his father, a former captain who was court-martialed and dismissed from the servic...

This week on «Film Friday» I have decided to bring you «MGM's dazzling succesor to Great Ziegfeld.» Incidentally, this film had its premiere exactly 79 years ago today. Original window card for Born to Dance Directed by Roy Del Ruth, Born to Dance (1936) opens as sailors Gunny Saks (Sid Silvers),  Ted Barker (James Stewart)  and Mush Tracy (Buddy Ebsen) return to New York after four years at sea. At the same time, aspiring dancer Nora Paige (Eleanor Powell), who has just lost out on a Broadway show, enters the Lonely Hearts Club and quickly befriends receptionist Jenny Saks (Una Merkel), Gunny's wife. Jenny hastily married Gunny after being his partner in a twenty-eight day dance marathon and has not seen him since he shipped out. Unbeknownst to Gunny, they have a young daughter named Sally (Juanita Quigley). When Gunny arrives at the club to rekindle his relationship with Jenny, Mush flirts with singer/waitress Peppy Turner (Frances Langford), while Ted falls ins...