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. I came up with 80 reasons, which I thought would be fun to share. 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 three the 80 reasons why I love classic films. You ...

The 1940s were marked by World War II, the deadliest conflict in human history. The end of the war signified a change in the political alignment and social structure of the globe. The Marshall Plan helped rebuild war-torn Europe, while the United States became the most influential economic power in the world. Germany was divided in two, and the Cold War began. The State of Israel was established, Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated, and Chairman Mao founded the People's Republic of China. Engineers at the University of Pennsylvania developed the first general-purpose electronic computer, and Percy Spencer invented the microwave oven.   (from left to right) American troops of the 1st Infantry Division landing on Omaha Beach on D-Day (June 6, 1944); Glen Beck and the ENIAC, the first electronic general-purpose digital computer (ca. 1947); Mahatma Gandhi, assassinated on January 30, 1948 by a Hindu nationalist; Mao Zedong proclaiming the establishment of the People's Republic of China...

My initial plan for today was to write about a Linda Darnell film, seeing that today is her 92th birthday, but then I felt like celebrating Robert Walker's birthday again. What can I say? I simply adore that boy.  So, this week on "Film Friday" I a m bringing you yet another Robert Walker film, which also happens to be one of my absolute favorite films of all time. Theatrical release poster Directed by Vincente Minnelli, The Clock (1945) follows Joe Allen (Robert Walker), a young soldier who arrives in New York on a 48-hour leave and meets the beautiful secretary Alice Mayberry (Judy Garland) when she trips over his foot in Pennsylvania Station. With no definite destination while in the city, Joe offers to go "a little ways" with Alice and she then takes him on a tour through Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. After they bid farewell, Joe chases the bus she is riding down the street and she promises to meet him "under the clock at ...