Monthly Archives: October 2010

Women’s Prison (1955); Dir. Lewis Seiler

Two female prison guards (one played by Mae Clarke, she of the grapefruit-in-face fame from Public Enemy over 20 years before), chat before going on break in 1955’s melodrama Women’s Prison: “I want to catch the last show at the … Continue reading

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Today In History: October 30, 1938

Conversation between Peter Bogdanovich and Orson Welles: PB: I’ve often wondered if you had any idea, before you did it, that War of the Worlds was going to get that kind of response. OW. The kind of response, yes – … Continue reading

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Along the Hudson River

It’s really fall now. After a couple of weeks of unseasonably warm weather, yesterday was downright cold, with giant ranks of clouds passing over the blue, piling up in the distance. It was spectacular down on the Hudson. I’ve lived … Continue reading

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Carlo The Protégé Tries To Cheer Up Carole Lombard

I don’t care how many times I see this scene. It still makes me fall apart at the seams. One of the greatest joys of my life was going to the Carole Lombard double-feature at The Film Forum and listening … Continue reading

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The Books: The Penguin Book of Contemporary Irish Poetry: Thomas Kinsella

Daily Book Excerpt: Poetry Next book on the shelf is The Penguin Book of Contemporary Irish Poetry, edited by Peter Fallon & Derek Mahon. I am leaving Six Centuries of Great Poetry behind. If you’d like to see all the … Continue reading

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The Original “It Girl”: Clara Bow in It (1927)

In 1927, novelist and author of erotica, Elinor Glyn, popularized the term “It”, “it” being sex appeal, sexuality. Because Glyn was so respectable (she looks like a society matron, with braids coiled around her head, and long flowing gowns) her … Continue reading

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Two Of My Favorite Writers

Kim Morgan on movie meltdowns in cars. A must-read. But suddenly I thought — what if Robert Loggia (Robert Loggia from Lost Highway) was rolling in front of me? I’m not one to tail gate, but god forbid two motorized … Continue reading

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“This is the Light of the Mind, Cold and Planetary.”

It’s Sylvia Plath’s birthday today. The line in the title is from her poem “The Moon and the Yew Tree”, which she considered a breakthrough in her work (it was composed in 1960). She’s written a lot of startling lines, … Continue reading

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The Books: Six Centuries of Great Poetry: A Stunning Collection of Classic British Poems from Chaucer to Yeats: Emily Brontë

Daily Book Excerpt: Poetry Six Centuries of Great Poetry: A Stunning Collection of Classic British Poems from Chaucer to Yeats, edited by Robert Penn Warren and Albert Erskine Charlotte Brontë first read her sister Emily’s poems in 1845. She describes … Continue reading

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Othello (1952); Dir. Orson Welles

Made with his own money and with tremendous difficulties, Orson Welles’ Othello took two years to actually complete, due to money running out, and cast having to take other jobs, and all kinds of problems involving costumes, locations, and logistics. … Continue reading

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