Tag Archives: Elvis Presley

Groundhog Day was one of the greatest scripts ever written. It didn’t even get nominated for an Academy Award.” — Bill Murray

Yup. (It’s Murray’s birthday today.) I have often said that it’s interesting to consider what films made today might be considered classics to future generations. Something like Casablanca was not a “prestige picture”, it was not filmed with a ponderous … Continue reading

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“I’m trying to get people to see that we are our brother’s keeper. Red, white, black, brown or yellow, rich or poor, we all have the blues.” — B.B. King

WHAT a performance. And WHAT an audience. The mood – the back and forth – the communication going on – not just from up on the stage, but coming back at him from the crowd – is what live performance … Continue reading

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Happy Birthday, Otis Redding

Seen on Beale Street: Watch Otis Redding’s live 1967 performance of “Try a Little Tenderness.” In this performance, what always strikes me is where it starts … and then where it GOES. And the journey he takes in between. That … Continue reading

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August 2023 Viewing Diary

Oppenheimer (2023; d. Christopher Nolan) In general, I am not a Nolan fan (the only one of his I liked was Dunkirk), and I went into this hesitantly because I read an interview with him where he said the whole … Continue reading

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Classic Hollywood + Elvis

It’s so nice to see this “Classic Hollywood” archive page on the Criterion Channel with Elvis’ movies included. His movies aren’t usually discussed as part of “classic Hollywood” even though … they ARE part of “classic Hollywood”, or, at the … Continue reading

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In the Welter of packing-Chaos, there is one comforting constant:

It will be the last thing I take down, and the first thing I put up on the other side.

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“In the 20s, you were a face. And that was enough. In the 30s, you also had to be a voice. And your voice had to match your face, if you can imagine that.” — Joan Blondell

It’s Joan Blondell’s birthday today. I am sure I saw Joan Blondell in her 1930s movies when I was a kid, although maybe not the Pre-Codes. That would come later. My real introduction to her, though, came through her performance … Continue reading

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Happy Birthday, drummer Honey Lantree

Even now, a “girl drummer” in an all-boy band is a rare thing. Back in the 1960s, it was unheard of. Which is why Honey Lantree, drummer for the Joe Meek-produced The Honeycombs, stands out. Still. When she joined the … Continue reading

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The fan-kissing E’s

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“I do not ever want to be a huge star.” — Tuesday Weld

It’s her birthday today. From the great “Pretty Poison” (1968) with Anthony Perkins. And below you can see her as the creepily blank and heart-achingly gorgeous teenage majorette in the fantastic opening sequence of the film. See Pretty Poison if … Continue reading

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