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- Solidarity, or: The boy in the green bandana
- “As long as they pay me my salary, they can give me a broom and I’ll sweep the stage. I don’t give a damn. I want the money.” – Kay Francis
- “I look back on my life and draw one great generalization: IT WAS MY REFUSAL TO TAKE CAUTIOUS ADVICE THAT MADE ME.” — Jack London
- “I can pick a good song, but I sure couldn’t pick a good man.” — Ruth Brown
- “I’ll stay and look you straight in the eyes like all these normal people when I scream for my rights.” — Taraneh Alidoosti
- “Our prevailing passions are ambition and interest. Wise government should avail itself of those passions, to make them subservient to the public good.” — Alexander Hamilton
- “It’s a situation I’ve never been able to fathom. One minute, it seemed I had more movie offers than I could handle, the next — no one wanted me.” — Sal Mineo
- “We’re not breaking new ground. We’re trying to be entertaining within a format that’s familiar.” — Walter Hill
- For Liberties: The Tactile Spiritual
- “I feel I’m writing for everyone, but they haven’t discovered it yet. They will – I’ll just be six feet under.” — Scott Walker
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- sheila on “It’s a situation I’ve never been able to fathom. One minute, it seemed I had more movie offers than I could handle, the next — no one wanted me.” — Sal Mineo
- Gemstone on “It’s a situation I’ve never been able to fathom. One minute, it seemed I had more movie offers than I could handle, the next — no one wanted me.” — Sal Mineo
- sheila on Talking with Rachel Dratch: Frankenstein is woo-woo adjacent.
- sheila on Talking with Rachel Dratch: Frankenstein is woo-woo adjacent.
- Ian on Talking with Rachel Dratch: Frankenstein is woo-woo adjacent.
- Gemstone on “Well, if I can’t be happy, I can be useful, perhaps.” — Louisa May Alcott
- sheila on December 2025 Snapshots
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- Regina Bartkoff on November 2023 Viewing Diary
- sheila on November 2023 Viewing Diary
- sheila on November 2023 Viewing Diary
- Regina Bartkoff on November 2023 Viewing Diary
- sheila on November 2023 Viewing Diary
- sheila on November 2023 Viewing Diary
- sheila on November 2023 Viewing Diary
- regina bartkoff on November 2023 Viewing Diary
- sheila on December 2025 Snapshots
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- sheila on “I think I’m a pretty good storyteller.” — John Sturges
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Tag Archives: Norma Shearer
September/October 2023 Viewing Diary
I moved in late September. Again. I found a little cozy apartment, the second floor of a little house, with slanted ceilings, little cubbyhole-eaves everywhere, and a big yard. It’s a 10 minute walk to the beach. I found it … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies
Tagged Bette Davis, biopic, comedy, Costa-Gavras, Dana Andrews, documentary, drama, Eli Wallach, England, Ewan McGregor, film noir, France, Fritz Lang, George Cukor, George Sanders, Germany, Gloria Grahame, Hal Wallis, historical drama, Ireland, Joan Crawford, Joan Fontaine, Judy Blume, Kate Lyn Sheil, Lana Turner, Lee Marvin, Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese, Miriam Hopkins, Norma Shearer, Otto Preminger, Paul Schrader, River Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Roman Polanski, Rosalind Russell, Sidney Lumet, Spain, Supernatural, Vincente Minnelli, women directors, WWII
29 Comments
January 2018 Viewing Diary
Supernatural, Season 7, episode 10 “Death’s Door” (2011; d. Robert Singer) What an extraordinary episode of television. It’s funny: I too block out what happened in that kitchen in Bobby’s childhood. I forget it almost every time. Those actors playing … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Charles Vidor, Chile, documentary, Dogfight, Doris Day, Fredric March, James Cagney, Japan, Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Kurt Russell, Norma Shearer, Paul Thomas Anderson, Paul Verhoeven, Sebastián Lelio, Supernatural, women directors, X-Files
13 Comments
Ebertfest 2014: He Who Gets Slapped (1924)
One of the highlights of Ebertfest this year (and we’re not even done yet) is getting a chance to see the 1924 silent film He Who Gets Slapped on the gigantic Virginia Theatre screen, surrounded by a packed house, and … Continue reading
Transformation: Norma Shearer as Marie Antoinette
It is such a good performance. Brilliant, really. More thoughts about it here.
Seen Recently: The Conjuring (2013), Marie Antoinette (1938), Chasing Mavericks (2012), Danton (1983)
The Conjuring directed by James Wan At one point during The Conjuring, my friend Jen whispered to me, “I have got to stop screaming.” Well, no, you don’t. Why would you? Let it out. Let your screams cry out into … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged Andrzej Wajda, France, historical drama, horror, Norma Shearer, Poland, politics, reviews, sports movies
19 Comments
Seen Recently: A Free Soul (1931), Whirlpool (1949), The Women (1939)
A Free Soul directed by Clarence Brown A daring (to say the least) pre-Code film, starring Norma Shearer (very good, for the most part, here), a ferocious and sexy Clark Gable, a sympathetic and noble Leslie Howard, and a masterful … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged Clark Gable, film noir, George Cukor, Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Otto Preminger, Pre-Code, reviews, Rosalind Russell, screwball comedy
15 Comments
Norma Shearer and George Sanders:
Two appreciations by Dan Callahan, who is such a marvelous writer. Here is his piece on Shearer – a measured and detailed examination of this controversial star. People hate her, people stick up for her, the gays love her … … Continue reading

