Book review: “Jimmy and Fay: A Suspense Novel” with a classic movie backdrop

If you enjoy mystery novels and classic movies, Michael Mayo’s Jimmy and Fay may be right up your alley. Set when the 1933 version of King Kong is premiering at Radio City Music Hall, the novel concerns actress Fay Wray and blackmail. Blackmailers have some pictures of a lookalike in some compromising positions and they’re ready to send them to the press if the RKO movie studio doesn’t pay them off.

Enter Jimmy Quinn, the hero of The Jimmy Quinn Mysteries, a tough guy with a limp who operates a speakeasy in New York City. Quinn knows just about every crook and bad guy in the city so of course Wray comes to him for help. Quinn works his contacts to get to the blackmailers, but discovers an underground producer of stag films in Chinatown. Are the blackmailers and the underground filmmakers working together? And then there’s a goat—you have to read the book to understand!

Michael Mayo’s first-person narrative is smooth, easy reading. He has a good ear for authentic, film noir-style dialogue that fits in well with the plot. According the acknowledgments page, Jimmy and Fay is “fiction based on fact.” A year after she starred in King Kong, Wray was the victim of a extortion threat. The kind of threat Wray was subjected to in this novel was probably common during the days of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Fortunately for Wray, the studio was able to mitigate that real situation and successfully kept it out of the press.

Publicity photo of Fay Wray around the time of the release of King Kong

If you enjoy mysteries set against a historical fiction background, Jimmy and Fay may be the book (and series) for you.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of this novel from the publisher.


Series: Jimmy and Fay: A Suspense Novel (The Jimmy Quinn Mysteries)
Paperback: 250 pages
Publisher: MysteriousPress.com/Open Road (October 4, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1504036077
ISBN-13: 978-1504036078
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8 inches

Richard Widmark "kills it" in Road House (1948) #Villains2017

Richard Widmark made a dazzling debut in Howard Hawk’s Kiss of Death in 1947. His characterization of Tommy Udo caused a sensation. For the early part of his career, Widmark played bad guys and lunatics. One of his best bad guy roles was as Jefferson T. “Jefty” Robbins in Jean Negulesco’s Road House (1948).

You can have a drink or two while bowling at Jefty’s Road House!

Set at a roadhouse with a bowling alley, the movie revolves around Lily Stevens (Ida Lupino), a singer that Widmark’s character Jefty hires as new entertainment for his roadhouse. Pete Morgan (Cornel Wilde), Jefty’s childhood friend, and business manager, is suspicious of the new singer and Jefty’s motivations for hiring her. Lily sees the gig as just a job, but Jefty quickly develops romantic feelings for her.

Jefty (Richard Widmark at right)  is infatuated with Lily (Ida Lupino).

Lily’s singing is a success, which softens Pete’s attitude toward her. All seems like smooth sailing ahead, with Pete and Jefty, working well together and enjoying each other’s friendship just as they always have. But slowly things begin to change and Jefty’s attachment to Lily grows obsessive. With this obsession comes a change in Jefty’s personality that is unsettling. When Jefty asks Pete to teach Lily to bowl, Pete originally declines, but Jefty insists. His demeanor and voice changes; he looks and acts like a entirely different person. The abrupt change scares Lily, but all is smoothed over, it seems, once Pete changes his mind and agrees to teach Lily.

Things get hot between Pete (Cornel Wilde) and Jefty when it comes to Lily.

Pete and Lily’s once antagonistic relationship quickly changes to romance, unbeknownst to Jefty. Jefty keeps pursuing Lily even though she’s given him no reason to believe that their relationship is anything more than that of boss and employee. As Pete and Lily’s relationship becomes more serious, Pete decides to tell Jefty. Jefty becomes enraged and throws Pete out of his house.

Lily isn’t buying what Jefty is selling.

Realizing that Jefty has become irrational, Pete and Lily decide to run off together. Pete takes $600 owed to him and a note explaining that he and Lily are leaving the roadhouse. While Lily and Pete are waiting at the train station, the police show up to take Pete into custody for stealing the roadhouse’s week’s receipts totaling $2600. Pete tells the police he only took the $600 owed him. It becomes obvious to Pete and Lily that Jefty has set Pete up. Jefty puts on quite an act for the police, pretending to be hurt and worried about Pete.

Jefty has Pete arrested for stealing; Lily and Susie (Celeste Holm) know he is innocent.

Pete is tried and found guilty of grand larceny. Jefty convinces the judge to parole Pete to his custody, therefore making him Jefty’s prisoner. Pete gets to keep his job, but he has to pay back the money he “stole.”

Jefty enjoys tormenting Pete and Lily and he descends into madness.

Jefty plans a trip to his hunting cabin, insisting that Pete, Lily, and Susie, (Celeste Holm) who works as the roadhouse cashier, come along. While at the cabin, a drunk Jefty taunts Pete and Lily. He becomes more maniacal, while messing around with a rifle. Lily accuses Jefty of taking the money. He smacks her and Pete knocks him out. Pete and Lily decide to make a run for the Canadian border, leaving Susie behind to keep an eye on Jefty.

Lily takes aim, but unfortunately, the gun is not loaded.

After a while Jefty comes to. Just before that, Susie discovers the deposit envelope and the cashier’s receipts in Jefty’s jacket. While Jefty is still a bit wobbly, Susie runs out of the cabin and tries to follow Pete and Lily. Jefty quickly pursues her into the woods. Susie catches up to Pete and Lily, but is shot in the arm by Jefty.

Susie confronts Jefty about the cashier receipt and deposit slip she found in his jacket

Pete sends an empty motorboat into the fog-covered lakeside as a decoy. Jefty shoots at the boat, thinking that he’s foiled Pete and Lily’s escape. Pete fights Jefty to get his gun, In their struggle the gun falls and Lily grabs it and points it at Jefty. Lily tells Jefty to stay away, but he doesn’t listen. She shoots, killing him, when he is about to throw a large rock at her. Pete, Susie and Lily leave the woods heading back to the roadhouse and we assume vindication from Jefty’s treachery.

Lobby card for Road House

Widmark’s performance in Road House is brilliant because it isn’t immediately obvious that he’s crazy. Through little incidents in the beginning of the film, we see his character slowly change. He begins to become unhinged that he almost seems drunk, even though we know he’s not. By the end of the movie he is absolutely crazy. He’s got the nuthouse laugh going full tilt and he’s mesmerizing; you can’t keep your eyes off of him.

Widmark made a spectacular movie debut playing the maniacal Tommy Udo in Kiss of Death (1947).

It’s a tribute to his talent that Widmark was able to avoid being typecast as a crazy person or bad guy, which happened in the early part of his career. During the 1950s, he was able to get more traditional leading man roles as well as playing a variety of character roles, most of which were fairly normal. But, oh, did Widmark make a great villain—and Jefty Robbins in Road House is one of his best.


This post is part of The Great Villain Blogathon for 2017. It is hosted by Ruth of Silver Screenings, Karen of Shadows & Satin, and Kristina of Speakeasy. Visit these blogs during the blogathon for some great entertaining and educational reads.

2017 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival (#TCMFF) Recap: The Fourth Day

Hollywood, Sunday April 9
Sunday! The last day of the festival! The last day is always bittersweet. Plenty of good movies to see, but you know it’s going to end and you don’t want it to. I had plenty of good choices for morning viewing, but once again, I opted for a comedy.

I chose The Egg and I (1947) as my first Sunday movie. It’s a movie I have on DVD, but haven’t seen in a long time. The movie was shown in a digital restoration in the Egyptian Theatre. It stars Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray and is based on the bestselling memoir by Betty MacDonald. Tiffany Vasquez interviewed Kate MacMurray, the daughter of Fred MacMurray and June Haver before the screening. MacMurray shared some insights into her childhood and what it was like having movie stars for parents. She had nothing but praise for her father and seemed to be a delightful person in her own right. MacMurray has a Master’s degree in film studies. She is an ambassador for Gallo of Sonoma’s MacMurray Ranch wines. Her family sold the MacMurray Ranch to Gallo in 1996. Back to the movie! The Egg and I is a funny film with its fish-out-of-water tale of “city folk” trying to turn a dilapidated, crumbling chicken farm into a thriving business. In the hands of comedy pros like Colbert and MacMurray, it’s hard to go wrong. This was the film that introduced audiences to Ma (Marjorie Main) and Pa (Percy Kilbride) Kettle to movie audiences. There’s also a young Richard Long (Jarrod Barkley from The Big Valley) as Tom, the Kettles’s oldest son. This was MacMurray’s first time seeing The Egg and I on the big screen; she was excited to be able to see it in such a beautiful movie palace like The Egyptian, and so was I!

Next up for me was another comedy—The Palm Beach Story (1942)—at the Chinese. This Preston Sturges classic is one of my favorite screwball comedies. Film historian Cari Beauchamp introduced the film and interviewed Wyatt McCrea, star Joel McCrea’s grandson. We learned from Wyatt that his grandfather started parting his hair on the right side of his head halfway into production. He saw some of the rushes and thought his hair looked as if he was balding when parted on the left side. He didn’t tell Sturges and I had never noticed it before. In the audience were relatives of Mary Astor who played a much-married princess and sister to Rudy Vallee’s straightlaced and incredibly rich J.D. Hackensacker III. Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea play a couple in financial straits, which puts a strain on their marriage so Colbert comes up with a crazy scheme to finance her husband’s inventions. Like The Awful Truth, the laughs were fast and furious, and once again, first-times missed about 20% of the jokes because of the continuous laughter. Presented in a beautiful digital format, The Palm Beach Story never looked better.

What’s Up Doc? (1971) was a movie I saw in the movies with my parents (I was 14). I thought is was hysterical. But now, knowing the movies—the great screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s—that inspired it has made me admire it all the more today. Director Peter Bogdanovich introduced the film and shared some of the behind-the-scenes goings on and the casting of Madeline Kahn as Eunice Burns. Even though the film stars Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’Neal, both at the peak of their popularity and fame, it’s Kahn who, in my opinion, steals the picture and in her movie debut no less. The laughs never stopped inside The Egyptian!

Oh no. It’s the last movie of the festival for me. I had the following choices: Casablanca (1942), Lady in the Dark (1944), Speedy (1928), Red-Headed Woman (1932), and Beat The Devil (1953). I’ve seen Casablanca a million times and I love it, but I’ve seen it on the big screen before. Speedy, a silent film that features Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig and stars Harold Lloyd is a movie I would have liked to have seen. Red-Headed Woman I have on DVD and it’s far from my favorite Pre-code favorite. Beat The Devil is another movie I would have liked to have seen, but I chose Lady in the Dark for two reasons: 1. It’s rarely ever shown anywhere (I don’t think it’s ever been on TCM) and 2. it’s in Technicolor and it was the last of the nitrate screenings at The Egyptian. The Technicolor in Lady in the Dark was beautiful, almost eye-popping in its luminosity. The story concerns Liza Elliot (Ginger Rogers), the editor-in-chief of Allure magazine who seems to have it all, but is suffering from depression. She’s involved with the magazine’s married publisher (Warner Baxter) and she is constantly at odds with Charley Johnson (Ray Milland), second-in-command at Allure, who makes no bones about wanting her job. Liza goes to see a psychiatrist (Barry Sullivan) who suggests that something from her childhood has caused her to have such a serious take on life, which includes avoiding looking glamorous, even though she’s in charge of a fashion magazine. Putting it in the context of 1944, part of Liza’s problem is she hasn’t met the right man. And in today’s terms, she doesn’t have the proper life/work balance. The film directed by Mitchell Leisen has incredible production values. The costumes, the sets and Liza’s elaborate dream sequences are outstanding. The performances are uniformly good and Rogers is impressive and believable as Liza. The ending may be predictable, but it’s an interesting slice of life, love, and psychoanalysis 1940s style. I’m glad I saw it.

That’s it…until next year (Lord willing). Now it’s a rush to Club TCM to say goodbye to my fellow bloggers and social media pals, but not too late; I have to catch that early flight out of LA!

2017 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival (#TCMFF) Recap: The Third Day

Hollywood, Saturday April 8
Saturday may have been the best day of the festival. Two of my favorite comedies: The Awful Truth and Theodora Goes Wild were on the schedule and I couldn’t have been more pleased. Irene Dunne was the top-billed star of both films and she’s one of my all-time favorite movie actresses. Someone who I think was underrated—even though she received five Best Actress nominations—during her heyday. Dunne and Cary Grant, her costar in The Awful Truth, had a chemistry that is hard to analyze, but is truly magical. Many critics, including me think that they were at their best when together. The pair made two other movies: My Favorite Wife, a comedy and Penny Serenade, a drama, which won Grant his first Best Actor nod. Dunne received two of her Best Actress nominations back to back for Theodora Goes Wild (1936) and The Awful Truth (1937).

There were so many good film choices Saturday morning that it was another day of tough decisions. The Court Jester (1955), Red River (1948), The China Syndrome (1979), Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), Stalag 17 (1953), and This is Cinerama (1952). Of those films, I hadn’t seen The Court Jester or This is Cinerama. I decided to see The Court Jester in the Chinese Theatre, once again keeping with the festival’s comedy theme. The Danny Kaye comedy-musical comedy is a favorite to many. It features the classic “The pellet with the poison’s in the vessel with the pestle; the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true!” routine. The film was presented in a digital restoration that looked beautiful. Shot in Vista-Vision, Paramount’s answer to Cinemascope, The Court Jester looked brand new. The Technicolor looked vivid and crisp. Comedian Fred Willard and Illeana Douglas introduced the movie; it is one of Willard’s favorites. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would and caught myself laughing out loud (I was in good company) during many scenes. The supporting cast was a dream: Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, and Angela Lansbury. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Fred Willard and Illeana Douglas introduce The Court Jester.

I already revealed that The Awful Truth was a movie I was anxious to see at the festival and even though there were some great films competing with it, I had to see this movie on the big screen at the Chinese. Competing with The Awful Truth was Rear Window (1954), The Last Picture Show (1971), David and Lisa (1962), and The Great Dictator (1940). There was so much laughter during The Awful Truth that first-timers missed at least 20% (my estimate) of the jokes; it canceled out some of the “follow-up jokes.” It was a testament to the writing, direction, and the performances of Dunne, Grant, and Ralph Bellamy, among others, that the film holds up 80 years after it was first released!

Cary Grant and Irene Dunne toast their “freedom” in The Awful Truth.

After The Awful Truth, I took a break and went to the “Conversation with Lee Grant” at Club TCM. Interviewed by critic Leonard Maltin, Grant recounted her early life and career, as well as the devastating effects of the Black List on her life and career. Grant’s husband, Arnold Manoff, was a communist. Grant was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and because she refused to testify against her husband, she was blacklisted from film for a dozen years. Her movie career started with such promise; she received a Best Supporting Oscar nomination for her first film, Detective Story (1951). During this period, she found work on the stage and in television. Grant moved from acting to directing both small independent features and documentary films.

Melvyn Douglas, Irene Dunne and crew on location for Theodora Goes Wild

Next was another Irene Dunne classic, Theodora Goes Wild. Every time I see this movie, the more impressed I am with it. The writing, direction, and acting are first rate. This was Dunne’s first foray into comedy, but you’d never know it. Her timing is impeccable and she was a great physical comedian as well. The plot surrounding a small town girl, who writes a scandalous best-selling novel, unbeknownst to the two maiden aunts who raised her is hilarious. Illeana Douglas introduced the film. Her grandfather, Melvyn Douglas, was Dunne’s leading man and perfect comic foil. The superior supporting cast included Thomas Mitchell, Thurston Hall, Elisabeth Risdon, Margaret McWade, Spring Byington, and Nana Bryant. Risdon and McWade are especially endearing as Theodora’s aunts. Their transformation by the film’s end is wonderful and incredibly amusing. And it was great to see this film in the beautiful Egyptian Theatre filled with uproarious laughter.

Stunning Technicolor sets Black Narcissus apart from other films of the period.

My last movie of the day (evening) was Black Narcissus (1947). This nitrate film was shot in breathtaking Technicolor; the print that we saw at the Egyptian was beautiful. The film stars Deborah Kerr as a nun sent to the Himalayas to open and establish a convent school. The psychological drama also stars Sabu, Flora Robson, and David Farrar. The film features an early screen appearance by Jean Simmons, cast as an Indian servant girl. Kathleen Bryon plays a troubled nun who is drawn to the estate manager (Farrar). Bryon’s character also believes that Kerr is in love with Farrar, and in her twisted mind considers her a rival for his affections. The film’s themes and story are complicated, but fascinating. I felt like it was “Vertigo with nuns,” since it explores some of the same themes, and has a similar climatic scene.

Hard to believe that tomorrow, Sunday, would be the festival’s last day, but there were still great movies to be seen!

Happy Easter from Ida Lupino

I think Eddie Muller would like this image!

2017 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival (#TCMFF) Recap: The Second Day

Hollywood, Friday April 7
Friday was the first full day of the festival. Screenings start as early as 9 a.m. and there are usually several good movies to choose from. My early morning choices were, Rafter Romance (1933), The Maltese Falcon (1941), Cry, The Beloved Country (1951), Beyond the Mouse the 1930s Cartoons of UB Iwerks, and It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963). It wasn’t that long ago that I saw The Maltese Falcon on the big screen at a Fathom/TCM event. I didn’t want to commit to It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, a long, long, long, long movie, but I did want to keep with the comedy theme of the festival, so it was Rafter Romance over Cry, The Beloved Country.

Norman Foster, Ginger Rogers, George Sidney, and Laura Hope Crews

I never saw Rafter Romance before so I thought I’d give this pre-Code comedy a try. It starred Ginger Rogers and Norman Foster, who was married to Claudette Colbert (1928 –1935). The plot revolved around two people sharing the same apartment, but never actually meeting because one works during the day and one works during the evening. This improbable premise worked remarkably well and I was happy to go along for the ride. Rogers and Foster were very appealing as the leads and the supporting cast was terrific. Laura Hope Crews was hilarious as a rich patron who wanted to be Foster’s mistress. Foster, an artist, wants nothing to do with Crews. Crews, whose character is fond of alcohol, steals every scene she’s in. The cast also includes a young (ish) Robert Benchley as Rogers’s boss who is constantly asking her out on dates, only to have her refuse his advances. I found the movie absolutely delightful and was glad I choose it as my first movie of the day. Before the film, there was a brief discussion on how Rafter Romance was out of circulation for decades due to licensing and rights issues. TCM acquired the rights to the film in 2006 and “created restored prints with the help of the Library of Congress and Brigham Young University.”

Rafter Romance was screened in the Egyptian Theatre and so was my next choice, One Hour with You (1932). It was competing with Born Yesterday (1950), Lady Sings the Blues (1972), and Beat the Devil (1953). One Hour with You was another movie I had never seen before. This pre-Code musical starred Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, and Genevieve Tobin. The Ernst Lubitsch musical comedy centers around Chevalier and MacDonald as a happily married couple whose bliss is compromised when Chevalier is seduced by MacDonald’s best friend (Tobin). The film follows Chevalier as he struggles with his love for his wife and his attraction to Tobin. In the hands of Lubitsch and Chevalier, these struggles are incredibly comical. Chevalier breaks the fourth wall, as he constantly speaks (and sings) directly to the audience. Adding to the comedy mix are Roland Young and Charles Ruggles, but it’s Chevalier that makes this musical farce work. He’s charming, naive, sophisticated, and hysterical all at the same time. One Hour with You was another enjoyable movie experience for me. “But oh that Mitzie!”

Ben Mankiewicz and Peter Bogdanovich

After those two comedies, I took a break from the movies to go to Club TCM for “A Conversation with Peter Bogdanovich.” Like Martin Scorsese, Bogdanovich is a director and film historian in his own right. He’s interviewed some of the greatest directors from Hollywood’s Golden Age, including John Ford and Howard Hawks. He’s a terrific storyteller and does great impersonations of Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, and Orson Welles. He was at his best when he was recounting stories of those Hollywood legends. He also discussed his film career and spoke about how he got started as a director. Bogdanovich wrote an article on film for Esquire magazine that caught the attention of producer/director Roger Corman. He ended up working with Corman on the film Targets (1968) starring Boris Karloff. He also spoke about his early directorial successes: The Last Picture Show (1971), What’s Up Doc? (1972), and Paper Moon (1973). I think I could listened to his stories for days on end; he was that entertaining.

Next up was a movie epic that I had never seen from beginning to end: The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957). It was shown at the Chinese Theatre in a restored digital presentation. The movie did not disappoint. The production was impressive, as were the performances of William Holden, Jack Hawkins, and Alec Guinness who won a Best Actor Oscar for his performance as the by-the-book British colonel in a Japanese POW camp. This was director David Lean’s first big budget movie. It was a critical as well as an international box office success. I’m glad I finally got to see this film in its entirety. It more than lived up to its reputation. Alex Trebek introduced the film with some interesting trivia about the director and casts alleged womanizing!? Not sure how that added to the film’s enjoyment, but it was an interesting aside.

Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney in Laura

I was back at the Egyptian for the nitrate screening of Laura (1944). Laura is one of my favorite movies and Dana Andrews is my favorite movie star, so I was excited to see this classic on the big screen. After all the hype surrounding the nitrate screenings, I found this print lacking. It was dirty in spots, the focus was in and out, and worst of all, the film skipped and important dialogue was missed. If you’ve seen Laura, you know that the film is filled with great, witty dialogue. You don’t want to miss any of it. Parts of the film looked good, but overall, I was disappointed. Still, it was great to see Andrews, Gene Tierney (another favorite), Clifton Webb, Vincent Price, and Judith Anderson on the big screen. I wish we had been prepared for what to expect from this screening. If we were given a heads up as to its deficiencies and if they had pointed out the scenes that were sharp and worth noticing, I would have felt better about the overall experience. When you have a theatre like the Egyptian packed with films noir fans, you can expect some snipping—and there was quite a bit of it—about what we saw on the screen.

Even though I ended the evening on a bit of a sour note with Laura, I would have to declare the entire day a successful one. I got to see all the films I wanted to see and had a great time experiencing them with a live audience in true movie palaces.

Saturday brought more tough choices. Decisions, decisions!

2017 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival (#TCMFF) Recap: The First Day

Hollywood, Thursday April 6, 2017
The first day of the 2017 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival started for me as a reunion of sorts. After checking into my room, I headed toward the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and Club TCM to catch up with #TCMParty friends. Then it was a mad dash to the hotel pool for the annual #TCMParty “class photo.” The last two years I’ve missed the photo, but this year I was determined. After some confusion about the pool area being closed, I made it! I guess three’s a charm.

Since I had the Classic Pass, I wasn’t able to attend the 50th anniversary screening of In the Heat of the Night (1967). So my choices were Love Crazy (1941), Some like it Hot (1959), Jezebel (1938), the documentary Dawson City: Frozen in Time (2016), and the poolside screening of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971). For me, the choice was pretty easy. I decided on Love Crazy with William Powell and Myrna Loy at the Egyptian. Actress Dana Delaney introduced the film and she was excited to do so, being a big Powell/Loy fan. This movie was new to me and it was hilarious. As always, Powell and Loy didn’t disappoint, but the movie featured great support from Gail Patrick, playing the other woman, of course, and Florence Bates, the mother-in-law from hell. And then there’s the always dependable Jack Carson on loan from Warner Bros. as the “other man.” This was a great pick to open my festival and a chance to appreciate the exceptional comic abilities of Powell and Loy, the perfect screen team.

Next up was a choice between The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), Harold and Maude (1971), Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962), and I’m All Right Jack (1959). Again, this was a pretty easy choice for me. I’ve seen The Man Who Knew Too Much before, but the chance to see this early Hitchcock classic featuring a nitrate print, sealed the deal for me. Martin Scorsese introduced the film, which was a big surprise since no introduction was mentioned in the printed program. He was excited to be able to share the nitrate print of this film with us. The Man Who Knew Too Much was also presented at the Egyptian (all the nitrate screenings were shown there) which made it really easy to just exit after Love Crazy and get on line for the Hitchcock classic! Nitrate prints boast a “luminous quality and higher contrast than the cellulose acetate film that replaced it,” but honestly, without a comparison, it was hard for me to notice any real difference. But it didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the film. Even though I prefer the remake to the original, the 1934 version has a lot to offer in the way of suspense. We also get to see Edna Best as a leading lady before she started playing character parts like Martha Huggins in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947). Plus the way the villain is dispatched is amazingly cool and completely Hitchcockian!

Alfred Hitchcock directing The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

After that is was bedtime. Friday would be the first full day and the first films screened at 9 a.m. And my choices would be: Rafter Romance (1933), The Maltese Falcon (1941), Cry, The Beloved Country (1951), Beyond the Mouse, The 1930s Cartoons of UB Iwerks, and It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963). What film did I choose?

What film would you choose?

2017 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival (#TCMFF) Recap

I can’t believe the 2017 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival is over. All winter long, I looked forward to the festival to get me through the days, the weeks, the months until those magical four days of classic movie bliss. Now, this third TCMFF is history.

This year I saw 14 movies (the same number as last year), but all the movies I attended were in either the Egyptian Theatre or the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX! All the movies I wanted to see I got to see. Last year I was shut out of Midnight and Double Harness (twice!). Since so many films were shown at the Egyptian (618 seats), it was less stressful than last year. Last year it seemed like the time between movies was so tight that I was constantly running to the next screening for fear of not getting in. Thankfully, this was not the case this year.

Part of the crowd at the Egyptian Theatre

The festival was dedicated to the memory of Robert Osborne, which was only right. His knowledge and love of classic movies will be sorely missed. I think he would have enjoyed this year’s movie lineup that included some of the funniest screwball comedies from the 1930s and 1940s. Plus his favorite movie star, Gene Tierney was showcased in the classic film noir, Laura.

My goal this year was to try and see movies I hadn’t seen before. Of all the movies I saw, six were new to me. At this year’s festival, they promoted several nitrate films. Thanks in part to TCM, the Egyptian remodeled its projection booth so that it could screen nitrate films safely. I ended up seeing all the nitrate screenings. I had seen all of these films before, but Lady in the Dark hasn’t been seen anywhere for years. It’s been at least 30 years since I last saw it—and I didn’t remember a thing—so in many ways it was new to me.

Besides movies, I attended the “So You Think You Know Movies” event at ClubTCM (tough, tough questions!), enjoyed “conversations” with Peter Bogdanovitch and Lee Grant. Good stuff!

Films were shown in the following formats: 35mm, digital, and nitrate (35mm). Below is the breakdown of film formats I saw this year:

35mm – 9 films
Digital – 5 films
Nitrate – 4 films (nitrate films were all 35mm)

Check back for daily recaps and recollections from my four days at the festival.

Screening of “Union Pacific” at Daystar Center May 12

“Stanwyck on State Street” Series: Union Pacific
Where: Daystar Center, 1550 S. State Street
When: May 12, 2017
Time: 6:45 p.m.
Hosted by Stephen Reginald

Union Pacific (1939) is a rousing epic about the construction of the first intercontinental railroad. Directed by the master showman, Cecil B. DeMille, the movie is filled with plenty of action.

Jeff Butler (Joel McCrea) is hired by the Union Pacific to root out saboteurs who’ve been trying to destroy the railroad’s progress. Barbara Stanwyck plays Mollie Monahan, the railroad’s feisty postmistress who is courted by Dick Allen (Robert Preston).  Dick is working with the corrupt Sid Campeau (Brian Donlevy) who is bent on destroying the railroad and eliminating Butler’s railroad oversight. Although Mollie is betrothed to Dick, Jeff finds himself falling in love with her.

Every movie star needs to make a big-budget blockbuster epic at some point in their career and Union Pacific more than fills the bill for Stanwyck and McCrea. The large cast includes an early glimpse of Anthony Quinn as Jack Cordray, a henchman of Campeau.

This film is part of the “Stanwyck on State Street” series.

Joel McCrea, Barbara Stanwyck, and Robert Preston

Have some Joe and Enjoy the Show!

You can bring food and beverages into the auditorium; we even have small tables set up next to some of the seats. General Admission: $5 Students and Senior Citizens: $3.

Join the Chicago Film club; join the discussion

Twice a month we screen classic films and have a brief discussion afterward. For more information, including how to join (it’s free), click here. The Venue 1550 is easily accessible by the CTA. Please visit Transit Chicago for more information on transportation options.

Stephen Reginald is a freelance writer and editor. He has worked at various positions within the publishing industry for over 25 years. Most recently he was executive editor for McGraw-Hill’s The Learning Group Division. A long-time amateur student of film, Reginald hosts “Chicago Film Club,” a monthly movie event held in the South Loop, for the past two years. Reginald has also taught several adult education film classes at Facets Film School, Chicago.

10 Things You May Not Know About Charles Coburn

Charles Coburn (1877 – 1961) was one of the most beloved character actors, during Hollywood’s Golden Age, appearing in some of the most beloved films of 1940s and 1950s. Coburn started his career as a “program boy” and worked his way up to manager of a theater in Savannah, Georgia by the age of 17.

1. Coburn was born in Macon, Georgia.

2. He made his Broadway debut in 1901.

3. In 1906 he married Ivah Wills and they had six children; she died in 1937.

4. Primarily a stage actor, Coburn didn’t make a film until he was in his mid-50s.

5. He received two Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting actor in films starring Jean Arthur: The Devil and Miss Jones (1941) and The More The Merrier (1943); he won for the latter.

Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell cozy up to Charles Coburn during the filming of  Gentleman Prefer Blondes.

6. Mostly known for his comedy roles, Coburn played dramatic roles in film classics like In Name Only (1939), Kings Row (1942), and The Constant Nymph (1943).

7. Coburn was so well spoken—he and his first wife organized the Coburn Shakespeare Players—that many people thought he was British.

8. Contrary to conventions of the time, Coburn often received star billing alongside his younger costars.

9. Coburn received his third (and last) Academy Award nomination for the enormously popular The Green Years (1946); he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in spite of receiving top billing.

10. He played Barbara Stanwyck’s father in two films: The Lady Eve (1941) and B.F.’s Daughter (1948).

Charles Coburn multitasks: smoking and riding