Classic Movie Recall—My Favorite Podcast

If you’re a classic movie fan like me, you know that there are a ton of classic movie podcasts. Many are good, but some just drone on and on for way too long. My favorite classic movie podcast and just my plain old favorite podcast is Classic Movie Recall.

The podcast is hosted by Lara Scott and James Moll. Scott is a radio personality and can be heard daily on one of Southern California’s most popular radio stations, K-Earth 101. Moll is a documentary filmmaker and has earned an Oscar, two Emmys, and a Grammy. Both have personalities to spare and have very pleasant speaking voices—an important asset if you’re hosting a podcast.

Here’s how the podcast works: Lara and James watch a classic film and then get together to discuss it. Individually they can award each film a total of 50 points. After they give their individual score, they add them up for the film’s final combined score. For example, James and Lara watched and commented on Meet Me In St. Louis (1944). Lara gave the film 48 points. James gave the film 47 points for a total score of 95, which is very respectable.

What makes the podcast fun is the interplay between Lara and James. They’re both funny and knowledgeable and don’t drag things out. Each podcast averages about 20 minutes, which I find ideal. And they pack a lot into that short timeframe. Sometimes they’ll have a special guest, like Turner Classic Movies weekend host, Dave Karger who shared his love for The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942). In fact, he revealed that it’s his “hands down” favorite classic movie comedy. And then there’s producer Melanie Hooks who is always on hand for a voice clip featuring an important piece of dialogue or some interesting facts about a film’s production.

I was excited to find one of my favorite movies featured: The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). It stars Dana Andrews, my favorite actor from Hollywood’s Golden Age, in a performance that should have won him at the very least an Oscar nomination. Like me, Lara was surprised to discover that Andrews was overlooked at Oscar time. The film has a wonderful cast that includes Myrna Loy, Fredric March (Oscar-winner for Best Actor for The Best Years of Our Lives), Virginia Mayo, and another favorite of mine, Teresa Wright.

Here’s a link below to that review and don’t forget to check out all the other great movie reviews from Lara and James, who in the midst of COVID-19, along with producer Melanie, are working on some new reviews to be posted soon!

Classic Movie Recall · The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

Judy Garland is Turner Classic Movies's April Star of the Month

Film icon Judy Garland (1922-1969) is Turner Classic Movies’s April Star of the Month. TCM will be screening Garland’s films every Friday. Garland was one of Hollywood’s top movie musical talents during the 1930s and 1940s.

The Wizard of Oz (1939) made Garland a star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer where she reigned as the studio’s top musical star. At her home studio she starred in For Me and My Gal (1942), Presenting Lily Mars (1943), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), The Harvey Girls (1946), Till The Clouds Roll By (1946), Easter Parade (1948), In the Good Old Summertime (1949), and Summer Stock (1950).

Margaret O'Brien and Judy Garland in Meet Me in St. Louis

Garland also excelled in dramatic roles like The Clock (1945), but the studio loved Garland and musicals because they were big business. Meet Me in St. Louis was M-G-M’s biggest hit since Gone With the Wind* (1939). In 1950 Garland and M-G-M parted ways. She appeared on television in the 1950s and started performing in live concerts that were very popular. In 1954 Garland starred in a musical remake of A Star is Born (1954). The film was a hit with the public and critics, but it lost money due to its huge budget. In spite of this Garland was nominated for Best Actress. Many thought Garland was the favorite to win, but Grace Kelly bested her for her performance in The Country Girl.

Garland in The Harvey Girls

Garland had a dramatic success in the 1961 film Judgment at Nuremberg for which she was Golden Globe and Oscar- nominated for Best Supporting Actress. She starred alongside Burt Lancaster in A Child is Waiting (1963), and with Dirk Bogarde in I Could Go On Singing (1963), which was her last film. In 1967, Garland was cast as Helen Lawson in the movie version of Valley of the Dolls. Garland was fired for missing rehearsals and was replaced by Susan Hayward.

Garland died on June 22, 1969 of an overdose of barbiturates.

*GWTW was co-produced with Selznick International Studios

Classic Movie Man's Favorite Christmas Movies

Meet Me In St. Louis—1944 This musical classic may not be thought of as a Christmas movie, but the story about the trials and tribulations of the Smith family in the year before the 1904 World’s Fair does contain the Christmas classic “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” As sung by Judy Garland to a young Margaret O’Brien, it became an instant hit and holiday standard. Great music, beautiful color cinematography, and a wonderful ensemble cast make this the perfect movie to watch on a snowy winter’s evening with family and friends. 

The Bells of St. Mary’s—1945 Can anyone make great sentimental films the way Leo McCarey did? McCarey was a master of emotional manipulation, but in a good way. Plus, when you have Ingrid Bergman as your leading lady (even if she’s playing a nun), you can’t really go wrong, can you? Bing Crosby reprises his Oscar-winning performance as Father O’Malley in this sequel to Going My Way, but it’s Bergman’s Sister Benedict that really is the heart and soul of this Christmas classic, in my opinion. And who do we have here? Henry Travers, the great character actor, playing business tycoon-turned-benefactor, Mr. Bogardus, one year before he would be immortalized as the angel Clarence in It’s a Wonderful Life (see below). 

Christmas in Connecticut—1945 A big hit when first released, this holiday classic is sometimes overlooked in the lists of great Christmas movies. Made when Barbara Stanwyck was at her peak, the story is clever and genuinely funny. Stanwyck’s character is a sort of 1940s version of Martha Stewart, except, unlike Martha, she has no domestic skills whatsoever. When compelled by her magazine publisher to entertain a war hero, Stanwyck goes into high gear to present herself as the perfect domestic goddess the reading public and her publisher think she is. Stanwyck, often cast in heavy melodramas was a great comic actress. She looks luminous on screen as the career woman falling for war hero Dennis Morgan. 

It’s a Wonderful Life—1946 What do you say that hasn’t already been said about this classic holiday favorite? Well, for starters, it wasn’t such a big hit when released. Most post-war audiences thought the story line was rather dark. Today, the tale of George Bailey visited by an angel named Clarence, who shows George what life would be like if he hadn’t been born, is almost required viewing during the Christmas season. James Stewart is perfectly cast as George and Donna Reed is every bit his equal as George’s wife, Mary. Reed’s characterization is pitch perfect and she makes us understand why George loves her so. 

Miracle on 34th Street—1947 There have been other versions of this classic, but none come close to matching the warmth and intelligence of the original. It’s amazing to me how well this movie holds up today. Maureen O’Hara is a single working mom trying to balance work while raising her young daughter, Susan, played by Natalie Wood. All the praise went to Edmund Gwen as Kris Kringle, and he’s wonderful (Best Supporting Actor winner), but O’Hara gives a beautifully layered performance as Doris Walker, a conflicted career woman who doesn't want her daughter to believe in fantasies of any kind. John Payne is also excellent as Fred Gailey, as is George Seaton’s crisp and fluid direction. 

The Bishop’s Wife—1947 Released the same year as Miracle on 34th Street, the movie boasts two of the most glamorous movie stars in the history of film: Loretta Young and Cary Grant. And for us regular folk, there’s David Niven as the bishop. Probably the most spiritual of all the Christmas classics, The Bishop’s Wife grows on me with each viewing. Niven is a bishop struggling to raise money to build a cathedral without compromising his faith or his marriage to Young. Grant plays an angel named Dudley sent from heaven to help the bishop during his hour of need. Perhaps a little too earthly an angel for his own good, Grant finds himself falling for Young, who, in simple dress and hairstyles, radiates feminine grace and beauty. A wonderful movie about grace, love, and commitment that continues to speak to audiences today.

The above is hardly an exhaustive list of my favorites, but these are very close to the top. What are your favorite Christmas movies? Do you have a list of holiday favorites that you absolutely have to watch every year? I’d love to hear from you.