November 18, 1928: Mickey Mouse whistles his way onto the screen in his first speaking performance, in Walt Disney’s Steamboat Willie. November 21, 1931: Released only months after Dracula, Universal Pictures has another horror hit in Frankenstein, starring Boris Karloff…
Read more →Articles by: Jay Steinberg
On This Day In Movie History, 11.11.12
On This Day In Movie History, 11.11.12 November 13, 1921: After gaining fame in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Italian-born leading man Rudolph Valentino mesmerizes female filmgoers as The Sheik. November 15, 1935: The Marx Brothers’ first feature for…
Read more →This Week in Movie History, 11.04.12
This Week in Movie History takes a Historic look at movie history through the ages. November 7, 1902: French inventor/film executive Leon Gaumont demonstrates his Chronophone system of showing films with synchronized phonograph cylinders. November 4, 1907: The Chicago City Council…
Read more →Lionel Barrymore: A Crusty Curmugdeon…But Only On-Screen!
Lionel Barrymore is best remembered for his latter-day screen gallery of irascible oldsters good-natured and bad. This multi-talented exponent of a legendary American stage dynasty began carving his legacy as one of Hollywood’s greatest character stars from the earliest days of…
Read more →This Week In Film History, 10.28.12
October 30, 1948: A major shift in the shape of the film industry begins as RKO becomes the first major to split off its theater ownership from its production wing. November 3, 1956: The Wizard of Oz makes its network…
Read more →This Week In Film History, 10.21.12
October 25, 1925: France’s star of silent slapstick comedy Max Linder, 41,and his young wife are found dead in a Paris hotel, victims of an apparent suicide pact. October 23, 1950: Al Jolson, legendary entertainer and star of the seminal…
Read more →Jean Arthur: Tough Veneer, Tender Core, Hollywood Icon
While Hollywood only managed to maximize Jean Arthur’s talents over a period spanning less than a decade, the petite blonde with the inimitable nasal delivery and indomitable demeanor accrued a resumé laden with indisputable comedy classics. Born in upstate New York…
Read more →On This Day In Movie History, 10.14.12
October 20, 1945: Two years after being let go by MGM due to waning popularity, Joan Crawford wins renewed acclaim (and an eventual Oscar) as Mildred Pierce. October 15, 1915: The Supreme Court finds Edison’s Motion Picture Patents Company guilty of restraint of…
Read more →Boomer Mill: A Crop of ‘60s and ‘70s Oddball and Groovy Movies
Boomer Mill: Warner has lately reached into the ‘60s and ‘70s for a crop of controversial, oddball, and—what’s the term?—groovy movies for your enjoyment. A Covenant with Death (1966) Having a Wild Weekend (1965) The Chapman Report (1962) The Cool Ones (1967)
Read more →On this Day In Movie History…
A historic look at classic movie history week by week featuring Orson Welles, Warren Beatty, Natalie Wood, Busby Berkeley, Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney
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