“FanFare Guests” Archive
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Guest blogger This Guy Over Here writes:
Note: there are some spoilers in this article. Please proceed with caution.
Through the years film’s different genres come and go in popularity. Some films have had their heyday (science fiction), some have seen a second coming (horror), and others have thrived by splintered into subgenres (action/superhero flicks.) But since the beginning of cinema there has been one genre that has remained consistently popular: the mystery.
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Guest blogger Charles Wiebe writes:
Over half a century after The Grapes of Wrath was released, we tend to forget the minor miracle that conservative prewar Hollywood produced a powerful and radical film that according to author John Steinbeck was “harsher” than his Nobel Prize winning book, considered by many to be one of the most radical social documents of its day. Even to this day, biographer Joseph McBride, reminds us it remains “Hollywood’s strongest indictment of Depression era socioeconomics.”
The Grapes of Wrath was almost universally declared an instant masterpiece after its release in 1940. But post war prosperity soon made the story about the struggles of Depression era farmers seem dated. The current economic crisis, however, has given the film new life and a new generation of viewers thanks to recent stage productions. Youtube is now loaded with clips from the film. Biographer Scott Eyman writes “Today, sixty years after it was made, The Grapes of Wrath retains nearly all of its concentrated humanist power.”
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Victoria Balloon | FanFare Guests
Guest contributor Victoria Balloon writes:
Where did Ma and Pa Kettle come from and how on earth did such an unlikely, unsophisticated premise become so popular?
In 1945 Betty Mac Donald’s "The Egg and I" was a wildly successful book, and in 1947 Universal Studios turned it into a successful film starring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray. While these two veteran actors brought a lighthearted comedic touch to their roles, it was a pair of secondary characters that became the favorites. Although Ma and Pa Kettle were only onscreen for 21 minutes, Marjorie Main’s gravel-voiced hollering and Percy Kilbride’s laconic replies made an indelible impression on urban and rural audiences alike. Main was nominated for Best Supporting Actress; Universal Studios and associate producer Leonard Goldstein sensed a goldmine.
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1978 Martial Arts Action Comedy Drunken Master
Guest blogger Shawn McKenna writes:
After the local success of Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow, Seasonal Studios decided to follow it up with another kung fu comedy. The new film would use much of the same plot, director (Yuen Woo-Ping), actors, and of course Jackie Chan. The difference would be an irreverent look at the growing up of the legendary Wong Fei-Hung—a famous herbalist, teacher, physician and kung fu practitioner of Hung Gar. This character has been portrayed in a plethora of films and would continue to be, though for many, this character is synonymous with Kwan Tak-Hing and the original series of around 80 films in which he portrayed him. According to Jackie, “...rather than show him as a heroic adult, we would explore what he was like as a young man before he grew into his legend – lazy, naive, ignorant, and rebellious.” This humanizing of a legend, immensely popular in Chinese culture, allowed people to relate to this story and it was a gigantic hit. It is one of my favorite kung fu comedies and, along with Fist of Fury (American title: The Chinese Connection), one of the most beloved of the Hong Kong kung fu films.
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Guest blogger Jason writes:
I feel like there are so many movies out there, even for a form of entertainment that is less than a century old, that are widely considered to be the best examples of what the medium of film can be. Some of these I agree with, and some I don’t.
My personal favorites vary from being on these list, and being far from them. I can appreciate why certain people love the same movies I do, though maybe for different reasons, and why they might also hate some of the movies I love. A movie might have well-developed characters with an interesting arc and an original story that takes unforeseeable twists and turns, but if you don’t like the composition of the shots or the soundtrack, none of that matters. Or you could just be a jerk and say, “It’s stupid cause it looks stupid.” Either way, everyone’s entitled to their own opinion.
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Guest blogger Kimberly Clay writes:
Every month I show an old movie to a bunch of twentysomethings (like me). Sometimes it goes over well and other times...not so well. So I thought I'd put together a list of the movies that have been well received by my friends who share my generation in case you're ever in this situation. Granted, your pals may still make fun of these films and not fully understand their brilliance, but some movies are so good that even the hippest young adults can forgive their corniness.
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Guest blogger Watching Hammer writes:
"See why you never break down in the woods! See why you never stay at the creepy inn! See why you never, ever, go up to the castle! See..." Kiss of the Vampire (1963)
Who? Director: Don Sharp.
Producer: Anthony Hinds.
Screenplay: John Elder.
Cast: Clifford Evans, Edward de Souza, Noel Willman, Jennifer Daniel, Barry Warren, Brian Oulton, Noel Howlett, Jacquie Wallis, Peter Madden, Isobel Black, Vera Cook, John Harvey.
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Victoria Balloon | FanFare Guests
Guest contributor Victoria Balloon writes:
Combine outrageous scenarios with slapstick humor, then add witty, fast-paced dialogue and light romantic situations and you have that wonderful cinematic treasure called the screwball comedy -- or as film critic Andrew Sarris describes it, "a sex comedy without the sex." The basic elements of the screwball comedy were not particularly new; director Ernst Lubitsch had made sophisticated comedies such as Trouble in Paradise and slapstick was integral to the silent films of Charlie Chaplin, while Hollywood already had tough-talking blondes like Mae West and Broadway had light comedies by Noel Coward.
What made screwballs a completely new genre was the combination of these elements against the backdrop of three events in Hollywood history: the transition to sound in film, stricter enforcement of the Production Code and the Great Depression.
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Guest blogger Alyson Krier writes:
A Star Is Born (1937)
Before inventions like reality TV and YouTube, Hollywood hopefuls would have to pack up and actually move to Hollywood to have any chance at stardom. With the aid and well wishes from her grandmother, Esther Victoria Blogett (Janet Gaynor) ventures to Hollywood, convinced that she can become a great actress. Things look pretty bleak when she’s told over and over again that there’s no work, not even as an extra. With the help of an out of work director, Danny (Andy Devine), she gets a job as a waitress serving orderves at parties for celebrities. She sees this as a chance to act in front of directors, a pretty funny scene. When the famous actor, Norman Maine (Fredric March) gets drunk at the party, he takes an interest in Esther and whisks her away from her waitress job. At first, it’s not quite clear whether Norman is looking for a new actress or a girlfriend, but he ends up with both. He gets Esther her first leading role and she’s an instant star. The problem is that she is getting all the limelight while Norman is slowly being forgotten. After they marry, this problem only grows and eventually Norman turns back to the bottle.
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Guest blogger Ted Brown writes:
Skull Heads
Plot: For generations, the strange, inbred Arkoff family has lived in their creepy Italian castle undisturbed by the outside world.
Until one night when their sanctuary is invaded by a trio of treacherous art thieves and the Arkoffs must fight for their lives, aided only by the ancient protectors of the castle. The deadly Skullheads !
Review: Skull Heads much like Demonic Toys 2 is a nice reminder of my horror roots, and also a reminder of some of the best years of my life growing up. I remember every weekend running to the local video store and renting as many Horror movies as I could possibly watch over the span of two days. When I got this film in the mail it gave me the same feeling I got as a child when I would stumble upon a possible hidden gem that I had not had the pleasure of viewing before.
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Fanfare Guest blogger Jessica Pickens writes:
Ginger Rogers is a triple threat. She can sing, act and dance. She even won an Oscar for her 1941 performance in Kitty Foyle.
I taped several of her films that I haven’t seen (I’m trying to see all of her movies). One of these movies that I taped was Twenty Million Sweethearts (1934). The movie features Ginger Rogers and Dick Powell with a supporting cast of Allen Jenkins and Pat O’Brien.
Ginger Rogers is best known for the 10 films that she made with Fred Astaire. The screen team is recognized for their singing and dancing, but Astaire is generally the only one who gets to sing. Rogers only had the chance to sing solo in two of their 10 films together. These rare times occurred when Astaire refused to sing a song that was originally written for him. An example of this is “The Yam” in Carefree (1938).
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Out of the Past: A Film Noir Masterpiece
Guest blogger Sarkoffagus writes:
Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum) is living a quiet life, running a gas station in a small town. But then a stranger drives his car into town, and everything changes. It seems that someone from Jeff's past wants something from him, and so Jeff tells his girlfriend, Ann (Virginia Huston), about his shady past. Years ago, Jeff had been hired by Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas) to find his lady friend, Kathie (Jane Greer), who had shot him and ran away with 40,000 of his dollars. Jeff tracks Kathie to Mexico, meets her in a bar, and the beautiful lady helps him forget all about bringing her back to the States. The two lovers are eventually forced to part ways, and Jeff soon learns that Kathie had returned to Sterling. Now, Sterling wants Jeff to do one simple job, so that they're square, but Jeff suspects that it might be a frame.
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