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Release Decade Archive

1940s

For all you proper film enthusiasts who would like to peruse the films of  TruStory FM’s entertainment podcasts by release decade. Get ready for a firehose of film history in these here stacks.
The Next Reel Film Podcast

Man Hunt

1941 was an interesting time for the US as the country started the year off as a passive, neutral observer of what Germany and Hitler were doing in Europe and ended with the attack on Pearl Harbor, leading the US to officially enter WWII. And while Fritz Lang’s 1941 anti-Nazi film “Man Hunt” was rushed by Darryl F. Zanuck and 20th Century Fox into production then subsequently theatres to be current, they still had to contend with the Production Code and how the film would be seen by people while the Neutrality Act was still in effect. It’s a film that reflects the time in which it was made really well, giving us insight now not just how the filmmakers were thinking, but how society and the government were all thinking and working together (or against each other). Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we continue our Fritz Lang series with “Man Hunt.”

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June 2, 2016
The Next Reel Film Podcast

Kings Row

“Kings Row” was adapted from a much racier novel from 1940 and had to be sanitized quite a bit because of the Hays Code. They had to leave some pretty big elements out — homosexuality, mercy killings, incest, nymphomania — but even with that, the film still is very dark because of the issues it does deal with. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our Black and White Cinematography of James Wong Howe series with Sam Wood’s 1942 film “Kings Row.”

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June 5, 2015
The Next Reel Film Podcast

Out of the Past

The two films most often cited as the ultimate representations of film noir are Billy Wilder’s 1944 film “Double Indemnity” and Jacques Tourneur’s 1947 film “Out of the Past.” Tourneur’s film gives us Robert Mitchum at his laconic best, Jane Greer at her sexiest and Kirk Douglas in one of his earliest roles but already defined by his machismo. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our Film Noir series with “Out of the Past.”

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April 10, 2015
The Next Reel Film Podcast

Scarlet Street

Fritz Lang may have often had conflicts with his producers, but when he turned out a great film, he made so great that it’s easy to look past his argumentative nature and just focus on the end product. Well, perhaps more so now than at the time. Sure, he had his stinkers, but looking at a magnificent film like “Scarlet Street,” it’s easy to forgive any battles he started and just relish the brilliance of the story. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our Film Noir series with Lang’s 1945 masterpiece, “Scarlet Street.”

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April 3, 2015
The Next Reel Film Podcast

Detour

There are good films noir and there are bad films noir. But rarely do you have a case like 1945’s “Detour,” directed by Edgar G. Ulmer, where the poor quality that would make it a bad film could actually be construed as elements that make it a good film. In fact, this is arguably the only case where that happened. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our Film Noir series with Ulmer’s “Detour.”

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March 27, 2015
The Next Reel Film Podcast

Double Indemnity

Nobody knew they were making films noir when the genre started in the 40s — it wasn’t until much later when the French dubbed this new run of American films that had a darker bent with snappy dialogue, lots of shadows and femme fatales film noir. Billy Wilder was setting out to make a crime thriller; he didn’t realize at the time that his film “Double Indemnity” would be considered the first real film noir. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we begin our Film Noir series with Wilder’s brilliant film from 1944.

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March 20, 2015
The Next Reel Film Podcast

Kind Hearts and Coronets

Sir Alec Guinness may always be remembered as Obi Wan Kenobi, but his career goes far beyond those three little science fiction films he did late in his career. He worked many times with David Lean. He gave life to the spy George Smiley long before Gary Oldman. And he starred in a number of the great Ealing comedies, his first of which is Kind Hearts and Coronets, where he pulls a Peter Sellers by playing eight of the characters in the film. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we begin our Sir Alec Guinness series by talking about Robert Hamer’s 1949 comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets.

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January 9, 2015
The Next Reel Film Podcast

The Bishop’s Wife

Happy holidays! It’s time for another Christmas movie pick to celebrate, and we’re jumping back to 1947 to talk about Henry Koster’s “The Bishop’s Wife.” Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we dive into this perennial classic starring Cary Grant, Loretta Young and David Niven.

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December 25, 2014
The Next Reel Film Podcast

Christmas in Connecticut

It’s the holiday season again which means it’s time for us — Pete and Andy — to talk about another holiday classic! Join us as we talk about Peter Godfrey’s screwball war comedy from 1945, “Christmas in Connecticut.”

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December 27, 2013
The Next Reel Film Podcast

Key Largo

In 1948, John Huston managed to crank out two of his most well-known films – The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, a masterpiece that received many accolades but took a while to warm up at the box office, and Key Largo, a noirish crime film that takes place during a hurricane on the Florida Keys which did great at the box office but didn’t create a big splash in the awards circles.

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February 1, 2013
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