1930s
We continue our time with Nick and Nora Charles, this time with the 1939 film ‘Another Thin Man,’ the third in the Thin Man series. Now, they have a baby and they’re back in New York! What do we think of the story? The characters? The mystery? The comedy? The drinking? Tune in!
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We return to the world of Nick and Norah Charles as we jump back into the ‘Thin Man’ series. We covered the first film as part of our ‘Black-and-White Cinematography of James Wong Howe’ series. Now, we’re finishing the series, starting with the 1936 film ‘After the Thin Man.’ It’s a pure delight. Tune in!
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It was a short series and didn’t really have films that dealt with journalism so much as have characters who are journalists, but it was still an interesting series. We talked about Boat People, Merrily We Go to Hell, The Weight of Water, and Between the Lines. So what did we think of the series overall? Tune in to find out!
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We continue our Journalists series with a film that’s a bit more journalist adjacent – Dorothy Arzner’s 1932 film ‘Merrily We Go to Hell.’ What do we think of Frederic March and Sylvia Sidney? How about their modern marriage? And how did the Hays Code figure in to this movie? Tune in for more!
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What is the grand illusion in The Grand Illusion? How does Jean Renoir’s realism work for this World War I film? Why is director/actor Erich von Stroheim so memorable as the director of the POW camp? And why is Dita Parlo so high in the credits? Tune in to this week’s show to get answers to these questions and more!
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How does Errol Flynn compare to Douglas Fairbanks? Does this version of Robin Hood hold up as one of the best still? How did they do those arrow-in-the-chest stunts? Tune in to this week’s show to get these answers and more!
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Why does this story connect with people so strongly that it keeps getting remade? How well do our two leads do at bringing us into this world? And what’s going on with Granny and her deus ex machina advice? Tune in to this week’s show to get these answers and more.
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When “M,” Fritz Lang’s first sound film, opened in 1931, it was clear that Lang already understood how to employ sound to his advantage in telling his story. Unlike many early ‘talkies,’ “M” isn’t wall-to-wall talking; instead, Lang used it as a sparse tool to help catch a killer. He balanced quiet moments with abrupt sharp noises. He brought in off-screen noises that affected those on-screen. He had voiceover. And of course, there is the murderer’s whistling of Peer Gynt’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King.” Lang was a master of his craft, and certainly not a director who would be held back by the advent of sound.
Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we continue our Lang series with “M.”
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Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce became synonymous with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson after appearing in 14 film versions of various stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Yet at the start, neither of them got top billing. Yet now, Rathbone’s look as the famous detective is the iconic look for him. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we wrap up this year’s series of films from 1939, commonly called the greatest year of cinema, with Sidney Lanfield’s 1939 version of the famous story.
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Robert Donat defied the odds and beat both Clark Gable and Jimmy Stewart for the Best Actor Oscar in the 1939 Academy Awards with his portrayal of Mr. Chips in Sam Wood’s “Goodbye, Mr. Chips.” It’s a movie that celebrates school heroes everyone had (or should’ve) and connects in its ability to reflect back on the nostalgia of one’s life. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we continue our series on films from 1939 with Wood’s film.
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