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Nov 15, 20243 min read
Gable & Niven: Star-Crossed Stars
Like us mere mortals, actors form close friendships, too. Myrna Loy and William Powell shared a tight bond, on screen and off. Before...
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Nov 1, 20243 min read
Shirley Temple
In the 1930s, two of the most powerful antidotes to the Great Depression were a race horse named Seabiscuit and a little girl named...
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Aug 1, 20242 min read
Bad Boys: Cagney & Robinson
Two gangster classics, released four months apart in 1931, didn’t just launch the careers of James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson. They...
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Jul 1, 20242 min read
Norma Shearer: Spunk Rocker
Remember that episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, when Lou tells Mary, “You know what? You’ve got spunk!” then adds, “I hate spunk”?...
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Jun 1, 20242 min read
Oscar Shockers (Part Two)
Sometimes, Academy Awards are given to the right actor in the wrong year. Exhibit A: James Stewart was nominated for Mr. Smith Goes to...
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May 15, 20242 min read
Oscar Shockers (Part One)
In 1950, Bette Davis and Gloria Swanson launched big-screen comebacks in All About Eve and Sunset Boulevard with scenery-chomping...
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May 1, 20242 min read
Meeting Jimmy Stewart
For me, the big downside to loving classic films is that all of the stars that I want to meet are dead. But once upon a time in...
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Apr 1, 20242 min read
The Eyes Have It
Nobody looked like her. Spoke like her. Or smoked like her! Bette Davis wasn’t an actress. She was a force of nature. The two-time Oscar...
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Mar 15, 20242 min read
The Idols of March: Joan Crawford
You’ve probably heard the Mommie Dearest and “No-wire-hangers!” jokes. Or rumors of her Dueling Divas feud with Bette Davis (who quipped,...
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Mar 1, 20242 min read
The Idols of March: Jean Harlow
Most articles about her open with some variation on “Before Marilyn Monroe, there was Jean Harlow.” It’s true. Harlow was Hollywood’s...
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Jan 15, 20242 min read
Cary, Cary, Cary
Let’s bust two Cary Grant myths and confirm another, shall we? He never said “Judy, Judy, Judy” on screen. He didn’t respond to a...
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Jan 1, 20242 min read
Big-Screen Screwball Queen
Screwball comedies ignited movie screens in the depths of the Depression – and the star who lit the match was Carole Lombard. Beginning...
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Dec 1, 20232 min read
Holden & Stanwyck
Without Barbara Stanwyck, there would be no William Holden. He admitted as much at the Academy Awards in 1978. By then, the veteran...
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Oct 15, 20232 min read
The "Perfect" Couple
They called her “The Perfect Wife.” Best known for playing William Powell’s partner in crime-busting in the classic Thin Man movies,...
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Sep 1, 20233 min read
Hollywood Makeovers
Louise Brooks’ bob. Claudette Colbert’s bangs. Lucille Ball’s carrot top. Who’s the mastermind behind these tressed-for-success stories?...
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Aug 1, 20233 min read
Films of 1948: Bogie-Huston Double Feature
Cinemagic happens when certain actors and directors join forces. John Wayne and John Ford made 14 gems, like Stagecoach, The Searchers...
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May 15, 20233 min read
Classic Kids
Growing older is an occupational hazard in Hollywood -- and not just for sex symbols. Sadly, the career arc of some child actors goes...
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Apr 15, 20232 min read
Garbo Unmasked
Winston Churchill called Russia “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” Same goes for Greta Garbo: an introvert who sought...
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Mar 15, 20233 min read
Noir Star Dana Andrews
“Always understated and all too underrated.” That’s how writer David Stenn describes Dana Andrews. Film historian Jeanine Basinger...
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Nov 15, 20222 min read
“Sunset Blvd.” Star Tells All
Want to see a classic film historian geek out? Get her on the phone with the Oscar-nominated star of her all-time favorite movie. The fan...
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