Watching Classic Movies

There is no period in film history quite like theso-called pre-Code era, where the new production code put in place to keep thefilm industry in line didn’t quite do what it was intended to do for a few years. Kim Luperi of I See a Dark Theater and the Pre-Code Instagram account and Danny Reid of Pre-Code.com have studied and written about this cinematicperiod for several years. We talked about their new book from TCM, Pre-Code Essentials: Must-See Cinema from Hollywood's Untamed Era, 1930-1934, unpacked some of the most intriguing films from their selections, and mulled over why Pre-Codes are endlessly fascinating and popular with classic film fans Buy a signed book from Larry Edmunds:https://www.larryedmunds.com/product-page/pre-code-essentials-must-see-cinemafrom-hollywood-s-untamed-era-1930-1934 Book event information:https://linktr.ee/precodehollywood Keep up with Kim:https://www.iseeadarktheater.com/https://www.instagram.com/precodedotcom/ Keep up with Danny:https://pre-code.com/

From the first rebellious strains of the title tune by the Red Crayola, I knew Born In Flames (1983) was going to be a special movie. It was anhonor to talk about this timeless film with Director Lizzie Borden. She was deeply involved with the production of a new Blu-ray release of the film from Criterion Collection and we had a great talk about how Born in Flames was made,its evolving influence over the years, and how it felt to look back on it all in the production of this remarkable release. Born in Flames Soundtrack Playlisthttps://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj3-hIKmvt6VrjorUn01M3ub4_W6C7J94&si=BYys5Gqfy3765vlD The Official Born in Flames Websitehttps://www.borninflamesmovie.com/ Kathleen Hanna discusses Born in Flameshttps://thedissolve.com/features/mad-love/298-kathleen-hanna-on-the-film-thats-inspired-her-for-/ Criterion Collection Release of Born in Flameshttps://www.criterion.com/films/30707-born-in-flames

My guest is Caroline Young, author of Single & Psycho: How Pop Culture Created the Unstable Single Woman. We talked about the many ways unmarried women are represented in movies and television and how they are often vilified. From Fatal Attraction and its fascinating inspiration Diversion to Gone Girl and the singletons of Bridget Jones and Sex and the City, we covered a lot of ground. More about Caroline: Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/carolinejillyoung/ Official Sitewww.carolinejyoung.com Titles discussed:Diversion (1979)Fatal Attraction (1987)Thelma and Louise (1991)Basic Instinct (1992)The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992)Sex and the City (TV, 1998)Obsession (2023)Fatal Attraction (TV, 2023)The Girl on the Train (2016)Gone Girl (2014)Promising Young Woman (2020)The Boy Next Door (2015)The Real Fatal Attraction (2025)Baby Reindeer (2024)

One of the best decisions I ever made was to attend the TCM Classic Film Festival and I’ve done that for several years. There are thousandsof movie fans who feel the same way. This one-of-a-kind event is as much about the community it draws as it is its films, panels, guests, and welcoming TCM hosts. I have spent many hours at the festival with my guests Aurora Bugallo,who writes the Once Upon A Screen blog and who is active on social media as CitizenScreen and Karen Burroughs Hannsberry who writes the Shadows and Satin blog, iseditor of the bi-monthly film noir publication the Dark Pages Newsletter and is author of Femme Noir: Bad Girls of Film and Bad Boys: The Actors of Film Noir.We had a lot of laughs and even got a bit emotional reminiscing about the manyways our days together in Hollywood were memorable, heartwarming, and even lifechanging.More about Aurora:https://citizenscreen.tumblr.com/https://www.instagram.com/citizenscreenhttps://aurorasginjoint.com/(Once Upon a Screen) More about Karen:https://shadowsandsatin.wordpress.com/https://www.allthatnoir.com/ Maureen O’Hara at TCMFF 2014:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b30uO1dHjo&list=PLA2C9D52AB7280FC5&index=15

Robert Bellissimo has had me as his guest on his excellent Robert Bellissimo at the Movies video podcast two times: once to discuss the sci-fi/film noir Repeat Performance (1947) and recently to talk about Joan Crawford in Autumn Leaves (1956). In this episode we discuss Sudden Fear (1952) which has the noir and theater world characteristics of that first film and the star of the second. We talked in detail about the look, sound, plotting, and stars of this fascinating independent production that served as a perfectly noirish backdrop for one of Crawford’s best performances. Robert Bellissimo at the Movies YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@RobertBellissimoAtTheMovies Follow Robert-- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robertbellissimoatthemovies/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RobertBellissimoAtTheMovies/ Our conversation about the film noir Repeat Performance (1947): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emz7yABM4kU Our conversation about another Joan Crawford film, Autumn Leaves (1956): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq9jzs2dqOU Robert interviews Joan Crawford: Ferocious Ambition author Robert Dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd00zZdaUIA Kendahl interviews Joan Crawford: Ferocious Ambition author Robert Dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE3iiOsCwM8 The show is available on— Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, PocketCasts, Google, and Radio Public Like the podcast? Subscriptions are as low as 99 cents a month: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/k-cruver/support You can also support my work on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/watchingclassicmovies

With a collection of nearly 150,000 titles, Scarecrow Video in Seattle, Washington is one of the largest, if not the largest publicly available archives of film in the world. US customers can rent in the store or by mail and anyone can purchase all sorts of amazing items from its official website. Open since 1988, and a not-for-profit run by its employees since 2014, it had never been easy to keep the store going, but this collective has set a goal to raise 1.8 million dollars in order to keep its doors open and to build a sustainable structure so that its employees can focus on what they do best: sharing the amazing world of movies with its loyal customers. I spoke with Scarecrow Social Media Manager and Development Assistant Malakie Peters about the progress the not-for-profit has made in its fundraising efforts, how anyone can benefit from and support Scarecrow, and what her current favorite flicks are in a collection so massive that even as an employee she finds new treasures all the time. Direct donation link: https://scarecrow.app.neoncrm.com/forms/sos Scarecrow Video Official Site: https://scarecrowvideo.org/ The Scarecrow Video Shop: https://sv-archive.square.site/ The show is available on— Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, PocketCasts, Google, and Radio Public Like the podcast? Subscriptions are as low as 99 cents a month: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/k-cruver/support You can also support my work on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/watchingclassicmovies

My guest is Nat Segaloff, author of The Exorcist Legacy: 50 Years of Fear. Nat is uniquely qualified to write about this controversial classic. As a publicist working for the film, he was standing guard outside the auditorium doors for the first press screening . He knew director William Friedkin, and wrote his authorized biography and spent time with Exorcist novelist/screenwriter William Peter Blatty. We talked about the many versions and sequels of the Exorcist, the women who were integral to the creation and execution of the story, and how while nothing can match the original film, the movies it inspired have a lot to offer. More about the books we discussed: The Exorcist Legacy: 50 Years of Fear https://www.kensingtonbooks.com/9780806541945/the-exorcist-legacy/ Breaking the Code: Otto Preminger vs. Hollywood’s Censors https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Code-Preminger-Hollywoods-Censors/dp/1493074881 The Naughty Bits: What The Censors Wouldn't Let You See in Hollywood's Most Famous Movies https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-naughty-bits-nat-segaloff/1145630555 A previous episode where we discuss Nat’s book about Scarface: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nat-segaloff-author-of-say-hello-to-my-little-friend/id1595631474?i=1000644783035 More about Nat Segaloff: http://www.natsegaloff.com/ The show is available on— Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, PocketCasts, Google, and Radio Public Like the podcast? Subscriptions are as low as 99 cents a month: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/k-cruver/support You can also support my work on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/watchingclassicmovies

There are few stars who have reached the heights that Joan Crawford did. In his book Ferocious Ambition: Joan Crawford’s March to Stardom my guest Robert Dance explores how she rose from childhood poverty to the top of her industry where she maintained a successful career for over four decades. We talked about her drive and talent for business and how she was a surprising feminist presence in mid-century cinema. You can purchase Ferocious Ambition: Joan Crawford’s March to Stardom here Check out the gorgeous photos on the official Ferocious Ambition Instagram account The show is available on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, PocketCasts, Google, and Radio Public Like the podcast? Want to hear more frequent episodes? Subscriptions are as low as 99 cents a month You can also support my work on ko-fi

Film critic Odie Henderson has applied his vast film knowledge and solid storytelling skills to the writing of an excellent new book Buy Odie's Book Check out Odie's Blaxploitation Playlist Keep up with Odie on BlueSky Odie's film reviews: Boston Globe Roger Ebert Like the podcast? Want to hear more frequent episodes? Subscriptions are as low as 99 cents a month You can also support my work on ko-fi

While the actress Veronica Lake dealt with her share of trauma, her life was not quite the tragedy that it has long been rumored to be. Before she hit her mid-twenties she had appeared in six bonafide classic films, including Sullivan’s Travels, a series of noirs with Alan Ladd starting with This Gun for Hire, I Married a Witch and So Proudly We Hail. She left Hollywood behind, but never stopped working on the stage and in television, while pursuing the life she was unable to have as a young star. I spoke with UCLA Cinema and Media Studies Program Manager and Lake enthusiast and researcher Brian Brown about the highs and lows of this remarkable actress. For more great Veronica Lake content, follow Brian on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PeekabooBrian Titles discussed: Sullivan’s Travels (1941) This Gun for Hire (1942) The Glass Key (1942) I Married a Witch (1942) So Proudly We Hail (1943) The Blue Dahlia (1946) Ramrod (1947) Slattery’s Hurricane (1949) The Sainted Sisters (1948) The show is available on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, PocketCasts, Google, and Radio Public

Biographer Eve Golden returns to the show to discuss her latest . This vivacious star deserves a reputation overall. Lies, rumors, and misperceptions have clouded Velez’ legacy. While she didn’t have the opportunities and regard that her talent and starpower should have brought her, she had a remarkable, decades-long career and was a beloved, fascinating woman. Content warning: we discuss Lupe’s suicide from 21:04 to 24:58 if you would prefer to skip that part of the conversation. Strictly Dynamite: The Sensational Life of Lupe Vélez is a publication of University Press of Kentucky and is available wherever you buy books! The show is available on— Apple Spotify Amazon Music PocketCasts Google Radio Public Like the podcast? Want to hear more frequent episodes? Subscriptions are as low as 99 cents a month You can also support my work on ko-fi

Fashion Instagrammer and actress Rachel Boyce lives her love of 60s and 1700s fashion. While we tend to refer to previous decades when talking about fashion trends, Rachel looks back centuries when sharing her extensive knowledge about how past looks influence the present. We talked about how many years of different styles found their way into the cultural explosion of the sixties, including the wide variety of films made in that decade. Follow Rachel Boyce on Instagram Listen to our previous episode about Sharon Tate and owning vintage fashion. The show is available on— Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, Breaker, Google RePod, PocketCasts, Radio Public Like the podcast? Want to hear more frequent episodes? Subscriptions are as low as 99 cents a month You can also support my work on ko-fi

The 1989 film Chameleon Street, written, directed by, and starring Wendell B. Harris Jr. won the grand jury prize for a dramatic film at Sundance Film Festival in 1990. But that honor didn’t lead to the accolades and long directing career that it should have. This quirky masterwork tells the true crime story of William Douglas Street, Jr., a con artist from Detroit who has successfully impersonated athletes, lawyers, reporters, and doctors over a long career of scamming. He is currently in prison for identity theft. I spoke with Cinema Detroit co-founder Paula Guthat about this fascinating film, the wild story behind it, and how Harris molded this tale of the con into a reflection of life, society, and the performance of being human. You can learn where to stream Chameleon Street (1989) here. Learn more about Chameleon Street here. Learn more about Cinema Detroit screenings here. The show is available on— Apple Spotify Amazon Music PocketCasts Breaker Sticher Google Radio Public Like the podcast? Want to hear more frequent episodes? Subscriptions are as low as 99 cents a month You can also support my work on ko-fi