Yearly Archives: 2010

Christmas in Connecticut almost great

Posted on December 18, 2010 by Bill Wren

Some movies leave you scratching your head, like Christmas in Connecticut. You like it yet it bugs you. Why is that? This is another one of those movies I saw years ago as a kid watching TV in the basement. … Continue reading →

Bang for the movie buck – Auntie Mame

Posted on December 12, 2010 by Bill Wren

Don’t ever accuse the entertainment business of not cleaning up its plate. There is no place like the world of entertainment for squeezing every last drop of blood out of a “property” (as the money guys refer to it). For … Continue reading →

Comedy gem – Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Posted on November 24, 2010 by Bill Wren

I’ve been prattling about comfort movies recently but so far have suggested only one example from the list I’m compiling. But tomorrow, Thursday, is Thanksgiving in the United States — which may go back as far as 1565, finding its … Continue reading →

Familiarity: a characteristic of the comfort movie?

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Bill Wren

A friend of mine went to visit some friends in Edmonton a few months ago. When she returned, I asked her what she had done. “Nothing,” she said. “Did you go anywhere?” “Nope.” “Did you at least go to that … Continue reading →

Man Hunt and Fritz Lang’s dance with propaganda

Posted on November 15, 2010 by Bill Wren

There is a strange irony in a movie like Man Hunt and its director Fritz Lang making the film meet the propaganda demands of the period. Those demands explain (I’m speculating) the sudden and out-of-the-blue ending to Man Hunt. If … Continue reading →

Film preservation in Dawson City

Posted on November 8, 2010 by Bill Wren

by Robert Lovenheim In 1978 a startling discovery elated the small world of film preservationists, restorers, and scholars. A trove of long lost original nitrate copies of silent movies was uncovered at a construction site in Dawson City, Alaska. Among … Continue reading →