Humphrey Bogart told Orson Welles that he was shooting “the worst picture I’ve ever been in.” Ingrid Bergman pleaded with director Michael Curtiz to reveal which man her character would choose, yet with daily script revisions, the best Curtiz could offer was, “Play it in between.” Everyone at Warner Bros. thought it would be a big, fat nothin’ muffin.Read More
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Regular readers of this blog know that I love “Pre-Code” films, those naughty little gems made between 1930 and 1934, when studios were in the risqué business of ignoring strict Motion Picture Production Code censorship...er, guidelines.Read More
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“Beautiful women aren’t funny” is a persistent myth in Hollywood that’s news to anyone who’s ever seen Carole Lombard, Lucille Ball, or Marilyn Monroe act up. But if you had only caught Jean Harlow in dramas like Hell’s Angels (1930) and The Public Enemy (1931), you might have dismissed her as just another pretty face with a bodacious bod.Read More
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Like many actors, studios during Hollywood’s Golden Age were often typecast. MGM specialized in high-gloss escapism. Universal made spooky monster films. And Warner Bros.? They owned the gangster genre.Read More
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Watching It’s a Wonderful Life is a holiday tradition, like hearing Bing sing “White Christmas” or glugging down Grandma’s eggnog. What may shock you is that the beloved drama tanked upon arrival in 1947, ranking 26th in the year-end box-office recap.Read More
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Big changes are happening at our smaller venue, the Loft! You may have seen the paper up in the windows along Congress Street—we are thrilled to announce a major renovation is underway and demolition is in progress. Read More
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