Bringing Up Baby: David, Susan and the Big Cat
Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. Photo: RKO There are some people who love making the argument that sometimes critics are ”wrong” whenever a panned movie becomes a box-office hit. As…
Gone With the Wind: Fall of the Old South
Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. Photo: MGM Last August, news came that a cinema in Memphis, Tennessee had decided not to screen Gone With the Wind because of numerous complaints.…
It Happened One Night: Love in the Era of the Depression
Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. Photo: Columbia The first film to sweep the five major categories at the Academy Awards certainly did not start out well. Director Frank Capra, who…
Rio Bravo: A Sheriff Takes a Chance
John Wayne. Photo: Warner For purely political reasons, John Wayne was not a fan of High Noon (1952). In his view, that film celebrated collectivism, having Gary Cooper's sheriff come…
It’s a Wonderful Life: Wing and a Prayer
James Stewart, Donna Reed, Carol Coombs, Jimmy Hawkins, Larry Simms and Karolyn Grimes. Photo: RKO This Christmas I decided to catch Frank Capra's last masterpiece again. Having seen it several…
The Searchers: A Savage Nature
John Wayne. Photo: Warner The Searchers was a box office hit in its day, but received no Academy Award nominations. Much like several Alfred Hitchcock movies, it's a typical example…