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Classic Films

Classic Films Feature Writer: Barry M. Grey

What is a Classic Film?

Sure, it's a catch-all term these days, but true movie fans know what it really refers to: that perfect and prolific period from The Jazz Singer to A Hard Day's Night, from All Quiet On The Western Front to All About Eve, from Frankenstein to From Here To Eternity.

Relive the Studio Era -- film noir, westerns, gangster pictures, melodramas and comedies -- through profiles, book reviews, DVD news and more. If you know the color of Harpo Marx's first wig, if you can name the last film John Ford shot in Monument Valley, if you went all tingly when Warner Bros released its gangster collection on DVD, then by all means, line up behind the velvet rope.

Check out my articles, blog and post in the discussions or email me with your own golden oldies.


Feature Writer Articles in Classic Films

 		Movie Review - The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1945
Oscar Wilde's intriguing take on the Faust legend has been filmed often -- as early as 1913 and as recently as 2009 -- but definitively, by director Albert Lewin in 1945.
Movie Review - Alan Ladd in The Blue Dahlia
The Blue Dahlia is one of those pictures considered a "classic" because of an impressive cast and creative team. But a closer look reveals it's just not a very good film.
James Cagney - From Gangster to Patriotic Icon
When The Public Enemy made James Cagney a star, the prototypically tough New Yorker quickly let his Warners bosses know he was a fighter - on and off the screen.
James Cagney Influenced Generations of Actors
A giant of the movies' first half-century, James Cagney threw off the early shackles of typecasting to emerge as one of the screen's most versatile and beloved actors.
Brief Encounter - Review of 1945 Movie
Few films in the English language are as unapologetically romantic as this classic, thanks in great measure to the work of producer Noel Coward and director David Lean.
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Contributing Articles in Classic Films

 		Alice's Adventures In Wonderland on Film
Lewis Carrol's Alice's Adventures In Wonderland has fascinated generations of children and adults. Unsurprisingly, it has also been adapted several times on film.
Bigger Than Life (Criterion) - DVD review
Predating and surpassing so many cinematic take-downs aimed at the Mayberry image of the suburbs, Bigger Than Life is one of the most-overlooked of great American films.
Moonwalker: Michael Jackson 1988
Released to a mixed reception, Jackson takes the audience on musical adventure through his colourful life whilst battling a criminal mastermind bent on world domination.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail - Film Review
Monty Python and the Holy Grail employs Romantic themes of absurdity, nationalism, and the supernatural, while cleverly exploring the many elements of the genre.
Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train
A chance encounter between two strangers on a train leads to murder in this classic suspense thriller.
Classic Film 'The Wizard of Oz' To Be Remade
Three major Hollywood studios are planning to retell L. Frank Baum's classic story of The Wizard of Oz. Four exciting projects are currently in the works.
The Gardenia Scene in Apocalypse Now
In the Gardenia Scene, as it is often called, Kurtz initiates Willard into the mysteries of his deranged rebel utopia. The scene serves as a microcosm of the whole movie.
History at the Movies
The inaccuracies of history-based films reflect the agendas of producers and directors as well as the need to interject fictional characters that become popular figures.
Alice in Wonderland Film Review
Lewis Carroll's book took a dark twist in the new Alice in Wonderland film, released March 5 in the UK. But does the film live up to the hype?
Roy Baker's The Singer not the Song
A discussion of the main characters of Roy Baker's western portrayed by Dirk Borgarde and John Mills.
Chinatown Revisited
The great but controversial director Roman Polanski is in the news again with his film The Ghost Writer. Back when Chinatown was released, Polanski was simply great.
Gilda Starring Rita Hayworth
A discussion of the classic 1946 film Gilda. Please note: spoilers ahead.
Love and Other Catastrophes - Film Noir Romance
A discussion of the classic 'Double Indemnity' and the modern films influenced by Billy Wilder's film noir - Body Heat, Basic Instinct and Femme Fatale. Spoilers ahead.
Sparrows Can't Sing
London's bomb sites, humour, desperation and hope caught on film. The 1963 movie Sparrows Can't Sing is a perfect time capsule of a lost London.
Film Review - The Gunfighter
This film noir-influenced western has sensibilities much more in line with today's audiences than with those at the time of its release in 1950.
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