Category Archives: My Crazy Movie-Loving Family
A Memory Dream Turns Into A Nightmare
For me, it’s always been one of the most unsettling scenes ever set to film: the one in Goodfellas where, after Henry has become something of a liability, his wife Karen goes to see his mobster friend Jimmy for help, amidst a jungle of ramshackle old warehouses near the docks. At first, he commiserates with …
Me, My Mom and the Movies
Back in the days when there were still video rental stores, I took a copy of Truly, Madly, Deeply over to my mother’s house, to watch before our usual Sunday dinner. I’d seen it over and over and knew she’d love it. There’s one scene that cracks my heart wide open—when Nina is in her …
Remembering Linus, Our Sweet, Beloved Pup
This has nothing to do with classic film, but I feel like you’re family, so I hope you’ll bear with me in remembering my sweet, beloved Linus, who we lost last week. He lived to be sixteen years and eight months old, but his life seemed to go by in the blink of an eye. …
When Richard Widmark Hugs You, You Stay Hugged
Back in the spring of 2001, the Walter Reade Theatre had a retrospective of Richard Widmark films, with a special—to put it mildly—appearance by the man himself, who was then 86. I had loved Richard Widmark since I was a kid, when I saw him in Don’t Bother to Knock. He seemed like a bit of a …
Saying Goodbye to My Dad and CASABLANCA
“Where I’m going, you can’t follow.” Not the most famous line in Rick’s closing speech to Ilsa, but the one that stays with me. Casablanca was the last movie I ever saw with my Dad, who I followed everywhere. We were true kindred spirits, and there was no one I saw more movies with. Saturday mornings were …
Of Dads, Dreams and the Damn World Series
Watching the final game of the World Series, as our home team was ground to bits by a baseball machine known as the Royals, one classic film kept running through my mind. I’m guessing you know which one. The Royals were the best team in baseball this year. If you’d plugged all the variables into some fancy …
Remembering Buster Keaton, with Love and Gratitude
Squonk. Squonk. Squonk. The walk to school from my house was five blocks long, and my crepe-soled shoes squeaked more slowly with each passing street. Squonk. Squonk. Stop. Squonk. Stop again. Root around in my bookbag. Maybe I forgot something. Maybe I should go home. When I was in the third grade, I developed a duodenal …
Buy Your Christmas War Bonds from Bette Davis!
I’m borderline-obsessed with the way Hollywood threw itself body and soul into the cause during World War II. I can’t get enough of stories of the Hollywood Canteen, the bond drives, the USO shows… not to mention those who actually fought on the front lines. Here’s a little war-bond short that Bette Davis (who would go …
The Day Van Johnson Sent My Aunt Ruth to the Fainting Couch
Happy Birthday to the fabulous and insanely underrated Van Johnson, the light, romantic leading man with hidden depths. Though actually they weren’t hidden at all—they were pretty much right there, even in his breezier roles, but especially in weightier films such as Battleground, The End of the Affair, Miracle in the Rain and A Guy Named Joe. If you’re not familiar with that Van, …
Sister Celluloid 
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