11,857 stories by "Trav S.D."
Today is the birthday of that great star of German Expressionist cinema Conrad Veidt (1893-1943). Veidt was sort of the German equivalent of Lon Chaney, and is most highly regarded today as …
Today is the birthday of Constance Collier (Laura Constance Hardie, 1878-1955). Most of us know her strictly from her late career Hollywood roles in films like Stage Door (1937), We…
Could there ever be a more deceptive advertisement? Far from being the funniest comedy in history, it must rank with the unfunniest. It’s definitely among the worst of Keaton’s f…
This one came as something of a revelation. We watched it last night; hadn’t heard of it before. It’s an early entry into the “psycho-biddy” genre, characterized by f…
Today (January 20, 2014) makes the 111th anniversary of the opening night of L. Frank Baum’s hit Broadway stage adaptation of his popular 1900 children’s book The Wizard of Oz…
Today is the birthday of the brilliant film maker David Lynch (b. 1946). I was all of twelve when his first movie Eraserhead (1977) came out, and that only played the art circuits. Lik…
Today (January 20) is the anniversary of the release date of Stan Laurel’s 1924 solo comedy Smithy, co-directed by producer Hal Roach and Keystone veteran George Jeske. In his nearl…
Today is the birthday of Colin Clive (1900-1937), nowadays known for just one thing, but we’ll get to that! A direct descendant of Clive of India, he was born into straight-up milit…
As today is the birthday of Albertina Rasch (see full post here) and I just saw her in this movie, and I’ve been bursting to spread the news about this terrific movie anyway, well here…
We were induced to take a break from our moratorium on reviewing indie theatre shows by a variety of factors in the case of Edison’s Elephant, now at Metropolitan Playhouse throu…
Today is the anniversary of the release date of the original, silent version of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1928), considered one of THE great lost films of our time. The 1953 musical versi…
Or better yet, and more likely, end your Saturday in that fashion. In the wee wee hours of tomorrow morning TCM will be showing two notorious psychedelic classics, starring (as such films al…
Now here’s a gentleman whose memory has suffered due to the more lasting success of his brother Wallace Beery, and his son Noah Beery, Jr. (best remembered as Rocky from The Rockford F…
Today is the birthday of Universal Studios founder and chief Carl Laemmle (1867-1939). Unlike William Fox, Marcus Loew, Jesse Lasky, the Schenk Brothers and others, Laemmle did not start …
Today is the birthday of the female impersonator Vardaman (Mansel Vardaman G. Boyle, 1877-1945). Vardaman was born in Santa Cruz, California and raised in Butte, Montana, where he first work…
Filed under: Animal Acts, Bowery, Barbary Coast, Old New York, Saloons, Circus, Coney Island, Indie Theatre, LEGIT, EXPERIMENTAL & MUSICAL THEATRE, PLUGS Tagged: Edison's Elephant, elect…
Today is the birthday of the great cinematographer and movie director Karl Freund (1890-1969). A key figure of German Expressionism and its exportation to Hollywood, his name is usually a…
Today is the birthday of the lovely and hilarious Andrea Martin (b. 1947). It’s been so exciting to see her emerge as a Broadway star in recent years, but of course I’ll always r…
Today is the birthday (according to one source) of that peculiar late 20th century phenomenon known as Charo (Maria del Rosario Mercedes Pilar Martinez Molina Baeza — I can hear her sa…
Today is the birthday of the great British songwriter, playwright and actor Ivor Novello (David Ivor Davies, 1893-1951). Novello was the son of a high end Welsh singing instructor; he was al…
Following up on our earlier post about the notorious William Beaudine… Beaudine created so much work across so many genres, but for better or worse, in the wider community of film buff…
Today at 5pm E.S.T. on Turner Classic Movies: Mad Love!!! An exquisite remake of the silent classic The Hands of Orlac. Peter Lorre is a mad doctor obsessed with the female star of a Gran…
Sundays at Midnight in January (technically early Monday mornings) TCM is showing a bevy of classic Fatty Arbuckle shorts from the early Mack Sennett days. Your corresponde…
One hundred years ago today, Mack Sennett’s Keystone released the hilarious comedy A Flirt’s Mistake, directed by George Nichols. The titular “flirt” is of course,…
Today is the birthday of Mississippi Fred McDowell (1904-1972). Despite his unambiguous association with a particular state (where he lived a good part of his life, McDowell was born in, and…
