11,893 stories by "Trav S.d."
Could there be a stupider name for this post? No! But I’m sorry, that’s all I could come up with! Today is the launch day for the annual celebration organized by the Netherland-A…
Filed under: Burlesk, Contemporary Variety, PLUGS Tagged: New York Burlesque Festival, NYBF
Bandleader Meyer Davis (1893-1976) was from the Washington, D.C. area.  He started out with a musical quintet in high school (after the school band rejected him — his specialty was …
Today is the birthday of Beatrice Curtis (Beatrice Zinn, 1906-1963). Curtis was second generation show biz, the daughter of agent (and former vaudevillian) Jack Curtis and singer…
To date, the most satisfying (jaw-dropping) “read” on the subject of a comic book origin story has been Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay. Joinin…
All day tomorrow on Turner Classic Movies: a little chronological survey of films featuring independent, modern robots on the go! 6:00am (EST): Metropolis (1926) Fritz Lang's silent…
Since I gave them a mention this morning in a previous post, and I’m way overdue to do so, today I thought I’d do a post on Paramount’s series of Big Broadcast films (an…
What with TCM showing Meet the Baron today, I thought it might do to share this little post that will provide a little context for the Three Stooges (who appear in the film) Think ya know…
Today on TCM at 3:15pm (EST): the sheer insanity that is MGM’s Meet the Baron (1933). Meet the Baron was the first (and only) starring vehicle for radio and vaudeville comedia…
Doraldina (Dora Saunders, 1888-1936) began her working life as manicurist in a San Francisco Hotel, then went to New York and Spain to study dance. She became known for popularizing the hula…
Filed under: BROOKLYN, Contemporary Variety, PLUGS, Vaudeville etc. Tagged: BROOKLYN, Bushwick, Cobra Club, Force Majeur, vaudeville
Originally posted in celebration of Marxfest, in May, 2014. Today is the anniversary of the release date of the Marx Brothers’ comedy Monkey Business (1931). Monkey BusinessÃ…
Today is the 100th anniversary of the release date of W.C. Fields’ very first film Pool Sharks (1915). Most folks don’t know that before he made talkies, Fields had a silen…
What with TCM showing several Abbott and Costello comedies tonight, I thought this might be a logical time to share some thoughts I’d been kicking around about the great movie teams an…
Tonight on Turner Classic Movies, no doubt by popular demand, several of the comedies of Abbott and Costello. 8:00pm (EST) Hold That Ghost (1941) The first of A & C’s many spoo…
Today on Turner Classic Movies at 4:15pm (EST): Catlow (1971) This is an interesting animal — yet another failed attempt by MGM to regain the glory days (or to even stay solvent). A bi…
Originally posted on Archival Research and Rhetoric: Undergraduate REflections:[this is drafty. did not incorporate readings yet] I wanted to know whether there were women who advocated for …
Tonight on TCM at midnight (Eastern), as part of their month-long celebration of Susan Hayward, Turner Movie Classics will be showing I’ll Cry Tomorrow, the 1955 bio-pic based on…
Today is the birthday of Neely Edwards (Cornelius Limbach, 1883-1965). A quick thanks to Ben Model and Steve Massa for making me aware of this interesting and (in his day) significant stage …
While you were sleeping, Baltimore was shelled by a foreign navy, Washington DC was invaded and the White House burnt down, and America tried to take over Canada. Well, maybe you weren’…
Here’s why you MUST see Nefertitty in Space: https://travsd.wordpress.com/2014/11/26/nefertitty-in-space-and-why-lola-rocknrolla-is-our-favorite-film-maker/Filed under: African A…
Today is the birthday of Louis Gasnier (1875-1963). Fairly or fairly, I mentally associate Gasnier with a handful of other directors (William Beaudine, Jean Yarbrough, Norman Taurog) who sta…
Tonight (tomorrow morning really) at 12:30am (EST) on Turner Classic Movies:  Harold Lloyd’s 1927 feature The Kid Brother. In The Kid Brother, Lloyd stretched somewhat, venturing in…
Hey New Yorkers! Tomorrow the Film Forum will be showing two very important silent features. Note: this is not a double feature; these are two entirely separate screenings, as you’ll n…
Please don’t protest that YOU haven’t forgotten the show. This world contains 7 billion people, including 320 million Americans, most of whom are younger than you are.Â…
