DVR-TiVo-Or whatever recording device strikes your fancy-alert!

Apologies for cutting this extremely close—but I just took a quick look at the TCM schedule for today and they’re programming another one of the Hal Roach Boy Friendscomedies in about two hours; a 1931 two-reeler entitled Mama Loves Papa (the ninth in the short-lived series) directed by George Stevens and featuring Mickey Daniels, Mary Kornman, Grady Sutton and Gertie…

Movies I’ve stared at recently on TCM #40

Yesterday was Donna Reed’s birthday, and Turner Classic Movies showered everybody’s favorite TV mom with a not-too-shabby tribute including a pair of westerns—one of which I had not seen and the other I revisited. Later that evening, however, TCM had other fish to fry—a nod to Mia Farrow which contained a suspense thriller that I had…

Region 2 Cinema: Station West (1948)

Since I’ve been nursing a jones for some Dick Powell movies ever since TCM ran one of my all-time favorites, Murder, My Sweet (1944), last Wednesday, I chose this “Philip Marlowe Goes West” as this week’s Region 2 Cinema entry. As always, there may be a spoiler or two. A stranger (Powell) rides into a small Western…

“Drawing on my fine command of the English language, I said nothing…” – Robert Benchley

Every Friday, the TCM on Demand service changes a bit of their programming—usually their shorts schedule, as whatever movies they happen to be currently showing demonstrate a longevity not unlike the Energizer Bunny. So they’ve finished with the last three Dogville shorts—Trader Hound (1931), The Two Barks Brothers (1931) and Love-Tails of Morocco (1931)—and have moved on to some one-reel comedies that are…

DVR-TiVo-Or whatever recording device strikes your fancy-alert!

TCM has a quartet of Charley Chase two-reelers scheduled in their Silent Sunday Nights timeslot this evening—three of which I have not seen and one that I was able to see when Kino released their second Chase collection back in September 2005. That short is Isn't Life Terrible? (1925) and it’s a fitfully funny comedy, as evidenced by the heady praise…

Movies I’ve stared at recently on TCM #39 (“I’ve had my Phil” edition)

Turner Classic Movies ran a mini-marathon of some of the films directed by B-movie icon Phil Karlson, a woefully neglected director who specialized in gritty film noir pieces like Kansas City Confidential (1952) and 99 River Street (1953) as well as budget oaters like They Rode West (1954) and Gunman's Walk (1958). I managed to make time for all four entries showcased last…

Buried Treasures: The Well (1951)

I know the title of this post sounds a bit like I’m straining for a laugh—come to think of it, most of my post titles start out with that purpose in mind—but Buried Treasures is a new semi-regular feature that I’m introducing here at Thrilling Days of Yesteryear, concentrating on films inside the dusty TDOY archives that may not be…

Grey Market Cinema: A Connecticut Yankee (1931)

I had originally planned to watch one of the many films in M-G-M’s Andy Hardy series this morning, the 1942 romp The Courtship of Andy Hardy—but since I apparently have difficulty delineating the difference between 8:15am and 8:45am, I came in one half-hour late…so I was forced to fall back on Plan B. But this only works if you…

“You betcha my life!”

Turner Classic Movies has been running a Paul Muni tribute all day in honor of the celebrated actor’s 114th birthday—and while Muni often gets a bad rap for overacting in many of his vehicles (I’ll admit that he can be a bit hammy—something which can be attributed to his years in the theater) I can’t…

R.I.P. John Hart and Frank Coghlan, Jr.

No sooner did I drift back into the spacious one-bedroom office that houses my computer here at Thrilling Days of Yesteryear when I discovered (again, a doff of the TDOY chapeau to Bill Crider) that another screen great—actor John Hart—has left us at the age of 91. If the name sounds familiar but you can’t quite place the face, Hart’s bid…