Drama
Behind the Scenes: The Making of “Casablanca”
Though successful on release, this indelible classic from 1942 truly entered the zeitgeist in the late 50’s and early ‘60s, when a whole new generation of viewers, specifically Harvard students, fell in love with it.
Actors
The 18 Best English Actors Who Conquered America
The old quip goes that we and our English cousins are separated by a common language, but there's little doubt that the movies have actually brought us together.
Directors
How Elia Kazan Became One of the Most Influential Directors in Hollywood
Any serious, discriminating film fan should know the work of Elia Kazan, a brilliant director of stage and screen who helped transform acting — and the movies themselves — in the mid-twentieth century.
Actors
Why Claudette Colbert Was a Comedienne With Class
While the name recognition of female star Claudette Colbert has not held up to the same degree as her contemporary Bette Davis, she was just as talented, and at her peak in the ‘30s, almost as big a star.
Actors
How “Citizen Kane” Almost Ruined Orson Welles
“Citizen Kane” is probably the one film that’s been so glorifed over the years that many people roll their eyes at its very mention. After all, just who under 40 hasn’t seen it? Even if you haven’t, you’re not likely to admit it.
Actors
American Dream: 14 Swoon-worthy Pictures of Gregory Peck
Born Eldred Gregory Peck in 1916, San Diego’s most glamorous native son evinced in life the very qualities that made his movie roles icons of strength and integrity.
Actors
Here’s Looking at You, Kid: A Brief History of How Bogart Became Bogart
From the outset, Bogie seemed an unlikely candidate for success. He was thrown out of most schools he attended for bad grades, bad behavior, or both. He fell into acting, a disreputable profession for the upper classes in those days, because he had few other options.
Actors
Forever Rhett: 17 Dashing Photos of Clark Gable
Clark Gable inhabited masculinity so purely and originally from the 1930s on that he came to represent the quintessential leading man, earning himself the title “King of Hollywood.” Even today, stars don’t come any bigger than Gable. But what made this awkward former tire factory worker into the dynamic presence that appealed to both men and women?
Drama
Unfiltered: 8 Movies that Won’t Help You Quit Smoking
If you’re trying to quit smoking, we support the effort enthusiastically. Just don’t look to the movies for much help. First, older films, with their smoke-filled rooms, reflect those bygone days when a lot more people were puffing. And cigarettes help form and define the characters we see: when these people smoke, the habit looks so cool and richly pleasurable that one can see the draw.