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Reel Classics

Details: Created: 10 January 2021; Published: 10 January 2021; Written by Loron Hays

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“She’s afraid of the big bad wolf. Tra la la la laaaaaa.” It Happened One Night remains a phenomenal romantic comedy. After all these years, this pre-code American film - which was made when being a reporter was idolized and the screwball comedy was only just hitting its stride - still hits all the perfect notes as ...

Details: Created: 03 January 2021; Published: 03 January 2021; Written by Loron Hays

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The Marx Brothers are coming! The Marx Brothers are coming! Well, after a bit of exposition that is as Casablanca (and others like that film) get a big kiss-off thanks to the parody on display throughout the 86-minutes that make up A Night in Casablanca. This REEL CLASSIC might not be the ...

Details: Created: 29 December 2020; Published: 29 December 2020; Written by Loron Hays

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It’s hard to conceive in this era of remakes that some redos in the history of cinema go on to become classics in their own right. For genre fans, John Carpenter’s The Thing is often cited as a prime example. For comedy, however, Billy Wilder’s beloved cross-dressing romp, Some Like It ...

Details: Created: 17 December 2020; Published: 17 December 2020; Written by Loron Hays

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"What a story! Everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." Written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck, All About Eve continues to shine bright thanks to the dazzling performance of Bette Davis as Margo Channing as she takes Anne Baxter as ...

Details: Created: 13 December 2020; Published: 13 December 2020; Written by Loron Hays

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Los Angeles after dark is always an exciting place. Whether it be out on the street or gazing out the window of your home, the air of unpredictability is always lurking about in the air. And it is that unpredictability which opens director Billy Wilder’s film noir classic, Double Indemnity as a ...

Details: Created: 23 November 2020; Published: 23 November 2020; Written by Loron Hays

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“Did you bring me here by force?” And INTRODUCING Audrey Hepburn. That’s right, the screen legend begins here with Roman Holiday, a quintessential romantic comedy, which was shot on location in Rome . . . even though Paramount wanted it filmed on their studio ...

Details: Created: 18 November 2020; Published: 18 November 2020; Written by Loron Hays

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When the “Yes” men start telling you “NO”, you are probably approaching the trash-lined gutters along Sunset Boulevard. Hollywood is clearly sending you a message. You are no longer needed . . . or are you?!?! Well, if Billy Wilder (director of The Seven Year Itch, Some Like It Hot, ...

Details: Created: 17 November 2020; Published: 17 November 2020; Written by Loron Hays

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From identical dresses to the fire which ravishes Manderley, the second Mrs. de Winter (Joan Fontaine) can never, ever take the place of Rebecca. Cue the romance, the heartbreak, the haunted tension and wind it all up because this film is all about the snap. That’s what makes this ...

Details: Created: 10 November 2020; Published: 10 November 2020; Written by Loron Hays

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A minister-turned-serial killer in one of the most beautiful films ever made by Hollywood? Sure. Why not? When the results of exaggerated set designs and a directing style reminiscent of early silent cinema are as good as they are in The Night of the Hunter, no one is going to complain ...

Details: Created: 27 October 2020; Published: 27 October 2020; Written by Loron Hays

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Was he trying to kiss or kill her on that hilltop? The verdict is still out as Suspicion makes its debut on blu-ray thanks to the efforts of the Warner Archive Collection. Alfred Hitchcock’s adaptation of Francis Iles's novel Before the Fact - which is as dissimilar as they...