Louise Brooks and Richard Arlen star in William Wellman’s Beggars of Life (1928) based on the novel by Jim Tully. Also starring Wallace Beery, a pre-Depression tale of hobo life.
Classic Movie Reviews by Cliff Aliperti
Spoiler-free reviews of movies from Hollywood's Golden Age, especially the 1930s. Most reviews also include research into background of the film and, when relevant, the history surrounding the subject of the movie.
Preston Sturges’ Sullivan’s Travels starring Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake
I love “Sullivan’s Travels,” I really do. The 1941 Paramount release from Preston Sturges starring Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake certainly has held up well over the years, growing in legend as each new generation discovers it..
King Vidor’s Our Daily Bread (1934) more than just a big finish
King Vidor’s self-produced “Our Daily Bread” (1934) is a Depression-era tale of collectivism starring Tom Keene and Karen Morley. We follow the city-dwelling couple …
Clive Brook adapts, directs, and stars in On Approval (1944)
Clive Brook does it all in 1944’s On Approval, where Googie Withers and Brook himself tag along when Beatrice Lillie attempts a trial marriage with Roland Culver.
Lana Turner and John Garfield in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Lana Turner and John Garfield in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) I have to admit, I was really stunned by Lana Turner’s performance in “The Postman Always Rings Twice.” Her Cora Smith came across to me as the most natural character in the cast, which says quite a bit when she’s sharing most of […]
Fritz Lang’s Fury (1936) Starring Spencer Tracy and Sylvia Sidney
Spencer Tracy breaks out in Fritz Lang’s Fury from MGM in 1936. MGM gives Tracy his most important role to date in Fury, co-starring Sylvia Sidney.
Early Frank Capra on TCM today, we go earlier with The Matinee Idol (1928)
Frank Capra silent feature The Matinee Idol is a great way to introduce yourself to Bessie Love who gives a fantastic performance as a local hick actor brought to Broadway for laughs … and tears.
Edward Arnold as Blind Detective Duncan Maclain in Eyes in the Night (1942)
Edward Arnold stars in the first of two Duncan Maclain films, Eyes in the Night (1942), as the blind detective who claims darkness as his kingdom. With Ann Harding, Donna Reed, Reginald Denny, Allen Jenkins, and Mantan Moreland.
Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich and Charles Laughton in Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
Tyrone Power’s masterful final performance as Leonard Vole in Witness for the Prosecution (1957) with Marlene Dietrich and Charles Laughton, directed by Billy Wilder.
Ronald Colman is The Late George Apley (1947)
In “The Late George Apley” we join the title character, played by Ronald Colman, in the Boston of 1912 … Apley, member of a Bostonian family dating back …
