Love Letters to Old Hollywood

Something I’ve always found interesting about Hitchcock’s films is the way he makes sure ordinary people can picture themselves in the same fantastic adventures his heroes experience throughout the course of a film. Hitch achieved this in two major ways. The first way is he used actors we could relate to, like Jimmy Stewart. When Stewart hesitates to marry Grace Kelly in  REAR WINDOW  because he thinks they’re too different, we get it. I mean, it’s Grace Kelly—she’s the epitome of elegance and beauty. Of course an “average” guy like Stewart is intimidated. We would be, too. The second way the audience identifies with Hitchcock’s heroes is said heroes’ careers. When you have a job, you can’t help but apply your job’s skills to something else in your life. I’ll use my mom as an example. She used to be a waitress, so now whenever we eat at a restaurant, she feels obligated to gather all of our empty plates and whatnot to make it easier for whoever has to clean up t...

I was lucky the other day and got to have the day off from work due to miserable weather. Naturally I curled up on the couch and watched as many films as I could. I ended up viewing four films, all new to me. They were PUSHOVER , PERFECT STRANGERS , TWENTIETH CENTURY , and TIGHT SPOT . This was the first time I had ever spent a whole day just watching films I had never seen before, so I decided to sit down and write my thoughts on these films. Well, except for PERFECT STRANGERS . By the time I finished writing up everything, I remembered I had seen STRANGERS —which is telling that I had forgotten the thing entirely while remembering the other films clearly. I mainly watched STRANGERS because it starred Ginger Rogers and Dennis Morgan ten years after KITTY FOYLE , and you all know I love my Dennis like crazy. But this film was worth the two stars my TV guide gave it. You know a film’s bad when it can’t be lifted by Thelma Ritter. So here’s my opinions on the other pictures I saw, and ...

Alright, let’s talk about someone who you may or may not know: Dennis Morgan. Or if you’re not sure, here’s his picture. Now, you’re probably thinking “What’s so great about him?” Well, here’s my confession — I love Dennis Morgan. I absolutely adore him. Every time I see that a film has Dennis Morgan in it, I get excited. I can’t wait to see his beautiful smile, it totally melts me. Is this a weird crush to have? I feel like it is. Hardly anyone talks about Dennis. He wasn’t a major star, and when he was popular during the 1940s, it wasn’t for very long. He wasn’t as glamorous as Cary Grant, as elegant as William Powell, as talented as Humphrey Bogart, as funny as a Marx Brother… the list goes on. So why do I adore him as much as I do? I don’t know. Watching Dennis Morgan gives me such a warm and comforting feeling—he’s my film comfort food. I know he’s not the best actor, but I really don’t care. The very first time I saw him w...

There’s nothing like watching a film for the first time. It’s your very first experience with something, and after that one viewing, you won’t share the same feelings with it again. Maybe a surprise won’t jump at you or a kiss won’t thrill you as much because you know it’s coming. But lately I’ve noticed something else about first viewings—they can really suck. Sometimes I wish I could just skip the first time I see a film and go on to the second. For some reason, I just don’t seem to appreciate most films as much the first time as I do the second, third, and fourth time. I’ll give you some examples.

Five summers ago, my mom was given a DVD of TO CATCH A THIEF  as a Mother’s Day present. I was just beginning my dive into the world of old films, so I figured I might as well get my hands on this movie. I remember very clearly sitting in my living room on a weekend, with the sun lighting up the room and cool breezes blowing through the screen door. I had to share the room with my dad and my sister, but once the film started, I didn’t even care. It immediately had my attention because of its setting--I’ve always been fascinated with France, and since TO CATCH A THIEF  was shot in the beautiful locations of southern France, I was satisfied. And then there it was—a close-up of the most handsome face I’ve ever seen. Only a fool couldn’t have been hooked by then. It was the first time I ever laid eyes on Cary Grant—it was the first time I had even heard of him! The next famous face I saw was one I knew: Grace Kelly. The chemistry between her and Cary was so palpabl...

Ever since I can remember, I’ve been watching old movies. When I was little, I was obsessed with THE WIZARD OF OZ . I had a Dorothy doll, shiny red shoes, the VHS tape—I even went to a "Wizard of Oz" festival dressed just like Dorothy. To this day, it’s my favorite film. Thankfully, my mom is a big classic film fan, too. She’s probably the main reason why I’ve found this whole other world called the Golden Age of Hollywood. Every year around Christmas, ever since I can remember, we would watch HOLIDAY INN . More than likely it was my first black-and-white film.

    Hello, everybody! Welcome to my very first blog, Love Letters to Old Hollywood. I’m really excited about starting this adventure, and I can’t wait to see the impact it’ll have on me, and hopefully on you, the reader, as well.   Classic films have really become my life. I’ve never been more passionate about something in my life. I used to love photography. I was convinced that I would go to college and major in it. But my love for film was just so overwhelming; the more I learn, the more engrossed I get. Now I don’t know what my plans are for a bachelor’s degree. I just know that I have to do something that connects to my beloved films. Maybe I’ll be a film historian, or maybe I’ll be a librarian.   For the present, though, I’m a college freshman who stumbled across a blog one day called Best of the Past and was instantly enthralled. Then I thought, “How great would it be to have my own blog? One where I can just geek out all the time about m...