Last Day of the 2015 WHAT A CHARACTER! Blogathon

The What A Character Blogathon concludes with Day 3, including posts on everyone from Louise Beavers to Eli Wallach…check it out!

Outspoken & Freckled

Elsa-Lanchester

Elsa is beside herself and so are we. It is bittersweet to see the last day arrive for our 4th annual WHAT A CHARACTER! Blogathon. We’ve come to realize you love this blogathon as much as we do. With good reason- why not celebrate those fun, quirky character actors that take those small roles and steal every scene? So here we have arrived to the third and final day to honor character actors of new and old.

Let’s kick it off with…

LOUISE BEAVERS, who according to GIRLS DO FILM, “imbued each role with subtlety and a certain dignity, forcing audiences to acknowledge her characters despite the stereotype.” A must-read on that character actor you may not know the name, but you undoubtedly know her.

MOVIE CLASSICS unravels the mystery behind the allusive “unnamed old woman” who starred on stage and over 70 films, ZEFFIE TILBURY. A fascinating…

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WHAT A CHARACTER! 2015 – Day Two!

Our tribute to the names below the title continues with Day 2 of the WHAT A CHARACTER! Blogathon, hosted by Aurora at Once Upon A Screen

Once upon a screen...

This is so exciting Edward Everett Horton is biting his nails!

I’m thrilled to be hosting Day Two of the 2015 What A Character! Blogathon, the fourth installment of an event during which we put aside the stars and focus our efforts on the Hortons of the world. Paula’s Cinema Club kicked things off yesterday with a terrific list of submissions and I know you can’t wait to read today’s entries, which encompass as fine a lot as I’ve ever hosted. But before you get to them we’d like to thank all the participants for their understanding as we re-scheduled the blogathon from last weekend due to disturbing world events. We really appreciate your patience.

If you want a refresher on the back story for the What a Character! blogathon take a look at the Announcement post, which includes the entire list of participants and chosen actors. Otherwise there’s no need to delay any further…except…to pause…

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4th Annual WHAT A CHARACTER! Blogathon – Day 1 Posts

WE’RE BACK for number 4!

The WHAT A CHARACTER! Blogathon honors the players who rarely got leading parts, exhibiting instead a versatility and depth many leading actors wished they had. Aurora, Kellee, and I never tire of seeing them show up in films or paying tribute to their talents, and as the previous three installments of this event have proven, neither do you.

And so here I am with Day 1 of the 4th annual WHAT A CHARACTER! I know you can’t wait to read all the fabulous posts. Before you jump in though, we’d like to thank all the participants for their understanding as we re-scheduled the blogathon from last weekend due to world events. We really appreciate your patience.

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Review: Leonard Maltin’s Classic Movie Guide

The third edition of Leonard Maltin’s Classic Movie Guide drops tomorrow (September 29, 2015). Updated for the first time since 2010, and presented by Turner Classic Movies (TCM), the Guide covers films “From the Silent Era through 1965.” There’s more than 200 new entries — some of which are running on TCM tonight, including our TCM Party at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, Why Be Good? (Maltin gives it 3 stars out of 4, in case you were wondering.)

The bulk of the book is capsule reviews, each of which includes the film’s year of release, running time, rating, director, major cast, and symbols indicating what formats are available. It’s fairly comprehensive, with more than 10,000 entries. Although it’s light on films before 1920, there’s plenty in here that I’ve never heard of. The “Index of Stars” at the end of the book is a partial listing of selected actors’ filmographies and is handy for recalling the name of a movie when you can only remember who starred in it.

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Announcing the 4th Annual WHAT A CHARACTER! Blogathon

UPDATE – November 21: WHAT A CHARACTER! Day 1 Posts are here.

UPDATE – November 13:
The WHAT A CHARACTER! Blogathon has been postponed until next weekend, November 21-22-23. We will promote everyone’s post as usual during those three days. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

WE’RE BACK for number 4!

WHAT A CHARACTER! — a phrase borrowed from Turner Classic Movies (TCM) so that we could dedicate a blogathon to those whose names few remember, but whose faces are familiar – honors the players who rarely got leading parts, exhibiting instead a versatility and depth many leading actors wished they had. Aurora, Kellee, and I never tire of seeing them show up in films or paying tribute to their talents, and as the previous three installments of this event have proven, neither do you. So here we are with the fourth annual WHAT A CHARACTER! Blogathon.

Continue reading “Announcing the 4th Annual WHAT A CHARACTER! Blogathon” →

The Artist and its Amazing Ties to Chaplin, Pickford, Keaton and Lloyd

A while back, I attempted to list all the silent film references in The Artist, and very quickly got in over my head. Check out this post from the infinitely more expert John Bengtson:

Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd film locations (and more)

Tonight marks the Turner Classic Movie Channel premiere of the 2011 multi-Oscar-winning Best Picture The Artist. Depicting the silent movie era, and filmed on location in Hollywood, the movie has many amazing connections to early Hollywood history and its biggest stars. Here are a few highlights from my series of posts about The Artist.

Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights

George Valentin’s Tears of Love on the Los Angeles Theater screen, at left. Color image Floyd B. Bariscale http://www.flickr.com/photos/7294653@N07/3394648314/ca

To begin, Jean Dujardin’s character George Valentine premiered his failed production Tears of Love at the same theater where Charlie Chaplin premiered City Lights (1931) – the Los Angeles Theater. You can read more about this amazing theater’s appearance in The ArtistHERE.

Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid

56 Fremont Place was once home to Mary Pickford. It appears in the background (left) in The Kid, and as Peppy Miller’s…

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Errol Flynn in LADY FROM SHANGHAI?

Back in May 2014, when Cinema Detroit was showing Sony Pictures’ 4K restoration of The Lady From Shanghai, I had occasion to research the making of Orson Welles’ classic film noir, and I discovered that, while Errol Flynn is (probably) not in the movie, he was present and was very much involved in the filming.

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Call for posts: 31 Days of Oscar Blogathon (2015)

“Oscar and I have something in common. Oscar first came to the Hollywood scene in 1928. So did I. We’re both a little weather-beaten, but we’re still here and plan to be around for a whole lot longer.”
— John Wayne

31-Days-2015-06 — Hope you all like this year’s banners…I designed them 😉

Continuing an Oscars tradition – albeit a much newer one than either the legendary awards or Mr. Wayne’s impressive career – Kellee (@IrishJayHawk66) of Outspoken and Freckled, Aurora (@CitizenScreen) of Once Upon a Screen, and myself, @Paula_Guthat of this blog, are back our Third Annual 31 Days of Oscar Blogathon. Update: Scroll on down to the end of the post to see the list of 2015 participants so far.

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THE BETTER ANGELS starts Friday, December 5

Another relatively unknown gem we are presenting at Cinema Detroit…if you dig breathtaking B & W cinematography, you owe it to yourself to see THE BETTER ANGELS on a big screen.

Cinema Detroit

All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother. — Abraham Lincoln

At an isolated log cabin in the harsh wilderness of Indiana circa 1817, the rhythms of love, tragedy, and the daily hardships of life on the developing frontier shaped one of our nation’s greatest heroes: Abraham Lincoln. Abe is a thoughtful and quiet boy who spends his days at the side of his beloved mother (Brit Marling) while learning to work the land from his stern father (Jason Clarke). When illness takes his mother, Abe’s new guardian angel comes in the form of his stepmother (Diane Kruger), who sees the potential in the boy and pushes for his further education.

Produced by Terrence Malick and filmed in glorious black and white, The Better Angels sheds new light on the little-explored formative years of the legendary president as well as the women who shaped…

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The Big Parade – Historic Views of the Home Front

John Bengtson does the most amazing detective work, tracking down the locations where your favorite silents were filmed.

Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd film locations (and more)

Small-town America (Orange, Calif.) swept up with patriotic fervor – The Big Parade.

Although most of The Big Parade (1925) is set in the war-torn villages and battlefields of France, the acclaimed World War I drama also provides historic views of early downtown Los Angeles and Orange County. Told from the soldier’s point of view, the epic movie directed by King Vidor follows a trio of men from different walks of life brought together by combat.

Set in the Spring of 1917, the movie intertitles describe America then as a nation occupied in peaceful progression. Mills were humming with activity while buildings climbed skyward, monuments to commerce and progression.

America’s buildings climbing skyward – the extant Barker Brothers Building at 7th and Flower. LAPL.

The three male leads are introduced by their professions. Construction worker “Slim” (Karl Dane) is one of labor’s millions, building a nation, Bowery saloon-keeper…

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