The Thrill of the Long Shot
Over the weekend, The Film Dr. tagged me in a blog meme begun by Stephen Russell-Gebbett who blogs over at (the interestingly titled) Checking on My Sausages and MovieMan0283 who blogs at The Dancing Image. According to the guys, the person tagged is to submit a gallery of images that represents “the thrill of cinema,” however s/he interprets that phrase. The other rules are spelled out thusly: Pick as many pictures as you want, but make them screen-captures. Pick a theme, any theme. You MUST link to Stephen’s gallery and my post too. Tag [at least] five blogs. For my tags,...
Read MoreGene Kelly: Simply Irresistible
About a week ago, I learned that on Friday, July 30, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) would air Black Hand (Richard Thorpe, 1950), a little-known film noir that stars my favorite song-and-dance man, Gene Kelly. Even though Kelly and his screen persona are completely un-noirish, I set the DVR anticipating the best. Let’s just say that my excitement was short-lived; within the first 15 minutes, I was simultaneously amused, embarrassed, and bored. Mostly laughing while watching, I tweeted that Kelly’s character, an Italian seeking vengeance on the mobsters who murdered his father, spoke...
Read MoreLetters to the Editor: Gene Kelly
This morning, I came across two letters to the editor from the Pittsburgh: Post-Gazette, both of which concern one of my favorite stars/dancers/entertainers, Gene Kelly. The first letter comes from an 81-year old man who wonders why the town of Pittsburgh, where Kelly was born and ran a dance studio with his mother and siblings, can’t find room in its heart to erect a statue honoring the song-and-dance legend. After all, the author cries, a town in Illinois, “recently unveiled a statue of Superman’s girlfriend, Lois Lane,” so surely, Kelly’s hometown can pay...
Read MoreStars and Scars
This entry is part 9 of 33 in the series Essays / Analyses.This week, my Introduction to Film students and I are considering scars (and wounds) in Hollywood film and what they mean for the characters who bear them. As you might imagine, the marks figure differently on men and women. For example, many Hollywood films, classic and contemporary, attribute scars to women who are highly sexual and/or independent. For example, in Fritz Lang’s film noir The Big Heat (1953), Gloria Grahame’s character, the sexy mistress of a gangster, is brutally disfigured after her jealous lover throws...
Read MoreElation, Star Signification, and Singin’ in the Rain; or Why Gene Kelly Gets Me All Hot and Bothered
This entry is part 7 of 33 in the series Essays / Analyses.Aside from my spouse, four guys can elicit from me feelings of sheer elation. Two are deceased, one resides in the U.K., and one begs for food every morning at 6:35 AM. Those who follow my Twitter stream and/or my Facebook Page will likely deduce that William Shakespeare and Colin Firth occupy two of these positions. My cocker spaniel Baxter is the hungry fellow, and the fourth is dancer/choreographer/director extraordinaire Gene Kelly. Consequently, when I saw that the Maumee Indoor Theatre would be screening Singin’ in the...
Read MoreI'm following
Instagrams
Professor of film and Shakespeare. Advocate of social media. Lover of popular culture,