Westerns of 1950

This is an essay I never intended to write. But among the films I watched for my Errol Flynn retrospective were two midcentury Westerns: the first — a high-spirited Technicolor extravaganza taking on a subject Hollywood unfathomably found fascinating (cattlemen vs. sheep herders) — was ghastly; the other — a moody black-and-white tone poem about a ragtag group of Confederate soldiers torn between duty and decency — was splendid. The disparity in budget, approach, look and quality prompted me to idly wonder, “How many other Westerns were released that year?” It’s the kind of question Wikipedia lives for, and it had a ready answer: 112 of them, ranging from big-budget features to Poverty Row programmers.

Errol Flynn Goes to War (part 2)

The second half of my look back at the 33 films Errol Flynn did for Warner Bros. between 1935 to 1950: from his first starring role (in Captain Blood) to his final film before he began to explore freelance options, Rocky Mountain. (In 1947, Warner Bros. signed a new contract with Flynn giving him the right to make one film annually away from the studio, beginning in 1950. In 1954, they terminated his contract.) For the first 18 films (through They Died With Their Boots On) — and my appraisal of Flynn’s formidable talents — click here. We now resume with our nation’s entry into World War II, and sadly, one of Flynn’s biggest stinkers.

Dissecting William Dieterle

I can’t think of a Classic Hollywood director whose reputation has been as tarnished by time as William Dieterle. He helmed his first two Hollywood films in 1931 and, by year’s end, was already being praised as a prodigy. (The New York Times applauded his “artistry and fertile brain,” predicting he “could make a poor story interesting and a good story a masterpiece.” Variety forecast “a worthy spot in the megaphoning field.”) By the time 1932 drew to a close, he had another half-dozen titles in release, and the response from critics grew reverential. They eyed him as an original: a storyteller with a keen understanding of human nature; a jack-of-all-trades who excelled in every genre, from romantic comedy to costume drama; and an innovator whose camera roamed with impressive freedom, at a time when the technical constraints of the early sound era typically held movement to a minimum.

Errol Flynn Goes to War

This essay has nothing to do with Errol Flynn going to war. (He tried to enlist in every branch of the service during WWII, but was declined for health reasons.) It’s not even about the five wartime films he starred in between 1942 and 1945. It started that way — thus the title — but once I saw those five, I wanted to see more of Flynn, and ending up viewing all the films he did for Warner Bros. between 1935 to 1950: from his first starring role in Captain Blood to his final film before he began exploring freelance options, Rocky Mountain.

Finishing Touches: notes on American Rust, So Help Me Todd and Truelove

The first season of American Rust debuted on Showtime in September of 2021. Adhering closely to Philipp Meyer’s novel of the same name, it was a masterful adaptation that I labeled the year’s best drama. So of course it was canceled the following January.

Margaret Sullavan on the Screen

Margaret Sullavan made only 16 films during her time in Hollywood; her performances are remarkable, as is the arc of her career. Spotted by talent scouts while doing Dinner at Eight on Broadway, she was promptly whisked off to the West Coast, where a leading role at Universal awaited her. She was top billed in her first film, and top billed in her last.

Distant Locations: notes on Constellation, The Amazing Race and FBI: International

Constellation is a hallucinatory trip through the fabric of reality: a psychodrama disguised as a sci-fi thriller. Writer-creator Peter Harness promises us the ride will be rewarding, but he doesn’t pretend it will be easy.

Money Talks: 2023 in review

My write-up of 2023, following 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

I feel like the year in television somehow passed me by. And I know that’s demonstrably untrue: I keep a list of all the TV series I watch, and this year, I sat through nearly 100 of them.

The Fatal Blow: notes on Dark Winds, Black Snow and Blue Lights

My screwball comedy essay in February gave me such pleasure that I decided to tackle another type of film that plays well on the small screen. I chose film noir, and between February and July, ended up watching 283 of them to properly prepare. Once the film noir essay was posted, I found I missed having a new noir to turn to whenever I was in need of distraction; I’d grown strangely addicted to the themes of alienation, fatalism, entrapment, obsession and despair that I’d wallowed in for months. I missed having haunted characters to visit on a regular basis. Fortunately, the TV landscape is currently littered with them.

The 25 Best Film Noirs

Following up my screwball comedy essay with another type of film that holds up well on the small screen.

Freshman year of college, I took a film course, and as an example of noir — a term that was only then making the rounds of academic circles — the professor screened The Big Sleep. The title proved prophetic; I nodded off halfway through. Was this, I wondered, a style of film that did nothing for me?