Brian Aherne on the Screen

If talent and good looks were all that it took to become a Hollywood legend, then Brian Aherne would be remembered alongside such contemporaries as Clark Gable, Cary Grant and James Stewart: not just as an actor revered by vintage film aficionados, but as a star who continues to shine brightly, whose name remains familiar to newer generations. One of the most classically handsome leading men to grace the screen, Aherne was also one of its most accomplished actors. That combination should’ve assured him of celebrity, if not longevity — but it didn’t. Studios began wooing him in the early ’30s, but within a decade, they’d washed their hands of him. He hadn’t been eager to play by their rules, and they were no longer willing to play by his.

Randolph Scott: 10 Best Films of the Fifties

In 1947, actor Randolph Scott — a Hollywood staple since the early sound era — decided from that point on to devote himself entirely to Westerns. (His statement on the subject was practical, gracious and mercenary: “[Westerns] have been the mainstay of the industry ever since its beginning. And they have been good to me. Westerns are a type of picture which everybody can see and enjoy. Westerns always make money. And they always increase a star's fan following.”) And from then until his retirement in 1962, that’s just what he did — sometimes turning out three and four Westerns a year.

The Curious Career of James Craig

James Craig’s Hollywood career has been reduced to so many apocryphal stories, it’s hard to separate fact from fiction. His IMDb bio insists that “tall, rugged James Craig's career as an MGM contract player blossomed in the 1940s. This was due in large part to his strong physical and vocal resemblance to the studio’s top leading man, Clark Gable.” That would all be well and good — if any of it were true.

Tomorrow Never Knows: notes on The Last Anniversary, Black Doves and The White Lotus

Last January, the Doomsday Clock was reset at 89 seconds to midnight, the closest it’s ever been to human extinction. Meanwhile, I turn on the TV, and it feels like every third drama is post-apocalyptic. Maybe some people find that comforting — that whatever happens, at least we get through it, even if we’re hunted by zombies, stuck in a silo or trapped underground. Me, I prefer not to think about the end of the world, thank you very much. I haven’t written about TV since May of 2024, so here’s the last of a series taking on nine shows I watched in the last year (none of them set in a dystopian future). Some of my favorite series — The Pitt, Adolescence, Ludwig — were just as good as the critics promised and I have nothing to add, so I won’t be writing about them here. I’d rather focus on shows that came and went without sufficient fanfare, or ones where my opinion differs from popular consensus. Let’s do a roundup of some recent dramas.

Love to Take You Home: notes on Love You to Death, Nobody Wants This and Colin from Accounts

Last January, the Doomsday Clock was reset at 89 seconds to midnight, the closest it’s ever been to human extinction. Meanwhile, I turn on the TV, and it feels like every third drama is post-apocalyptic. Maybe some people find that comforting — that whatever happens, at least we get through it, even if we’re hunted by zombies, stuck in a silo or trapped underground. Me, I prefer not to think about the end of the world, thank you very much. I haven’t written about TV since May of 2024, so here’s the second in a series taking on nine shows I watched over the last year (none of them set in a dystopian future). Some of my favorite series — The Pitt, Adolescence, Ludwig — were just as good as the critics promised, and I have nothing to add, so I won’t be writing about them here. I’d rather focus on shows that came and went without sufficient fanfare, or ones where my opinion differs from popular consensus. Let’s talk about a trio of recent romcoms.

Truth and Consequences: notes on Shetland, Unforgotten and Black Snow

Last January, the Doomsday Clock was reset at 89 seconds to midnight, the closest it’s ever been to human extinction. Meanwhile, I turn on the TV, and it feels like every third drama is post-apocalyptic. Maybe some people find that comforting — that whatever happens, at least we get through it, even if we’re hunted by zombies, stuck in a silo or trapped underground. Me, I prefer not to think about the end of the world, thank you very much. I haven’t written about TV since May of 2024, so here’s the first in a series taking on nine shows I watched over the last year (none of them set in a dystopian future). Some of my favorite series — The Pitt, Adolescence, Ludwig — were just as good as the critics promised, and I have nothing to add, so I won’t be writing about them here. I’d rather focus on shows that came and went without sufficient fanfare, or ones where my opinion differs from popular consensus. Let’s start with a trio of procedurals.

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

A fuller version of this essay — complete with photos, filmography, footnotes, etc. — is now available at Amazon, as an e-book entitled William Dieterle: A Forgotten Giant. Click here to purchase.

Is there another Classic Hollywood director whose reputation has been as tarnished by time as William Dieterle (1893-1972)? 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.