Tag: 1940’s

Episode 132 – Arsenic and Old Lace

, with special guest:

Arsenic and Old LaceFor this episode, we sort of followed Boris Karloff to a classic screwball comedy directed by Frank Capra. Arsenic and Old Lace was based on a stage play that featured Boris Karloff. He’s not in the movie, though. We’ll explain why. Alex Wick joins us to see if this 1941 comedy is still funny to a 19-year-old.  For the most part, it still is!

Up next, we are going to be watching Bride of Frankenstein!

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Arsenic and Old Lace poster Rating: 7.9/10 (74,776 votes)
Director: Frank Capra
Writer: Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Joseph Kesselring
Stars: Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey
Runtime: 118 min
Rated: Not Rated
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Released: 21 Sep 1944
Plot: A Brooklyn writer of books on the futility of marriage risks his reputation after he decides to tie the knot. Things get even more complicated when he learns on his wedding day that his beloved maiden aunts are habitual murderers.

 

Episode 65 – La Belle et la Bete

, with special guest:

La belle et la beteThis episode, we watch the classic French film “La belle et la bete” (Beauty and the Beast). Jean Cocteau’s artistic rending of the classic French fairy tale is a clear influence of the adaptations that followed up to and including the well known Disney version. We talk a lot about the artistry of the film as well as the clear influences on other works.  We also spend some time looking at the production filmed in post WWII France.

For our next episode, we will be watching Stagecoach!

Beauty and the Beast (1946)
Beauty and the Beast poster Rating: 7.9/10 (27,888 votes)
Director: Jean Cocteau, René Clément
Writer: Jean Cocteau, Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont
Stars: Jean Marais, Josette Day, Mila Parély
Runtime: 93 min
Rated: Not Rated
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Released: 23 Dec 1947
Plot: A beautiful young woman takes her father's place as the prisoner of a mysterious beast, who wishes to marry her.

Episode 31 – Citizen Kane

, with special guest:

Citizen KaneWe’ve finally arrived at “the greatest movie ever made” – Citizen Kane!  We tackle Orson Welles’ groundbreaking film as well as it’s reputation.  We encounter a stable of great actors and talk about Welles’ career.  Is this film the greatest move ever?  That is certainly a matter of taste.  We spend a lot of time talking about the film’s legacy and that may be more important than the film itself.

We also say the next movie we watch will be “Man on Wire.”  Turns out we were wrong.  It will be “The Dirty Dozen.”

Citizen Kane (1941)
Citizen Kane poster Rating: 8.3/10 (464,150 votes)
Director: Orson Welles
Writer: Herman J. Mankiewicz, Orson Welles, John Houseman
Stars: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore
Runtime: 119 min
Rated: PG
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Released: 05 Sep 1941
Plot: Following the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'

Episode 16 – Double Indemnity

, with special guest:

Double IndemnityJena was unable to make our recording at Pepito’s this episode so we pulled in a Stunt Jena.  Joining us at the Parkway was Tim’s son Alex, who got to watch his first Noir on the big screen.  Our movie was the Noir classic Double Indemnity by Billy Wilder.  People betrayed each other.  People died.  Insurance was sold.  Yep.  Insurance.  Enjoy our conversation about a great film!

Double Indemnity (1944)
Double Indemnity poster Rating: 8.3/10 (166,696 votes)
Director: Billy Wilder
Writer: Billy Wilder, Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain
Stars: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson
Runtime: 107 min
Rated: Passed
Genre: Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Released: 06 Jul 1944
Plot: A Los Angeles insurance representative lets an alluring housewife seduce him into a scheme of insurance fraud and murder that arouses the suspicion of his colleague, an insurance investigator.

Episode 1 – Casablanca

, with special guest:

CasablancaWelcome to the inaugural episode of our podcast! This podcast will follow our attempts to  educate Jena Young on the great films that she hasn’t seen yet. Or, occasionally, just the ones she doesn’t remember.  This week’s episode was recorded before co-host Melissa Kaercher became a co-host so Tim Wick educates Jena all on his own.  If you didn’t suss it out from the title, we start with one of Tim’s favorite films – Casablanca.  To open the podcast, Jena tells us everything she knows about the movie she is about to see.  Then we take a break to watch the movie. If you really feel like playing along, you can watch it too!  Then we come back and discuss the movie.  We hope you enjoy our first podcast and keep coming back for more!

Casablanca (1942)
Casablanca poster Rating: 8.5/10 (603,518 votes)
Director: Michael Curtiz
Writer: Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch
Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid
Runtime: 102 min
Rated: PG
Genre: Drama, Romance, War
Released: 23 Jan 1943
Plot: A cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.