2023-05-29 10:00
Here are the rules: We will provide an "alternate title" for a private eye film and ask you to name it. Most of these are pretty easy. Please answer no more than three questions per day so o… Read More
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Classic Film And Tv Café Blog
classic-film-tv.blogspot.com
A blog about classic films and TV series from the silent era through the 1980s.
2023-05-16 10:00
In support of National Classic Movie Day on May 16th, we are participating in the Classic Movie Blog Association's Big Stars on the Small Screen blogathon. This blogathon focuses on classic… Read More
2023-05-01 10:00
John Wayne as Hondo.
With John Wayne's 1953 3D Western Hondo, you actually get two movies in one. The first is an interesting love story between an tough dispatch rider for the U.S. Cavalry… Read More
2023-04-16 18:26
Here are the rules: We will provide an "alternate title" for a film that starred Burt Lancaster and ask you to name the actual film. Most of these are pretty easy. Please answer no mor… Read More
2023-04-03 10:00
In an interview in its February 2023 newsletter CMBA Today, the Classic Movie Blog Association asked me an intriguing question: "If you could program a perfect day of classic movies for TCM… Read More
2023-03-20 10:00
The ABC Movie of the Week was unique among made-for-TV movie franchises in that its films spanned a wide variety of genres. It presented family dramas, thrillers, comedies, horror pictu… Read More
2023-03-13 10:00
Kurt Russell as Jack Burton.Big Trouble in Little China (1986). This fourth collaboration between Kurt Russell and director John Carpenter is a mildly diverting martial arts fantasy--wh… Read More
2023-02-27 11:00
This month, we're focusing on quotes from film noir. We will list a quote from a famous film noir and ask you to name it. Try to answer these questions on your own without resorting to… Read More
2023-02-13 11:00
Redford as David Chappellet.My favorite sport in the Winter Olympics has been downhill racing ever since I saw Downhill Racer (1969) on network television as a teenager. The high speeds… Read More
2023-01-30 11:00
Wagner as Mike Banning.Banning (1967) often gets categorized as a golf movie--heck, it was even shown on the Golf Channel at one time. It does involve golfing, particularly during the c… Read More
2023-01-23 11:00
At the end of Michael Crichton's Westworld (1973), the androids at Delos, a high-tech amusement park, went amok and killed dozens of guests. Futureword (1976) picks up two yea… Read More
2023-01-16 11:00
Burl Ives as a genie in The Brass Bottle.The 1960s may have been the last decade where the "comfort comedy" reigned supreme at the box office. That may have to do, in large part, with the nu… Read More
2023-01-02 17:33
Here are the rules: We will provide an "alternate title" for a Western film and ask you to name the actual film. Most of these are pretty easy. Please answer no more than three questions per… Read More
2022-12-19 11:00
John Wayne as Ethan.A few months ago, I hosted a Classic Western Films Tournament on Twitter, in which The Searchers (in a series of close contests) was crowned champion. The outpouring… Read More
2022-12-12 11:00
1. Magnum Force (1973) - The best-written Dirty Harry film finds Harry trying to track down vigilantes intent on cleaning up the streets of San Francisco. The screenplay by future direc… Read More
2022-12-05 11:00
Buck Privates, the 1941 comedy that made stars of Abbott and Costello, doesn't rank among the team's best films (e.g., A&C Meet Frankenstein, Hold That Ghost, The Time of Thei… Read More
2022-11-28 11:00
Here are the rules: We will provide an "alternate title" for a Doris Day film and ask you to name the actual film. Most of these are pretty easy. Please answer no more than three questions p… Read More
2022-11-20 23:17
Embed from Getty Images Rock Hudson and Doris Day are awarded Golden Globes in 1963 as "World Film Favorites." Read More
2022-11-15 17:53
The 1960s was an uneven decade for Doris Day, beginning with some of her best films and ending with some of her worst. The former include Lover Come Back, That Touch of Mink, and The Thrill… Read More
2022-10-31 10:00
Count Orlock's shadow in Nosferatu.Celebrate this Halloween with seven bloodsucking chillers and a miniseries featuring a variety of vampires! You'll have to start early in the morning to cr… Read More
2022-10-24 10:00
Louis Jourdan and Maggie McNamara.Time has not been kind to Three Coins in the Fountain, a 1954 blockbuster that earned a Best Picture Oscar nomination. What may have once seemed fresh, colo… Read More
2022-10-17 16:49
Mr. Toad--in disguise--and friends.Released in 1949, Walt Disney's The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad consists of two half-hour animated shorts strung together for a theatrical… Read More
2022-10-10 10:00
Here are the rules: We will provide an "alternate title" for a Hammer film and ask you to name it. Most of these are pretty easy. Please answer no more than three questions per day so others… Read More
2022-10-03 10:00
Lon Chaney, Jr. and Evelyn Ankers.Fritz Leiber's 1943 supernatural novel Conjure Woman has been adapted for the screen three times. The best version is 1962's Burn, Witch, Burn (aka Night of… Read More
2022-09-26 10:00
Charles Bronson as Torrey.Made two years after Dirty Harry (1971), The Stone Killer stars Charles Bronson as a Harry clone named Lou Torrey. After being suspended for his violent behavior, p… Read More
2022-09-19 10:00
Actress Pamela Franklin.With the exception of Hayley Mills, Pamela Franklin may have had the best 1960s career of any young actor. She started the decade with a spellbinding performance in T… Read More
2022-09-16 22:30
Embed from Getty ImagesCary Grant and Dyan Cannon with their three-month-old daughter Jennifer in 1966 Read More
2022-09-12 10:00
William Holden as Mr. Benedict.Between 1969 and 1972, William Holden made three Westerns: the first was a bona fide classic (Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch); the second was taken out of… Read More
2022-09-05 10:00
Actress Nancy Olson Livingston shot to fame at the age of 22 when she earned a Best Supporting Actress nomination for Sunset Blvd. (1950). She subsequently became one of the most in-demand a… Read More
2022-09-01 23:19
Basil, the great mouse detective.The 1980s was a rocky decade for Disney animated films. Several animators, led by Don Bluth, left the studio to create their own movies (e.g., The Secret of… Read More
2022-08-27 19:09
Embed from Getty ImagesRobert Taylor and Barbara Stanwyck after their elopement to San Diego in 1943 Read More
2022-08-22 10:00
Here are the rules: We will provide an "alternate title" for a Burt Reynolds film and ask you to name the actual film. Most of these are pretty easy. Please answer no more than three questio… Read More
2022-08-15 01:19
Embed from Getty Images A smiling Joan Collins and a serious Gardner McKay are attending a party circa 1959 celebrating composer Jimmy McHugh's 35-year career. Collins had recently appear… Read More
2022-08-08 10:00
Atragon's flying submarine.The 1963 Japanese sci fi adventure Atragon is another one of those movies that played frequently on television when I was a youngster. Like many of those film… Read More
2022-08-05 14:41
Embed from Getty ImagesSuzanne Pleshette and Troy Donahue were married in a civil cermony at the Beverly Hills Hotel on January 4, 1964. The guests included Rock Hudson, Richard Chamberlain… Read More
2022-08-01 10:00
Ebsen as Jed Clampett.1. In his autobiography, The Other Side of Oz, Buddy Ebsen recalls Beverly Hillbillies creator Paul Henning pitching the show to him by reenacting scenes from the first… Read More
2022-07-25 19:29
Will Hutchins in 1971.Star of the beloved Western TV series Sugarfoot (1957-61), Will Hutchins remains a familiar face to fans of 1960s and 1970s films and television series. In addition to… Read More
2022-07-18 10:00
Maurice Ronet as Julien.Florence and Julien are madly in love. The only obstacle to their happiness is Florence's husband, Simon, who happens to be Julien's boss. Julien devices a near-perfe… Read More
2022-07-11 10:00
Here are the rules: We will provide an "alternate title" for a Kirk Douglas film and ask you to name the actual film. Most of these are pretty easy. Please answer no more than three question… Read More
2022-07-04 10:00
Warren Oates as Chandler.After a long career as a supporting actor, Warren Oates was ready to headline a major motion picture in 1971. He had garnered good notices in Sam Peckinpah's controv… Read More
2022-06-27 10:00
This month, we're focusing on quotes from Billy Wilder films. We will list a quote from a movie co-written by Wilder and ask you to name it. Try to answer these questions on your own wi… Read More
2022-06-20 10:00
Things have not gone well for brash reporter Carl Kolchak since he destroyed a vampire in Las Vegas in The Night Stalker (1972). Most people don't believe his story and those who know it's t… Read More
2022-06-13 10:00
1. Jaws (1975) - It's an obvious choice for the No. 1 spot, but it's also the only choice, isn't it? Time has improved this impeccably-made blockbuster that functions as two films. Its… Read More
2022-06-06 10:00
The 1966 spy spoof Our Man Flint was still playing in theaters when 20th Century-Fox gave the greenlight for a sequel once again starring James Coburn as super secret agent Derek Flint… Read More
2022-05-30 10:00
It's back for this month only after a long hiatus! The rules: You will be given a pair or trio of films, TV series, or performers and will be required to to find the common connection… Read More
2022-05-23 10:00
At long last, the career of Delmer Daves, one of Hollywood's most under-appreciated filmmakers, has received an in-depth, scholarly treatment courtesy of Douglas Horlock's The Films of Delme… Read More
2022-05-15 16:14
To celebrate National Classic Movie Day on May 16th, we're participating in our own Four Favorite Noirs Blogathon. For our quartet of noirs, we chose a bona fide classic (Out of the Past), a… Read More
2022-05-09 10:00
Barry Newman as Petrocelli.There are few instances of an actor reprising a character from a theatrical film in a television series. Richard Widmark and Richard Roundtree first played Madigan… Read More
2022-05-01 10:00
The inaugural Columbus Moving Picture Show will take place May 24 - 30, 2022, at the Renaissance Columbus Downtown Hotel in Columbus, Ohio. The festival will feature 16mm showings of classic… Read More
2022-04-25 10:00
This month, we're focusing on quotes from Bette Davis films. We will list a quote from a famous Bette Davis movie and ask you to name it. Try to answer these questions on your own witho… Read More
2022-04-18 10:00
Nina Foch as Julia Ross.After reviewing Gun Crazy, the Cafe's staff decided to seek out more of director Joseph H. Lewis' work. That led us to My Name Is Julia Ross, a 1945 "B" picture with… Read More
2022-04-11 10:00
1. Born Barbara Jean Morehead in 1931, she was using her stepfather's last name, Huffman, as a young actress in Hollywood. In her autobiography, she writes that her future agent, Wilt Melnic… Read More
2022-04-04 10:00
Rosemary singing the title song.For years, I assumed that Red Garters was Rosemary Clooney's follow-up to White Christmas. In reality, both films were released in 1954 and Red Garters h… Read More
2022-03-28 10:00
This month, we're focusing on quotes from Western films. We will list a quote from a famous Western and ask you to name it. Try to answer these questions on your own without resorting t… Read More
2022-03-21 13:27
Vincent Price as Robur.Jules Verne was a hot property in the late 1950s and 1960s, with movie theaters filled with big-budget adaptations of Around the World in 80 Days (1956), Journey to th… Read More
2022-03-14 10:00
George Segal as Quiller.When two of its agents are murdered in Berlin, the British intelligence agency MI-6 employs an American spy to locate the headquarters of a 1960s Nazi organization. K… Read More
2022-03-07 18:55
To celebrate National Classic Movie Day on May 16th, we are hosting the Four Favorite Noirs Blogathon. Per its title, each participating blogger is invited to write about four of her or his… Read More
2022-02-28 15:53
Richard Burton as Faulkner.When an African dictator's actions threaten to lower British copper prices, influential banker Sir Miles Matheson seeks to discredit the man. Matheson (Stewart Gra… Read More
2022-02-21 11:00
This month, we're focusing on quotes from Alfred Hitchcock films. We will list a quote from one of his movies and ask you to name it. Try to answer these questions on your own without r… Read More
2022-02-14 11:00
Bud and Lou in one of their few scenes together.One of Abbott and Costello's most atypical films ranks among their best. The Time of Their Lives (1946) is one of only two of the pair's movie… Read More
2022-02-07 11:00
1. In his film debut, Richard Long played the adult illegitimate son of Claudette Colbert and Orson Welles in the 1946 drama Tomorrow Is Forever. He was fifth-billed in the cast, which also… Read More
2022-01-31 11:00
Sandra Dee dressed for success.Imagine a Doris Day-Rock Hudson romantic comedy with Sandra Dee in the Doris role, Bobby Darin in lieu of Rock, and Donald O’Connor replacing Tony Randal… Read More
2022-01-24 11:00
Hardy Krüger as von Werra.It'd be hard to make up a story as exciting and unlikely as The One That Got Away (1957), the true tale of a German prisoner-of-war (POW) who escaped from… Read More
2022-01-17 11:00
Here are the rules: We will provide an "alternate title" for a Vincent Price film and ask you to name the actual film. Most of these are pretty easy. Please answer no more than three questio… Read More
2022-01-10 11:00
Mel Gibson as Max.The third film in director George Miller's post-apocalyptic Mad Max series faced a daunting task from the outset: Surpassing or equaling The Road Warrior (ak… Read More
2022-01-03 11:00
1. Yvonne Craig studied ballet at age 16 as the youngest member of The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. After three years, she left the company and wound up cast opposite Patrick Wayne (John's s… Read More
2021-12-27 11:00
As the year draws to a close, the Classic Film & TV Café traditionally ends it with a countdown of our ten most viewed posts. We published a total of 52 in 2021. Naturally, the co… Read More
2021-12-20 11:00
This month, we're focusing on quotes from holiday movies--films that revolve around or take place during holidays. We will list a quote from a famous movie and ask you to name the movie… Read More
2021-12-13 11:00
Sean Connery as Tony.Wheelchair-bound Charles Richmond mistreats his servants, bullies his adult nephew, and fosters tyranny wherever he goes. He is also worth $50 million.With his inheritan… Read More
2021-12-06 11:00
Moira Shearer in The Red Shoes.The challenge of integrating a dynamic theatrical art form into the confines of cinema has proven to be a difficult task. Consequently, it has been undertaken… Read More
2021-11-29 11:00
Richard Todd as Robin.The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) is one of the greatest films ever made--with its perfectly-cast characters, vivid color, fabulous sets, and iconic scenes (e.g… Read More
2021-11-22 17:12
This month, we're introducing a new game! We will list a quote from a famous movie and ask you to name the movie. Try to answer these questions on your own without resorting to Google search… Read More
2021-11-15 11:00
1. In his autobiography Memoirs of a Professional Cad, George Sanders recalled his first film role in The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1937) as one of the gods: "The part called for me… Read More
2021-11-08 11:00
In the early 1960s, Doris Day was romantic comedy royalty. Her films with leading men Rock Hudson, James Garner, and Rod Taylor delighted audiences and scored big at the box office. One of h… Read More
2021-11-01 10:00
Agatha Christie's classic 1939 mystery novel Ten Little Indians (the original title is best forgotten) has been adapted multiple times in multiple languages for the big and small screens. Be… Read More
2021-10-24 13:29
"Akita osur!"Roughly translated, that means: "Look, there's a dinosaur!" I know this because I got a copy of the promotional Caveman Vocabulary pamphlet distributed by theaters during the or… Read More
2021-10-18 10:00
Here are the rules: We will provide an "alternate title" for a classic horror film (they're all pre-1960 so that should help) and ask you to name the actual film. Most of these are pretty ea… Read More
2021-10-11 10:00
Sean Connery as the movies' first 007.I originally ranked the first 22 James Bond films back in 2008. After recently watching No Time to Die, I thought it'd be interesting to review my… Read More
2021-10-04 10:00
Hayley Mills as Nikky.What do you get when you cross an Alfred Hitchcock suspense film with a Disney movie? The answer is something like The Moon-Spinners (1965), an attempt to transition 17… Read More
2021-09-27 10:00
Richard Harris as Fallon.Made during the 1970s disaster movie craze, Juggernaut (1974) replicates the ocean liner setting from the earlier Poseidon Adventure, but adds a twist. Wha… Read More
2021-09-20 10:00
Here are the rules: We will provide an "alternate title" for a Gregory Peck film and ask you to name the actual film. Most of these are pretty easy. Please answer no more than three question… Read More
2021-09-13 10:00
James Woods and Brian Dennehy.Best Seller (1987). Cleve is a professional killer who feels he never got the respect he deserved from his ex-employer, a powerful corporate executiv… Read More
2021-09-06 10:00
Richard Widmark as Captain Finlander.The 1960s was a grand decade for top-notch Cold War thrillers such as The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Seven Days in May (1964), and Fail Safe… Read More
2021-08-29 10:00
1. The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences awarded the first Emmys in 1948. However, the first winner for Best Dramatic Show was not bestowed until 1950. That honor went to Pulitz… Read More
2021-08-23 10:00
1. Roger Corman produced Martin Scorsese's second feature-length film Boxcar Bertha (1972). In Corman and Jim Jerome's book How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Never… Read More
2021-08-15 23:54
Tom Courtenay as Colin Smith."Running was always a big thing in our family, specially running away from the police. It's hard to understand. All I know is that you've got to run, running wit… Read More
2021-08-09 10:00
Jamie Lee Curtis.Terror Train (1980). When a cruel college prank goes awry, its victim, Kenny, seemingly has a nervous breakdown. Three years later, the prank's perpetrators have… Read More
2021-08-02 10:00
Sandra Dee as Chantel.Romantic comedies were box office gold in the early 1960s with hits like Lover Come Back and Come September (both 1961). Therefore, it was inevitabl… Read More
2021-07-26 10:00
Here are the rules: We will provide an "alternate title" for a film that starred James Stewart and ask you to name the actual film. Most of these are pretty easy. Please answer no more than… Read More
2021-07-19 10:00
Michael Caine as Harry Palmer.It was assuredly no easy task to follow in the footsteps of two of the best spy thrillers of the 1960s: The Ipcress File and Funeral in Berlin. So, one must cut… Read More
2021-07-12 10:00
What movie fan doesn’t love a good courtroom drama?In Real to Reel: Truth and Trickery in Courtroom Movies, co-authors Michael Asimow and Paul Bergman dissect over 200 movies that &ldq&hell…Read More
2021-07-05 10:00
Glenn Garth Gregory is a reluctant spy.Laurence Luckinbill.He believes he was hired to do research for a government agency called the Delphi Bureau. Of course, the bureau has no street addre… Read More
2021-06-28 10:00
Here are the rules: We will provide an "alternate title" for a classic television series and ask you to name the actual show. Most of these are pretty easy. Please answer no more than three… Read More
2021-06-21 10:00
Night Passage (1957) should have been the sixth Western starring James Stewart and directed by Anthony Mann. The duo's earlier collaborations included some of the finest Westerns ever m… Read More
2021-06-14 10:00
The 1970s was a fantastic decade for gritty, urban crime dramas. Audiences were treated to fine films like The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, The Seven-Ups, The French Connection, Dirt… Read More
2021-06-07 10:00
Burt Reynolds as Sharky.After placing a civilian in harm's way, big city detective Tom Sharky is "demoted" from narcotics to vice. It's intended to be a humdrum assignment, but that changes… Read More
2021-05-31 10:00
Here are the rules: We will provide an "alternate title" for a Jack Lemmon film and ask you to name the actual film. Most of these are pretty easy. Please answer no more than three questions… Read More
2021-05-24 10:00
Lee Van Cleef as Ryan.Death Rides a Horse (1967). As young Bill Meceita watches a vicious outlaw gang slaughter his family, he notes a distinguishing feature on each kil… Read More
2021-05-15 19:01
Tomorrow marks the celebration of National Classic Movie Day and, as is tradition, we're hosting a blogathon to highlight this annual May 16th event. This year, we're asking classic movie bl… Read More
2021-05-15 18:41
For my entry in the 6 Films - 6 Decades Blogathon, I chose a favorite film from each decade from the 1920s through the 1970s. My criterion was a simple one: These are classics I can watch ov… Read More
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