Edward G. Robinson: The Screen’s Cultured Gangster
Edward G. Robinson Epitomizes the American Dream, Loves Cigars, Overcomes the Blacklist, and is Nothing Like His Gangster Screen Image.
Little Caesar (1931) and Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson Fights for the Lead, Has Trouble with a Machine Gun, Becomes a Superstar Overnight, and Buys a Renoir.
Double Indemnity, Edward G. Robinson, & HUAC
Barbara Stanwyck is George Washington, Billy Wilder Defines Film Noir, Fred MacMurray Doesn’t Murder Husbands, & Edward G. Robinson Is Not a Communist. From 1944, it’s Double Indemnity.
Kid Galahad (1937), Bette Davis, Bogie, & Eddie G.
Bette Davis Battles It Out with Jack Warner in London, Edward G. Robinson Gets Script Approval, and Humphrey Bogart Almost Leaves Hollywood.
Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939)
Edward G. Robinson Receives Death Threats from Nazis, Almost Joins the French Army, Is the First Movie Star in Normandy After D-Day, and Inspires the German Underground
Bullets or Ballots (1936), Eddie G., Bogie, & Blondell
Edward G. Robinson is A Good Guy, Bogie Plays the Gangster, and Joan Blondell Gets a Chance at Stardom. From 1936, it’s Bullets or Ballots.
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Some Like It Hot (1959) is one of the greatest comedies of all time. This classic has just about everything going for it: a perfectly crafted screenplay, the genius director Billy Wilder, and a star-studded cast, including Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, George Raft, and our Star of the Month, Joe E. Brown. But […]
The Independent Jane Russell & The Revolt of Mamie Stover (1956)
The Revolt of Mamie Stover (1956) is not considered a classic, but it’s certainly entertaining. Based on William Bradford Huie’s 1951 novel about a World War II lady of the night, The Revolt of Mamie Stover is gripping, dramatic, and lusciously photographed. It’s Jane Russell at her sultry, sensual best. I tried to find this […]
Great Oscar Injustices: Barbara Stanwyck (Part II)
Welcome back to week four of my Great Oscar Injustice Series. We’re on my second week of tribute to the Oscar-overlooked Barbara Stanwyck. Let’s jump right in. We pick up with Barbara in 1936, the year she met the beautifully handsome Robert Taylor. After her abusive marriage to the domineering and alcoholic Frank Fay, Taylor […]
Jimmy Stewart Was Not Racist. Here’s Why.
A recently posed question casts a shadow on the otherwise pristine legacy of Jimmy Stewart. Was Jimmy Stewart racist? The answer is no. Jimmy Stewart and jazz legend Duke Ellington jam together in Anatomy of a Murder (1959). Jimmy Stewart Was Not Racist Let’s go behind the origin of the rumor that Jimmy Stewart was […]
