It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Time to watch classic Christmas movies. Grab a cup of cocoa and make your selection from one of 50 films below. Happy Holidays from the Classic Couple! It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947) Holiday Affair (1949) Christmas in Connecticut (1945) Babes in Toyland (1934) A Christmas Carol…
Category Archives: Classic Film Tidbits
Tidbits: Steel Magnolias (1989)
Most fans of Steel Magnolias (1989) likely cannot imagine anyone else in the iconic principal roles in the film: in order of billing Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Darryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis and Julia Roberts. Among these six women, four are Oscar winners: Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis and Julia Roberts and one…
Tidbits: True Grit
On April 7, 1970, the legendary actor John Wayne won his first and only Academy Award, for his performance in director Henry Hathway’s Western True Grit. Wayne appeared in nearly 250 movies in his career, with this being his only Oscar win. Wayne earned the Oscar for playing Rooster Cogburn, despite an abundance of conflict…
Tidbits: Ben-Hur
As the Raleigh/Cary TCM Backlot Chapter prepares to see the 60th Anniversary TCM Big Screen Classics presentation of Ben-Hur, I looked for some tidbits related to how the epic film came together. The visual magnificence and thundering action of this historic drama made it a record-setting winner of eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and…
Tidbits: To Kill a Mockingbird
Preparing to see the TCM Big Screen Classics presentation of To Kill a Mockingbird, I read a lot of sources about the behind-the-scenes interactions between the actors. The tidbits that stood out to me were all about the relationships formed, many that lasted a lifetime. Characters from Real Life: The character Dill in the movie…
Tidbits: My Fair Lady
In preparation for seeing the TCM Big Screen Classics 55th Anniversary showing of My Fair Lady (1964), I cast around for some trivia about the cast. Controversy about the leading roles abounds. Still, the resulting film garnered the following Oscar wins at the 1965 Academy Awards: Best Picture – Jack L. Warner Best Actor in a…
Tidbits: Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers
Are there any more iconic shoes in film history than Dorothy’s ruby slippers? Lovers of The Wizard of Oz (1939) movie surely cannot imagine Dorothy’s slippers being any color other than ruby red, but originally they weren’t. In the book, they are silver. The Silver Shoes are only mentioned in the original The Wizard of…
Tidbits: The Wizard of Oz
Readying to see the 80th Anniversary screening of The Wizard of Oz (1939) this month, I sought out some IMDB film trivia. Here are some tidbits I found intriguing, related to wardrobe and costume makeup. When the wardrobe department was looking for a coat for Frank Morgan (Prof. Marvel/The Wizard), it decided it wanted one that looked like…
Tidbits: White Christmas
Time to ready myself for the last TCM Big Screen Classics of 2018, White Christmas (1954), with some song and dance tidbits. Third of three films to feature Bing Crosby singing “White Christmas”. The other two are Holiday Inn (1942) and Blue Skies (1946). The Bing Crosby rendition of “White Christmas” is noted to be…
Tidbits: Die Hard
Looking forward to watching the 30th Anniversary TCM Big Screen Classics screening of Die Hard (1988) later this week. Seeking out tidbits from IMDB, I found the casting information intriguing. Actors considered for the role of John McClain included Don Johnson, Richard Dean Anderson, John Travolta, and Michael Madsen. Sam Neill and Robert DeNiro turned it…