Classic Couple

Experience the evolution of slapstick comedy on film in three films released in 1914: Caught in a Cabaret released April 27, His Trysting Place released on November 9, and Tillie’s Punctured Romance released December 21. Keystone Studios served as production house, Mack Sennett worked as producer and Charlie Chaplin, Mabel Normand and Mack Swain starred […]

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 […]

Indiscreet (1931) is described as a comedy, a drama and a musical. Indeed, it is all those things. A pre-Code morality tale, Indiscreet stars Gloria Swanson giving one of her most captivating performances of the 1930s. Available in April from The Film Detective, Indiscreet is a must-watch for those whose knowledge of Swanson is limited […]

The Raleigh/Cary TCM Backlot Chapter met up today to see the TCM Big Screen Classics presentation of To Kill a Mockingbird. I think I can speak for the entire group to say that this afternoon we were transported to 1932 and Harper Lee’s fictitious town of Maycomb, Alabama. Afterwards, we gathered for classic film chatter. […]

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 […]

On February 9, 2019 during the TCM 31 Days of Oscar, Now, Voyager (1942) starring Bette Davis aired. For me, it was a new classic discovery as a film I had never seen. Bette Davis’ Oscar-nominated performance held me captive, and I have been ruminating on the movie ever since. Davis portrays Charlotte Vale, a […]

John Wayne is a favorite actor of mine, especially in Westerns. Until I watched The Desert Trail (1935), available in March from The Film Detective, my knowledge of Wayne in Westerns began with his appearance in Stagecoach (1939). Working with director John Ford, Wayne got his big break portraying the Ringo Kid in the film, […]

Special Guest Blog By Caroline Lappetito, Raleigh/Cary TCM Backlot Chapter Member “Lots of chocolate for me to eat…warm face, warm hands, warm feet! Ohhhh wouldn’t it be loverly?” “I’m an ordinary man…but let a woman in your life…I shall never let a woman in my life!” “I could have danced all night, I could have […]

We could have danced all night. Given we just saw the TCM Big Screen Classics 55th Anniversary showing of My Fair Lady (1964)! The Raleigh/Cary TCM Backlot Chapter enjoyed our outing today to see the classic musical My Fair Lady, winner of eight Academy Awards in 1965. It’s easy to see how My Fair Lady […]

In the 1930s and 1940s, a Saturday matinee typically offered audiences a serial film, animated cartoons, newsreels and a couple of feature films. The serial Western enjoyed its heyday as moviegoers followed the adventures of a central hero from film to film, sometimes week after week. Between 1928-1950 twenty-five films featured The Cisco Kid as […]