Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Movie Nights & Matinees

Jim and I are joined by filmfest master Bill Shaffer to talk about Japan's biggest movie star and now Oscar-winner, Godzilla (or Gojira, depending on your preference).  Listen in as we discuss the various eras, his many monstrous foes, and his appearances in Legendary's Monsterverse, as well as his recent prestige picture Godzilla Minus One, which brought the big guy his first Academy Award.

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Film historian Dan Van Neste joins me to discuss one of Hollywood's unjustifiably forgotten leading men as chronicled in Dan's latest book, The Accidental Star: The Life and Films of Warner Baxter.  Listen in as we chat about Baxter's life, personal struggles, and roles in such pictures as 42nd Street, the Crime Doctor series, and Baxter's first, Oscar-winning outing as the big screen's Cisco Kid in In Old Arizona.

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Jim and I chat with radio host and author Jennifer Churchill about her book Movies are Magic, as well as her other media appearances activities designed to foster of love of classic films across new generations.

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Author Michael F. Blake returns to chat with me and Jim about his latest book, The Cavalry Trilogy:  John Ford, John Wayne, and the Making of Three Classic Westerns.  Ride along as we talk about the men and the movies; spotlighting Fort Apache, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and Rio Grande, with a few others getting mentions along the way.

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I'm joined by author Cathy Whitlock to talk about the subject of production design as chronicled in her gorgeous book Designs on Film: A Century of Hollywood Art Direction.  Among the films discussed are Citizen Kane, Top Hat, Things to Come, The Wizard of Oz, Cleopatra, Lawrence of Arabia and You Only Live Twice, to name a few. 

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Author Gary May joins me to talk about the career of M.K. Jerome, whose songs enhanced many a golden age Hollywood film, especially during his tenure at Warner Bros.  Moe, as he was known to friends, family and colleagues, is the subject of Gary's book The Tunesmith, The Musical Journey of M.K. Jerome.  Gary has significant insight into  Moe's life and career, given that Moe was Gary's grandfather.  Listen in as we discuss Moe's contributions to film in a variety of genres, and in support of stars such as Greta Garbo, Bette Davis, Errol Flynn and James Cagney.  Oh, and there's also that movie you might have heard mentioned once or twice called Casablanca.

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Agatha Christie scholar and author Mark Aldridge joins me to discuss movies adapted from the writings of the famed mystery writer, as chronicled in Mark's book Agatha Christie on Screen.  Gather with us in the virtual parlor as we discuss, among other films, Love From a Stranger, And Then There Were None, Witness for the Prosecution and Murder on the Orient Express. 

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Jim and I are joined by the multi-talented Nick Santa Maria, co-author of The Annotated Abbott and Costello and the alphabetically first half of the retro comedy team Biffle and Shooster.  We chat about Bud and Lou, and what made them and their comedy formula so special, then segue into the creation and assemblage of the neo-vintage (seriously?) short comedies produced and compiled into The Misadventures of Biffle and Shooster.

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As our first guest of 2024, Jim and I are thrilled to welcome the one and only Leonard Maltin, whose tenure as the movie critic for Entertainment Tonight spanned three decades, and whose books are a staple of any respectable movie reference library, in addition to his highly informative and entertaining autobiography.  Join us as we discuss his career, his books, and here and there a specific movie.

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With the first anniversary of the launch of Movie Nights & Matinees coming this week, co-host Jim Reid and I have a casual conversation that includes reflections on the first year of the podcast, as well as discussions of specific movies we've been watching or that are personal favorites.  Popping up in the discussion are comedians Laurel & Hardy, Wheeler & Woolsey, Edgar Kennedy and Eddie Cantor, in addition to Fred Astaire and film historian David Shepard.  Among the films we chat about are 1916's Sherlock Holmes, the Columbia serial Mandrake the Magician, Champagne for Caesar, the Crime Doctor mystery series, and even Gertie the Dinosaur.  Jim also recounts the formation of his Dallas Classic Film Group.

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Jim and I wind up the year by talking Christmas movies with TCM Library author Jeremy Arnold, whose 2018 book Christmas in the Movies has just been reissued in a revised, expanded edition.   Join us as we talk about old favorites including It's a Wonderful Life, Meet Me in St. Louis and A Christmas Carol; as well as less well-known films such as The Cheaters, Blast of Silence and Cash On Demand.  Then there's the matter of Die Hard...

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Join me and Jim for a fascinating discussion with documentary filmmaker Peter Flynn regarding the demise of film as a mainstream exhibition medium, as chronicled in his 2015 film The Dying of the Light, and the impact of that change on generations of projectionists.  The conversation also includes his prior documentary Blazing the Trail (2011) and his forthcoming Film is Dead.  Long Live Film!

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After a hiatus, Jim Reid returns to join me in discussing silent comedy pioneer Max Linder with Lisa Stein Haven, the author of The Rise and Fall of Max Linder.  Along the way, we chat about Linder's status as the first silent comedy superstar, his unique mashups of stage and film in his early career, touring appearances that he used as opportunities to create comedies in unique locations, his attempts to launch an American career with such films as Seven Years Bad Luck and The Three Must-Get-Theres, and the swift downward spiral that culminated in his tragic and disturbing demise.

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 Joining me to talk about movie adaptations of works by Edgar Rice Burroughs are prior guests Scott Tracy Griffin and Will Murray.  There's some additional discussion of a few Tarzan films, though that was mostly covered in Episode 2.  This episode will focus more on the non-Tarzan films, from 1917's The Lad and the Lion to the 2012 big-budget adventure John Carter. 

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Brian Schell of The Horror Guys blog and podcast joins me to chat about movies spotlighted in his book The Horror Guys Guide to the Silent Age of Horror Films.  Among the titles discussed are famous ones such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu, The Golem, and The Man Who Laughs, as well as some that are less familiar, such as The Phantom Carriage, Waxworks and The Hands of Orlac.  Our conversation (and the book) also covers obscure or even lost films such as The Last Warning, A Page of Madness and Drakula's Death. 

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Jim and I are joined by Paul Castiglia, blogger and author of the forthcoming book Scared Silly, to talk about classic horror comedies.  Among the movies discussed are such obvious titles as Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Ghosts on the Loose and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, as well as lesser known films such as Zombies on Broadway and You'll Find Out.  

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Jim Reid and I are joined by multi-talented musician, composer, songwriter and internet DJ Marty Ross to discuss rock & roll in the movies from its early days through the 60s.  Whether your tastes run to Little Richard, Frankie and Annette or The Monkees, come along for a fun ride from bobby socks to psychedelia.

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Jim Reid and I talk to author and publisher Ed Hulse about the history of cliffhanger serials, a subject about which Ed has written multiple outstanding books.  We go back to the literary and theatrical origins of the serial format, and talk about silent and sound serials such as The Perils of Pauline, The Green Archer, Daredevils of the Red Circle and Spy Smasher, among others.

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Recent guest Jim Reid returns to co-host as we talk with author Craig Calman about legendary producer Hal Roach as documented in Craig's book 100 Years of Brodies With Hal Roach:  The Jaunty Journeys of a Hollywood Motion Picture and Television Pioneer.   Listen in as we discuss the likes of Harold Lloyd, Laurel & Hardy, Charley Chase and Our Gang, among others.

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TCM's Scott McGee and I take a look at Hollywood's history of exciting stunts through the lens of his book Danger On the Silver Screen: 50 Films Celebrating Cinema's Greatest Stunts.  Listen in as we talk about a diverse group of stunt performers that includes Tom Mix, Buster Keaton, Buddy Joe Hooker and Charlize Theron, among others, and such films as Raiders of the Lost Ark,  How the West Was Won, Ronin, Casino Royale, and Death Proof, just to name a few.

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I pay a virtual visit to my longtime friend Jim Reid to talk about his massive collection of classic films and his experiences projecting them for audiences ranging from however many can fit into his home theatre to hundreds seated in historic cinemas in various cities.

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I'm joined by film historian Frank Thompson to chat about his latest book, The Compleat Beau Geste, which exhaustively documents every adaptation (and spinoff) of P.C. Wren's classic adventure novel in film, television, radio, and on stage, with a glorious collection of illustrations, many in color.

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My guest is actor and award-winning makeup artist Michael F. Blake, who is also the author of no less than three books on silent screen superstar Lon Chaney.  We discuss such Chaney films as Hunchback of Notre Dame, Phantom of the Opera and The Penalty, among others, in addition to Hollywood's version of Chaney's life, Man of a Thousand Faces, which starred James Cagney.

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I go autobiographical in this episode and recount my experience as a crew member on Francis Ford Coppola's production of Rumble Fish, filmed in my home town of Tulsa.

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Make yourself a really big sandwich and join me as I discuss Columbia's Blondie series, which generated 28 pictures from 1938 to 1950, with Carol Lynn Scherling, author of the book Blondie Goes to Hollywood.

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Blogger and podcaster Kendahl Cruver (Watching Classic Movies) joins me to talk about her new Classic Film Fan USA Travel Guide and some of the places listed in it that will be of interest to movie buffs who find themselves on the road for vacations, work travel, day trips or similar excursions.

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Film historian and author Michael R. Pitts returns to discuss some of the movies profiled in his book Thrills Untapped:  Neglected Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, 1928-1936.  Among the films we chat about are F.P. 1 Doesn't Answer, Transatlantic Tunnel, Mysterious Island (1929), SOS Iceberg, The Black Camel (the earliest surviving Charlie Chan film to star Warner Oland), the serial Tarzan the Tiger, and the Soviet epic Cosmic Voyage.

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Author and pulp historian Will Murray joins me to discuss The Shadow; his origins and various screen incarnations.

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My guest is film historian and author Michael R. Pitts.  He and I head out west to chat about Republic's 51-picture B-western series featuring The Three Mesquiteers, eight of which starred John Wayne. 

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My guest is Steven Bingen, and the discussion centers around his newest book, The 50 MGM Films That Transformed Hollywood, though we also discuss other books he's written and the studio in general.

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My guests are Bob Furmanek, founder of the 3-D Film Archive, and his Technical Director, Greg Kintz.  We discuss some of the technical aspects of the medium as well as some specific films from the Golden Age, including upcoming releases of 3-D movies that the Archive has restored.

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Talking Tarzan with the author of Tarzan On Film and Tarzan: the Centennial Celebration, Scott Tracy Griffin, the go-to expert on all things Edgar Rice Burroughs.

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I conclude my conversation with author Joe Adamson as he relates the evolution of his landmark book on the Marx Brothers, Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Sometimes Zeppo.

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Rediscovering the Marx Brothers with Joe Adamson, film historian and author of the book Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Sometimes Zeppo.

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An introduction to host Bill Groves and preview of what's to come in future episodes.

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