Royalty and the Help Do Switcheroos in Pre-Code Comedy ‘By Candlelight’
James Whale’s pre-code comedy/romance, ‘By Candelight’ is a perfect example of Depression-era escapism into Art Deco consumer porn.
film history
What Was Paramount Smoking When It Released ‘Murder at the Vanities’?
There are wild numbers in the raunchy pre-code 1934 musical Murder at the Vanities but “Sweet Marijuana” really stirred up the uptights. Paramount shrugged.
Sweet Land of Libertines: Silent Film ‘Casanova’ Turns Sex into Politics
The world of the silent film ‘Casanova’ is where every wife is glad to cheat on her bullying husband or flee from her possessive lover because authority is always repressive.
Different Countries, Same Troubled Planet: Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project, No. 4
Although the films in Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project No. 4 come from different countries, decades, and languages, they reveal similarities in social conscience and film experiments.
The Beginning of a Beautiful Affair Between Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond
Love in the Afternoon deserves credit for its artistic merit but also for serving as the beginning of a beautiful affair between Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond.
A Woman’s Work Is Finally Done in Siodmak’s ‘Time Out of Mind’
Robert Siodmak’s Time Out of Mind, based on the novel by first National Book Award winner, Rachel Field, mixes gothic, classical, and literary elements in an unappreciated film.
The Past Isn’t Past in Stanley Kwan’s Fantasy Drama ‘Rouge’
Stanley Kwan’s 1987 fantasy drama based in Hong Kong, Rouge, is part romance, part ghost story, part political fable, and all gorgeous.
Film Noirs ‘The Guilty’ and ‘High Tide’ Have Strong Literary Roots
Crime stories by Cornell Woolrich, The Guilty, and Raoul Whitfield, High Tide, are masterfully adapted by director John Reinhardt in two restored film noirs.
Pre-Code Films from Directors Beaudine and Vidor Give Creepy Thrills
Restored pre-code films William Beaudine’s ‘The Crime of the Century’ and Charles Vidor’s ‘Double Door’ thrill with their frightening fearlessness.
Color Lines: 1930 Colonial Film ‘Mamba’ in Early Technicolor
Albert S. Rogell’s 1930 Technicolor film Mamba offers a colonial critique that’s sometimes explicit, sometimes implicit, and sometimes contradictory.
San Francisco Silent Film Festival 2022: Dangers! Thrills! Desires! – and Sweet Enchantment
Silent films have a way of burrowing their stories into your mind and taking root. With this preview of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival 2022, let us plant a few seeds.
Neorealism Meets Fairy Tale in Vittorio De Sica’s ‘Miracle in Milan’
If the escapism in Vittorio De Sica’s Miracle in Milan seems simple-minded, even simpler is the cure to society’s ills.
