Classic Movie Recall

Lara and James welcome classic film commentator and author Jeremy Arnold to chat about one of the most popular MGM musicals of the 1940s, starring the one and only Judy Garland. Based on a series of short stories from New Yorker Magazine, MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS depicts chapters in the lives of a St. Louis family amid the opening of the 1904 world’s fair. Directed by Vincente Minnelli, it was filmed in spectacular Technicolor and received four Oscar nominations and a Academy Juvenile Award for a superb performance from 7-year-old Margaret O’Brien.

Orson Welles produced, co-wrote, directed and stars in his 1941 masterpiece about a rich newspaper tycoon who utters the word “rosebud” on his deathbed. A newspaper reporter is then assigned to investigate the meaning of “rosebud,” uncovering details about a tragically complex, wealthy, powerful yet ultimately lonely life.

Based on the 1890s novel by HG Wells, this 1953 Technicolor sci-fi classic depicts a devastating Martian attack on Los Angeles. The film received the Academy Award for Special Effects and went on to influence generations of filmmakers. Lara and James welcome two guests: Craig Barron, an Oscar-winning visual effects artist; and Andrea Kalas, the head of the Paramount Studios Archive who oversaw the restoration and preservation of the film.

Before there was Warren Beatty in HEAVEN CAN WAIT… before there was Chris Rock in DOWN TO EARTH, there was Robert Montgomery in HERE COMES MR. JORDAN! Join as as we travel to the great beyond — to heaven! And who is “Mr. Jordan”, anyway? Find out - in this episode of Classic Movie Recall.

Winner of Academy Awards® for Best Picture, Best Cinematography, and Best Actress for Janet Gaynor, Sunrise is a spectacular cinematic experience. Director F. W. Murnau’s crowning achievement is often considered the greatest silent film ever made. It retains its power even today.

This beloved historical drama is on just about everyone’s top-ten list of favorite films. Based on the 1926 autobiography The Seven Pillars of Wisdom by British officer TE Lawrence, many people call it “the greatest film ever made”! In this episode, James and Lara are joined by author & classic movie expert Jeremy Arnold, who shares fascinating insights on this nearly-four-hour epic.

In this episode of the Classic Movie Recall podcast, James Moll and Lara Scott review one of the greatest swashbuckling adventures of the 1930s, CAPTAIN BLOOD stars Errol Flynn in the role that made him a star. The film was directed by Michael Curtiz (of Casablanca fame) and co-stars Olivia De Havilland. Now you'll know why all these sword fighting, swashbuckling pirate films caught on as a staple of classic Hollywood movies.

Bonnie and Clyde is a groundbreaking film that pushed the limits on sex and violence in cinema. Warren Beatty produced the film and also stars as Clyde Barrow, an ex-con during the Great Depression who falls in love with a bored waitress played by Faye Dunaway. Together they launch a violent crime spree and become America's most notorious criminals.

Two showgirls (Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe) cross the Atlantic on a first-class ocean liner and all the eligible men on board do their best to vie for their attention. Jane Russell’s character (Dorothy) picks the handsome ones; while Marilyn Monroe’s character (Lorelei) is out for the rich ones. She’s already engaged to a mega-wealthy guy named Gus, but Gus’s father forbids the marriage and sends a detective to follow them. And of course, being a 1950s technicolor musical, hijinks and musical numbers ensue.

From the “master of suspense” himself, Alfred Hitchcock, this 1940 film is the story of a young woman who marries a grieving widower only to find out that she must live in the shadow of his former wife who recently died mysterious death. It’s creepy yet enthralling, gothic yet romantic, filmed in stunning black & white. With incredible performances from Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine and Judith Anderson, this is just about everything you want in a classic movie.