Forgotten Hollywood

In this episode I discuss the actress Priscilla Lane.

In this episode I spoke with author Foster Hirsch about his book "Hollywood and the Movies of the Fifties: The Collapse of the Studio System, the Thrill of Cinerama, and the Invasion of the Ultimate Body Snatcher - Television".  A fascinating look at Hollywood’s most turbulent decade and the demise of the studio system—set against the boom of the post-World War II years, the Cold War, and the atomic age—and the movies that reflected the seismic shifts.


His website is www.fosterhirsch.ink
Home - FOSTER HIRSCH
Foster Hirsch's latest book, Hollywood and the Movies of the Fifties, has been called "the definitive book on 1950s Hollywood." Foster Hirsch will be presenting a number of films at NYC's Film Forum five-week series, 50 from the 50s, October 13 - November 16, 2023.
www.fosterhirsch.ink

In this episode I spoke with Andre Darlington about his book "Forbidden Cocktails".  A stunning package for classic film buffs and drinks enthusiasts alike, all the “forbidden” fun of Pre-Code Hollywood and the Prohibition and speakeasy era meet in this stylish cocktail book.

in this episode we discussed the life of actress Jane Wyatt

In this episode I discuss the life of actor Alan Young.

In this episode, I discuss the life of actor John Gilbert.

In this episode I spoke with author Nat Segaloff about his book "The Naughty Bits: What the Censors Wouldn't Let You See in Hollywood's Most Famous Movies".

Between 1934 and 1968, no Hollywood studio could make a movie without the permission of and a seal of approval from the Production Code Administration. The Production Code was Hollywood's official censor. Screenplays, books, plays, costumes and even story ideas and songs had to be okayed by the Code before they could be filmed, and the Code monitored every stage of the production process to ensure compliance. The correspondence between the Code and the studios was confidential, and the memos within the Code office itself were even more so.

In this episode, I spoke with author Kurt Jensen about his book "Peerless Rouben Mamoulian, Hollywood, and Broadway.  A proud Armenian who claimed a distant link to nobility, born in what was then part of czarist Russia, Rouben Mamoulian (1897–1987) was one of the most astonishing and confounding figures in American film and theater, directing the original stage productions of Porgy and Bess, Carousel, and Oklahoma!, as well as films including Love Me Tonight, Queen Christina, City Streets, and Silk Stockings. He was famously fired from the film version of Porgy and Bess in a dispute over publicity and quit Cleopatra after arguments over a single scene. Mamoulian’s mercurial confidence and autocratic tendencies were among the reasons he had a reputation for being uncompromising. This frustrating mix of genius and stubbornness, of critical successes and financial flops, has proven challenging for biographers.

In this episode, I spoke with Alonso Duralde about his book "Hollywood Pride". For generations, members of the LGBTQ+ community in Hollywood needed to be discreet about their lives but—make no mistake—they were everywhere, both in front of and behind the camera.