This time, Stanwyck is an invalid, who’s having trouble with her phone. I would call it a straight-up female victim tale, but Babs is not what you’d call sympathetic as a character. Even so, should her husband (Burt Lancaster) be plotting her death?

Sorry, Wrong Number

Shelly Brisbin with David J. Loehr, Micheline Maynard, Nathan Alderman and Randy Dotinga

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The Movie: review/commentary on a single classic film

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Stanwyck Summer continues with a “noir tragedy.” She finds herself involved with Kirk Douglas (his film debut), Van Heflin and Lizbeth Scott. Did Missy kill her very mean aunt, many years ago? Let’s find out, shall we?

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

Shelly Brisbin with Nathan Alderman, Micheline Maynard and Randy Dotinga

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The Movie: review/commentary on a single classic film

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Barbara Stanwyck (Lorna) in a boxing movie? OK, sure. But you’ll also see the film that began her lifelong friendship with William Holden. Bill (Joe) is a violinist who wants to try his hand at boxing. Because there’s money in that. Stanwyck’s Lorna is the girl who loves him. What price must Joe pay to become a success?

Golden Boy

Shelly Brisbin with Nathan Alderman, Micheline Maynard and Randy Dotinga

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The Movie: review/commentary on a single classic film

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We begin Stanwyck Summer with one of her most iconic films, and greatest performances. Stella Dallas is pure melodrama, so sudsy that the name was taken by a radio soap opera. Stella is a working-class woman with a daughter she wants to give all the things she never had. Will she succeed? Will her daughter be grateful? Tune in tomorrow!

Stella Dallas

Shelly Brisbin with Nathan Alderman, Randy Dotinga and Micheline Maynard

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The Movie: review/commentary on a single classic film

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This George Stevens (best director Oscar) epic looms large. It’s a classic “roadshow” film of the 1950s, complete with West Texas vistas, Technicolor, big stars like Rock (Hudson), Liz (Taylor) and Jimmy (Dean), but no intermission, even though it’s three hours long! It also looms large in the history of the Texas towns (Marfa and Valentine) where it was filmed. I’ve grown up with stories of people tangentially touched by the production, and there are songs that celebrate, or sometimes give the side eye to, the whole thing.

Giant

Shelly Brisbin with Laura Rice, Micheline Maynard, David J. Loehr and Randy Dotinga

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The Movie: review/commentary on a single classic film

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Bette Davis brings the melodrama, right here in the imperial phase of her Warner Brothers career. She’s rich, she’s spoiled. Oopsie. She has a health crisis! Will she become a better person? Will she find love? Will she out-act Humphrey Bogart, George Brent (yeah she will) and Geraldine Fitzgerald? Will your host have a take almost none of the reviews she’s read have? Let’s find out together.

Dark Victory

Shelly Brisbin with Annette Wierstra, Nathan Alderman and Micheline Maynard

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The Movie: review/commentary on a single classic film

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The first film Fritz Lang made in the US after he fled the Nazis, Fury is the story of a man who is lynched by the residents of a small town. The film is not a groundbreaking 1950s independent production, but an MGM star vehicle from 1936, featuring one of the studio’s then newest stars, Spencer Tracy. It’s not even Fritz Lang’s best film, but you’ll see some groundbreaking technique here.

Fury

Shelly Brisbin with Nathan Alderman, Randy Dotinga and Micheline Maynard

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The Movie: review/commentary on a single classic film

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If you meet up with Lawrence Tierney in a dark alley - or in a kitchen, for that matter - chances are the encounter won’t end well. Tierney is truly the bad boy of film noir, and no film shows it better than “Born to Kill.” Claire Trevor is great, as always, but I do question her taste in men. I imagine a few eyebrows raising at what the filmmaker gets away with here, including the brazen attitude of our leading man. And oh hey, Elisha Cook Jr. Is here, too, bringing all the gay subtext.

Born to Kill

Shelly Brisbin with Randy Dotinga, Nathan Alderman and Micheline Maynard

The Movie: review/commentary on a single classic film

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Greatest musical of all time, you say? Plenty of people would agree. Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly co-direct Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds through a delightful Comden and Gteen score, not to mention dance numbers that have achieved legendary status. For anyone who admires clever, energetic film choreography, it’s a joy to watch. For a fan of classic film, there’s an homage to the transition between silent and talking movie. That happened barely 20 years before this film was made, which is kind of bonkers to think about.

The episode title is a callback. It’s what we do!

Singin' in the Rain

Shelly Brisbin with Nathan Alderman, David Almeida, David J. Loehr and Micheline Maynard

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The Movie: review/commentary on a single classic film

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This film was a passion project for George Cukor and Katharine Hepburn. RKO let them do it, but the studio was sorry, when the movie confused audiences in 1935, and made no money. It has attained a bit of a cult following since. Hepburn and her father, Miracle on 34th Street’s Edmund Gwynn are fleeing trouble, and Sylvia dons a male disguise to help her dad. They meet con man Cary Grant, and hilarity and awkward moments of gender identity ensue.

Sylvia Scarlett

Shelly Brisbin with Nathan Alderman, Randy Dotinga and Micheline Maynard

Get in touch with the show at [email protected] or on the socials at liontowershield. Hey hey, we are on Bluesky, @liontowershield.theincomparable.com.

The Movie: review/commentary on a single classic film

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